Sunday 12/24/25
On Sundays I reflect.
I didn’t drink alcohol this week. It’s been a year since the last time I had more than sip of wine.
Last week I was deep in Miami Art Week and couldn’t find the energy to blog.
This week there is too much to share, not to blog.
Miami Art Week was a good one this year; A balance of art, business, and parties.
I attended about half of the fairs at least six days of the week averaging six hours a day taking in art. It’s challenging and intense.
Here is a quick summary.
My favorite contemporary artist is Thandiwe Muriu, whom I learn more about and become more impressed with every time I see her art. Thanks to 193 Gallery from Paris for sharing her prolific photographs and teaching me more about her process.
Design was my favorite show, as always. Congratulations to Amber Cowan for an amazing display at Mindy Solomon Gallery’s booth, maybe the best booth in the fair. I’ve always been a huge fan of Amber’s work as long as I can remember and we’ve been Basel buddies for close to a decade now.
Congratulations to Duane Reed Gallery, Ethan Meyer and Steven Young Lee on an incredible showing of my favorite ceramics series right now. The concept of stabbing a near completed piece of so much labor and time with a knife and letting the kiln slump the piece is a true zen practice. It takes big balls.
I must also mention Beeple, an artist new to my radar since seeing his recent exhibit at the LACMA. I’ve never been more afraid for my life, than the moment I approached his arena in Basel surrounded by a sea of people and housing robotic dogs with iconic figure’s heads on them taking pictures and shitting them out while filtering through their own lens. I suggest looking up the artist’s commentary on a piece that made major headlines in criticism of billionaires owning social media platforms and filtering what we see there.
And then there was the guy selling receipts tethered to NFT’s that could not be transferred or sold. I’m too lazy to look up his name. He sold over $150k in receipts to cover his roughly $70k investment on the art fabrication and the booth with a fun idea and interactive piece.
Shout out to Soul Clap for a killer week of parties. Do Not Sit On The Furniture was a vibe and the 94th Aero Squadron is a venue unlike any other I’ve been to or heard of. Public Service NYC also threw a wild one on the roof of the American Museum for Cuban Diaspora featuring a full moon and a bounce castle and delicious food.
I got to spend a little bit of quality time with J and Pri and of course Mooza. We’re always on different wavelengths during Art Week and most of the time, but I’m grateful for the time we get together.
I even got a little time to relax at SoHo House and my friends place on the beach. It’s hard to complain about that.
In case you lost track, that was week two away from home going into week three. This is the first time I’ve left Vail for more than two weeks in almost ten years. Usually I’m not gone more than 48-72 hours when I leave.
Next I began a stealth mission.
I flew to Philadelphia to spend a few days before surprising Jen Stark at Times Square. I refrained from posting on social media, and worked with Jen’s team to surprise her.
Philly was a time for me to be with dear friends Germ and Sophia, and to recharge. I also asked Germ to help me practice my glass sculpting and he led me to a breakthrough with my hangers. He also gave me the confidence to make a triangular prism. He jokingly describes this new technique for me as being “day one shit” which I skipped in my exploration of glass. I’m being humbled returning to fundamentals I skipped along the way. I’m letting myself be bad at something to get good. I couldn’t do it without support. It’s a good thing I have support, because I’ve agreed to teach this technique next summer at an institution I’ve long wanted to work with.
Yes, I would be the guy to sign up to teach something I must first learn myself. It’s not like they’re getting lathes over there any time soon.
“I came to collab and all I got was this frit section” Ian once wrote on my studio door. I’m getting closer to having more to contribute than that.
Ok so I got on a train to NYC thanks to Whiskey Craig who continues to support me in more ways than I could ever list. We got lunch with Kevin, my last boss from the real world. I was a liquor delivery guy circa 2014 in Manhattan.
I saw Yoni and Marg and the baby. It was another brief one, but I never miss a chance to meet the other friend who made NYC possible all those years ago.
I rode a citi bike through Central Park to a date on the Upper East Side. It was cold, and my legs didn’t love me for that one. Still, an important part of the adventure.
I took a subway back to Times Square. Respect the Rail. While I held my breath to keep the odor coming from a homeless man out of my nose and tried to make sure I knew where to get off, I spent some time feeling bad for those less fortunate that I am. It was an important pause.
So back when I was in LA, Jen told me about her upcoming Times Square takeover and invited me to come. Every night in December from 11:57pm to midnight Jen’s dripping rainbow consumes over 90 screens in the epicenter of NYC: Times Square. I told Jen I could not attend. Then I realized that I could make it work and decided to make it a surprise.
Jen’s assistants helped get me on the guest list without Jen finding out. I hustled to get to the pre show cocktail hour from the subway. Respect the Rail.
As I followed my GPS I began to realize my surroundings. 48th between 7th and 8th. The theatres became familiar. The Ritz Plaza appeared on my right.
I lived there, thanks to Whiskey Craig and Jean back in 2014. Then I continued following my directions. It took me to the corner, but I already knew.
The new place is called something else, but when I lived there it was The Attic. I was sleeping on Craig’s couch but presented myself to the doorman as a resident of the Ritz Plaza (not a complete lie) and then was granted free access to the rooftop club as well as the privilege of skipping the line any time I showed up. Having very little money and even less connections back then, you can imagine I was a regular. Sometimes we even drank free back in the day.
In my life there have been many synchronicities I cannot ignore. Sometimes things are so obviously serendipitous that I have no choice but to see them as an omen.
I walked down the familiar hall to the elevator with goosebumps. I passed through a place that used to be as close to home as I had. Down the stairs to the back, I found myself in a room full of people there to celebrate Jen and her art.
The look on her face when she realized it was me and that I was there was priceless. I think the photographer from Times Square Arts captured our embrace just moments after she processed it all. I hope I get to see that picture one day.
We had just been texting that day while I was less than a mile away from Jen and she had no idea. We had been coordinating logistics pertaining to our next collaboration, which are time sensitive.
After I said some hellos I had to sit down in a booth and try to take it all in. I knew I had only a few minutes to be in that space once so integral to my existence and now the scene for this auspicious evening.
We made our way to the stairs at Duffy Square in Times Square where I found Craig and my friend Michelle who joined us for the show.
It was like a blink of an eye.
All of a sudden every screen in sight began counting down from 10. Then all at once it happened for a very brief three minutes.
Rainbows were dripping everywhere I looked.
Jen was on cloud nine.
We all were.
We got our pictures and videos. I tried to spend one full minute off my phone just enjoying the magic.
And then it was over. Almost like it never happened and the city turned back into the city. It was like a portal opened and closed and I was right there inside it. Another psychedelic experience without any drugs.
We followed the crew to a nearby tequila bar where I had a few minutes to catch up with Jen with less distractions. I could tell she was still in disbelief that I had even made it.
I wouldn’t have missed this one for anything.
In typical fashion, Jen then led us to a Korean Karaoke bar where we had our own room. I’m not much of a Karaoke guy, but I sang a few tunes. We all did. The room was full of laughter and hugs. It was almost as Jen Stark as the drippy Times Square takeover.
On our way out we got the last fifteen minutes of the nightclub vibes downstairs. By that point we were down to maybe six of us. We closed that place down. Peak vibes.
Craig and I got home around 5am but the sun wasn’t quite up yet. I crashed on the couch for a few hours.
I soaked in the last day of NYC before making my way to a flight home.
It’s been three weeks since I’ve slept in my bed. I’m ready to be back. I also needed to get away for this time. Yin and Yang.
Hunter once said “Buy the ticket, take the ride”.
Thanks to everyone who bought my tickets so I could take the ride. A ride it has been.
One more thing before I wrap this one up. In my absence, Ian spent the week working with Twinkles at the studio in Minturn. Despite how amazing and essential my trip was, part of me is bummed that I missed that session. There is new work that once again has evolved tremendously from the session just last month. I’m thrilled to be able to bring this work to special collections in the coming weeks.
Thanks Ian for being there when I couldn’t, and assisting in ways I can’t. We missed you out there in the field but appreciate you holding it down while I was away.
As for my passion of loitering in hotel lobbies, there was much success. I took in a few good ones including but not limited to some where neither I nor anyone else I knew were staying. I like to really make myself at home and settle in. This round the shoes stayed on, but I charged devices, drank coffee and tea, took work calls, and lounged in all kinds of comfy chairs and couches. Here’s to more of that!
Thanks for tuning in as always,
BB
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