The crew at the Affordable Art Fair in New York City

Suzanne Yurdin, me, and Steve Wanna posing in front of the booth - missing from pic is the amazing Jeannette Herrera, who was helping out early in the week.

Suzanne Yurdin, Lenny Campello and Steve Wanna
at the 2025 Affordable Art Fair NYC

Jeannette Herrera's amazing evolution

The spectacular new work by Jeannette Herrera in full splendor at the Affordable Art Fair New York!

Jeannette Herrera art at Affordable Art Fair NYC

Arrival in New York

01:30 AM - Wide awake on my bed, thinking about the always dicey unload operations when we arrive at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC later in the morning.

04:00 AM - Out of bed, teeth brushed, coffee made and awaiting for Steve Wanna to arrive.

04:20 AM - Steve Wanna arrives, we load his artwork into my van - somehow it fits.

04:35 AM - We depart and head north on I-95 to NYC.

06:30 AM - Speed camera flashes somewhere in Delaware.

07:45 AM - We're within 14 miles of the Holland Tunnel - about 90 minutes later we enter NYC.

09:15AM - We arrive at the Met Pavilion, check in and then meet artist Jeannette Herrera and her friend Abby, who are going to help us unload.

10:00 AM - Art is unloaded into the booth and the hanging process begins as the empty boxes are re-loaded into the van

Steve Wanna installing at Alida Anderson Art Projects'
booth at the Affordable Art Fair NY

10:30 AM - I drive and leave van in parking garage on 19th Street and walk back to Met Pavilion to continue hanging the work.

3:00 PM - I notice that artist Suzanne Yurdin's work is not lit properly and spring an extra light at $105!

4:15 PM - I walk over to the Chelsea International Hostel, check in and go to my room, unpack and walk out to the shared bathroom, shower and shave, get dressed and walk back to the fair.

5:00 PM - VIP Night starts and the aisleas are packed!

10:00 PM - Head back to the hostel - over 2300 people attended the VIP night... multiple sales of Bisque pieces and a nice painting by Anne Cherubim.

11:00 PM - Out for the night.

Wanting for the VIP Opening!

The VIP opening is in about 30 minutes... huge line outside at the 2025 Affordable Art Fair NYC in the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea!

LEON BERKOWITZ and WAYSON JONES at HEMPHILL

The halcyon years of the Washington Color School, over half a century ago, still represent the deepest fine arts footprint ever made by our (then) regional artists, elevating most of them to (now) a global presence.

There's currently a terrific show at Hemphill showcasing the works of two immensely talented artists: Leon Berkowitz and Wayson Jones.

Jones' work first came to my attention via my good friend Lou Stovall, when Stovall selected Jones in 2010 for the October Members Show in Hillyer Art Space.

I've been following Jones' work for many years, and in 2018 I wrote about his participation in that year's Superfine Art Fair and highlighted the "refined works of Wayson R. Jones, whose technique and presentation just keeps getting better and sharper! This is a key DMV artist deserving of more attention by the curatorial cabal of our area." And two years ago I was in the audience when Jones, who in 2022 was Montgomery College’s Visual and Performing Arts Department's Artist in Residence, presented a really good Artist Talk one September day. 

It has been said that "Leon was a character, a character that stood alone..." 

In "An Interview with Gene Davis" by Walter Hopps, we learn that the The Washington Color School "members" did not feel much camaraderie, with each other, and perhaps even a sense of jealousy? George Hemphill notes that:

There are stories of Davis' extreme annoyance at the Corcoran students gathering in groups and sitting before Berkowitz's paintings while leaving his work absent of attention. Berkowitz's paintings sold as well, possibly better than others. His peers' work may garner greater investment returns today, but none have as much universal and growing appeal.

Leon Berkowitz (Photo by Paul Feinberg - Courtesy of Hemphill)

This is an important show which deserves attention not only because of the historical importance of Berkowitz, but also and equally important, a new and powerful footprint by a superbly talented contemporary artist who clearly represents a 21st century extension of those halcyon days. 

Leon Berkowitz in his studio (Photo by Paul Feinberg - Courtesy of Hemphill)

The show runs through April 26, 2025.

H E M P H I L L

434 K Street NW

Washington DC 20001

202.234.5601

hemphillfinearts.com

The Chronicles of Anderdingus: Team Up

Erik Thor Sandberg: GATHER

SELECT | ERIK THOR SANDBERG: GATHER

March April 2025

TO VIEW   TO INQUIRE

CONNERSMITH is presenting an online view of "Gather" by American surrealist Erik Thor Sandberg, who is easily one of my favorite painters on this planet.

GATHER by Erik Thor Sandberg

This major work features a thoughtful gathering of multiple human figures and a profusion of hybrid animals within a detailed landscape. Though unsettling, and equally grotesque as Hieronymus Bosch’s demons, Sandberg’s fantastical creatures seem vulnerable, perhaps even endearing. “I didn’t want to make them too scary,” the artist elucidates. “I think people conceived of demons as scapegoats for human failings. My creatures aren’t evil; they represent experiences, feelings, motivations - aspects of life that shape us for good or bad. Life throws everything at you. Some things can damn near cripple you; some make you stronger, some make you laugh. They are all important.”

Two standing women dominate the scene. One figure appears astonishingly translucent. The other holds a woven strand of creatures that are being either drawn into, or expelled from, the see-through torso of her companion. “I often present the human form as a vessel for various things,” Sandberg relates. “These creatures fill the figure with aspects of humanity.” The person who facilitates the process has an aspect of resolution, as someone who has already undergone something similar. This scenario evolved from earlier works where Sandberg depicted vessels as biological cells, clumps of earth, watery spheres, or skulls containing multiple figures, each person symbolizing a different aspect of the self. Composite forms are important in the artist’s work, as he explains, “I don’t think anyone is completely good or completely evil. Myriad experiences define intricate layers that make us who we are. I create aggregates to express this complexity.”

The assembly in “Gather” is bracketed between a cat, who watches from the foreground, and a seated woman, who peers out from behind the standing technician. “In some paintings I include one or more figures that I call witnesses,” Sandberg imparts. “They do not participate. They do not interfere. They, like the viewer, are just trying to understand everything that is happening.” Sandberg describes the woman staring out from the background as a companion to the crowned skeleton/death figure on the other side of the technician. He elaborates, “I imagine her whispering without words to the woman standing in front of her.” The theme of watching is amplified by eyes and eyeballs integrated throughout the scene. “Eyes imbue life and spirit into my images,” Sandberg reflects. “After all, seeing and being seen is a basic human desire.”