New York Knick Superstar Julius Randle Has An Eye For Modern Art

JULIUS RANDLE, New York Knicks superstar power Forward, has been honing quite the eye for mid-21st Century contemporary– and was spotted at the buzzy new West Chelsea art gallery of EMANUEL FRIEDMAN, the Lux Contemporary at the Rolls Royce showroom. The #30 for the Knicks was picking up works he’d commissioned from the sensational wood artist STEVE (@happylifewood) THOMSON, who spent 800 hundred hours wood carving two masterpieces for the baller–voted the NBA’s most improved player of 2021. The first is a three-dimensional carved portraiture of the late rap star Nipsy Russell and the second is an incredible rendering of the athlete’s #30 Knicks jersey carved from Osage orange wood and white Holly wood. ”I’m into green art,” the baller quipped, ”and when I saw @happylifewood on Instagram I just had to find this guy.”

With his boutique gallery, the West Chelsea gallerist Emanuel Friedman has quickly become the

art whirl disruptor of the Chelsea arty-fartsy. Lux Contemporary has only been open since July in the splashy showroom of the iconic Rolls Royce dealership of Brian Miller on Eleventh Avenue and has staged sold-out shows for buzzy pop artists of the moment like King Saladeen and his brand new exclusive– Brendan Murphy, who many a collector consider as ”the next Jeff Koons”.  The graffiti carbon fibre Moonman sculptures are an immediate signature of Brendan Murphy, and his solo show at the Lux Contemporary later this Autumn is considered one of the

art shows not-to-miss this Autumn.

”Astute collectors are on to ”the Boonji Project,” says the artrepreneur on the insider term for these signature Brendan Murphy sculptures that sell for seven figures.  Have you seen the Boonji Spaceman at the Arx in London?  It’s the new landmark of the city.  Huge!  A gorgeous, nineteen-feet tall carbon fibre Moonman shimmering

with eight layers of silver and worth a visit.”

To cast Emanuel Friedman as young and ambitious is a mere understatement.  ”I’ve been on

my own and working since the age of nineteen,” says the art dealer born and bred in Flatbush and who mastered the craft first as an art representative to the legendary Georgian-Russian artist  Zurab Tseretelli.  After years spent being the #1

art dealer at the WCC (West Chelsea Contemporary) is already causing a commotion with his brand-new Lux Contemporary. ”Post millennial contemporary art is my  deal, and growing that tangible asset is my goal.”