At a brilliantly staged event last night in a run down, dirty, trash filled empty building on 15th Street, artist Rob Pruitt’s glorious new (and last ever) panda painting went on show. The space formerly Passerby, the legendary bar and gallery of art dealer Gavin Brown where 12 years ago today, Rob Pruitt held his first “Panda” show. Gavin Brown moved to a bigger swankier space many years ago, so it was like a fantastic step back in time to be in the disused shell of the old gallery space.
Guests who arrived early nabbed a Rob Pruitt t -shirt emblazoned with a skeleton holding a panda. The artist’s work is now so famous he did a major fashion collaboration earlier this year with Jimmy Choo featuring his beloved pandas. He was outside last night sporting a crisp white suit, leaning on a black SUV (very panda colors) signing t-shirts for whoever asked.
We spotted lots of other famous New York artists at the event, Elizbeth Peyton, Erik Parker and Yvonne Force Villareal, where all there grabbing their panda shirts. A lucky few scored actual pandas and a few fortunate guests found works of art Rob had done on bits of sheet rock and discarded on the ground. They were free to take them home, making this opening the coolest one we’ve seen in many years. The show is up for just ten days.
Rob Pruitt. The Last Panda. 436 West 15th Street. New York 10011. Closes May 18th, 2013
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