A beloved Tribeca bakery has played an unexpected role in creating art for one of New York's most prestigious contemporary art venues. Grandaisy, the popular bakery known for its Roman-style pizzas and party supplies, has collaborated with renowned artist Vaginal Davis to create monumental bread sculptures now on display at MoMA PS1 in Queens.
The collaboration began when bakery owner Monica Von Thun Calderón mentioned the project to a customer who was purchasing the bakery's signature Roman-style pizzas, which are sliced into sixteenths and make excellent cocktail party appetizers. Von Thun Calderón revealed that Davis had originally created her bread sculptures at Grandaisy back in 2012, working alongside head baker Julio Guarchaj to produce the unique artworks.
For the current exhibition at PS1, Davis and Guarchaj recreated two specific pieces titled "Timberlake" and "Mariah," which were originally displayed at Participant, a gallery on the Lower East Side. The pair worked together in late September at the Tribeca location to bake the sculptures in preparation for the show's October 9 opening. The collaborative process involved several team members, including Monica Von Thun Calderón, Sheldon Gooch, Jose Segebre, Yaya Diarra, and head baker Julio Guarchaj, along with Jonathan Berger who also assisted in the creation of "Timberlake."
The bread sculptures are featured in "Magnificent Project," a comprehensive retrospective spanning five decades of Davis's multifaceted career as a performer, visual artist, author, filmmaker, musician, educator, self-proclaimed "Blacktress," and countercultural icon. According to the museum's website, the presentation highlights Davis's role as an underground trailblazer in culture and queer politics, as well as her uncompromising sense of glamour.
This marks the exhibition's United States debut and represents a significant survey of Davis's diverse artistic practice. The show includes an extensive range of media and formats, featuring installations, video works, paintings, zines, audio pieces, sculptures, and comprehensive archival materials. Additionally, the exhibition showcases cross-disciplinary collaborations, including a new installation created by the Berlin-based CHEAP Collective with photographs by Annette Frick.
The exhibition will remain on view at MoMA PS1 through March 2026, giving visitors ample opportunity to experience this unique intersection of culinary craftsmanship and contemporary art. The collaboration between Grandaisy and Davis demonstrates how traditional food preparation techniques can be transformed into innovative artistic expression, while highlighting the ongoing creative connections between Tribeca's local businesses and the broader New York art scene.
