Arts Calendar editor Tom Carbone was in New York again reconnecting with friends, trying to make business connections, buying materials, and mostly continuing his quest to keep learning new things.

Fly in over lower Manhattan.

Saturday night I managed to get to some gallery openings. One “big block O’ galleries” is located on the 500 block of W 25th this is just a few; there are hundreds of galleries in this neighborhood.

“PEEPERS, NOGGINS & KISSERS” opened at the New York Studio Gallery, artist Kristen Copham used a Neiman-esque color scheme to create hundreds of portraits. Big deal, right? But wait, there is a little more to the story. These 10” x 10” straight on head shots were done in one hour each over a period of a few weeks through a process that I’ll call, “a reverse call for entries.” The word was put out for people that wanted to have their portraits painted. With 150 or so completed the portraits were tiled into tight groups on the walls of the 6th floor gallery. Gazing at the paintings from close and afar one similarity became apparent: almost all of these people were smiling. There was a distinct air of optimism emanating from them. But let’s think… what kind of person would want their portrait painted, what kind of person would call, make an appointment, and sit for an hour? Fifteen minutes of fame, Leroy was here, friend of the artists? Doesn’t matter, I came away with the great feeling of optimism, and it turns out I could use shot of that on a daily basis.

The other great show “Pale and blue at 14” was at the 10 foot wide (typical NY) Giant Robot Gallery on 9th near 1st Ave, in an area called Little India. A very cool & trendy neighborhood with shops and boutiques everywhere you look. Jeana Sohn displayed a series that draws you in like a sitting cat, with eyes blinking slowly. Every image is painted with a very delicate touch on a sheet of unfinished veneer. She brings to life a world occupied by a few solemn characters; a man with a mustache, a woman often wearing a peasant dress, a wolf, and other forest dwellers too. In every instance the characters interact with each other or nature, as we all do, in good, bad, and indifferent ways. Sohn’s language is that of floating and flying, characters, objects, and even mustaches. This series had a calming effect for me. I have seen the paintings in print and on the web but the tactile nature of the real thing is breathtaking; the paint is often so thin it barely covers the grain of the veneer. The quietness and delicateness of craft is so fitting to the dialog of Sohn’s works.

Comparing the two shows is a case of opposites; the brightness of Copham’s work came off the wall to the viewer as each portrait tried to tell their story, like a room full of people at an opening. While Sohn’s work draws the onlooker in to a fine mystical little world, one I wish to visit again.

Other cool NY sightings:

On Second Avenue one especially outstanding graffiti laced door caught my eye.

Macy’s all dressed up for the Holidays; the legendary street level windows lived up to their reputation too.

Apple’s 5th Avenue underground store.

Pinkberry on W 32nd cool 70’s style décor and great yogurt.

Fashion

For my fashion friends in the D, I scoped out the FFANY at pier 94, but the most interesting find of the week was Te Casan. Located on in SOHO in a beautiful, and truly first class building Te Casan has invented a completely unique approach to shoe marketing, and the development of emerging designers. For the lucky seven that are prominently featured in the tri-level venue it’s the chance of a lifetime. These however are no lottery winners they are experienced designers striking out on their own. Another unique aspect to the beautiful dream is that all of the shoes are limited editions; I would guess that if and when some of these superstars really take off they would leave the nest and strike out alone. Sadly the web site does not show the shoes, but I saw some stunning really well designed and creative works of art. These are only for the serious aficionado’s, well worth a visit to this museum of modern shoes when in the Apple.

After a sight-filled trip, Tom’s back in town, and we’re glad to have him keeping track of all, and we mean ALL, the art-goings on about town each and every week in the pages of our arts calendar.