(e)merge day two

Whatever ends up happening with (e)merge - and I think that good things will happen - one issue is clear: they have brought in the crowds.

People were constantly streaming in throughout the day, and very heavy at night. It is clear the buzz of (e)merge has worked in bringing in people to the Skyline Hotel, and the question now is: "is anyone selling artwork?"

I can only discuss what's happening on the third floor, since I haven't had the time or opportunity to escape room 313 and visit the other galleries on the second floor, but today was the first day that red dots began to show up in the rarified upper floor of the fair, as most of the spaces there were selling work today.

My dealer sold a massive 7 feet by 7 feet woodcut by Virginia artist John Miles Runner (currently living in Japan - see image above) to a Baltimore collector. She also sold one of my video drawings (yay!) to a well-known DC art collecting couple who have recently re-located as well as a couple of loose drawings.

That's Tim Tate below reversing the process on art paparazzi and uberartcollector Steve Krensky.



And that's someone checking out two of my video drawings. The one on the left is the one that sold.



Tomorrow is the last day - let's hope it doesn't rain when we all have to compete for the elevators to take the art to the street and reload all the vans and trucks... come see some artwork!

Sandra Ramos solo show in Norfolk

Havana-based Cuban artist Sandra Ramos is in many people's opinions, the leading contemporary Cuban artist in the world, and later this month, her solo exhibition titled Exodus, running from October 23 - December 27, opens in Norfolk's leading independently owned commercial fine arts gallery: Mayer Fine Art.

MFA, which also represents my work, is by far the top fine arts venue in the Tidewater area, and its hardworking owner, the talented Shiela Giolitti, daughter of the legendary comic book artist Alberto Giolitti has been preparing for this, Ramos' second ever solo show in the USA, for a long time.

Sandra Ramos. Flying to Miami. Charcoal and Acrylic on Digital Canvas Print. 130 x 90 cm. Circa 2010
The opening is Saturday, October 23rd from 6-9PM.

Additionally, Ramos will be leading a printmaking workshop at the Chrysler Museum on Oct 23 and 24th. You can register for that workshop here.

Then, on October 26th at 7PM, Sandra Ramos will present a lecture on contemporary Cuban art at the Baron and Ellin Art Galleries of Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Free and open to the public.

I'm driving down for this opening; see ya there!

Later this month: Sandra Ramos solo show in Norfolk

Havana-based Cuban artist Sandra Ramos is in many people's opinions, the leading contemporary Cuban artist in the world, and later this month, her solo exhibition titled Exodus, running from October 23 - December 27, opens in Norfolk's leading independently owned commercial fine arts gallery: Mayer Fine Art.

MFA, which also represents my work, is by far the top fine arts venue in the Tidewater area, and its hardworking owner, the talented Shiela Giolitti, daughter of the legendary comic book artist Alberto Giolitti has been preparing for this, Ramos' second ever solo show in the USA, for a long time.

Sandra Ramos. Flying to Miami. Charcoal and Acrylic on Digital Canvas Print. 130 x 90 cm. Circa 2010
The opening is Saturday, October 23rd from 6-9PM.

Additionally, Ramos will be leading a printmaking workshop at the Chrysler Museum on Oct 23 and 24th. You can register for that workshop here.

Then, on October 26th at 7PM, Sandra Ramos will present a lecture on contemporary Cuban art at the Baron and Ellin Art Galleries of Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Free and open to the public.

I'm driving down for this opening; see ya there!

One at a time...

Today the person who had Sandra Ramos' "El Bote" on hold actually called and purchased the piece, but wanted it unframed so that they could reframe it to their own taste. Of course, "El Bote" is the largest framed piece that I brought down to Miami, and because of interruptions it took me almost two hours to unframe it, roll up the etching, store the big frame in the van and hang some new pieces in the area vacated by the piece.

But a sale is a sale and "El Bote" joins several other works by Sandra Ramos in this couple's collection.

Then we sold a Tim Tate video to a Miami collector. It is the sexy and mesmerizing Ophelia video; one of my favorites.

Tate has also been attracting the attention of the dealers themselves. There's a piece on hold by the owner of a local Miami gallery, and then a well-known video collector who already owns a Tate piece brought Tim's work to the attention of a super New York gallery currently showing at Pulse and that connection happened and hopefully something will come out of it.

Then a British gallery from Art Miami came from across the street - tipped off by Tate's Philadelphia gallery - and she wants to take all unsold Tate pieces with her back to London at the end of the fair. We'll need to seal the arrangements between now and Sunday.

Russian-born Alexey Terenin's work has also been attracting a lot of attention from art dealers, and Mayer Fine Art may have found Terenin a couple of American galleries to show his work. Two Terenin oils sold today as well.

I also sold one of my watercolors from the Cuba series and my Philadelphia gallery (Projects Gallery) also sold another watercolor from the Cuba series.

I also visited Art Miami across the street today, and was very impressed with the level of work at that fair, although I did find a few galleries showing work that was in the awful range, bordering on Artomatic as its detractors see it. More on that later...

Sandra Ramos Lorenzo

Later this year I will be curating two exhibitions of art by Cuban and Cuban-American artists for Mayer Fine Arts in Norfolk, Virginia and H&F Fine Arts in Maryland.

One of my favorite contemporary Cuban artists is Havana's intelligent and courageous Sandra Ramos Lorenzo, whose American commercial gallery debut took place at the original Fraser Gallery in Georgetown a few years ago.

Cuban artist Sandra Ramos is considered by many to be the leading Cuban visual artist of her generation, and it was a surprise in the case of that Fraser show because she was not allowed to visit the US for her opening.

Since she had previously visited the US many times, both for museum shows in other American cities and for museum art conferences (as invited speaker), and since her work is in the permanent collection of many prestigious American museums, such as The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston, it came to her as a shock when her visa to attend her Washington, DC opening was denied a few years ago.

Her work, which often delivers visceral commentaries dealing with taboo issues in Cuban society such as racism, mass migration, freedoms and liberties and the impact of Communism on the Cuban psyche, has placed Ramos at the very leading edge of a group of young Cuban artists who use their art as a narrative medium to describe, criticize and export the harsh realities of Cuban life and the world in which they live and work.

One of Ramos’ most poignant works, in the collection of MOMA in New York best exemplifies the work that has made her famous. Titled in Spanish “The Damned Circumstance of Being Surrounded by Water,” Ramos transforms her image (as a little girl) onto the shape of Cuba, her body pinned to the island by bright red Royal Palms (the national tree of Cuba) changed from its natural color to the color of the Cuban Revolution. This mixed media print sells for $5,000 USD and I am told by Ramos that she's about to run out of the edition (edition of 50 as I recall).

This is one of those key Cuban artists who should become better known once Cuba's Communist sentence ends and Cuban artwork can become easier to obtain and show in the United States.

Buy Sandra Ramos now!

Thursday at ABMB Week

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 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.

ABMB: It's all over!

This is what the DMV airports need: a little Cuban in them!

The ABMB art fairs are over and done with, and as usual, some galleries did great, most did OK and some lost their pants.

At Context Art Miami the crowds were phenomenal all week, and we ended up doing really well, with multiple sales by Simon Monk, Audrey Wilson, Dulce Pinzon and yours truly.

Art fairs are always more than just about sales, and Context once again proved that! Pinzon, Monk and I have been invited to participate in a Superhero show being organized by a major Los Angeles gallery. Additionally, we are working a major double commission for Simon Monk by the studios currently filming the new Superman and Batman movies. Furthermore, we made a good connection with Telemundo's local Spanish-language TV station to do a segment with Dulce Pinzon. As if all that is not all good stuff, a local major collector has given a West coast University the green light to select one of my video works for the university's permanent collection (more on that when it develops further).

Other DMV artists at Context seemed to do well too: Mark Jenkins sold out all his sculptures, and Tim Tate had sales and his California gallery is still working a major multiple deal even as pack-out was taking place.

I also heard from some dealers at Aqua Art Miami: Virginia's Mayer Fine Arts reported their "best art fair ever." That included a whooping sale of 14 different pieces by different artists to a major California collector.

Now heading back to the DMV to do all the paperwork, pay all the taxes, and re-group for Art Wynwood in a couple of months!

Congrats

The my good bud and one of the District's uberartists, Tim Tate, who just got picked up by London's Cynthia Corbett Gallery.

The whole thing started in one of the art fairs in Miami last December. Corbett was showing in Miami, walked through several of the fairs in the city, chatted with Philadelphia's Projects Gallery (which also represents Tate), and that gallery's hardworking owner Helen Meyrick introduced Corbett to Tate's work.

Meyrick then took Corbett over to by Norfolk's Mayer Fine Arts, which also represents Tate's work, and there Meyrick and MFA's also hard-working owner Sheila Giolitti showed Corbett more of Tate's video work and she liked them a lot.

And just recently they closed the deal and now Corbett will represent Tate internationally (she does most of the American and European power art fairs). This is a huge step forward for Tim Tate.

Lesson here? This is why it is important for galleries to do some art fairs, and why it is important for artists to support their galleries' as much as they can. The art fairs are a huge financial risk for the art galleries, but the pay off opportunities, both for the galleries and for the artists whom they take there are huge.

Last one before Miami

On Wednesday night I attacked a 200 lb. large piece of paper with charcoal pencil and charcoal dust and, inspired by the elegant Incantation of Frida K. by Rita Braverman, I produced a large drawing - the last one which will be leaving for the Miami Art Basel week art fairs this coming Sunday.

The Incantation of Frida K. Charcoal on paper. 16.5 x 40 inches.
Five gets you ten that this drawing will be the first one to sell.

Leaving for Miami on Saturday. I have passes for almost all of the 25 or so fairs in Miami; if you'd like one, drop me an email - first come, first served. Most fairs have the grand opening on Tuesday, Nov. 30, and I even have a few VIP passes to the grand openings, which obviously I won't be able to go since I will be hanging around my work at booth B108 at Red Dot with Mayer Fine Art and/or Projects Gallery at C108, both of which will have some of my work.

See ya there!

Want free tickets to the art fair?

The Affordable Art Fair NYC is this week, opening on Thursday in New York. Drop me an email if you want me to set you up with a couple of free tickets to the fair.

If you go to the fair, swing by and say hi... I'll be with Mayer Fine Art. Reports coming as time allows.

Tim Tate sets new auction record

I'm pretty sure that a new auction record for a work of art by a living Washington, DC artist was set last night in Philadelphia when two mixed media glass reliquiaries by Tim Tate were auctioned off for $82,000.

That's right boys and girls - Eighty two thousand Samolians.

Buy Tim Tate now.

In the Greater DC area Tate is represented by Fraser Gallery. In Philadelphia you can currently get his work at Wexler Gallery (where's he's currently in a group show). In Chicago his work is available through the Marx Saunders Gallery (where he's currently in a group show). In Charlottesville go to Migrations Gallery. In London his dealer is the Steps Gallery. In Santa Fe he's represented by Jane Sauer (where he currently has a solo show). In Norfolk you can get it through Mayer Fine Art Gallery. In San Francisco it's the Donna Seager Gallery. In Berlin it's Gallery 24, and throughout the US at art fairs and such through the Maurine Littleton Gallery.

See the auction in the video below...

At the end of the fair

Overall Mayer Fine Art sold nearly 40 works of art during last week's Affordable Art Fair in NYC. Work by Shiela Giolitti, Alexei Terenin, Heather Bryant, Michael Janis, Matt Sesow, and a few more artists, sold by MFA.

I sold about a dozen drawings, including three of the pieces that I had done for the Mera Rubell studio visit last week.

On Sunday I sold two big drawings, including "Fallen Angel" and "Superman Flying Naked and Close to the Ground in Order to Avoid Radar"; both of these were "Rubell visit drawings." I also sold a large female nude drawing titled "America Desnuda".

"Superman flying naked and close to the ground in order to avoid NORAD radar"" Charcoal on Paper. 20x24 inches.

Norfolking...

Driving down to Norfolk in a few minutes for the opening of Havana-based Cuban artist Sandra Ramos, who is in many people's opinions (including mine), the leading contemporary Cuban artist in the world. The Ramos solo show, Exodus, runs from October 23 - December 27, and opens tonight in Norfolk's leading independently owned commercial fine arts gallery: Mayer Fine Art.

If you are a Norfolkian, come by and say hello.

Alchemical Vessels 2015

Alchemical Vessels 2015

March 27 - May 22, 2015

Opening Reception: Friday, March 27 | 7-9pm

Benefit: Friday, May 1 (By Contribution Only)

 

Make your contribution starting on Tuesday, March 10th at 10am!

 

The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts is happy to announce the return of the Alchemical Vessels Exhibition and Benefit in 2015! This year's exhibition will run from March 27 - May 22, 2015, with the special by-contribution-only Benefit on Friday, May 1st, where everyone who makes a $150 Benefit-Vessel contribution (beginning Tuesday, March 10th at 10am) can select one of the works in the exhibition to add to their collection! The vessels are selected in the order contributions were made, so the earlier you make a contribution, the earlier you can select your work of art!

 

This year's exhibition and benefit features works from over 100 new artists hand-selected by 20 prominent curators. See below for a list of this year's incredible line-up of artists & our invited curators, and visit www.smithcenter.org/benefit to learn more and make your contribution beginning 10am on Tuesday, March 10th!

Artists:
David Alfuth, Beth Baldwin, Rhoda Baer, Emily Biondo, Ed Bisese, Julia Bloom, Raya Bodnarchuk, Joseph Bradley, Judy Byron, Lenny Campello, Jessica Cebra, Mei Mei Chang, Hsin-Hsi Chen, Patterson Clark, Billy Colbert, Susan Cole, Paula Crawford, Michael Crossett, Sarah Dale, Catherine Day, JD Deardourff, Jennifer DePalma, Robert Devers, Jessica Drenk, Patricia Dubroof, Pam Eichner, Dana Ellyn, Margo Elsayd, Susan Finsen & Michael Holt, Sharon Fishel, Kathryn Freeman, Marcia Fry, Adrienne Gaither, Michael Gessner, Carol Brown Goldberg, Pat Goslee, Matthew Grimes, Andrea Haffner, Courtney Hengerer, Jeff Herrity, Maurice "Mo" Higgs, Ryan Hill, Joseph Hoffman, Jeff Huntington, David Ibata, Martha Jackson Jarvis, Njena Surae Jarvis, Rose Jaffe, Mike Johnson, Mariah Anne Johnson, Wayson Jones, Maria Karametou, Sally Kauffman, Elizabeth Kendall, Joanne Kent, Hana Kim, Micheline Klagsbrun , Kitty Klaidman, PD Klein, George Koch, Yar Koporulin, Peter Krsko, Bridget Sue Lambert, Maria Lanas, Toni Lane, Khanh Le, Jun Lee, Kyujin Lee, Nate Lewis, Mimi Logothetis, Steve Loya, Akemi Maegawa, Alex Mayer, Donna M. McCullough, Kathryn McDonnell, Maggie Michael, Vanessa Monroe, E.J. Montgomery, Lucinda Murphy, Ziad Nagy, Leslie Nolan, Frederick Nunley, Cory Oberndorfer, John Paradiso, Elena Patiño, Miguel Perez Lem, Brian Petro, Thomas Petzwinkler, Jeneen Piccuirro, Michael B. Platt & Carol A. Beane, Pattie Porter Firestone, Tom Raneses, Red Dirt Studios, Ellington Robinson, Carolyn Roth, Bonner Sale, Jean Sausele Knodt, Matt Sesow, Foon Sham, Janathel Shaw, Lillian Shaw, Bernardo Siles, Steve Skowron, Jeffrey Smith, Anna Soevik, Langley Spurlock, Stan Squirewell, Rebecca Stone Gordon, Lynn Sures, Tang, Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Valerie Theberge, Michael Torra, Kelly Towles, Dan Treado, Ruth Trevarrow, Tariq Tucker, Pamela Viola, Ellyn Weiss, Lee Wheeler, Catherine White, Sharon Wolpoff, Sue Wrbican, and Jenny Wu

 

Curators:
Sondra N. Arkin, Artist & Independent Curator | Philip Barlow, Associate Commissioner, DC Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking; Board Member, District of Columbia Arts Center & Millenium Arts Salon | Chuck Baxter, Artist | Robert Devers, Professor of Fine Arts and Ceramics, Corcoran School of the Arts + Design, George Washington University | Thomas Drymon, Curator, doris-mae | Charlie Gaynor, Realtor and Photographer, member of the Mid City Artists | Aneta Georgievska-Shine, Lecturer in Art History, University of Maryland and Smithsonian Institution | George Hemphill, Gallery Director, Hemphill | Francie Hester, Visual Artist | Don Kimes, Professor, Director Studio Art Program, American University Department of Art; Artistic Director, Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution | Zofie Lang, Artist | Mary Liniger, Executive Director, Art Enables | Akemi Maegawa, Artist | Jayme McLellan, Director & Founder, Civilian Art Projects | Twig Murray, Gallery Director, Athenaeum Gallery | Victoria Reis, Co-Founder, Executive & Artistic Director, Transformer | Nancy Sausser, Curator and Exhibitions Director, McLean Project for the Arts | Andy Shallal, Founder, Busboys and Poets | Stan Squirewell, Artist

Alchemical Vessels 2015

Alchemical Vessels 2015

March 27 - May 22, 2015

Opening Reception: Friday, March 27 | 7-9pm

Benefit: Friday, May 1 (By Contribution Only)

 

Make your contribution starting on Tuesday, March 10th at 10am!

 

The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts is happy to announce the return of the Alchemical Vessels Exhibition and Benefit in 2015! This year's exhibition will run from March 27 - May 22, 2015, with the special by-contribution-only Benefit on Friday, May 1st, where everyone who makes a $150 Benefit-Vessel contribution (beginning Tuesday, March 10th at 10am) can select one of the works in the exhibition to add to their collection! The vessels are selected in the order contributions were made, so the earlier you make a contribution, the earlier you can select your work of art!

 

This year's exhibition and benefit features works from over 100 new artists hand-selected by 20 prominent curators. See below for a list of this year's incredible line-up of artists & our invited curators, and visit www.smithcenter.org/benefit to learn more and make your contribution beginning 10am on Tuesday, March 10th!

Artists:
David Alfuth, Beth Baldwin, Rhoda Baer, Emily Biondo, Ed Bisese, Julia Bloom, Raya Bodnarchuk, Joseph Bradley, Judy Byron, Lenny Campello, Jessica Cebra, Mei Mei Chang, Hsin-Hsi Chen, Patterson Clark, Billy Colbert, Susan Cole, Paula Crawford, Michael Crossett, Sarah Dale, Catherine Day, JD Deardourff, Jennifer DePalma, Robert Devers, Jessica Drenk, Patricia Dubroof, Pam Eichner, Dana Ellyn, Margo Elsayd, Susan Finsen & Michael Holt, Sharon Fishel, Kathryn Freeman, Marcia Fry, Adrienne Gaither, Michael Gessner, Carol Brown Goldberg, Pat Goslee, Matthew Grimes, Andrea Haffner, Courtney Hengerer, Jeff Herrity, Maurice "Mo" Higgs, Ryan Hill, Joseph Hoffman, Jeff Huntington, David Ibata, Martha Jackson Jarvis, Njena Surae Jarvis, Rose Jaffe, Mike Johnson, Mariah Anne Johnson, Wayson Jones, Maria Karametou, Sally Kauffman, Elizabeth Kendall, Joanne Kent, Hana Kim, Micheline Klagsbrun , Kitty Klaidman, PD Klein, George Koch, Yar Koporulin, Peter Krsko, Bridget Sue Lambert, Maria Lanas, Toni Lane, Khanh Le, Jun Lee, Kyujin Lee, Nate Lewis, Mimi Logothetis, Steve Loya, Akemi Maegawa, Alex Mayer, Donna M. McCullough, Kathryn McDonnell, Maggie Michael, Vanessa Monroe, E.J. Montgomery, Lucinda Murphy, Ziad Nagy, Leslie Nolan, Frederick Nunley, Cory Oberndorfer, John Paradiso, Elena Patiño, Miguel Perez Lem, Brian Petro, Thomas Petzwinkler, Jeneen Piccuirro, Michael B. Platt & Carol A. Beane, Pattie Porter Firestone, Tom Raneses, Red Dirt Studios, Ellington Robinson, Carolyn Roth, Bonner Sale, Jean Sausele Knodt, Matt Sesow, Foon Sham, Janathel Shaw, Lillian Shaw, Bernardo Siles, Steve Skowron, Jeffrey Smith, Anna Soevik, Langley Spurlock, Stan Squirewell, Rebecca Stone Gordon, Lynn Sures, Tang, Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Valerie Theberge, Michael Torra, Kelly Towles, Dan Treado, Ruth Trevarrow, Tariq Tucker, Pamela Viola, Ellyn Weiss, Lee Wheeler, Catherine White, Sharon Wolpoff, Sue Wrbican, and Jenny Wu

 

Curators:
Sondra N. Arkin, Artist & Independent Curator | Philip Barlow, Associate Commissioner, DC Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking; Board Member, District of Columbia Arts Center & Millenium Arts Salon | Chuck Baxter, Artist | Robert Devers, Professor of Fine Arts and Ceramics, Corcoran School of the Arts + Design, George Washington University | Thomas Drymon, Curator, doris-mae | Charlie Gaynor, Realtor and Photographer, member of the Mid City Artists | Aneta Georgievska-Shine, Lecturer in Art History, University of Maryland and Smithsonian Institution | George Hemphill, Gallery Director, Hemphill | Francie Hester, Visual Artist | Don Kimes, Professor, Director Studio Art Program, American University Department of Art; Artistic Director, Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution | Zofie Lang, Artist | Mary Liniger, Executive Director, Art Enables | Akemi Maegawa, Artist | Jayme McLellan, Director & Founder, Civilian Art Projects | Twig Murray, Gallery Director, Athenaeum Gallery | Victoria Reis, Co-Founder, Executive & Artistic Director, Transformer | Nancy Sausser, Curator and Exhibitions Director, McLean Project for the Arts | Andy Shallal, Founder, Busboys and Poets | Stan Squirewell, Artist

Alchemical Vessels 2015

Alchemical Vessels 2015

March 27 - May 22, 2015

Opening Reception: Friday, March 27 | 7-9pm

Benefit: Friday, May 1 (By Contribution Only)

The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts recently announced the return of the super-popular Alchemical Vessels Exhibition and Benefit in 2015! 

This year's exhibition will run from March 27 - May 22, 2015, with the special by-contribution-only Benefit on Friday, May 1st, where everyone who makes a $150 Benefit-Vessel contribution (beginning Tuesday, March 10th at 10am) can select one of the works in the exhibition to add to their collection! The vessels are selected in the order contributions were made, so the earlier you make a contribution, the earlier you can select your work of art! Below is my piece in the show.

"Eve, Running Away from Eden"

This year's exhibition and benefit features works from over 100 new artists hand-selected by 20 prominent curators. See below for a list of this year's incredible line-up of artists & our invited curators, and visit www.smithcenter.org/benefit to learn more.

Artists:
David Alfuth, Beth Baldwin, Rhoda Baer, Emily Biondo, Ed Bisese, Julia Bloom, Raya Bodnarchuk, Joseph Bradley, Judy Byron, Lenny Campello, Jessica Cebra, Mei Mei Chang, Hsin-Hsi Chen, Patterson Clark, Billy Colbert, Susan Cole, Paula Crawford, Michael Crossett, Sarah Dale, Catherine Day, JD Deardourff, Jennifer DePalma, Robert Devers, Jessica Drenk, Patricia Dubroof, Pam Eichner, Dana Ellyn, Margo Elsayd, Susan Finsen & Michael Holt, Sharon Fishel, Kathryn Freeman, Marcia Fry, Adrienne Gaither, Michael Gessner, Carol Brown Goldberg, Pat Goslee, Matthew Grimes, Andrea Haffner, Courtney Hengerer, Jeff Herrity, Maurice "Mo" Higgs, Ryan Hill, Joseph Hoffman, Jeff Huntington, David Ibata, Martha Jackson Jarvis, Njena Surae Jarvis, Rose Jaffe, Mike Johnson, Mariah Anne Johnson, Wayson Jones, Maria Karametou, Sally Kauffman, Elizabeth Kendall, Joanne Kent, Hana Kim, Micheline Klagsbrun , Kitty Klaidman, PD Klein, George Koch, Yar Koporulin, Peter Krsko, Bridget Sue Lambert, Maria Lanas, Toni Lane, Khanh Le, Jun Lee, Kyujin Lee, Nate Lewis, Mimi Logothetis, Steve Loya, Akemi Maegawa, Alex Mayer, Donna M. McCullough, Kathryn McDonnell, Maggie Michael, Vanessa Monroe, E.J. Montgomery, Lucinda Murphy, Ziad Nagy, Leslie Nolan, Frederick Nunley, Cory Oberndorfer, John Paradiso, Elena Patiño, Miguel Perez Lem, Brian Petro, Thomas Petzwinkler, Jeneen Piccuirro, Michael B. Platt & Carol A. Beane, Pattie Porter Firestone, Tom Raneses, Red Dirt Studios, Ellington Robinson, Carolyn Roth, Bonner Sale, Jean Sausele Knodt, Matt Sesow, Foon Sham, Janathel Shaw, Lillian Shaw, Bernardo Siles, Steve Skowron, Jeffrey Smith, Anna Soevik, Langley Spurlock, Stan Squirewell, Rebecca Stone Gordon, Lynn Sures, Tang, Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Valerie Theberge, Michael Torra, Kelly Towles, Dan Treado, Ruth Trevarrow, Tariq Tucker, Pamela Viola, Ellyn Weiss, Lee Wheeler, Catherine White, Sharon Wolpoff, Sue Wrbican, and Jenny Wu

 

Curators:
Sondra N. Arkin, Artist & Independent Curator | Philip Barlow, Associate Commissioner, DC Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking; Board Member, District of Columbia Arts Center & Millenium Arts Salon | Chuck Baxter, Artist | Robert Devers, Professor of Fine Arts and Ceramics, Corcoran School of the Arts + Design, George Washington University | Thomas Drymon, Curator, doris-mae | Charlie Gaynor, Realtor and Photographer, member of the Mid City Artists | Aneta Georgievska-Shine, Lecturer in Art History, University of Maryland and Smithsonian Institution | George Hemphill, Gallery Director, Hemphill | Francie Hester, Visual Artist | Don Kimes, Professor, Director Studio Art Program, American University Department of Art; Artistic Director, Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution | Zofie Lang, Artist | Mary Liniger, Executive Director, Art Enables | Akemi Maegawa, Artist | Jayme McLellan, Director and Founder, Civilian Art Projects | Twig Murray, Gallery Director, Athenaeum Gallery | Victoria Reis, Co-Founder, Executive and Artistic Director, Transformer | Nancy Sausser, Curator and Exhibitions Director, McLean Project for the Arts | Andy Shallal, Founder, Busboys and Poets | Stan Squirewell, Artist

Alchemical Vessels 2015

Alchemical Vessels 2015

March 27 - May 22, 2015

Opening Reception: Friday, March 27 | 7-9pm

Benefit: Friday, May 1 (By Contribution Only)

 

The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts recently announced the return of the super-popular Alchemical Vessels Exhibition and Benefit in 2015! 

This year's exhibition will run from March 27 - May 22, 2015, with the special by-contribution-only Benefit on Friday, May 1st, where everyone who makes a $150 Benefit-Vessel contribution (beginning Tuesday, March 10th at 10am) can select one of the works in the exhibition to add to their collection! The vessels are selected in the order contributions were made, so the earlier you make a contribution, the earlier you can select your work of art! Below is my piece in the show.

"Eve, Running Away from Eden"

This year's exhibition and benefit features works from over 100 new artists hand-selected by 20 prominent curators. See below for a list of this year's incredible line-up of artists & our invited curators, and visit www.smithcenter.org/benefit to learn more.

Artists:
David Alfuth, Beth Baldwin, Rhoda Baer, Emily Biondo, Ed Bisese, Julia Bloom, Raya Bodnarchuk, Joseph Bradley, Judy Byron, Lenny Campello, Jessica Cebra, Mei Mei Chang, Hsin-Hsi Chen, Patterson Clark, Billy Colbert, Susan Cole, Paula Crawford, Michael Crossett, Sarah Dale, Catherine Day, JD Deardourff, Jennifer DePalma, Robert Devers, Jessica Drenk, Patricia Dubroof, Pam Eichner, Dana Ellyn, Margo Elsayd, Susan Finsen & Michael Holt, Sharon Fishel, Kathryn Freeman, Marcia Fry, Adrienne Gaither, Michael Gessner, Carol Brown Goldberg, Pat Goslee, Matthew Grimes, Andrea Haffner, Courtney Hengerer, Jeff Herrity, Maurice "Mo" Higgs, Ryan Hill, Joseph Hoffman, Jeff Huntington, David Ibata, Martha Jackson Jarvis, Njena Surae Jarvis, Rose Jaffe, Mike Johnson, Mariah Anne Johnson, Wayson Jones, Maria Karametou, Sally Kauffman, Elizabeth Kendall, Joanne Kent, Hana Kim, Micheline Klagsbrun , Kitty Klaidman, PD Klein, George Koch, Yar Koporulin, Peter Krsko, Bridget Sue Lambert, Maria Lanas, Toni Lane, Khanh Le, Jun Lee, Kyujin Lee, Nate Lewis, Mimi Logothetis, Steve Loya, Akemi Maegawa, Alex Mayer, Donna M. McCullough, Kathryn McDonnell, Maggie Michael, Vanessa Monroe, E.J. Montgomery, Lucinda Murphy, Ziad Nagy, Leslie Nolan, Frederick Nunley, Cory Oberndorfer, John Paradiso, Elena Patiño, Miguel Perez Lem, Brian Petro, Thomas Petzwinkler, Jeneen Piccuirro, Michael B. Platt & Carol A. Beane, Pattie Porter Firestone, Tom Raneses, Red Dirt Studios, Ellington Robinson, Carolyn Roth, Bonner Sale, Jean Sausele Knodt, Matt Sesow, Foon Sham, Janathel Shaw, Lillian Shaw, Bernardo Siles, Steve Skowron, Jeffrey Smith, Anna Soevik, Langley Spurlock, Stan Squirewell, Rebecca Stone Gordon, Lynn Sures, Tang, Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Valerie Theberge, Michael Torra, Kelly Towles, Dan Treado, Ruth Trevarrow, Tariq Tucker, Pamela Viola, Ellyn Weiss, Lee Wheeler, Catherine White, Sharon Wolpoff, Sue Wrbican, and Jenny Wu

 

Curators:
Sondra N. Arkin, Artist & Independent Curator | Philip Barlow, Associate Commissioner, DC Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking; Board Member, District of Columbia Arts Center & Millenium Arts Salon | Chuck Baxter, Artist | Robert Devers, Professor of Fine Arts and Ceramics, Corcoran School of the Arts + Design, George Washington University | Thomas Drymon, Curator, doris-mae | Charlie Gaynor, Realtor and Photographer, member of the Mid City Artists | Aneta Georgievska-Shine, Lecturer in Art History, University of Maryland and Smithsonian Institution | George Hemphill, Gallery Director, Hemphill | Francie Hester, Visual Artist | Don Kimes, Professor, Director Studio Art Program, American University Department of Art; Artistic Director, Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution | Zofie Lang, Artist | Mary Liniger, Executive Director, Art Enables | Akemi Maegawa, Artist | Jayme McLellan, Director and Founder, Civilian Art Projects | Twig Murray, Gallery Director, Athenaeum Gallery | Victoria Reis, Co-Founder, Executive and Artistic Director, Transformer | Nancy Sausser, Curator and Exhibitions Director, McLean Project for the Arts | Andy Shallal, Founder, Busboys and Poets | Stan Squirewell, Artist

AAFNYC: Sunday Report

Yesterday was the final day for the Affordable Art Fair NYC, and the fair was pretty packed with mothers all day long. Sales seemed to be brisk along our immediate area, with the British galleries that surrounded the Mayer Fine Art booth all doing gang buster sales.

MFA sold a few more of my drawings, two more wood engravings by DMV artist Rosemary Feit Covey and a very cool aluminum sculpture by Norfolk area artist and Old Dominion University professor John R.G. Roth.

The two DMV area galleries in the fair (Fraser Gallery and Honfleur Gallery) both reported excellent sales as well, so it seems like this fair paid off for the local galleries as well.

Tear down and packing was the usual nightmare when you have 80 galleries or so all trying to bring all their stuff down one elevator from the 11th floor down to the loading dock on super busy 35th street.

Back to the DMV by midnight and heading out to San Diego tomorrow.

At the end of the day...

The 1,000 point drop in the market yesterday was buzzing through the crowd coming to the Affordable Art Fair in New York. However, having done this fair many years, it seemed that Thursday's attendance was quite good considering it was a Thursday, so there were mixed signals: good crowds + bad economic news = slower sales than preview night.

Also, last night was "Brooklyn Night" and the crowd seemed younger and more interested in the open bar for wine and beer and the cool DJ who was actually playing music from a record player... than in artwork.

At the end of the day Mayer Fine Art ended up selling Sheila Giolitti's second largest painting (a major sale), a few more paintings by Matt Sesow, and as the lights were being flickered at 9:30PM, one of my large drawings ("Eve and the Lilith"), which ended up being acquired by the Sonya Spann Collection.

Preview Night at the Fair

Today was the press night and VIP preview night at New York's Affordable Art Fair, held at 7 West 34th Street, right across the street from the beautiful Empire State Building.

In the many years that I have been doing the AAFNYC, tonight's opening was by far the most crowded and buzzy preview that I have seen. It seemed like most galleries were selling something.

Norfolk's Mayer Fine Art, showcasing several DMV artists including my work, also did OK, with several sales by multiple artists, including a couple of sales by Novie Trump, a major piece by Rosemary Feit Covey on hold, a few sales of Matt Sesow, and sales of four of my drawings, including my two largest pieces that I brought to NY: "Batman Naked" and "Suddenly she discovered that she wasn't afraid any longer".