Monday, July 23, 2012

Art Hamptons last weekend

I visited Art Hamptons last weekend, which is the premier art fair for the Hamptons. Now in it's fifth year it was in full swing with a diverse selection of international galleries. Simultaneously,  Jackson Pollock's  centennial  was being celebrated, where one could bid on a Jackson Pollock portrait by Peter Max. One standout gallery was the Mark Borghi gallery, who had two booths at the fair.  One booth had charming  images of a young Obama during his freshman year at Occidental College by photographer Lisa Jack. At their other booth they showcased work by veteran abstract painter Ed Moses. After the fair I stopped by Moses' opening being held at Borghi's Bridgehampton gallery.


Yayoi Kusama at The Whitney

I attended the Yayoi Kusama opening at The Whitney, showcasing the Japanese pop artist's prolific work. The show spans several decades of her paintings and sculptures that exude both explosive color and vibrancy. I personally loved her later paintings, located where you first enter into the show, which are uplifting and utterly hypnotizing.  Kusama left her native Japan, first setting in Seattle and later making her mark in New York City in the1960s. A contemporary to Warhol and semi rival as well, Kusama challenged the mostly male dominated art scene with her defiant and sexually charged artworks.  She fell from prominence in the 1970s and returned to Japan, where she has since lived and worked out of a mental hospital. Kusama is now enjoying  a newfound resurgence, just having had a major retrospective at the Tate Modern and a new fashion collaboration with Louis Vuitton. The show runs till Sept 30, for more info click here