Tom Sachs

In the mid and late 1990s, Sachs’ career began to take off. His first major solo show, “Cultural Prosthetics”[1], opened at New York’s Morris-Healy Gallery in 1995. Many works from the show conflated fashion and violence, as with HG (Hermés Hand Grenade) (1995) and Tiffany Glock (Model 19) (1995)[2], both of which were models made with Hermes or Tiffany packaging. Although these sculptures were non-functional, another piece – Hecho in Switzerland (1995) – was an actual working homemade gun. Sachs and his assistants would make similar guns and sell them back to the city as part of New York’s gun buyback program (for up to $300 each).[3]
His next major show, “Creativity is the Enemy”, opened in 1998 at New York’s Thomas Healy Gallery and Paris’ Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac. It built on the discourse established in “Cultural Prosthetics” with sculptures like Chanel Guillotine (1998)[3] and Prada Deathcamp (1998). Other pieces, like Hermés Value Meal (1998)[4], moved away from explicit references to violence and paired fashion with other successful brands, like McDonald’s. Also included in the show were gaffer’s tape versions of Piet Mondrian’s famous compositions [5][6]. Like the Hermes sculptures, the Mondrian paintings were things Sachs desired but could not have. So he made them instead. As Sachs puts it, “making it is a way of having it.[4]“
Similar shows opened the following year at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Salzburg, Austria and Mary Boone Gallery in New York, where Boone was famously arrested after Sachs allowed visitors to take live ammunition from an Alvar Aalto vase.[5] Around the same time, Sachs’ SONY Outsider (1998) opened at SITE Santa Fe in New Mexico. The sculpture was outwardly a full-scale model of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, and was a leap from handmade art into expensive outsourced fabrication. Ultimately, it was not well received by critics or even the artist himself – he later published a zine titled “The Failure of SONY Outsider”[6]). For many, including Roberta Smith, the well-known New York Times art critic, the piece “bore no trace of Mr. Sachs’s hand” and “could have been the work of several other artists.[7]” As Sachs says about the piece: “At the time I didn’t fully grasp the value of my handcrafted things… I should leave it to Sony or Motorola to make those perfect things.[8]“
Learning from this experience, Sachs fully embraced the practice of “bricolage”. For Sachs, a bricoleur is one “who hobbles together functional contraptions out of already given or collected materials, which he re-tools and re-signifies info new objects with novel uses, but more importantly, which he regenerates into a new, oscillating syntax: one of loss, gain, and more than anything, one of play.” After the failure of Sony Outsider, Sachs began to focus on leaving visible traces of his work, saying this a few years later:
“We have our system of making things out of certain materials… and of showing the scars of our labor and the history of our efforts… We have the ‘your way’, ‘my way’, and ‘the right way,’ and I must insist everything is done my way, even if it takes longer.[9]“
On a related note, Sachs organized an exhibition at Sperone Westwater in 2000 entitled “American Bricolage” that featured the work of 12 artists including Alexander Calder, Greg Colson, and Tom Friedman.
After several solo exhibitions in New York and abroad, “Nutsy’s” opened at the Bohen Foundation (New York City) in 2002 and Deutsche Guggenheim (Berlin) in 2003. The large-scale installation covered a whole floor, and invited viewers to interact by driving remote-controlled vehicles on asphalt tracks throughout the installation. Several of Sachs’ most famous works debuted at this exhibition, including Unité, Nutsy’s McDonald’s, and Barcelona Pavilion. Unité, in particular, is one of Sachs’ masterpieces—a 1:25 recreation of Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation made completely out of foamcore. The Neistat Brothers, who began their careers working for Sachs, were instrumental in the operation of “Nutsy’s”.
In 2006, the artist had two major survey exhibitions mounted in Europe, first at the Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst and next at the Fondazione Prada, Milan. His work can be found in major museum collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.
As Germano Celant writes in his monograph on the artist published by the Fondazione Prada, Milan, “The images and objects that make up the militarized space of consumption and fashion are at the very heart of Tom Sachs’s visual passion.”
The Des Moines Art Center and Rose Art Museum hosted a solo exhibition titled Logjam featuring the artist in 2007.

Kitty, Miffy, and Melody, Collins Park- Art Basel 2011

Bernice Steinbaum

AOM: It’s always fun to know someone’s roots- where did you grow up, what were your influences, where did you attend University and what was your major?

BS: At a very early age, I met Joseph Cornell. I was a “latch key” kid whose mother worked and therefore was not there after my day at school. I spent every afternoon in the library. I met Joseph Cornell who, after many months, invited me to his studio (I did not know what a studio meant). He asked me to talk about what I saw and that day was the day I became an art dealer. I majored in Art History and Art Education.

AOM: Tell me about the Steinbaum Gallery in NY. How did you fall into the business, fond memories, who you were representing back then?

BS: I got into business because I had resigned from my teaching position and I was driving my family crazy. They found me cleaning the shower stall with a toothbrush and I would wake them up at 6:00 o’clock AM to make their beds. My husband implored me to find a job. Art was the one thing I knew.
In NY, I represented, among others, Faith Ringgold, Miriam Schapiro, and Jaune-Quick-to-See-Smith. One of my fondest memories was the day that I found out that Ringgold and Schapiro has won Guggenheim awards. I asked both women to come to the gallery and as a surprise, I tied a huge pink ribbon around the building. I met them at the door with Dom Perignon. I also represented three McArthur Genius award winners- Pepon Osorio, Deborah Willis, and Amalia Mesa-Baines.

AOM: Can I put you on the spot and ask if you have any favorites?
BS: All 25.

AOM: Bernice Steinbaum Gallery is one of the cornerstones of the Wynwood district. That was a pretty risque move considering the neighborhood back then. How did you know?

BS: If you build it, they will come. We are now some 76 galleries.

AOM: You seem to have the Midas touch in picking your artist to showcase. How do you know when they have that “it” factor?

BS: Intellect and risk-taking on the artist’s part and gut reaction on my part. I believe that each of my artists will be part of the canon of Art History. I too will have my place because I represented them i.e. Peggy Guggenheim and Leo Castelli.

AOM: Speaking of Wynwood, Second Saturdays has become a social phenomenon that’s taken on a life of its own. What is the good and bad of it? Will it ever mellow out like the Gables Walk?

BS: The good part of Second Saturdays in Wynwood is that Wynwood becomes a destination. Some of our visitors have been fearful about the neighborhood. Others, who are dining in the “hood” see the numbers of people walking around and realize that there must be something to see. Now that most of us serve non-alcoholic drinks, we don’t get people who regard our gallery as an ersatz saloon.

AOM: What is your view on the state of public funding for art. Is there a crisis. Should public monies be used?

BS: What would you expect a dealer to say? (That’s why I’m the baddest)

AOM: Your current show with Karen Rifas and Aurora Molina, among others is spectacular. Tell us a bit about the show?

BS: I am very interested in artists who use detritus.

Karen Rifas, who is best known as the “leaf lady”, recycles southern oak leaves into geometric installations, that the rest of us throw away. In her current exhibition she uses various colored cord to create unique geometric patterns, forms and spaces. She uses color in order to question our sense of perspective, while her geometrically arranged cord installations invigorate space with movement and illusion. Straight lines appear to be curved, often the cords vibrate while the colors intensify. Rifas’ site specific installations of nylon cord, stainless steal, or stitched leaves enable her to create volume with a spare amount of material.

Molina also uses detritus. In the current exhibition title A Critique of Established Attitudes Towards Aging & Beauty, she recycles women’s pantyhose. Her soft sculpture figures, though, belligerent or ill-behaved, like children they demand our attention. These figures appeal to our social consciousness. Some figures have motion sensors while others have sound devices. Molina makes us know through movement and sound that elders are still alive and still have a lot to say.

AOM: What’s special for Art Basel? What’s next for Bernice?

BS: The gallery will feature Peter Sarkisian who has done small table top video sculptures. His work is featured in the Whitney and the SF MoMA to mention a few public institutions. Our booth will be a surprise. We are not at liberty to discuss it at this time. Come see us at Art Miami booth # 32. We are the host gallery and serve mimosas, coffee, and croissants every morning to other dealers, press, art schools and everyone that comes in. We also have the cleanest potties.

AOM: Bernice, what do you think, President Obama- boxers or briefs?

BS: In his effort to deal with divisive Republicans he wears briefs that are one size smaller than appropriate to unite both parties.

Bernice Steinbaum

Museum for African Art
Arts Alliance
College Art Association, NY
Cooper Union
Equity Life
Fashion Institute of Technology
Fine Arts Museum of Long Island
New York University
School of Visual Arts
Teacher’s College, Columbia University (panel) 1996
Whitney Extension

SELECTED LECTURES
The Little Black Dress, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL
Harvard University, International Fellows, Cambridge, MA
Looking at Contemporary Art from a Chinese Perspective, in conjunction with an exhibition of the work of Hung Liu, The Gallery of Contemporary Art, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT, May 14, 1999, in conjunction with Crossing the Threshold, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS October 8, 1998
Thelma & Louise Ride through Crossing The Threshold, New Jersey State College, Ewing, NJ, March 4, 1998.
Museum for African Art, NYC – Textiles Study Group of NY, December 17, 1998
Muscarelle Museum of Art, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA;
Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA;
Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA;
Tampa Art Museum, Tampa, FL;
Abilene, TX;
Cheekwood Fine Arts Center, Nashville, TN;
Arizona State University;
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA;
Yellowstone Arts Center, MT;
Erie Arts Museum, Erie, PA;
Millpond House, Smithtown Township Arts Council,St.James, NY;
New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ;
Albright-Knox Art Museum, Buffalo, NY;
Tate Gallery, London, England;
Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN;

The Spindle, Henry Moore (Pic courtesy of Intercontinental Hotels)

The travertine marble was imported from Italy, the slabs were numbered when cut so when reassembled in Miami the slabs followed the same vein. An entire quarry was emptied to build the hotel and the adjacent Miami Center. They are the largest marble structures in Florida. Precious woods imported from Africa, including the rare Babinga were used throughout the entire hotel.

It is the only hotel lobby in the world to have been built around a work of art. In 1981, internationally renowned sculptor Sir Henry Moore (1898-1986) created the 18-ft, 70-ton Spindle sculpture. Made of travertine marble with a base of ooba tooba granite from Brazil, it was dropped into the lobby space by helicopter and from that point the hotel lobby was built. The Spindle is the largest of the artist’s sculptures in private ownership and is appraised at over $20 million.

Claire Breukel

After graduating from the University of Cape Town, Claire Breukel began her career working for the South African Center for Photography and the Association for Visual Arts, both non-profit organizations. Invited to curate the 2002 Cape Town Month of Photography biennale, she went on to curate the Vision Photography Festival and Brett Kebble Art Awards, 2003 and 2004. Introduced to Miami through the Rubell Family Collection, she took the position of Executive Director at Locust Projects, a renowned alternative non-profit. Whilst in Miami she participated in a number of art-related boards including as Vice Chair of Miami Beach Art in Public Places. Following this she became nomadic in her role as Coordinator of PUMAVision and Curator of PUMA.Creative, focusing on developing the arts specifically within Africa and the Caribbean region. Here she collaborated on numerous creative projects, including the Arts in Marrakech festival, 8th Bamako Encounters biennale, Global Caribbean symposium, Caribbean Studies Association conference, Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, Yves Behar at the Design Museum, London, Isaac Julien at the Bass Museum, Miami as well as art social networking sites creativeafricanetwork.com and creativecaribbeannetwork.com. Breukel is an independent curator and arts writer interested in contemporary art that falls outside of conventional modes of exhibition, and often affiliated with “developing” regions. She has written for Eikon, ArtPulse, Wynwood magazine, Arte Aldia and has a weekly column on Hyperallergic.com. She has curated exhibitions in Cape Town, New York, Miami, Vienna and San Salvador. 

Coosje Van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg

Coosje van Bruggen (June 6, 1942 – January 10, 2009) was a sculptor, art historian, and critic.[1] She collaborated extensively with her husband, Claes Oldenburg.
Van Bruggen studied history of art at the University of Groningen. From 1967 to 1971 she worked at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Until 1976 Van Bruggen taught at the Academy for Art and Industries in Enschede. In 1978 Van Bruggen moved to New York, in 1993 she became a United States citizen.
She collaborated extensively with her husband, sculptor Claes Oldenburg, since 1976. They were married in 1977. Together, they designed several large scaled sculptures such as the Inverted Collar and Tie in Frankfurt am Main. Since the early 1980s Van Bruggen worked as an independent critic and curator. In 1982 she was member of the selection committee of the documenta 7 in Kassel. In 1988, her work along with Oldenburg Spoonbridge and Cherry was commissioned by the Walker Art Center, and became a permanent fixture of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden as well as an iconic image of the city of Minneapolis. Van Bruggen published books about the early work of Oldenburg, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the works of Bruce Nauman.

Together with Oldenburg, Van Bruggen received numerous awards including the Distinction in Sculpture, Sculpture Center, New York (1994); Nathaniel S. Saltonstall Award, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (1996); Partners in Education Award, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2002); the Medal Award, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2004) and honorary degrees from the California College of the Arts, San Francisco, California (1996); University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, England (1999); Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Nova Scotia (2005); and the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan (2005).
The Estate of Coosje van Bruggen is represented by The Pace Gallery, New York
She died in 2009, aged 66, after a long battle with breast cancer.

Dropped Bowl detail

At the time of its inauguration the Dropped Bowl with Scattered Slices and Peels could be seen to represent a city in the making, deriving its particular order out of the apparent disorder accompanying Miami’s expansion.