A nice promotion, for which I thank them, and I'm happy to promote right back!
David Kassel and his professionals at ILevel have taken care of the installation and regular re-hanging of my own art for years. They are responsive, reliable and – given that most of his team are working artists – always bring a good critical eye to installation decisions.
(I should perhaps add that the antler installation that ILevel are rocking at right of their post belongs to a collector more adventuresome than I!)
05-29-2013
Ann Fensterstock Shares Her Top Spots for Art in New York
In the art world, Ann Fensterstock’s opinion is a respected one. Among her credentials: She holds an M.A. in contemporary art from NYU, she spent ten years on the acquisitions committee at the Museum of Modern Art, and she currently serves as as a member of the museum’s Contemporary Arts Council. Most recently, she authored the upcoming book “ART ON THE BLOCK: Tracking the New York Art World from SoHo to the Bowery, Bushwick and Beyond,” the purpose of which is to “take the reader on a journey through the neighborhoods that shape, and are shaped by, New York’s ever-evolving art world” and to “explore the genesis, expansion, maturation and ultimate restless migration of the New York art world from one initially undiscovered neighborhood to the next.”
So who better to ask about the top spots for art in New York and beyond? We got a chance to talk to Fensterstock (also an ILevel client) about her favorite galleries, museums, artists and the (enviable) collection she has in her own home. Here’s what she had to say.
You’re an authority on art in New York City.
I don’t really consider myself ‘an authority’ or an ‘expert’ as that tends to suggest that contemporary art is a lofty or impenetrable thing. I just go to a lot of museums and galleries and look hard.
What are your favorite:
Places to discover new artists?
The studios of Bushwick, the newer galleries of the Lower East Side and the not-for-profit spaces who can show riskier, groundbreaking work without worrying about its current commercial viability.
Art museums large and small?
I’m very involved with MoMA so I obviously have to wave that flag. The Neue Galerie on Fifth Avenue is a gem as are all of the Dia Foundation sites. Smaller regional galleries like the Norton in West Palm Beach or the Ogden in New Orleans push me to look at things beyond the contemporary work we collect. Looking at venetian glass, art deco furniture or early photography keeps your eye sharp and your mind open.”
Galleries?
Too many to mention but writing my book forced me to make choices about which one’s I consider to be the most important and which dealers the most visionary. You’re going to have to read it!
New York City artists?
Well New York City has tens of thousands of artists – natives and from elsewhere – so that really covers every name you see on gallery schedules throughout the city.
What’s hanging on your walls?
Our library wall is installed with Modern prints from Picasso, Matisse, Dubuffet, Miro, Max Beckman and Emile Nolde but our bedroom is currently all figurative and contemporary portraiture – Chuck Close, Kiki Smith, Elizabeth Peyton, Mickalene Thomes and Lucien Freud. We have been collecting a lot of photography lately. Yossi Milo, Yancey Richardson and Brian Clamp at ClampArt have found us wonderful pieces. We re-hang quite often.
Do you have a favorite piece of art in your personal collection? What is it?
I tend to be a little fickle about loving our latest acquisition. Currently that is an 84 inch wide Michael Waugh drawing of swarming locusts made up of the words from President Obama’s American Jobs Act.
