We have a lot of events in our lives, between Lawrence’s work at Blank Forms, Ruba’s at MoMA PS1, and everything else. Since Blank Forms is close to home, we often end up in our apartment with artists, musicians, and other friends late into the evening. Our house is crammed with thousands of books and records—and counting. The real stars of the apartment are the cats, Maki and Doji, named after the Japanese singers Maki Asakawa and Doji Morita. They regularly join us on the table and otherwise lounge around. We’ve always liked to cook for each other and friends, and the Park Slope Food Coop’s amazing produce and affordable prices make it easy. (The Burgundy cuvées that we like to serve with dinner are another issue.) Last summer, we experimented with making ice cream: Cilantro, kaffir lime, and Aleppo pepper is a new favorite flavor.
Our life at home revolves around music and is populated with things that we’ve collected along the way. The sound system features Klipsch La Scala speakers powered by a Marantz 8B tube amplifier, with a VPI turntable equipped with a Hana cartridge running through an Isonoe ISO420 mixer. The system includes other components that we update continuously to fine-tune the quality. We found our 1980s Azeri rug on a research trip Ruba took to the Caucasus when we first moved in. It’s become the tapestry that knits everything in our place together. The giant quartz crystal on the coffee table was bought at an estate sale run by a bunch of hippies on the side of the road in New Mexico in 2018, when Ruba was working on the SITE Santa Fe biennial. We live with some art—mostly works from friends and artists we have some connection to: a print by Victoria Mamnguqsualuk from the SITE show, a stuffed creature from a performance Cosima von Bonin did for an exhibition Ruba organized at SculptureCenter, a gift from Yuji Agematsu, a few Tori Kudo ceramics from a show Lawrence did at Blank Forms, a wedding present from Helen Marten, and a Curtis Cuffie.
Ruba and Lawrence’s Party Playlist
Ruba’s Cilantro Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1⅔ cups whole milk
1⅔ cups heavy cream
1 tbsp date syrup
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup milk powder
¼ tsp salt
1 cup cilantro
½ tsp kaffir lime powder
½ tsp Aleppo pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Steps:
-
Heat the milk, cream, syrup to 180°F
-
Whisk sugar, milk powder, salt; add to milk
-
Stir in cilantro, lime, Aleppo, oil
- Blend; strain; churn; chill
Inside the New York Apartment
After a launch for Lawrence’s new book, Alien Roots: Éliane Radigue, and listening session at Blank Forms, a few friends came up to our place, where we made lemon tofu and broccoli for dinner, cherry stracciatella ice cream from scratch, drank French wine, and listened to records with cellist Charles Curtis, musician Lary 7, sculptor Yuji Agematsu, curator Robert Snowden, Artists Space Assistant Curator Stella Cilman, writer Eva Cilman, and artists Oto Gillen, Elizabeth Englander, and Jeffrey Perkins.
The legendary Asha Puthli came to New York to play SummerStage and we hung out with her throughout the week, culminating in a dinner hosted by our friends Satya Pemmaraju and Vyjayanthi Rao—whose place we seem to be at whenever we aren’t at ours—with our friend artist Christian Nympeta, Sweety Kapoor visiting from London, and Satya and Vyjayanthi’s son, Sunder. Vyjayanthi is an incredible cook; they also love fine wine and Caffè Panna ice cream.
Our neighbors Ari Marcopolous and Kara Walker came for dinner, this time with Charles Curtis. The homemade ice cream failed. Then, a couple weeks later, musician and artist Graham Lambkin was in town and performed with Laura Ortman in an experimental improv set that packed Blank Forms. Afterwards, we mingled in the street before making a run to Mr. Kiwi for some Amy’s frozen pizzas and to Leon & Son for some bottles to serve.
Joe McPhee played a small Blank Forms event at Grimm Ales.
Yugi Agematsu, Katrib, Kumpf, Lary 7, Stella Cilman, and Robert Snowden.
Snowden, Elizabeth Englander, and Oto Gillen.
in your life?
