Most New Yorkers know that some of the best works of art aren’t in the museums. They’re either public works (Hello, Lady Liberty!) or, are on display semi-privately at many of New York’s finest hotels and galleries … free of charge!
This spring and summer take in a new exhibit without having to brave any museum lines or pay the museum admission. The New York Palace Hotel is unveiling artist Dorit Levinstein’s sculpture installation, “Studying the Masters”. These modern sculptures offer one artist’s updated and unique take on classic works of art. Imagine the paintings of Matisse’s Dancers and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers rendered in steel and painted with child-like enthusiasm and brio. The Palace’s courtyard is the perfect setting to display the artist’s hand-painted, bright and multi-colored bronze sculpture entitled, “Renoir’s Dancers”, inspired by Renoir’s famous painting Dance in the Country. In addition to this marvel, seven smaller sculptures, each its own playful rendition of a different masterpiece, are on display in the hotel’s lobby.
Levinstein’s medium is both painting and sculpture, though the lines that express movement and continuity in her paintings appear as a sculptural element. Her lean and airy figures curve and flow with the grace of a professional dancer who practices daily to perform a seemingly effortless pirouette. Their playful, humorous look, lends a unique interplay between questions posed in the realms of sculpture and painting alike.
Born in Haifa, Israel, Levinstein’s work can be found in private collections around the world, and she has exhibited in galleries in Israel and the U.S. as well as in France, Holland, and Switzerland. Only on view now through Labor Day, if you visit this iconic New York City hotel you’ll be able to enjoy the perks of being a city-slicker.