Notes from a Stylist at the TriBeCa Ball 2011

You've gotta love a TriBeCa Ball, run by the New York Academy of Art, it's a chance for the great and the good of New York - i.e. those with money, to take a peek at the emerging artists from NYAA - i.e. those who are skint.

The evening tends to pass buy in a jocular manner as socialites and celebs teeter around the tiny stalls that the artists inhabit by day - which have been lovingly spruced up for the big occasion. Whilst the poor artists are thrown in at the deep end with their first forray into serious sales i.e. they want to flog their work to you.

For celeb spotting there was Eileen Guggenheim, Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts, Baz Luhrmann and Alexandra Richards. I did see Robert DeNiro's name on the check in list but I guess he had other parts of TriBeCa to manage that night. There were a plethora of designers - Rachel Roy, Cynthia Rowley and Kate and Andy Spade. Even Serena Shvo in the tiniest gold Herve Leger dress I've ever witnessed.

So what about the actual art...

We saw oil on canvas, prints, installations - including a bizarre brillo pad sculpture that could surely have recycling value should you run short of cleaning materials once you are bored of the picture. There were magicians and a rather annoying dancing girl who was sweating proffusely and roaming the 5 storey building being trailed by an accompanist on an accordian - I'm not sure if that was art in motion or just the entertainment.

And then there was my favorite - the people watching ....

For my bit I kept the UK support group going by purchasing a cute print from the lovely Imogen Slater - a Brit striving to make her mark in New York, who had very cute shoes on...

Real Fakes at the Chelsea Galleries...

There's nothing like a bit of sculpture to get the artistic juices flowing, but sculptured shoes and handbags - now that makes me really pay attention.

At the Mike Weiss Gallery (520 W24th St) there's a surprising exhibition by Liao Yibai of what he likes to call 'Real Fakes'. A larger than life gathering of over the top pieces in stainless steel that point to the subversive world of fake luxury goods.

As with scoping out a fake, it's all about taking a closer look - there's the Chanel clutch that has an Apple logo, the Pengdi tote and my personal favorite the 'Real Sprada Bag'.

This exhibition is small but fun - it runs until October 30th so get your fake Gucci's on and trot down to the Chelsea Galleries.

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Street Style with Banksy

Posted: April 15, 2010 - Although initially I was as interested as the next person to see Banksy's 'directorial debut' : Exit through the Gift Shop, narrated by Rhys Ifans and originally the brain child of Thierry Guetta. It seems there's no chance of the documentary revealing the ID of Banksy after all. Guetta, an avid self taught video obsessive dreamed up the idea of infiltrating the inner sanctum of the super stealthy Street Art community. It seems the tables were turned on the French director by a still incognito Banksy, who stepped in with his creative hand to salvage what he deemed as the mess that Guetta had weaved himself into with the documentary. These days it matters not where you stand on the 'Street Art is/isn't vandalism' argument, it's complicated for sure. Sadly this dip into the creative and very athletic skills of this tight knit community reveals no more about the identity of the main player but does reveal some great Art. Doubtless my teen son and his skatepark buddies are sure to still treat the guy with awe and reverence for years to come. Catch it at New Yorks Lincoln Plaza or the Sunshine Theatre Friday April 16th. If you liked this post, take a peek at these from Notes from a Stylist Notes from a Stylist is now an Art collector Notes from a Stylist has joined a Book Club Notes from a Stylist is feeling slightly French

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Style meets Art at the Tribeca Ball 2010

Posted: April 14, 2010 - Unaccustomed as I am to Art shows, the Tribeca Ball/Student Art Show last night, as far as I could gather, was an extremely cool occasion. Maybe it was the paparazzi outside, or the free champagne inside, it might have even been the attendees - Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany, Helena Christensen and Alek Wek were spotted. But overall it had to be the students themselves. Each Artist displaying their work in a little nook or cranny at the New York Academy of Art, some a little more professionally than others, but all extremely individual and oozing with talent. With a wide range of stylistic interpretation it was tricky to pin down the good from the bad from the downright ugly. There was the Tracey Emin-esque 'my bedroom as art' installation, the artist at this booth had even brought a pet pooch for additional 'reality' bites - didn't catch her name as she was too busy re-applying lippy when we passed by. But animal rights folk will be happy to know that said pooch was later seen taking a stroll around other exhibits so it was being exercised. Another huge installation was a Banksy type wall of graffiti displaying comic strip style images in gargantuan size. Freaky sculptures that looked like Freddy Krueger had been having a bash at papier mache. I'm sure if I had looked a little closer the news print was probably giving me some deep message about urban waste but the bar was in the next booth so sadly I was dragged away. I was also quite taken with the 'work in progress' pieces - clearly some students were a little more ardent than others, and whilst some squirreled away in their little dens beaverishly completing their work, others had a better idea and were working the uptown crowds with aplomb - whether they sold anything is unsure, but certainly if they were planning on giving up the day job, there was a tele-sales career ahead of them for sure. The most interesting thing to look at had to be the attendees - some fantastic downtown chic and with the dress code having been set as 'upscale downtown', the natives of Tribeca did not disappoint. If you liked this post, take a peek at more from Notes from a Stylist... Style Apps to Love Spring Clean your Style on Running with Heels.com Notes from a Stylist's Body is a Temple

Posted via email from Big Apple Brits - British Expats, Anglophiles and Brit Culture Lovers New York City