Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Mayer Fine Art. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Mayer Fine Art. Sort by date Show all posts

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

This Friday in Norfolk

Mayer Fine Art - Matt Sesow
My good bud Matt Sesow opens in Norfolk's best art gallery, Mayer Fine Art. The opening reception is from 7-9PM.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Calling all art undergrads!

As I mentioned several times in the past, I've been retained by the Longview Gallery of Washington, DC to curate an exhibition for them focused on student work.

The exhibition hopes to deliver a survey of the best artwork by undergraduate art students working in accredited art school programs in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia and Virginia.

Over the last few months I have visited a ton of schools up and down the mid Atlantic. In the process, the new Mayer Fine Art Gallery in Norfolk, Virginia liked the concept, and now the DC show will have selected students have art travel down to Norfolk for a second exhibition there.

I will curate the exhibition from both a submission process as well as visits to schools and studios. All selections and invitations will be made at my discretion.

Through this process, the exhibition also hopes to educate the selected students on the process of participating in a commercial gallery art exhibition, including advance preparations, presentation and delivery of artwork, opening receptions, dealing with the press, etc.

Calendar

May 5, 2008 - Deadline for postmark of entries to me

May 10, 2008 - Invited Artists Notified

June 5, 2008 - Deadline for Delivery of Art to Gallery

June 7, 2008 - Opening Reception

July 5, 2008 - Exhibition Closes

July 6, 2008 - Pick-up of Unsold Work


This exhibition is open to all art students 18 years and older who are enrolled in an accredited undergraduate art school program in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia. At my discretion, the exhibition may also include a piece by the selected students' art professor. All work selected must be for sale and framed and presented professionally to conservation standards. Open to all two and three dimensional media. The size of the submitted artwork cannot exceed 40 inches in any one direction (excluding frames).

There are no fees or charges associated with this exhibition and process. Accepted artists are responsible for any costs associated with delivery and return of unsold work. All preliminary judging will be done from digital entries.

A formal opening and reception for the accepted artists will be held on Saturday, 7 June 2008 from 6-8 p.m. at the Longview Gallery. The gallery is located at 1302 9th street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, Tel: 202.232.4788.

A second formal opening and reception (dates to be announced) will be held in Norfolk for the second show.

All the details and prospectus can be downloaded here. Art professors desiring to contact me to set up a school visit should contact me directly via email: lenny@lennycampello.com.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

ABMB Week: The read it all at once report

Monday

All photos by J. Jordan Bruns. Today it was the typical brutal day as we unloaded and started setting up at Context Art Miami in Wynwood.

After trolling around for a while looking for a parking spot, we found a Doris Day parking spot nearby the loading docks for the fair (a Doris Day parking spot is like in the movies, where the main actor always finds a parking spot right in front of wherever he/she is going). 

The place was a beehive of workers delivering crates, European gallerists walking back and forth barking worried orders on their cell phones, cleaning crews on a constant battle to keep the place clean, Haitian day workers hanging around hoping for a job, security checking badges and asking for wrist bands, and the savage art sounds of hammers banging and drills drilling and the random and heartbreaking sound of glass breaking somewhere.

Hundreds of trips later we had taken most of the art out of the van with only one casualty - this is the brutal part of driving your work down instead of having it shipped and delivered to your booth.

Ran into the DMV's Andrea Pollan and then Calder Brannock; both are working the fairs.

After a ten hour day we are 90% done... all the work for opening night is hung, and almost all labeled; all the electronics are working, and Simon Monk, Dulce Pinzon and me are on the walls and Audrey Wilson and Elissa Farrow-Savos are on the floor.

The VIP Preview is tomorrow. The fair opens on Wednesday.

Tuesday

In typical Floridian puzzle-weather, it was very rainy up in Hollywood Beach, which is where we are staying as we have for the last few years. A few blocks south, the sun was bright and fully ready to endorse the VIP opening at Context Art Miami.

Once we got to Wynwood, we dropped off a piece for a special exhibit that the Art Miami folks had arranged with the local Marriott hotel. It was a delicate dance of driving in the serpentine challenges presented by Maimi drivers, but we installed the piece (a wonderful sculpture by Elissa Farrow-Savos) and headed back to Wynwood.

We finished off labeling the work, which brings to mind the interesting tidbit that just a handful of years ago, one seldom saw any labels at art shows or art fairs.

It was as if all curators and gallerists in the upper artsmosphere of the art world that made a decision to endorse David Parnas' information hiding principle

Today, it is the opposite, as delivering as much information about the work seems to be the trend.

We've always used labels... just sayin'.

I rushed through the fair to try to get a flavor for the quality of this year's Context... and my report is that new director Julian Navarro has done a spectacular job: this is by far the best art fair that we've ever been honored to be part of; Context has set new standards this year... more on that later.


Simon Monk wall at Context Art Miami - Alida Anderson Art Projects
Simon Monk wall at Context Art Miami - Alida Anderson Art Projects
There were long lines waiting for the 5:30 opening at both Context Art Miami and Art Miami, as I was very impressed how the crowds increased as the evening progressed. The Wynwood district where several of the art fairs are staged is a pretty congested area without the art fairs and unless you are savvy enough to dance the traffic dance, it can be challenging on the night when everyone wants to go to the art show. In addition to the two best-known Art Miami fairs, there are several satellite fairs in Wynwood which now use Art Miami as the magnet fair, just as all satellite fairs use Art Basel Miami Beach as the magnet fair.

Almost immediately DMV artist Audrey Wilson broke the ice and at the same time proved my point about the importance of art fairs for artists. Wilson sold a major piece to a collector who has now bought one of her pieces at Context Art Miami 2013, Wynwood Art Fair 2014 and now Context Art Miami 2014. He also bought one of my drawings, which was nice.

It is always good to break the ice on opening night... as the night ended I sold three more of my pieces.

Overall I noticed that all the dealers around us seemed to be making sales, and this is a great indication of the hard work that it takes to get a critical number of collectors to an art event.

Tomorrow the fair opens to the public.


Wednesday

Today was the opening to the general public of the Context Art Miami fair.

We arrived a few minutes after the official opening time of 11AM, as did most other dealers (we saw the hardworking Leigh Conner hustling to Art Miami).

This is the result of trying to get off the highway to North Miami Avenue... this simple operation seems to be a permanent parking lot at practically any time.

Plan for about 15-20 minutes to get from the highway to the fair; traffic is that bad!

Today was a much calmer and slower day than yesterday, with noticeably less young women, slim as rifles (and just as dangerous) confidently walking the aisles of the fair on needle heels and unshaven young studs with shiny hair, otherwise clean as a new stiletto, taking phone pictures of the artwork.

The day went fast, with the only novelty being the arrival of a couple of well-known DMV artists, Tim Tate and J.T. Kirkland, as well as a local guerrilla artist paddling his artwork ($20 a painting) while streaking through the fair.
Thursday

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 Aqua report here and their final 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.


Friday



 Elissa Farrow-SavosFriday was packed with people at Context Art Miami, and today I really saw some dealers move art off the walls - most noticeably our neighbor across the hall, a gallery from Colombia who was doing well with some gorgeous work by Colombian artists.

We also had our best day so far, selling a nice sculpture by Elissa Farrow-Savos and a very large drawing of mine.

Around seven PM, the sounds of helicopters overhead were quite loud, and a little checking revealed that street protesters (some protesting the sad Eric Gardner issue, and others the death a year ago of a local graffitist who died after being tasered by the police) around Wynwood and eventually shut down I-95.

Needless to say this caused the area's usual gridlock to become gridlockier.

With the aid of some dexterous driving and Google maps we drove through Little Haiti and picked up I-95 north of the closed part and managed to get to our Hollywood hotel with little loss of time.


Saturday


Saturday was so far the best day at Context Art Miami. In fact, in the eight years that I have been doing art fairs, this was the best one day ever.

The day started early, as we shifted home base from the beach hotel in Hollywood Beach to Little Havana, in order to be closer to Wynwood for the crucial last two days of the fair.

After dropping the luggage and getting two "colados" to kick start the sleepy systems, and on the way to the fair, a phone call resulted in the sale of six of Dulce Pinzon's amazing work; that's the way to start the day.


The crowds at Context were huge; it was actually hard to navigate the halls!

We sold work by Simon Monk, multiple pieces by Elissa Farrow-Savos, and several of my drawings, including a major video drawing.

It was frenetic selling, with multiple trips to the gallery van to replenish the walls. We also noticed that the dealers around us seemed to be selling well. It is all a question of numbers: Art Miami succeeded in bringing large crowds to the fairs, and this is in direct proportion to the probability of a sale.

There were also multiple "wake" events as I call them. They are the potential after-effects of doing an art fair... For example, there are at least two galleries interested in Elissa's work, and one in Audrey Wilson's work and a local Miami gallery in my work.

Sunday is the last day; apparently there are more street protests scheduled, so it may get interesting.


Sunday


The street protests yesterday had minimal impact on the fair, and once again good crowds were present.

We had another decent day, and sold eight of my drawings, as well as an acquisition of two of my vintage Art school stone lithographs by the Museo de Arte Afroamericano in Caracas, Venezuela.

All throughout the fair, people have been admiring and taking hundreds of photographs of DMV artist Elissa Farrow-Savos' gorgeous sculptures, and myriads of cards with her name were handed out to the "we'll be back" crowd. Seldom does that happen... The fairs are big and overwhelming... You either get the work when you see it, or forget it...

As we were beginning to pack a few minutes after 6pm, a couple did actually come back and purchased the work. As we began to wrap it, a very pretty collector from San Francisco also returned and was a little... Well, actually a lot, saddened to see that the sculpture had been sold. 

It had clearly made a powerful connection with her. I actually think that she was almost ready to make the new owners an offer for the piece and thus create a new record for the fastest secondary market art turnover in history!

She appeared truly bummed out, so I gave her one of my Art School vintage stone lithos as a present and promised to see if the artist would entertain re-creating another version of the work.

We were packed and out of there by 8pm, and after a heinous 4am wake up call, I now sit in the plane at oh-dark thirty as I head back to the DMV after a very successful art fair!

Back next year!

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Next Week in New York

Next week is the Affordable Art Fair in New York City, right across the street from the Empire State Building.

The Affordable Art Fair is always a very interesting art fair to me, from the psychological point and from the commercial point of view.

AAFNYC (as it is known, since there are versions of this fair in Europe and Australia as well) is put together by the same people who bring you the Pulse Art Fair, arguably the second best Miami art fair after ABMB.

And I say Miami on purpose to put it geographically in Miami, since there are some top notch European-based art fairs which are clearly higher than Pulse in the art fair food chain. But, when it comes to the first week of December in Miami, after ABMB, Pulse is clearly the number two darling of the art cognoscenti.

AAFNYC has an "affordable" ceiling price for art of $10,000 (used to be $5,000); this tells you a lot about the art world.

This NYC and London versions of this fair have a reputation as really good selling fairs, where galleries do fairly well, in spite of the current economic blues enveloping the world. From my own experience with this NYC-based fair (which goes back to 2005), it has always been a very successful art fair for the galleries that I have been associated with (sorry about the dangling preposition).

And if you review the list of galleries who have exhibited at AAFNYC over the years, you'll discover a lot of blue chip galleries, in fact, some of the same galleries which show at Pulse!

Yet some snooty galleries stay away from it. "I wish they'd change the name of the fair," told me a gallery owner once when I asked her why she didn't do the fair.

Enough said.

And yet, galleries from all over the planet (including a lot of British galleries) will come to New York next week, and a lot of savvy New York art collectors will come to the fair and a lot of artists and art galleries will do very well, since this is the only NYC art fair at this time of the year (among other things).

My work will be there, represented by Norfolk's top independently owned commercial fine arts gallery: Mayer Fine Arts, who will be showcasing work by Sheila Giolitti, John Roth, Alexey Terenin, Judith Peck, Rosemary Feit Covey, Sharon Moody, Rosalie Shane, Joey Manlapaz and Andrew Wodzianski... note that there are several DMV artists in that mix (Peck, Feit Covey, Moody, Manlapax, Wodzianski and I).

If you want some free tickets to the fair, send me an email and I'll make sure that the gallery leaves some free passes at "will call".

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Tonight in Norfolk

Mayer Fine ArtSeveral DMV area artists, such as Tim Tate, Andrew Wodzianski and yours truly are in MFA's Winter show. The reception is February 26, from 7-9PM.

MFA is easily and by far (in my clearly subjective opinion, but easily checked out), Norfolk's top fine arts gallery, with a gorgeous location on the city's waterfront.

Mayer Fine Art
333 Waterside Drive
Norfolk, VA 23510
(757) 803-4749

Friday, October 22, 2010

In Norfolk tomorrow night

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, Flyin to Miami


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.

Ramos is in the permanent collection of MoMa, MFA Boston, Dallas Museum, Miami Art Museum and many other US, European and Latin American art museums.

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

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Sandra Ramos' workshop

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, Flyin to Miami


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. Hurry! There are only three spots left!

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.

Ramos is in the permanent collection of MoMa, MFA Boston, Dallas Museum, Miami Art Museum and many other US, European and Latin American art museums.

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

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Over in Norfolk

Mayer Fine ArtSeveral DMV area artists, such as Tim Tate, Andrew Wodzianski and yours truly are in MFA's Winter show. The reception is February 26, from 7-9PM.

Mayer Fine Art
333 Waterside Drive
Norfolk, VA 23510
(757) 803-4749

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Common Waters at Mayer Fine Art

Below is a quick video showing the exhibition "Common Waters: An Ocean Apart" at Norfolk's new Mayer Fine Art.




Works by Sandra Ramos, Aimee Garcia Marrero, Cirenaica Moreira and Marta Maria Perez Bravo.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

What to do and see this week

Wednesday: Time for the ArtHelps Silent Auction from 5pm–10pm at the offices of JAM Communications. Cocktails and hors d'ouvres will be served and it's all free and open to the public. See the donated artwork here.

Also on Wednesday, from 6-8pm, Art-O-Matic is hosting a happy hour at Warehouse Galleries and Theatre complex. The swirl for the 2006 show is beginning! They’re gearing up for a 2006 event. Catch up with friends and like-minded artists. Find out how you can be a part of the 2006 AOM sensation. Special beer prices.

Thursday: There is an artist reception on Thursday evening 6-8PM, Glass art by Michael Janisat Studio Gallery in Dupont Circle. The title of the show is "Classical Themes/Contemporary Artists" (an image of Michael Janis' glass piece Amnesiac is to the left). Also, in order to raise money for this not-for-profit artist collaborative, the rear gallery at Studio features artwork available for a tax deductible donation (starting at $200) to the gallery - a chance to collect some of the Studio artists work at bargain rates!

Also on Thursday, Provisions Library hosts Provisions 101, a special reception from 6-8 pm. This is an opportunity to meet the Provisions staff, find out more about what they do and see their current exhibit (DeeDee Does Utopia: Propaganda Collage by Deborah Faye Lawrence). Refreshments will be served. Their hosts for the evening are Dru Ryan and Lalitha Gopalan. Dru is Editor of The Journal of Hip-Hop and teaches at George Mason University and Lalitha is Associate Professor at Georgetown University specializing in film and cinema studies. Dru and Lalitha will share their insights into alternative education and the links between art, activism and academia with special emphasis on film, media and visual culture. RSVP to Katy Otto at kotto@provisionslibrary.org or call 202-299-0460.

And at the McLean Project for the Arts' Emerson Gallery, Seeds: Gail Gorlitzz and Karin Birch opens on Thursday with a reception and gallery talk from 7-9PM.

Friday: This is the second Friday of the month and thus it's the Bethesda Art Walk Not Kansas by David FeBlandwith 13 participating venues and with free guided tours. And we will have our annual Winter Group Show, featuring an entire gallery full of new work by the artists that we represent ("Not Kansas" by New York painter David FeBland -- he's our best-selling American painter and the guy in the ballcap driving the car -- is to the right).

Also on Friday, there's an opening reception for "i found your photo" from 6:00 – 9:00 PM on the 2nd Floor of the University of Phoenix Northern Virginia Campus at 11710 Plaza America Drive, Reston, VA 20190. For directions, please see the League of Reston Artists website. The "i found your photo" exhibition is a special benefit exhibition of donated found photographs that is presented by the League of Reston Artists. All found photographs that have been donated to this project will be placed into a handmade photography book after the exhibition closes. This book will be designed and created by photographer and book artist, Melanie De Cola. The one-of-a-kind "i found your photo" photography book will be auctioned on E-bay in May 2006 to fund a photography scholarship through the League of Reston Artists. The scholarship will be awarded to a Washington, D.C. area at-risk high school senior who aspires to be a photographer, to help him or her attend art school.

And back in DC, Irvine Contemporary has and opening for Sean Foley and Gina Brocker from 6-8 PM, and there's also an artist's talk on Sat. Dec. 10 starting at 2 PM.

And there's also an opening at the Capitol Hill Arts workshop this Friday for a "budget-priced-for-the-holidays" show entitled Wrap it Up. The opening is Friday from 5-7pm, and the all day sale is Saturday from 10 am-7 pm.

Saturday: A.Salon has a holiday art show from 5-8PM at Willow Street Gallery (6925 Willow Street, NW in DC).

Also on Saturday, December 10 and Sunday, December 11 from 12:00 - 6:00PM, Hemphill Fine Arts has booksignings for recent publications from fine art book publisher Nazraeli Press. William Christenberry, Joseph Mills and Tanya Marcuse will be in attendance for book signings on Saturday, December 10 from 12:00 - 2:00PM. Hot Cider and Cookies!

The Urban Arts Gallery at the Pierce School Lofts is having the opening for "Pattern" on Saturday, December 10 from 4-7pm. This month’s featured artists are Roberta Glick, Amy Lin, and Emily Dean. The Urban Arts Gallery is located on Capitol Hill at 1375 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, DC and "Pattern" will be on exhibit through December 30, 2005.

And Union Printmakers Atalier has OH HO 05: A Holiday Exhibition of Contemporary Art opening on Saturday from 6-9PM. The group show brings together many well known artists from the Washington, Maryland, and Virginia area along with some new faces to the area's art scene. Expect to see prints, drawings, paintings, sculpture and photographs reflecting a variety of styles and approaches to each medium through January 28th, 2006. Lots of very talented artists participating including: Julia Bloom, Joseph Barbaccia, Chantal Bernicky, Iona Brown, Rosalind Burns, David Chung, William Christenberry, Warren Craghead, Dymph de Wild, Ben Ferry, Susan Finsen, Jenny Freestone, Pat Goslee, Susan Hostetler, Pauline Jakobsberg, J.T. Kirkland, Andrew Krieger, Judith Kahn, Alex Mayer, Kerry McAleer-Keeler, Michele Montalbano, Jody Mussoff, Robert Nelson, William Newman, Judith Nulty, Turker Ozdogan, Betsy Packard, Margaret Adams Parker, Randall Packer, Michael Pierce, Beverly Ress, Charles Ritchie, Russel Richards, Beverly Ryan, Clarice Smith, Terry Svat, R.L.Tillman, Helga Thomson, F.L. Wall, Mark Wamaling, Max-Karl Winkler, Ellen Winkler, Frank Wright and Scip Barnhart (the director of Union Printmakers and one of DC's top artists and art professors).

Art Show/DC Surfrider has a fundraiser at FC Gallery 7pm-2am ($5 suggested donation). The gallery is located at 916 Blagden Alley. Featured Artist: Steve Olson (LA Underground/Skateboard Overlord). Also features a massive interactive installation piece by Ben Ashworth, Anthony Smallwood and Dan Zeman; music, food and drink provided.

Also on Saturday and Sunday, The Arlington Arts Center has a Holiday Art Bazaar from 11-4PM. Drop by the AAC to find the perfect piece of art or craft for a holiday gift from 19 artists in the greater metropolitan area. The diverse media represented include ceramics, photography, jewelry, fiber, and much more.

And on Saturday Transformer hosts an opening reception from 7-9PM for "Little Creatures" through January 14, 2006 and featuring Marci Branagan, Julie Jenkinson, Thomas M. Lowery and Maki Maruyama. There's also an artists' talk on Saturday, January 7, 2006, at 4 pm.

Studio One Eight presents "Fully Loaded: New Work by Lisa Marie Thalhammer." The opening reception is on December 10th from 7-10 PM. Thalhammer has created, using her stylized approach to portraiture, an army of DC women that embodies the subjectivity of the contemporary American female.

Sunday: Carolyn Dutky Romano has an opening from 2-4PM for "Eye on the Underground" at The Art League Gallery in Alexandria. There's also an artist talk on Thursday, December 8 at 7PM (the show actually opens on Dec. 8).

I am sure that I missed some events... if so email me the details.

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Artalking

Alida Anderson and Sheila Giolitti
That's the very donna calda Sheila Giolitti to the left, the hard-working owner and director of Mayer Fine Art, my Norfolk, Virginia based art dealer and by far the Tidewater area's best art gallery and certainly the one with the most art fair visibility (she's considering starting to do the South American art fair circuit), and my calientisima wife Dr. Alida Anderson, talking about art at a recent art party at the Campello household.

And yes... Little Junes sleeps right through all the yakking and music of these gatherings; is that a cool kid or what?

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Wake effects

When a ship moves across the water, depending on a variety of factors, it leaves a wake that can be discernible, in some manner or form, for a very long time and through a very long distance.

Doing an art fair is the same, and art fair wake effects can sometimes take over a year to settle down.

At the recent (e)merge art fair, my Virginia dealer, Mayer Fine Art (who did really well at the fair), sold my top piece in the room - an embedded video piece - to a very well-known DMV area art collector couple.

The wake effect from that sale just reached me, as I am now in the process of closing a sale with another art collecting couple (not a DMV area collector), who saw that work at the home of the buyers, inquired about it, got a glowing recommendation and now I am about to be acquired by someone on the list of the top 200 art collectors in the world.

In case you are wondering: yes... I am bragging and thanks USS (e)merge!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: December 8, 2008

No entry fees!

CRUX is an exhibit sponsored by Trinity Presbyterian Church (TPC)M in Norfolk, VA. The purpose of this show is to support the arts community as it explores the theme “CRUX.” The exhibit will be held at The Mayer Fine Art Gallery (MFA) in Norfolk on January 10-31, 2009.

Eligibility: All are invited to participate. Fine art in two and three dimensions is eligible for entry. Works should relate to the theme. TPC reserves the right to refuse any works with unusual installation requirements or works otherwise judged unsuitable.

Entry application: There are no fees. Artists should complete the entry form and notification form giving all information requested. Send a SASE for notification.
digitatal entries only: Artists may submit one image each for up to three works. Digital images should be sent on a PC-compatible CD-ROM in JPG format or emailed to crux@trinitynorfolk.com. Each file should include artist’s name and image number to correspond with annotated image list. Maximum image size is 1920 x 1920 pixels at 72 dpi. Do not embed images into PowerPoint or submit moving images or audio files. Each artist should submit an image list including title, medium, dimensions, year and description of piece as it relates to the theme, CRUX.

Sales: There will be absolutely no commission retained on any sale by either TPC or MFA. Work will be sold at the price listed on the entry form. All work not for sale must be marked “NFS” and please, no “PORs.”

Jurors: William Hennessey, the Director of the Chrysler Museum, Solomon Isekeije, Assistant Professor of Arts with the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Hampton University, and Ken Daley, Professor of Art at Old Dominion University.

Calendar:
12/12/08 Deadline to receive entry forms, and digital submissions, all postmarked by Dec. 8, 2008, and mailed to:

Trinity Presbyterian Church
7th Annual Juried Exhibition
Attn. S. Lucas
1600 Colonial Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23517

Email submissions may be made to crux@trinitynorfolk.com
12/17/08 Notification forms mailed
1/8/09 Accepted works must be received at TPC
1/10/09 Exhibition reception from 7:30-10:00PM
1/30/09 Exhibit closes.
1/31/09 All hand-delivered works are to be picked up from TPC.
2/2/09 All works shipped UPS will be returned UPS at artist’s expense.

Contact the TPC office at 757.466.0989 or crux@trinitynorfolk.com with questions or for more information or to get a copy of the prospectus.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Miami International Art Fair (last day)

MIA ended with an unexpected bang today for Mayer Fine Art, as some rare "I'll be backs" actually came back and acquired some more work from Norfolk's hardest working independently owned commercial fine arts gallery.

Tim Tate - tales of magnetismAs soon as the doors opened at noon, a well-known Cuban-American doctor arrived and purchased an older Tim Tate 2005 piece which was being sold on behalf of the original owner, who is now retired and living the good life in Pensacola Beach. This clearly shows that Tate's older work still holds its own a few years into its life.

Soon after that a Boston couple on their way to visit Cuba fell in love with Sandra Ramos' work and acquired one of her 1993 series classic aquatint etchings. It was shaping to be a day for older work back on the market.

The Argentine couple who earlier in the week had acquired the Sheila Giolitti painting returned today and purchased an Alexey Terenin oil which had been haunting them since their original visit

A couple of hours later, the culmination of three days of negotiations ended with the major sale of two very large Alexey Terenins - one well over seven feet tall and six feet across and the other just slightly smaller. They are both heading to Pompano Beach and possibly represents the largest one day business day for MFA... ever.

When closing time came, to my horror I discovered that it was pouring down rain outside. Now the horrific task of trying to load a van full of artwork in the rain while ensuring that the work is protected began.

It is difficult enough to handle and load work properly in the best of times; it is a nightmare in bad weather, and I can testify to the marvel of seeing gallerists wheeling $100,000 paintings out in the rain to their vans and trucks.

We didn't do that. And to avoid it, we had to wrap the work in plastic, then cover it in plastic again, take it to the van, load it and then remove the wet outside plastic. This means that by midnight, although we were finished and all the art was loaded and safe, we were soaked to the bone and our feet were wet and spongy... ahhh the hidden glamorous life of the art dealer.

Tomorrow morning I head back home, and Sheila Giolitti heads to Palm Beach, where she will be taking part in Art Palm Beach later this week.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Getting ready for Miami

In the last day and a half I finished, matted and framed four large drawings for the Miami art fairs this coming December. The big ones go to Mayer Fine Art. Last year I sold about six or seven of these in Miami through MFA.

Then I gotta check on the status and maybe do some new ones of the tiny drawings that I love to do (one to three inches in size) and that seem to sell so well at the art fairs, and send a whole bunch of them to Projects Gallery.

Both these hardworking galleries will be in Miami for the art fairs. If you want some free passes to some of the fairs, drop me an email.

I noticed that the number of DMV galleries doing the Miami art fairs have decreased substantially this year, while the number of DMV non-profits are realizing what commercial galleries have known for years: you got to do the art fairs if you want to move artwork, be noticed by curators and museums and do a lot of hard work on behalf of artists.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

MIA

MIA Art FairThe Miami International Art Fair is next on my radar as I will be flying down there in a few days to help Mayer Fine Art with the fair work and to hawk some of my own artwork. My Philly dealer, the hardworking Projects Gallery will also be there, as they were there last year for MIA's inaugural year and did gangbusters.

No DMV art dealers are exhibiting in this fair, which is very heavy on Florida and Latin American galleries. From what I see here, several galleries from Art Basel, Scope, Art Miami stayed behind and are exhibiting at MIA.

They figured out that this "new" fair did really well on its debut year and are hoping 2011 will even be better. More later....

Saturday, September 24, 2011

(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.

82 by John Miles Runner at Mayer Fine Art in (e)merge art fairPeople 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.

Tim Tate

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

Lenny Campello video drawings at (e)merge art fair

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!

Sunday, October 03, 2010

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, Flyin to Miami


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!

Monday, October 18, 2010

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, Flyin to Miami


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!

Friday, December 04, 2009

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.

Sandra Ramos El BoteBut 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...