REVIEW: Artists & Recipes curated by Abby Lloyd
Food and friendship should not be extravagant dreams
I remember naively thinking that all I wanted in life is to enjoy good art, music, and food with my friends. These days, this feels like an extravagant dream, so I was very drawn to the exhibition.
Artists & Recipes is a fun, unpretentious show where the artists' connection to the curator, Abby Lloyd, takes center stage. It’s the kind of group exhibition I’d typically shy away from, especially when it seems like the lineup consists mostly of the curator’s friends. I am exhausted by the “look at me and my good-looking clique” vibe we see every Thursday evening at openings downtown. But here, more meaningful friendship is an important dimension of the exhibition. With works hung salon-style, the show doesn’t pretend to be visually cohesive; in fact, it feels more like an open call where every artist who responded got in. Yet, the strength of the show lies not in the art alone, but in how it contemplates the relationships between the artists and Lloyd.
Lloyd put together the accompanying cookbook with friends just a month after her mother passed during the COVID lockdown, adding an intimate layer to the show. I haven’t read Crying at H Mart, but I think many of can understand how the loss of a mother can make us gravitate toward food and recipes as a way of remembering loved ones. The cookbook, which is sold at the gallery and also available online, features recipes from the contributing artists: Artists & Recipes. While there isn’t a clear relationship between the artworks and the recipes, the cookbook itself is a delight. Some artists shared personal stories and cultural backgrounds tied to their dishes, while others, like Joshua Abelow, admit they don’t really cook but enjoy orange juice instead. Maybe you’ll find practical use from this book as eating out in New York has gotten even more expensive than it already was to the point that it could be destructive to a financially precarious pursuit of artistic careers. Learning to cook could save your career!
Food has always been a powerful force in bringing people together, and in this case, the cookbook fosters a sense of community and connection. Food has long played a role in art events—sometimes even becoming part of the art itself, as in relational aesthetics, where cooking and meals are treated like performance art. The ingredients, preparation, and act of eating form what has now become a social ritual in the art world. It’s no surprise that dining has become a key way to build social clout, with publications like The New York Times regularly featuring articles such as The Art of the Dinner Party and The Case for (and Against) the Fussy Dinner Party. And, of course, there are the restaurants frequented by "cool" artists who somehow regularly drop $75 or more on a single meal.
Having the time, resources, or education to explore food as an aesthetic or cultural experience is undeniably a luxury. Much like fine art, gourmet dining and food-as-art concepts are often associated with wealth and exclusivity. But projects like Artists & Recipes subvert this idea, turning both art and food into vehicles for communal empowerment, rather than mere displays of privilege. It was lovely that their opening was a pot luck with the artists and anyone who wanted to join. I hope they do a similar event before the closing.
Perhaps this group of artists could revive some iteration of FOOD, the artist-run restaurant in SoHo that was meant to foster community in the early days of the neighborhood’s cultural scene. Frieze New York paid tribute to FOOD in 2013, though that gesture felt a bit dystopian, given how much the art world has changed since then.
Marvin Gardens (15-48 Decatur Street, Ridgewood, NY 11385)
September 8 to October 6, 2024
Artists: Abby Lloyd, Allison Brainard, Alyssa Davis, Ana Bial, Betty Roytburd, Bo Geddes, Brigid Moore, Charlie Roberts, Chris Maggio, Chris Retsina, Diego Groisman, Drake Carr, Finoula O’Mahony, Gina Beavers, Hadley Vogel, HONGJI, Ivy Pham, Janine Iversen, Jo Shane, Joe Speier, Jonny Campolo, Josh Cohen, Joshua Abelow, KT Hickman, Marcy Cruthirds, Mario Miron, Michael Bussell, Michelle Uckotter, Miles Shelton, Moko Fukuyama, Morgan Blair, Nate Milton, Philip Hinge, Robin Winters, Steve Lloyd, Tif XB, Tisch Abelow, Victoria Duffee