If I were in New York over the Holidays.....

Sometimes I wish I was Eloise and lived in the Plaza Hotel with the magic of Manhattan at my doorstep. I'm not going to be in New York over the holidays but a friend is and she asked me what I'd recommend. Here is my list of top three shows in the Big Apple.

Overcoat 2004 by Charles LeDray
Photograph by Tom Powel

Charles LeDray WORKWORKWORKWORKWORK at the Whitney Museum
945 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10021, United States
(212) 570-3600
Subway: 77th Street - Lexington

This retrospective of New York-based sculptor Charles LeDray's work celebrates his highly original and uncanny manipulation of scale to create objects such as tiny men's jackets out of cloth, teeny flip flops out of rubber and embroidery floss and little chairs carved out of bone. His meticulous technique and the small scale of his work, some of which is the size of a child's finger, evoke whimsy and wonder.

Balenciaga Infanta evening dress 1939 (left) and Evening dress and stole 1952 (right)

Balenciaga Exhibition at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute
684 Park Avenue, New York
(212) 628-0420

One of the great fashion couturiers was Balenciaga (1895-1972). His mastery of line, cut and tailoring created sculptural pieces that are unparalleled in their elegance and beauty. In the exhibition BALENCIAGA: Spanish Master,  curator Hamish Bowles presents important examples of the couturier’s designs borrowed from archives and private collectors, including the flamenco-style gowns, the fichu stoles and matador-inspired hats, the evening dresses that evoke the austere sweep of a nun’s wimple.

Men's 3 piece court suit, France c1785

His and Hers Exhibition at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
7th Ave W 27th St
New York, NY 10001
(212) 217-7676

His & Hers explores changing perceptions of "masculine" and "feminine" dress from the mid-18th century to the present and includes more than 100 garments, accessories, and textiles.

Chanel Mobile Art Container in Central Park

Contemporary art can be challenging. But add the association of Chanel with an art installation and the crowds will come. On October 20, 2008, the Chanel Mobile Art Container opened in Central Park. The space age installation, designed by award winning architect Zaha Hadid, has already been on view in Hong Kong (February 2008) and Tokyo (July 2008) with stops in London (May 2009) and Paris (January 2010) still to come.

Advance tickets were previously available online but like most people I tried to get in on the day we were in the city. Even though it was only 10 am, I was told that tickets were "sold out" for the entire day and if I wanted tickets, I'd have to arrive before 8 am the next morning for same day tickets. (The other option was to wait in the "stand-by line" which could mean waiting 30 - 90 minutes). Even though we partied until midnight that night, we arrived at 745 am and were about 20th in line, receiving tickets for 830 am. While waiting to be admitted, I asked the security personnel if they were able to keep their uber-cool Chanel jackets. The answer was NO!

At the appointed time, we were admitted in groups of 6 and asked to leave our coats and handbags at the coat check. Then we received an MP3 player and were told to follow the narrator's instructions. She told us when to stand, where to walk, what to think....

Although we had heard that the installation was loosely based on the quilted Chanel handbag, I'd have to say that any connection with the handbag or Chanel was very minimal, except in a few cases. One artist had a video piece of naked women fighting over the quilted bag. Another showed photographs of models covered in leather with the chains stuffed into the model's mouth. And another artist made photos of naked models wrapped in Chanel chains bondage style.

With the narrator guiding people through the work, viewers were forced to look at this challenging contemporary art for a specified period of time. At the exit, we were given exhibition catalogues and postcards. Too bad they weren't handing out coupons for free purses!


Chanel Mobile Art Container October 20 - November 9, 2008
Central Park Rumsey Playfield (enter at 69th or 72nd street entrances)
www.chanel-mobileart.com