Art Addict

If I lived in Indianapolis, IN...

...I'd go check out the Amy Cutler exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

Passage, 2005; Gouache on paper; 30 x 22 inches

March 10 - June 4
Indianapolis Museum of Art
4000 Michigan Road
Indianapolis IN 46208-3326
Tel: 317.923.1331
[email protected]

Amy shows with Leslie Tokonow Artworks + Projects in New York

Overheard (unfortunately) at The Armory

I was standing outside of the Rona Hoffman Gallery booth admiring the fantastic Mickalene Thomas and Kehinde Wiley paintings hung on the booth's outer walls when three ladies in their 30's walked up next to me and began pointing and snickering at the paintings. One said that she was going to go and ask how much they cost. She came back and spewed this...

"The bitch won't tell me how much they are because they're sold. I don't get it anyway. Why would I want to look at black people on my walls all day?"

Unlike this one, here's a funny overheard.

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...

The Art Fairs are Coming

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.