Vandals at work

A public art piece in Richmond worth more than $1 million was vandalized this week, prompting the president of the Vancouver Biennale to call on police to treat it as a serious crime rather than an act of mischief, should the perpetrator be caught.

"This was vicious and intended," said Barry Mowatt, president and founder of the Vancouver Biennale, which brings large public art installations from all over the world to Vancouver and, more recently, Richmond. "It should be treated as a crime."

Read the whole story here.

At the end of the day...

Yesterday things picked up a little and some more artists at the AAFNYC showing with Mayer Fine Art have broken the ice.

Yesterday Sheila Giolitti sold four of her paintings, I sold my cool drawing of "St. Ernesto 'Che' Guevara", more Matt Sesow's sold as well as one Novie Trump sculpture and one of Rosemary Feit Covey's super cool "Peep Show" boxes and one of her wood engravings

In walking the fair a little I've really become quite fond of the breath taking photographic wax encaustic work by Leah MacDonald, represented by Galerie BMG from Woodstock, New York. MacDonald has some of the most innovative and sexiest work that I have seen in a long time.

Encaustic Photography by Leah MacDonald"

You never know...

Elderly couple comes by around noon or so, and spend a lot of time looking at one of Rosemary Feit Covey's "Peep Show" boxes. I spend a lot of time talking to them.



These custom made boxes each has a set of 10 wood engravings which are inserted into the box and "peeped" through the keyhole. They are engravings of women in various state of being disrobed, objectified and enjoyed. Not exactly the genre of art that one would expect your stereotypical 80something couple to acquire for their collection.

They express interest and walk away to look at the rest of the fair. "They are major collectors," whispers the gallerist across the aisle from me.

A few hours later they return and buy the piece.

Only in New York.

Dawson on One Hour Photo

The Post's Jessica Dawson has a really good article on the One Hour Photo exhibition project at the Katzen.

Read it here.

I have a pic in that novel show.

Gopnik on Abramovic

I for one, agree with Blake's review of the Marina Abramovic MoMA show, but Aline Martinez doesn't.

Read her letter to the WaPo here.

At the end of the day...

The 1,000 point drop in the market yesterday was buzzing through the crowd coming to the Affordable Art Fair in New York. However, having done this fair many years, it seemed that Thursday's attendance was quite good considering it was a Thursday, so there were mixed signals: good crowds + bad economic news = slower sales than preview night.

Also, last night was "Brooklyn Night" and the crowd seemed younger and more interested in the open bar for wine and beer and the cool DJ who was actually playing music from a record player... than in artwork.

At the end of the day Mayer Fine Art ended up selling Sheila Giolitti's second largest painting (a major sale), a few more paintings by Matt Sesow, and as the lights were being flickered at 9:30PM, one of my large drawings ("Eve and the Lilith"), which ended up being acquired by the Sonya Spann Collection.

Thursday afternoon

Good crowds still and lots of artwork being sold at the Affordable Art Fair here in New York. The London gallery across the aisle from us is selling large color photos and they're flying off the wall (the price is right).

Tonight is "Brooklyn Night" or something - another party.

So far today we've sold a very large Sheila Giolitti painting (last year she sold 19 paintings). The one that she sold today was her second largest piece in the show and is heading to a collection in New Jersey.

Wanna go to an opening tomorrow?

Opening Reception: Friday, May 7, 5:30-8 pm - Things Uncertain: Recent Works on Paper by Ellen Verdon Winkler at Washington Printmakers Gallery.

Also photos by Andrew Zimmerman open at the Arts Club of Washington on Friday, May 7, from 6:30 - 9 PM.

Preview Night at the Fair

Today was the press night and VIP preview night at New York's Affordable Art Fair, held at 7 West 34th Street, right across the street from the beautiful Empire State Building.

In the many years that I have been doing the AAFNYC, tonight's opening was by far the most crowded and buzzy preview that I have seen. It seemed like most galleries were selling something.

Norfolk's Mayer Fine Art, showcasing several DMV artists including my work, also did OK, with several sales by multiple artists, including a couple of sales by Novie Trump, a major piece by Rosemary Feit Covey on hold, a few sales of Matt Sesow, and sales of four of my drawings, including my two largest pieces that I brought to NY: "Batman Naked" and "Suddenly she discovered that she wasn't afraid any longer".

One Hour Photo at the Katzen

One Hour Photo, is a quite novel exhibition opening May 8th at the American University Museum at Katzen Arts Center. One Hour Photo features works by 128 artists from 13 countries.

Each photograph will be projected for one hour and then never, ever seen again since all of the artists showing photos in this exhibition have signed release forms honoring and promising that those particular photos will not be reproduced or ever exhibited again. Adam Good, Chajana denHarder and Chandi Kelley curated this most interesting concept.

I have a piece in this exhibit, which I can't show you because, as I said above...

The opening is Saturday May 8th 6:00-9:00PM. Pinkline's Tara Hauser interview Adam Good here. Through June 6, 2010.

Unthinkable

Something that I thought would never happen just happened! I had lousy matzoh ball soup in a Jewish deli in New York City!

Walking along Broadway, around W. 38th Street is the culprit. A good looking Jewish Kosher Deli, with several Hassidic families happily eating inside, and so I thought to myself: "Mmmmm... matzoh ball soup..."

I sat down and was promptly given a complimentary small dish with four or five nice pickles and some excellent coleslaw... nice!

I then ordered the soup, enjoyed looking at all the happy customers and awaited my feast. Then I noticed that this was a combo Jewish Kosher deli and Sushi bar. A slight alarm went off, but then I figured that maybe it was Kosher sushi, if there is such a thing.

When the soup arrived I was shocked! Not only was it thin and watery chicken soup, but it also looked and tasted like those soups that one makes from powder... you know, the Lipton soup packet types that have those tiny, almost invisible noodles? Yep... that bad.

The matzoh was gigantic and tasteless - essentially plain dough.

I was shocked.

The matzoh ball soup at the Parkway Diner on Grubb Rd in Silver Spring, right past Chevy Chase off East-West Hwy in DMV is a gazillion times better!

In fact, the matzoh ball soup that my shiksa wife makes is a thousand times better than this crap that I had in NYC tonight.

What's going on here New York?

Style Resignation

Scott Vogel, the Arts editor at the Post, just resigned. From the WaPo:

We are sad to announce that Scott Vogel has resigned as fine arts editor. Scott is a masterful editor, passionate about his reporters, the arts and the newspaper. He has been a wonderful colleague, whose humor, talent and devotion will be missed and not easily replaced. We wish him well.

Shortly we will post for Scott's position, one of the most demanding and most rewarding in the newsroom, working with outstanding talent to cover this city's ever-evolving arts world. If anyone has suggestions for people who would build on our momentum, please let us know. In the interim, the also wonderful and talented Peter Kaufman will come help.

Bethesda Fine Arts Festival

This weekend is the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival, the highest ranked outdoor fine arts festival in Maryland and one of the top in the nation. About 30,000 people will enjoy and buy art from 140 juried fine artists and crafts folk from around the nation.

Saturday, May 8, from 10am - 6pm
Sunday, May 9, from 10am - 5pm
Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle, Norfolk & Auburn Avenues

Check out the juried artists here.

Want free tickets to the art fair?

The Affordable Art Fair NYC is this week, opening on Thursday in New York. Drop me an email if you want me to set you up with a couple of free tickets to the fair.

If you go to the fair, swing by and say hi... I'll be with Mayer Fine Art. Reports coming as time allows.

Art Criticism, Texas Style

Some nuts in Texas...

Are protesting a sculpture on the Texas Tech campus in Lubbock. They have mounted an instantaneous online petition a mere six years after the artwork was installed.

YCT says the work, ”Tornado of Ideas” by Tom Otterness, commits sacrilege against the Masked Rider, a revered Texas Tech idol, depicting Him using a javelin to commit gross indecencies on a police officer. The work is also said to show two lesbians actually sitting together.

Details from Mike Licht here.

Bethesda Fine Arts Festival

Next weekend is the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival, the highest ranked outdoor fine arts festival in Maryland and one of the top in the nation. About 30,000 people will enjoy and buy art from 140 juried fine artists and crafts folk from around the nation.

Saturday, May 8, from 10am - 6pm
Sunday, May 9, from 10am - 5pm
Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle, Norfolk & Auburn Avenues

Check out the juried artists here.

Guevaraing on May Day

The racist psychopath Guevara continues to haunt my drawing hand; here's version III of "ASere SI o NO".

"ASere SI o NO" c. 2010. Charcoal on Paper. 5.5 x 14 inches.

Wanna go to an opening tomorrow?



The Brentwood Arts Exchange @ Gateway Arts Center
3901 Rhode Island Ave.
Brentwood, MD 20722
tel. 301-277-2863
tty. 301-446-6802

Judkis on Wodzianski

With the exception of the interviews and the constant influx of well-wishers, Wodzianski is sleeping a little lighter, painting a little less, but still spending his mornings with the Washington Post and the Diane Rehm Show over a cup of coffee. “This is the most boring porn ever,” one commenter remarked on his live stream.

The City Paper's Maura Judkis has a fascinating piece on the current Andrew Wodzianski performance going on in his 100sq. ft. residence. Read it here.

Wanna go to an opening this Saturday?

Addison/Ripley Fine Art in Geortgetown presents "an uncompromising selection of new works by Washington artist, Dan Treado. This work continues to surprise and delight with the artist's signature serial imagery; layers of color, light as air, add dreamy associations and an impossible depth to the lush surfaces. In some of the paintings, appropriated samples from selected illustrations and texts provide tense contrast. In others, a crazy quilt of disparate organic images is woven together by this talented painter. At once cryptic and mesmerizing, the paintings in this third exhibition by the artist at Addison/Ripley demonstrate a rich complexity and accomplished maturity."

The reception is Saturday, May 1st, 5-7pm.