With 350 combined galleries and a sampling of exhibits that fall under the "not-a-gallery" category, it is a good idea to plan your attack at Art Chicago and NEXT if you are going this weekend. Here are their floor plans. Print and mark up as needed.
I have written about the thrill of a studio visit here. If you are shy about asking for a studio visit or would feel more comfortable in a group, welcome to Art on Site.
Art on Site presents a series of monthly New York City/Brooklyn area visits to "studios of cutting edge contemporary artists working in a wide array of media." The tours are organized by area - Lower East Side, Dumbo, Williamsburg, etc. - and take no more than 10 people to three or four artist studios per tour.
Upcoming Tours:
Wednesday, May 3: Dumbo*
Tuesday, May 23: Brooklyn Navy Yard*
*Transportation is provided
Details:
All tours are from 10-12pm
The cost of each tour is $65.00
(optional lunch at end of tour - you pay)
Contact:
Ellen Deutsch
212.472.3031
or
Jo Ann Alter
212.534.5924
They do not provide a sample tour on their web site so I wrote to find out who they plan to visit on their next tour. I was told that the tours are finalized just a few days before the tour so they couldn't name any artists, yet. But, they did share with me the artists that they visited on their last two tours and I was impressed: Will Cotton, Adam Cvijanovic, Santi Moix, and Ryan McGinness on the Lower East Side tour and Bruce Robbins, Margaret Evangeline, Wayne Gonzales, and James Nares on the Long Island City tour. They also do private tours if you aren't interested in mixing with the rif-raf.
No excuses now...get to a studio! Maybe I'll see you on one of their next tours.
Put on those walking shoes. New York is being deluged with contemporary art fairs next weekend. Here's a list with schedules and locations. (I am particularly looking forward to Pulse and LA Art.)
The Armory Show - The International Fair of New Art
March 10 - 13
Friday - Sunday: 12 - 8
Monday: 12 - 5
Piers 90 & 92 (12th Avenue at 50th & 52nd Streets)
Admission $20
Students $10
Groups (10 or more) $10
Run of Show (4 day pass) $40
Self-proclamation: "World's leading art fair"
The Armory is in its eighth year and is the reason the rest of the fairs take place at this time. 148 international galleries exhibiting, most are well established.
PULSE Contemporary Art Fair
March 10 - 13
Friday - Sunday: 12 - 8
Monday: 12 - 5
69th Regiment Armory at Lexington Avenue and 26th Street
General Admission $12
Discount Admission $9 (for Seniors & Students with valid ID)
Children under 12 FREE
PULSE will provide complimentary shuttle service daily from 2 to 7 to and from The Armory Show.
Self-proclamation: "A genuine statement on contemporary art"
PULSE is in its second year and was a big hit at last December's Art Basel Miami Beach. 61 international galleries exhibiting, both new and semi-old.
~scope New York
March 10 - 13
Daily 11 - 8
636 11th Avenue between 46th and 47th Streets
General admission: $10
Self-proclamation: "Scope’s fresh information gives a view of the contemporary art world that is not available anywhere else."
In its fifth year, this year's ~scope New York fair will look like all the rest, being held, for the first time, in booth format rather than in hotel rooms of past. 77 international galleries exhibiting.
LA Art/New York
March 10 – 12
Friday: 12 – 10
Saturday: 10 – 10
Sunday: 11 – 6
The Altman Building, 135 West 18th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
General Admission: $10
There will be a free shuttle service between The Armory Fair and LA Art.
Self-proclamation: "A unique alternative to a contemporary art fair"
Los Angeles galleries have teamed up to add a West Coast flavor to this art fair season. (Saves me a much over-due trip to LA!) Intriguing article in LA Weekly about this inaugural show. 16 Los Angeles galleries exhibiting.
DiVA - Digital and Video Art Fair
March 9 - 12
Thursday, Opening night: 7pm - 11pm
Friday - Sunday: 2 - 10
Embassy Suites Hotel, 102 North End Avenue (Battery Park)
Opening Night Admission: $40
One day pass: $10
Three day pass: $15
Admission is free for VIP card holders of DiVA and the Armory Show
Self-proclamation: "Promises to be a valuable addition to the art market"
Hotel suites are filled with video and digital work. 29 international galleries exhibiting.
If you're still hunkering for more art after all of that, many galleries in Chelsea are staying open late through the weekend and will be open during the day on Sunday. Best thing to do if you know you want to pop in to one or two is to call the gallery before you go.
Side Note: There are two major home and design trade shows in New York this weekend, too. So after you've bought some new art for your home you may want to swing by one of these shows to pick up some groovy new furniture to go with that art. Architectural Digest Home Design Show at Pier 94 (right next to the Armory) and the New York Design Fair at 67th and Park.
Who's up when? What night is the opening? What is going to be showing on our trip to _______ (insert NY, London, Los Angeles, etc.)?
Keeping track of who, what, when, and where in the world of contemporary art can be tricky and sometimes overwhelming. Here are a few free email services to which I subscribe to keep abreast of openings and shows:
zingrecommends by zingmagazine
Weekly email updates of New York shows in list form. Pro: Thorough; Con: No links
artupdate
Twice a month emails listing worldwide art openings. Pro: Their website; Con: Currently more UK/Europe focused. (NB: check out the very cool and downloadable maps of New York and London updated every two months. Includes location of art fairs. Great tool if you are planning a visit to one of these cities.)
flavorpill
Weekly email list of "filtered cultural stimuli", which means the highlights and only the highlights. (The list includes events in art, music, film, theater, reading, multi-media, and more...) Target cities: NY, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Los Angeles. Pro: Each listing includes a brief write-up and all of the pertinent info - date, time, location, and links; Con: Too few art listings.
DKS List
A blog about the New York contemporary art scene delivered to your email box. This list of openings is generated by one man, Douglas Kelley, and appears about once a month. The emails often contain his personal reviews of shows or goings-on in the art world. Pro: Thorough; Con: Not always accurate so check before you go. (NB: To get on the DKS email list you need to send an email to dks@thing.net with 'YES' in the Subject line.)
e-flux
A daily, and sometimes more than once a day, email generated by a "New York-based information bureau dedicated to world wide distribution of information for contemporary visual arts institutions via the Internet." Most emails announce museum shows. Pro: Interesting global view; Con: Frequency of emails.
And, if you are planning a trip to Chelsea, don't leave home without checking out Chelsea Art Galleries, an extremely informative and easy to navigate website on all things Chelsea. The coolest aspect of the website is the ability to build a printable "gallery tour" by clicking on your galleries of choice. Edward Winkleman recommends Chelsea Art Galleries, too.
Please add other lists or services in a comment. Thanks.
Update: ArtCal is another great resource for openings and gallery shows. Thanks Barry.
The post Buy What You Love, But... received a lot of comments. Most of the comments I received via email. In fact, I still recieve about one email per week about that post. I must have hit on one hot topic. Most of you disagreed with the post so I thought I'd follow up...
Just for the record, I have bought art simply because I loved it. I didn't check out the artist's c.v. or make sure that the gallery was reputable. I have collected a lot of art and feel pretty secure when going with my gut. When I meet people who are interested in putting together a contemporary art collection (and not simply decorating their home, but really investing in up and coming artists), most say that they feel pretty "stupid" when starting out. I am often asked to share some tips on how to make smarter decisions when purchasing those first few works of art. They have all been told to buy what they love, but some want to know more. That post was one tip. Just a suggestion. There are many ways to go about collecting art.
That post was also a little passive-aggressive. I believe that there is a lot of "bad" art being sold at "bad" galleries. Just my opinion, of course. I don't know, yet, how to explain it without naming names and pointing fingers, but I am working on it.
We’ve all heard it said before. The golden rule of collecting art is to buy what you love.
Loving the art you purchase is important because you have to live with it. You are responsible for its care and longevity. But just because you love it does not make it a valuable or important work of art. If you are serious about collecting art, and not just decorating your home, make sure to do your homework on the artist and the gallery before you buy. Is it a reputable gallery? Do they have relationships with museum curators and established collectors? What is the artist’s educational background? Has the artist been reviewed by an established art critic? Has the artist’s work been collected by a museum or prominent collector? These are just a few of the many questions you should ask to establish if the art that you have just fallen in love with is worth considering as an addition to your collection.
Have you ever wandered into a gallery and felt curious or lost? When you looked around to find someone to steer you out of your confusion, was there anyone in sight? As I've written before, galleries are not generally service-oriented entities. If there is a human in sight they are most likely sitting in the entrance behind a large desk, reading, talking on the phone, or doing anything to ignore you.
Once you have someone's attention, have you ever felt insecure about asking a question? Intimidation is a well-known sales tactic, especially in some of the Blue Chip galleries. If you aren't "in the club" (they don't know you and/or you've never purchased anything at the gallery), many galleries won't offer any assistance, even if you ask. I have a friend who worked at one of those Blue Chip Chelsea galleries not too long ago. She got in a whole heap of trouble for sharing pricing information with an inquiring gallery visitor. Sharing any information with strangers in this gallery was a no-no. When she asked her boss how she should have responded to their questions, she was told that if "we" don't know the individual inquiring then you tell them that the work is no longer available and leave them be, prompting no further questions. In other words, be rude.
Thankfully, service and friendliness have crept into many galleries as a survival tactic in today's experience-driven economy. Don't be intimidated to ask any questions you may have while standing in a gallery. If the woman or man dressed in black scowling at you behind that front desk proves to be of no help, kindly ask to see someone who may answer some of your questions. I can't promise that you will be treated kindly or considerately in every gallery, but it never hurts to ask.
And if you are going to be brave and ask questions, here are a few I use to get the conversation started:
10 Questions to Ask at a Gallery
1. How old is this artist, and where is s/he from?
2. Is this the artist's first solo show?
3. Where else has this artist shown?
4. Can you tell me a little bit about this exhibition?
5. Do you have some earlier work by this artist that I could see?
6. What do you like about this artist's work?
7. Can you tell me more about this particular piece? (Ask this when you especially like, or even when you especially dislike, a specific work)
8. Do you have a price list, and/or what work is still available?
9. Do you have any information on this artist that I can take with me?
10. Do you have a mailing list, and if so, how can I get on it?
One of my favorite things to do when visiting a gallery is to pop into their "back rooms". All galleries have them. Unfortunately, not all galleries allow you access. One way to get in to see the hidden space is to ask to see works by an artist they represent that is not currently being shown in their front gallery spaces. This doesn't always work, especially if the gallery doesn't know you, but if you mention that you are interested in collecting the artist about which you are inquiring (i.e. spending money), then they just may oblige. Also, it helps if the gallery isn't especially busy during your visit.
Hidden Gems
"Back rooms" are used for storage. Most works will be shelved and wrapped up, as they are in this picture. If you do your homework and play your cards right, the gallerist accompanying you may take the time to unwrap a few works in which you show interest.
Giovanni showing me works in Roebling's back room
I recently visited Roebing Hall in Brooklyn to see the Eve Sussman show. While there, I asked Giovanni Garcia- French (delightful, professional, and accommodating) if they had any works by Christoph Morlinghaus who had a show up in February that I missed seeing. I was delighted to find that they had three large Morlinghaus photographs wrapped up in the back. Seeing works propped up on the floor may not be the ideal way to view work, but for some reason I get a kick out of it. It's feels like Christmas to me to have works unwrapped and revealed as I stand and watch. I'm weird.
Pierogi's "back room"
One of my favorite galleries, Pierogi, has taken the intimidation out of "back room access" by putting it right up front. Pierogi's famous Flat Files, pictured above, are available to every visitor and are the first thing you see when you enter the gallery. With art-handling gloves available to all, you are free to browse thousands (yes, thousands) of artists' files all on your own. Some of my favorite art has come from these very files and I rarely leave the gallery without purchasing something.
With so many artists to browse in the Flat Files, it can be a little daunting. If you go, just start by randomly opening a few files and you will be hooked. They also have available a list of all artists represented in the files so you can browse for familiar names. I hope to one day post about my recommended "files", but have yet to find the time to commit to weeding through the whole lot. Whenever someone asks me where to go to find affordable work or to start their collections, I often refer them to Pierogi's Flat Files. It's fun, not at all intimidating, and a great way to see a lot of artists, both emerging and emerged, in one place.
Happy hunting!
Last Friday I was able to visit the Whitney Biennial (finally) and Open House: Working in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. I won't comment on the Whitney, although I enjoyed it thoroughly, because so many have said so much about the show already: artnet, Jerry Saltz in The Village Voice, and Tyler Green in the WSJ.
Louise Belcourt, Hedge Painting #3, 2003
Oil on canvas
I do, however, want to share my thoughts on the Open House show. (Up through August 15 @ Brooklyn Museum of Art, 200 Eastern Parkway.) Curated by Charlotta Kotik and Tumelo Mosaka, Curators of Brooklyn Museum's Department of Contemporary Art:
This exhibition celebrates the diversity and energy [of Brooklyn artists and galleries], with more than three hundred works--all of them created since the year 2000--by two hundred artists. It brings together traditional art forms and state-of-the-art digital technologies, encompassing painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, installations, film, and video. The largest in a series of exhibitions devoted to Brooklyn artists that began at the Museum in 1985, "Open House" presents a generation of artists who shaped the art history of the twentieth century alongside emerging artists of the twenty-first century.
If you have not seen this show, PLEASE GO and see it. Having just come from a very crowded Whitney, I was disappointed to see so few people at this show. Granted, it is Brooklyn and only the die-hards make the trek across the East River, and the Whitney gets all of the hoop-la and press, but I felt that most of the art at Open House was on par with (and, in many cases, better than) the works appearing in the Whitney. My one disappointment with Open House was the installation. Too many works hung too tightly together. By the third room of the show, the art tends to blur and you have to make a conscious effort to spend time standing in front of each work to experience it without the noise of surrounding art.
For new collectors, and all collectors interested in emerging art, this show was packed with gems! Selfishly, I was thrilled to see so many of the artists I have been collecting over the years: Xu Bing, Sebastiaan Bremer, Steven Charles, Dawn Clements, Heidi Cody, Christoph Draeger, Leonardo Drew, Luis Gispert, Anthony Goicolea, Rachel Harrison, James Hyde, Robert Lazzarini, Vik Muniz, Roxy Paine, Danica Phelps, Jean Shin, and Danielle Tegeder.
More exciting for me, though, is that I came away with a list of artists to look into collecting now: Louise Belcourt (pictured above), James Esber, Jane Fine, Linda Ganjian, Colin Hunt (no link found), Karl Jensen (no link found), Lynn Koble, Carey Maxon, and Andy Yoder.
Join me in the hunt for great art... go see Open House and make a list of "artists to collect" of your own!
Here are a few out-of-town (not New York) MFA shows to check out:
Si Young Rhie, Floating Plankton at Temple Gallery
Penn MFA Exhibit (couldn't find a link), Philadelphia
Temple University, Philadelphia
Both are reviewed by Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof
Clockwise from bottom left: Anastasia Faiella; Andrew Martin; Minh Nguyen; Molly Springfield (photo: Laura Ball); Kirk Stoller; Laura Ball; Amy Harrison (photo: Chris Cobb). Photos by Molly Springfield except where otherwise noted.
Berkeley Master of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition, from May 21 through August 29, 2004
Reviewed in Art Museum Network News
