Chelsea Gallerista

Enrique Chagoya -  Return to Goya No 9  - is that Obama in a frock? Yes it is!  Chagoya's cheeky seal I recently discovered the wonderful International Print Center NY , a shrine to all things pulped, pressed and printed - in ways that a camera or traditional brush and canvas are not. The center is non-profit and relies the support of annual auctions and some very generous artist benefactors.  For example, the above etching, an edition of 50, was donated by MOMA-lauded printmaking lecturer from San Francisco, Enrique Chagoya, featuring his signature wit and irreverence - in this case, Obama in a frock, and executed in the style of Goya.  The Denver Post featured this story of a woman who smashed her way into Chagoya's show in Loveland, denouncing what some locals felt were blasphemous images. Well, as they say, better to be talked about than not talked about ... My surge of interest in printmaking was inspired by a friend, Kate Holoka, a...

There Ain’t Time To Argue! Oil, spray paint, and enamel on canvas, 58 x 52 inches. This is my favorite. It's a huge work. RIGHT NOW, it couldn't be more politically incorrect for me to "like" this exhibition. Congresswomen Gabrielle Gifford lies breathing through a tube somewhere in Tucson, recovering from a point-blank gunshot wound to the head. Pro and anti-gun squabbles are loud and vocal. Psychoanalysis is the discipline of the day, as authorities try to work out how to spot nutjobs before they crack. So, it's with great trepidation that I dare even blog about this show, although the vivid poster-like images sitting in the large window of Lyon's Weir gallery caught my eye long before the tragic incident. Trouble Ahead Oil, spray paint, and enamel on canvas, 22 x 22 inches  I love the highly textured, thick blue thought bubble. Matt Straub hails from Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he "spent his early years hitchhiking and hopping freig...

I CONFESS that a week ago, I didn't give much thought to collecting photographs. Perhaps due to the push-button instant gratification of the camera, it always seemed the "easy way out" compared to artfully splashing about layers of paint or fashioning grand canyons out of core ten steel (a la Richard Serra). I've since done a 180-degree about face, partly due to a friend's recent purchase of a vintage photo that led me to "real deal" photo gallerista Deborah Bell , enthusiastic art consultant Brian Appel , and a fascinating series of mini-talks entitled "511: Holiday Focus on Photography"  this past weekend. The 20-minute talks by the seven galleries were excellent but scheduled a bit too tightly, leaving no room to browse before you had to beat it to the elevator to see the next. (A 30-40 minute window, leaving time to ponder the just-discussed work, would have made more sense). One thing I noticed was how affable and friendly this b...

One of Bennett's many works featuring his famous "knit stitch". "What's a Oregon painting doing in the blog of Chelsea Gallerista, New York City? Well, it's my blog, so I'll finagle the GPS if I want to ... Sticks and Stones" by Paul Alan Bennett is sitting on a friend's wall in Eugene, Oregon, waiting to emigrate to the Coast where I am currently loitering with intent.  It may well have heralded the end of my wandering days as a solo bicycle adventurette. The print, one of an edition of 250, is about as big as the biggest flat screen TV turned sideways. It's framed - not the sort of thing you should be buying if you're in the move!  I'm still trying to decide if I should just gift it to him - the shipping of this very large painting will probably warrant just buying it again ($275) and re-framing it.  Something captivated me about this picture, when I saw it in a flyer on a notice board. Probably because it'...

"Bird Void", a still from Chris Doyle's video installation Waste_Generation Andrew Edlin gallery, "the middle one" of the 10th Ave trio of Lori Bookstein, Andrew Edlin and Alexander & Bonin is currently showing a captivating multimedia work by Chris Doyle , an artist famous for working with projected images in public spaces. Here's my favorite work in the exhibition -  a duotrans movie still called "Bird Void" from his trippy floor-to-ceiling video projection screening in an adjacent room. Illuminated as a lightbox, it features a kaleidoscopic digital backdrop overlayed with smokestacks reminiscent of the artist's hometown Brooklyn, surrealistically etched by the negative silhouettes of menacing crows. Though the artist demurs that this is a save-the-planet message or political message, that's the overarching sentiment. It's best summed up by the Edlin team on the gallery's site: ... In it a dump site for outmoded to...

While not technically in Chelsea - more like Midtown - I just attended the massive adult toy ( G-rated) extravaganza, Comic-Con, at the Javitz center. Read about it on my Galfromdownunder Upover blog . It's worth it - there's a movie!

Back in February I blogged about the amazing seed-beaded Munny dolls by Jan Huling . Popping by Lyons Weir Gallery recently I spotted her latest effort - a violin. It struck me that this would make the most wonderful prize for a student violin competition - it's Stradivarius on steroids! To remind you of Janet's original bead-breaking work, here's also a new item in her catalog - a beaded Kewpie doll. I'm just waiting for her to do a beaded Smartcar, then for someone to actually drive it ... or perhaps a beaded bicycle? Read my original post about Jan Huling