Raymond Pettibon on the High Line

Raymond Pettibon tends to make large installations of small drawings, so this huge drawing depicting a Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn Dodgers game, located next to the High Line at 10th Avenue and 18th Street, is an eye-opener.  The picture goes beyond baseball to hint at East Coast/West Coast rivalries (the Dodgers moved to LA) that extend to music and more. (Through July 1st).  

Raymond Pettibon, No Title (Safe he called…), print on vinyl, 2010.

Goshka Macuga on the High Line in ‘Busted’

Public sculptures tend to depict moments of triumph, not regret. This makes Polish artist Goshka Macuga’s bronze rendition of Colin Powell, part of the High Line’s portrait exhibition ‘Busted,’ surprising and poignant as he shows the leader holding a vial of anthrax in his 2003 UN speech on weapons of mass destruction. (Through June 2014 at 22nd Street on the High Line.)  

Goshka Macuga, ‘Colin Powell,’ bronze and concrete, 2009.

JR and Jose Parla outside Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery

I’ve been looking forward to globe-trotting street artist JR’s opening at Chelsea’s Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery next Tuesday, so spotting the artist and Jose Parla as they created this wall mural last Saturday on the gallery exterior was a treat.  For their collaborative project, JR and Parla photographed and interviewed seniors including this stately woman.  (‘The Wrinkles of the City’ opens May 7 and runs through July 12).

Thomas Houseago’s ‘Lying Figure’ on the High Line

Thomas Houseago, Lying Figure, bronze, 2012.
Thomas Houseago, Lying Figure, bronze, 2012.

Thomas Houseago’s ‘Lying Figure’ lurks in shadow on the High Line under the Standard, like a voyeur lying in wait for the hotel’s notorious exhibitionist guests.  Composed of repulsive, fecal-looking coils cast in bronze, the character is nonetheless a commanding presence despite being laid low and missing his head. (On the High Line through March 2013).