Art Hag

Sol LeWitt | City Hall Park

Twenty-seven of Connecticut-born artist Sol LeWitt's (1928 - 2007) sculptures, or as he referred to them - structures, are currently on view in and around City Hall Park.  Several of his famous minimal, white, geometric squares are on display in Structures, 1965-2006, alongside more complex forms, a pyramid, a tower, and a wonderfully colorful and dynamic piece called Splotch 15, resembling of a bunch of rainbow-hued stalagmites or a gigantic heap of Crayola crayons melting in the brutal summer sun.

Presented by the Public Art Fund, the outdoor retrospective of LeWitt's works is the first of its kind, and chronicles the progression of his structures for forty years, from his "early white geometric cubes through to the late, multicolored organic forms," (from nyc-arts.org).  It's a nice change to see LeWitt's staid, minimal works displayed outdoors instead of inside a white, sterile gallery.  His structures boldy stand out and make a statement juxtaposed amongst grassy lawns, green foliage, the Brooklyn Bridge and assorted skyscrapers—"both natural and architectural forms in the city that helped inspire his art."  Learn more at nyc-arts.org.  Through December 2nd.

Splotch 15, right, 2005 and Three X Four X Three, left, 1984

Splotch 15, 2005 and Three X Four X Three, 1984

Complex Form 6, 1987

Double Modular Cube, 1979

Pyramid (Munster), 1987

Three-Part Variations on Three Different Kinds of Cubes 3 3 2, 1967 - 1974

Incomplete Open Cubes,1974

Incomplete Open Cube, 1974

One X Two Half Off, 1991

Tower (Columbus), 1990

FriendsWithYou | The Hole

It's summertime!  The weather is hot and hazy, my mood is languid and lazy, and galleries are operating under shortened summer hours—making it impossible for me to check out any new shows.  Fortunately, The Hole's new location on the Bowery is open on Saturdays, so I was able to check out :), the delightful, first New York solo exhibiton of Miami collaborative FriendsWithYou.  Much like summery, beach reading, the exhibit is a light, fun, guilty pleasure, packed with "smiling puddles on the gallery floor... giggle sticks, smirking smoke flumes, splat-happy wall works and a grinning ghost or two," (from show's press release). 

The gallery's columns are playfully painted in candy stripes.  The array of colorful, cutesy characters include: a blue and white striped canvas with a pair of beady eyes suspiciously peeping out; two adorable happy faces that spin around and around; a flat, black circle adorned with saucer-like eyes that hypnotically glide left and right; side-by-side, rectangular, white and black faces that alternately slide up and down; a face formed by three dashes creating simple eyes and a mouth on a large canvas covered in vertical, barcode-like lines; and a gigantic, inflatable, candy-like sculpture that fills up the back-right-corner gallery. 

FriendsWithYou is a collaborative formed in 2002 by Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III with the mission "to spread the idea of Magic, Luck and Friendship around the world."  While their charming and twee works may not resemble typical fine art gallery fare, their objects "are meant to trigger the buried, neglected urges and yearnings that a seasoned art viewer may not expect to have activated; playfulness, laughter and inquisitiveness." 

:) will put a smile on your face with its super-happy-funtime humor, whimsy, and sweetness.  With its "interactive, experiential wonderland of pop-straction and participation" FriendsWithYou aims "to spread its happy meassage" and "become Friends-With-You!"  Learn more at theholenyc.com and at the artists' website friendswithyou.com.  Through August 6th. 

For maximum cuteness, click here for images of FriendsWithYou's Rainbow City, which was on view at the High Line at West 30th Street and 10th Avenue from June 8th - July 5th.