Lucy Sparrow's Deli. En Imamura's New Studio

Lucy Sparrow’s (b.1986) third solo show in New York is on exhibit now. It is as unique, entertaining and fun as all of her previous shows. Sparrow has created a Jewish deli, called Feltz Bagels, a nod to the colorful felt that she uses for her artworks. 

The shop offers more than a dozen types of bagels and fillings (made to order), cookies, pastry, bottles Manischewitz kosher wine, and more, all made of felt.

Sparrow was born in Bath, England in 1986. She has visited New York often, but doesn’t have a Jewish background, so she did her research by exploring Jewish Delis, like Katz’s. in Manhattan. 

“My work is always focused on community experiences and the amazing everyday products that bring us all together. There really is no greater example of this than the traditional bagel bakeries of the Lower East Side of New York that have been nourishing much more than the stomachs of the city’s residents since the late 19th century,” Sparrow said.

Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. Felt creations have also been commissioned by high-profile clients, including Hermès, Disney, and Vogue.

Lucy Sparrow: Feltz Bagels is on view at 209 East 3rd Street, New York through, October, 31, 2023.

 En Iwamura  (b.1988) is one of Japan’s finest, and most generous, contemporary artists. His dream was to have a show in New York. Not only did that dream come true, but he has also had exhibits in Chicago, Miami, Seattle, California, France, Belgium and, of course, Japan.

After assistant  teaching and receiving his MFA from Clemson University in South Carolina, Iwamura returned to Japan and set up a studio in the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park. Shigaraki, not far from Iwamura’s birthplace, Kyoto, is one of the oldest pottery producing towns in Japan. 

Many of the younger generation have left Shigaraki to persue other careers. Iwamura settled there in the hopes of inspiring younger artists.

He has a new studio in Shigaraki, and encourages visitors, especially young artists to stop by.

 A new book by art historian Prudence Pfeiffer examines the coming together of some of America’s greatest mid-twentieth century artists on a street in Manhattan’s lower tip. The Slip: The New York City Street That Changed American Art Forever looks at the impact that young artists like Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Indiana, James Rosenquist and Agnes Martin had on each other at Coenties Slip and on the art world in America.

The Slip was a quiet place, especially at night, and rent for a large, live-in studio space was about $45 a month.