The View from the Edge of the Universe

It's Evan Time!

Bryan and I took just returned from 5 days of non stop action in NYC and DC. It started as a pleasure trip, but 5 meetings later, it felt just as much like a business trip. But when art is your business, business trips can be a joy.

I stopped by the studio of Elizabeth Huey who was hard at work preparing for her upcoming show at Feigen this fall. Elizabeth will show at Quality Pictures (my gallery) in Portland in March. She got REAL excited when I told her that she had a 44 foot wall to work with. Perhaps we’ll see the first 40ft Huey!
Second up was a quick visit with Stuart Hawkins at Von near the Bowery. Stewart presented me with her beautiful new book that accompanies her upcoming exhibition at Zach Fuerer. Stewart’s latest work contains some of the most compelling photos I’ve seen in a while. She’ll be showing with QP next spring too. I also had great meetings with Ken and Dennis, the DC and KT of DCKT. Dennis accompanied me to the Paul Morris gallery to look at Oliver Boberg's new work. Paul’s expert commentary about Boberg really opened the work up for me.

 Enough of work though…it’s EVAN TIME!

Our great and esteemed friend Evan was the real reason we came to New York - so we could accompany him to WINSTONFEST XII, Evan’s annual crab fest at his boyhood home in Rockville, MD.

Evan, Bryan and Evan’s friend Jack (who looked a lot like a very good friend of mine from high school) first headed to K town at midnight for some wicked Korean BBQ. Jack really opened up all our eyes to the beauty of the city at night. The next night we all piled into Evan’s Mercedes, zipped over the Verrazano Bridge and headed south. Jack kept the conversation lively with his down and dirty stories of life in Spanish Harlem where everything that’s burning hot in the city is happening.

We arrive in Rockville at 2:30 am (FYI we are on Evan time now: 2:30 am to Evan is dinner time). Its still 85 degrees out.

Profuse sweating nipped Bryan and my DC sightseeing in the bud, but we did spend time at the national gallery where I snapped these pix of the tunnel that connects the west and east wings:

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One more meeting: this time with iona rozeal brown who has tiptoed back into using blackface in her work with really fresh and sexy results. Her show with QP is next fall. Jack really would have liked her work but he sleeps late and wasn’t up to the trip.

After stuffing ourselves with a late Cuban dinner in Morgan Adams, Evan took us on a really memorable nighttime tour of DC's monuments and memorials. I was particularly inspired and shot some nice, albeit blurry shots of the adventure. DC is a different place at 1am.
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Finally the day had arrived. July 29. WINSTONFEST XII was upon us! It was the kind of party that you wish all parties were like: laid back and full of interesting people, great food and crackin’ music. I made two new friends: Trevor and Rachael from Toronto (who flew in just for the fest). They seemed to know Jack as well as Evan, but once you meet Jack, he’s hard not to like.  My God, everyone at the party seemed to know him AND like him. And no, I am NOT infatuated with my new friend!

Like the real troopers that we are, Bryan and I were the last to leave.

 I LEAD A CHARMED LIFE #1:
On Thursday, Bryan and I hopped into an unmarked limo for a ride over to Evan’s place in Sty town. After dropping us off and while we walked to Evan’s building, I realized that I had left my wallet in the limo which was long gone. Just as my freak-out level was peaking and I was calling ATL to get my passport FedEx’ed to me, the limo driver pulls up hands me my wallet. I still had my change in hand which I promptly trust into his hands while declaring “You Are Da Man!”

  I LEAD A CHARMED LIFE #2:
On Sunday, after 5 stops on the Metro on the way to the airport, I realize that I have left my travel bag at the loading platform with my computer, camera, car keys and who knows what else inside. It took Bryan and me 45 minutes to get back to our original station where my bag was sitting right where I left it.

 

Sidewalk Sale at Galerie MC 7/18-19

Galerie MC, which will cease operations in its current format sometime in the future is having a "sidewalk sale" July 18 and 19.  I'm intrigued enough to take a stroll down there tomorrow morning.  I would guess that there will be a gem or two or twelve.  The gallery is located at the corner of 6th and West Peachtree in midtown.

'New Photography' at the High

All I can say is that Julian Cox must be a force to be reckoned within the circle of decision makers at the High.  His latest coup: New Photography a massive exhibition that takes up the entire second floor of the new wing.  The show features two Atlanta phtographers: Angela West and Ruth Dusselaut as well as international stars Taryn Simon and Sze Tsung Leong.  Each artist is really given a complete solo exhibition and Cox has done a fine job of not only selecting photographers whose works  compliment one another but also in the individual selections of the works themselves whose context within the entire exhibiton I found particularly interesting.  Last Thursday at the opening reception, Atlanta collectors' jaws hit the floor over Simon's stunningly rich color photos.  The intensity and depth of the color and lighting made these portriats of wrongly-convicted murderers photographed at the scene-of-the-crime-they-didn't-commit seem highly theatrical...its probaly the look that Gregory Crewdson is going for but can never really get. 
Simon's images are real show stoppers but I am a bit critical of their overall theme...it seems more clever than complex...the irony of the situation is impossible to capture.  Nonetheless they are riveting portraits.  For the money though..I prefer Katy Grannan.
I also like Angela West's work which consists of landscapes mixed with images of her father.  When one sees West's separate bodies of work shown together (as it was at Emory earlier this year), you start to get an overall clearer sense of what she is exploring.  It's one of West's better talents:  her bodies of work stand together well on their own but also add to the understanding and complexity of other bodies of her work.  For instance, her recent corsage pieces add another layer of interest to her Sweet Sixteen series...at least in my mind. 

Also on view at the High is Nan Goldin's Cookie Mueller portfolio which was donated to the museum earlier this year.  I had the pleasure of a private viewing of the porfolio earlier this year.  It's worth a visit to the museum alone.

Embrace Fine Art Fair part of Atl's NBAF

ATL's National Black Art's Festival (July 14-23) includes a a fair-within-a-festival: Embrace.  The inaugural event includes about 20 participating galleries from Atlanta, New York, Chicago and other locales.  The Atlanta exhibitors are some of ATL's best galleries including Solomon Projects and Sandler Hudson.  The fair runs through Sunday the 16th. 
I'm very interested to see if the fair is successful because it could become a great venue to bring attention to Atlanta and its varied fine art scene.  Its a somewhat bold attempt to unite the two distinct arts scenes in Atlanta which is noteworthy.  Thus its success or failure may have broader implications for the city.

Free Art Storage Rack

Does anyone have a need for this small art storage rack?  My friend built it for me and it works great...but I don't need it in Portland.

 Email me if you are interested.

You will need a truck to move it.  I will have it disassembled.  Its located in Midtown Atlanta. 

I hate to see it go to waste!

Niki in the Garden

Wow. Niki in the Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens is pure delight.  The installation is the world's largest exhibition of internationally renowned artist Niki de Saint Phalle's outdoor sculptures ever presented.  I took my nieces last Thursday (the Gardens are open late on Thursdays) and they loved it as much as I did. Chihuly was great, but this is and feels like an important retrospective in a perfect setting.
Its a great family night out....whoever your family may be.
The exhibition runs through October 31.
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