Nina (Blumberg) Kolenda

Less than 48 hrs in Rome = tour of the greatest hits, an art history lover’s paradise!! 😍🏃🏽‍♀️‍➡️🏛️ 📍#VaticanCity and #SistineChapel 🖼️ 📍#RomanColosseum 💪🏼 📍#Pantheon 🙏🏻 📍#TreviFountain 🫧

Less than 48 hrs in Rome = tour of the greatest hits, an art history lover’s paradise 😍🏃🏽‍♀️‍➡️🏛️ 📍#VaticanCity and #SistineChapel 🖼️ 📍#RomanColosseum 💪🏼 📍#Pantheon 🙏🏻 📍#TreviFountain 🫧

Sharp objects on view in “Aerial” by #AntonyGormley at @whitecube 🔪🍴🪡 Def worth the risk tho!! 😅💪🏼 “The exhibition features two recent developments in Gormley’s practice: one explores physical proximity in mass and scale, where two over-life-size bodies merge as one, while the other endeavours to catalyse space almost without mass.” On view through June 15! #WhiteCube

All aboard the Asuka II! 🫡🛳️ 🖼️ We boarded a luxury cruise ship docked in the NY harbor in order to attend “Unveiling the Essence of Kōgei-Art,” an amazing event hosted by @ARTerrace_inc ! The symposium featured two recognized Living National Treasures, Kazumi Murose and Genjiro Okura, who discussed their respective crafts with the former Commissioner for Cultural Affairs and Chief Director of TAKUMI-Art du Japon, Seiichi Kondo. And Monica Bin sick, a curator from The MET, shared her insights about the history of Japanese craftsmanship along the way. After the talk, we got to tour the ship to see Asuka II’s collection of approximately one hundred Kōgei (decorative art) works. Thank you to #ARTerrace for such a fun and informative time learning about important Japanese artistic traditions! If you want to check it out for yourself, the event was streamed live on YouTube and is linked in my stories! 🌟🌟 #ARTerraceArtExhibition #Kogei #JapaneseArt #AsianArt

Amazing opening night on Friday for “Womanhood 102,” a show by @lbodzy and @katiecommodore , excellently curated by @criss_collaborations 😍💕 Such an amazing turnout! 👏🏻 I love that both artists’ works deal with the same themes conceptually (female empowerment, taking back ownership of our bodies, rebuking societal expectations and norms, etc💪🏼) but from very different angles— the colorful, abstracted sculptures of Lesley v. Katie’s figurative tapestries and prints! It’s only up til 6/8 at @space_776 in LES — so see it while you can!! #LesleyBodzy #KatieCommodore #CrissCollaborations #Space776

“The link between spirit and matter is energy. The combined mechanism of these three elements generates our tangible world, which is claimed to be real but is in fact ephemeral.” — #YvesKlein “Yves Klein and the Tangible World” closed last weekend at @LevyGorvyDayan , but luckily I got in to see it before it did! Klein’s work has always had a meditative aspect to it for me — the purity of color and the connection of the conceptual body to the physical artwork in his artmaking. 🤩🤌🏼💙 This was a beautiful show of over 30 examples from two of his best known series “Anthropométries” (1960–62) and “Peintures de feu (Fire Paintings, 1961–62),” which exemplify this ethos, “possessing traces of living flesh and imprinted memories of fire, water, earth, and air.” #LevyGorvyDayan

“With this work...I began to reassemble the shattered pieces of my soul and psyche.” — #NikideSaintPhalle in reference to her “Tableaux Éclatés” series, originally exhibited in her retrospective at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris in 1993. The “Tableaux Éclatés” or “Burst Paintings” are vibrant, mechanized pictures depicting landscapes upon which animals, still lifes, and her trademark Nanas dance across beaches, deserts, and seas. Five of these works and many others are currently on view in an eponymous exhibition at @salon94 thru June 22! @niki_de_saint_phalle 💃🌞🌈

Art blogger peak moment: this morning’s press preview for the #JennyHolzer “Light Line” show at @guggenheim , opening to the public tmrw, May 17!🤩🔥💪🏼 The exhibition reimagines Holzer’s landmark 1989 Guggenheim installation (I sadly wasn’t born yet for that one... ha!😅) — a site-specific LED sign artwork that wraps around all six ramps of the museum in one long continuous flashing message. Truly a sight to see! And I took one thousand pics/vids because it changes every time you look at it😆😆 The show also features a selection of Holzer’s works from the 1970s to the present day, including paintings, works on paper, and stone pieces that highlight the incisive use of the written word across time and media in the artist’s practice. On view through September 29, 2024, this one absolutely must not be missed!! #Guggenheim #LightLine

#NADA New York always has so many hidden gems, in particular from emerging artists and galleries! Highly recommend adding it to your fair list 🥰🤩💎 A few of my favesss from the 2024 edition: 1. #AllyRosenberg @diohoria 2. #GabrielaVainsencher @asyageisberggallery 3. #Masamitsu Shigeta @situations.us 4. #ArghavanKhosravi @racheluffnergallery 5. #StephanieTemmaHier @bradleyertaskiran_ 6. #DavidKennedyCutler @halseymckaygallery 7. #KristyMoreno @ochigallery 8. #ElvireBonduelle @doublevgallery 9. #JoaniTremblay @harpersgallery 10. #WillYackulic @etalgallerysf @newartdealers #NewArtDealers #NADANewYork

As always, so hard to choose just 10 fave #FriezeNewYork highlights from opening day, now open through Sunday May 5. Check the reel for the full version 😅😂😮‍💨🖼️🤌🏼 1. #TunjiAdeniyiJones  @whitecube 2. #Marepe x #AlvaroBarrington  @antonkerngallery 3. #TomaszKrecicki  @estherschippergallery 4. #NateLowman x #FranzWest  @davidzwirner 5. #AlexdaCorte  @matthewmarksgallery 6. #SterlingRuby  @gagosian 7. #RobPruitt  @massimodecarlo 8. #PauloNazareth  @mendeswooddm 9. #SamFalls  @303gallery 10. #SylvieFleury  @spruethmagers  @karmainternational #FriezeArtFair #TheShed  @friezeofficial  @theshedny

Big s/o to @sofitelnyc for a lovely evening in honor of the opening of @jeremy_de_backer ’s new exhibition “Welcome to Earth,” now on view at the hotel through June 21! 🌎 De Backer’s photographs are an ode to Earth and its wide range of magical and mystical environments, from the Salt Flats in Utah to the desert terrain of Namibia to ice caves in Iceland. The artist and his sister traveled all over to capture these shots (no AI!!) - and the end result is a series of photos that are out of this world!! 😮🪐🧑🏼‍🚀 I also loved the perfect pairing of a French hotel chain collaborating with a French artist! 🇫🇷 And if you want to make a night of it, you can enjoy a delicious dinner at the hotel’s restaurant @mademoisellegaby after! Ty again for having us! 💕 #SofitelFrenchZest #SofitelNewYork

Officially peaked!!! @fiskfas does all the heavy lifting — literally💪🏼— but still can’t believe my name is in print in @nymag 🥹🥲 p.s. my full quote obviously referenced @ericadrewsamuels @samuelscreative bc how could it not!! 11 years together 🖼️💕