Another Great Santa Fe Gallery Discovery

Strolled into the Lew Allen Contemporary gallery in Old Town Santa Fe and was pleasantly surprised not only to find the kind of artwork that is seeting Santa Fe apart as a key spot on the world art scene, but also an amazing and beautiful space.

The gallery is set on two levels, each one of which could swallow most of the Mid Atlantic's largest galleries.

On exhibition on the ground floor gallery was work by Jean Arnold, Ben Aronson, Daniel Morper in a really tight show entitled "Arnold/Aronson/Morper: Cities Different" and because it offered three distinctly different visions and takes of urban landscapes, it immediately appealed to me.

These three artists each has a singularly distinctive approach to depicting the urban settings that attracts their attention, and they have been placed together in a very strong show that manages to sew together their visions into a memorable tapestry of urban art.

Lew Allen Contemporary has so far impressed me the most in this short visit, but more later!

SITE Santa Fe

Today I'll be exploring SITE Santa Fe's Sixth International Biennial: Still Points of the Turning World curated by Klaus Ottmann.

Santa Fe

In my first visit to Santa Fe, New Mexico, a couple of quick impressions (lots more to follow later):

- At around 70,000 people, Santa Fe is a lot smaller that I imagined.

- It is a charming and beautiful place, and Gerald Peters deserves a lot, in fact most of the credit, for turning this amazing place from a little town full of "cayote" art spaces into the third largest art market in the world.

- There are a lot of art galleries here, at least 500% more that I had imagined.

- There are a lot of art galleries here that still deal in "coyote" art, but I am told by a couple of local art dealers that met with me yesterday that there's an equal huge number of galleries that offer good contemporary art in all the other genres.

- One of the good ones that I discovered yesterday was Chiaroscuro. More on them later.

- Loads of good restaurants as well. Last night had exceptional nopal leaves and carnitas and great live music at Los Mayas.

Church Rock

Is where I got married today! See the Rock here.

Airborne today and heading West to New Mexico. I'll be back Monday night but then leaving immediately for New Hampshire!

I'll try to continue to post, so keep checking!

Gould makes her CP debut and Rousseau nails FeBland

I am in New Mexico... but back in the DC area:

Jessica Gould makes her WCP debut with a really nice piece on the new Wilson Building Art Collection, in Washington, DC making an excellent subtle point on the lack of nudity in American (not just the Wilson's) public art. Read her colum here.

DC's other large public art collection (at the Washington Convention Center), as far as I recall, does not have a single nude in its roster, and precious few figurative works.

This new collection at the Wilson Building is the closest that we now have to a "DC Artists Collection" and curator Sondra Arkin deserves a lot of kudos for her hard work in putting it together.

In the Gazette (which is owned by the Washington Post), Dr. Claudia Rousseau reviews David FeBland's fourth solo at Fraser Gallery.

FeBland's is Fraser's best-selling artist, but that success has not come without a lot of hardwork from FeBland himself. Not only from an enviable work ethic, but also from a very savvy approach to the artworld.

Path of Escape by David FeBland

Gehry for Philly

The Philadelphia Museum of Art today announced its selection of Frank O. Gehry as architect for a 10-year master plan to "dramatically expand the Museum."

According to the news release, "In a departure from the sculptural buildings for which the architect is best known, Gehrys challenge at the Philadelphia Museum of Art will be to create dynamic new spaces for art and visitors alike without disturbing the classic exterior of a building that is already a defining landmark in Philadelphia. The project will add expansive new galleries for contemporary art and special exhibitions by excavating under the Museums east terrace on the hill of Fairmount, and will renovate the Museums existing interiors to create additional space for the display of its renowned collections. A total of 80,000 square feet of new public spacea 60 % increase is anticipated."

At the Board of Trustees meeting today, H. F. "Gerry" Lenfest, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, stated: "We have asked one of the world’s most respected architects to expand this world-class museum, and we look forward to working with Frank and his talented staff to realize a project that began as a dream and that today, in partnership with the city and the state, can begin to move full steam ahead."

A warning note to Anne d’Harnoncourt, Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art: Corcoran.