Viva Regina

Seattle's Regina Hackett is my new art critic heroine.

She tackles the WaPo's Blake Gopnik jaw-dropping Takashi Murakami review and his WTF? comparison of Murakami's cartoony artwork to Goya.

Unless the Blakester actually comes from the planet Quintumnia, I think that the seed for this asinine comparison is deeply rooted in Blake's Anglocentric education in Britain, and a harmonic echo as a way of dealing with England's arch enemy through the centuries: the Kingdom of Spain.



My pop psychology thinks that the Gopnikmeister is simply channelling the British desire to diminish all things not English -- note that I said "not English" and not "not British."

What better way to bring the great Goya a notch or two than a silly comparison to a cartoony contemporary artist?

And if Gopnik wants to see "caustic" I second Hackett's call for the WaPo to send Blake to Madrid and have Gopnik take one look at Goya's painting of the Spanish Royal Family and take a close look at the Queen's face and then smell the scent of "caustic" in the air.

From the archives: Blake blows it with El Greco as well.

Bethesda Art Walk tomorrow

Friday is the Bethesda Art Walk with openings and late hours and a free walking tour to over a dozen Bethesda art galleries and art venues in artsy Bethesda, Maryland, part of the Sovier Socialist Republic of Montgomery.

My picks?

Beauty and the Beast, Ceramic Vessels and Sculpture by Liz Lescault and new work by gallery artists at Waverly Street Gallery. The Reception is Friday, May 9, 6-9PM.


And Lisa Montag Brotman at Neptune!

Go buy some artwork.

Wanna go to a DC opening tonight?

Make at trip to the Pepco Edison Gallery at 9th and G in DC for the Illustrators Club of DC: 14th Juried Exhibition.

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 8, 6:00 to 8:30 pm. The Exhibition goes through June 27. The gallery is at 702 8th Street, NW, Washington, DC Phone: 202.872.3396 (between G and H Streets at Gallery Place Metro).

Corcoran cancels party

Dear Art Anonymous Participants,

Thank you so much for helping the Corcoran College of Art + Design with Art Anonymous. Each of your amazing pieces has been installed in Gallery 31 and the space looks absolutely fantastic. If you haven’t had the opportunity to come by and see the Gallery, please make certain you do. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate your donations and your generosity.

As you know, we had planned to hold a party after the Art Anonymous sale on May 10. Unfortunately unforeseen circumstances mean we have had to cancel the party and are now holding the sale only. The event has been switched and will be open to current ticket holders only from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday night. Proceeds from the sale will still be dedicated to the College’s BFA Scholarship Fund.

Again, please know how grateful we are for your support of Art Anonymous. As a token of our thanks, we do hope that you will join us for the Exhibition Preview Evening for Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power, to be held on Wednesday, September 10. Please accept our apologies for canceling the party at the last moment. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at (202) 639-1753.

Thank you again for your support of the Corcoran College of Art + Design.

Best regards,

Corcoran Membership

Update: The Corcoran follows up with this email:

Dear Art Anonymous Participants,

We would like to take this chance to explain the situation further and extend a special invitation to all of you (in addition to the Avedon preview) for all of your dedication and support of the Corcoran during Art Anonymous.

Please understand that since the party after the Art Anonymous sale has now been canceled, we no longer have the space to hold participants other than the already registered ticket holders. We do understand that we offered all participating artists complimentary entry into this event. However, we had an overwhelming response to this offer, and without the extra room, Gallery 31 is too small to hold all potential attendees.

What we would like to offer all artists however, is the chance to join us from 4pm – 5pm sharp in Gallery 31 to mingle with each other, share some wine, and get a preview of the show before the works go on sale (these works are also up now, and can be viewed in our Gallery 31 until 9pm tonight, and from 10am – 5pm tomorrow and Saturday).

We look forward to hosting all of you at 4pm this Saturday in our Gallery 31 (please remember to use the New York Avenue entrance). If you had a guest accompanying you to the 6pm sale, they may still come to the sale, or we can refund their ticket and they may join you from 4pm – 5pm this Saturday. Just have them call (202) 639-1753 to get their refund. Please also note that the registration for the sale from 6pm – 8pm is now closed, and no walk-ins will be allowed.

Thank you again for your support of the Corcoran College of Art + Design, and please accept our invitation for the artist-only sneak preview.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at (202) 639-1753.

With much appreciation,

Corcoran Membership

Step two

A while back I told you about my new commercial ventures in the Philly area and my ideas about how to proceed.

That "venture" was nothing but a website back then... but thanks to a great 2007 as far as sales of my own artwork, step two is now ready for implementation and I will now participate in some art fairs and try to sell some of the art by the artists whose work I believe in and try to really promote here...

Wondrous people like Tim Tate, Marienela de la Hoz, Sandra Ramos (and a huge assortment of other Cubans) and all the good folks here.

Using the "war chest" of Samolians from sales of my own work, I have saved enough work to pay for the exhorbitant fees for three major art fairs, plus insurance, plus shipping, plus hotels, etc.

Plus pushing them to collectors on this blog! Thank God that my instincts have been dead on! Not just focused on "my" artists but all others on my "buy now list," most of which I don't represent.

But... I should have bought more Tim Tate and more Marienela, and more Amy Lin, and more Scott Brooks!

Anyway... here's my next art venture in its present form.

Step three: Enough $$$ to pay rent for a year in advance and open a new Philly space!

Comments invited!

MFA Show in Philly

Rebekah Templeton Contemporary Art in Philly will have Dirt Made My Lunch, a group exhibition guest curated by Todd Keyser. The exhibition highlights the work of Philadelphia’s first year Master of Fine Arts students featuring Erin M. Riley, Kurt Freyer, Michael Treffehn, and Robert Scobey.

Robert Scobey, Miss February, 2008
Dirt Made My Lunch opens on Thursday, May 8, 2008 with an opening reception from 6-9 pm. The exhibition includes video, textile weaving, photography, sculpture and installation. The show closes on Saturday, June 21, 2008.

Over at Bethesda's Neptune Gallery