Chanel in Central Park, NY

Wish I was in New York City to see this exhibit!

Gothamist
Art and commerce are now communing in nature: The Zaha Hadid-designed Chanel Mobile Art is now open in Central Park. Situated in Rumsey Playfield, the 7,500-square foot orb is filled with art inspired by elements of the famous quilted Chanel bag and visitors can also listen to an audio guide, narrated by Jeanne Moreau (the NY Times described the audio as "discussing everything from sex and love to the secrets at the bottom of a woman’s handbag"). Chanel, which has previously displayed the orb in other cities around the world, donated a low seven-figure sum to Central Park, plus will pay a $400,000 use fee to the city.

The exhibit is free and open seven days a week: Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (last admission is 5:15 p.m.); Friday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. (last admission is 8:15 p.m.); and Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m. (last admission is 7:15 p.m.). Tickets are available at the box office, which opens 30 minutes before the opening (and closes at the time of last admission), in Rumsey Playfield. The exhibit will run through November 9.

NEW YORK (AFP) — A mobile art exhibition inspired by the iconic quilted leather Chanel bag "2.55" created in 1955 by Coco Chanel opens Friday in Central Park. Fifteen artists have been inspired to contribute to the exhibition set up in a glass fiber mobile gallery resembling a spaceship and designed by Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid. "Stay by my side and follow my instructions," orders French actress Jeanne Moreau in her languid voice over an audio guide recorded for the exhibition. Meandering through the pavilion, visitors discover installations by artists from around the world, even though few share much with the signature handbag with its gold chain. The inspiration for the exhibition is only obvious in one of the pieces -- a giant version of the open bag lying on its side. Other works include Frenchman Daniel Buren's bathing cabin and an installation by Argentine Leandro Erlich showing the reflection of buildings. Coco Chanel, who died in 1971, "worked with artists like (Jean) Cocteau or (Pablo) Picasso, and this pavilion continues this tradition," said a spokesman for Chanel and its artistic director, Karl Lagerfeld. Shaped like a large white snail, the structure ends with a giant Chanel bag and a "wishtree" by Yoko Ono, the widow of former Beatle John Lennon, where a wish can be written and hung on a branch. Central Park marks the third stop of a two-year global tour for Chanel Mobile Art that began on February 27 in Hong Kong. It will head to London and Moscow next year before ending in Paris in 2010.