INTRODUCTION TO GALLERIES & MUSEUMS OF N.Y.C_Galerie Perrotin
INTRODUCTION TO GALLERIES & MUSEUMS OF N.Y.C
WEEK 7 MADISION AVENUE GALLERIES
Paola Pivi
OK, YOU ARE BETTER THAN ME, SO WHAT?
Galerie Perrotin
After achieving tremendous successes in Paris and Hong Kong, the opening of Galerie Perrotin’s New York branch on Madison Avenue became the focus of the art world in September 2013. Emmanuel Perrotin, the legendary powerful player in the international art world who opened his first Paris gallery in 1989 at the age of 21 made a choice for the inaugural show of the new gallery: a solo exhibition of an Italian conceptual artist Paola Pivi. Paola is an audacious and
playful artist who complements Galerie Perrotin greatly. This time she presented the exhibition “OK, YOU ARE BETTER THAN ME, SO WHAT?”which involves sculptures and interactive installation art.
This may be the most enjoyable and relax experience in galleries I had during the last few months in New York. Upon entering the gallery, you can see eight giant life-size polar bear sculptures occupied the whole space of the first floor. Each of them was covered by neon-colored feathers and exaggerated the shape of body. The terrifically surreal sets gave viewers the illusion of standing in a Toys"R"Us store during the Christmas period. No wonder so many unusual visitors such as backpackers and mothers with their little kids entered the gallery with curiosity during my stay.
Ms. Pivi also created different stories for these colorful polar bears by naming them accordingly. Lying languidly at the entrance of the gallery, the one covered by plush pink feathers, lays a hand over his eyes and seems quite panic. He is named “don’t change my name please” which reminds me of a naughty boy. On the ceiling, a navy-blue one is suspended in midair named “who told you white men can jump?” It seems he jumps up in a rage and will soon swoop down on his prey. Lying against the wall, another pink bear rolls over onto his back with a paw on his left foot. He is titled “mama no more diapers, please”. Now you can understand how shy he is.
On Galerie Perrotin’s lower level, Ms. Pivi’s interactive installation also brings viewers lots of fun. “Money machine (true blue, baby I love you)” is a big, grim blue metal cube that regularly disgorges a few coins or $1 bills from one of its three slots. There’s also a sign above one slot says “IF YOU WANT TO YOU CAN PUT YOUR MONEY HERE”. It is almost an irresistible temptation for curious viewers. If you follow its guidance and put your money in the cube, a one-dollar bill may be disgorged suddenly from any of the three slots. In fact, the gallery is inside the former Bank of New York Building, a 1932 landmark. Maybe it is just one of the coincidences happens in the art world every day. However, in my opinion, this interesting blue cube still implicates the interrelationship between art and money through showing some humor to the reality of life. “The whole neighborhood is a money machine,” said Ingrid Sischy, the Vanity Fair contributor.
“Our collectors are in the center of the art world, and you always have to surprise them,” said Mr. Perrotin, “People need pleasure.” It seems to be a proper evaluation on today’s art world. Actually, this may also be the main attraction of Paola Pivi’s work. Massimiliano Gioni, Associate Director and Director of Exhibitions at the New Museum noted in his monograph, “Paola Pivi is at work on a form of transgenic Dadaism”. The confusions between art and non-art, real and possible, truth and hallucination make Ms. Pivi’s work more visually appealing and interesting. It’s probably these characteristics draw viewers so intensely to her art world.
WEEK 7 MADISION AVENUE GALLERIES
Paola Pivi
OK, YOU ARE BETTER THAN ME, SO WHAT?
Galerie Perrotin
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After achieving tremendous successes in Paris and Hong Kong, the opening of Galerie Perrotin’s New York branch on Madison Avenue became the focus of the art world in September 2013. Emmanuel Perrotin, the legendary powerful player in the international art world who opened his first Paris gallery in 1989 at the age of 21 made a choice for the inaugural show of the new gallery: a solo exhibition of an Italian conceptual artist Paola Pivi. Paola is an audacious and
playful artist who complements Galerie Perrotin greatly. This time she presented the exhibition “OK, YOU ARE BETTER THAN ME, SO WHAT?”which involves sculptures and interactive installation art.
This may be the most enjoyable and relax experience in galleries I had during the last few months in New York. Upon entering the gallery, you can see eight giant life-size polar bear sculptures occupied the whole space of the first floor. Each of them was covered by neon-colored feathers and exaggerated the shape of body. The terrifically surreal sets gave viewers the illusion of standing in a Toys"R"Us store during the Christmas period. No wonder so many unusual visitors such as backpackers and mothers with their little kids entered the gallery with curiosity during my stay.
Ms. Pivi also created different stories for these colorful polar bears by naming them accordingly. Lying languidly at the entrance of the gallery, the one covered by plush pink feathers, lays a hand over his eyes and seems quite panic. He is named “don’t change my name please” which reminds me of a naughty boy. On the ceiling, a navy-blue one is suspended in midair named “who told you white men can jump?” It seems he jumps up in a rage and will soon swoop down on his prey. Lying against the wall, another pink bear rolls over onto his back with a paw on his left foot. He is titled “mama no more diapers, please”. Now you can understand how shy he is.
On Galerie Perrotin’s lower level, Ms. Pivi’s interactive installation also brings viewers lots of fun. “Money machine (true blue, baby I love you)” is a big, grim blue metal cube that regularly disgorges a few coins or $1 bills from one of its three slots. There’s also a sign above one slot says “IF YOU WANT TO YOU CAN PUT YOUR MONEY HERE”. It is almost an irresistible temptation for curious viewers. If you follow its guidance and put your money in the cube, a one-dollar bill may be disgorged suddenly from any of the three slots. In fact, the gallery is inside the former Bank of New York Building, a 1932 landmark. Maybe it is just one of the coincidences happens in the art world every day. However, in my opinion, this interesting blue cube still implicates the interrelationship between art and money through showing some humor to the reality of life. “The whole neighborhood is a money machine,” said Ingrid Sischy, the Vanity Fair contributor.
“Our collectors are in the center of the art world, and you always have to surprise them,” said Mr. Perrotin, “People need pleasure.” It seems to be a proper evaluation on today’s art world. Actually, this may also be the main attraction of Paola Pivi’s work. Massimiliano Gioni, Associate Director and Director of Exhibitions at the New Museum noted in his monograph, “Paola Pivi is at work on a form of transgenic Dadaism”. The confusions between art and non-art, real and possible, truth and hallucination make Ms. Pivi’s work more visually appealing and interesting. It’s probably these characteristics draw viewers so intensely to her art world.
