Art Addict

1,000,000

Mary Temple, 441,500-443,500 (detail), 2003, 30"x36", pigmented ink on mylar

What does 1,000,000 look like? A favorite artist and good friend, Mary Temple, sought to answer that question with her 1,000,000 Ellipsoids body of work. From her website:

1,000,000 Ellipsoids 2001-2003

The drawing series 1,000,000 Ellipsoids is comprised of a single ellipse-like shape that I drew and counted one million times. The series includes over 400 drawings; each contains thousands of ellipsoids rendered in monochrome ink on vellum, using forms based on simple systems and consecution. The drawings are sequential: each day's work adds to the previous number of ellipsoids in the continuum toward 1,000,000.

This two-year project allowed me to build a structure by drawing the ubiquitous number as if it were an object that could be experienced empirically.

I was reminded of this body of work after discovering Sighn's ITS OK project.

From his website:

NOV2007>>ITSOK. Edition of 1 million.

Every single one is solid wood (no plywood or particle board) and is hand cut by me.
It should take me about 60 years to finish this 'limited' edition.

$20.00 each (currently) and a tree is planted for each one sold. Cool. Get a few. For those times when you really need a reminder that all is OK.

Small Treasures

I discovered some treasures in Chicago. New artists and new galleries for me.

The first was found "upstairs" at Art Chicago. I was only able to spend a few hours at Art Chicago. The fair felt more cramped, most likely because of the lower ceilings and traditional booths that created a mall-like feeling. Tucked away in a corner of a booth shared by Galerie Anita Beckers (one of my favorites) and Galerie Martina Detterer, both from Frankfurt, Germany, were these...

Tossed into the corner like empties at a frat party, these life size gems by Lei Xue attracted a lot of smiles and snickers. Beautifully executed, the artist must sculpt the cans larger than life because they shrink when fired. Applied to the cans are traditional Chinese motifs and colors. Each "can" cost $2,000. The artist made 100 of them. These are the last available and no more are planned. Each can is unique.

Lei Xue, Drinking Tea, 2004-2008, bone china

If I lived in Philadelphia...

Alex Da Corte, Accessory, 2008, fingernails, nail polish. Swarovski crystals, sequins, pins, foam, earrings, seed beads, mirrored display case, turntable

If you are anywhere near Philadelphia this weekend, do not miss Alex Da Corte's new show (with Jack Sloss) "Love Explosion" at the
Fleisher/Ollman Gallery. I'm a huge fan (and proud owner) of Alex's work. Roberta and Libby are big fans, too. Go to Annette's blog to read a very informative transcribed interview with Alex. Show runs from April 18 - May 17.

PULSE (and a little LA Art thrown in)

Unlike James and Barry, I was only able to get to three of the six art fairs this weekend. (I am so impressed with their stamina!) I have already posted on the Armory. Here are my thoughts on Pulse and LA Art. (I am sorry that I didn't make it to ~scope as I have heard both good and bad and would liked to have seen for myself.)

I thoroughly enjoyed myself at PULSE. The number of galleries was perfect - not too many (Armory) and not too few (LA Art). I found it refreshing to see many galleries and artists that were new to me. There were three "fair picks" for me (all new-to-me artists from new-to-me galleries):

Ronald Moran at Mackey Gallery, Houston

I didn't know this artist nor this gallery but I was glad to discover both. The boots and entire booth - potenitally dangerous objects rendered innocuous - were inviting and intruiging. (The young fans in the photo were taking cell phone pics of the boots to send to friends.)

John Gerrard at Hilger Contemporary, Vienna

Detail of Smoke Tree I

I am not a techie and not usually drawn to works of art that involve a hard drive and monitor, but I found this piece visually, conceptually, and logistically stunning. The tree breathes on the screen (looks like smoke popping and oozing from the tree branches) in real time (which means that the program is set to a time - Austrian, to be exact - and the background changes subtly from day to night as it does and when it does in Austria) and in a 360-degree setting (which means that the monitor turns in a complete circle and what you see behind the tree changes as you turn the monitor). OK, so I said I wasn't a techie. Please forgive the lousy description. It really was amazing to see in person. Maybe this piece won't be as awe inspiring in 10 or 50 years when this technology is available to everyone, but it will still be beautiful. The one other cool thing about this piece is it is programmed to run for 300 years and at the end of the 300 years the tree dissolves on screen. It is in an edition of seven and all seven had sold at the fair (for $15,000) by the time I saw it on Saturday at 1:00.

Dionisio González at Fiedler Contemporary, Köln

Constant crowd around González's photo

This was one popular photograph at the fair. There always seemed to be a crowd surrounding it (I walked by a few times) and if you listened in on that crowd there were a lot of oo's and wow's and people saying things like "That's amazing" and "Can I live there?" and "How'd he do that?". I am a sucker for crowd pleasing work. It goes with my friendly-to-a-fault nature. I, too, thought this photo was beautiful and extremely well executed. These photos don't do the image justice. It was large and glossy and seemless and stunning. I promise.

Outside of my "picks", I have a few more favorites to share from PULSE:

Flavia da Rin at Galerie Anita Beckers, Frankfurt

These photos were creepy, but I liked them. Maybe they'll appear too cute for me the next few times I see them, but they gave me a punch at the fair. I noticed them easily and liked that I couldnt think of any other photographs that seemed similar.

Erwin Olaf at Galerie Magda Danysz, Paris

Speaking of creepy, with not an ounce of cute... These photos are all set up in a studio - the artist hires the actors and builds the sets. Their weird "lost in time" quality appealled to me and the fact that I couldn't figure them out immediately prompted me to ask to see more. Magda, the gallery owner, was very nice. I like nice gallery owners, too.

I failed to take photos of some other work that I liked but felt I should list and link on the off chance that someone has read this far into this post and perhaps is looking for more great stuff:

Andrew Sutherland at sixspace (If the whole "tree limb" in the booth had been available I would have bought it, and I really enjoyed finally getting to meet abLA's Caryn Coleman in the flesh - speaking of really nice gallery owners.)

Zoe Crosher's photos of pools at DCKT (Because summer is almost here and they were $900.)

Leonardo Drew's rusted wall piece at Finesilver Gallery (Because it was a blast from the past - I bought a work of his in 1996 - and I appreciated seeing such a large work of art at a "smaller than the Armory" art fair. And I like Eleanor Williams.)

One last tid-bit on LA Art (The quiet art fair. But quiet or not, everything in which we inquired had sold, so they weren't doing too bad as a last minute fair)...

I loved seeing Richard Heller, as always, and had to end this post with another gush and push for Amy Bennett. (He has a solo show with her slated for January, 2007.) Gorgeous...

Seen and Bought at The Armory

I am embarrassed to admit that I failed to write down the information on this piece. I am going tomorrow and will be sure to catch it.

I was able to preview the Armory today during the "Press Preview." Like me, very few people at the "Press Preview" appeared to be Press. And, like me, a lot of people were buying art today. Many of the pieces I inquired about were sold "an hour ago." I predict that by tomorrow (Friday) afternoon anything worth buying at the Armory will have been bought. Like last year's Art Bsel|Miami Beach, this fair promises to be a buying frenzy.

A buying frenzy for what, though? Most of the art I saw today I had seen before. There were very few surprise artists and even fewer surprise works. There are many international galleries showing this year, but, most of them are showing artists represented by New York galleries.

Enough negativity, though. (It really isn't me.) I had a lot of fun today and picked up some exciting art for my collection. I stayed away from the "big and flashy" and had more fun discovering and buying more intimate works. (Last year I went for big and flashy and walked away with two video pieces and two installations.)

As always there was a crowd gathered at Pierogi. This year it was to witness Jonathan Schipper's Invisible Sphere. I always enjoy Joe's booth (and gallery) because he has something for every type of collector - big spenders and conservative collectors. I picked up six drawings. Two by Darina Karpov, a young Russian artist living and working in New York. The image here doesn't do the work justice. (If you can even see the work in this image - Sorry!) They are beautifully drawn in ink and watercolor...balanced and poised from afar, and quirky and surprising up close. Each large drawing was priced at $2,500. Joe also had smaller ones selling for $1,200.

Darina Karpov, detail

I also picked up a few drawings by Martin Wilmner. I didn't get photographs so I've linked to Pierogi so you can check them out. The map piece I purchased at Pierogi was selling for $3,000.

Harris at Pierogi

While at Pierogi I had a star sighting (outside of the many art star sightings, of course). Doogie Howser, MD (aka Neil Patrick Harris) and friends seemed very interested in a lot of work at the booth and put a hold on a drawing by Darina Karpov.

Amy Bennett at Galleri Magnus Karlsson

The big winner for me this year (and a Buy, Buy, Buy! recommendation) goes to Amy Bennett. I immediately fell in love with these paintings for their beautiful finish (extremely high gloss) and wonderful imagery (I'm a sucker for anything suburbia-based). Hopper and Hockney with a feminine touch. These paintings were being shown by one of my favortie galleries (discovered at last year's Armory), Galleri Magnus Karlsson from Stockholm. Amy's from the United States - Brooklyn, to be exact - so it was odd to discover her at a Swedish gallery. She has also shown at Linda Warren Gallery in Chicago and has a show coming up in 2007 at Richard Heller Gallery in LA. Magnus Karlsson had four paintings available in his booth and three were sold by the time I got there. I purchased the last remaining painting. The prices for the works in the booth ranged from $2,000 - $7,000 depending on size. I also picked up a new video work by Lars Arrhenius showing in the booth.

Martin McMurray at Susanne Vielmetter/Los Angeles Projects

Martin McMurray and Susanne Vielmetterr/Los Angeles Projects - both artist and gallery are new to me. There are multiple paintings similar to the one pictured here (despots in cars) hung in a grid. These paintings gave me a giggle and, yet, I appreciate their naive and mature qualities. Each painting (roughly 20" x 24") is priced at $4,000. The one pictured is mine.

So, there you have it. My small and intimate glimpse into this year's Armory. I am happy to report that there are still "affordable" works available at the Armory, but, they are few and far between. On reflection of today's tour I am surprised that I can't recall any impressive photography. This is extremely odd for me because I am usually drawn to photography and most of my collection consists of it. A nice surprise to be wowed by drawings and paintings this time. I look forward to seeing and buying at Pulse and LA Art on Saturday. Check back for "Overheard at the Armory". There were some doozies...

Jane Fine

Well, I did it! I went in search of one of the artists I discovered at the Brooklyn Museum of Art's Open House: Working in Brooklyn show and have added her to my collection! Here's a detail:

Jane Fine, Untitled (detail), 2001
Acrylic and ink on paper

I fell in love with this work because of the color (I'm going through a pink phase), texture (impossible to see in this photo), and crazy details found throughout. Dr. Seuss on speed! I know that I will find some crazy new detail in this work every time I take a gander at it.

I found Jane's work at Pierogi and picked this one out of their Flat Files for $1,300. Jane's larger paintings are priced between $4,000 and $7,000.

This is fun! Join me in my addiction and hunt, won't you?

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.

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.

Collecting Tips in the WSJ - Take 2

The second of four recommendations for collectors looking for good investments in art under $5,000:

Didier Massard, Spring Tree 2002

2) Color Photographs. Two artists were named: Gregory Crewdson, as an example of an artist selling for more than $5,000, and Justine Kurland, a student of Crewdson's with work selling at auction for roughly $4,000. The article claims that now is a good time to buy color photographs because the prices are heating up due in part to "technical advances in the darkroom that allow for richer hues." That is the gist of the information provided on this recommendation.

I have been collecting contemporary photography pretty steadily since 1998. The photography trend (more artists working in the medium as well as more interest from collectors and galleries) is not new but has remained strong. (There are a number of sub-trends, as well, - set-up versus straight, video stills, etc. - that weren't discussed in the article that I may post about later.) There are still many great deals to be had out there. The article points collectors to the secondary market (auction houses). I recommend you head for the galleries - especially if you are new to this medium so you have an opportunity to get answers to all of your questions. ("How important is edition size?", "What's a c-print?", etc.) Here are a few of my favorite artists, all of whom I have collected recently. Prices for work by these artists were at or below $5,000 at the time I purchased them.

Uta Barth
Andrew Bush
Miles Coolidge
Sharon Core
Todd Hido
Nina Katchadourian
Didier Massard
Coke O'Neal
Orit Raff
Richard Renaldi
Daniela Rossell
Spessi
Dirk Westphal

Museum curators are now recognizing color photography as important work thanks in part to the increased archival quality of materials available to artists today. A little bird recently shared with me that the ADAA and AIPAD are planning a conference on color photography to be held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art sometime in the next year.

New collectors interested in getting a broad view of this market should pick up the following magazines: Blind Spot, Aperture, and Art on Paper.

(Please note... At the risk of appearing self-serving, I had to include two Mixed Greens artists because I have collected their work recently and, as a collector, I feel as strongly about their work as I do the other artists listed above. Please forgive.)