ART & EXHIBITION Reviews, News ...

Los Angeles ...

2012-01-05T16:50:00.003-06:00

...great art and fairs to look forward to!!!

The Los Angeles Art Show (LAAS),
January 18 - 22, 2012
the premier and most significant art fair in the Western United States will return to the L.A. Convention Center.

The largest and most eclectic such event on the West Coast offering Old Master, Impressionist, modern, and contemporary works and sponsored by the Fine Art Dealers Association. This annual show is expected to draw about 130 exhibitors from around the world for its 17th edition.

Art Los Angeles Contemporary,
January 19–22, 2012.
in its third year, is the International Contemporary Art fair of the West Coast.

After a successful 2011 edition, the art fair returns to the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, a known arts venue with 40,000 square feet of exhibition space and soaring 40 foot ceilings. The fair presents 70 top international blue chip and emerging galleries from around the world, with a strong focus on Los Angeles galleries. Participants present some of the most dynamic recent works from their roster of represented artists, offering an informed cross section of what is happening now in contemporary art making. The fair provides a sophisticated yet accessible environment for art collectors, curators, and patrons of the arts alike to enjoy.

... gallery openings, events and a lot of creativeness happening
- please check back for details!!!

Too many art fairs ... never!

2012-01-05T16:17:00.000-06:00

Art Miami
31st Street and Northeast First Avenue, Miami; art-miami.com; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. $15 one-day pass, $20 multi-day pass.

Pulse Art Fair
The Ice Palace, 1400 N. Miami Ave., Miami; pulse-art.com; 1-8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday-Sunday; $15, $10 students and seniors.

Scope Miami Art Show,
2951 NE First Ave, Miami; scope-art.com; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Soho Studios, 2136 NW First Ave., Miami. $15, $10 students.

Aqua Art Miami
NE 25th St., Miami (at North Miami Avenue); aquaartmiami.com; 1-7 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. $15.

NADA
Deauville Resort, 6701 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; www.newartdealers.org; 2-8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday; Free

Fountain Miami Art Fair
2505 N. Miami Ave., Miami; fountainexhibit.com; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday-Sunday; $5.
INK Miami, Dorchester Hotel, 1850 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; inkartfair.com; Noon-7 p.m. Wednesday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday; Free.

Design Miami
39th Street and Northeast First Ct., Miami; designmiami.com; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. $20, $10 students and seniors.

__________________________

Graffiti Gone Global
3252 NE First Ave., Miami; graffitigoneglobal.blogspot.com; free

Verge Art Fair
Catalina Hotel, 1732 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, www.vergeartfair.com; Noon-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday.

FoCi Art Fair
3000 N. Miami Ave., Miami; www.fociartfair.com; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.; $10

Photo Miami
3401 N. Miami Ave., Miami; photomiami-2009.com; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday; $20, $15 students and seniors.

Pool Art Fair
Cavalier Hotel, 1320 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach; poolartfair.com; 3 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday with vernissage 6-10 p.m. Friday; $10; $20 vernissage.

Red Dot Fair
Northeast First Avenue at 32nd Street, Miami; www.reddotfair.com; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday; $10 one-day pass, $20 week pass.

Sculpt Miami Art Fair
46 NW 36th St., Miami; sculptmiami.com; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; $5.

Zones Art Fair
47 NE 25th St., Miami; zonesartfair.com ; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday; 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-midnight Saturday; 10 a.m. Sunday to 1 a.m. Monday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday. Free.

Art Basel Satellite Fairs

2012-01-05T16:00:00.003-06:00

From Art Miami to Scope to Zoom, alternative shows bring variety to Basel week

Art Basel Miami Beach can be described by several superlatives for its place in South Florida's art world: It's the biggest and most widely advertised art fair. It presents the most expensive works. And measured against other art events, it attracts the most collectors and gallerists.

Yet the main attraction at the Miami Beach Convention Center is just one of more than a dozen satellites spread across Miami Beach and Miami's Wynwood and Midtown neighborhoods that transform early December into an art bonanza.

Several vast, temporary tents spread through Midtown, which has become a can't-miss destination for the art crowds.

Celebrating its 10th year in Miami, contemporary Scope Miami moves back to Midtown this year - it had relocated to Wynwood in 2009 - in a 70,000-square-foot space for 62 galleries that range from local gems such as Miami's Spinello Gallery (showing interdisciplinary artist Agustina Woodgate, whose work investigates the relationship between childhood dreams and adult socialization) to newcomers such as Berlin's Dada Post, which is exhibiting internationally for the first time. There is also mainstay Christopher Genry Gallery from New York, which will feature work by Olek, a Polish-American artist known for her vast installations of fiber and crochet.

“It's great to be back in Midtown so we can have synergy with fairs such as Bridge and Art Asia,” says Scope director Mollie White. “We're also making use of the iPhone Collectrium application this year. You can take a picture of an image, and it recognizes that image and pulls up all the information on that artist and gallery.”

The geographically and culturally themed Art Asia, which shares Scope's tent, will host dozens of galleries from Asia, North America, Europe and the Middle East, including Shanghai's Feizi Gallery, which will present “Li Xin's Ecstasy,” an eye-popping mixed-media installation that depicts the life of a virtual human.

Miami's most venerable fair is Art Miami. Now in its 21st year, it will display works from 100 international galleries in a 100,000-square-foot Midtown space.

Across the causeway at the South Seas Hotel, a short walk from Art Basel Miami Beach, Zoom Contemporary Art Fair will also take an intimate, thematic approach, focusing on Middle Eastern art. Twenty exhibitors will showcase artists representing galleries and nonprofit organizations from 11 countries.

“Zoom changes its focus every year to highlight something. This year we wanted it to be what is happening in the Middle East,” says Sam Bardaouil, a member of the Fair’s selection committee. Artists include Khaled Hafez (Egypt), Shoja Azari (Iran), Zoulikha Bouabdella (Morocco), Nazif Topcuoglu (Turkey), Sara Rahbar (Iran) and Halim Al Karim (Iraq).

Zoom will have a linear format and will explore a theme of “the clash of the icons.”

“Art that's described as ‘Middle Eastern’ is no longer confined to calligraphy or images of veiled women,” Bardaouil says. “Contemporary art should not be seen through the lens of religious affiliation.”

About 45 blocks north of the convention center, the popular New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) returns to the Deauville.

The fair, comprised entirely of nonprofit artists' organizations, is in its eighth year and includes a hip array of galleries from Miami's Twenty Twenty Projects and Bas Fisher Invitational to New York's 179 Canal and Le B.A.N.K of Paris.

“I'm also excited about The Hole from NYC run by Kathy Grayson [formerly at Deitch]. She's presenting an ‘arted’ living room where essentially everything is an art work,” says Heather Hubbs, NADA director. Hubbs says the overall booth design will be created by designer and architect Rafael de Cardenas, who also will oversee contributions from the artists, who include sculptor Robert Lazzarini, painter and graffitist Barry McGee and video artist Takeshi Murata.

Hubbs says the fair's 2009 move from a warehouse space in Miami to the hotel on the beach was a cost-saving measure that proved to be successful. NADA is teaming with nearby Canyon Ranch Hotel and Spa, where several gallerists are staying, to curate a sculpture garden by female artists during the fair.

While most of 2009's Basel satellites have returned, absent is Photo Miami, popular for its large-scale prints and creative photo displays. The fair was scheduled to return for a fifth year with the theme “The Lyrical and the Profane” and such artists as Penelope Umbrico, Fernando Montiel, Geraldo Montiel Klin and Els Vanden Meersch. But FOTOmarkt, the investment group that owns Photo Miami, canceled in late October, citing funding difficulties.

By Jaweed Kaleem11/22/2010

Tm Gratkowski - artistic look at social issues

2011-11-22T08:03:00.004-06:00

Tm Gratkowski’s art is both concept-driven and process-driven.

Beneath a tangle of fragmented vignettes, patterns, colors and textures, one encounters thought-provoking words, images and stories – the experience is visceral as well as intellectual. Tm uses mass-media as a lexicon of information to contextualize popular media as a social criticism about the very things that we are surrounded by but pay little attention to.

Using paper as his only material, Tm layers hundreds of pieces of paper to construct a surface rich in patterns, images, and text, all with subtle shifts in color. At a distance his works appear as formal abstractions, as if painted, but upon closer examination the layers are made up of a dense juxtaposition of selected images and texts.

The majority of Tm’s work explores issues of social polarities and social conditions left unresolved in our social history. Tm juxtaposes political, social, and art images to tell a story rich in historical references and combines contemporaneous popular media to make these subjects relevant today.

What, at first, may appear as formal aesthetics will, upon closer examination, reveal a subject matter that is often complex, challenging, and difficult to take issue with. The process becomes evident as the viewer becomes engaged in a visual dialogue with the works hidden imagery and words. Tm hopes to engage the viewer and the art in a way in which they are at liberty to see, discuss, and challenge that which has been (re)discovered. more

Introducing Oxamedia for your web advertising solutions

2011-10-19T12:05:00.001-05:00

Dear Webmaster of galleryartoverview.blogspot.com

We are writing to you from the office of the Business Development Dept of OxaMedia Corp,
a Digital Advertising Network (AdNetwork) for Publishers and Advertisers.

While navigating your website, we noticed that you may be interested
in our advertising services for both web publishers and advertisers.

By sending you this email, our company is kindly asking for your the authorization
to be contacted in order to have the possibility to introduce you to how
you can benefit from our adnetwork.

If you wish and agree to learn more about us, please contact us.
In the meantime, we are pleased to provide you with some information:

WEB PUBLISHERS:

If you have advertising space on your website, or you want to add
another adv provider, register with us now and immediately display ads
on your websites. You will start to earn revenues right away.
Today, upon registration, we will credit your account with $25.00 Welcome Bonus.
Our system optimizes the ads based on your website audience in order
to provide you with the highest eCPM possible.
If you wish to learn more about the publisher opportunity
click here (UK USA IT FR ES DE)

ADVERTISERS:

If you need to attract qualified visitors to your website, you can create and
manage your campaigns and benefit from several targeting tools and
several distribution methods (RON, Contextual, Premium, Mix-Distribution).
Today, we welcome you with up to $300.00 free credit for your first campaign.
If you wish to learn more about the Advertisers opportunity,
click here( UK USA IT FR ES DE).

If you would like and agree to speak with us before registering, please click here to contact us.

Thank you for your consideration. We apologize for any inconvenience this e-mail
may have caused you. If you do not contact us or you do not register with us,
we guarantee you that we will not disturb you anymore.

We remain at your disposal for any information requests and we hope to have you
amoung our Top Publishers or our Top Advertisers.

Best regards

Business Development Office
www.oxamedia.com

--
If you do not want to receive any more email from us, this link

HAMPTON Art Fairs

2011-06-22T10:34:00.004-05:00

... looking forward to visiting the Hamptons in July for Contemporary Art Viewing / Fairs !!!

ArtHamptons - July 8-10
has emerged as the nation’s premier summer fine art fair for post-war and contemporary art. View the art in a new and improved 50,000 square foot modular museum on 5 bucolic acres. Walk through our impressive sculpture garden and enter the building through a spectacular glass lobby. Fully air-conditioned with reinforced and carpeted floors, each year this striking museum in a field becomes the largest modular structure ever to be constructed on the East End of Long Island.

Sayre Park, 154 Snake Hollow Road, Bridgehampton, NY 11976

artMRKT Hamptons - July 14-17
Taking place on the grounds of the Bridgehampton Historical Society, artMRKT will present 35 of the worlds leading galleries in a relaxing, enjoyable atmosphere. Enjoy your art this summer.

Scope Hamptons - July 21-24
info to come?!

Rogelio Manzo - mixed media portraits

2011-06-20T10:33:00.002-05:00

As an artist I've been relentless in my pursuit to the inner story of a person through a physical portrait. Where most strive for a mirror reflection in their art I demand more on my work to unearth the story below the surface. A portrait can reach deep inside and expose the secret stories and identity of its sitters. Brushstrokes reveal their attitude; light is transformed into a truth seeker and texture can reveal the emotional angst or happiness of its subjects. Overall my intention is to expose the viewer to a visceral discourse concerned with of our own bodily integrity and mortality. MORE

Ilene Sunshine ... man and nature

2011-06-08T15:28:00.002-05:00

My New Vein series is an extensive body of work comprised of dried, gessoed leaves and plastic bag fragments hand-stitched to paper. An on-going project since 2005 (currently a folio of 73 images), it is a 21st century riff on the herbarium— a collection of preserved plant specimens used for study and analysis. But I've corrupted the botanist's craft by seamlessly merging highlighted aspects of a leaf's structure with the ubiquitous graphic designs found on plastic bags. My renderings are a nod to the increasingly blurred distinction between natural and man-made, as well as a meditation on commerce's ever-presence. But in another regard, my sewing is a way of mending— not repairing holes, but making 'wholes' from such disparate parts. MORE images

Shin-Young An - portraits around the world news

2011-06-08T15:23:00.002-05:00

Serious artists are constantly reinventing themselves, as they strive to achieve an illusive vision of “great art”. Often, world and national events impose an emotional response on the artist, who is otherwise powerless to influence such events. The canvas can become the artist’s vehicle of expression .

I am an artist in transition. In the past, I have faithfully recorded my subject, with an emotional response limited only to that subject. In portraiture, for example, the challenge has been to produce a work that reflects my response to the personality of the sitter. But I can no longer ignore the effect that outside events are having on me.

I am now painting my emotional response to such events. It is not always easy to move away from that which you are conformable with to explore a new area. But in life, one needs to progress and let go of the past, in order to achieve something greater. I hope I am worthy of this new challenge.

About “The Limb Series” (top):
The limb series of paintings juxtaposes ordinary routine tasks with exceptional and often disturbing events. MORE

Social issues thru ceramic

2011-04-18T15:32:00.002-05:00

KATE MacDOWELL

In my work this romantic ideal of union with the natural world conflicts with our contemporary impact on the environment. These pieces are in part responses to environmental stressors including climate change, toxic pollution, and gm crops. They also borrow from myth, art history, figures of speech and other cultural touchstones. In some pieces aspects of the human figure stand-in for ourselves and act out sometimes harrowing, sometimes humorous transformations which illustrate our current relationship with the natural world. In others, animals take on anthropomorphic qualities when they are given safety equipment to attempt to protect them from man-made environmental threats. In each case the union between man and nature is shown to be one of friction and discomfort with the disturbing implication that we too are vulnerable to being victimized by our destructive practices. MORE

NEXT art fair - Chicago

2011-04-11T14:31:00.000-05:00

NEXT: The Invitational Exhibition of Emerging Art
April 29 - May 2, 2011
Opening Preview: April 28, 2011

More than an art fair, NEXT is a showcase for the world’s talents and an adventure in innovative culture. An opportunity to redefine the relationship between art and its public, NEXT is a platform for established and emerging galleries to promote the work of cutting-edge artists. NEXT is dedicated to the exhibition and advancement of today's art. NEXT is the catalyst for the exchange of information and experimental ideas aimed at today's educated collectors.

NEXT includes works from both commercial and non-commercial arts organizations—galleries, project spaces, art publications and key private contemporary collections from around the world.

Art Chicago - April 29 - May 2, 2011

2011-04-04T12:48:00.001-05:00

Art Chicago® 2011, the annual international fair of contemporary and modern art, brings together the world’s leading emerging and established galleries. Art Chicago offers curators, collectors, artists and art enthusiasts a comprehensive survey of current and historic work, from cutting-edge to modern masters in a wide variety of media including: painting, photography, drawings, prints, sculpture, video and special installations.

Art Chicago is proud to be North America’s premier fair committed to intelligent and relevant educational programming, exhibitions, and special events, while also providing a unique showcase for artists, museums and cultural institutions from key regional and other US cities.

Art Chicago 2011 will take place April 29 - May 2, with an Opening Preview on April 28.
MORE

Kim Piotrowski - abstract works with great control!

2011-04-01T10:13:00.004-05:00

The content informing these abstract works has been a pointed grab of subject matter from current events and a charged painterly response. Melding drawing and painting together in a manner that produces immediacy in her abstractions, Kim's work evokes emotional and thoughtful responses to these icons within the context of today and allows her to offer a new visual language through paint. MORE

Scott Ashley ... neon with thought

2011-03-28T09:40:00.003-05:00

In my recent series of sculptures I have taken common everyday objects and transformed them in a way that expresses the psychological, emotional and perceptual attachments we have with the objects that surround us. In some of the works I have made a direct modification that denies the original use of the item rendering it non-functional; asking the viewer to re-evaluate it in its new state. In other works, additions have been made that reflect our own dysfunctions that we often project onto the objects and situations of our daily lives. By re-contextualizing these familiar items the viewer is asked not to rely upon pre-determined definitions but is challenged to use their own personal experience to redefine the object and its meaning.

MORE

Red Dot & Korean Art Fair

2011-03-09T16:03:00.009-06:00

Well, I must say the space was interesting and it was laid out well ... but the art was less exciting, more to the "decorative" than "fine art" side of things at Red Dot - a little bit of a mess and the dealers were very unhappy.
There was art to see and enjoy: Painter James Kenedy with surface library

The Korean Art Show was on the other half of the space:
Great piece in the entry (or exit) from Sang-hee Park - painted in vibrant colors and unique technique - Korea Now, NY gallery

never seen before ... sculptural mops! by Hyung-sub Shin
shown with Keumsan gallery

SCOPE NY 2011 - armory arts week

2011-03-09T15:35:00.002-06:00

Typically Scope is high on the list …
the crowd was very quiet - the show was worth every minute of it!!!

SCOPE is the largest and most global art fair in the world featuring emerging contemporary art with 7 markets worldwide. It is our goal and passion to present the most innovative galleries, artists and curators while networking them with our Patrons through a unique program of solo and thematic group shows presented alongside museum-quality exhibitions, collector tours, screenings, and special events.

First site when entering the fair (above) note the skulls continue)…

Great ceramic work at the Mindy Solomon gallery by Sunkoo Yuh

SunKoo Yuh is currently Associate Professor at the University of Georgia, Athens. He received his MFA from Alfred University. He has exhibited widely and has received many awards and honors. In 2005-03 he was the recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation grant, the Grand Prize at the 2nd World Ceramic Biennale International Competition, Icheon, Korea, The Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize and the Virginia A. Groot Foundation. His work is in the collections of The Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., Icheon World Ceramic Center, Korea, the Oakland Museum of Art, CA, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA.

A fun and colorful live installation – artists wanted (above)
new to me … a Detroit gallery and graffiti artist:
Tristan Eaton with Contra projects – WOW an amazing large scale piece (below)

Born in Los Angeles in 1978, Tristan began pursuing street art as a teenager, painting everything from billboards to dumpsters in the urban landscape wherever he lived, including London, Detroit and New York. Eaton designed his first toy for Fisher Price at 18 years old and has since become a driving force in the world of ‘Designer Toys ‘. As a creative leader in the world of advertising, Eaton regularly consults such brands as Hasbro, Pepsi and Nike on many creative projects that span the globe and cross all mediums.

Jordan Eagles - paints with blood! The color and dimension of these works are amazing!
For over a decade, Jordan Eagles has been using and preserving blood in his multi-dimensional works as a method to explore themes of regeneration and the metaphysical connections between body, spirit and nature. Eagles permanently preserves the blood on clear and white Plexiglas within layers of resin, suspending the organic medium's fluid forms under the resin's glass-like surface. His work is a dynamic wash of burgundy, crimson, ruby's - commingling with near blacks, and rust colors forming a rich vibrant surface that glows with energy. Now mixing his medium with copper, Jordan creates an effect that is not unlike erupting molten lava – a sparkling geology of vibrant colors and seemingly prehistoric textures that range from fiery orange to deep crimson – revealing as much about life as about death.

You have to look close and careful – some of the treasures are small!
Tadeshi Moriyama at bonelli – Tadashi Moriyama was born and raised in Japan. He attended Tyler School of Art (BA 2003) and University of Pennsylvania (MFA 2006) He has exhibited in Japan, Ireland, Italy, and across the United States.

PULSE NY - Armory Arts week!

2011-03-09T15:30:00.003-06:00

PULSE serves as the junction between central and satellite art fairs. Its exhibitors consist of a select group of leading and pioneering international galleries that present works by premier contemporary artists with those of emerging and undiscovered talents. A central component of the fair is its program of commissioned cultural projects that link its audience to all aspects of the visual and performing arts.

my top two favorites were both fiber / thread work:
ALICIA ROSS -

The Motherboard Series is an extension of my earlier Sampler Series. While the concepts of these two series are directly connected (the female conflict of the domestic woman vs. the woman of sexual desire), the execution has been taken one step further in scale and narrative.

Within my series of Motherboards, the line has been distorted between the types of websites that housed the original content. Though some of the figures were remediated from pornography sites, others were appropriated from sites that display famous works of art and fashion websites. By blurring the line between these female icons the viewer is invited to distinguish between them without context.

JEREMY DEAN – with Creative Thriftshop. Jeremy Dean has built a reputation for exploring the American dream and human progress through art. Deconstructing and re-contextualizing iconic symbols of power and wealth, his work addresses social, political, economic and cultural issues. His work spans the spectrum of film, animation, drawing, interactive sculpture, and installation.

Upstairs at IMPULSE: and emerging part of the fair
Andres Basurto with Antena Estudio. Broken bottle sculptures … skulls

Co-Prosperity SPHERE

2011-02-24T10:47:00.004-06:00

A new one for us, in a space we've enjoyed a great deal before ...
The Annual Showcase of Emerging Typographic Allstars
February 18 – March 7, 2011
Get out there and see this one! - great for graphic designers - funky and fresh.
Lots to see, so take your time viewing.
The crowd was big so the pictures are tight framed.
A couple of my favorites:
Jarred Kolar and Mark Addison Smith
visit: http://coprosperity.org/current/
for a list of artists

33 collective ...

2011-02-24T10:40:00.005-06:00

We were out and about despite the weather - we made it over to the wet paint show at zhou b. art center. I'd give it a "nice and worth while",
but we were impressed with the works at the 33 collective -
as always!
Rory Coyne "Another"

and a great multi-panel piece by Mary Sudman!

JORDAN EAGLES - Blood, Copper and Resin paintings

2011-02-23T10:14:00.002-06:00

For over a decade, Jordan Eagles has been using and preserving blood in his multi-dimensional works as a method to explore themes of regeneration and the metaphysical connections between body, spirit and nature. Eagles permanently preserves the blood on clear and white Plexiglas within layers of resin, suspending the organic medium's fluid forms under the resin's glass-like surface. His work is a dynamic wash of burgundy, crimson, ruby's - commingling with near blacks, and rust colors forming a rich vibrant surface that glows with energy. Now mixing his medium with copper, Jordan creates an effect that is not unlike erupting molten lava – a sparkling geology of vibrant colors and seemingly prehistoric textures that range from fiery orange to deep crimson – revealing as much about life as about death.

MARCUS ANTONIUS JANSEN - Urban painter

2011-02-16T10:03:00.001-06:00

MARCUS ANTONIUS JANSEN
born 1968 in New York City

With a keen awareness of his surroundings he creates a surreal urban like atmosphere filled with subconscious revelations that foretell of a future fraught with consequence. Violent brushstrokes, changing textures, and instinctive contrast of color reflect an explosive spontaneity that is the direct and raw effect of emotion.

Jansen's Intellectually provocative and paradoxical work encourages discourse among viewers. Inspired by political and social events of today, he paints his own interpretations as he tries to separate truth from fiction in a world of increasing disinformation. His paintings ask us to look at the world in a new way and to consider not only our interdependence, but also the universal nature of our existence. We are forced to recognize the repercussions of our own apathy and then ask ourselves what are our responsibilities and how much are we willing to sacrifice.

Jansen continues to remind us that progress has a price. In his most recent work, the streets are now filled with the crumbling infrastructure of a previous generation. Isolated figures walk in the aftermath without refuge from the surveillance of new world technology. Spotlights illuminate the scenery, as the stage is set for a virtual wasteland rich in metaphorical imagery.

Cornered pigs wait with targets on their back, as we crossover into Jansen’s suburban landscapes and are confronted with foreclosed homes, receding farms and the scattered debris of industry. A school bus careens head on into a collision, the wheels no longer turning. Sheep graze in once green pastures replaced with the urban sprawl of the forgotten cities.
The themes that run through Jansen’s work are vast in scope and are indicative of his insightful ability to see the correlations that connect them. Genetically modified food, the degradation of education, corporate greed, and global dominance are just a few. In his work lies a deeply rooted spirituality that becomes evident by his willingness to explore the unknown. He brings our attention to the things we would normally overlook, while reminding us that within our struggle resides beauty.

Shin-Young An ... Limb series

2011-02-16T09:47:00.005-06:00

Serious artists are constantly reinventing themselves, as they strive to achieve an illusive vision of "great art". Often, world and national events impose an emotional response on the artist, who is otherwise powerless to influence such events. The canvas can become the artist's vehicle of expression.

I am an artist in transition. In the past, I have attempted to faithfully record my subject, with an emotional response limited only to that subject. In portraiture, for example, the challenge has been to produce a work that reflects my response to the personality of the sitter. I can no longer ignore the effect that outside events are having on me.
I am now attempting to do paintings that convey my emotional response to such events. It is not always easy to move away from that which you are comfortable with to explore a new area. In life, one needs to progress and let go of the past, in order to achieve something greater. I hope I am worthy of this new challenge.

"My most recent work has given me the opportunity to comment on social, political and environmental issues through the interaction of portraits and limbs painted against a backdrop of current news articles that have touched me."

Pilsen art walk ... "Ashland" side

2010-10-18T15:59:00.014-05:00

I really enjoyed this art walk!

... the weather perfect, neighborhood interesting, people friendly!

Some studios - some galleries - some new, some old!!!

We started at 1 p.m. and went until 5ish, we still did not make it to all of the venues.
The topics of the art are very different from the Halsted side of the Pilsen neighborhood.

Themes about immigration, politics and wrestling ... real people and real live issues.

First stop organized grafitti art ...
these guys were talented and really moving along!

Indoor/outdoor art - a painting of our president ... by Victor Montanez

Wonderful ceramic work (and conversation) by Nicole Marroquin
- see a showing of her works at the Mexican Museum of Art this winter!

A great find! ... nicely organized group show at Margus Studio

Community gallery Tonantzin Community gallery

Great mixed media piece by Miguel Aguilar - at a pop-up space on Blue Island and 18th

Salvador Jimenez-flores mixed media work at the Beer Run Gallery

Marcos Raya - "Mano a mano"

We ended the evening by listening to a band playing on the sidewalk

Garfield Park - Form in Flora Sculpture Show!

2010-10-13T15:53:00.004-05:00

Wednesday October 6th – Saturday November 6th

This fall, come enjoy nature-inspired sculptures by members of Chicago Sculpture International placed throughout the plant collection in the Show House and the Bluestone Terrace. An Opening Reception for the exhibit will be held at the Conservatory on Wednesday October 6th from 5pm to 8pm. The reception is free and open to all – it’s a great opportunity to meet the sculptors in person.

For more information about the exhibit or the reception, please email garfieldparkart@gmail.com.

Really a worth while exhibit, most of the sculptures are placed inside, but a few are out. The cost is FREE.
So, no excuses - get out there and enjoy the fabulous sculpture and this great fall weather!!!

Chicago Artist Month - Pilsen Open Studio/House

2010-10-06T14:38:00.010-05:00

Well, I must say the Pilsen area has lost it's groove. This area used to be exciting - booming with artists and galleries - busy, fresh and exciting ... now the area is really struggling, but they have not given up! There are A LOT of empty spaces and those filled might have had an issue with flooding - there is an odd smell that many try to cover up with patchouli.
The newest places were very interesting to us - recommended not to miss:

MORNING GLORY STUDIOS: 571 W. 18th St. # 1R
Wonderful space - great variety of artists - top notch!
Scott Ashley "dig" (left) gallery shot (right)

_______________________________
PER POPULUS gallery - 626 West 18th Street
Great prints by John Vogl - creative, well done and affordable! Something for everyone!!!

_______________________________
CAD (Chicago Art Department) - 1837 South Halsted
had a couple of very unique works!
Pei-San Ng, matchstick art

and Jen Rosenthal, ink and thread on vellum

_______________________________
On the functional side some great creativity!!!
ARTPENTRY - 1825 S. Halsted
Speakers framed by old luggage and trunks!

_______________________________
and the PLYWOOD OFFICE also on S. Halsted
great furnishings - simple and crafty!

... you have to explore, but there are places really worth while!!!!
Get down there!

ArtPrize big venues ...

2010-09-26T11:33:00.011-05:00

... a few of my favorites at the bigger venues:
GRAM - Grand Rapids Art Museum

This was one of my ultimate favorite pieces
so soft yet so strong! BEAUTIFUL!!!
Artist: Judy K. Dethmers
Title: Glory Days
Medium: Prisma color on mylar
Venue: GRAM

unique medium used and grand over all feeling
Artist: David Spriggs
Title: Vision
Medium: Acrylic on multiple sheets of transparent film housed within a display case
Venue: GRAM

DeVos Conference Center

Great piece for the times ... !!!
Artist: Oliver Aguilar
Title: False Promises
Medium: Photography in Recycled Materials
Venue: DeVos

this I really liked - not the HUGE presence of the felt/fiber piece at GRAM ... but wonderful theme, concept and construction
Artist: Gloria Kirk-Hanna
Title: Growing Seasons
Medium: shredded Fiber Art
Venue: DeVos

Grand Rapids Public Museum

Fresh concept, futuristic and light feeling ...
Artist: Jennifer Surine
Title: Reminisce
Medium: Sterling Silver
Venue: Grand Rapids Public Museum

Interesting mix of medium and meaning
... strong and weak, elite and common ...
Artist: SangSik Hong
Title: Five eyes
Medium: drinking straws
Venue: Grand Rapids Public Museum

the B.O.B

Nice craftsmanship and medium ... a standout
Artist: Konrad Winter
Title: Homeless
Medium: Automotive paint on aluminum
Venue: BOB

This one I did not get an image that turned out so I took it from the artprize Site.
I like fish in general but I thought these were wonderfully done in composition and playfulness of the title.
Artist: Bruce Wyma
Title: Bad Company
Medium: Photography
Venue: BOB

ArtPrize begins ...

2010-09-25T09:43:00.009-05:00

HOW EXCITING - Grand Rapids Michigan is exploding with art, artists and energy!
You definitely need more than one full day to see everything at ArtPrize !!! We hit the big venues (because you have to) and got around to as many smaller ones that we could fit in (to our 1 day), we will have to get back to GR to do the neighborhoods.
Make sure you see the smaller pieces, and out of city center venues - there is a lot of great art out there at places you would not expect!
Below are some diverse talents you don't want to miss at the smaller venues!

Artist: Troy Picou
Title: Water Pony
Venue: Go Java

Artist: Brian Murer
Title: .38 Howitzer
Venue: Purple East

Artist: Patrick Richardson
Medium: Mixed media
Venue: God's Kitchen

Artist: Steven Vinson
Title: The Urban Landscape of GR
Venue: Capsule Gallery

Artist: Audrey Riley
Title: America
Venue: Heartside Park

Artist: Scott Blake
Title: Barcode Bruce Lee
Venue: Stache Gallery

Artist: Alex Schweder La
Title: Evaporative Building
Venue: UICA - Sheldon Exhibition Center

Artist: Peter Sorrell
Title: Ashwan Caban
Venue: Grand Valley Artists at Alten Place

I have to give a big WOW to this one
- the most stunning painting I have seen in a long time!!!!

another one for Grand Valley Artists at Alten Place

Artist: Sayaka Ganz
Title: Emergence
Venue: Grand Valley Artists at Alten Place

Artist: Jiyeon Yim
Title: Emotive Vessels
Venue: Calvin College Gallery

Artist: Jackson Martin
Title: The Redemptive Quality of Life II
Venue: Gillette Bridge

We were beat and needed a rest after all of this walking ... a great place toput your feet up at the end the day - DeVoss Center

Artist: Loud Art
Title: Benchmark Experience
Venue: DeVoss Center

CHICAGO Fall Season Gallery Openings 2010

2010-09-14T11:27:00.007-05:00

It is the grand kick off for galleries all over the country ... me being in Chicago - there was a lot to see! I only got around the River North Area but I was impressed with the mix of style, medium and levels.

Starting at the David Weinberg Gallery I was very impressed with the photography by the Yale School of Art, MFA ... the works by David Bush really captured my attention. Artist's Biography David Bush started photographing as a teenager. At age 16 he built a darkroom in his parent’s basement and learned the basics out of books and the backs of Kodak boxes. He continued his education at Bard College, where he studied with Stephen Shore and earned a BA in Photography in 2001. After graduation he lived and worked as a photographer and assistant in New York City for 3 years. In 2004 he took on a position as the Technical Director for the Bard College Photography Program. David is currently a student at the Yale School of Art where he is working toward a MFA degree in 2010.

ZG Gallery had amazingly detailed and well painted (and ink / graphite) images by Justin Henry Miller. Attached: "Scout" oil on panel, 12" x 19".
Justin Henry Miller’s paintings are meticulously rendered, finely wrought realist sci-fi fantasies of a bio-medical graveyard that take place in the (maybe not so distant) future: after the experiments have concluded and the labs have been abandoned. Failed experiments are mixed with semi-successful results in the now defunct paraphernalia and discarded equipment of bio-medical waste. Fetal tissue and synthetic organs are encased forever in a state of suspended animation. Artificial respiration, insemination, and even perspiration are machine generated in self sustaining perpetuity. MORE from Chicago Artists Resource

I rarely make it over to Printworks Gallery but I am always pleasantly surprised when I do ... drawings by Audrey Niffenegger - wow!

Bio
Audrey Niffenegger was born in 1963 in the idyllic hamlet of South Haven, Michigan. Her family moved to Evanston, Illinois when she was little; she has lived in or near Chicago for most of her life.

She began making prints in 1978 under the tutelage of William Wimmer. Miss Niffenegger trained as a visual artist at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and received her MFA from Northwestern University’s Department of Art Theory and Practice in 1991. She has exhibited her artist’s books, prints, paintings, drawings and comics at Printworks Gallery in Chicago since 1987.

Her first books were printed and bound by hand in editions of ten. Two of these have since been commercially published by Harry N. Abrams: The Adventuress and The Three Incestuous Sisters. MORE

Last feature is a new spot in Chicago to see art ... Lee Weitzman Furniture
Some interesting photography by Yeleen Lee - a great outlook on daily life in the big city.

… What is real and unreal? Why is the banal accepted as reality? With these questions in mind, I express my own ideas and philosophy about this world’s phenomena. It is part of my character to try to find the solution to these questions in my work…

“After the rain… As in a time when I can still see the impression of the rain, As in the traces of tears in a cleared world after overwhelming distress, As in a place where the rain and the sun meet, not yet parting from each other, I, who am standing somewhere in between, listen to the stories of both sides: of this world that I see and walk on… and of the vulnerable world that, like the frame called nature, trembles in a faintest breeze…” - from the artist’s notes by Yeleen Lee
MORE

THERE IS PLENTY MORE OUT THERE TO SEE ... DON'T MISS OUT!!!

SANG SIK HONG ... different and unique contemporary sculpture

2010-09-02T10:26:00.007-05:00

SangSik Hong’s sculptures go beyond the limit of the materials; the images of lips may be interpreted as symbols of desire. Connecting such symbolized images and meaning (power and sex) reveals clearly that his interest is focused on human desires.

“Power is strength, scarce and heading toward eternity. However, the straw, contrary to the properties of power, is a weak structure, easily available to anyone for it is produced on a large scale and a disposable material”. This juxtaposition symbolizes semantic relationships and the structure of desires, connoting the pathos of reality. MORE

“Power is strength, scarce and heading toward eternity. However, the straw, contrary to the properties of power, is a weak structure, easily available to anyone for it is produced on a large scale and a disposable material”. This juxtaposition symbolizes semantic relationships and the structure of desires, connoting the pathos of reality.

ART PRIZE 2010 - Grand Rapids, MI

2010-08-20T12:19:00.004-05:00

ART PRIZE
September 22 to October 10, 2010
* $449,000 prize ($250,000 to 1st place)
* Top 10 entries receive a prize
* Artists can submit one entry
* Property in downtown Grand Rapids can be a venue
* Venues choose the artists they exhibit
* Anyone attending the event can vote
* WINNER IS DETERMINED BY PUBLIC VOTE

ArtPrize is part arts festival, part social experiment
- this international contest is decided solely by public vote.
The event is designed for you to take it into your own hands and make it what you want it to be.
The outcomes of ArtPrize are infinite. What will you bring to the equation?

ArtPrize is a platform for creation. The event's organizers are just a small part of the whole.
Everyone brings something unique to the table, and we're excited to see what you will bring.

Art is the focus of the competition, but the main event is community. Artists take over the city, visitors explore and new relationships form. Communities open to new ideas organically.

The community keeps growing, even after the event is over.

Darren Houser ... serious comic art!

2010-08-12T10:16:00.002-05:00

MYTHOPOEIC

Through this body of work I am investigating what we perceive to be religious ‘truth’, how hortatory rhetoric can construct reality within other peoples minds, and a desire to break away from the orthodox ideas of religion to experience genuineness solely constructed from a language of personal relevance. There is an interesting relationship between the cartoon style characters from comics and the figures from religious stories I was taught as a child. In my mind, both are caricatures of reality and are used as symbols to represent the deep and complex issues of our human nature. The conflict and confusion of crafting a personalized idea of truth is expressed in this work with densely packed areas of appropriated information and graphic elements that do not follow a linear narrative thread. By deconstructing the original narrative of these images and segments of texts, the definition of truth initially ascribed to them is dissolved allowing for a new interpretation. While it is not my intention to create an iconoclasm per se, this body of work should be viewed as an arena to explore the subjective nature of ‘truth’.

You have to see his work in person to see the detail and craftsmanship ... wonderful, creative and unique!!!

ART Chicago and the NEXT Art Fair

2010-04-19T08:48:00.003-05:00

April 30 thru May 3
Opening Preview
April 29
located at the
The Merchandise Mart

Art Chicago® 2010, the annual international fair of contemporary and modern art, brings together the world’s leading emerging and established galleries. Art Chicago offers curators, collectors, artists and art enthusiasts a comprehensive survey of current and historic work, from cutting-edge to modern masters in a wide variety of media including: painting, photography, drawings, prints, sculpture, video and special installations.

More than an art fair, NEXT is a showcase for the world’s talents and an adventure in cutting-edge culture. An opportunity to redefine the relationship between art and its public, NEXT is a portal to seeing contemporary art in new, innovative, eye-opening ways. NEXT will include works from both commercial and non-commercial arts organizations--galleries, project spaces, art publications and key private contemporary collections from around the world.

Amazing display ... Beth Lipman at Heller Gallery NY!

2010-03-17T15:49:00.000-05:00