One of the biggest ways Steve finds inspiration for his own art is to view other artist’s work; after all, art is all about providing inspiration! Recently, he was in NYC for the opening of a show that featured two of his works and while there, took the day with his daughter, Molly, who lives in the city, to experience a bit of the city’s amazing art scene…
Their day started on the Upper East Side at the Gagosian Gallery on Madison Ave to see one of Steve’s favorite artists, Cy Twombly. The confidence and power Twombly exhibits is a constant source of inspiration for Steve. Though small, only 5 overscaled paintings and a few sculptures, the exhibit was beautiful.
Next, it was off to the Museum of Modern Art, MOMA, to see the Bjork Retrospective. This was especially meaningful because Steve and Jill’s son-in-law, Jim, and the architectural firm he works for, The Living, designed and installed the space for the new performance piece by Bjork, Black Lake. The piece and the space were incredible, and it was a very proud moment for Steve when Jim’s name rolled by in the credits of the video:
Here is a trailer for the piece:
For Steve, a trip to MOMA would not be complete without visiting a couple of works of art that are perennial sources of inspiration.
Two of the combine series by Robert Rauschenberg created in the 50’s provide such a source of inspiration to create work without fear or limits.
The Franz Klein Painting, “Chief,” exudes the raw energy and scale Steve seeks when he is in the studio…
Chelsea was next on the list, to see the latest work by Richard Serra, “Equal,” at the David Zwirner Gallery. These monolithic heroic forged weather proof steel pieces confront the viewer and give you pause to contemplate your role in the bigger universe.
Here is a view of Molly beside a piece for scale:
When strolling through Chelsea, you are bound to see something through the window of a gallery you just must take in. This was the case with McCaffrey Fine Art and the Kazuo Shiraga monumental paintings.
The brush strokes were huge on these enormous paintings, which lead Steve yearning to know how they were created. He was astonished to learn they were painted with the artists feet swinging from a rope. Here is a brief video of the artist working:
The day closed with Steve feeling inspired and ready to return to the studio to create.