Poem, Sweet Poem: Chelsea Girls

One of my favorite activities when visiting NYC is gallery hopping in Chelsea. And I usually don't know it's my favorite thing to do until I finally arrive and am led around by my private art gurus, Heather (my sister and Ms. LA in Bloom herself, pictured above) and Melissa (one of our oldest friends from home and proud Brooklyn resident). They take me to the best galleries, the ones that exhibit work often written up in The New Yorker. As good as a go around in a museum, I find these experiences worthwhile because of the variety of art and the way it is all curated. Each gallery has its own angle and approach to art. One of the places we visited was the David Zwirner gallery, currently showing "Primary Atmospheres: Works From California 1960-1970." Feeling both at home and far away, I was transported by the exhibit: into multiple landscapes, time zones, decades, genres and times of day...all at once.

This piece is by Craig Kauffman and it's Untitled. I might call it 'Hanging Purse.'

'Glass Box with Ellipses' by Larry Bell.

'Theta Two' by John McCracken.

In the background, 'Crazy Otto' by Robert Irwin.

Below is an exhibit, also at David Zwirner. It is Dan Flavin's "Series and Progressions." This part of the exhibit was colorfully named, 'Alternating pink and "gold."' The whole space is lined by these pink and yellow fluorescent lights. I could have stayed in this room for a while, just wondering what determines the space between the lights and their measurement.

The first gallery we visited was the James Cohen Gallery, showing "Demons, Yarns & Tales: Tapestries by Contemporary Artists." These pieces were beautiful, for sure, but also very haunting. Let's just say, they weren't your average bed and breakfast quilt.

Kara Walker's "A Warm Summer Evening in 1863." This was the most evocative, and one of the first you see as your walk through the doors. It really set the tone for the show. Against the wool tapestry is the silhouette of a woman, hand-cut and felt.

Peter Blake's "Alphabet." Appearing oddly small, I actually went through the letters to make sure that they were all there. And they were, so onward, make words!

"Zelada" by Jaime Gili. Reminds me of the South of France.

"Canoca" by Beatriz Milhazes. Sudden fantasy. I'm a fashion designer on Project Runway and the challenge is as follows: Tim Gunn will take you on a field trip to a gallery in Chelsea. You must find inspiration in the art that you see. (Italics obviously spoken in Heidi Klum's voice.) I would focus on the tapestry above and design a mod shift dress. Too obvious? Maybe that's why I'm not on Project Runway.