Nestled beneath the Standard, High Line in New York City’s Meatpacking District, Lucy Sparrow’s all-felt bodega is the first store of its kind. Thousands of products have been created for the space, which duplicates the classic New York bodega with each item a product of the artist’s handiwork. This rendition is called “8 ‘Till Late,” following similar projects from the artist, and takes its host city as one of its biggest inspirations.
She spoke with the hotel about how she came up with the look: “I found one in Brooklyn and I also found one on the Lower East Side that I saw that I wanted ours to look like,” Sparrow says. “The story for the installation is that it’s a chain of bodegas, almost like a franchise, so 8 ’till late is like a version of 7-11, but it’s a run down 7-11 that’s been let go a bit—a bit haywire, a bit rundown. So we’ve got things like a dead mouse that has fallen into a bucket of dirty water. We’ve got a fly zapper with dead flies.”
Each of the products can be purchased by visitors, from cleaning supplies and pizza to rolling papers.The artist cites Damien Hirst and Claes Oldenburg as influences.
(Top photographs by Christopher Leaman)
In his “Flow” series, Benjamin Shine shapes netting into captivating and serene portraits. The artist, inspired by the concept of mindfulness, has taken this approach to multiple scales. His recent, outdoor "Sky Flow" sculpture "Quietude" represents a shift forward for the artist, influenced by the smaller works before it on canvas. ("Quietude" photos by Mindbodygreen.)