MoMA PS1's "Greater New York" celebrity buyer's guide: who they are and where to find them

2021-11-16 07:44:04 By : Mr. Zhenchang Wu

In this year's "Greater New York" five-year exhibition, we highlighted seven artists whose works cover everything from street trash to UFOs.

Every five years, the curators of MoMA PS1 will spread out in the five administrative districts of New York City to piece together the "Greater New York", which is the epitome of the creative practice of the Big Apple. (The fifth edition of the show is more anticipated than ever because the pandemic has delayed it for a year.)

The show has become a springboard for talent, providing early impetus for artists such as Cameron Rowland, Gina Beavers, Xavier Simmons, Derek Adams and Corey Akangel. This time, it has nearly 50 inter-generational international artists and collectives and various media. The oldest artist in the exhibition is Bettina Grossman, who died earlier this week at the age of 94. The youngest is Kristin Cavataro, who was born in 1992.

To help you complete the entire process, the Artnet journalism professional team has identified seven artists who are ready to enter the next stage of their careers. This is an introductory book to their work-and what you need to know to get started.  

Kristi Cavataro's work is on the foreground and walls of Greater New York. Image courtesy of MoMA PS1. Photo: Marissa Alper.

Affiliation Gallery: Ramiken, New York

The most famous is: cylindrical sculptures made of stained glass, which Bronx artists cut, welded and wrapped them into interlocking geometric shapes. These abstract architectural shapes—reminiscent of subway tiles and Art Deco buildings—have a tendency to glow like prisms.

Most wanted: domestic-size sculptures like those exhibited at MoMA PS1 (yes, there is a waiting list). "Her work is very labor intensive," said Mike Egan of Ramiken. "She cuts every panel herself. There is a feeling of Tiffany glass, a feeling of antique. There is a utopian architectural concept and a feeling of general optimism."

Next up: her second solo exhibition in Ramiken in the Lower East Side is scheduled to be held in the fall of 2022.

Nadia Ayari, Pier 1 (2020). Image courtesy of the artist and Taymour Grahne Projects

Affiliation Gallery: Taymour Grahne Projects, London

The most famous is the lush, richly textured, and layered plant paintings that seem to leap from the canvas. She has been working this way since 2013. 

What I want most: Because her process is slow, she is made with layer after layer of oil paint, so there are not many works. "These works are very coveted, and we have placed many of Nadia's recent paintings in institutions and major collectors," Grain told Artnet News.

Next: Her solo exhibition at Taymour Grahne London Space has just ended; at the end of next year, she will perform one solo with Nina Johnson in Miami, and then another solo with Grahne the following year. 

Little-known fact: Nadia, who was born in Tunis, Tunisia, moved to the United States to attend university, hoping to become a doctor. It wasn't until she started experimenting with oil painting at the age of 21 that she decided to turn to become an artist.

Rosemary Meyer. Untitled (8/21/01, 2PM-4:15PM) (2001). Image courtesy of Rosemary Mayer and Gordon Robichaux Estate, New York

Affiliated galleries: Gordon Robichaux (New York) and Chert Lüdde (Berlin)

The most famous are: large sculptures made of fabric and a series of short-lived outdoor installations called "temporary monuments", both from the 1970s. (Examples can be seen in the first survey of her work by the Swiss Institute in New York.) "Greater New York" shows Meyer's "noise map", which is a map of the different noises she heard from her New York studio. She is also the co-founder of AIR Gallery, a legendary women's cooperative in New York.

Most wanted: Her fabric sculptures are probably the most well-known and most important for institutional buyers. (In 2020, Lenbachhaus in Munich won one.) But her paintings, like those in the 2021 Gordon Robichaux spring exhibition, are equally important to her practice—and more practical. 

Price point: Works on paper range from US$15,000 to US$50,000.

Next: The Swiss Institute’s investigation will travel to Europe in 2022, stopping at the Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Lemmbachhaus, Munich and Spike Island in Bristol.

Little-known fact: Mayer grew up in Ridgewood, Queens and lived in Tribeca most of the time. She is a typical New York artist and she has some very cool friends such as Ree Morton and Adrian Piper.

Details of Lakford's work in Greater New York. Image courtesy of MoMA PS1. Photo: Martin Seck

Affiliation Gallery: Greene Naftali, New York

The most famous is: the art of combining painting and sculpture, from acrylic wall works engraved with lyrics and fan letters to installations showing painted plexiglass hanging between steel chains.

Most wanted: her latest and perhaps most well-known work is a series of layered and engraved acrylic panels. The works exhibited by MoMA PS1 contain reflections on two cemeteries near her mother's hometown in Arkansas.

Next up: her first solo exhibition in Greene Naftali is scheduled for March 2022.

Little-known fact: Ford often incorporates the plexiglass found on the street into her works, leaving stains and scuffs. She once used resin to create a dance floor and encouraged visitors to leave their marks on the surface.

Umatsu Yuji, Zip Code: 01.01.20. .. 12.31.20. (2020). Image courtesy of the artist and Miguel Abreu Gallery in New York. Photo: Stephen Ford

Gallery affiliation: Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York

The most famous is: the small sculptures in the cellophane cigarette case, filled with ambitious, energetic and precise works created from rubbish found on the streets of New York City. Each combined style sculpture (which he called a "zip") is named after the date the artist picked up the street debris, creating a time stamp of a certain moment in the city.

Most wanted: "Zipper" has been widely recognized by Shangmatsu, including frequent comparisons with On Kawara's time-stamped paintings. However, the artist was a prolific photographer for a long time and eventually gave up this craft because the photos he took exceeded his development and processing capabilities.

Price point: A principal who owns a gallery firmly refused to disclose even the scope, because he said that people are unwilling to spend so much money on real garbage. The artist's collectors-which happened to include Lonti Abrams and Francois Pinault-"know their value," the dealer added.

Next: Samson will hold a solo exhibition with Galería Marta Cervera in Madrid, Spain later this year. His work is currently on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Little-known fact: Kamamatsu studied art from jazz drummer and choreographer Milford Graves, who was also a prolific sculptor.

Pauline Pivi, "Untitled" (1938-47). Courtesy of Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York.

Affiliated Gallery: Andrew Edlin (New York)

The most famous are: skilled paintings, watercolors and sculptural masks, whose themes blend the universe and spirituality, just as unique as Pivie did in life outside of the studio. In 1932, Pivi participated in a surrender in Los Angeles, where she believed she was related to a UFO full of existences named Lacamo, and then she spent the rest of her life trying to pass her art, Writing and film communication with the audience. (When asked to summarize Peavy's work for interested novices, Andrew Edlin described her aesthetic as "Hilma af Klint meets Agnes Pelton.")

Most wanted: "No job is better than others," said Edlin (who specifically represents Peavy's legacy). Even for her mask, the demand is healthy-the artist created it as a tool to help her more perfectly conduct Lacamo's energy while working.

Price point: Paper and mask works range from US$7,500 to US$15,000 each. Oil paintings range from US$15,000 to US$60,000 each, with a few very large canvases exceeding US$100,000.

Next: Edlin will showcase Peavy's work at the booth of Art Basel in Miami this year. The gallery is also working to write a monograph that will include "extensive research" linking Peavy with her fellow artists in the California scene and projects at the Stendahl Gallery in Los Angeles (such as Hans Hoffman).

Little-known fact: One of the main points of Pivi's belief system based on Lacamo is that in its final evolutionary form, humans will consist of only a single hermaphrodite, and she sometimes represents its biological components in her works.

Andy Robert, Selma Golden (2017). The photo was taken by Veli-Matti Hoikka. Image courtesy of Hannah Hoffman Gallery.

Affiliation Gallery: Hannah Hoffman, Los Angeles

The most famous is that the large-scale abstract paintings are inspired by nights in the Harlem neighbourhood that he calls the "black metropolis". The soft color palette combined with his fanatical brushstrokes evokes the feeling of New York at night, and the sound of the street becomes white noise. He takes photos of 24-hour diners, currency exchange offices, street performers and other daily city life for use as material.

Most wanted: his paintings can take years to complete, which makes them both very popular and difficult to obtain. (Examples are the collections of Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis, Hammer Museum and Harlem Studio Museum.) He also makes works on paper.

Little-known fact: Roberts has basically won all coveted residency or scholarships for American artists, including Pollock-Krasner Foundation Artist Grant (2020); MacDowell Colony Scholarship (2020); Studio Museum Harlem Artist-in-Residence (2016–2017); and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Residency (2016).

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