Scene Last Night: Matelli’s Meat, KAWS, Erik Parker, Todd James
It was hard to settle on a favorite.
Maybe the yummy assemblage of fat sausages and steaks arranged like a self-portrait by Tony Matelli? Or perhaps the topless blonde with a slice of watermelon drawn by Todd James.
This is the time when galleries present their summer group shows and at the Paul Kasmin Gallery, a happy group -- lots of long locks and short frocks -- gathered to celebrate “Pretty on the Inside.”
On view are nearly 50 works, a lot of them show-stoppers like the neon-colored animal-creatures by Karl Wirsum or the irksome black owl by Joyce Pensato.
“They’re jarring at first, but spend time with them and you see the beauty,” said Erik Parker, co-curator of the show with Brian Donnelly, the buzzy artist professionally known as KAWS.
He was staring at another Matelli assortment of rotting meat (perhaps a memento mori, though most everyone seemed happy enough to ponder the summer).
Paul Kasmin’s daughter Olivia said she was spending a month in Europe before heading to her freshman year at Brown University.
“I’ll be in Brooklyn all summer,” said Donnelly. (He has a good excuse to stay in the city: The Standard Hotel is exhibiting his sculpture of a forlorn Mickey Mouse.)
The Party
Matelli said he expects to stay in Brooklyn preparing for two shows. If he takes a vacation, he said he’ll plan one that gets him bored fast. “When I’m bored, I start thinking of things in a fresh way,” Matelli said. “I hate the idea of sightseeing. That’s work.”
After the opening, the gallery held a party at the Wooly, a private club in downtown Manhattan. Here the show’s out-there images were replaced with straightforward paintings of ships and a handsome woolly mammoth above a fireplace.
DJ Illyse Singer was perched behind an old upright piano, spinning the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac from her laptop. Guests reclined on the English-style couches, eating corn dogs.
(Amanda Gordon is a writer and photographer for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. Any opinions expressed are her own.)
To contact the writer on this story: Amanda Gordon in New York at agordon01@bloomberg.net or on Twitter at @amandagordon.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
Gallery Opening
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Tony Matelli with a self-portrait composed of fake meat.
Tony Matelli with a self-portrait composed of fake meat. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Gallery Opening
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Nick Olney, manager, Paul Kasmin Gallery, and Deborah Kass, one of the gallery's artists, in front of works by Karl Wirsum.
Nick Olney, manager, Paul Kasmin Gallery, and Deborah Kass, one of the gallery's artists, in front of works by Karl Wirsum. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Gallery Opening
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Lauran Rothstein, Anastasia Rogers and Liz Hull, all managers of artists's studios, in front of a painting by Peter Saul.
Lauran Rothstein, Anastasia Rogers and Liz Hull, all managers of artists's studios, in front of a painting by Peter Saul. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Gallery Opening
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Tony Matelli, Erik Parker, Peter Saul and Brian Donnelly, known as KAWS.
Tony Matelli, Erik Parker, Peter Saul and Brian Donnelly, known as KAWS. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Gallery Opening
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Olivia Kasmin and her father, gallery owner Paul Kasmin.
Olivia Kasmin and her father, gallery owner Paul Kasmin. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Gallery Opening
Art world interns Jenny Mittica, Joe Vatter and Elizabeth Doe. Photogragrapher: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Art world interns Jenny Mittica, Joe Vatter and Elizabeth Doe. Photogragrapher: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Gallery Opening
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Alison Ward, an employee at Paul Kasmin Gallery, and Oliver Herring, artist.
Alison Ward, an employee at Paul Kasmin Gallery, and Oliver Herring, artist. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Gallery Opening
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
The scene at the Wooly.
The scene at the Wooly. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Gallery Opening
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
At the Wooly.
At the Wooly. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
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