Photo via artobserved.com
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Thomas Hirschhorn
Gramsci Monument, the Bronx
Forget the statues—the sprawling tree fort made of duct tape and particle board in NYCHA’s Forest Houses complex actively involved residents in daily lectures, radio broadcasts and a tuck shop, improving the quality of life for everyone who participated. It was incredible, and best of all, it got people from all parts of New York talking. The best public work this year, easily.
Photo via newmuseum.org
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Llyn Foulkes
The New Museum, Lower East Side
Foulkes would be an outsider artist if he weren’t so skilled. His paintings, particularly the later ones, are obsessed with the evils of Disney. It’s a simple message but good god is Foulkes ever a master of materials! He literally carves depth out of his figurative paintings, which typically incorporate real-world elements. These paintings are so detailed and strange that they’re hard to look away from.