HAPPY HALLOWEEN (AND WEEKEND)!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and Halloween! I meant to include the DIY project above—colorful Halloween candy garlands by The House That Lars Built—in the roundup on Wednesday but forgot. Making up for it here!

I have been accumulating lots of fun reading material for you and, on the off chance you are like me and planning to hibernate over the next several days, thought it would be fun to list it all below. Enjoy!

Vital info for insider (candy) trading.

I will not be wearing any of these (ridiculous!) costumes this year. (Pizza rat?!)

I may, however, be learning to draw a person. Adorable!

A Young Man's Follies. A touching glimpse into a stranger's life (and beautifully laid out, too!).

Made me smile: #notonappstore.

Galant, clever, polite ways to say no.

A fact every minute. Perfect to stock up on dinner party conversation starters.

Annie Leibovitz and 400 women. Inspiring.

Finally, for those in the New York area, some excellent shows closing after this weekend:

Robert Morris at Leo Castello Gallery*

Robert Indiana at Craig F. Starr Gallery*

Robert Overby at Andrew Kreps Gallery*

Pierre Huyghe at the Metropolitan Museum

The Xerox Show at Paula Cooper Gallery (my personal favorite!)

*apparently I like artists named Robert?!

DOUG WHEELER AT DAVID ZWIRNER

About a month ago I went to see a gorgeous exhibition by Doug Wheeler at David Zwirner gallery with a couple of friends. Wheeler did a similar installation in 2012 (read about here) and, though I didn't see that show, I can attest that this one is visually stunning. I don't want to give too much away, but basically you step into a circular room with a rounded floor and are instantly immersed in pure, light color. The space looks cerulean blue in photographs but is actually more moody in person—a pale blue-grey watery color that seems to morph and change as you move and become acclimatized to the space.

In case you couldn't tell, I highly recommend you go see it! Just be sure to go soon; the show closes on April 5 but requires a reservation to visit (info here), which will likely be harder and harder to get as the closing date draws near.

More information on Wheeler's work here; read more about Zwirner gallery here.

TIS THE SEASON FOR ART

I have been a bad art nerd recently and haven't been going to museums or galleries nearly as much as I should. I live in New York! I should be taking advantage of all the culture! Instead, time seems to fly by and I keep missing all the cool events in town.

Well not this month. Here's a shortlist of some of the buzz-worthy exhibitions I am planning on hitting up before they are over.

above: Yayoi Kusama at David Zwirner Gallery

Chris Burden at the New Museum

Lewis Hine at the International Center of Photography

Christopher Wool at the Guggenheim Museum

What shows are on your list? Have you seen anything cool recently? Tell me in the comments!

EZRA STOLLER

Ever since college (when I worked on this show at the WCMA), I have been madly in love with the photographs of Ezra Stoller. The NYTimes did an article on his work recently—since Yossi Milo Gallery is having a show on him right now—and it made remember the wonder and mystery Stoller manages to evoke in his architectural photos.

Check out more beautiful work by Stoller here.

TOMAS SARACENO, BACK IN TIME

Remember last spring when the Metropolitan Museum had a huge Tomas Saraceno piece on their roof? Turns out in 2009 Saraceno did this amazing installation—also comprised of big, geometric cloud forms—at Anderson's Contemporary, a gallery in Berlin. I love the way the clouds pop against the black walls. Wouldn't it be cool to recreate a mini version in your house? Say in a guest room or living room? Too bad these clouds aren't for sale!

Get more information about the installation here, check out more gorgeous work by Saraceno here and more projects at Anderson Contemporary here.

(thanks to This is Colossal for the tip)

ELLSWORTH KELLY SPECTRAL COLORS

Oh my, I love Ellsworth Kelly. A master modern artist, whose color sense is off the charts (get it? color chart?! ha!), he has a show coming up at the print gallery Gemini G. E. L. later this month, with all of these Spectral Color works being included. Lovely, right? I'll just take one or two home with me, thank you!

See more at Gemini's website here.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: MINIMALIST CHELSEA

Just a couple of photos from my gallery hopping yesterday afternoon. All of these were taken in Chelsea at Gagosian Gallery's Lucio Fontana show. Go see it! It's open until June 30th and it's pretty spectacular!

All photos taken by me using Instagram. See more of my Instagram photos here and follow me! My username is obsessiveimagist.

TINTYPE PORTRAITS

   


We all know I am a major photography nerd, but these tintype portraits taken by Michael Shindler, owner of the San Francisco gallery Photobooth, are just plain incredible. I love how the tintypes highlight the luminosity of the sitters' eyes. It makes me want to run to San Francisco right now and get my own portrait taken!






Even cooler is seeing how Shindler makes the photos. By using a light sensitized plate he says he can make a tintype with pretty much any camera. Amazing! Watch the video to get the full scoop and learn more about the tintypes and Photobooth here.

(thanks to swiss miss for the tip)

p.s. Like this post? Try this one, this one and that one.

WEEKEND UPDATE

What are you all up to this weekend? I need to clamp down and get some work done, but in case you are looking to explore and are in New York, here is a quick run down of some of my favorite gallery shows on view at the moment.



Guenther Foerg at Greene Naftali Gallery
Closes February 18





Shirin Neshat at Gladstone Gallery
Closes February 11





Ai Weiwei at Mary Boone Gallery
Closes February 4






On Kawara (top) and Doug Wheeler (bottom) at David Zwirner Gallery
Closes February 11 and February 25 respectively





The Wedding (The Walker Evans Polaroid Project) with Roni Horn at Andrea Rosen Gallery
Closes February 4




Gallery shows not doing it for you? Here are some other things to check out over the weekend:


The Color Run looks super fun if not entirely messy.


A great debate among arts administrators about how to work with communities in a technological era.


Looking to check out the latest graffiti tags 'in the wild'? A guide to finding the best work here.


I want one of these very badly! Where can I find one?


Trees get a clever makeover in England.


A detailed, and beautiful, map of New York's energy consumption by neighborhood.


This app, just like their watches, looks entrancingly cool.


Sophie Blackall has designed a wonderful new poster for NYC subways. Kudos!




Have a great weekend! See you back here on Monday!

DAMIEN HIRST: THE COMPLETE SPOT PAINTINGS, 1986-2011

If you have read this blog for any period of time, you know that I am obsessed with polka dots. Obsessed!  So, not surprisingly, Damien Hirst's Spot Paintings have always made me smile. Haven't seen them you say? Well the illustrious Gagosian Gallery, which represents Mr. Hirst and has eleven locations all over the world, is out to change that. Starting today every single Gagosian location, from New York to Hong Kong, will be exhibiting the Spot Paintings (totaling all 1500 paintings from the series)! 


Want to see more? Learn about Hirst and the exhibitions here. Also visit the Gagosian shop for a sweet dot clock (love it!) and to download their gallery app.