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New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Istanbul's Museum Moment
Filled with the grand monuments and evocative ruins of three empires — Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman — the city once known as Constantinople is practically an open-air museum. Over the last few years, Istanbul has been adding numerous indoor museums as well. Spread across the city's seven hills, these new and newly reopened institutions feature an array of impressive buildings — renovated Ottoman-era baths, converted old factories, bold new experimental structures — and collections of everything from centuries-old Islamic artifacts to cutting-edge contemporary art. Traveling between them is both a plunge into the city's rich history and an exploration of its dynamic 21st-century creative scene — a scene that will be further highlighted this year at the 20th edition of Contemporary Istanbul, the nation's top art fair, in September. Istanbul Modern Big things are springing up along the Bosporus, the strait that separates the European and Asian continents and divides Istanbul in two. Fans of the architect Renzo Piano, who designed the splashy new home of the Istanbul Modern museum, will recognize signature stylistic elements like the silver-gray exterior, boxy geometric forms and cantilevered base on slim columns, which make the museum a structural cousin of other Piano projects, such as the Whitney Museum of American Art and the additions to the Harvard Art Museums. Inside, two galleries for temporary exhibitions are complemented by an entire floor of Turkish art since 1945. Earthy, paint-encrusted canvases by Albert Bitran (a Frenchman who lived in Istanbul) and gritty street photography by Ara Guler (whose works can also be seen in the Ara Guler Museum) help represent the 1950s, while Halil Altindere's 2022 digital NFT — a spooky computer-animated rendition of a barren, post-apocalyptic Earth — carries the collection into the current moment. Women are strongly represented, including postwar pioneers like Fahrelnissa Zeid, whose large canvases burst with colorful interlocking geometric forms, and Semiha Berksoy, an opera star who painted cartoonlike female nudes, simultaneously comical and haunting, in shaky, childlike strokes. But the museum's real star might be Istanbul itself. Thanks to vast glass panels in the walls and a roof deck with a reflecting pool, the city's mosques, towers and choppy Bosporus waters are on permanent display. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
The iconic sculptures of Louise Nevelson
Louise Nevelson's artwork looks right at home at the Whitney Museum of American Art, mingling with the skyscrapers of Manhattan. She found inspiration in the city as early as the 1920s, yet it would take the art world decades to recognize her and her iconic sculptures. "She was given her first respective at the Whitney in 1967," said Maria Nevelson, the artist's granddaughter, who runs the Louise Nevelson Foundation. "I was seven years old. And there was a line of people all the way around the block, up to the front door. I really did get chills. It was the first time I responded to artwork in general, and to my grandmother's artwork." Nearly six decades later, the Whitney is holding a new Nevelson exhibition, which is open until August 10. Asked what Louise was like as a grandmother, Maria laughed: "Oh, she was intimidating and unconventional. What comes to mind first is her atmospheric dressing. Anything could have been pulled into this assemblage and this layering of rich brocades and silks." That fancy wardrobe didn't stop Nevelson from getting her hands dirty: "She'd dumpster dive, she'd get into the garbage can, she'd pull out filthy pieces of wood, and we'd have to take 'em home," said Maria. "I would say the streets of New York weren't paved with gold for her; it was paved with garbage. And she loved it!" Nevelson's attraction to wood may have grown from her family tree – her family owned lumber yards in present-day Ukraine, where she was born in 1899. Louise was a young girl who spoke no English when her father decided to move the family to Rockland, Maine. "It was a bustling seaport town," said Maria. "They got off the train and, she said, rednecks threw mud at them. And she said, 'I knew I was a Jew, I knew I was different.' She was about five, six years old then. That's her greeting to America." Undaunted, Nevelson learned English, and at age nine, announced she was going to be a sculptor. "She knew always what she wanted to be and do, and she pursued it fiercely," said Brooke Minto, executive director and CEO of the Columbus Museum of Art, where Nevelson's work is also currently on display. "It was a decade's long journey, and she just kept at it." Nevelson would choose a monochromatic palette to unify her materials. Minto said, "She really understood that she could create an all-over, immersive experience in her sculpture by pairing them down to a single color. It's this wonderful accumulation of very simple and humble objects into something that's quite monumental and immediately historical." According to Maria Nevelson, Louise did her best work when she was in her 70s and 80s, "right up to when she passed away at 88." In 1979, Charles Osgood, of "Sunday Morning," spoke to Louise when she was 79 years old and, arguably, at the height of her career. The artist remarked, "You see, dear, if you are doing your creative work, you don't have age or time as such, and consequently you're not caught in it. So, you go on." Maria said, "My grandmother's legacy is to leave her message, which is to get out there, drop the limitations, follow your passions, teach yourself what you need to know … and do it. Why not?" For more info: Story produced by Lucie Kirk. Editor: Lauren Barnello. See also:
New York Times
21-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- New York Times
Has Trader Joe's Made It to London? Only as an Accessory.
Before his trip to New York this year, Christos Paphiti, a lawyer based in London, considered two stops on his itinerary to be essential: the Whitney Museum of American Art and … Trader Joe's. His visit to the grocery store was the culmination of months of longing. Mr. Paphiti, 29, had for about a year seen more and more people in Dalston, his trendy East London neighborhood, sporting Trader Joe's tote bags. 'Seeing people in their cute fits wearing them, I was like: 'What is Trader Joe's? Where can I get one?'' he said. Mr. Paphiti left New York with seven tote bags for himself and friends. 'Everyone was super touched by it,' he said. 'I was like, 'Sweetie, it was $4.'' Though Trader Joe's does not have a single location in Britain, the chain's large cream and navy tote bags can be spotted all over London these days. Their popularity was clear on a recent sunny afternoon in East London, where the bag swung from many a shoulder. 'I think I've seen more of the Trader Joe's tote bags in London than I have where I live in San Francisco,' said Hannah Tyldsley, a 27-year-old who works in consulting and was in the city visiting friends. Some have expressed confusion at the bag's seemingly sudden ubiquity in the city; others are questioning why a Londoner would want to sport merch from a midrange foreign supermarket chain. 'It feels a little bit overdone,' said Annabel, a 24-year-old in London Fields who declined to give her last name, because of where she worked. 'It's such an American thing, which is weird because I feel like America is not cool at the moment.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
13-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
76-year-old diner closes as city neighborhood changes beyond recognition
Hector's Café and Diner will be closing its doors for the last time after 76 years of business. The iconic restaurant, located in New York 's Meatpacking District, is shuttering on July 18 following challenges after the pandemic and demographic changes within the area. During its heyday, Hector's was a go-to restaurant featured on various films and television shows and frequented by the local meatpacking workers. Co-owner Nick Kapelonis revealed the butchers became 'like family' over the years, and crew members from Law & Order became regular customers. Now, the diner sits across the street from a row of high-end fashion retailers and its business has rapidly declined. The restaurant is part of a seven-member co-op run by the city, and everyone part of the structure insisted it was 'time to go.' Kapelonis explained that some of the co-op members plan to retire or move to other areas outside the Meatpacking District while speaking with PIX11 News. The city plans to have the building become part of an expansion of the Whitney Museum, large offices, and a 600-foot residential tower. The restaurant was founded during a time when there were 260 butchers and 6,000 employees in the area surrounding the district. According to Kapelonis, the diner was opened specifically for meatpackers. The restaurant would be open at 2:00 am in the early days, with its busiest time usually being around 4:00 in the morning. Now hardly any customers walk in, and Kapelonis was forced to close the restaurant early last Sunday due to a lack of business. Customers were heartbroken to learn the news about the diner's closure, some calling the eatery the 'last man standing' in the district. 'This was the only place I was really able to afford when working in meat packing. Thanks for yummy meals!,' an Instagram user wrote. 'The only place left in that neighborhood where you don't have to take a loan for dinner,' a commenter added. 'Hectors offered no frills, just quality diner food. So sad to see it go,' a customer responded. Fans and employees are urging customers to visit as many times as they can before the 18th Social media users said they thought this district diner would be the one that stood the test of time. 'I really thought this was the one thing in Meatpacking that would stay forever,' a fan wrote. Architectural photography authors James and Karla Murray were just as heartbroken about the once 24-hour restaurant's shuttering. 'Hector's was able to survive the many changes in the neighborhood/gentrification due in part to the fact that it had a long-term below market lease with the City... We absolutely love their Jumbo Beefburger Deluxe with fries which costs only $15.75,' they wrote. The Murrays included the dinner in their 2023 book 'Store Front NYC: Photographs of the City's Independent Shops, Past and Present' and have advised everyone to stop by the diner before it's too late. Hector's is not the only New York landmark restaurant that has shuttered over the years. Manhattan's iconic La Grenouille restaurant closed last year following rising costs and inflation, and Robert De Niro 's restaurant Tribeca Grill closed in March after 35 years of business.
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
New York diner shuts down after 76 years
By Published: Updated: Hector's Café and Diner will be closing its doors for the last time after 76 years of business. The iconic restaurant, located in New York's Meatpacking District, is shuttering on July 18 following challenges after the pandemic and demographic changes within the area. During its heyday, Hector's was a go-to restaurant featured in various films and television shows and frequented by the local meatpacking workers. Co-owner Nick Kapelonis revealed the butchers became 'like family' over the years, and crew members from Law & Order became regular customers. Now, the diner sits across the street from a row of high-end fashion retailers, and its business has rapidly declined. The restaurant is part of a seven-member co-op run by the city, and everyone part of the structure insisted it was 'time to go.' Kapelonis explained that some of the co-op members plan to retire or move to other areas outside the Meatpacking District while speaking with PIX11 News. The city plans to have the building become part of an expansion of the Whitney Museum, large offices, and a 600-foot residential tower. The restaurant was founded during a time when there were 260 butchers and 6,000 employees in the area surrounding the district. According to Kapelonis, the diner was opened specifically for meatpackers. Customers were heartbroken to learn the news about the diner's closure, some calling the eatery the 'last man standing' in the district. 'This was the only place I was really able to afford when working in meat packing. Thanks for yummy meals!,' an Instagram user wrote. 'The only place left in that neighborhood where you don't have to take a loan for dinner,' a commenter added. 'Hectors offered no frills, just quality diner food. So sad to see it go,' a customer responded. Social media users said they thought this district diner would be the one that stood the test of time. 'I really thought this was the one thing in Meatpacking that would stay forever,' a fan wrote. Architectural photography authors James and Karla Murray were just as heartbroken about the once 24-hour restaurant's shuttering. 'Hector's was able to survive the many changes in the neighborhood/gentrification due in part to the fact that it had a long-term below market lease with the City... We absolutely love their Jumbo Beefburger Deluxe with fries which costs only $15.75,' they wrote. The Murrays included the diner in their 2023 book Store Front NYC: Photographs of the City's Independent Shops, Past and Present and have advised everyone to stop by the diner before it's too late. Hector's is not the only New York landmark restaurant that has shuttered over the years. Manhattan's iconic La Grenouille restaurant closed last year following rising costs and inflation, and Robert De Niro's restaurant Tribeca Grill closed in March after 35 years of business.
