NYC's Newst Art Space / Jean-Francois Rauzier Exhibition

The Goldman Projects Space, located in Manhattan's Soho Building at 104 Green Street, is NYC's newest dedicated art space. Preservation developer, Tony Goldman initiated the Soho space in order to offer New Yorkers a new major space where they can enjoy contemporary art in a setting designed to be both imaginative and accessible. Goldman is extremely excited about his brainchild, recently stating,

"The project space is a tangible expression of how important art can be in providing a cultural and creative focus for landmark buildings in historic landmark districts here in the city, and for the people who use them"

In collaboration with the London based art dealer Waterhouse & Dodd, the new Goldman Projects Space is hosting a unique exhibition of Hyperphotos by French artist Jean-Francois Rauzier.The innovative exhibition brings together 20 works by the leading French artist - an acknowledged pioneer of photography, painting and technology. Rauzier's works are groundbreaking and combine both the big picture and close-up views, opening up new pictorial possibilities in composition and scale. His C-Type photographic prints are of extremely high quality. Rauzier presents his photos in editions of 8 and has executed them in a format that can be printed as large as 30 by 10 feet without altering the quality of the image.

Rauzier remarked,

"When you are looking at a Hyperphoto, at first you think you are looking at an enlargement of a panoramic photograph. Not quite. Look more closely and you absorb a strange atmosphere that distances the viewer from the real world and pulls you into a universe of dizzying amplitude"

The show displays a representative selection of the Rauzier's work created since 2000 as well as some works he created exclusively for the exhibition. Tony Goldman has expressed his own personal delight at the space's first show, as he is a great admirer of Rauzier.

The Armory Show 2010: "As Good as it Gets"

Art fair mania controlled New York City's art scene this past weekend, with the Armory Show as the main attraction. Like the thousands of excited art-enthusiasts, I too trekked to Piers 92 / 94, crossing the scary West Side Highway to reach the massive Armory Show 2010.


I had never been to the Armory Show before, but it definitely lives up to its "NY's largest contemporary art fair" title. I was overwhelmed at the hundreds of galleries and thousands of paintings I saw... loving some, hating others, and not knowing what to think of a few "overly-contemporary" pieces. (I also have to admit I was a bit offended by one piece - a painting of a black swastika with a yellow background at gallery Nicole Klagsbrun's booth). Regardless, while some reviews say exhibitors "played it safe" this year, I had a wonderful and enriching experience (and kind of wonder what previous less tame armory shows have been like...)

Switching gears now - If you've visited the Armory's Website, you've probably wondered why there are images of either a screw sticking out of a wall, dripped paint on wood or another seemingly un-artistic image. These are actually the works of Susan Collis. Each year the Armory Show commissions an artist to "create the visual identity" of the fair, and this year the selected artist was Susan Collis. Her screw in the wall work, "As Good as it Gets" (below) is the epitome of her creations, as Collis is known for crafting art out of every-day / mundane objects. The artist recently revealed a little bit about the unconventional way she gathers materials for her pieces.

The British artist finds her objects (screws, nails, bits of wood splattered with paint, etc.) by dumpster-diving. She tells NY Magazine that dumpsters are called "skips" in England. Collis admits her assistants help with the dirty work, but she definitely delves in as well in the process (which she refers to as "skip-trawling").

Collis remarks:

"I look at these really disgusting pieces of wood and I imagine that rats had peed on them or something ... in the studio, we held them with rubber gloves the whole time. I do actually encourage my assistants to wear gloves. I am quite a good boss."


Bravo to the 150 + exhibitors. The show was fabulous, and I can't wait for the Armory Show 2011!