Spikilism + the Millionaire
A cluster of galleries near Highland Ave captured my attention this week. I’m obsessing over Vanessa Prager’s ‘Portraits’ at Diane Rosenstein. Holy texture! Shaggy cones of paint-like toothpaste globs formed the floral portraits. Prager shows off a masterful use of paint - in every way. The colors in each individual spike-glob are intricate, and despite the surface looking like chaos up close, like hyper-dimensional pointilism - ‘spike-ilism’ - the whole picture comes into view as you move away from the surface. The exuberant portraiture compositions were able to express so much human essence and personality through the color-schemes, arrangement of florals, and composition within the frame.
A collection of Ellen Von Unworth photography at Fahey/Klein. ‘Bombshell’ is curated around works in which Unwerth plays on the stereotypical female archetype. It was signature high fashion, high gloss works (clustered in the mid-to late 2000s) by an American Icon - an oft-overlooked experience to see editorial works outside publication scale and re-examine her mastery of composotion and attention to scenographic details.
Nir Hood “100 Years is Not Enough” at Kohn Gallery. I enjoyed being in the presence of, and putting myself into, Hood’s large-scale, hyper-reflective works. Designed for the viewer to be able to see themselves in the work, they were simply, undeniably beautiful. Up-close, as a viewer you lose yourself in the abstractions and are able to enjoy the materiality of Hoods alchemical compositions. Her small floral works were beautiful and dainty, like a glammed-up Monet, that felt timeless and contemporary with a nod to high-end wallpaper?
The Millionaire
The Millionaire
CheeeeersBitch: I recently had a drink at home that I have never come across on a menu at a bar: the Millionaire, a prohibition-era sour. I was surprised at first, since it’s composed using staple ingredients of many classic and prohibition-era cocktails. And I’ve had the ingredients at my home bar, and any well stocked bar would have everything needed. But it’s a not-so-common recipe: bourbon, absinthe, grenadine, lemon juice, Grand Marnier, egg-white, and nutmeg. It was lighter and creamier than a typical sour, with a sweet undertone accentuated by the warm spice. It’s not for everyone - it was actually really unusual, and a definite make again for me.
On-repeat have been making Harissa Simmered Artichokes on Hummus Toast by Justine Doiron aka Justine Snacks. We love a chef who appreciates that toast is a dinner. The artichokes are amazing leftover and make a great lunch on a bed of farro with feta and pickled red onion. I can also say Justine’s Brussels Sprout Salad with Anchovy Tahini Za’atar and Chickpeas is oneeeeehunddddooo.