Turn Art Lookers into Art Buyers

I go to a lot of art openings and typically don't hang around all that long at any one place. I look at the art and, when possible, have a few words with the artist, after which it's on to the next show. I recently had a chance encounter with an artist whose opening I had been to several nights before. We exchanged pleasantries, and I mentioned how much I enjoyed the show. The artist thanked me and, as we were about to part, asked somewhat cryptically, "Did you look at the art?" with emphasis on the word "look." Without thinking, I answered, "Of course," but then felt a curious twinge of guilt as I walked off wondering, well... did I really look at it? Yes I did, but the artist's implication seemed to be that perhaps I didn't look at it long enough. Hmmm. 

So I got to thinking-- what does it mean to "look at the art," and even more to the point, what does it mean to look at it enough? And even more importantly, what does it mean to look at art enough to become so excited about it that you decide to buy it? Enough according to whom? Who decides when enough is enough? And how does looking at art progress to buying that art? In particular, what does this "act of looking" mean from the artist's perspective as distinguished from that of the viewer (potential buyer)?

Read the entire fascinating piece here.

Judith Peck at (e)merge

Dialogue
Oil and Plaster on board
18 x14 inches
2013 Judith Peck
Will be in Room 215 at the (e)merge art fair next week

Transitory Window
Oil and Plaster on board
14 x11 inches
2013 Judith Peck
Will be in Room 215 at the (e)merge art fair next week

Art fairs in NYC and DC

This coming week is a double art fair week... here in DC is the third iteration of the (e)merge art fair, come check us out in rooms 215-216. And in New York is the Affordable Art Fair Fall version, and we're also there in booth A-14. Drop me an email if you need passes to AAFNYC.

In NYC we will be featuring the works of three vastly talented and well-known DMV artists: Anne Marchand, Jodi Walsh and Tim Vermeulen.

In DC we will have an equally talented group of artists, including the UK's Simon Monk, and the DMV's Christopher Baer, Judith Peck, Elissa Farrow-Savos, Ric Garcia and yours truly.

Moby Dick: Queequeg's Fast. Oil on Panel by Tim Vermeulen

Moving On. Ceramic on Textured Panel by Jodi Walsh

Pulse. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas by Anne Marchand

Lecture this Sunday at UMW

This coming Sunday, September 29, at 2PM I will delivering a lecture titled "On Identity in the Arts: What Does It Mean to be Latino?" at the Ridderhof Martin Gallery at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA.

The lecture is free and open to the general public, and from past deliveries of this lecture, I expect that it will continue to be informative, irreverent and eye-opening.

Directions to the gallery here.

The Phillips Collection to award Emerging Artist Prize

On October 5th, Phillips Director Dorothy Kosinski and Curators Klaus Ottmann and Vesela Sretenovic will select the winner of The Phillips Collection Emerging Artist Prize from works on display at the third annual (e)merge art fair. The award is the first of its kind for the museum.

“We are honored and thrilled that The Phillips Collection will award a prize to an artist exhibiting at (e)merge this year. The Phillips Collection Emerging Artist Prize will provide curatorial recognition and financial support for an emerging artist at a critical moment in his or her international career, said Jamie Smith, co-director of the (e)merge art fair  and one of the equally hardworking co-owners of Connersmith.

The winner will be announced during a panel discussion at (e)merge art fair, and the chosen work will become part of the Phillips’s permanent collection.

“This prize gives the Phillips the opportunity to support not only DC’s local creative community, but also to benefit from the international reach of this fast-rising art fair. We’re excited to continue the Phillips’s long history of supporting emerging artists through this partnership," added Klaus Ottmann, Director of the Center for the Study of Modern Art at the Phillips.

This is a very positive new development for the DMV's relationship with our local museums; well done to the Phillips!

After I stroll through (e)merge next week, I will try to predict, within three works, which piece the Phillips will acquire.

The Heart of the World opens this Friday

Opening Reception for "The Heart of the World" 

Over 50 works of art to be exhibited by artist Michael Francis Reagan.

Date: Friday, October 4

Time: 6pm-8:30pm

Location: Gallery A

2106 R St. NW

Washington, D.C 20008

This exhibit will run from October 4-October 31 and it open to the general public from 11am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday. 

This exhibit has already been reviewed by the WaPo's gallery critic, Mark Jenkins as one of the top 10 fall exhibits in Washington D.C. 

Trapped Batman

Trapped Batman III
Oil and Alkyds on Wood
11.8 x 11.8 inches
2013 Simon Monk
Will be in Room 216 of the (e)merge art fair next week