LIC Open Studios 2011

I was in New York this past weekend to see some friends at the LIC Arts Open, which this year was a week-long event. Unfortunately I didn't get to see all of them, but I did come across some fun new artists at the Juvenal Reis studios.

I was particularly taken with the detailed, almost obsessive pen drawings of Rena Teratani, who is apparently having an exhibition in Montreal in June. Unfortunately the website images and printed postcards don't really show the incredible detail in her pieces. Her work reminds me a little of Julie Mehretu's mark-making, and apparently reminds others of mine -- at open studios, a friend saw the map I have on the back of my phone and thought it might have been something Rena drew! The fact that she does detailed drawings on a large scale has convinced me that my drawings might actually look okay if I did them significantly larger than my usual 9"x12".

The other super memorable art we came across this weekend was hidden in the lower floor of a secluded gallery in Chelsea. Paul Shore & Nicole Root's photographs had made the Internet rounds a while ago, but the full collection was really amazing. They reproduce iconic works of contemporary sculpture in candy, and photograph them in mini gallery setups that make the candy to scale with the original work. I really appreciated the Dan Flavin light installation (one wax stix candy in the corner of a room) and the initially befuddling Claes Oldenburg (naturally, a real ice cream cone and slice of cake). Do check out the link above if you've ever taken contemporary art history.