Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Highlights from NYU’s Abby Weed Grey Collection
Medium, December 5, 2019
By Roslyn Bernstein
I almost missed seeing the Grey Art Gallery’s (NYU) powerful exhibit of contemporary Iranian, Indian, and Turkish art, from the 1960s and 1970s. With only two days to go (it closes on December 7th), I popped into the gallery, gravitating almost immediately to three etchings by Krishna Reddy, an artist and SoHo neighbor who lived in 80 Wooster Street. I interviewed Reddy and his artist wife Judy Blum Reddy for the book, Illegal Living: 80 Wooster Street and the Evolution of SoHo that I co-authored with Shael Shapiro.
The last time that I was in Reddy’s loft was at a poignant memorial service for him that was held there in early October, 2018. His daughter Apu spoke movingly of her father and of his passion for life and art, a passion that was apparent every time we stopped to chat on Wooster Street.