Tag: NYC

March 20, 2024

Roughly Synonymous? Better “Get The Picture”

“Get The Picture” by Bianca Bosker is a fascinating art world exposé. The ART WORLD? Gigantic and infinitesimal. The center? Manhattan. My home of 13 years. Despite being full-time since July 2, 2009 — a self-represented artist based in Idaho is an extreme art world outsider.

Accordingly, the following had me spitting coffee:

“…at certain Brooklyn openings, you could reliably revive a stalled-out conversation by shitting on Gagosian, capitalism, or painting, all of which were roughly synonymous.”

Gold, Jerry. Gold! Right there and then, “Roughly Synonymous” was born.

October 14, 2021

Bright Lights, Big City Guggenheim Painting by Borbay

Year 13 of my 20-Year-Guggenheim Series called for something special… but I found myself rudderless. That is… until I spotted a brilliant photo on the Guggenheim Museum Twitter account… snapped by @NYCLOVESNYC — aka, Noel Y. Calingasan.

Today’s #FrankLloydWrightFridays illustration is by @nyclovesnyc—“I made this image to depict this white 'temple of spirit,' a respite from the fast-paced New York life represented by the bright red light trails on 5th Avenue.” pic.twitter.com/f4t0qW9KC5
— Guggenheim Museum (@Guggenheim) September 18, 2020

I’m sure you can see why I was so taken. As it happens, I reached out to Noel, and he graciously allowed me to use his photo as the source image for this painting.

And thanks to Noel, “Bright Lights, Big City Guggenheim” was born — named, with an obvious nod, to the brilliant Jay McInerney (a gent I spotted at Elaine’s a few times, back in the day).

November 30, 2020

Hotel Chelsea Painted by Borbay

Several beers deep, meandering past the Chelsea Hotel… I was beckoned — “Hit the bodega. Buy a sixer. Come inside.”

Make like a dealer, avoid eye contact, get to the elevators… climb stairs, lose yourself, absorb art…mingle with ghosts. On the roof, crack a beer, grab a hammock, take in the washed out stars… what does it all mean?

If you told me I’d paint this picture in my 40th year, living in Idaho as a father of three…

Introducing my latest, a 20”X20”X1.5”, acrylic and enamel painting of ‘The Chelsea’. Of late, I’ve been compelled to experiment… put away the ruler and paint with emotion. Buy the ticket, take the ride.

May 7, 2020

Radio City Music Hall Neon Painting by Borbay

Back in 2011… I created a painting for Advertising Week on commission. The work ran as full-page ads in Ad Age, Ad Week, Bloomberg’s Business Week and was animated for play in the back of NYC Taxi’s. During that whirlwind week… Lord Matthew Scheckner, Global CEO of Stillwell Partners, rolled out the red carpet.

We spent an evening with Daniel Lamarre, CEO of Cirque du Soleil (I took notes); attended countless cocktail affairs, and sat front row to witness Cirque’s Zarkana at Radio City Music Hall.

On our way in… I looked up, and snapped this picture… one I would paint nine years later, living in Idaho. Of course, when I kicked-off this 60″X60″X1.5″ Acrylic on Belgian Linen canvas on January 21, 2020… I had no idea what the world would look like on May 5, 2020… when it was completed.

January 15, 2020

White Horse Tavern Neon Sign Painting by Borbay

2020 is here… and so is my first signed painting — the ‘White Horse Tavern’. For those of you with literary passion… the ghost of Dylan Thomas lives here.

And, in case you haven’t heard — the White Horse is now owned by Eytan Sugarman — a gentleman I’ve come to know since beginning this piece. I’m looking forward to kicking-it with Eytan at this iconic NYC institution, drink in hand.

Care to join me on a time lapse journey? Here’s sending lots of love to MH the Verb for the 🔥 soundtrack. Call me biased, but I’m partial to those with a ‘Borbay in their hallway’ — I also enjoy imported bottles of vodka from Norway.

August 10, 2019

The Silver Guggenheim — Guggenheim 11 in the 20 Year Series

On July 2, 2009 — I became a full-time artist. My first sale? A 30″X30″ painting of The Guggenheim, created on 5th Avenue, in front of The Guggenheim. When the desire to paint Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece struck again, it felt too opportunistic… unless. Unless it became something grandiose… a benchmark for my career.

So, I decided to paint The Guggenheim, each year, for twenty years. Back then, as a dude living in NYC with a steady girl and a scary new career — it felt impossible. Today, I find myself living in Idaho, married, with three kids and nine Gugg’s to go.

https://www.facebook.com/borbay/videos/447765162478080/?__xts__[0]=68.ARDbNoYgkDNWlVqjCcvVj6SwzwzDYTKuRmxyIudSnhQqaQfxSr7eGf0OF-6JUIsfQXR_udbCCsaHEhCfqh2QJIYA6vvaGhMhyspdQ-ZOrYINaSnOu6nB8JsK4wsnZzVjmW1scin0wm4xccyfaWwcPUXQqN_imp7nLSGtAtY9jIqPeWCXjlquvnqbNWWk93RhPeYJyMudMcBEUo94yMJDQLYjzr9Ol5Rd7I0NvzA11np2frM1YMdNv_lIVqfF-OdYrEZ8Ey-LxEHCRMcKt5n6wIG8ddMG54QgzvBzd6deSlMeRhM4YwZotUnuIHIQPFQCTSdWUJXeoOaMRoiFdrTVzTJoG3h8DL2pIKs&__tn__=-R

For this year, I went clean… and shared the time lapse with some explicit beats, courtesy of my boy Louis Metric. Not only is this guy a microphone assassin — he is a total beer-league sniper… listen, follow, and watch him ascend.

April 29, 2019

My Life Story in New York Lifestyles Magazine

You can move a New Yorker to Idaho… but the heart of a New Yorker is forever on the island of Manhattan. And, so, I was delighted to share my life story with New York Lifestyles Magazine!

Oh, yes, and do click on any image for a closer inspection.

March 2, 2019

Central Park — The Painting

Frederick Law Olmsted was a genius of unfathomable proportion. This gentleman saw the center of a bustling island, and envisioned 1.317 square miles of trees, hills, bridges, lakes and pathways — and invented Central Park.

Having spent 12 years living in Manhattan (10 of which, were on the Upper East Side) — The Park was my home away from home, through which I ran 1000’s of miles, played 100’s of hockey games, and spent countless hours exploring, thinking, enjoying… being connected to my inner self.

So, when longtime collector, Debbie Paul, commissioned me to create this 48″x56″ acrylic on canvas painting — it became a most welcome time warp… and, eventually, my greatest creative challenge to date. You can view the time lapse immediately above… and click onward for the stroke-by-stroke recap.

December 22, 2018

Guggenheim #10 in my 20-Year-Series

Introducing the 10th Guggenheim in my 20-year-series… aptly titled, “Guggenheim 10”.

By all accounts — this painting was a journey. After kicking-off the under-painting of this piece in June, I noticed the canvas was warped, so I slashed it to bits, and started over. Following that, I found myself traveling around the world… Vegas, Paris, Antwerp, Amsterdam… then, I received a beautiful wave of commissions. As a result… this piece took much longer than anticipated.

https://www.facebook.com/borbay/videos/1742170359261720/?__xts__[0]=68.ARAwFRgK3x4DdX-anpFNVtFqJeEgkYpfylSvLhdFOb_S22wT27g5dNruy2atma005gyHL7ZZjqI8Jj1ZuyfF-BhwxIZ6UvAG6bmxZ0ZRfMDYjXG7lP7eh296iR4Plt5ja0Q_2vXEuTpEyw2JXFrEdaK68sQPaA50_v1pRAliahbGoyXwMu2ItFO4p2u5KdjkwD15U8sS1uvUAhP2U7PX7Bhw6WcIQBsI1OVZ2fbjlDo0Km8_TkXEHq1kJHeW9dScFlmMyH2UZRnwKHL8fmyP3JSoVg4UET_GDszp8RZdJPV3NDhiO6D9YpNK-zFpx63PYt7cbp1n4dXLg_h-CpcoMYKOZbGaatKmw-E&__tn__=-R

Here’s the process captured in time-lapse… thank you to my boy MH the Verb for the soundtrack.

August 16, 2018

Victor Idaho Mural Painting by Borbay

I’m beyond delighted to share the “Victor Idaho Mural” — 264-square-feet of neon, painted on-stage at Victor City Park!

https://www.facebook.com/borbay/videos/262337341159530/

Here are six weeks of work, distilled into 90-seconds. Thank you to my boy MH the Verb for a perfect soundtrack… now, let’s take a deep-dive into this massive project.