artsy fartsy sunday in queens

queens is definitely the underrated borough.

on Sunday afternoon, a few friends and i (is that grammatically correct?) went to Crane Street Studios in Long Island City for their Open Studios. maybe 100 visual artists rent rooms in in an old industrial warehouse that is completely covered in graffiti (all legal). we saw a ton of great art and whacked out artists' studios (eureka! my messy apartment isn't cluttered, it's creative!), and the building itself is an industrial-sized piece of Jolly Rancher eye candy - Willy Wonka and Wizard of Oz all rolled into one.

my friend a and i decided we want to rent a space, buy rollerskates and then rollerskate up and down the hallways...after dipping our skates in paint. i think i'll follow behind her with glitter. theme song? lovely day by bill withers.

if you have out of town guests, i highly recommend taking the 7 train out to the 45 Road/ Court Square stop to check it out. not sure how often they have open studios, but the graffiti alone is worth the trip. while you're there, you can check out P.S 1 just a couple blocks away. your guests will leave NY thinking that you are the coolest person ever.

and you are, dearest...next to me.

view from inside the warehouse

a few of my faves...

anki king, a lanky Norwegian artist, did a series of self-portraits "from alternate realties" i.e. if she were Large, Little, Crippled, Black, Tall, etc.

If (Large)

fernando rangel's paintings are fascinating. he takes macro digital photographs of watercolors before they dry, and then paints the image in oil paints.

Temporal Scape, oil on linen, 68 x 34

and sonomi kobayashi-clemente, a japanese artist whose subtle artwork makes my heart beat a bit slower (in a good way), and reminds me of my friend r's artwork...delicate and seemingly simple, but not...just look at it from somewhere else in the room.

Synchronicity 2, oil and pastel and pencil on paper

and then there was the guy w/ an actual swing in his studio. of course i swang...swung...swanged. whatever.

http://www.sleepingfish.net/5cense/5ptz.htm