Bicycle Portraits: Taliah Lempert’s Art Exhibit at Fishs Eddy

Artist Taliah Lempert knows that bikes have souls. We’ve all loved the bikes in our lives. I will never forget my blue tricycle, in fact, or the black 10-speed that my friends John and Sherman made for me from parts of other bikes. It wasn’t pretty, but it was light and fast.

I’ve admired Taliah’s art work since I first met her at the Brooklyn Flea in 2009. You can still find her there most weekends. Almost as impressive as her art is the way she packs up her entire inventory, display and tent on a bike and pedals to and from the market.

Taliah began a collaboration with one of my very favorite stores of all time, Fishs Eddy, when they designed a collection of tableware featuring one of Taliah’s bicycle images. James and I have a set of 12 soup bowls. We finish up our soup or cereal fast so that we can see the pretty green bike amidst the group of black bikes at the bottom of the bowl. At least I do that. I can’t speak for James’ soup habits.

Last week, Taliah launched a wonderful exhibit of her art inside one of the galleries at Fishs Eddy! James and I went to see it, and it was wonderful to be able to spend time enjoying her oil paintings up close. Her use of colors is wonderful: robin egg blue, periwinkle, bright orange, hot pink! The bikes themselves have their own expressions – colors, angles, type of handlebars. I also loved the grouping of paintings of water bottles. All the works are for sale, and Taliah also has signed prints, cards and tattoos on hand.

And of course, you will need to pick up a coffee mug with that one green bike for your morning coffee.

Check out Taliah’s exhibit daily at Fishs Eddy, 889 Broadway at 19th Street in Manhattan.