Pieces from decorative artist Thomas Engelhart's presentation "Marble Paper Scissors" at Eerdmans.
Photo: Courtesy of Eerdmans

The Artful Life: 6 Things Galerie Editors Love This Week

From a fanciful show of Thomas Engelhart’s work at Eerdmans to powerful sculptures by architect Santiago Calatrava

Steel leaves sculpture by Santiago Calatrava. Photo: Renate Kühling

Cyclades by Santiago Calatrava. Photo: Renate Kühling

1. Santiago Calatrava’s New Sculptures Go on View at Munich’s Glyptothek Museum

A dazzling array of sculptures by architect Santiago Calatrava is being displayed for the first time in a new exhibition, “Beyond Hellas: Santiago Calatrava in the Glyptothek,” on view through October 23 at the Glyptothek Museum in Munich, Germany. Curated by Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz and the Glyptothek’s director, Florian Knauß, the show is centered around a series of 14 wrought-iron sculptures, called The Aegineten, created by Calatrava and inspired by the architecture of ancient Greece. “When I stood in front of the warriors at the Temple of Aphaia in the Glyptothek, I witnessed an unexpected modernity, and beyond the perfection of classicism,” said Calatrava. “Throughout my career, histories and cultures have played a large role in my design process which is visible in The Aegineten.” —Geoffrey Montes

Central Park Tower’s 100th floor lounge. Photo: Extell

2. Central Park Tower Debuts Private Club on the 100th Floor

Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture with interiors by Rottet Studio, New York’s Central Park Tower rises more than 1,550 feet above the streets of Manhattan, making it the world’s tallest residential building. Spearheaded by Extell Development Company, the project has now debuted as a sky-high private club for residents of the 179-unit development. Also designed by Rottet Studio, the 100th floor of the Central Park Club spans more than 8,300 square feet and features a ballroom with capacity for more than 120 people, as well as a private bar, restaurant, and cigar lounge—all with spellbinding views of the surrounding cityscape. Notably, Extell enlisted famed event planner Colin Cowie to create a bespoke living experience program available exclusively for residents. —G.M.

Micos by Rob Woodcox Photo: Rob Woodcox

Robert (2020) by Nir Arieli Photo: Nir Arieli

3. Sotheby’s and Equinox Launch Forms of Intimacy Auction to Benefit Camp Felix Pride

Sotheby’s and Equinox have joined forces to celebrate Pride Month with an exciting new photography exhibition, “Forms of Intimacy.” A collection of 23 works by established and emerging queer artists such as Willy Vanderperre and Emmie America are on display at Sotheby’s New York until June 30. The auction celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community with a 100 percent of the auction proceeds benefitting Camp Felix Pride, a new summer camp for LGBTQIA+ youth in the New York City foster care system. —Stefanie Li

Courtney Shoudis Exhibition at Esmé Photo: Dan Piotrowski

Canapés by chef Jenner Tomaska displayed on a Courtney Shoudis sculpture. Photo: Sandy Noto

4. Courtney Shoudis Exhibition at Esmé Inspires Seasonal Tasting Menu

Making waves across Chicago as one of the city’s four new Michelin-starred restaurants, Esmé is offering a seasonal tasting menu inspired by works from self-taught artist and Chicago native Courtney Shoudis. Known for her figurative paintings, Shoudis selected eight of her pieces to be displayed on Esmé’s walls, which helped craft the eatery’s special menu. According to the artist, the selection of works embody themes of the changing of seasons and passing of time, with special emphasis on seasons where Shoudis’ partner was awaiting their final immigration interview into America at the heels of COVID-19. To honor these themes, chef Jenner Tomaska created a variety of dishes inspired by the paintings, including canapés displayed on sculptures also made by Shoudis. Carefully thought out libation pairings from Beverage Director Tia Barrett are also available to enjoy, while a curated music selection by co-founder Katrina Bravo complements the exhibition. Reservations are currently available through July 31. —Shelby Black

A piece from decorative artist Thomas Engelhart's presentation "Marble Paper Scissors" at Eerdmans. Photo: Courtesy of Eerdmans

A piece from decorative artist Thomas Engelhart's presentation "Marble Paper Scissors" at Eerdmans. Photo: Courtesy of Eerdmans

5. Eerdmans Mounts a Fanciful Show of Thomas Engelhart’s Papier Peint Objets

A beloved Greenwich Village jewel box filled with imaginative creations and vintage collectibles, Eerdmans is hosting a presentation of decorative artist Thomas Englehart’s latest papier peint objets, inspired in part by the “Treasures of Tutankhamun” exhibition that stopped at The Met in the 1970s. “I like to make things,” Engelhart says of the pieces, composed during the COVID-19 pandemic. “For a long time, ‘things’ were clothes. Now I make these rather little things like boxes and somewhat grand and marvelous things like mirrors and obelisks. It seems simple to me: if I love it, I make it. If I don’t, I don’t.” Also drawing influence from Eerdmans’s vibrant-colored interior, “Marble Paper Scissor” features handmade busts, boxes, and other antiquities. “I’d like the work to be transporting—if it makes you dream for a wee second, my job’s done,” Engelhart said in a statement. “A decorative object should make you feel something.” With meticulously erected creations, such as a towering coral-colored spire and sizable red-and-black faux marble mirror with gilded detailing—crafted specifically for Emily Evans Eerdmans’s transportive atelier, visitors will readily feel everything from wonder to delight. —Jill Sieracki

Meriem Bennani's Windy at the High Line. Photo: Courtesy of the High Line and Audemars Piguet

6. Meriem Bennani’s First-Ever Public Sculpture Opens on the High Line, New York

Emerging art star Meriem Bennani’s first public sculpture, Windy (2022), opens this week on the High Line. Co-commissioned by High Line Art and Audemars Piguet Contemporary, the monumental sculpture will be on view through May 2023. Most known for her engaging video works, film, and animation, this new kinetic 3-D sculpture presents a new direction for the artist. Challenging the conventions of traditional sculpture, Windy is a motorized spinning tornado that will rotate at varying speeds for a full year. Standing at just over nine feet tall, the sculpture is made from approximately 200 stacked foam disks, each layer charged by electrical bike motors creating unique loops that never repeat. — Lucy Rees

Cover: Pieces from decorative artist Thomas Engelhart's presentation "Marble Paper Scissors" at Eerdmans.
Photo: Courtesy of Eerdmans

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