Martos Gallery Keith Haring exhibition reviewed by the New York Times.

Closing Tomorrow                                       Click here to read full article  Final Day Keith Haring’s  FDR Drive Mural, 1984 With fourteen of the thirty panels which composed the original work, created on site in the fall of 1984, spanning some 300 feet alongside the highway and the East River, on view for nearly a year. The sheet metal panels on which the artist painted were already in place, hung about 4 1/2 feet off the ground, and their installation for this exhibition follows. The FDR mural, now more than forty years later, remains one of the artist’s major public works.    The exhibition is accompanied by an essay by critic and curator Bob Nickas, which follows. That whispered hiss when paint sprays from an aerosol can’s nozzle, paint on an atomic level, accompanied by its distinctive pssssst, a finger poised, held in place assuring a steady stream, the arm directing a fluid line as an extension of the body in motion. For viewers, moving past the panels comprising one of Keith Haring’s major works, the frieze-like mural he created on site in 1984, spanning some three hundred feet of New York’s FDR Drive, we imagine that sound, its faint echo. Faint for the distance this work has traveled to reach us here and now, as well because it would only have been audible to the artist himself in proximity to the moment the work was brought to life. And it’s still alive. Haring’s distinctive, vibratory line animates figures that float, fly, somersault, and exuberantly defy gravity, movement from dancing, breakdancing and the sense that bodies can transcend physical limits. The staccato red marks around black outlined figures represent bursts of energy that are joyous, spontaneous, celebratory. A winged figure soaring upwards into space, an oversize lightbulb aglow, a dog barking. It’s all there in the mural, which we can think of—and it’s true for all Haring’s work—as an amplifier, delivering a message, graphically bold, visible from a distance, pitch perfect in volume, the artist’s voice yet echoing. That pssssst, which might be the sound of a secret about to be passed, in its amplification, meant for all to hear. Whoever was listening.    Consider the mural’s original site, the length of highway defining the city’s eastern edge, with the East River flowing in parallel, cars moving in both directions. There would have been a constant low hum or a whoosh of velocity as they passed by, depending on how well traffic was moving, or not. The speed limit is forty, but when cars slow to a crawl there’s another sound: impatient drivers leaning into their horns. Though it did give them a chance to see what Haring was creating for whoever went by, although he wasn’t widely known at the time. The promenade of Carl Schurz Park is there, as a straight line between East 90th and 91st Streets, so there were cyclists, joggers, people walking dogs, some who would stop to watch the artist at work, and speak with him.1 Haring’s audience was the public at large, day and night. (Imagine cars driving by after dark, the mural illuminated by passing headlights.) When traffic moved smoothly, this frieze, frame by frame, was a panoramic movie, a linear, urban zoetrope, not unlike the graffiti that could be seen in subway tunnels in the late ’70s and ‘80s, a film flickering as trains rumbled between stations, underground movies which Haring would have seen as well.2 We all did, at least those of us who rode the subway; the first time was startling, as it must have been aboveground along the FDR Drive in 1984.   In a number of photographs taken by Haring’s friend, the artist Tseng Kwong Chi,3 we see him with a portable cassette player in the bend of his arm; in another it’s raised up on his shoulder, small, bright yellow and red. (As nearby traffic slowed, the sleek, sinuous funk of a Grace Jones song may have reverberated, “Pull Up to the Bumper,” as it does now just thinking about it, in the ‘home movies’ we call memory.) He’s holding a can of spray paint in his right hand, wearing a tight t-shirt with his image of a winged, dancing TV set. Haring listened to music when he was working; it was a big part of his life, a continuous soundtrack.4 He frequented clubs downtown—Club 57, Danceteria, Paradise Garage, the Mudd Club, and Area. There was always music in the street at the time, more forty years ago than today, it seems, and of course the street was often his studio, and gallery, open seven days a week. Keith Haring’s art was a democracy of sorts, an ongoing engagement with public address, particularly in that auspicious year by way of George Orwell’s famous cautionary tale, 1984. "In a time of universal deceit,” Orwell had observed, “telling the truth is a revolutionary act." In a curious inversion, though it may not have been coincidental at all, the book had mostly been written in 1948, in the aftermath of the Second World War, a period that had witnessed an unprecedented surge of political propaganda amid great sacrifice and loss. What was true in 1948 held true almost forty years later, with Ronald Reagan in his second term as president, having won by a landslide—which we didn’t know would end up burying so many, our own period of loss about to unfold—buoyed by his slogan “Let’s Make American Great Again” (sound familiar?), and, for our misfortune, that story foretold seventy- five years ago remains true today.    1984 was the year the first Macintosh personal computer came onto the market. Prominently, for some controversially, it was announced with a commercial directed by Ridley Scott, who presented a dystopian world inspired by Orwell’s 1984, which was strategically aired during the Super Bowl, with an audience of nearly eighty million. Bleakly lit, the ad begins with a line of grim-faced inmates, heads shaved, in uniform gray scrubs, being marched into an airless hall. The air is being sucked out by Big Brother, projected on a giant screen, proclaiming in messianic tones that “a garden of pure ideology” awaits, that “We are one people, with one will, one cause.” These scenes are intercut with a female runner, an Olympian, carrying a heavy hammer, pursued by police in riot gear. She enters the hall and, in slow motion, hurls the hammer at the screen, and it shatters and explodes dramatically. A printed text, read in a measured, soothing voice, follows: “On January 24th, Apple will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like “1984.” Then the bright, colorful Apple logo appears on a deep black ground. Just under a minute has elapsed.5   To watch the ad today, knowing all that has followed, well aware that we are fully captive to technology, that it hasn’t saved us from tyranny and surveillance, we can be sure of one thing: the Orwellian 1984 has been on continuous loop since 1948. And Apple, “big brotherly” to the core, as Orwell would have surely predicted had he lived to see the Internet, may have never been meant as part of the solution, or how and for who?, but rather a normalized means for invasively expanding social control. The ultimate monitor. Today, at least one in every home, in every phone, everywhere, all across the globe. Haring pictured, in numerous paintings and drawings, a caterpillar with a computer for a head, at times being ridden by a headless (signifying brainless) figure, with images on the screen that include a monkey-like creature held tightly by its tail, a figure crucified upside down, and a dollar sign, the earliest of them dating to 1983—none of which would have been lost on Orwell. In the photo of Haring cradling the tape player, we see behind him, inching its way across the murals’ tenth and eleventh panels, a caterpillar with a giant plug-like head—in search of its outlet?    There can be no doubt that as soon as Haring saw the long line of white sheet metal panels that had been put up against the fencing by the FDR Drive, he saw his canvas and went at it, quickly as always. The improvisatory nature of his way of working is evident, the energy he imbued his figures with, in parallel to his own. He believed in individual expression, in human interaction, and in how art has the power to bring people together, particularly outside galleries and museums, in public, freely available to all. A force of nature, his art flowed directly from his hand, his eye, and his mind. Haring would encounter a number of the panels some years after the mural had been disassembled, or in his words “rescued,” and although he said they appeared in bad shape, he thought that “somehow this makes it look even better.”6 The panels were weathered, worn from nearly a year exposed to the elements, but they had survived: art and urban archaeology. If we consider the FDR Drive mural in the time of its creation as an antidote to a sense of future dread —from the past, 1948/1984—and we think about where we find ourselves today, Keith Haring’s work remains so: an antidote, hopeful, joyous, alive.   —Bob Nickas   Notes: 1. I am indebted to a first-hand account from Steve McHugh, who was 16 in 1984, knew Keith Haring casually, and rode his father’s bike over to where the artist was working to see for himself. The great coincidence in connecting McHugh with Haring after so much time had passed is that he now works for an art shipping company, and had been contacted about transporting the panels to the gallery. His recollection also points to the artist’s generosity. As he wrote in an email: “I knew Keith in the ‘80s and was there hanging out with him one day when he was painting these panels. I grew up in New York, and at that time I lived on 85th Street and East End Avenue, just six blocks from FDR and 91st. “I also knew Keith from the Lower East Side and the trains. I was in a rock band called Hidden Scream, and we had a rehearsal space on Saint Marks Place and 2nd Avenue in the East Village. It was a very different neighborhood back then, and Keith was just a guy we knew that did graffiti. “That day that he was doing the FDR mural, I was wearing a denim jacket, and he drew a picture, of me behind my drum kit, on the back of my jacket with a magic marker while I was wearing it. I still have the jacket.”   2. It’s important to note a public art project from that time, Bill Brand’s MASSTRANSISCOPE, a series of animated drawings that were installed in a subway tunnel in 1980 (reinstalled in 2012 as a permanent work), which can be viewed from the Manhattan bound Q or B trains departing from DeKalb Avenue.   3. In the left corner of panel #5, a figure bent over backwards is identified as T.K.C.— Tseng Kwong Chi.   4. Many of Haring’s mixtapes have been digitized, tapes he made as well as those made for him by DJ Juan Dubose and Larry Levan across the ‘80s. They provide a soundtrack to his art, still today—including songs by Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Herbie Hancock, ESG, Grace Jones, Madonna, Prince, Sylvester, B52s, Talking Heads, Section 25, Mantronix, Trouble Funk, the Beastie Boys, and NYC Peech Boys—for whom Haring did the cover artwork for their album, Life Is Something Special, in 1983.   5. The commercial is available to be seen on YouTube.   6. “The next day I go to Galerie Beaubourg with Gil to discuss show of mural from New York (91st) FDR Drive Mural (1984), which has been “rescued” and shipped to Paris. It is in really bad shape, but somehow this makes it look even better.” From Keith Haring Journals, first published by Penguin Books, 1997, and in a deluxe edition, 2010, p. 358.t. Martos Gallery  41 Elizabeth Street New York, NY 10013 ------ +1 212 560 0670  martosgallery.com shootthelobster.com Martos Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10AM - 6PM -----------------------------------------------------                                        Thank you Keith Haring!

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SWPK Gallery / The Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Art Foundation Baroque Apocalypse Anne Katrine Senstad February 11–April 18, 2026 OPENING: WEDNESDAY, February 11, 6–8 PM

Baroque Apocalypse Anne Katrine Senstad With a sound environment by JG Thirlwell February 11–April 18, 2026 OPENING: WEDNESDAY, February 11, 6–8 PM SWPK Gallery / The Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Art Foundation 417 Lafayette St, 2nd Floor, NYC. www.swpk.org   RSVP FOR THE OPENING Anne Katrine Senstad, Music for Plutocracy - ELEMENTS V, 2021, with a sound environment composed by JG Thirlwell. Supported by NBK, Fond for Lyd og Bilde, and Kulturdirektoratet, Norway, Foundation for Contemporary Art, New York.  SWPK Gallery is pleased to announce Baroque Apocalypse, presenting a monumental light installation by Norwegian interdisciplinary artist Anne Katrine Senstad, with a four-channel sound environment by the renowned composer JG Thirlwell. The exhibition will be on view at the SWPK Gallery from February 11 to April 18, 2026. An opening reception with the artists will take place at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. Anne Katrine Senstad works at the intersection of light, sound, and spatial perception, creating immersive environments that transform architecture into sensory experiences. Baroque Apocalypse presents ELEMENTS IX, the ninth iteration in her ongoing ELEMENTS series, inviting viewers into a space shaped by color, luminosity, and resonance. Moving beyond spectacle, Senstad’s practice engages the ephemeral qualities of light, sound, and time. Vertical columns form a luminous colonnade animated by noble gases including argon, neon, krypton, xenon, and helium. Each gas produces a distinct chromatic intensity, from royal rose pink and cobalt blue to emerald green and Apollo’s yellow. Color becomes an active presence, surrounding the viewer and altering perception through movement and proximity. The installation draws inspiration from the phenomenon of sonoluminescence, in which microscopic gas bubbles implode under intense acoustic pressure, producing a glorious, luminous emission. This moment of implosion and release serves as a metaphor for transformation, as light and sound emerge together through intensity. Architecture plays a vital role in shaping the experience of Baroque Apocalypse. The vertical configuration recalls ceremonial colonnades found in ancient temples, cathedral interiors, and the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. As visitors move through the illuminated field, time appears suspended and walking becomes participatory. Conceived as a durational installation, the work unfolds through the organic behavior of neon, creating a tension between solidity and flux. JG Thirlwell’s composition was created for ELEMENTS IX and premiers in 2026, as part of Baroque Apocalypse.   Anne Katrine Senstad, ELEMENTS I, 2018 as part of the exhibition Through the Spectrum - A Light Art Survey, alongside James Turrell, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Robert Irwin, Leo Villarreal, and more.   ABOUT THE ARTISTS Anne Katrine Senstad is a multi-disciplinary artist working with photography, video, neon sculpture, and site specificity, with a focus on the phenomena of perception and the cognitive system in response to the properties of light, sound, and color. She is concerned with sensorial aesthetics and the transformative—the transcendental ideas of art and philosophical practice. Senstad has exhibited widely internationally, including Galerie Floss & Schultz, Cologne (2025), Château de Montsoreau Museum of Contemporary Art, France (2024), Seinajoki Kunsthall, Finland (2021), Kai Art Center, Tallin (2020), He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen (2019), Bruges Art and Architecture Triennale, Belgium (2015), 55th and 56th Venice Biennales (Collaterali Eventi), (respectively 2013 and 2015). In 2020, Senstad was awarded the prestigious Arts Council Norway Governmental grant for artists. Her book NEON GUIDES ME was published in 2022, including texts by celebrated writers, thinkers, and composers (Praun & Guermouche, Stockholm). In 2025 she founded Temporal Spaces, an artist organized curatorial initiative in New York.   https://annesenstad.org/ http://annesenstad.com/ JG Thirlwell is an Australian-American composer, producer, and performer based in Brooklyn, NY. Thirlwell has released over thirty albums under his various pseudonyms including Foetus, Manorexia, Xordox and Steroid Maximus. JG has completed commissions for Kronos Quartet, Bang On A Can, Alarm Will Sound, and many more. He is a member of the “freq_out” sound-art collective, curated by CM Von Hausswolff, and has created several solo sound installations. JG performs live solo and with his own chamber ensembles. He has collaborated with Karen O, Noveller, Zola Jesus, Helm, Lydia Lunch, Tony Oursler, and many more. Thirlwell creates the musical score for the Emmy-winning FX show Archer, and Adult Swim / Cartoon Network show The Venture Bros.   www.foetus.org ABOUT SWPK GALLERY SWPK Gallery — The Sylvia Wald & Po Kim Art Foundation — is a non-profit organization committed to promoting East-West cultural exchange through the arts by sponsoring and hosting art exhibitions of national and international artists. For more information, visit: swpk.org Baroque Apocalypse is produced in collaboration with the Donghwa Cultural Foundation. SWPK Gallery 417 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10003 Phone: 212.598.1155 Email: info@waldandkimgallery.org Media inquiries: Odelette Cho ocho@waldandkimgallery.org #fineartmagazineblog.blogspot#swpkgallery#susntormfineartmagazine#susntormfineartmagazine.com#fineartmagazineblog.blogspot

Islip Arts Councils new board members: Trish Zuvich, and Rachel Aviles

STAY CONNECTED MEMBERSHIP     CLASSES     February 4, 2026 Islip Arts Council Welcomes Two New Board Members, Trish Zuvich and Rachel Aviles  The Islip Arts Council (IAC) welcomes two new Board Members at its January 22, 2026, Board Meeting. Shown left-to-right are Waldo Cabrera, IAC Board President; Trish Zuvich, Board Member; Rachel Aviles, Board Member; and Linda Weingarten, IAC Director of Operations. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Islip Arts Council Welcomes Two New Board Members, Rachel Aviles and Trish Zuvich Bay Shore, NY — The Islip Arts Council is proud to announce and warmly welcome two new members to its Board of Directors: Rachel Aviles and Trish Zuvich. Both women bring inspiration, creative backgrounds, strong community spirit, and a deep passion for the ARTS. “I am truly thrilled and honored to welcome Rachel and Trish to the Islip Arts Council Board,” said Linda Weingarten, Director of Operations. “Their excitement, artistic ability, and love for creative expression is exactly what the Council stands for — and I am beyond excited to have them onboard as we enter an exciting new era of growth, community connection, and artistic expansion.” Rachel Aviles Rachel was raised in a home filled with music, singing in church alongside her family. Throughout her teen years, her passion grew as she performed in choirs across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Bay Shore, and took part in musicals and plays. A true multi-disciplinary creative, Rachel loves singing, acting, painting, and dancing, and has continued to share her voice into adulthood — including a notable chapter singing as a soloist with the Bay Shore Community Band for three years. Today, Rachel has discovered an additional artform close to her heart: painting seashells, turning nature into personal pieces of art and joy. For Rachel, the ARTS are more than a hobby — they are a lifelong passion and opportunity to express herself and connect with others. Trish Zuvich Trish Zuvich is a Hauppauge-based artist, Fine Arts major, and IT Director who has spent the last 18 years building an impressive career in technology while nurturing a powerful and deeply personal artistic voice. Two years ago, she returned to painting with renewed purpose after witnessing Chazz Palminteri perform A Bronx Tale live — inspired by the unforgettable line: “The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.” Trish’s work blends modern pin-up aesthetics with symbolism, emotion, and transformation, exploring themes of identity, resilience, strength, femininity as power, and reclamation. Her paintings are storytelling-driven and bold — celebrating creativity as something that lives in the soul across every stage of life. The Islip Arts Council has played a meaningful role in Trish’s artistic evolution — welcoming her into group exhibitions, featuring her as Artist of the Month (November), and now she will help IAC shape the organization’s future from within. Trish shared, “The Islip Arts Council has played an incredibly meaningful role in my artistic journey. I’m honored and excited to continue growing as an artist, giving back to the community, and helping support the Council’s mission moving forward.” Looking Ahead With the addition of Rachel and Trish, the Islip Arts Council Board continues to grow in both artistic range and community representation. With their unique backgrounds in music, performance, and visual arts the Council’s mission of keeping the arts vibrant, accessible, and thriving across Long Island will be strengthened. For more information about the Islip Arts Council, upcoming exhibitions, and programs, please visit isliparts.org or call 631-888-3525. MEET IAC BOARD MEMBERS AND A FEW NOTORIOUS AT THE SPEAKEASY SOIREE: A NIGHT YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS! Step into a hidden Jazz Age Speakeasy for an unforgettable evening of live music by the Cafe Society Jazz Band and Moxie Poe, vintage glamour, and a curated Tastefully Risqué art exhibition. This evening will also include signature beverages sponsored by Artemis, immersive art experiences, and extraordinary raffles - all in support of the Islip Arts Council. PURCHASE TICKETS HERE SPONSOR THE SPEAKEASY THANK YOU SUPPORTERS! Thank you to our sponsors and the dedicated people like you who continue to support the Islip Arts Council. Without your help, IAC would not be able to provide the community with new and exceptional programming.

Islip Arts Council | South Shore Mall 1701 Sunrise Hwy, Suite N1 | Bay Shore, NY 11706 US #islipartscouncil#sunstormfineartmagazine#sunstormfineartmagazine.com#fineartmagazineblog.blogspot#happyartday