Seminal East Village dive Max Fish is not really punk rock anymore, but it still has lots of cool art to look at amidst a street of douchey bars. Joining the scariest Julio Iglesias picture I’ve ever seen is one of John Ahearn’s awesome castings.
From his famous 1979 South Bronx Hall of Fame collaboration with Rigoberto Torres (which was recreated at the first Frieze New York Art Fair in May), hangs Elvis, (not to be confused with the Spanish El Vez casting), who overlooks the entrance of the bar with crossed arms.
The piece was made in Ahearn’s Bronx studio, with the castings done in front of the nearby Fashion Moda gallery of people in the neighborhood. Ahearn and Fashion Moda stirred up Bronx, involving the locals, rather than the pretention of the gallery scene further south. Ahearn’s sculptures can also be found at Socrates Sculpture Park. His brother Charlie Ahearn is known for directing Wild Style.
Who: John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres
What: Elvis Sculpture from “South Bronx Hall of Fame” show
Where: Max Fish Bar, 178 Ludlow Street New York, NY 10002
