Posts Tagged ‘Meatpacking District’

One Life, One Day: Inside the Mind of Mr. Brainwash

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

By JRS

Mr. Brainwash, aka Thierry Guetta, holding court over his maze on West 13th Street

“If you do something you love, you become an icon, because you do it so well that in one moment, everybody appreciates it,” says Thierry Guetta, leaning back in a paint-splattered Eames lounge chair in the middle of his newest exhibition, Icons. The street artist-turned gallery sensation went on to talk about his time spent decorating the walls and sidewalks of New York: “The street is just a large gallery to me. Even the people that don’t like it are obligated to see it. There are no rules on the street, there is just freedom. Thousands of people can see it.”

(more…)

Leo Kesting and Donna Cleary: The X Spot

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

By JRS

"Polarized" by Donna Cleary

"Polarized" by Donna Cleary

Manhattan’s Leo Kesting Gallery has something that all galleries in New York have been striving for as of late. It’s not just their pristine location (812 Washington Street at Gansevoort, right on the cusp of the Meatpacking District in the West Village), and it’s not only their preternatural artist-scouting (Daniel Edwards, sculptor-extraordinare responsible for “Paris Hitlon Autopsy,” among others). Leo Kesting is a very wide stride ahead of the pack because of the panache they inject back into the art world, making it young and fresh and enjoyable to immerse oneself in. On this tree-lined Village street, the gallery that reins supreme is that which doesn’t pander to a collector who graces the opening, rather, it is the artist who is the center of attention. It’s hard to imagine this ever not being the case.

(more…)