The bulk of gallery season in New York also coincides with the typically colder months of the year. When the idea of going outside for an afternoon in 30 degree Fahrenheit temps seems questionable, breaking it up with warmer indoor time at a few gallery stops makes it bearable. It turned out that two design related shows were just getting ready to close so with that extra urgency, here’s a set of images from a wander around NYC’s art mecca.

Photos and Text: Dave Pinter

DRIFT Materialism: Past, Present, Future

Amsterdam-based DRIFT presented Materialism: Past, Present, Future a collection of new work at Pace Gallery of objects as deconstructed materials. The duo of Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta who run the research-based art/design practice created collages of material blocks both large and small. 1980 Beetle occupied most of an entire gallery wall and presented the iconic Volkswagen in an extreme low-poly rendition. There were also several watches presented in the same manner as framed ‘paintings’

The Artist She/Her He/Him (2021) occupied an adjacent gallery as two rows of pedestals, one side the female form and the other, male. These are representative self-portraits of Gordijn and Nauta who used material blocks (including water and we’re assuming real blood) to represent the different stages of human life.

Michael Anastassiades: Upbeat

Known for producing innovative, technically advanced lighting for brands like Flos, Upbeat is Michael Anastassiades first solo show at Friedman Benda of independent work in the US. The designer created this work within the confines of his London studio utilizing bamboo as a primary structural element. The collection of freestanding and suspended lights take shape inspiration from the silhouette of the Manhattan skyline as well as Dan Flavin’s Tatlin series.