Saturday, May 31, 2008

Andrew Verhoeckx

Andrew's work is like sitting in on an automobile autopsy One can't help to see cars as living creatures through his eyes.
"I try to capture through my paintings the overall sensual pleasure that I feel when viewing muscle cars. The way paint embraces the cast or forged steel. How oil can transform steel from cold and dead to lusciously wet, warm and soft as a living being. The parallel between cars and humans is remarkable in the way they functionally mimic each other. Take for example, the engine. It is the heart of the car-it breathes, pumps and brings out the personality of the car. Turning the ignition brings the car to life. We as humans have a natural desire to form and cast things in our own image. We have a yearning to create like our God."

Friday, May 30, 2008

Thank You Mr. Weintraub, Mixed Media on Canvas 7"x5", Lynn Dunham

Paris Orange, Oil on Canvas 40"x30", Ronald Weintraub

When I think of a color to describe Ron Weintraub, it is orange which is why I've named my orange man after the artist. This painting is now in an exhibit at the new Gideon Stein Gallery in Bridgehampton, NY! Above is an abstract from Ron's new web site which I am pleased to be sharing. For more information about Ron Weintraub refer to his new web site.
I hope to be showing with him in the Hamptons someday.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Teasing the Bathers by Dianne Blell

DIANNE BLELL
Desire for the Intimate Deity

These mixed media works are strong expressions of intimacy and desire which Blell
creates by combining painting and photography which allow her to poignantly juxtapose reality with fantasy. The themes of desire and the pursuit of love have driven Blell’s work since the early 1970’s through the vehicles of fashion advertising, Greco-Roman mythology and Art History. This current series explores the archetypal stages of courtship and the pursuit of love utilizing the iconic elements of Hindu Folklore and the love story of Rada & Krishna.

In Blell's words:
As an aspect of the divine is universally and subconsciously embodied in every individual's personal concept of the ideal, I have ... conveyed the profound nature of intimacy as it would be if love were an act of divinity and a result of our innate quest and yearning for the ideal union.

Donald Kuspit writes in an essay in reference to this newest work:

“Art History, Desire, Beauty: Dianne Blell's Photo-Tableaus,”
The structure of the composition establishes an ideal space in which perfect love is possible. It is a love between beings perfect in their own way, yet needing each other to consummate their perfection and confirm their ideality. In Blell's ... art the male and female figures, however ostensibly different, are always in harmonious balance, and thus enduringly in union.

Dianne Blell lives and works in New York City. Her work has been featured in many solo exhibitions at such venues as the Krannert Art Museum at he University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana; the Los Angeles Institute for Contemporary Art, California; the Houston Center for Photography, Texas; Leo Castelli Gallery, New York; Robert Stefanotti Gallery, New York; John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco. She received her BFA and MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Contact Dianne Blell

ART IN THE HAMPTONS
Publication: The East Hampton Press & The Southampton Press
Scene Has Changed For Truly Local Artists
By Pat Rogers
May 27, 08 2:36 PM

The days are gone when practically every East End gallery exhibited artists who live and work in the Hamptons. Now, trying to find the pulse of the strictly local arts scene—at least from a gallery standpoint—can require a little searching.
Last weekend, two galleries made that search a bit easier by putting on view works by East End artists. At these two galleries, it’s possible to take in a brief survey of old school modern art and what’s happening right now.
The Spanierman Gallery at East Hampton has put on view “An East End Tradition: Six Artists,” featuring Dan Christensen (1942-2007), Jimmy Ernst (1920-1984), Balcomb Greene (1904-1990), Gertrude Greene (1904-1990), Charlotte Park (b. 1918) and Betty Parsons (1900-1982).
The exhibition puts art on view that spans at least one decade of each artist’s life. In Gertrude Greene’s case, the show provides a mini-retrospective, ranging from drawings from the 1930s to paintings that reflect her changing interests in the 1940s and ’50s.
The Gideon Stein Gallery in Bridgehampton has put fresh local faces on view in “Local Yield.” All of the artists are emerging, beginning, or trying to advance their careers. The gallery itself is new, having launched its first show last fall when Mr. Stein moved to the area and made himself an “artist-in-residence” in Bridgehampton.
The show includes paintings by gallery owner Gideon Stein, Lynn Dunham of Southampton, Tom Connor of Wartermill. Sculpture includes work by Dennis Leri of Springs, Hunter Herrick of Westhampton and Scott Partlow of Bridgehampton. Mr. Stein has several installations on the grounds.
Both exhibitions opened on Saturday. The show at the Spanierman Gallery at East Hampton continues through June 23. Works at the Gideon Stein Gallery remain on view through June 11. Separately, representatives from both galleries expressed a love for the artwork and the belief that the works on view represent a slice of time and a sense of place.
According to Helen Spanierman, the artists on view incorporate the sights and sounds of the East End into their works, whether it’s Balcomb Greene’s geometric abstracts of Montauk landscapes or the colors and shapes found in Charlotte Park’s abstract art made in her Springs studio.
“It seemed to us that the area has riches of artists and cultural happenings,” she said. “One of the reasons they come here is the light that makes this a garden spot of the world. The light is so exquisite and is matched only by the light in the North Sea area of Europe, where artists also gather. This is because of the content of moisture and the way the light refracts. The greens you experience are breathtaking.”
Each of the artists has been exhibited before in solo or group shows at Spanierman’s East Hampton gallery. The gallery opened in 2006 with a mission to exhibit area artists who have been an integral part of the Hamptons art colony and whose work has had an impact on American art history. There is something special about the artists who have lived and worked here that deserves special attention, Mrs. Spanierman said.
Spanierman has two galleries in Manhattan: Spanierman Gallery LLC and Spanierman Modern. Spanierman Gallery LLC focuses on American art from the 19th and 20th centuries. Spanierman Modern exhibits contemporary masters.
The Spaniermans are longtime residents of East Hampton who saw a need for a gallery devoted to the art stars of the East End. The gallery took over the former Lizan Tops Gallery, whose focus was on local contemporary artists. Last year, the Arlene Bujese Gallery closed its doors after nearly 10 years in East Hampton. Its focus was also on contemporary area artists. The gallery was located across a shared parking lot from Lizan Tops.
“We have the longest and oldest active artist colony in America and that bounty of artists from the area that form its core is an important one,” Mrs. Spanierman said. “We opened the gallery here with the intention to show these artists and bring attention to them.”
Like his gallery, Mr. Stein is a newcomer to the Hamptons, though he summered in East Hampton and Bridgehampton as a child. After artistic stints in Woodstock and Brooklyn, he decided to move to the East End and change his primary focus from artist to gallery owner. His gallery is located two doors down from the former Elaine Benson Gallery. Like the Benson Gallery, the Gideon Stein Gallery has outdoor space to exhibit sculpture. Mr. Stein’s gallery will focus on new and emerging artists from the area, he said.
“Local Yield” features artwork he has discovered and been enchanted by in the last six months. He spied Mr. Herrick’s work at a Bonac Tonic group show at Ashawagh Hall. Mr. Partlow’s wood sculptures were spotted at Daria Deshuk’s studio in Bridgehampton. He learned of Ms. Dunham’s work after meeting her at Mark Borghi Fine Art in Bridgehampton, where she works. Mr. Leri and Mr. Connor heard of the new gallery and showed Mr. Stein samples of their work, which he considered top-notch.
While future exhibitions are expected but not yet planned, Mr. Stein said he intends to continue exhibiting works by local artists. Shows will be held at the Bridgehampton gallery, next summer at Ashawagh Hall and in alternate venues as the opportunity arises. He is especially impressed with the energy manifested by the new Arts 4 Bonac Tonic collective (Arts4BT for short) and plans to exhibit the work of members. Mr. Stein exhibited some of his own work at Arts4BT’s Umbrella Show held last weekend at Stella Maris.
“They’ve got such great energy and they’re making things happen,” Mr. Stein said. “These are the artists I want to show. Young artists and emerging ones who are just starting to make their names in the art world.”
Of course, the Spanierman Gallery at East Hampton and the Gideon Stein Gallery aren’t the only places to see sprawling group shows of work by area artists. The Ross School Gallery in East Hampton is currently exhibiting “Narratives: Real and Imagined: Eight East End Artists.” The show was curated by the school’s seventh-grade students. Local artists featured are John Alexander, Michael Butler, Eric Fischl, Jim Gingerich, April Gornik, Lisa Kiss, Randall Rosenthal and Lounah Starr. The show remains on view through June 11.
Ashawagh Hall in Springs features principally weekend shows that frequently feature artwork by area artists. The annual Springs Improvement Society Art Show was held there last weekend. This weekend brings the 20th anniversary show of the East End Photographers Group. The show opens on Saturday and remains on view through June 8. The 70th Annual Members Show at Guild Hall puts local art front and center. The show, featuring artists with last names beginning with A through L, remains on view through June 7. Exhibitions at the East End Arts Council Gallery in Riverhead typically include artists from the Hamptons.

Ms. Rogers did not include every gallery in the Hamptons featuring local artists. There simply would not be enough space. I will take this opportunity to highlight the Fire Place Project in The Springs, East Hampton. The Fireplace Project is a contemporary art gallery located in the former Talmage garage at 851 Springs Fireplace Road, in the Springs historic district across from the Pollock-Krasner house. It features solo exhibitions, curated group exhibitions, and artists’ projects. The gallery presents artists - but does not represent artists.
The Fireplace Project is directed by Edsel Williams, formerly the exhibitions director of the GREEN BARN in Sagaponack, and GLENN HOROWITZ in East Hampton.
Hours are Friday through Sunday from 12:00 to 6:00 PM and by appointment. Please call to confirm hours. The organization also hosts
Pollock-Krassner Lectures Series .

Friday, May 23, 2008

Make a Note of It...
Opening Tomorrow Night
LOCAL YIELD at
Gideon Stein Gallery
2297 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton
631-537-1900
Paintings and Sculpture by Local Artists
Lynn Dunham, Tom Connor, Hunter Herrick,
Dennis Leri and Scott Partlow
Opening Reception Saturday, May 24th 2008, 5-9pm
Exhibition Continues through Wednesday, June 11th

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

THE HOTEL CHELSEA


The New York neighborhood called Chelsea takes its name from the estate of British Army Captain Thomas Clarke, who retired to the then rural area after the French and Indian Wars. He named his estate - on the west side of Manhattan near the Hudson River - after London’s Royal Chelsea Hospital for soldiers. By the 1850s the land was divided into lots and developed. Today the area is a thriving neighborhood of brownstones, tenements, tree-lined streets, restaurants, and art galleries. In the midst of all this stands the Victorian Gothic beauty of the Chelsea Hotel. The hotel has always been a center of artistic and bohemian activity and it houses artwork created by many of the artists who have visited including the work of Truman Marquez (posted on and linked to this blog). The hotel was the first building to be listed by New York City as a cultural preservation site and historic building of note. The twelve-story red-brick building that now houses the Hotel Chelsea was built in 1883 as a private apartment cooperative that opened in 1884; it was the tallest building in New York until 1899. At the time Chelsea, and particularly the street on which the hotel was located, was the center of New York's Theater District. Within a few years the combination of economic worries and the relocation of theaters bankrupted the Chelsea cooperative. In 1905, the building was purchased and opened as a hotel.

This landmark has attracted famous guests and residents. It is both a birth place of creative modern art. Bob Dylan composed songs while staying at the Chelsea, and poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso chose it as a place for philosophical and intellectual exchange. On the other hand it is famed for its guest engaging in illegal, illicit and bad behavior. Poet, Dylan Thomas died of alcohol poisoning on in 1953 while staying there and where Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols may have stabbed his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, to death on October 12, 1978.

Visitors and residents of the Chelsea Hotel include Eugene O’Neil, and Arthur C. Clarke (who wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey while in residence). Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and the Grateful Dead passed through the hotels doors in the 1960s. Virgil Thompson, Larry Rivers, William Burroughs, Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Patti Smith, Arthur Miller, Dylan Thomas, and many, many others stayed here too. Marquez recalls staying in the same room as Thomas Wolfe. Perhaps these ghosts residing here have influenced guests through osmosis.

The hotel is located on West 23rd Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues, in the heart of the art infused Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. It is centrally located between Greenwich Village and Midtown. From the front door of the hotel, one can easily walk to the Chelsea art galleries, the Meatpacking District, the Flatiron building, and Union Square. A short taxi or subway ride will bring you to Times Square, Central Park, Greenwich Village, Soho, and other New York City destinations.

The Chelsea boasts a selection of accommodations. Its rich history as home to greats in literature and art is reflected in the rooms that are filled with natural light (often floor-to-ceiling windows), eclectic period and modern furnishings and a sense of spaciousness. Artful décor can reflect the Belle Epoque or Today, as there is a legacy in each. It is completely modernized with Air Conditioning, Cable TV, Comfortable Parlors in the Suites, Studios with Kitchenette, Full Ensuite Bath or with Shower, Rooms with Shared Bath, often Work Areas with Desk and Ample Lighting Daily Maid Service.

Monday, May 12, 2008

TOP TWENTY-SIX
Marketing Checklist for Fine Artists

Your comments are welcome. Did I leave anything out?

1. Commit at least 8 hours per month to marketing or hire someone who will.

2. Acquire a Business Tax Registration certificate and Sales Tax permit allowing you to purchase supplies wholesale (write off expenses-keep your receipts) and charge sales tax (pay sales tax)if you are self representing.

3. Purchase your domain name (http://www.yourname.com/) and get web design assistance from http://www.websiteforartists.com/ to establish an online portfolio.

4. Hire a photographer or shoot your own work as it is completed.

5. Title your jpegs with your name, title, size, medium with underscores to separate so all the details are in the file name.

6. Juried archival sites like re-title, artists space, white columns and saatchi are good for exposure to other artists and curators. These sites are on the http://www.lynndunham.blogspot.com/ site along with many other useful links. Beware of the company you keep with unjuried sites like boundless gallery, fine art America, paintings direct - just to name a few.

7. Print business cards with your name, address, phone number, email and web address, to distribute.

8. Research galleries, museums and collectors to target and start a data base for mailing and phoning.

9. Beware of "vanity" galleries who ask for membership fees and payment for catalogues. A legitimate gallery which believes in you will be willing to take an up front risk and produce a catalogue at their own expense (or at least split the cost with you), pay for promotional materials and advertising and host an opening. Their investment is recovered in their commission so they have a vested interest in making a sale where as the vanity gallery without an investment has less incentive to promote a sale. If you are involved with a "vanity" gallery, think of it as a venue to show work and be proactive with your own promotion.

10. Beware of artists' coops (or vanity galleries with a large stable of artists) posting calls for entries. The existing artist stable may be guaranteed inclusion in the show. With limited wall space, there might be hundreds or thousands of submissions for only a handful of spots available. No matter how great your work is the odds of inclusive could be low. I know $35 entry fees are small but over and over it adds up so choose wisely.

11. Remember a gallery will sell your work to buyers but if you are seeking vast exposure, you or your publicist will need to sell "you the artist" to multiple galleries. With the internet, global exposure is more attainable than it has ever been. Most galleries will want an exclusive for a geographic area.

12. Negotiate a contract in writing with any gallery or representative with whom you become associated unless you thrive on danger. Don't do business on a hand shake or blind faith! This is a recipe for failure, being taken advantage of possibly legal action which costs more money and produces negative energy.

13. Read to keep informed at ArtCal, Artweek, ArtNews, Art in America, etc. These sites are on the http://www.lynndunham.blogspot.com/ site along with many other useful links.

14. Invest time in promotion or hire someone who will. Prepare collateral materials, send out cds and collateral materials to galleries, follow up by phone, research opportunities, connect with other artist live or virtually. Be sure your website address is published on all communication materials and keep it up to date.

15. Be aware of the local art scene if there is one.

16. Submit work to juried shows with a known juror.

17. Research and apply for grants that might be applicable.

18. Be computer literate. Use contact management software. Stay up-to-date.

19. Set deadlines/goals. Create a strategy to connect with art consultants, curators, galleries, museums with your work or hire someone who will.

20. Continually update your mailing list.

21. Go to openings at galleries who may be interested in your work and leave cards or postcards.

22. Create an Artist's Statement - Your Mantra and maintain an up-to-date bio/resume with exhibitions, education, collectors, and awards received.

23. Create a consignment receipt and bill of sale.

24. Create a pricing formula for your work.

25. Keep a catalogue of resources ie. framers, photographers, packers and shippers, printers, etc.

26. Be prepared for rejection...Don't lose momentum!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

LOCAL YIELD at
2297 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton
631-537-1900

Paintings and Sculpture by Local Artists
Tom Connor, Lynn Dunham, Hunter Herrick, Dennis Leri and Scott Partlow.
Opening Reception
Saturday, May 24th 2008, 5-9pm
Exhibition Continues through Wednesday, June 11th

Take the pulse of the local art scene with five dynamic East End artists, plus meet the brains behind this eponymously named gallery, Gideon Stein. “The artists in this show represent some of the handpicked explosion of homegrown talent that I have selected from the area.” Says Stein, “and their produce is the freshest on the market. The East End is a true artist’s community. The bonds we feel are palpable, and the energy to co-conspire is contagious. I’m proud to exhibit such a fine assemblage of my artist colleagues”.

Tom Connor’s maritime oil portrait of an original 1903 schooner reminds us of timeless relaxation, the sea, and why we love the Hamptons. Connor lives and works in Watermill.

Lynn Dunham’s sensitive abstract panels on linen glide along our field of view; the spaces let our imagination fill in the blanks. Dunham lives and works in Southampton.

Hunter Herrick introduces us to the vision of the upcoming generation of East End artists with his precision welded steel works. Herrick lives and works in Westhampton.

Dennis Leri will be the first sculptor to install large-scale outdoor abstract metal sculptures in the gallery’s new sculpture garden in Bridgehampton. “The distinct nature of a medium dictates technique and demands exploration. The sense of immediacy and oneness of purpose with the material(s) takes me on a joyful journey of chance discoveries” says Leri. Leri lives and works in East Hampton.

Scott Partlow’s wood sculptures have begun to attract the attention of some of the most prominent art collectors in the area. His work makes us wish we had beachfront mansions to put his works in, then again, some of us do. Partlow lives and works in Bridgehampton.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Gregory Coates video walk through of his exhibition, Postions.

More Later...Stay tuned.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Coming Up...
The GUILD HALL 70th Annual Artist Member's Exhibition
Last Names A-L Opens Saturday night, May 10, 4-6pm
158 Main Street
East Hampton, NY 11937

See the work of Gabriel Shuldiner at
Parsons School Of Design MFA Fine Arts Studios
25 East 13th Street - 5th Floor
Monday, May 12th 2008
6:00pm - 8:00pm

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