Vanity Projects

Art curator and licensed nail technician Rita de Alencar Pinto spent years doing intricate nail art at events such as Brooklyn Museum’s Artists Ball 2013 and during a residency at MoMA PS1. She opens her first salon in a gallery-like space, featuring four manicure stations, two pedicure chairs and video-art installations projected on the walls. Grab a pair of wireless headphones for listening to the videos and sit back to enjoy a manicure ($30–$40), pedicure ($40–$80) or nail art ($30 and up). There are currently four artists on staff: Raquel Nevarez, who can illustrate anything from sight; Mr. Luis, whose speciality is pointed talons ($100–$150); Miku Tsutaya, who creates super-long, Harajuku looks ($100–$150); and Jane Weiner, whose hand-painted designs of Daria and Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree have earned her the No. 12 spot in the country by Nails Magazine. Pinto plans on bringing in more artists from around the world, such as Mad Nails from Florida, Spifster from Chicago, Hana 4 from Tokyo and Britney Tokyo from Los Angeles.