The latest edition of the Bortolami Gallery's "Artist/City" initiative is displayed in a former Greyhound bus terminal next to the Plaza Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas through Feb. 26.
The Artist/City initiative pairs artists with unconventional urban
spaces. The Bortolami Gallery, located in the Tribeca neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, has
presented eight iterations of the initiative since its launch in 2015.
Sites have included an abandoned Taco Bell in St. Louis and the Watergate
Office Building in Washington.
"The Artist/City initiative
reflects our interest in artistic experimentation outside the ordinary
gallery setting," said Stefania Bortolami, who founded the gallery in
2005. "With the ever-changing and fast-paced art market that we navigate
today, Artist/City aims for an additional paradigm in exhibition
programming, offering site-responsive installations that broader
audiences can experience over a longer period of time.
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Features in the Las Vegas presentation are new works from New York-based Japanese painters Koichi Sato and Susumu Kamijo as well as Los Angeles-based artist Jonas Wood, all reflecting their experiences of "Americana."
Sato, a self-taught artist known for his vibrant and cartoonlike figures, completed portraits of individuals and groups representing characters and identities in American culture. Kamijo, who explores animals' physical and behavioral peculiarities in his art, presents abstract canvases of poodles.