Art Addict

Make it Williamsburg This Weekend

If you are in New York this weekend, why not head to Williamsburg for Williamsburg Arts Central's first annual See Willaimsburg: open studios, group shows, galleries, film, and music.

My favorite Williamsburg galleries aren't on the list as participants, so if you go make sure to stop in and see Pieroggi, Roebling Hall, and Bellwether, too.

Guild & Greyshkul

Kirsten Deirup, Rumsfeltastic, 2004
Watercolor, pencil, and colored pencil on paper

Right next door to Deitch Projects on Wooster Street is a gallery and studio space called Guild & Greyshkul. The gallery is relatively young, opening in 2003, I think. Their "About us":

Guild & Greyshkul is a gallery and studio founded by Anya Kielar, Sara VanDerBeek, and Johannes VanDerBeek, three young artists who felt it was imperative that the property, given its notable history as a successful co-operative gallery and the former location of American Fine Arts, remain an artist space and a vital part of New York Citys arts community.

I met Anya and Sara while I was there and must report that even though they are right next door to Deitch, their attitudes are miles apart. (See yesterday's post.) Sara spent some time with me answering my questions about the show and telling me a little about the gallery. (Like my earlier gallery rant... I had to approach them first. But once I did they were perfectly polite.) If you are in Soho this weekend, or anytime before May 15, stop in and see the show They Think I'm One of Them with Martias Becker, Valerie Crosswhite, and Halsey Rodman.

I especially recommend the show that is up in the Project Room right now. It is a selection of watercolor paintings by various artists that don't usually work in watercolor. Sounds odd, but it's a great group of works. There are roughly 30 artists represented and most of the work is priced between $150 - $1,000. (Works by Ernesto Caivano, Rebecca Bird, and Nick Lowe are priced above $1,000. Nick Lowe's watercolors were the inspiration to get other "non-watercolorist" to make work for this show.)

Go and collect from this gallery. Great art, great attitude!

Lamar's Deitch Show

Seashells, 2004

I finally got over to Deitch (26 Wooster Street) to see the Lamar Peterson show. I loved it. (Of course.) Many of the paintings were larger than the work at Richard Heller's in February, but bore similar imagery and subversive-ness. New to this show were free-standing sculptures... my favorite was a palm tree made out of brown and green socks. The show consists of about 20 paintings and 4 sculptures. Prices range from $2,000 - $5,500. This price increase may have a little to do with the larger sizes and probably has a lot to do with Deitch. I still think Lamar is worth collecting if you can afford it. I broke down and splurged on the work pictured here. I'm thrilled to have it and really wanted to support Lamar in his important "first solo show" in New York. About half of the show has already sold.

One side note... a friend of mine attended the opening of this show last Saturday. My friend is the curator of a very large private collection and has collected a lot of art. I sent him over there to check out Lamar's work, which he loved. He approached Deitch at the opening to discuss the work and possibly collecting it. Deitch was extremely rude and basically ignored my friend. When he tried to find out what work was available, Deitch told him that just about everything was sold and turned and walked away as if to let my friend know that he had no interest in selling to him. This attitude makes me so angry. If I didn't know Lamar and feel strongly about supporting him I would avoid collecting from this gallery. Just had to rant.

Lecture Series

The New York Studio School (8 West 8th Street) has an impressive Lecture Series that is open to the public and admission is free. They have a pretty impressive line-up of artists, historians, and critics from all over the world.

Tomorrow night, Wednesday, April 29, Robert Rosenblum is giving a lecture titled John Currin's Eerie America at 6:30pm. Here is Flavorpill's write-up on the lecture:

John Currin's peculiar figurative paintings render aging socialites, buxom beauties, and ladies of the suburban elite with a virtuosic, classical clarity, and a dash of satire. While his portraits of women have generated controversy in the past, the Whitney's survey exhibition of his work opened to rave reviews last year. Robert Rosenblum, an NYU faculty member, curator at the Guggenheim Museum, and contributing editor of Artforum, authored John Currin (Henry Abrams, 2003), the artist's first major monograph. Expect this noted art critic's lively lecture on Currin's assorted art historical allusions to pack a provocative punch.

If you are not in New York, just about every art school and museum have lecture series of their own. Check out their websites for information and times. This is a great way for new collectors to join the dialogue of art and to perhaps learn a thing or two from experts in their field. Here are a few to get you started:

Site Santa Fe
The Art Institute of Chicago
UCLA Hammer Museum
The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
Norton Museum of Art

An Online Art Auction Benefit

Liselot van der Heijden, evoltion VII, 2003

THE THING is hosting their 4th Annual Online Art Auction from April 25 - May 4.

I have received a few emails about this auction (thank you Kevin, Kenny, and Kelly) and recently read about it at e-flux. Most of the work is estimated below $2,000. I participated in their first auction and was pleased with the art and handling of delivery of my winning artwork.

My favorite works in this year's auction are by:

Casper Stracke
Liselot van de Heijden
Joy Garnett
Ellen Harvey

To see all the art in the auction just scroll down on the homepage.

FREE ICE CREAM!

Ben & Jerry... the artists of the ice cream world. Right? OK, it's a stretch to make this post relate to art, but this is so exciting that I had to write about it here...

Ben & Jerry's "Free Cone Day" Anniversary
GET A FREE ICE CREAM CONE at any, yes ANY, Ben and Jerry's location tomorrow, Tuesday is the 27th, between the hours of noon and 8:00 pm.It's as simple as that. Find out more about "Free Cone Day" here.

Baskin Robbins' "Free Scoop Night" Anniversary
Wait, it gets even better. Wednesday, the 28th, is the fifth anniversary of Baskin Robbins' "Free Scoop Night." That's right, folks. MORE FREE ICE CREAM! Head into any US Baskin Robbins on Wednesday between the hours of 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm and you'll get yet another free scoop of ice cream. Better still, for each person who shows up and nabs a free ice cream cone, Baskin Robbins will make a donation to First Book, a non-profit organization that provides books to underprivileged kids. Get all the details here.

Isn't life grand?!

One Definition of a Collector

This quote was left in a comment on one of my recent posts and I thought it so poignant to this blog that I had to highlight it here...

There is a distinction to be drawn between true collectors and accumulators. Collectors are discriminating, accumulators act at random. Russel Lynes (1910-1991), Cultural Critic

Thank you for sharing Witold. Check out his artist recommendations.

The T.O.A.S.T. of the Town

In New York and looking for something to do this weekend? Why not stroll around TriBeCa with T.O.A.S.T (TriBeCa Open Studio Artist Tour).

...offering a great experience for anyone interested in viewing, perhaps purchasing, artwork at the source -- the artist's own studio... Visitors can see the working spaces of both established and emerging artists, from basement to loft, individual to shared... Best of all, the viewing experience is relaxed, informal and absolutely FREE! In addition to the artists, many of TriBeCa's best galleries, alternative art spaces, restaurants, and institutions will be joining together for TOAST 2004.

This walk is in its 8th year. Hundreds of artists/galleries/spaces are involved (all are listed on their web site).

Drunk vs. Stoned

DRUNK vs. STONED
General Store @ Gavin Brown's Passerby
436 West 15th Street btwn. 9th/10th Ave., New York

My friend Heather is not stoned nor drunk in this photo. She's just excited to be buying t-shirts by Katy Fischer!

The group show opened tonight. I don't know when it is coming down but my guess is it will be up for a few weeks. The list of artists is huge. (i.e., Who's not on the list?) They include: Katherine Bernhardt, Alex Blau, Edgar Bryan, Chris Burden, Ray Chi, Bobby Ciraldo, Sara Clendening, Minerva Cuevas, Santiago Cucullu, Rob Davis,David Dunlap, Anne Yuki Eastman, Ken Fandell, Katy Fischer, James Franklin, Jason Fox, Rodney Graham, Matthew Greene, Andy Hall, Rachel Harrison, Jonothan Horowitz, Jim Lambie, Mark Leckey, Sarah Ann Lobb, Nick Lowe, Ne Lowman, Sarah Lucas, Chris Offili, laura Owens, Elizabeth Peyton, Raymond Pettibon, Scott Reeder, Chris Smith, Spenser Sweeney, Rirkrit Tiravanija, John Waters, Neil Whitacre, Megan Whitmarsh. Work ranges in price from $100 - $30,000.

Buy, Buy, Buy!
My favorite part of this show is the General Store in the cave in the back. Lots of artist-made-stuff -- t-shirts, small paintings, bongs, pillows, jewlery, books, ash trays, etc. -- for prices ranging from $10 - $1,000. It was hard to walk out of there without something. (I walked away with 2 small Megan Whitmarsh embroidery paintings! If you are in LA, check out her show at SixSpace! You have to see these gorgeous jewels in person.)

Lamar Peterson - An Update

As some of you may remember, I recently wrote about how excited I was to be introduced to Lamar Peterson and his work at the Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica, CA. This weekend he has a show opening at Deitch Projects! Go see this show!!

Lamar Peterson
Milk and Cookies
April 24 - June 5
Deitch Projects
26 Wooster Street, New York

I won't be able to attend the opening (out of town wedding) but I will check out the show and give an update here early next week.