DANIEL ARSHAM

Originally published April 22, 2014 for StandardHotels.com

The story of Daniel Arsham's 'Pixel Cloud' – a cluster of tonal spheres suspended in The Standard, East Village's lobby – does not begin in the artist's studio. It reaches back nearly a century to when a young dancer named Merce Cunningham was plucked from total obscurity by the world's foremost modern dancer, Martha Graham. Merce eventually formed his own company and became a giant in avant garde dance, collaborating with everyone from his lover John Cage to Rauschenberg to Warhol. Then in 2007, it was his turn to do the plucking and tapped a young, unknown named Daniel Arsham to design his sets. For Merce's final and ultimately posthumous tour, Daniel created a series of suspended clouds.

Represented by the esteemed Gallerie Perrotin, Arsham has risen swiftly in the art world, whipping up amazing creations with his co-venture Snarkitecture and collaborating with the likes of Tom Ford and Pharrell Williams. Standard Culture visited him in his beautiful Green Point studio where he introduced his work, his clouds and his bunny rabbit, Oliver.

Video by Markus Marty