Paul Kostabi puts some sprkl on Second Avenue

Last night, local musician-artist-folk hero Paul Kostabi added some art — specifically his character sprkl — to the roll-down gate at 80 Second Ave.

Here's a look at it all coming together…

















Thanks to PandaCat for the photos…

'Serendipity' returns to Tompkins Square Park

[Bobby Williams]

The life-sized sculpture of Christopher Gamble's silhouette returned to Tompkins Square Park on Saturday after a brief appearance last week ... The silhouette by Fanny Allié will be in the Park through November ...


[EV Grieve]


[EV Grieve]

The work is in honor of Gamble, who was homeless for nearly 28 years. He now lives in an apartment run by the Bowery Residents' Committee.

Read more all this here.

New Tompkins Square Park sculpture will return

[Bobby Williams]

We noted on Monday that the life-sized sculpture of Christopher Gamble's silhouette arrived in Tompkins Square Park this past weekend. French artist Fanny Allié created this in honor of Gamble, who was homeless for nearly 28 years... he spent a lot of time in the Park.

However, later in the day on Monday, we noticed that the sculpture was gone...


[BW]

We contacted Allié, who the Parks Department commissioned to create the art, to see what was happening...

"I removed the sculpture temporarily ... in a few days it will be at the exact same location but behind the fence and under the tree (that's why I left the plaque there)," she wrote in an email. The sculpture is slated to remain in the Park through the summer for about five months ...

She expects the sculpture, named Serendipity, to (hopefully) be re-installed on Friday evening.

Allié also shared photos from Sunday... where she unveiled the sculpture ... Gamble, who now lives in an apartment run by the Bowery Residents' Committee, was on hand and posed with the silhouette...



...and Gamble and Allié...



Serena Solomon at DNAinfo interviewed Gamble and Allié about the sculpture last month.

"I thought it would be good. Why not?" said the 67-year-old Gamble, on why he agreed to pose for the sculpture. "It's exciting for a person that doesn't really mean anything to anyone."

Read more about the background here.

Life-sized silhouette of former homeless man arrives in Tompkins Square Park

The life-sized sculpture of Christopher Gamble's silhouette arrived in Tompkins Square Park this past weekend. French artist Fanny Allié created this in honor of Gamble, who was homeless for nearly 28 years.

As Serena Solomon at DNAinfo reported back in May:

The sculpture will consist of a metal outline of Gamble, according to Allié.

"I like it because it has some hope. It's a positive," the artist said, of the silhouette's open stance with arms outstretch to the sky, like “he is about to fly."

Gamble now lives in an apartment run by the Bowery Residents' Committee.

The sculpture will be up through the summer.

Find an update here.

Art Around the Park

Spotted this morning in Tompkins Square Park.

Tonight through Sunday: 'Spring Pictures of the Floating World'

From the EV Grieve inbox...

[Click image to enlarge]

And here's more information from the news release...

Peculiar Works Project announces a new site-specific sextravaganza: Spring Pictures of the Floating World (and Art of the Bedchamber), a two-part performance art installation, reimagining 17th Century Japanese Shunga — pillow books — and their 5,000-year-old Chinese inspiration.

This unique hybrid event features multiple, immersive installations that will integrate live, multi-disciplinary performance in an exhibition context.

For four nights only — Thursday (7-11pm), Friday (7-11pm), Saturday (4-11pm) and Sunday (4-8pm) — more than 50 installation artists, designers, directors, composers, choreographers, puppeteers and performers will transform the abandoned basement of 66 East 4th Street between Bowery and Second Avenue into a grand pleasure palace.

Audiences can come and go throughout the exhibition hours, but due to its sexual nature this is an ADULTS ONLY event (NC17).

Visit the Peculiar Works Project website for more details and ticket info.

When a sculpture arrives on East First Street

A reader takes us over to East First Street late yesterday afternoon... where four men were delivering this...

The sculpture arrived in style...

The movers understandably didn't have much to say about what they were transporting...

Anyone know what this is...? Or who the artist is?

[UPDATED] Centre-fuge Public Art Project kicks off this weekend on East First Street

From the EV Grieve inbox...cut-n-paste journalism — woo!

Centre-fuge Public Art Project, Opens for the Year

Pebbles Russell and Jonathan Neville are proud to present the Centre-fuge Public Art Project, a rotating outdoor gallery with work by multimedia artists. The project is dedicated in memory of friend, creator and Lower East Side neighbor, Mike Hamm.

In mid-2011 a drab, gray trailer popped up on the South side of First Street. The trailer functions as a temporary office for workers on the 2nd Avenue subway line. Centre-fuge Public Art Project will transform the trailer for one year into a rotating street gallery. Between 2 to 7 artists at a time will create work on all visible sides of the structure. The art will change over once every two months on a pre-set weekend. Artists must submit proposals in order for their work to be deemed appropriate for the broader community. The artists will supply their own materials.

The goal of Centre-fuge is not only to re-beautify this incredible block, but also to encourage the community to express itself in a public forum. With the closure of half of Houston Street, making underground way for the 2nd Avenue Subway line, the ever-growing presence of construction makes the block feel less like a neighborhood, full of individuals and more like a work site full of barricades and jackhammers.

You may read the whole release here... You can stop by this Saturday and Sunday from 10 am - 5 pm to see all this get started... Mike Hamm worked at Lancelotti Housewares and Alphabets on Avenue A. He died on Jan. 7. We'll have more about him in a post next week.

UPDATED: Given the crap weather expected tomorrow, the organizers have decided to postpone the start of the work until next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Art of scales

From the EV Grieve inbox ...

Starting tonight, the Michael Mut Gallery will be hauling out the industrial scales, hoisting them up and blowing open the doors to his paintings, artifacts and signature oil textured works. His art market will price works by pound – first weigh it then pay for it.

Michael Mut Gallery
97 Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.
Through April 23.