Artzine

Artzine finally got some sleep, Nov 11, 2007-After three months of working every weekend at Supreme Trading, it was nice doing almost nothing this past fri and sat. As most of you know, I really got into the late night gallery thing and after Vellum’s show, I promoted Peter Barrett’s “morphologies” for three weeks then worked Cannonball Press’ Prints Gone Wild extravaganza.. Both were great experiences. Peter’s work is organic abstraction that borders the line between sculpture and painting. He spends endless hours cutting intricate pieces of MDF then paints them beautifully in oil. While Velum’s show was more an exercise in painterly hipness, Barrett creates more formal meditative pieces. The Cannonball show was just crazy. Picture a couple dozen printmakers from all over the country selling everything from t-shirts, canvas bags, to skateboards with their creations stamped on. Drive By Press is from Austin, Texas and travels the country selling their woodcut prints out of the back. They charge $10 to put one of their pictures on anything you bring them. A few Vellum alum have some shows coming up. Marcy Brafman is co-curating Meet Qute next week at Elizabeth Heskin gallery in soho (Nov 15, 94 Prince St. 6-9p). The show is a western look at “kawai” a term conjured up by contemporary Japanese artists in portraying the unspeakable or darkness in society using something that is aesthetically cute. Carter Davis is preparing for a solo show at The English Kills Gallery in Bushwick which will be in Jan. He’s currently working on a painting that borders the line between a labryrinth and “Beach Fire” the work that appeared on the cover of Vellum’s last issue. If you’re familiar with Carter’s work then you know the show will be awesome. He’s one of the most talented painters I’ve seen in recent years. Jacob Ouillette who was also in “Number 5 and Beyond” is doing a little something in mid-Dec. Before he moves into his new 2 bedroom condo in Chelsea he’ll have a four day salon of just his drawings in the space. The opening is december-13th, more details to follow.THE END Sept 22, 2007-Our last nt at the Gallery was da bomb. All my favorite people from ST were around. I’d like to give a shout out to my favorite bartenders Chris and Eamon, who I spent most of my time with these last five weeks. Fernando, the sound guy who I could always count on to show up, Security Matt + CJ for taking care of the art when it got late and crazy, mgr. judy for always letting me know what's up and Owners Laura + Craig for being totally cool. Supreme Trading is an incredible space that runs on minimal staffing which makes for a unique experience for anyone who gets involved. Go down and support. The night itself was bittersweet and busy. Four amazing bands (in particular susu) played and at midnight there was an after party for another. Dozens of people came through and we kept the gallery open until 2am. Where else can you look at paintings and sculpture at 2am? Even though it wasn’t an official closing several of the artists like Ted Stanke, Jacob Ouillette and Anna Souvorov showed up to lend support and talk to the crowd. For some reason, it seemed that every other person wanted to know if the artists were there. Someone at the bar must’ve been spreading the word. One guy asked if I was Andy Piedilato’s representation, another said he’d buy ted’s penny piece if it was $7000 not $8000. Yeah, I’m gonna miss those late nights on N8th."NUMBER 5 + BEYOND" HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO SEPT 21st!late night, Sept 16, 2007-When the chick in the orange and black striped scoop neck top started touching cinder block wall, it was time to close the gallery. I don’t know if you can say ‘please do not touch the paintings’ or if there even is a nice way to say it, oh well. DO NOT TOUCH THE PAINTINGS. Friday, the gallery was overcrowded with people who came out to Williamsburg for the late night thing. I heard there were some crazy mardi gras inspired performances around the block at Jack The Pelican. ST was pretty normal, a lot of people came through and everyone liked the work. Only two more weeks and then back to normalcy. I’m actually looking forward to it, even though it’s been a great run, this working in ‘a club’ five nights a week along with my regular job is killing me. I’m sure I’ll miss it though when it’s over.September 9, 2007-Well, the fall openings started and to tell you honestly I was a bit disappointed. The first place I went on Thursday was Stux to see Dean’s show. It looked really cool and a lot of the paintings I had already seen. I guess you could describe his work as a whimsical graphic look at psychological spaces. Afterwards, I headed over to 27th street and wasn’t impressed with anything. I decided to venture into new territory and headed down to the lower east side where a bunch of galleries have sprung up. The vibe is so much better than chelsea because you have people who are truly hip (not just wearing the latest fashions trying to be hip). I stopped over at Amy Smith Stewart’s new gallery who had an incredible painter named Ylva Ogland. Ylva does exquisitely beautiful paintings of a prepubescent girl and her world which includes a needle and heroin? Her style reminded me of a cross between Renoir, Rembrandt and Vermeer. Definitely something you don’t see too often in the artworld these days. Her use of light is extraordinary. I also stopped by luxe and 31 grand. Both had some cool stuff. Later, I was invited to a party at a famous collector’s which was a neat experience. The minute I entered his duplex it was wall to wall of all the hot artists currently doing the round of biennials. Kinda cool. I still think the work at Supreme Trading is better :). Speaking of, the gallery was pretty crowded the last couple of nts. sat, there were two birthday parties plus the usual art crowd and about a million people came through. I like when people hang out in front of certain paintings and talk, to me that means the show is working. Plus the dj on board was killer.Calm before the storm, Sept 3, 2007-Because of Labor Day, this past week at the gallery was kind of slow but there were still some interesting people who came through. On Wed, Carter and Andy hung out and talked to my Mom about their paintings. Carter just finished a new one which is based on a labyrinth. Thursday, Meridith brought another artist Yuko Oda through who does interesting things with little sculptures that I believe she turns into animated figures. Meridith is currently on her way to the Soap Factory in Minnesota to be in a group show called “Host” curated by Elizabeth Grady. She’s showing two pieces and the opening is this week. Kim Babcock who’s featured in number 5 stopped by on Friday and liked what she saw. She thought Carter’s painting “Shredder” was really fresh and interesting. Whenever Carter comes by he mentions that all three paintings in the exhibit (Shredder, Beach Fire and Wave) you can see the raw canvas. He wants people to know that the work isn’t painted over. Every time I go into the gallery I see something else in Carter’s work. He’s definitely doing amazing things. Saturday, three really interesting bands played. I hung out with Judy who manages ST and a couple of her friends. One of them, Dan is a keyboardist in a really cool band called “Brain Finger” they definitely have a stranglers thing going on. If you’re reading this then you’re hearing one of their songs. I love that psychedelic horror flick stuff, it’s totally hip, man. David Gibson dropped by and showed me the list for this week's fall openings. Shawn and Ted also stopped by for a minute. Ted’s going to be in a show at Luna Lounge on Metropolitan Ave in the Burg on Wed, Sept 5. It’s one night of art and music. Sunday eve me and Chris (bartender at ST) decided to have a barbeque. It turned out to be a really mellow crowd and everyone had a chance to taste Tofurky Italian Sausages. A friend of Chris’ from the west coast called Duser came through. Duser is an amazing street artist/DJ. He just finished a small mural in Park Slope which looked incredible. There was also an old poster of his still stuck up on the wall across the street from the club. A friend of his, Eric also came down. Eric is currently working as an assistant to Elizabeth Huey and is also an artist. Duser says he’s going to be djing at this big event with Ratatat and Kool Keith in a couple of weeks. He thought Andy’s paintings were really cool. Check out his stuff at dusermania.comAfter the opening, August 26th, 2007-10 days into Vellum’s Number 5 + Beyond exhibit has been fab. Since the gallery is part of the Supreme Trading complex which includes a bar and live venue I’ve had to adjust the hours and time spent at the gallery to coincide with getting the most exposure for the show. The beautiful art crowd shows up on Thursday and Saturday. This past Thurs Andy P came down and helped me sit the gallery. He also spoke about his new painting “Orange Fence” which everyone loves. Last Saturday Nathan Ritterspusch came down and loved the paintings. He told me he’d be happy to be in Vellum’s next show. Meridith Pingree has been around daily tweaking her “yellow star” kinetic sculpture and also keeping me company. Other regulars are Marcy Brafman who brings treats like green tea lattes, lip balm and mosquito coils. Friday nights at Supreme Trading caters to a rock crowd. A band called the Texas Democrats played and brought in a lot of people. Ted Stanke and Shawn Bucholtz showed up late and Ted spoke to some people who were taking pix standing next to his “cent” sculpture. Most people who’ve come into the gallery comment on the “cent” piece. I guess it just has that mass appeal. Last night, there was a private tasting party and I spoke to an amazing graffiti artist originally from Seattle who goes by the tag “SAD” which are his initials. He showed me a piece done entirely in chalk on his blackberry. He said he liked the idea and left some parts unfinished so kids could fill it in. The piece was done somewhere in Chelsea. He really liked the show especially ‘Reflection’ by Shawn Bucholtz. A lot of people have been asking about prices and taking the price list which is amazing. I think almost every piece has gotten some interest from someone who wanted to know ‘how much’. Even though today was a slow Sunday in August the few people who stopped by took a price list and asked me about specific pieces. Marcy, and my curator mentor David Gibson showed up to lend support as did painter Jacob Ouillette. The staff at Supreme Trading are totally awesome. From the bartenders to the owners to security everyone really cares and makes sure the gallery is taken care of. Make sure to check the ‘official hours’ blog week to week on this page while the show is up to know when we’ll be open and stop by often. peace"Number 5 + Beyond"-August 16, 2007. Thursday night was like a dream come true. It was the opening for Vellum’s first curatorial effort and turned out to be a big success. 500+ people showed up and everyone had a fab time. The idea behind the exhibit was to showcase artists featured in the mag along with new people that we’re interested in. It was an eclectic mix of painting, sculpture and more painting. There were huge canvases (8’x 8’) by Andy Piedilato, including his latest “Orange Fence” which he brought to the gallery on Monday with the paint still wet. Andy’s making some very important work using an urban landscape consisting of subway tiles, bricks, construction fences and seedy 99 cent stores. Within this landscape he continues his gestural mark making and produces striking images that can’t be ignored. To his right, Carter Davis showed a large painting consisting of a skateboard and mop surrounded by exquisite painterly marks in shades of blue. Carter’s paintings are complex motifs of figures in an abstract environment. Another, “Beach Fire” which appears on the cover of Vellum no. 5 is a beautiful layering of patterns in flame colors. While “Wave”, is probably one of his strongest. Done mostly in shades of yellow it combines many figures and faces in a dense forest of leaves and foliage and takes you to another place. His painting is all about shapes and displays a masterful control of the medium. Marcy Brafman’s graffiti inspired figures made you smile. Her paintings find their influence from old cartoons and strips down the figure to basic elements of line, bright color and incredible sentiment. “I found It” appears on the back cover of no. 5. The show's centerpiece “Yellow Star” by Meridith Pingree hung left of center. A kinetic sculpture made out of plastic combs, motion sensors, yellow plastic and motors kept everyone entertained throughout the night. “Sound Study” by Tom Kotik, was the model for his latest “Architecture of Silence” series where sound is looked at in a political way. The small box resembling a speaker was meticulously crafted and painted red. “Cent” by Ted Stanke is a huge 5’ x 5’ sculpture made out of thousands of pennies strung together acting as a background for a Lincoln head made up of different pieces of found metal. The coin series by Ted looks at the relationship between artist and commerce and how money affects our lives in so many different ways. He’s currently working on a brain series made up entirely of found Barbie doll pieces. Overall, “Number 5 + Beyond” was a collection of the underground artworld’s brightest stars.