New York art book fair 2016

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Toothpicker

MoMa PS1, Queens

As a newbie to art book fairs, I had no idea what to expect at the New York art book fair hosted by Printed Matter at MoMA PS1 in Queens. I have visited the London Art Book Fair at the Whitechapel Gallery in 2015 (there wasn’t one this year), but it was minuscule compared to the New York one. I was completely overwhelmed by vast size of the New York one, and I had to return again for a second visit. Yet, I still didn’t manage to visit all the stalls, but the experience was eye-opening, and judging from the crowds, I can safely say that book publishing is far from dead!

A former school/warehouse dating back to 1892, MoMA PS1 reopened as P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center after a $8.5 million renovation project in the late 90s. The center eventually merged with MoMA in 2000 to promote contemporary art to a wide and growing audience.

3rd right: Japanese artist Misaki Kawai‘s books and zines; 4th row: Berlin’s Motto; Bottom right: Ottographic from U.K.

The fair occupied two floors of the building and two outdoor tents, featuring over 370 booksellers, antiquarians, artists, institutions and independent publishers from twenty-eight countries, and was attended by over 39,000 visitors. I was glad to see many familiar booksellers and publishers, especially because I have been doing a lot of research on independent bookshops and publishers for our new theme lately. Yet, I was also thrilled to discover new booksellers and publishers from around the world. There was much to see and I had to resist the temptation of purchasing for my own personal interest.

Top left: Gagosian Gallery; Top right: KAWS‘ ‘Man’s best friend’; 2nd row: OneStar Press stand; 3rd row: Ebecho Muslimova at One Star Press; 4th left: Ken Kagami; 4th right: Bread & puppet calendar; 5th left: Marco Breuer; Bottom row: Daido Moriyama photography

Aside from artist books and zines, there was a strong focus on photography books, and some of best stands in the photography section were from Japan, including Goliga, Akio Nagasawa and Komiyama (specialises in vintage art and photography books). As a fan of photography, I finally succumbed to temptation and bought a book & DVD set called ‘Tokyo diaries’ at the Pierre von Kleist stand from Portugal. I spoke to its Portuguese publisher and photographer André Príncipe and he told me about his project – how he encountered well-known Japanese photographers such as Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama, Takuma Nakahira, Hiromix, Kohei Yushiyuki and Kajii Syoin in Tokyo; and how the films were ruined by the x-ray machine during transit. André also signed the book for me, and I left the stand feeling quite satisfied with my purchase.

‘VITO ACCONCI: WHERE WE ARE NOW (WHO ARE WE ANYWAY?), 1976’ exhibition

At my second visit to the fair, I decided to spare some time to see the exhibition on the top floor: ‘VITO ACCONCI: WHERE WE ARE NOW (WHO ARE WE ANYWAY?), 1976′. The multidisiplinary artist’s solo exhibition showcased much of his early performance work through photographs, sketches, films and video footage. His radical and subversive explorations of the human condition, sexuality, voyeurism, identity are still provocative even in today’s standards. The exhibition also reinstalled his ‘WHERE WE ARE NOW (WHO ARE WE ANYWAY?)’, which is made up of a wooden plank surrounded by stools. The plank continues through an open window and becomes a diving board suspended over the traffic below.

Top & bottom left: The view from MoMA PS1; Bottom right: New York artist Wizard skull‘ ‘Sexy Ronald’ could be seen inside and outside of the venue

If I had more time, I would have paid a third visit to the fair because I reckoned I only managed to see 2/3 of the fair. As an art book fan, and a new bookseller, I thoroughly enjoyed the fair and its popularity indicates that independent publishing now is thriving and will continue to do so in the near future.

Books, zines and DVD I bought from the art book fair

What the heck happened to Newburgh?

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Toothpicker

The derelict Greek Revival style Dutch Reformed Church was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis in 1835

The fate of a city often resembles the life cycle of a person. A city may experience prosperity for a few decades/ centuries; but one day, it may be destroyed due to wars or natural disasters, or it may simply dwindle and become neglected and forgotten. The world has witnessed the downfalls of majestic cities like Rome, Alexandra, Athens, New York, London, Shanghai, Baghdad, Detroit and the list goes on. Whether a city could bounce back and thrive again depends on many factors; most of the time, it is not within the control of its citizens or even the local government.

I am not sure how many people who live in New York have heard of the city called Newburgh, 60 miles north of Manhattan. Well, I haven’t, and neither have my friend who has lived in the New York State and Connecticut for the last 20 years.

While en route to Storm King Art center, it was by chance that we decided to stop in Newburgh for a quick bite to eat. As soon as we drove into the centre, we were perplexed by how desolated the city was, and at the time, gobsmacked by the stunning European style architecture dotted around the city.

Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum is the world’s largest private holding of important original manuscripts & documents, and this Newburgh branch is one of the many in the US

Initially, my friend was reluctant to park the car as she was worried for our safety. The deserted streets and derelict buildings were a sharp contrast to the sunny and sharp blue sky. What happened here? We both wondered. I then searched the internet to try and find out more information and all I could find was a insightful newspaper article from the UK – Guardian – explaining the downfall of this city and how efforts have been made to resurrect it (judging from what we saw, the regeneration has yet to happen).

Top two rows: murals in the city centre; Bottom: Ms Fairfax

We did eventually have lunch at a nice cafe called Ms Fairfax, where most of its interior and decor are upcycled furniture and parts brought back from a bowling alley after it closed down (a very creative idea). After lunch, we drove around the city briefly to admire the beautiful architecture scattered around the centre.

We lost count of the churches we passed by, which indicates that the city used to be very wealthy. And with its location – next to the Hudson river – it has all the right ‘ingredients’ to be a prosperous city like Greenwich, a wealthy town in Connecticut (which has similar European style architecture). Yet driving around the impoverished and slightly eerie city, we both felt quite depressed and did not want to linger any longer.

The Masonic Temple’s cornerstone was laid July 10, 1914

According to the article and other info I found on the internet, the city was founded in 1709 by 50 Lutheran German immigrants, sponsored by Great Britain. And in 1752, the land was surveyed by the lieutenant governor for the Province of New York,Cadwallader Colden, who named it after Newburgh in his native Scotland.

To our surprise, one of the country’s most historic site is also located here. It is the oldest house in the city, called Hasbrouck House. It was served as George Washington‘s headquarters while he was in command of the Continental Army during the final year of the American Revolutionary War (1782 until 1783). In 1850, the site was acquired by the State of New York – the first publicly operated historic site in the USA. It is now open to the public from April until October, and over the President’s weekend that celebrates Washington‘s birthday in February.

American Legion Judson P Galloway Post 152

Due to its riverside location, the city boomed during the second half of the 19th century and became a transportation hub and an industrial centre for different manufacturing enterprises. As the city flourished, many lavish public buildings, churches and luxurious mansions were built, including the grand Palatine Hotel built in 1893. But the city’s decline started after the war when many industrial operations moved to other locations where labour costs and taxes were lower.

The City Library, now Hudson Valley Christian Church, was designed by architect J. A. Wood and opened to the public in 1852

Sadly, it was an ambitious (failed) urban renewal between 1971 and 1973 that caused the city’s ultimate downfall. The city knocked down nearly 1,300 buildings, mostly along its waterfront, including the Palatine Hotel. Residents lost their homes and were relocated elsewhere. Yet money dried up, and the plan never took off.

Top row: Primera Asamblea De Dios Hispana church; Bottom row: The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church of Newburgh is the oldest Black Church in the Mid-Hudson Valley.

Attempted gentrification over the last few decades have failed, and the city has had to deal with many issues such as poverty, gang crimes and violence, drug trade, unemployment, illegal immigrants and racial conflicts. In recent years, increasing efforts to revive the city have been made by the Mayor, local residents and new businesses, but the road to recovery may take a long, long time.

You can learn more about the city’s news via Newburgh Restoration, a blog by Cher Vick who is an urban planning student at Hunter College in NYC.

Art & nature at Storm King Art Center

Posted on September 18, 2016 by Toothpicker

Scenery on the way to Storm King Art Center in New Windsor

My trip to New York was split between staying in the city and spending time with my good friend and her family in Connecticut, and without a doubt it was the best way to enjoy what New York REALLY has to offer. Many visitors to New York rarely venture out of the city, but there is so much to see and do when you leave the city behind. And Storm King Art Center (it’s not so much an art center but rather a sculpture park) is certainly worth leaving the city for.

Many visitors don’t realise that there are many world-class museums located outside of the city. On my last visit, we visited the stunning and spacious Dia: Beacon contemporary art museum on the banks of the Hudson River in Beacon. Hence I was keen to visit a similar art museum for us to spend the day. My friend searched on the internet and found out about the 500-acre open-air museum near Storm King Mountain in Mountainville, which is only about an hour’s drive north from New York City. Soon enough, we were off in her car driving to one of the leading sculpture parks in the US, if not the world.

Top: Alexander Liberman’s Adonai 1970-71; 2nd left: Tal Streeter’s Endless Column 1968; 2nd right: Arnaldo Pomodoro’s The pitrarubbia group 1975-76; Bottom: Kenneth Snelson’s Free ride home 1974

Our arrival time was delayed due to a slight detour (which I will write about in my next entry), and we were left with only two/three hours in the afternoon to see the vast site. With more than over 100 sculptures scattered around the site, we decided to rent a bike each as we figured that it would be impossible to see much on foot.

The nonprofit Art Center was founded in 1960 by Ralph E. Ogden and his son-in-law, H. Peter Stern, the owners of the neaby Star Expansion Company. The museum building was originally built as a weekend house by a New York banker; and in 1959, the Ralph E. Ogden Foundation bought the house and its surrounding land, with the intention of establishing an art center for visual art and music. Ogden‘s original collection started with a trip to the studio of sculptor David Smith (see below), and over time, the collection grew, in both numbers and size. More land was acquired and the ongoing project was oversaw by landscape architect William A. Rutherford, Sr over a 45-year period.

Top: Mark Di Suvero’s sculptures; 2nd right: Henry Moore’s Reclining Connected Forms 1969; 3rd row: Dennis Oppenheim’s Entrance to a garden 2002; 4th row: Louise Nevelson’s City on the high mountain 1983

I think May, September and October are the best months to visit New York because the weather is usually mild around this time. It was around mid 20s on the day, so it wasn’t too hot or humid. The bike idea turned out to be a brilliant one because it was breezy and fun to ride along the path with hardly any other visitors around! It has been a long time since I felt so carefree and blissful! Being able to enjoy art and nature without crowds or traffic simply puts one at ease immediately, hence we loved every moment of our time there!

Top: Museum building; 2nd left: interior of the builing; 2nd right: Dennis Oppenheim; 3rd left: David smith’s sculptures; 3rd right: Louise Nevelson; bottom row: Louise Bourgeois’ Number seventy-two (the no march) 1972

I have always been a big fan of sculpture parks, and I particularly like Hakone Open-Air Museum just outside of Tokyo and Henry Moore‘s Perry Green in Hertfordshire (see my earlier post entry). But this vast scale of this park took us by surprise and it is particularly spectacular when you are standing next to the mammoth sculptures created by the most famous sculptors and artists from the 20th century.

The center also hosts regular exhibitions, and during our visit, several outdoor pieces by American conceptual artist Dennis Oppenheim were installed, including a previously unrealised one – Dead Furrow – based on his original drawing from 1967.

Top left: Josef Pillhofer’s Reclining man 1964; Top right: Nam June Paik’s Waiting for UFO 1992; 2nd row: Isamu Noguchi’s Momo Taro 1977-78; Bottom: Ursula Von Rydingsvard’s For Paul 1990-92

I have to admit that we were not fond of every sculpture at the park, since some of them are too abstract and perplexing to our liking. However, their arrangements do not obstruct the surrounding and every sculpture seems to blend well with the landscape. Our sole regret was that even with a map, we were unable to locate all the sculptures and we wished that we had more time to explore the park properly.

Top row: Alexander Calder’s Five swords 1976; 2nd left: Menashe Kadishman’s Suspended 1977; 2nd right: Dennis Oppenheim’s Dead Furrow 2016; Bottom: Zhang Huan’s Three legged buddha 2007

Top: Andy Goldsworthy’s Storm king wall 1997-98; 2nd row: Roy Lichtenstein’s Mermaid 1994; 3rd row: Mark Di Suvero’s Mother peace 1969-70; 4th row: RIchard Serra’s Schunnemunk fork 1990-91; Bottom: Mark Di Suvero’s Frog legs 2002

At the end of the day, we felt so uplifted and joyous, and I considered the visit to be the highlight of my trip. So, I highly recommend this amazing place; go and see it for yourself the wonders of art in nature!

Kiosk & shops in NYC

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Toothpicker

Quite a few years ago, I discovered the independent concept store, Kiosk, located in Tribeca, NYC. I love the concept of showcasing and selling a range of products sourced during their travels from all over the world in a rotating exhibition format. The sourced products are mostly everyday objects that reflect the local culture and aesthetic style.

The shop has since moved to Soho, hidden from street level on the first floor with a narrow graffitied stairway entrance, it feels like a gem in the area that is more touristy and commercial than Time Square these days.

The small shop does feel more like a mini museum than a retail shop, displaying quirky and unusual finds from different countries. My only complaint is that the lighting is rather dim and sometimes it’s hard to examine all their curiosities.

If you are tired of the standard gift shops, a visit to Kiosk may be an inspirational one.

Not far from Kiosk is an unusual shop love by many locals, Pearl River Mart, which moved from its original Chinatown location to Soho in 2003. At first glance, this shop looks more like a kitsch/ tacky Chinese ‘theme’ shop, but actually there are many interesting and fun items to be found here and at reasonable prices too. The range of products are huge, from household products to stationery, clothing, food and tea etc. The space is much airier and less cramped and hectic than its previous location making the shopping much more pleasant.

Another interesting store in the area is the Evolution Store, a mini ‘Natural History Museum’ shop filled with fossils, taxidermy, animal skulls, dried bugs and many other quirky and weird finds. Even if you think it’s creepy to give an animal and even human skull to your friends or loved ones, the place is a great place for browsing and it’s easy to linger for a long time when it is not packed.

Pearl River Mart and Camper store in Soho

There are many unusual and cool shops outside of the Soho area esp. in the West Village, Lower East side and Chelsea ( while the Meatpacking district has become too ‘trendy’). In Chelsea, the Olde good things is a architectural salvage shop ( with three locations in the city) that sells vintage and refurbished furniture and furnishings. However, it wasn’t their shop windows that attracted my attention, it was their truck near Union Square that initially caught my eye. What a fun way to advertise the shop and its furniture, cool!

Olde Good things truck and ‘food’ pouches at the MoMA design store

For design items and books, there is nowhere better than the MoMA design store. Personally, I prefer their Soho location than the two next to and opposite the museum in midtown. There is a diverse selection of design objects and gifts designed by the more established designers as well as many up and coming designers from all over the world. Since Muji has yet to established their US presence, they have a store within the store for Muji fans.

Interior of Chaos and shop window of Malin & Goetz in Chelsea

Art exhibitions in New York ( Fall 2012)

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Toothpicker

Tatzu Nishi’s Discovering Columbus at Columbus Circle

Whenever I am in New York, I would spend at least 2 days visiting art exhibitions because like London, there is always so much too see! I usually prefer to visit the less touristy museums/ galleries, but on this trip, due to the limited time, I ended up going to the three major museums.

Fortunately, I found out about Japanese artist, Tatzu Nishi‘s Discovering Columbus installation just in time, though not realising the complicated procedure until I went online to book for it. Although it is free, most time slots were sold out for days, and I narrowly managed to find a free slot but the booking required me to print the ticket and bring it along to the event. What a drag!

Even on the day, I had to wait outside for about 20 minutes before we were let in. After climbing up six flights of stairs, I finally got to see what the fuss is about… the statue of Colombus standing in the middle of a contemporary style living room.

Tatzu Nishi is well-known for surrounding public historical monuments or statues with domestic spaces or even functioning hotels, like the Merlion Hotel in Singapore and Villa Victoria in Liverpool. Initially, I didn’t entirely understand the concept on paper, it was only when I was there that I finally understood what the artist was trying to achieve.

It is interesting to see how art has evolved over the centuries, while it used to only be accessible for the privileged, it is now accessible to everyone. And even though Gaetano Russo‘s marble sculpture of Columbus has been in its current location since 1892, who has had the opportunity ‘or even interest’ to see it up close?

And if you are unimpressed by the installation, there is always the incredible view of Columbus Circle overlooking Central Park which is probably worth climbing the stairs for.

Exhibitions at MoMa

I have been to the renovated MoMa a few times but each visit simply confirmed my preference for the old building, which was a wonderful space… less confusing and did not feel as cramped ( apparently the art critic, Roberta Smith had critisized it numerous times in the NY times). More does not mean better, so even a room full of master pieces can be indigestible.

Despite my view on the space and permanent collection, the curation of the temporary exhibitions are exceptionally high. I thoroughly enjoyed Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900–2000 ( until Nov 5), Alighiero Boetti: Game Plan ( ended) and Quay Brothers: On Deciphering the Pharmacist’s Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppet ( until Jan 7, 2013).

The exhibition of 20th century design for children explores how history and social changes influenced children and childhood. It was especially intriguing to see the evolution of toys, games, schools and even clothing. I think it is more successful than Des jouets et des hommes ( Of toys and men) at the Grand Palais Paris where I visited earlier in the year.

Guggenheim museum and exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

At Guggenheim, the photographic exhibition, Rineke Dijkstra: A Retrospective ( ended) was very compelling, and I particularly liked her video footage of Liverpool teenagers/ club-goers dancing to their favourite music.

I was very disappointed that I couldn’t get up to the roof at the Met to see Tomás Saraceno’s Cloud city ( until Nov 4) because of the wet weather. Since I am not a huge fan of pop art, the exhibition Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years ( until Dec 31) didn’t do much for me. But the experience was worsened by the huge crowds and guards constantly shouting “No photos!” at foreign tourists. Hence, I ended up spending more time examining scrolls of paintings and ceramics at the Chinese gardens: pavillions, studios and retreats ( until Jan 6, 2013) with groups of Chinese tourists.

Besides these major museums, there are many other interesting museums including Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum ( now being renovated until 2014), The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Morgan Library & Museum ( this is one of my favourites), International Center of Photography and Brooklyn museum. If only I had more time…

Tatzu Nishi’s Discovering Columbus is on view until 18th November.

And when we danced…

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Toothpicker

Milonga at the Ukrainian East Village restaurant

Although I learned tango in London, it is not my favourite place to dance, many leaders are too serious, unfriendly and the overall level is very mixed ( my personal opinion). I have never been to Buenos Aires, but I have danced in different cities and my favourite is Paris, followed by New York and Berlin.

I couldn’t imagine going to NYC without tangoing, so even though I was exhausted after walking around for days, I dragged myself to a pre-milonga class as a ‘warm up’. The class was so-so, as were my partners, which wasn’t exactly a good start to the evening.

An almost empty dance floor on a Friday night milonga was not what I was expecting, but then a friendly face appeared, sat near me and asked me to dance…

Our connection was almost instant and before I knew it, we had already danced together for over an hour… I have connected with many dancers before but never like this, this was something special.

Both of us were already exhausted before the milonga, so after dancing for hours together, we exchanged contacts and parted before midnight. Yet for days after, I couldn’t detach myself from that ‘special connection’ I felt when we danced.

On my last night in New York, we arranged to meet again…

That evening, the connection was even stronger and I felt like I was ‘in love’ with this stranger. He was gentle, stable and I felt secure in his embrace. Trust is important when you are dancing so intimately with someone, and I felt that I could trust him completely on the dance floor. The conversations we had off the dance floor were slightly awkward but on the dance floor, we were like magnets. Perhaps we both knew that we might not experience this again, so we enjoyed every moment we spent together.

When it was time to part, he told me how ‘our encounter’ took him by surprise and I told him that I felt the same way. Our feelings were mutual but we both knew that we would have to return to ‘reality’ and what we shared would become history.

I left the venue with a void in my heart, I felt both joyful and poignant at the same time because it was hard to let go of something so magical. I knew I was not really ‘in love’ with him, yet I felt like I was.

In our life time, how many times can we be touched by a stranger/ passerby? When our paths cross, he or she may reveal part of yourself that may even be unknown to you. Even though the moment is brief but you know that the feeling will stay with you for a long long time.

This was my tango love story.

New York blues

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Toothpicker

A few months ago, knowing that I would have a few busy months ahead of X’mas, I decided to spend my last ‘holiday’ of 2012 in New York. I once lived in this city and since moving back to London, I would return regularly until work took over two years ago. My trip to New York was long overdue, not only did I miss my friends, but also the brunches, cocktails, shopping and art exhibitions…

Yet things weren’t as rosy as I remembered… after queuing for over an hour at JFK’s immigration ( one of THE worst airports in the world), I was taken to the ‘back room’ because a Chinese officer decided that my passport photo looked ‘suspicious’! He questioned me endlessly and presumably thought I intended to stay in their country as an illegal immigrant (despite the fact that I am British and had legal status previously). The experience was not a pleasant one and it made me question the issue of identity and authority in the US, which I will not go into detail here.

During my week’s stay, the weather was as grey and wet as London, so it didn’t match the ‘fall’ image I had in my mind before my trip. Then there was the noise, pollution, dirty sidewalks and rudeness… Did I not notice these ‘facts’ when I was living there before or has my tolerance level lowered or am just I getting old and boring these days? Suddenly I realised that as much as love NYC, I no longer want to move back there anymore ( this might disappoint the immigration officer)…

Almost completed… The new One World Trade Center

However, there are still things that I miss about New York that London lacks:

Brunches – Although London’s restaurants standards have improved a lot in the past 10 years, but when it comes to brunches, it is still lagging behind, perhaps it’s because people prefer to do pub lunches here. Good eggs benedicts, bellinis/mimosas, mac n cheese and French fries are hard to come by. The NYC restaurants scene changes very quickly but there are some places that will always deliver…

Balthazar ( serves the most filling onion soup), The Standard Grill ( addictive French fries), Freds at Barneys ( if you can overcome the pretentious vibe, their salads are huge and fries are great ), Flea market cafe ( cool and relaxing French cafe in the East village)

Dirty martini on a Monday afternoon & brunch at Standard Grill

Cocktails – There is no question that NYC is THE place for cocktails, London has some great bars but not quite there yet… Cosmos are good here but dirty martinis are better!

My choice: Four Seasons hotel‘s bar ( pricey but excellent martinis in a low-key and elegant setting), Pravda ( for Russian cocktails), Bar room at The Modern ( who would have thought great cocktails can be found inside MOMA?), Cibar ( cosy neighbourhood lounge in Gramercy)

Sample sales & bargain shopping – Many ‘honest’ New Yorkers would tell you that they rarely buy full priced fashion items from the stores, instead they would go to different weekly samples sales in search for bargains, including wedding dresses! Besides samples sales, Century 21 is a bit chaotic and popular with tourists, whereas Loehmanns is more civilised. However, my friends and I are still mourning over the closure of Daffy’s, the chain stores where we used to spend hours rummaging through racks of discounted clothing…

Beauty treatments & massages – I am baffled by the standards of beauty and spa treatments in London… pricey, inconsistent and inefficient. In NYC, it’s normal to see men getting pedicures in beauty salons and they are not even gay. Going to spas or having nails done used to be my friends and I’s weekend rituals, yet I haven’t stepped foot in a London spa for years! I could get an excellent no-frill massage in a Midtown commercial building for less than $50 or an hour of pedicure treatment for $30 that would last for weeks. Treating or pampering ourselves does not always mean breaking the bank!

My choice: Exhale spa ( has 3 locations, popular with locals), Haven ( I got my own/new set of pedicure tools, very hygenic!), Jin Soon ( a cute and chilled nail spa with friendly service)

Despite all the things I miss about NYC, I am happy with my life in London, but for some reason, I felt particularly nostalgic on this trip, memories of events came flooding back. I am not even sure why, perhaps it was to do with the grey weather? Although I felt a bit sad to leave, I was glad to be going back home…

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