Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Opportunity for Artists
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Boardwalk Art Show deadline coming...
Monday, December 22, 2014
Women as Rocks at Sea heading to Sweden
Woman Rock XXIII Watercolor on Paper, c.1979 |
Woman Rock IV Watercolor on Paper, c. 1979 |
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Opportunity for Artists
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Friday, December 19, 2014
What the Cubans are saying...
"Sadly, President Obama made the wrong decision. The freedom and democracy of the Cuban people will not be achieved through these benefits that he's giving -- not to the Cuban people -- but to the Cuban government. The Cuban government will only take advantage to strengthen its repressive machinery, to repress civil society, its people and remain in power."
-- Berta Soler, leader of The Ladies in White.
"[Alan Gross] was not arrested for what he did, but for what could be gained from his arrest. He was simply bait and they were aware of it from the beginning... Castroism has won, though the positive result is that Alan Gross has left alive the prison that threatened to become his tomb."
-- Yoani Sanchez, Cuban blogger and independent journalist, 14ymedio.
"The Cuban people are being ignored in this secret conversation, in this secret agreement that we learned today. The reality of my country is there is just one party with all the control and with the state security controlling the whole society. If this doesn’t change, there’s no real change in Cuba. Not even with access to Internet. Not even when Cuban people can travel more than two years ago. Not even that is a sign of the end of the totalitarianism in my country."
--Rosa Maria Paya, daughter of murdered Christian Liberation Movement leader, Oswaldo Paya.
"[Obama's announcement] is horrible and disregarding the opinion of [Cuban] civil society sends a bad message. The acceptance of neo-Castroism in Cuba will mean greater support for authoritarianism in the region and, as a consequence, human rights will be relegated to a secondary role."
-- Antonio Rodiles, head of Estado de Sats.
"Alan Gross was used as a tool by the Castro regime to coerce the United States. Obama was not considerate of Cuban citizens and of the civil society that is facing this tyrannical regime. In Miami, Obama promised that he would consult Cuba measures with civil society and the non-violent opposition. Obviously, this didn't happen. That is a fact, a reality. He didn't consider Cuba's democrats. The betrayal of Cuba's democrats has been consummated."
-- Guillermo FariƱas, former Sakharov Prize recipient.
"The Obama Administration has ceded before Castro's dictatorship. Nothing has changed. The jails remain filled, the government represents only one family, repression continues, civil society is not recognized and we have no right to assemble or protest... The measures that the government of the United States has implemented today, to ease the embargo and establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, will in no way benefit the Cuban people. The steps taken will strengthen the Castro regime's repression against human rights activists and increase its resources, so the security forces can keep harassing and repressing civil society."
--Angel Moya, former political prisoner of the Black Spring (2003).
"We are in total disagreement with what has transpired today. It's a betrayal of those who within Cuba have opposed the regime in order to achieve definitive change for the good of all Cubans."
-- Felix Navarro, former political prisoner and co-head of the Cuban Patriotic Union (UNPACU).
"It's discomforting that the accounts of the Castro regime can grow, as the first step will be more effective repression and a rise in the level of corruption."
-- Jose Daniel Ferrer, former political prisoner and co-head of the Cuban Patriotic Union (UNPACU)
"This is a betrayal that leaves the democratic opposition defenseless. Obama has allied himself with the oppressors and murderers of our people."
-- Jorge Luis Garcia Perez "Antunez," former political prisoner and head of the National Resistance Front.
"I feel as though I have been abandoned on the battlefield."
-- Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, former Cuban political prisoner and U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Opportunity for Artists
National Call For Entry: IMPRINT 2015
Maryland Art Place’s Annual Print Project
Application Deadline: February 1, 2014
Maryland Art Place (MAP) is pleased to announce a national open ‘Call to Artists’ for the 2015 edition of “IMPRINT," an annual program initiated by MAP staff in 2012 to highlight one contemporary artist who has demonstrated excellence within their selected media. MAP’s Program Advisory Committee (PAC), Staff, and Board of Trustees, collectively reviews all submissions to select IMPRINT artists.
IMPRINT Goal: To support artists by increasing the visibility of their work and by promoting sales. IMPRINT artists benefit by being highlighted on MAP’s website and through the sale of a funded artist print reproduction. MAP will also sell the reproduction at its annual benefits or offer them as sponsor incentives, which furthers the artist name and work. The selected artwork will officially launch in conjunction with MAP’s Annual spring benefit, Out of Order.
Artists can submit up to 3 images. There is an application fee of $5 dollars per image (paid via Click&Pledge) and is FREE for MAP members. The full application and call for entry can be downloaded at: http://mdartplace.org/opportunities/imprint
For more information, contact Paul Shortt at paul@mdartplace.org or call 410.962.8565.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Welcome home Alan Gross
Most nations on the planet have formal relations with Cuba... and Canada, Spain, Italy, France, etc. are heavy investors on Cuba and its thriving tourist business with the West.
What has this decades-long relationship with multiple western democracies done for the average Cuban and his lack of basic rights and freedoms?
Zip.
Cuba remains, and will remain until the Castro brothers are removed from power and tried for crimes against the Cuban people, the most repressive, racist and brutal regime on the planet.
Restoring relations between the US and Cuba was probably inevitable given the singular global perspective of President Obama, but to think that this will be of some benefit to the Cuban people is not only naive, but intellectually dishonest.
I hope that I am wrong.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Call for Artists: Bethesda Painting Awards
Monday, December 15, 2014
StƩphane Aquin named chief curator of the Hirshhorn
“StĆ©phane has the vision and experience to lead the Hirshhorn’s curatorial department at a time when we are expanding our profile nationally and internationally,” said Melissa Chiu, director of the Hirshhorn. “He has worked closely with a diverse roster of artists and conceived and executed important monographic and thematic exhibitions. And he has been instrumental in building a significant contemporary collection. We are fortunate to be able to welcome him to the Hirshhorn.”
During his tenure at the MMFA, Aquin has curated major exhibitions, including “Peter Doig: No Foreign Lands” (2014), “Beyond Pop Art: Tom Wesselmann” (2012), “Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Andy Warhol’s Work” (2008), “Riopelle: Canadian Artist” (2006), “Global Village: The Sixties” (2003) and “Pipilotti Rist” (2000). He also organized “Yo y mi circunstancia: Mobility in Contemporary Mexican Art” (1999) and contributed to “Hitchcock and Art: Fatal Coincidences” (2000). A prominent scholar of contemporary art, he has written catalog essays about Peter Doig, Jean Paul Riopelle, Dorothea Rockburne, Carolee Schneemann and others.
Aquin established and headed the MMFA’s project series, organizing more than 40 exhibitions by artists from Canada and abroad. As the curator responsible for art from 1945 to the present, he expanded the museum’s collection by more than 1,000 works, with additions by artists such as David Altmejd, Richard Artschwager, Eduardo Basualdo, Jim Dine, Jesper Just, Mark Lewis, Los Carpinteros, Pipilotti Rist, Kiki Smith, Michael Snow and Tom Wesselmann. He has also overseen the development of the MMFA’s sculpture garden, which has key works by Aaron Curry, Antony Gormley, Mimmo Paladino and Jaume Plensa, among others.
Before his tenure at the MMFA, Aquin worked as an independent art critic from 1992 to 1998, serving notably as chief art critic for the Montreal weekly Voir. Before that he held various curatorial positions in museums across Canada. He has been a part-time faculty member in the Masters of Fine Arts Studio Arts program at Concordia University in Montreal since 1996 and for the past 10 years has acted as advisor to the acquisition committee of the art collection of the Caisse de dĆ©pĆ“t et placement du QuĆ©bec, one of Canada’s largest pension fund managers. He has served on numerous juries and panels across Canada and abroad, acting as president of the Sobey Art Award Jury in 2008.
Born in Montreal and raised in the United States and Switzerland, Aquin earned a master’s degree in art history from the UniversitĆ© de MontrĆ©al in 1987 and has pursued doctoral studies in sociology at the same university.Aquin succeeds Kerry Brougher, who served as the Hirshhorn’s chief curator from 2000 until May 31.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Attention Facebook
ATTENTION FACEBOOK:
I do declare the following: on this the 13th day of December 2014, and here in this blog, and in response to the new Facebook guidelines and under articles L.111, 112 and 113 of the code of intellectual property, I declare that my rights are attached to all my personal data, drawings, paintings, photos, texts etc... published on my profile since the day I opened my account. For commercial use of the foregoing my written consent is required at all times.
By this release, I tell Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, broadcast, or to take any other action against me on the basis of my Facebokk profile and/or its contents. The actions mentioned above apply equally to employees, students, agents and/or other staff under the direction of Facebook.
The contents of my Facebook profile include private information. The violation of my privacy is punishable by the law (UCC 1 1-308 - 308 1 -103 and the Rome Statute). My drawings, photos, artwork, etc. are protected under the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990.
Facebook is now an open capital entity. All members are invited to post a notice of this kind, or if you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you have not published this statement at least once, you will tacitly allow the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in your profile update as I understand the new Facebook guidelines.
Signed by F. Lennox Campello.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Another article about DC in Miami fairs
What reproductions sell? Top 10 List
Topping the list is Vincent van Gogh's masterpiece, "Cafe Terrace." Other artists named on the 2014 list include Claude Monet, Gustav Klimt, Pierre August Renoir, Edward Manet, Edgar Degas, Lord Frederic Leighton, and the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.
The top 10 oil paintings sold online in 2014 according to overstockArt.com's statistics are:
- Cafe Terrace at Night by Vincent Van Gogh
- Garden Path at Giverny by Claude Monet
- Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
- The Kiss by Gustav Klimt
- Discarded Roses by Pierre August Renoir
- Branches of an Almond Tree by Vincent Van Gogh
- Flaming June by Frederic Leighton
- Cafe Concert by Edouard Manet
- Dancers in Pink by Edgar Degas
- The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
ABMB Week: The read it all at once report
All photos by J. Jordan Bruns. Today it was the typical brutal day as we unloaded and started setting up at Context Art Miami in Wynwood.
After trolling around for a while looking for a parking spot, we found a Doris Day parking spot nearby the loading docks for the fair (a Doris Day parking spot is like in the movies, where the main actor always finds a parking spot right in front of wherever he/she is going).
The place was a beehive of workers delivering crates, European gallerists walking back and forth barking worried orders on their cell phones, cleaning crews on a constant battle to keep the place clean, Haitian day workers hanging around hoping for a job, security checking badges and asking for wrist bands, and the savage art sounds of hammers banging and drills drilling and the random and heartbreaking sound of glass breaking somewhere.
Hundreds of trips later we had taken most of the art out of the van with only one casualty - this is the brutal part of driving your work down instead of having it shipped and delivered to your booth.
Ran into the DMV's Andrea Pollan and then Calder Brannock; both are working the fairs.
After a ten hour day we are 90% done... all the work for opening night is hung, and almost all labeled; all the electronics are working, and Simon Monk, Dulce Pinzon and me are on the walls and Audrey Wilson and Elissa Farrow-Savos are on the floor.
The VIP Preview is tomorrow. The fair opens on Wednesday.
In typical Floridian puzzle-weather, it was very rainy up in Hollywood Beach, which is where we are staying as we have for the last few years. A few blocks south, the sun was bright and fully ready to endorse the VIP opening at Context Art Miami.
Once we got to Wynwood, we dropped off a piece for a special exhibit that the Art Miami folks had arranged with the local Marriott hotel. It was a delicate dance of driving in the serpentine challenges presented by Maimi drivers, but we installed the piece (a wonderful sculpture by Elissa Farrow-Savos) and headed back to Wynwood.
We finished off labeling the work, which brings to mind the interesting tidbit that just a handful of years ago, one seldom saw any labels at art shows or art fairs.
It was as if all curators and gallerists in the upper artsmosphere of the art world that made a decision to endorse David Parnas' information hiding principle.
Today, it is the opposite, as delivering as much information about the work seems to be the trend.
We've always used labels... just sayin'.
I rushed through the fair to try to get a flavor for the quality of this year's Context... and my report is that new director Julian Navarro has done a spectacular job: this is by far the best art fair that we've ever been honored to be part of; Context has set new standards this year... more on that later.
Simon Monk wall at Context Art Miami - Alida Anderson Art Projects |
Almost immediately DMV artist Audrey Wilson broke the ice and at the same time proved my point about the importance of art fairs for artists. Wilson sold a major piece to a collector who has now bought one of her pieces at Context Art Miami 2013, Wynwood Art Fair 2014 and now Context Art Miami 2014. He also bought one of my drawings, which was nice.
It is always good to break the ice on opening night... as the night ended I sold three more of my pieces.
Overall I noticed that all the dealers around us seemed to be making sales, and this is a great indication of the hard work that it takes to get a critical number of collectors to an art event.
Tomorrow the fair opens to the public.
We arrived a few minutes after the official opening time of 11AM, as did most other dealers (we saw the hardworking Leigh Conner hustling to Art Miami).
This is the result of trying to get off the highway to North Miami Avenue... this simple operation seems to be a permanent parking lot at practically any time.
Plan for about 15-20 minutes to get from the highway to the fair; traffic is that bad!
Today was a much calmer and slower day than yesterday, with noticeably less young women, slim as rifles (and just as dangerous) confidently walking the aisles of the fair on needle heels and unshaven young studs with shiny hair, otherwise clean as a new stiletto, taking phone pictures of the artwork.
The day went fast, with the only novelty being the arrival of a couple of well-known DMV artists, Tim Tate and J.T. Kirkland, as well as a local guerrilla artist paddling his artwork ($20 a painting) while streaking through the fair.
The sky fell yesterday, or at least it sounded that way when it started to rain hard, really hard and one is inside one of those gigantic tents where most ABMB art fairs are held.
Tents, regardless of size, always leak, so today was an interesting day in the life of a gallerist, as we scrambled to prevent art from getting wet.
The City Paper's Christina Cauterucci and Perry Stein were over in Miami Beach and delivered an outstanding report on DMV area galleries and artists at Aqua Art Miami, although somehow they missed the three DC artists being exhibited by Mayer Fine Art. Read their Aqua report here and their final report here.
All three of these artists, Judith Peck, Victoria Gaitan and Jeannette Herrera, have been showing in Miami for ABMB for the last few years.
We also had our best day so far, selling a nice sculpture by Elissa Farrow-Savos and a very large drawing of mine.
Around seven PM, the sounds of helicopters overhead were quite loud, and a little checking revealed that street protesters (some protesting the sad Eric Gardner issue, and others the death a year ago of a local graffitist who died after being tasered by the police) around Wynwood and eventually shut down I-95.
Needless to say this caused the area's usual gridlock to become gridlockier.
With the aid of some dexterous driving and Google maps we drove through Little Haiti and picked up I-95 north of the closed part and managed to get to our Hollywood hotel with little loss of time.
Saturday was so far the best day at Context Art Miami. In fact, in the eight years that I have been doing art fairs, this was the best one day ever.
The street protests yesterday had minimal impact on the fair, and once again good crowds were present.
It had clearly made a powerful connection with her. I actually think that she was almost ready to make the new owners an offer for the piece and thus create a new record for the fastest secondary market art turnover in history!
Back next year!
Tuesday, December 09, 2014
CP on ABMB
Monday, December 08, 2014
Context Art Miami: Final Report
Back next year!