TRIBECA FESTIVAL™AND CHANEL TAP OVER 60 WORLD-CLASS ARTISTS TO TRANSFORM STOREFRONTS & STREETSCAPES ACROSS NEW YORK CITY IN CELEBRATION OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ART AWARDS AND REVITALIZATION OF NEW YORK CITY

INTRODUCING ART IS NEW YORK/NEW YORK IS ART FEATURING THE FOLLOWING ARTISTS
Julian Schnabel, Kiki Smith, Nate Lowman, Swoon, Chuck D, Matthew Modine, Christopher Walken, Donna Ferrato, Aurel Schmidt, Kalup Linzy, Don Gummer, Sophie Matisse and many more.

ANNOUNCING THE 2021 TRIBECA FESTIVAL ART AWARDS CONTRIBUTORS
Clifford Ross, Curtis Kulig, Deborah Kass, Francesco Clemente, Gus Van Sant, Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao, Laurie Simmons, Meghan Boody, Sheila Berger, Stephen Hannock, and Will Ryman

NEW YORK, NY– June 7, 2021 – Tribeca Festival, presented by AT&T, and CHANEL announced today the launch of Art is New York | New York Is Art, an art project celebrating 20 years of the Tribeca Festival Art Awards and the Festival’s tradition of artists supporting other artists. Tribeca and CHANEL convened over 60 past and present Art Awards contributors to create an original sketch inspired by the inseparable relationship between art and New York, the city’s rebirth, and the healing power of art. Starting today and for the next four weeks, wild postings of the artist’s expressions create an outdoor gallery of artwork to beautify streetscapes and vacated storefronts that dot the Festival’s footprint across lower Manhattan, part of Tribeca’s overall commitment to bringing entertainment, and culture back to New York City.

 

Art is New York | New York is Art illustrates the depth of love and loyalty among the artists for their stomping ground. They remind us that New York City—its color, its texture and its sound—is a work of art in itself that belongs to us all. The following artists contributed to the project:  Julian Schnabel, Kiki Smith, Nate Lowman, Swoon, Chuck D, Matthew Modine, Christopher Walken, Donna Ferrato, Aurel Schmidt, Kalup Linzy, Don Gummer, Sophie Matisse, Dustin Yellin and many more.

 

In addition to the artwork for Art is New York/ New York is Art, Tribeca and CHANEL released a short film which includes the pioneering voices of  Julian Schnabel, Donna Ferrato, and Chuck D examining the power of art and the resilience of the city. These three compelling artists discuss their respective purpose, work and devotion to New York City.

 

“Tribeca’s longstanding partnership with CHANEL in supporting human expression through art is deeply rooted in the spirit of the festival. Their commitment to honoring the boldness and authenticity of  artists is palpable,”  said Jane Rosenthal, Co-Founder and CEO of Tribeca Enterprises and Tribeca Festival. “There’s no better way  to see New York come alive and heal than through the creative lens of these wonderful artists. This project beautifully represents the city.”

 

Tribeca Festival was founded with the determination to rebuild and regenerate the renowned artistic hub of New York City in the wake of 9/11. Once again assuming cultural leadership, the 2021 Tribeca Festival is the first major North American film festival held in person since COVID-19. This 20th anniversary event runs live from June 9–20, a culmination of NY PopsUp, the statewide revitalization initiative to reignite in-person entertainment and the arts. Art is New York | New York is Art embodies this initiative and celebrates 20 years of the Tribeca Festival Art Awards.

 

Tribeca and CHANEL’s  long celebration of art will culminate with a special 25th  anniversary screening of Julian Schnabel’s remastered film, Basquiat on June 17th in New York City.

 

CHANEL has partnered with the Tribeca Festival since 2005, a reflection of the House’s historic and continuous commitment to creation in its varied forms. House founder and visionary Gabrielle Chanel surrounded herself with the leading artists of her time, acting as creative catalyst through her patronage of the arts . CHANEL is honored to continue its support of the annual Tribeca Festival Art Awards Program, which celebrates the leading filmmakers and artists of our time, and the rich tradition of artists supporting artists.    

 

Each year, since the festival’s beginning, Tribeca has had the distinction of being the only film festival to honor winning storytellers and creators in select competition categories with both monetary awards and original artwork. This year’s ten selected contemporary artists donating work for winning storytellers include Clifford Ross, Curtis Kulig, Deborah Kass, Francesco Clemente, Gus Van Sant, Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao, Laurie Simmons, Meghan Boody, Sheila Berger, Stephen Hannock, and Will Ryman.

 

The 2021 Art Awards collection will be featured in an online gallery on Tribecafilm.com throughout the festival. The art will be presented to filmmakers during the festival’s award ceremony.

 

The winning films, projects, filmmakers, storytellers, and actors in each category will be announced at the Tribeca Festival Awards Ceremony on June 17th.

 

Following is a complete list of artworks that will be contributed. Artwork images can be found http://tribecafilm.com/festival/art2021

 

Sheila Berger: In Between, 2014 Pencil on Paper
Meghan Boody: Opening Night, 2019 C Print Face Mounted to Mat Plexiglass and Back Mouted to White Plexiglass 2/5
Stephen Hannock: Art Museums Take a Breath, 2021 Charcoal and Chalk on paper
Deborah Kass:Being Alive, 2021 Medium: 9-color Silkscreen and Color Blend on 2-ply Museum Board
Curtis Kulig: A Stern Foe of Snobbishness, 2020 Oil on Canvas
Jeff Chie-Hsing Liao: View from Tribeca, 2018 Archival Ink Print
Clifford Ross: Waterline VI, 2020 Pigment Ink on Rag Paper
Will Ryman: Flag, 2021 Wood, Foam, Paint
Gus Van Sant: Devil in Hell, 2021 Encaustic on Paper

Laurie Simmons: How We See/Ajak (Violet), 2015

 

About the Artists

 

CLIFFORD ROSS
Multi-media artist Clifford Ross has been exhibited globally, with a singular goal to create work that relates to the sublime in nature. Using both realistic and abstract means, he often develops radically new approaches to existing media. Harmonium Mountain, Ross’ computer-generated video with an original score by Philip Glass, was presented at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2011. Ross’s works are in many collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the J. Paul Getty Museum.

 

CURTIS KULIG
Imbued with futility and irony, New York artist Curtis Kulig’s private plea, “Love Me,” became part of the urban fabric of the city a decade ago. A loyal audience ensued recasting the declaration, embracing inclusivity and hope. His studio practice consists of paintings and drawings which explore emotional vulnerabilities. Kulig has been featured in New York Times, Vanity Fair, and The Wall Street Journal and is a frequent contributor of works to cultural and charitable auctions. Upcoming projects include a solo show titled "Love, or something like it" at the Kantor Gallery in Los Angeles.

 

DEBORAH KASS
Deborah Kass is an artist whose work examines the intersection of art history, popular culture and the self. Her international showings include the Venice Biennale, the Istanbul Biennale, and the Museum Ludwig, Cologne. The Andy Warhol Museum presented "Deborah Kass, Before and Happily Ever After, Mid-Career Retrospective” in 2012, with a catalogue published by Rizzoli. She is among the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of Art, The Solomon Guggenheim Museum, and the Smithsonian Institute, as well as other museums and private collections.

 

GUS VAN SANT
Gus Van Sant (b. 1952, Louisville, Kentucky), admired internationally as a filmmaker, painter, photographer, and musician, received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence in 1975. Since that time, his studio painting practice has moved in and out of the foreground of a multi-disciplinary career, becoming a priority again over recent years. Van Sant’s work in different mediums is united by a single overarching interest in portraying people on the fringes of society.
Van Sant’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland, Le Case d’Arte in Milan, Italy, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon in Eugene, and Vito Schnabel Gallery in New York. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions since the 1980s, presenting drawings, paintings, photographs, video works, and writing. Among Van Sant’s many internationally acclaimed feature films are Milk (2008); Elephant (2003); Good Will Hunting (1997); My Own Private Idaho (1991); and Drugstore Cowboy (1989). Van Sant lives and works in Los Angeles.

 

JEFF CHIEN-HSING LIAO
Shooting primarily with large-format film, then scanning and digitally editing the negatives, Liao creates enormous, detail-driven panoramas of the social and urban landscape of New York. His unique perspective captures the city’s landmarks as well as the moment when it entered the twenty-first century. Liao won the New York Times Magazine “Capture the Times” photography contest and the Emerging Icon in Photography Award from George Eastman House. Featured in numerous exhibitions, his work can be found in the permanent collections of several institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Brooklyn Museum, and the J. Paul Getty Museum.

 

LAURIE SIMMONS
Artist, photographer, filmmaker Laurie Simmons has had solo exhibitions at major venues nationwide including New York City’s most prestigious museums, as well as around the world. Simmons’s recent retrospective originated in 2018 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and traveled to Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art the following year. Her feature film, MY ART, premiered at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival and had a North American premiere at the Tribeca Festival. Simmons also created an award for the first Tribeca Festival.

 

MEGHAN BOODY
Meghan Boody’s work revolves around her fascination with human evolution, exploring the link between trauma and massive change. One of the first photographers to use digital photography effectively, her complex work focuses on young subjects engaged in this challenging journey. She also works on projects involving experiential art and the healing of trauma. Boody’s art is in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University and The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).

 

SHEILA BERGER
Influenced by a lifetime of travel to some of the most remote parts of the globe, Sheila Berger's paintings and drawings are both a reflection of the visual richness of these experiences and a space to pause. Her public sculptures are in parks throughout the country and she has featured her work internationally. A longtime resident of the Chelsea Hotel, Berger previously lived in Paris and Italy and currently divides her time between Manhattan and Argentina.

 

STEPHEN HANNOCK
Luminist painter Stephen Hannock is known for his atmospheric landscapes and incendiary nocturnes. His keen appreciation for the quality of light and machine-polishing on the surfaces of paintings give his work a trademark luminous quality. Hannock’s visual effects design for the film WHAT DREAMS MAY COME won an Academy Award. His works are in collections worldwide, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and The National Gallery of Art. His contribution to the Festival’s Art Awards program is a sketch celebrating the reopening of museums and cultural events in New York after the pandemic.

 

WILLY RYMAN
Widely recognized for his sculptures and public art, Will Ryman’s work is filled with an acute theatricality that harkens back to his early career as a playwright and ongoing interest in literature and philosophy. His work captures an intuitive approach to sculpting diverse materials into expressive forms that examine aspects of the human experience. Ryman’s work can currently be seen on view at LongHouse Reserve, East Hampton, NY and Art Omi, Ghent, NY. The Situation Room, a life-size installation related to a historical moment in the Obama Administration, will be included in the 2021–2022 exhibition season at The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse in Miami.

 

About the Tribeca Festival:
The Tribeca Festival, presented by AT&T, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, VR, gaming, music, and online work. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is a platform for creative expression and immersive entertainment. Tribeca champions emerging and established voices; discovers award-winning filmmakers and creators; curates innovative experiences; and introduces new technology and ideas through premieres, exhibitions, talks, and live performances.

The Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan following the attacks on the World Trade Center. Tribeca will celebrate its 20th year June 9 – 20, 2021.  www.tribecafilm.com/festival

In 2019, James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, a private investment company with locations in New York and Mumbai, bought a majority stake in Tribeca Enterprises, bringing together Rosenthal, De Niro, and Murdoch to grow the enterprise.

 

About CHANEL:
Chanel is a private company and a world leader in creating, developing, manufacturing and distributing luxury products. Founded by Gabrielle Chanel at the beginning of the last century, Chanel offers a broad range of high-end creations, including Ready-to-Wear, Leather Goods, Fashion Accessories, Eyewear, Fragrances, Makeup, Skincare, Jewellery and Watches. Chanel is also renowned for its Haute Couture collections, presented twice yearly in Paris, and for having acquired a large number of specialized suppliers, collectively known as the Métiers d’Art. Chanel is dedicated to ultimate luxury and to the highest level of craftsmanship. It is a brand whose core values remain historically grounded on exceptional creation. As such, Chanel promotes culture, art, creativity and “savoir-faire” throughout the world, and invests significantly in people, R&D and innovation. At the end of 2020, Chanel employed more than 27,000 people across the world.

 

Jeff David Gray – Tribeca Enterprises: 212.470.1209  jgray@tribecafilm.com
Annie Buck – CHANEL: 404.771.8501  annie.buck@chanelusa.com