DRIFT AWAY WITH ME... IN NEW YORK CITY

New York City. Hustle and bustle. Traffic. Honking cars. Pedestrians rushing by. A concrete jungle that can swallow you whole.

But what if you could use all that concrete to help you pause? Take a breath. Slow down and let yourself drift away for a few fleeting moments. With The Drift, the show currently running at The Shed, you can.

THE MAGIC OF DRIFTERS

The Drifters are, without a doubt, the main attraction in Studio DRIFT’s art installation currently on display at The Shed in New York’s Hudson Yards. The giant concrete blocks that float effortlessly through the air have been intriguing audiences ever since the Pace Gallery brought one to the Armory Show in 2017.

Designed to float and move at slow speed on a controlled three-dimensional path, The Drifters are meant to provoke thought. The studio founders Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta put it perfectly: “On its own the concrete block is nothing, lost in space and time without reference to anything; it is always searching to be part of something bigger. Drifter wants to make people feel that without context they are lost. Without context, the object feels alien, divorced from its source. Drifter shows how unknown the world and its mechanisms still are to mankind and emphasizes the urge to expand our horizon and evolve in time.”

And they do just that at the Shed. Once you’ve made your way through the other parts of the show (more on those later), you'‘re asked to pause briefly in the waiting room. Here you’re treated to a couple of short films: one showing The Drifters levitate across the world, making their way over verdant highlands, weaving through forests and reflecting in the rushing water of mountain streams below. The other movie hits closer to home: The Drifters navigate the air above Manhattan’s busy streets. Now you’re primed for the “performance.”

The curtain lifts and you make your way into the massive space with several Drifters hovering in a perfect line above your head. Some people sit down, others stretch out on the concrete floors. Lights dim, music starts and The Drifters above you start moving. A forward slide here, a spin there, coming closer and closer until you feel you can touch them, only to have them pull away just out of reach. It’s mesmerizing and it takes some discipline to put the camera away and just enjoy the moment. I loved it.

BUT WAIT… DON’T SET YOUR EGO ASIDE JUST YET

The Drifters are the main draw, but visitors would miss out if they did not stop in the room that showcases another Studio Drift installation, Ego. Introduced in 2020, “Ego” is a kinetic sculpture made out of translucent mesh fabric that morphs, inflates, floats, stretches and collapses, only to lift up again a few moments later. The founders see it as a representation of our hopes, truths and emotions that evolve along with our own mind. Linger, ponder and see how your own belief system works. Is it rigid, or is it fluid?

The Drift is on display at The Shed in New York City through December 19.

Studio DRIFT was founded by Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta in 2007. Based in The Netherlands, the team focuses on creation of experiential sculptures, installations and performances, combining hidden properties of nature and technology to help humans re-establish their connection to the Earth. Their work has been shown at Victoria & Albert Museum; Met Museum; Stedelijk Museum; Biennale di Venezia; Pace Gallery; and now at The Shed in New York City.

PORTRAITS WITH A TWIST: A MUST-SEE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW IN NEW YORK CITY

Reka Nyari: Effect Papillon

Those who know me, know my love of photography and portraiture. My admiration for those who look into the viewfinder and find the perfect moment, the perfect pose, the perfect silhouette and capture it for all of us to enjoy is a well established fact.

What many of my friends would not expect is an article where tattoos play a rather prominent role. If you asked me, I would not expect that, either! But then you come across an example of this body art in its most elevated, beautiful form and you make an exception. Reka Nyari is one of the artists whose work fits into this exceptional category.

REKA NYARI WILL MAKE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH TATTOOS

How does one go from Finland and Hungary to spectacular ink photography? In Reka’s case the road goes through The School of Visual Arts and modeling. From there, it was just a quick step from the front of the camera behind the lens. From then, it’s and onwards to fashion, fine art photography and videography.

With the works of David Lynch, Helmut Newton, Miles Aldridge and Cindy Sherman as inspiration for her own work, Reka quickly developed a stunning photographic language of her own. Her striking black and white portraits of women often challenge the traditional ideals of beauty by bringing in extensive body decor while her posing of the model elevates the idea and remains captivating. Yes, there is nudity, but it almost feels like a side effect, not the main feature.

Those who want to only dip their toes into Reka’s fascinating world should take a peek at her stunning monograph, “Femme Fatale: Female Erotic Photography”.

GEISHA INK

According to the artist, this series creates an interesting juxtaposition - the symbolism of the Japanese geisha and the Yakuski, Japanese gangster, tattoos, Irezumju. Known for the painful process required to get this type of tattoos, they are seen as a symbol of the recipient’s bravery - but also their insubordination. Not what you’d associate with the the much calmer image of a geisha.

PUNCTURED INK

The latest series of this artist (and probably my favorite series from her work to-date) takes the idea of tattoos even further. Here, Reka takes the large scale portraits and makes them one-of-a-kind by “tattooing” each one - perforating patterns into the photographic prints. The result is a beautiful contrast: bold tattoos presented with distinctly feminine poses and enveloped by dreamy greenery and delicate botanical patterns, swirls and circles. Destruction, made beautiful. Or as the artist calls it, “ink, cubed.” I absolutely loved it.

The Reka Nyari show is on at the Fremin Gallery in Chelsea and it closes soon. Do yourselves a favor and go see it.

Reka Nyari: Lune de Sang