A couple weeks ago I took a trip to NYC to visit family, friends and see a bunch of shows in NYC--much of the work by friends and fellow BU alumni. 

After my 7:30am bus arrived on the west side, I rode my bike over to CUE Art Foundation to see Natessa Amin's show Hyphen. Natessa, a fellow BU alum displayed a colorful and complex show of paintings, sculptures and drawings. I love the balance she achieves between large, bold areas of color and small, intricately painted details. Read more about her work here.

After eating lunch with my college friend Kelly, I went to see these inflatable Paul Chan sculptures at Greene Naftali. My favorite sculptures were the ones that were holding hands. I liked the way the individual pieces became one and shifted as a group. The moving air created fleeting moments where the sculptures danced, pushed and embraced. 

Next, I rode my bike to Chelsea to see Jessica Campbell's narrative rug paintings at Field Projects and Mike Cloud's painted shapes at Thomas Urban Gallery. Just a few weeks before my visit I saw Mike Cloud speak at BU, so I was excited to see his work in person. 

My next stop was Jenna Gribbon's show When I Looked at You the Light Changed at Fredericks & Freiser. Although many of the show's highlights featured women wrestling naked in surreal environments (a kitchen, the docks, or in the middle of a road), I preferred several of her smaller, more intimate paintings of individual women wandering, performing mundane tasks or simply aglow in warm summer light. 

Next I went to Yossi Milo to see Doron Landberg's show. I met Doran at Anderson Ranch this summer and was fortunate to hear him talk about his work and influences. Seeing his paintings in person was even more special. Many of his canvases are massive and immerse you in his colorful world of family and friendship. I even happened to stop by the gallery when he was there and several of the figures in Daniel Reading were there. It was a surreal experience to see the real people move around the gallery as I soaked up these beautifully fluid and tender painting moments.

I first learned about Sarah Sze's work in a Contemporary Art class I took for art educators with Lois Hetland in 2014. I immediately fell in love with her meticulous, hyper-focused process and her resulting sculptures. I have seen her work at the ICA in Boston and the Rose Museum in Waltham, so almost skipped going to her most recent NY show. I'M SO GLAD I DIDN'T. Her show at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery covered the walls, and sometimes floors of ceilings of the two floor gallery. Filled with photographs, videos, paintings, sculptures, and installation, I felt as if I was both in her brain during the creation of each piece and outside of her process looking at fully realized works of art. The shift in time and place I experienced while looking at various pieces was amazing--like time travel. I was so impressed with her virtuosity with multiple ways of working and wish I could have stayed longer to soak it all in.

My next stop was the Hercules Art/Studio Program, where I got to visit Leeanne Maxey (a fellow BU alum) and see a show of her most recent egg tempera paintings. Visit her website to see more of her work. 

My last stop of the day was at a tiny space called Kristen Lorello Gallery. So tiny, in fact that I almost couldn't find it. Once inside, I was surrounded by eight oil stick drawings by Ping Zheng. I loved the composition, color, mark-making and quality of light and air in each piece. 

After a full day of gallery hopping, I rode my bike across the Manhattan Bridge to visit my high school friend Caitlin. She is currently a second year grad student at Pratt, and I met up with a few of her classmates in Brooklyn before clunking out around 10pm.

In the morning, Caitlin and I walked to her studio. Caitlin and I took painting together in high school, and she has been an inspiration to me ever since. Although she applied to school as a painter, her work has become more sculptural lately. She is currently working on a series of sculptural installations for her MFA thesis show. I hope to make it back to NY to see the final form of this work in the spring!

I left Brooklyn around 11am and rode my bike back to Manhattan to see two more shows (luckily these galleries were open on Sunday!) before meeting up with my parents. The first show was Twice Over, work by recent MFA grad (and BU alum!) Rebecca Ness. Rebecca's painting were so full of life, texture and detail that her show of paintings felt more like a show of 50 paintings. I'm so glad I got to see this show before it came down!

After seeing Rebecca's work, I walked around the corner to see one more show--John McAllister's silence sounding sumptuous at James Fuentes Gallery. I loved the bright, somewhat sour, somewhat sweet landscape portals that hung in the gallery. See more of his show here.

At last I biked across town to meet up with my parents near the Whitney Museum for lunch. It was great to see them. I left the city feeling mentally and emotionally full.

update coming soon!