There’s no greater creative fuel for this mixed-media artist than his five-block stroll from apartment to studio in Harlem, where he has lived for 22 years.
“I get inspired saying hi to my local bodega guy or just walking down the street and seeing someone wearing something cool,” he says. (Unsurprisingly, his series, is meant to be a reminder that the city is not, in fact, dead.)
As Philoche prepares for his next solo show at Los Angeles’s Band of Vices gallery in January, he shares what else is giving him life lately.
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I bought an old New York City streetlight at a little antiques shop in Connecticut.
It works! The colors give off a bright glow. It makes me feel like a kid again, just like the movie Big with Tom Hanks.
When I was 13 years old, I had a poster of a Porsche in the room I shared with my brother. I told myself and my family that I was going to have this car one day. But you see, being an artist with immigrant parents and needing to learn to speak English…people said it would never happen. Fast-forward 20 years and lots of hard work and sacrifice later—I own my dream car, a Porsche Cayman S. My mom was the first person I picked up in it.
178 Cayman S, Porsche
I don’t throw away my
oil-painting brushes. Instead
I put them in a vintage gumball machine. I found mine on a random
sidewalk; they make very
cool sculptures.
I like to relax and clear my head before getting ready for a show. The Peninsula New York Spa is my favorite for a deep-tissue back massage and full-body scrub. Then I sit in the sauna for 30 minutes. They take care of the mind and body.
I still have the vinyl letters that spelled out my name for my first New York show 20 years ago, in a small Chelsea gallery called Art Gotham. I remember thinking, It’s official—I’m a New York artist! It’s all about seeing your name on that white wall.
My French bulldog, Picasso, is
totally man’s best friend. I tattooed
his face on my arm. I had never experienced unconditional love until I met him.
My studio is my second home.
This is where all the magic happens. I spend hours and hours painting.
I have a photo of my grandmother and my brothers on my counter; it was taken at my parents’ “red”-themed birthday party and one of the last pictures of all of us together. She was an amazing woman and always called me her little star️. When she passed, I got a star tattoo behind my ear in memory of her.
The Harlem Candle Company has a bergamot, mandarin orange, and Italian neroli variety called Home, which adds to my favorite place, home! There’s nothing like coming back after a long day
at the studio and my apartment smelling nice.
Home Luxury Candle,
Harlem Candle Company ($48)
My apartment in Harlem is my sanctuary. You can’t be sad when you’re here. I enjoy having my go-to drink—Johnnie Walker Blue on the rocks with an orange twist—turning on some music, and looking around at my art collection that continues to grow. One of the new pieces I’ve acquired is Skies the Limit by Will Woodrow.
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Guy Stanley Philoche
10 Things
New York, I Still Love You
Portrait, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10: Courtesy of Guy Philoche; 3, 6: Courtesy of Manufacturer; 8: Unsplash; 9: Courtesy of the Peninsula Hotel
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