Mary Obering
‘I was always interested in art and always considered myself a painter’ says the New York-based, Louisiana-born Mary Obering. ‘I had really committed myself to being a full-time artist and the obvious place to go was New York.’ In 1971, at the encouragement of Carl Andre, whom she met in Italy, Obering moved to a Soho loft: ‘10,000 dollars for 5,000 square-feet.’ She has lived there ever since. In this specially commissioned film to mark her first gallery exhibition at Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, featuring works from her early days in 1970s New York, the artist discusses her career, the changing nature of Soho and her love of gold leaf and Italian art with Frieze.