Artist Larry Krone comes to town to flash his underpants of many colors
By Lindsey St. Clair
If there’s something Larry Krone misses about St. Louis besides his family and friends, it’s the food. He’s even written a song about toasted ravioli and World’s Fair donuts.
Krone grew up in U. City, went to New York University and became a star of the New York art scene, regularly showing at trendy galleries like Mark Pasek and P.S. 122 and performing his psychedelic country-western shows at the Whitney Museum and the Starlight Lounge. But despite his preference for the big city, Krone doesn’t mind coming home. He’ll be here this month to perform at the Contemporary, where a 10-year retrospective of his work is hanging through December 31. Krone calls himself a “legitimate country-music fan,” and country music—namely Dolly Parton—inspires him. (“Coat of Many Colors” is an indispensable song in his set.) His visual art evokes the homespun, brokenhearted feel of country music, too, with its use of stitching and embroidery (e.g., his piece “Underpants of Many Colors,” a pair of patchwork briefs). For this show, Wolfgang Puck will be rustling up another St. Louis specialty: St. Paul sandwiches, or egg foo yong, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes and mayo between two slices of white bread. Krone describes them as “surprisingly good” though he hasn’t penned a song about them—yet.
Larry Krone performs at the Contemporary (3750 Washington) at 7 p.m. October 5 as part of the museum’s “Select Night” series. See www.contemporarystl.org.
