ART & DESIGN
I’ve had the great fortune of being able to work with, interview and profile some truly incredible artists, curators, gallerists, editors, and designers.
Bauhaus in Aspen
Guide published in Aspen Peak Magazine • 8 January 2019
One hundred years ago, the 20th century’s most revolutionary and influential school of design, art and architecture was founded in Weimar, Germany. When the Nazis shut it down 14 years later, students and teachers fled to the cultural capitals of the world: Paris, Chicago, New York, etc. One such émigré, a Bauhaus instructor, traveled all the way to the American West, to an obscure little town that reminded him of his youth in Austria.
Read Article (or watch video made for The Aspen Institute)
Daniel Arsham in his studio. (Photo: Stillman Meyer)
Daniel Arsham
Video profile published on StandardHotels.com • 22 April 2014
The journey of Daniel Arsham's "Pixel Cloud," which now hangs in the lobby of The Standard, East Village, begins a century ago when a young dancer by the name of Merce Cunningham was plucked from obscurity by the great Martha Graham.
Donna Da Salvo in front of a Dan Flavin. (Photo: Henry Hargreaves)
Donna da Salvo
Interview published on StandardHotels.com • 5 May 2015
When the new Whitney Museum opened in New York, I sat down with the then Chief Curator to discuss the institution's new home, the debut show, “America Is Hard to See,” and the simple pleasure of looking.
Erwin Wurm, "Insutructions on How To Be Politically Incorrect: Inspection" (2001)
Erwin Wurm
Profile published on StandardHotels.com • 3 October 2012
Erwin Wurm is quite possibly the funniest man in the world–definitely the funniest man in Austria. He claims comedy is an unintended side effect, despite the fact that there is a distinct teenaged-boy humor permeating from everything he makes: bananas, pickles, and awkward erections make more than a few cameos. I firmly believe that any artistic endeavor that makes one laugh as well as think and feel, should be lauded as the highest of "High Art."
Eva Stenram, "Drape (Print 1)" (2014)
Eva Stenram
Interview published on StandardHotels.com • 5 August 2015
In her Drape series, Swedish-born, London-based artist Eva Stenram reclaims and re-composes vintage erotica, hiding the naughty bits behind curtains and shifting the gaze to every-day interiors.
Farhad Morshiri "Wooden Knife in Yellow" (2014) - Acrylic and knive on canvas
Farhad Morshiri
Interview for StandardHotels.com • 3 September 2014
Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri creates fabulous works of opulence and fantasy (an entire magazine stand made of Persian rugs, furniture sets made of gold, insanely intricate beaded tapestries) infused with subtle, but intensely amusing wit. I reached him at his home in Iran to discuss his knives, making art in Iran, and his show “Float” at Galerie Perrotin.
HERBERT Bayer
• Short documentary, “How Bauhaus Came to Aspen” made for Bauhaus100: Aspen & The Aspen Institute (June 2019)
• Blog Post for the Aspen Ski Company on a Bayer tapestry (January 2019) Read About a Tapestry Install
• Article about all of Herbert Bayer’s projects in Aspen published in Aspen Peak Magazine. (Winter 2019)
Excerpt from Iván Argote's "Altruism" (2011)
Iván Argote
Profile for StandardHotels.com • 29 April 2016
Raised by leftist revolutionaries in Bogotá and now a Paris-based conceptual artist repped by super-gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin, Iván Argote is a master of the innocently offensive. He makes out with subway poles, rocks police cars and when he was an art student in Paris, he vandalized two Mondrian's at the George Pompidou and caused a national outrage. So, why isn't he in prison?
James Franco "New Film Still 50" (2014)
James Franco
Profile for StandardHotels.com • 17 April 2014
When actor/artist/writer/instagrammer James Franco presented his ode to Cindy Sherman, “New Film Stills,” a mob queued all the way down West 25th Street. While the Pace Gallery show drew in the crowds, the work was NOT well-received. Jerry Saltz called them, “silly self-obsessed demi-drag re-creations.” The New York Times pleaded, “Someone or something, make him stop.” I co-wrote and edited this more-or-less impartial overview of the project and ensuing maelstrom.
José Parlá installing "Segmented Realities" (2015) in The Standard Plaza. (Photo: Chris Mosier)
José Parlá
Profile for StandardHotels.com •7 August 2015
Mythologist Joseph Campbell claimed that you could measure the priorities of a society by its highest structure. For a long time it was the church spire. In Manhattan, in the year 2015, it was (and is still) the sky-scraping One World Trade Center, a $3.8 billion office building that carries just a touch of historic resonance—just a touch. So, if you’re artist José Parlá, who has just been given the commission to create a monumental mural (90x15 feet) for the lobby, where do you begin?
"Les Bosquets" (2014) Choreographed by JR, with Lil Buck. Music by Woodkid.
JR
Interview for StandardHotels.com • 30 April 2014
Until he was invited to collaborate with the New York City Ballet, the artist known only as “JR” had never seen so much as a plié in person. A year later he had designed large scale set pieces and choreographed a “Pièce d'Occasion." So, how did the French mega-artist fare at Lincoln Center?
Kenny Scharf in his studio (Photo: Chris Mosier)
Kenny Scharf
Interview for StandardHotels.com • 14 March 2013
"...In the '80s we were like, 'Oh my god, it was so cool in the '60s when everybody was free love and at The Factory and everything was so new. Now, everything is so rehashed."
Liu Bolin "Hiding in the City" Series (2005-Present)
Liu Bolin
Interview for StandardHotels.com • 18 December 2014
Bolin’s “Hiding in the City” Series (2005-Present) reflects a range of contemporary issues from consumerism to the environment. In this specially commissioned work for The Standard, Liu wouldn’t be the first person to disappear into the Boom Boom Room’s bar. We emailed about inspirations, how he disappears, and his hopes for China and America.
Marianne boesky: greed grows up
Profile for Architectural Digest • 12 September 2017
Gordon Gekko’s real life daughter, gallerist Marianne Boesky, turns an old thieves’ cabin in Aspen into an architectural gem. Annabelle Zelldorf helped.
Maurizio Cattelan / Pierpallo Ferrari for W Magazine (2009)
maurizio cattelan & Dennis Freedman
Interview & profile for StandardHotels.com • 6 May 2016
How did Maurizio Cattelan go from mischievous donkeys and racist elephants to master of the editorial photo spread? Creative director Dennis Freedman recounts their collaboration on the W Magazine Art Issue which marked the artist's intriguing transition.
Color moguls
INSIDE THE COLOR ORACLE: PANTONE
Profile for StandardHotels.com • 14 February 2014
In the world of design, the Pantone Book is quite literally a bible – studied, worshipped, and dogmatic. At Standard HQ it is kept in a locked drawer and emblazoned with a giant sticker that reads, "this book CANNOT leave this office." I met the Willy Wonkas of color as they launched their first fashion line.
Phareell Williams at The Standard, East Village
PHARRELL WILLIAMS
Interview for StandardHotels.com • 13 September 2013
It may come as no surprise that Pharrell is a total genius at everything he does. Art collecting is no exception. Mentored by Emmanuelle Perrotin, he collaborated with artist Daniel Arsham on a set of instrument-themed sculptures modeled after his childhood Casio. I only got to ask him one question, but it was a good one.
RASHID JOHNSON
Profile for Aspen Peak Magazine • Summer 2019
A New Yorker finds “utopia” in the mountains.
RYAN MCGINNESS CHANNELS WARHOL’S FLOWER POWER
Profile for The Aspen Times • 20 June 2019
The massive install of nearly 500 works sheds new light on one Warhol’s more overlooked series.
Ryan in his studio
Ryan McGinness’ Studio manual
Essay for StandardHotels.com • 4 November 2011
Ryan McGinness' "Studio Manual" unlocks the secrets to fine art success by describing his studio as a franchise, which is both tongue in cheek and surprisingly informative.
Sophie Calle "Rachel, Monique" (2014)
Sophie Calle
Profile for StandardHotels.com • 16 May 2014
In "Rachel, Monique,” Sophie Calle presents a video of her mother’s final moments. Is this the logical next step in a culture of oversharing? Or a moving portrait of mortality?
Photograph by Guy Fery from 'WET' July/August 1978
Leonard Koren on His Cult Bathing Experiment, "WET Magazine"
Interview for StandardHotels.com • 3 September 2015
From 1976 to 1981, 'WET: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing' was the world’s first and only underground publication dedicated to gourmet bathing. And what, pray-tell, is gourmet bathing? Turns out: not such an easy thing to define. I spoke with 'WET’s' founder and creative director (one of my personal heros) to trace the source of this most influential and effervescent magazine.
Gallerists sitting in front of a Farhad Moshiri (Photo: Chris Mosier)
What's Really for Sale at Art Basel
Essay for StandardHotels.com • 23 November 2015
I try to read between the booths at one of the world's largest art fairs.
Photo from the Alice in Wonderland Theme at AREA nightclub
MEET THE MAN BEHIND NEW YORK’S WILDEST, ART-FILLED 80S NIGHTCLUB
Interview for StandardHotels.com • 22 December 2013
Every eight weeks, from 1983 to 1987, the nightclub Area was gutted and reincarnated into a wild new theme. It was a magical, decadent place where nothing was too risqué, outré or taboo. I interviewed one of its original designers, Shawn Hausman, who would go on to create the look and vibe of The Standards.
Yves Saint Laurent's living room in Paris
YSL's $28 Million club Chair
Essay published on The Gentleman Tramp • 27 June 2011
This odd little chair, nicknamed “The Dragon,” emerged from the ashes of The Great War, passed from one glamorous home to the next before landing on the block at Yves Saint Laurent’s estate sale where it fetched its staggering $28M sum. So, how did the dragon get its fire?