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Saturday, December 3, 2005

We Went Wandering In A Winter Wonderland

Greetings, art-centric friends. This weekend, perhaps you have enjoyed the balmy Florida weather and that moveable feast of exhibitions known as Art Basel/Miami Beach. We stayed home in NYC, just to let you in on what you missed.

Welcome, Winter.

The upcoming season presented a preview performance, an icy blast of arctic air and wind, with snow not far behind (according to the meteorologists). We found ourselves wandering in that winter wonderland know as Soho at holiday time, and there, after visiting with John and Walter at Soho Art Materials for our materials fix and some friendly conversation, we dropped off works at Artists Space for their upcoming benefit. The , at Liberty on Greene Street, amidst the gnarled traffic and milling masses of pedestrians, we came upon a veritable…

Festival of Lights

…beamimg at us through the windows of the Artemide Lighting Showroom. Lights, lights, lights, from masterfully designed brilliant illuminations to glowing pieces of incandescent art, filled every cubic foot of the spacious storefront with radiance, color and movement. Farther along the block, a single red bulb on the nose of an enormous and rather ominous Santa blinked the holiday spirit according to the eccentric world view presented at Jack Spade, the shop where a living room set that must have spent decades in somebody's basement invited us to take a seat amidst an eclectic array of artifacts, art, faux critters, real critters that had met fate and a taxidermist, as well as many cool things that are simply useful and utterly gift-able. Reminding us that it is time to:

"Have Yourself An Andy Warhol Christmas"

Having heard through the grapevine that there is indeed such a thing as an Andy Warhol Action Figure, we headed up the Village to check out some novelty stores. Alas, a plastic Pop Icon was not to be found, but at Tah-Poozie on Greenwich Avenue, we managed to convince a 7" tall Leonardo, complete with easel and his most famous work, to come home with us. Across the street at Alphabets was a solid collection of paraphernalia bearing Warhol imagery, artsy as anything yet practical as a can of soup on a chilly afternoon. Which reminded us that we were cold and hungry.

The Fine Art of West Chelsea…

…is not only found in galleries. Naima, regional/seasonal Italian restaurant at 513 West 27th Street served up some warming, substantial cream of carrot soup with a red-onion flan, coriander cream and balsamic reduction, that was too beautiful to eat - not that it stopped us, and it was delicious. Indeed, every dish we have ever selected from the varied works of executive chef Giovanni Marchi from savory to comforting, has been complex, satisfying and artfully prepared and presented. A visit to the simple warmth of the inviting space and the stellar, friendly staff, headed by owners Roberto Vuotto and Samir Jahdadic, is the perfect gift to give your self after an exhausting session of shopping for others.

Given the theme of this urban expedition, how better to end it than at The Pond at Bryant Park, which offers free outdoor ice-skating from 7:30 AM to 10:30 PM daily. Watching is fun, too, and after (literally) chilling at the edge of the rink, we headed to the adjacent Ice Café for some of their "Wicked Hot Chocolate," and thus revived, we decided to check out the many holiday shops surrounding the ice in the annual "Fete de Noel.

While marveling at the multitude of hand-made ornaments at Collectibles Too, we met a lovely wooden calico cat, and she followed us home. We may name her Noelle. Or perhaps, Whitney or Sam.

Editors' note: If you've been away, welcome home. Time to bundle up and catch the spirit of the season. For those of us who were not in Miami, photographer Jessica Lutz and painter Daphane Park are acting as Resolve40's eyes, ears (and feet) down there. See the Short List for some highlights, and return soon to read Part 2, about their adventures.

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