In this art exhibit are oil paintings, pastel prints, pencil drawings and engraving art. They are paintings with titles like “Portrait of a Lady,” “Lovely Day at the Park,” “Seascape,” “The Garden” and “Ocean Fish.”
They have been painted by those with schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. They are the ones who many think would be the last ones to patiently express themselves with serene, detailed, three-
dimensional perspective paintings.
“A lot of people think those with major mental illness are just violent, capricious, impulsive,” Tony Foster said. “We get accused of being lazy because of a debilitating condition.
“There seems to be a caricature of somebody out of their tree instead of someone suffering pretty bad and trying to make it through this life.”
The Agape Center Art Exhibit 2012 is a first for the peer support group center for those with a mental illness. Almost 90 drawings are on display and for sale through Saturday at the Panhandle Art Center, adjacent to The Galleries at Sunset Center, 3701 Plains Blvd.
The purpose is twofold: to raise money for a center that operates on a shoestring budget and to counter the stereotypes of those who fight the unpredictable demons of mental illness.
“There’s so many stigmas out there,” said Bonnie Taylor, interim executive director of Agape Center. “We get painted in a lot of ways.”
No irony intended. Taylor has eight pieces of art on display that she completed over two months.
The Agape Center, governed by Amarillo Area Mental Health Consumers, has quietly operated in the basement of Buchanan Street Chapel, 1515 S. Buchanan St. for 15 years. It offers support groups, peer counseling, employee assistance, social outings, crafts and other outlets.
“It’s about getting people back into the community and being productive citizens,” said Foster, who is in the process of taking a break as executive director. “We have people going to college, trying to get their degree. It’s about working with the whole person, and turning that person into something useful in society.”
Foster was referred to the Agape Center in 2003. He was battling clinical depression and panic disorder. It was, he said, “excruciating.” The therapy he found helped ease his inner pain.
“There’s people there who understood how I was feeling and weren’t going to judge me,” Foster said. “There’s a collective group of people who have a common experience that make you feel accepted and comfortable.”
Those who show improvement over time often become staff members, facilitators in group discussion, or in Foster’s case, executive director. Agape Center receives a yearly grant from the state, but beyond that, fundraises to remain viable.
“By the end of the fiscal year, I always wonder how we can provide transportation and keep the lights on,” he said. “Even though what we do is important, it doesn’t have that big of a fanfare, and it should. It really should.”
The art exhibit came along almost by happenstance. Marcia Morgan, who has a background in art, began teaching a class at Agape Center last September. About a dozen decided to give it a try.
“They were eager to learn, were engaging, wanted to please,” Morgan said. “They were proud of their work, and it gave them a sense of value.”
Foster said the class came at the right time, a pick-them-up when things were running a little stagnant.
“I don’t want to sound melodramatic, but it was kind of flat, and this got people moving,” he said. “It was an impetus that got people excited about life again.”
Over several months, the artwork began to add up, and, for novices, the work was surprisingly good. Very few pieces, if any, reflect dark moods. In January, Agape and the Panhandle Art Center agreed to partner for the exhibit that opened April 6.
It is a way to showcase their art, and a way to raise a bit of money. Maybe there’s a statement too, that these handful, among an estimated 25.5 million in the U.S. who have schizophrenia, clinical depression or are bipolar, are just looking to better their lives and feel good about themselves.
2012年4月22日星期日
2012年4月17日星期二
Earth Celebration Day planned by Renfrew Institute
A full day of discovery, education, music, art and shopping is planned during Renfrew Institute’s Earth Celebration Day and Festival of Art fun from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 28, at Renfrew Park in Waynesboro.
Now in its 22nd year, the celebration also features a clothesline art exhibit and dozens of exhibitor displays featuring everything from beekeeping to archaeology to gardening. Held in conjunction with the event, the seventh annual Recycle/Reuse Yard Sale is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the park.
Twenty area artists will display, demonstrate and sell their works during the Festival of Art. These include a variety of fine art, jewelry, photography, basketry, garden art and pottery. Earth themes will be in the spotlight.
“The goal is to offer to the public the concept that art, in its many forms, reflects our effort to celebrate the earth and its life through artistic expression,” said Melodie Anderson-Smith, institute executive director.
The seventh annual “Renfrew Institute Environmental Artistry Award” will be presented to a local artist, in honor of outstanding lifetime achievement.
Art activities for children will be offered.
Slim Harrison will returns this year with his “good time mountain music.” Kids can use his handmade instruments or bring their own to play along as part of the Sunnyland Band.
Local artist and musician, Patric Schlee will lead an “improv music session” beginning at 3 p.m.
“Bring drums, flutes, guitars or a didgeridoo — any instrument — and jam with Earth Day Concert No. 3,” Anderson-Smith said. The improv session is open to everyone.
Several hands-on, earth-friendly activities are planned. A creek cleanup is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., hosted by Franklin County Conservation District. Anyone interested in helping should bring gloves.
The Franklin County Commissioners and Washington Township supervisors are sponsoring free personal document shredding from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Washington Township office parking lot off Welty Road. There is a limit of 10 bags or boxes per person, and the following items cannot be processed: newspapers, three-ring binders, carbon paper, film, metal, cardboard, trash or heavy plastics.
In the spirit of recycling, several area groups are collecting items for reuse or proper disposal. The Lions Club will collect used eyeglasses and cell phones, and Summitview Elementary School will collect used printer cartridges (no copy toner cartridges). A disposal bin for used batteries will be available. All types of household and electronic device batteries are accepted, except large acid batteries that exceed 11 pounds.
CFAR/Waynesboro Running organizers are collecting “gently used running shoes” to support the Waynesboro Area Middle School running team.
Again this year, the Franklin County Commissioners will present an official proclamation declaring April as Earth Awareness Month. A ceremonial tree planting is also planned.
Now in its 22nd year, the celebration also features a clothesline art exhibit and dozens of exhibitor displays featuring everything from beekeeping to archaeology to gardening. Held in conjunction with the event, the seventh annual Recycle/Reuse Yard Sale is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the park.
Twenty area artists will display, demonstrate and sell their works during the Festival of Art. These include a variety of fine art, jewelry, photography, basketry, garden art and pottery. Earth themes will be in the spotlight.
“The goal is to offer to the public the concept that art, in its many forms, reflects our effort to celebrate the earth and its life through artistic expression,” said Melodie Anderson-Smith, institute executive director.
The seventh annual “Renfrew Institute Environmental Artistry Award” will be presented to a local artist, in honor of outstanding lifetime achievement.
Art activities for children will be offered.
Slim Harrison will returns this year with his “good time mountain music.” Kids can use his handmade instruments or bring their own to play along as part of the Sunnyland Band.
Local artist and musician, Patric Schlee will lead an “improv music session” beginning at 3 p.m.
“Bring drums, flutes, guitars or a didgeridoo — any instrument — and jam with Earth Day Concert No. 3,” Anderson-Smith said. The improv session is open to everyone.
Several hands-on, earth-friendly activities are planned. A creek cleanup is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., hosted by Franklin County Conservation District. Anyone interested in helping should bring gloves.
The Franklin County Commissioners and Washington Township supervisors are sponsoring free personal document shredding from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Washington Township office parking lot off Welty Road. There is a limit of 10 bags or boxes per person, and the following items cannot be processed: newspapers, three-ring binders, carbon paper, film, metal, cardboard, trash or heavy plastics.
In the spirit of recycling, several area groups are collecting items for reuse or proper disposal. The Lions Club will collect used eyeglasses and cell phones, and Summitview Elementary School will collect used printer cartridges (no copy toner cartridges). A disposal bin for used batteries will be available. All types of household and electronic device batteries are accepted, except large acid batteries that exceed 11 pounds.
CFAR/Waynesboro Running organizers are collecting “gently used running shoes” to support the Waynesboro Area Middle School running team.
Again this year, the Franklin County Commissioners will present an official proclamation declaring April as Earth Awareness Month. A ceremonial tree planting is also planned.
2012年4月11日星期三
Kaminski sells Chinese art collection
The outstanding art collection of Wen Tsan Yu with works by many famous Chinese artists, the most notable Qi Baishi sold for over $2.6 million dollars at Kaminski Auctions on March 30-31.
Other artists in the collection, included Puru and Pu Jin. Most paintings included a dedication by the artist to “Yu San,” Wen Tsan Yu and the collector’s personal seal. Also in this sale, was his collection of exquisitely painted fans, the most important being a 20th century fan of paper leaf and featuring painting by Wang Yun on reverse with calligraphy by Zhu Nuzhen.
“Yu's collection is one of the rare collections by a Chinese scholar to come to auction. This collection of art and antiques is among the best I've ever seen,” said Ben Wang, Asian specialist.
Five 20th century Chinese paintings by Qi Bashi sold at Kaminski’s March Fine Asian Art and Antique Sale for a record $2.3 million dollars to break all records for the artist. All five paintings were 20th century scroll paintings of ink and color on paper, signed and sealed Qi Bashi and dedicated by the artist to "Yu San," Wen Tsan Yu with the collector's personal seal.
Wen Tsan Yu was raised in China and later became a professor at Peking University. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1916 with a Ph.B, and from Harvard University in 1919 with a LL.B. The family's maternal great grandfather was Moy Toy Ni, who came to the United States in the late 1800s and settled in Milwaukee. He was widely known as “Chinese Rockefeller” in the early 20th century. Paintings in this collection had been in the family for over 50 years.
Chinese porcelain from the family's collection also brought top prices. A pair of Famille Verte bowls decorated with floral roundels, marked on the base in a double ring, sold for $300,000. From the Republic Period, a Famille Rose baluster form vase having a painted continuous landscape scene and a calligraphy mark on the base sold for $220,000.
The booming Chinese art market fueled bidding from all over the United States, Hong Kong and China for this rare Chinese scholar's collection.
Other artists in the collection, included Puru and Pu Jin. Most paintings included a dedication by the artist to “Yu San,” Wen Tsan Yu and the collector’s personal seal. Also in this sale, was his collection of exquisitely painted fans, the most important being a 20th century fan of paper leaf and featuring painting by Wang Yun on reverse with calligraphy by Zhu Nuzhen.
“Yu's collection is one of the rare collections by a Chinese scholar to come to auction. This collection of art and antiques is among the best I've ever seen,” said Ben Wang, Asian specialist.
Five 20th century Chinese paintings by Qi Bashi sold at Kaminski’s March Fine Asian Art and Antique Sale for a record $2.3 million dollars to break all records for the artist. All five paintings were 20th century scroll paintings of ink and color on paper, signed and sealed Qi Bashi and dedicated by the artist to "Yu San," Wen Tsan Yu with the collector's personal seal.
Wen Tsan Yu was raised in China and later became a professor at Peking University. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1916 with a Ph.B, and from Harvard University in 1919 with a LL.B. The family's maternal great grandfather was Moy Toy Ni, who came to the United States in the late 1800s and settled in Milwaukee. He was widely known as “Chinese Rockefeller” in the early 20th century. Paintings in this collection had been in the family for over 50 years.
Chinese porcelain from the family's collection also brought top prices. A pair of Famille Verte bowls decorated with floral roundels, marked on the base in a double ring, sold for $300,000. From the Republic Period, a Famille Rose baluster form vase having a painted continuous landscape scene and a calligraphy mark on the base sold for $220,000.
The booming Chinese art market fueled bidding from all over the United States, Hong Kong and China for this rare Chinese scholar's collection.
2012年4月10日星期二
Bradford Painting, Burl Bowl & Silver Lead At Cottone Auction
A wide range of quality materials ranging from Tiffany, Steuben and contemporary glass to paintings to folk art and rare Native American items attracted a large crowd for an action-packed sale at Cottone Auction on March 24.
Comprising more than 500 lots, the auction featured items from the estate of Thomas Buechner, a former director of the Brooklyn Museum and the founding director of the Corning Museum of Glass, as well as items deaccessioned from the Strong Museum, the Rochester Historical Society and items from the former collection of the Campbell-Whittlesey House Museum. Naturally, a complement of freshly picked quality merchandise from local homes was also presented.
Preview for the auction was packed in the days leading up to the sale, with a great deal of interest expressed in the paintings, many of which had come directly from local families. The list of works was impressive, including artists such as William Bradford, Thomas Buttersworth, Frederick Judd Waugh, William Aiken Walker, Ogden Pleissner, John James Audubon, Charles Sprague Pierce and Jules Joseph Lefebvre.
Other categories within the auction included an assortment of Asian materials consigned from a private collection, silver, bronzes, Native American items and advertising items.
Come sale time on Saturday morning, every one of the 250-plus seats in the spacious gallery was filled, and a good-sized crowd lined the walls of the room. Auctioneer Sam Cottone got things rolling right off the bat, and maintained a brisk and steady pace throughout the day. The sale kicked off with close to 30 lots of sterling, beginning with a Tiffany bowl with foliate decorated edge that sold above estimate at $1,150. Sterling flatware sets included a Tiffany Audubon pattern service, 54 pieces total, that opened for bidding at $3,000 and sold moments later for $6,095, a Gorham set in the Old Medici pattern at $5,060, and a Towle service that for 12 sold at $2,875.
The action heated up when a small silver spout cup by colonial Boston maker John Coney (1655/56–1722) was offered. The rare piece listed a single family provenance descending from Martin Brimmer (1697–1760), a politician and prominent businessman, member of the House of Representatives, the mayor of Boston and the first president of the Boston Museum of Art. Lineage continued through the family, with ties to Harriet Wadsworth by marriage in the early Nineteenth Century, and on down through the family to the present day.
Coney was considered one of the most important Boston silversmiths of his day, an engraver of the plates used for paper money in 1702. Coney's apprentice at the time of his death was Paul Revere's father. The classic spouted cup, fitted with an elegant handle and lid, carried an estimate of $30/50,000; it opened in the room at $30,000. A bid of $35,000 came from one of several telephone bidders, and then another at $40,000. A moment later, a phone bidder claimed the rare and important piece of colonial silver at $74,750. A similar example of the cup is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The top lot of the auction came as an untouched, original condition painting by William Bradford was offered. Consigned from a Buffalo, N.Y., family, the painting depicted several sailing vessels amid icebergs towering above a land mass. "It's untouched," said Cottone of the painting during preview. "It has the original stretcher and there has been no in-painting or restoration at all."
Measuring 18 by 30 inches, the painting attracted the interest of all of the major dealers, with at least six ready for action on the telephones. Bidding came primarily from two of the phones, with the painting opening below the $60/80,000 estimate at $50,000. Moving in $5,000 advances the whole way, the rare Bradford more than doubled expectations when it sold moments later to a telephone bidder for $166,750.
Another painting in the auction that attracted a great deal of attention had come from the Buechner estate, an oil depicting Diana, the goddess of hunt, perched on a rock with a bow in her hand and a crescent moon on her head. Cataloged as an "original condition" work, the painting by Jules Joseph Lefebvre listed a provenance of Schweitzer Gallery in New York City and was estimated at $20/40,000.
Comprising more than 500 lots, the auction featured items from the estate of Thomas Buechner, a former director of the Brooklyn Museum and the founding director of the Corning Museum of Glass, as well as items deaccessioned from the Strong Museum, the Rochester Historical Society and items from the former collection of the Campbell-Whittlesey House Museum. Naturally, a complement of freshly picked quality merchandise from local homes was also presented.
Preview for the auction was packed in the days leading up to the sale, with a great deal of interest expressed in the paintings, many of which had come directly from local families. The list of works was impressive, including artists such as William Bradford, Thomas Buttersworth, Frederick Judd Waugh, William Aiken Walker, Ogden Pleissner, John James Audubon, Charles Sprague Pierce and Jules Joseph Lefebvre.
Other categories within the auction included an assortment of Asian materials consigned from a private collection, silver, bronzes, Native American items and advertising items.
Come sale time on Saturday morning, every one of the 250-plus seats in the spacious gallery was filled, and a good-sized crowd lined the walls of the room. Auctioneer Sam Cottone got things rolling right off the bat, and maintained a brisk and steady pace throughout the day. The sale kicked off with close to 30 lots of sterling, beginning with a Tiffany bowl with foliate decorated edge that sold above estimate at $1,150. Sterling flatware sets included a Tiffany Audubon pattern service, 54 pieces total, that opened for bidding at $3,000 and sold moments later for $6,095, a Gorham set in the Old Medici pattern at $5,060, and a Towle service that for 12 sold at $2,875.
The action heated up when a small silver spout cup by colonial Boston maker John Coney (1655/56–1722) was offered. The rare piece listed a single family provenance descending from Martin Brimmer (1697–1760), a politician and prominent businessman, member of the House of Representatives, the mayor of Boston and the first president of the Boston Museum of Art. Lineage continued through the family, with ties to Harriet Wadsworth by marriage in the early Nineteenth Century, and on down through the family to the present day.
Coney was considered one of the most important Boston silversmiths of his day, an engraver of the plates used for paper money in 1702. Coney's apprentice at the time of his death was Paul Revere's father. The classic spouted cup, fitted with an elegant handle and lid, carried an estimate of $30/50,000; it opened in the room at $30,000. A bid of $35,000 came from one of several telephone bidders, and then another at $40,000. A moment later, a phone bidder claimed the rare and important piece of colonial silver at $74,750. A similar example of the cup is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The top lot of the auction came as an untouched, original condition painting by William Bradford was offered. Consigned from a Buffalo, N.Y., family, the painting depicted several sailing vessels amid icebergs towering above a land mass. "It's untouched," said Cottone of the painting during preview. "It has the original stretcher and there has been no in-painting or restoration at all."
Measuring 18 by 30 inches, the painting attracted the interest of all of the major dealers, with at least six ready for action on the telephones. Bidding came primarily from two of the phones, with the painting opening below the $60/80,000 estimate at $50,000. Moving in $5,000 advances the whole way, the rare Bradford more than doubled expectations when it sold moments later to a telephone bidder for $166,750.
Another painting in the auction that attracted a great deal of attention had come from the Buechner estate, an oil depicting Diana, the goddess of hunt, perched on a rock with a bow in her hand and a crescent moon on her head. Cataloged as an "original condition" work, the painting by Jules Joseph Lefebvre listed a provenance of Schweitzer Gallery in New York City and was estimated at $20/40,000.
2012年4月9日星期一
Artists for Humanity teens get ready to 'Bee' party hosts
The music is pumping in the background of a 5,000-square-foot art studio on a Thursday afternoon. Easels are lined across the floor. Small tables are covered in dried-up, splattered paint. Beams of sunlight capture the colors of canvas paintings and penetrate the room with warm air.
Unaffected by the clutter, young artists are scattered in their workspaces. They are drawn together by the vision of Susan Rodgerson, founder and director of Artists for Humanity, who has designated the theme of the 7th annual 'Greatest Party on Earth' event, which celebrates the earth and the creativity of young artists, as “Vanishing Bees.”
“We use this day to highlight environmental issues, and bees are a critical part of human life. There has been a problem with them dying in massive amounts,” said Rodgerson, adding that the theme was inspired by the documentary film, "Vanishing of the Bees."
The teen artists are expressing their interpretations of the bee theme through work that will be showcased and sold April 28 at the Artists For Humanity (AFH) EpiCenter, in the Fort Point art district. AFH’s central program, the Youth Arts Enterprise, is a paid apprenticeship and leadership program employing urban teens. Youths are partnered in small groups with professional artists, designers and young mentors to create, market and sell fine art and design services.
For the upcoming event, AFH "looks for diverse and abstract artwork, rather than literal pictures of bees and flowers,” said Maggi Brown, an AFH painting studio mentor.
Kelvin Nova (pictured above), a sophomore at Madison Park High School in Boston, conveys messages with meaning in a skilled graffiti-style form.
Traditional methods for graffiti have involved the use of spray paint, but Nova has infused his piece with a hip-hop flavor and lots of details, including eye-popping 3-D lettering that spells out the word “SAVE” in paint. A bee is strategically placed in the middle of the word.
The letter “V” is carved out as a red ribbon, representing the need to raise awareness. He has accented the piece with honeycombs and flowers that are bursting at the bottom of the canvas.
Nova is one of dozens of teens who have become paid apprentices for the organization by demonstrating a commitment to their craft. “I practice a lot. That’s how I’ve continued to improve and get better and better,” Nova said.
Rodgerson assesses the market value of each piece, which will carry price tags ranging from $100 for a small painting, to $4,000 for a large canvas piece. More than 100 pieces of artwork will be offered for sale.
“The kids volunteer to have their work sold," said Debbie First, AFH's communications consultant. If their work is purchased, 50 percent of the profit goes to the teen artist, and the other half goes into the AFH program.
Jameel Radcliffe, an AFH apprentice and a senior at West Roxbury High School, is working on an abstract piece that has bees disappearing into a blue sky, with elements of surrealism.
“Music motivates me," he explained. "I want people to realize that bees are disappearing and that we should have respect for them and have a deep appreciation for their existence."
For 'The Greatest Party On Earth' event, caterers from some top Boston restaurants donate food. This year, the food will match the theme: “The caterers are using everything from honeycombs to bee pollen to honey drizzles,” said Alexis Naylor, events manager for AFH. Live entertainment will include aerial performances and two bands. All money raised through ticket sales goes into the program.
Unaffected by the clutter, young artists are scattered in their workspaces. They are drawn together by the vision of Susan Rodgerson, founder and director of Artists for Humanity, who has designated the theme of the 7th annual 'Greatest Party on Earth' event, which celebrates the earth and the creativity of young artists, as “Vanishing Bees.”
“We use this day to highlight environmental issues, and bees are a critical part of human life. There has been a problem with them dying in massive amounts,” said Rodgerson, adding that the theme was inspired by the documentary film, "Vanishing of the Bees."
The teen artists are expressing their interpretations of the bee theme through work that will be showcased and sold April 28 at the Artists For Humanity (AFH) EpiCenter, in the Fort Point art district. AFH’s central program, the Youth Arts Enterprise, is a paid apprenticeship and leadership program employing urban teens. Youths are partnered in small groups with professional artists, designers and young mentors to create, market and sell fine art and design services.
For the upcoming event, AFH "looks for diverse and abstract artwork, rather than literal pictures of bees and flowers,” said Maggi Brown, an AFH painting studio mentor.
Kelvin Nova (pictured above), a sophomore at Madison Park High School in Boston, conveys messages with meaning in a skilled graffiti-style form.
Traditional methods for graffiti have involved the use of spray paint, but Nova has infused his piece with a hip-hop flavor and lots of details, including eye-popping 3-D lettering that spells out the word “SAVE” in paint. A bee is strategically placed in the middle of the word.
The letter “V” is carved out as a red ribbon, representing the need to raise awareness. He has accented the piece with honeycombs and flowers that are bursting at the bottom of the canvas.
Nova is one of dozens of teens who have become paid apprentices for the organization by demonstrating a commitment to their craft. “I practice a lot. That’s how I’ve continued to improve and get better and better,” Nova said.
Rodgerson assesses the market value of each piece, which will carry price tags ranging from $100 for a small painting, to $4,000 for a large canvas piece. More than 100 pieces of artwork will be offered for sale.
“The kids volunteer to have their work sold," said Debbie First, AFH's communications consultant. If their work is purchased, 50 percent of the profit goes to the teen artist, and the other half goes into the AFH program.
Jameel Radcliffe, an AFH apprentice and a senior at West Roxbury High School, is working on an abstract piece that has bees disappearing into a blue sky, with elements of surrealism.
“Music motivates me," he explained. "I want people to realize that bees are disappearing and that we should have respect for them and have a deep appreciation for their existence."
For 'The Greatest Party On Earth' event, caterers from some top Boston restaurants donate food. This year, the food will match the theme: “The caterers are using everything from honeycombs to bee pollen to honey drizzles,” said Alexis Naylor, events manager for AFH. Live entertainment will include aerial performances and two bands. All money raised through ticket sales goes into the program.
2012年4月8日星期日
Lewy’s will give part of art profits to children’s charity
The scene grabbed hold of him, and he had to paint it.
It’s as simple as that.
And it’s really the foundation of Bryan Federico’s artistic career. Well, technically, it’s a part-time career. His profession and full-time job is as a physical therapist.
This is how Danny Lewy learned of Federico’s artwork. Lewy is owner and operator of Lewy Physical Therapy in both Baton Rouge and Denham Springs. Twice a year, he pushes all equipment aside to transform his Baton Rouge facility into an art gallery.
“We do this once in the fall, and once in the spring,” he said. “We started it two years ago.”
It’s simply called the Lewy Physical Therapy Art Show, and the next one will be Thursday, April 12. Work by 15 artists will be featured, most of which will be for sale.
A portion of the sale proceeds benefits a chosen charity. Previous shows have benefited the Never Quit Never Forget foundation for military veterans. This show will benefit the Dreams Come True foundation for children with life threatening diseases.
The event also will include live and silent auctions.
The story behind the show’s beginning is simple enough. Lewy’s wife Shannon was buying art from an artist who told her he was looking for a place to show his work.
“We thought, ‘Let’s try a show here,’” Lewy said.
The idea proved a success as some $10,000 worth of artwork was sold in the first show. So, Lewy scheduled another.
“And it grew,” he said.
Artists in this show include Carol Arabie, Ted Mayeux, Danni Shobe, Adrianna Speer, Maria Boudreaux, Laurie Williamson, Cindy Rome, Keith “The Cartoonman” Douglas, Daniel Strickland and Jack Joubert, among others.
Federico also will be there, as he has been in every Lewy show. He’ll have 10 paintings in the show, including the New Orleans jazz-themed “Papa John Joseph’s Preservation Hall” he had with him on this particular day.
The painting is large, the character of Papa John Joseph is mesmerizing. This makes it that much more difficult to believe that Federico has never had any type of formal art training.
It’s his passion. He sees a scene, and he has to paint it. It was that way when he was living in Asheville, N.C., and it’s the same now that he’s back home in New Orleans, where he lives with his wife and children and works as a physical therapist.
And it was a friend who alerted Lewy about the artwork by this fellow physical therapist. Lewy liked the artwork and invited Federico to be in the show.
Federico had dabbled in art as a kid, but he realized in high school that girls liked athletes better than artists, so he gave up art for baseball. He decided to again try his hand at art after finishing physical therapy school.
“That’s when I was living in Asheville,” he said. “It was an artist’s community, and I wanted to do it. I painted my passion, and I didn’t worry about what other people thought.”
And he’s still not worried.
This could be the same story for Jack Jaubert. He never worried what other people thought about his painting while playing LSU football. It’s something he loved, a passion within him. Jaubert played center for LSU from 1968 to 1971. Bert Jones was one of the quarterbacks for whom he snapped the ball.
And Jaubert is still affiliated with the LSU Athletic Department in his own way, painting the portraits of every LSU football player who has received All America honors. The portraits hang in the athletic department.
The athletic department also has commissioned other paintings, and Jaubert has been hired to paint murals for the New Orleans Police Department and the U.S. Naval Medical Center in Pensacola, Fla. He also was commissioned to create a painting for the Louisiana National Guard which now hangs at Camp Beauregard in Pineville.
Jaubert has been involved in so many projects, too many to mention in one sitting. He works primarily on commission mostly as a portraitist.
He’ll be showing some original works at the Lewy show, but none will be for sale.
“It’ll just be things for people to see,” he said. “People in Baton Rouge are interested in LSU and LSU art. This will be something they like.”
Viewers are sure to like Carol Arabie’s work, too. She brought her painting of New Orleans’ St. Louis Cathedral with her on this day. The painting looks at the cathedral from Chartres Street, gazing back toward the city. It’s an unusual angle; many artists either paint the cathedral from the front or from an angle looking into the French Quarter.
“I was sitting on the balcony at Muriel’s restaurant, and I saw the steeples in the sky,” Arabie said. “I knew I had to paint them.”
Arabie calls herself a “forever student.” She is an artist and instructor who has degrees in English and art education. She earned her art degree after teaching English on the high school level.
“Now I teach art on my own,” Arabie said.
As for her own painting, Arabie likes to explore different genres and techniques.
“I convey my impressions from my various impressions of life,” she said. “For me, it’s more about exploring the different elements of art than it is the subject matter. And I want the viewer to enjoy it.”
This show will mark Arabie’s fourth with Lewy Physical Therapy.
“Each show helps a cause, and I’m excited about this cause,” Arabie said. “This one is special because it helps children.”
And that’s what it’s all about isn’t it? Helping others while experiencing a passion for art.
It’s as simple as that.
And it’s really the foundation of Bryan Federico’s artistic career. Well, technically, it’s a part-time career. His profession and full-time job is as a physical therapist.
This is how Danny Lewy learned of Federico’s artwork. Lewy is owner and operator of Lewy Physical Therapy in both Baton Rouge and Denham Springs. Twice a year, he pushes all equipment aside to transform his Baton Rouge facility into an art gallery.
“We do this once in the fall, and once in the spring,” he said. “We started it two years ago.”
It’s simply called the Lewy Physical Therapy Art Show, and the next one will be Thursday, April 12. Work by 15 artists will be featured, most of which will be for sale.
A portion of the sale proceeds benefits a chosen charity. Previous shows have benefited the Never Quit Never Forget foundation for military veterans. This show will benefit the Dreams Come True foundation for children with life threatening diseases.
The event also will include live and silent auctions.
The story behind the show’s beginning is simple enough. Lewy’s wife Shannon was buying art from an artist who told her he was looking for a place to show his work.
“We thought, ‘Let’s try a show here,’” Lewy said.
The idea proved a success as some $10,000 worth of artwork was sold in the first show. So, Lewy scheduled another.
“And it grew,” he said.
Artists in this show include Carol Arabie, Ted Mayeux, Danni Shobe, Adrianna Speer, Maria Boudreaux, Laurie Williamson, Cindy Rome, Keith “The Cartoonman” Douglas, Daniel Strickland and Jack Joubert, among others.
Federico also will be there, as he has been in every Lewy show. He’ll have 10 paintings in the show, including the New Orleans jazz-themed “Papa John Joseph’s Preservation Hall” he had with him on this particular day.
The painting is large, the character of Papa John Joseph is mesmerizing. This makes it that much more difficult to believe that Federico has never had any type of formal art training.
It’s his passion. He sees a scene, and he has to paint it. It was that way when he was living in Asheville, N.C., and it’s the same now that he’s back home in New Orleans, where he lives with his wife and children and works as a physical therapist.
And it was a friend who alerted Lewy about the artwork by this fellow physical therapist. Lewy liked the artwork and invited Federico to be in the show.
Federico had dabbled in art as a kid, but he realized in high school that girls liked athletes better than artists, so he gave up art for baseball. He decided to again try his hand at art after finishing physical therapy school.
“That’s when I was living in Asheville,” he said. “It was an artist’s community, and I wanted to do it. I painted my passion, and I didn’t worry about what other people thought.”
And he’s still not worried.
This could be the same story for Jack Jaubert. He never worried what other people thought about his painting while playing LSU football. It’s something he loved, a passion within him. Jaubert played center for LSU from 1968 to 1971. Bert Jones was one of the quarterbacks for whom he snapped the ball.
And Jaubert is still affiliated with the LSU Athletic Department in his own way, painting the portraits of every LSU football player who has received All America honors. The portraits hang in the athletic department.
The athletic department also has commissioned other paintings, and Jaubert has been hired to paint murals for the New Orleans Police Department and the U.S. Naval Medical Center in Pensacola, Fla. He also was commissioned to create a painting for the Louisiana National Guard which now hangs at Camp Beauregard in Pineville.
Jaubert has been involved in so many projects, too many to mention in one sitting. He works primarily on commission mostly as a portraitist.
He’ll be showing some original works at the Lewy show, but none will be for sale.
“It’ll just be things for people to see,” he said. “People in Baton Rouge are interested in LSU and LSU art. This will be something they like.”
Viewers are sure to like Carol Arabie’s work, too. She brought her painting of New Orleans’ St. Louis Cathedral with her on this day. The painting looks at the cathedral from Chartres Street, gazing back toward the city. It’s an unusual angle; many artists either paint the cathedral from the front or from an angle looking into the French Quarter.
“I was sitting on the balcony at Muriel’s restaurant, and I saw the steeples in the sky,” Arabie said. “I knew I had to paint them.”
Arabie calls herself a “forever student.” She is an artist and instructor who has degrees in English and art education. She earned her art degree after teaching English on the high school level.
“Now I teach art on my own,” Arabie said.
As for her own painting, Arabie likes to explore different genres and techniques.
“I convey my impressions from my various impressions of life,” she said. “For me, it’s more about exploring the different elements of art than it is the subject matter. And I want the viewer to enjoy it.”
This show will mark Arabie’s fourth with Lewy Physical Therapy.
“Each show helps a cause, and I’m excited about this cause,” Arabie said. “This one is special because it helps children.”
And that’s what it’s all about isn’t it? Helping others while experiencing a passion for art.
2012年3月21日星期三
How Damien Hirst tried to transform the art market
In his television documentary The Mona Lisa Curse, the pugnacious and persuasive art critic Robert Hughes argued that traditional values which judge art by its quality have been overridden by marketing and hype, and that, in the present consumer culture, the only meaning left for art is a financial one. Perhaps today, the millions who visit museums do so in order to contemplate art’s financial rather than aesthetic values.
The artists Hughes singled out as being worth so much more than they merited were Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst. So will people go to Hirst’s retrospective at Tate Modern to mull over the millions of pounds his art represents? The critics are likely to see the selection, which emphasises his early work, as supporting the view that Hirst had made his best, most original work by the latter half of the 1990s, and everything after that was repetition. But then, even if it has been a bit of a production line, it has been a very successful one, and so in itself a comment on consumer culture.
Warhol also addressed consumer culture, was repetitive, and employed factory workers to make his art, just as Hirst has done. But the difference is that Hirst has enjoyed far more commercial success than Warhol ever did.
Hirst is often cited as the richest artist in the UK, even in the world. In 2009, the Sunday Times Rich List assessed his wealth at 235 million. That may have been an understatement. In 2008, his business manager, Frank Dunphy, said Hirst was “a dollar billionaire”. Dunphy, an accountant who had worked with the artist since the mid-Nineties, was clearly proud of his achievement, turning Hirst from a potential drunken layabout into a number-one bankable asset, and a lot of interesting facts came out.
Hirst employed 160 staff making artworks for him at five studios in England. He owned dozens of properties from Mayfair to Mexico, including the 3 million Toddington Manor, where he planned to put his art collection – then worth about $400 million (252 million) – including a self-portrait by Francis Bacon which he had bought in 2007 for 16 million.
There wasn’t a run-down of gallery sales but, occasionally, some figures would be revealed: Charles Saatchi buying the Humbrol toy sculpture, Hymn, for 1 million, a White Cube sell-out for 11 million, a multi-million sell-out in his first show in Mexico – added to which was the $20 million (12 million) sale of the contents of the Pharmacy restaurant, and the 111 million pound Beautiful sale at Sotheby’s, which took place just before the West’s financial crash.
Adding to the earnings figures has been Other Criteria, Hirst’s retail outlet, which was netting $12 million (7.5 million) a year on brand products like prints and T-shirts. Recently Hirst has announced his plans to build 500 eco homes in Devon – a money-spinner if it takes off – and the opening of a gallery in London to house his own collection.
The popular obsession with wealth and fame has ensured that Hirst’s name is ineradicably associated with something other than his art. The 50 million diamond-encrusted skull he made in 2007 tells us how wealth cannot buy immortality. The Sotheby’s sale in 2008 was a statement of the artist’s superiority over his dealers and, being more of the same but with added bling for the new rich collectors, a work of art in itself.
Both of these are featured in the Tate show – the skull in the Turbine Hall, and an installation from the Sotheby’s sale upstairs to support the “whole work of art” idea. But if they are about money, neither is quite complete.
The skull has never been sold properly, so doesn’t have a real value – only the price attached to it. And the effects of the Sotheby’s sale are still being played out, as works that were bought there (perhaps with the extended credit terms that were offered) resurface on the market, selling for half or two-thirds of the price they sold for initially.
This fits well with Hirst’s intentions to reverse the normal pattern of accruing value – to buy the new work from the artist or his dealer for, say, 1,000, wait for the value to go up, and then resell for 10,000 – excluding the artist from any profit.
Hirst objected to that process, saying he believed artists should make their work more expensive at the first point of sale. “The first time you sell something is when it should cost the most,” he said. It means treating a work of art like a new car or a piece of furniture, but it is the way an artist, who does not profit from auction resales, can make the most money.
If this is what happened at the Sotheby’s sale, with Hirst pocketing the lion’s share, it has been the buyers who have suffered a loss at the point of resale, not Hirst. Nor has Hirst been perturbed by the downturn in his auction prices. “What goes up must come down,” he says. “It’s like when John Lennon went to get his long hair cut and was asked why. 'What else can you do after you’ve grown it long?’ he answered.”
The artists Hughes singled out as being worth so much more than they merited were Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst. So will people go to Hirst’s retrospective at Tate Modern to mull over the millions of pounds his art represents? The critics are likely to see the selection, which emphasises his early work, as supporting the view that Hirst had made his best, most original work by the latter half of the 1990s, and everything after that was repetition. But then, even if it has been a bit of a production line, it has been a very successful one, and so in itself a comment on consumer culture.
Warhol also addressed consumer culture, was repetitive, and employed factory workers to make his art, just as Hirst has done. But the difference is that Hirst has enjoyed far more commercial success than Warhol ever did.
Hirst is often cited as the richest artist in the UK, even in the world. In 2009, the Sunday Times Rich List assessed his wealth at 235 million. That may have been an understatement. In 2008, his business manager, Frank Dunphy, said Hirst was “a dollar billionaire”. Dunphy, an accountant who had worked with the artist since the mid-Nineties, was clearly proud of his achievement, turning Hirst from a potential drunken layabout into a number-one bankable asset, and a lot of interesting facts came out.
Hirst employed 160 staff making artworks for him at five studios in England. He owned dozens of properties from Mayfair to Mexico, including the 3 million Toddington Manor, where he planned to put his art collection – then worth about $400 million (252 million) – including a self-portrait by Francis Bacon which he had bought in 2007 for 16 million.
There wasn’t a run-down of gallery sales but, occasionally, some figures would be revealed: Charles Saatchi buying the Humbrol toy sculpture, Hymn, for 1 million, a White Cube sell-out for 11 million, a multi-million sell-out in his first show in Mexico – added to which was the $20 million (12 million) sale of the contents of the Pharmacy restaurant, and the 111 million pound Beautiful sale at Sotheby’s, which took place just before the West’s financial crash.
Adding to the earnings figures has been Other Criteria, Hirst’s retail outlet, which was netting $12 million (7.5 million) a year on brand products like prints and T-shirts. Recently Hirst has announced his plans to build 500 eco homes in Devon – a money-spinner if it takes off – and the opening of a gallery in London to house his own collection.
The popular obsession with wealth and fame has ensured that Hirst’s name is ineradicably associated with something other than his art. The 50 million diamond-encrusted skull he made in 2007 tells us how wealth cannot buy immortality. The Sotheby’s sale in 2008 was a statement of the artist’s superiority over his dealers and, being more of the same but with added bling for the new rich collectors, a work of art in itself.
Both of these are featured in the Tate show – the skull in the Turbine Hall, and an installation from the Sotheby’s sale upstairs to support the “whole work of art” idea. But if they are about money, neither is quite complete.
The skull has never been sold properly, so doesn’t have a real value – only the price attached to it. And the effects of the Sotheby’s sale are still being played out, as works that were bought there (perhaps with the extended credit terms that were offered) resurface on the market, selling for half or two-thirds of the price they sold for initially.
This fits well with Hirst’s intentions to reverse the normal pattern of accruing value – to buy the new work from the artist or his dealer for, say, 1,000, wait for the value to go up, and then resell for 10,000 – excluding the artist from any profit.
Hirst objected to that process, saying he believed artists should make their work more expensive at the first point of sale. “The first time you sell something is when it should cost the most,” he said. It means treating a work of art like a new car or a piece of furniture, but it is the way an artist, who does not profit from auction resales, can make the most money.
If this is what happened at the Sotheby’s sale, with Hirst pocketing the lion’s share, it has been the buyers who have suffered a loss at the point of resale, not Hirst. Nor has Hirst been perturbed by the downturn in his auction prices. “What goes up must come down,” he says. “It’s like when John Lennon went to get his long hair cut and was asked why. 'What else can you do after you’ve grown it long?’ he answered.”
2012年3月12日星期一
UNE plans sale of five most valuable paintings
The University of New England will offer five works by noted South African artist Irma Stern at auction in June in an attempt to raise money to help conserve its existing collection of art and to supplement that collection with strategic new purchases.
The international auction house Christie's will offer the art work - four paintings and a charcoal drawing - at its spring impressionist and modern art sale in London. The works could fetch between $2.1 million and $3.1 million, according to Christie's estimates.
The paintings are by far the most valuable pieces in the UNE collection, said gallery director Anne Zill.
The university deemed them expendable because they have little to do with Maine, do not fit within the gallery's collecting mission and are not related to any of the museum's curriculum offerings.
"They just do not fit in the collection, which is why they have been in storage for so many years," Zill said.
The works have been exhibited twice in 36 years - by Westbrook College in 1978 and by UNE in 2009. UNE acquired the Stern art work as part of its merger with Westbrook in 1996.
The journey of the work from South Africa to UNE is an interesting story with minor Maine ties. They were part of the collection of Rebecca Hourwich Reyher, an American writer from New York. Dorothy Healy, founder of the Maine Women Writers Collections, was friendly with Reyher, and instrumental in arranging Westbrook College's purchase of the Reyher art collection in 1976.
In addition to a portrait of Reyher, the colorful paintings and charcoal drawing are of Cape Town and African women. Stern painted them in the 1920s, at the very beginning of what became an illustrious art career.
Reyher hung them in her New York apartment, where they remained on view only to her visitors and guests.
For UNE, the timing of this sale couldn't be better, said Andrew Golub, dean of library services. UNE only discovered the value of these paintings a few years ago.
"We knew they were the most valuable paintings in our collection, but we didn't know realize by how much they had increased in value until three years ago," he said.
The university has spent the better part of two years researching the art work, exploring options to accommodate and satisfying internal concerns about the sale, Golub said. Other institutions have received criticism in recent years for selling art work for the betterment of the bottom line.
But Golub said UNE's decision is motivated by a desire to improve the collection by making it more accessible with art that targets the education needs of its students and the aesthetic desires of the larger community.
"The proceeds from this sale are staying in the art program. We see this as an opportunity to grow our collection in ways to better serve the university and to take better care of the art that's still in our collection," he said.
Stern, who died in 1966, is better known in Europe than in the United States, Zill said. That is why Christie's opted to hold the sale in London instead of New York. But the paintings - two are double-sided, with images on the front and back - and drawing will be on view at Christie's at Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan April 27 to May 1. UNE is planning an event at Christie's in New York as a way to honor the art work and the artist.
The international auction house Christie's will offer the art work - four paintings and a charcoal drawing - at its spring impressionist and modern art sale in London. The works could fetch between $2.1 million and $3.1 million, according to Christie's estimates.
The paintings are by far the most valuable pieces in the UNE collection, said gallery director Anne Zill.
The university deemed them expendable because they have little to do with Maine, do not fit within the gallery's collecting mission and are not related to any of the museum's curriculum offerings.
"They just do not fit in the collection, which is why they have been in storage for so many years," Zill said.
The works have been exhibited twice in 36 years - by Westbrook College in 1978 and by UNE in 2009. UNE acquired the Stern art work as part of its merger with Westbrook in 1996.
The journey of the work from South Africa to UNE is an interesting story with minor Maine ties. They were part of the collection of Rebecca Hourwich Reyher, an American writer from New York. Dorothy Healy, founder of the Maine Women Writers Collections, was friendly with Reyher, and instrumental in arranging Westbrook College's purchase of the Reyher art collection in 1976.
In addition to a portrait of Reyher, the colorful paintings and charcoal drawing are of Cape Town and African women. Stern painted them in the 1920s, at the very beginning of what became an illustrious art career.
Reyher hung them in her New York apartment, where they remained on view only to her visitors and guests.
For UNE, the timing of this sale couldn't be better, said Andrew Golub, dean of library services. UNE only discovered the value of these paintings a few years ago.
"We knew they were the most valuable paintings in our collection, but we didn't know realize by how much they had increased in value until three years ago," he said.
The university has spent the better part of two years researching the art work, exploring options to accommodate and satisfying internal concerns about the sale, Golub said. Other institutions have received criticism in recent years for selling art work for the betterment of the bottom line.
But Golub said UNE's decision is motivated by a desire to improve the collection by making it more accessible with art that targets the education needs of its students and the aesthetic desires of the larger community.
"The proceeds from this sale are staying in the art program. We see this as an opportunity to grow our collection in ways to better serve the university and to take better care of the art that's still in our collection," he said.
Stern, who died in 1966, is better known in Europe than in the United States, Zill said. That is why Christie's opted to hold the sale in London instead of New York. But the paintings - two are double-sided, with images on the front and back - and drawing will be on view at Christie's at Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan April 27 to May 1. UNE is planning an event at Christie's in New York as a way to honor the art work and the artist.
2012年3月11日星期日
Hopes high for this year's Western Art Week
Organizers of art shows and sales are feeling bullish about Western Art Week in Great Falls this year. The events begin Wednesday and will spread to a variety of locations around the city through the weekend.
The shows and auctions this week are expected to sell as much as a combined $6 million worth of art in Great Falls.
Several officials with some of the bigger Great Falls shows and auctions say there is a general feeling that the economy in Montana — and the country — is improving. There also is a sense among some artists and galleries that they may be over the hump from the 2008-2009 nationwide recession and its aftermath.
"In general sense, I have seen actual results trending upwards," said Sarah Burt, chief curator at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, which will hold The Russell: The Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum this week. "It's rebounding from the terrible times of 2008 and 2009. I think it's pretty good right now."
Prices for work by one of the masters of Western art, Charlie Russell, "are pretty strong right now," Burt added.
On Saturday, 21 of Russell's works will be in The Russell Live Auction at the Best Western Heritage Inn — the final museum event of the week.
"It's fantastic," Burt said of the museum's Russell offerings, including three watercolors that may fetch $230,000 or more each.
Russell works also will be offered for sale at other locations around the city, including the March in Montana show.
Bigfork's Steve Cawdrey, who helps run the Western Masters Art Show and Sale at the Heritage Inn, said he believes the economy is looking up.
"We've seen a change the last six months," Cawdrey said. "People are buying art. My sense is the mood in the country is more positive, and our artists have been very upbeat."
Burt noted that there were "really strong" prices at last year's Reno, Nev., and Jackson Hole, Wyo., art auctions, which took place after Western Art Week in Great Falls. The July Coeur d'Alene Art Auction in Reno sold more than 300 works for about $17 million, up from $9.2 million in sales in 2010, and $11.7 million in 2009, but less than the $37 million in sales it had in 2008 — before the recession hit.
Meanwhile, the fifth-annual Jackson Hole Art Auction sold a record $9 million worth of art in September.
Great Falls' results from a year ago did not produce chump change, either.
The C.M. Russell Museum's three events grossed $1,499,690 in 2011, edging out the March in Montana auctions, which sold $1,451,400 at its pair of events.
"It's going to be much better this year," predicted Cheyenne's Bob Nelson, owner of Manitou Galleries, which teams with the Coeur d'Alene Art Auction to run the March in Montana show.
Nelson is less bullish on the national economy, which he calls "problematic." But he said art buyers with oil interests or rising stock market holdings have helped bring the Western art market around closer to where it was before the recession. Some art buffs have decided to part with their money even if the economy in general "isn't that good," Nelson said.
Manitou has galleries in Wyoming and Santa Fe, N.M. He said the art market in New Mexico remains slightly depressed, although his shops are seeing improved sales.
"We were cut in half in 2008," Nelson said. But even with improvements in sales the last two years, "we're still not back to where we were."
However, Western Art Week in Great Falls has a specific market, one that comes to the events to buy, and Nelson said he believes the week "is going to be great."
"The Russell has got some nice Russell material for sale," he said.
Nelson said March in Montana has fine pieces, too, particularly a large number of bronzes by living and deceased sculptors, as well as paintings and Western collectibles. Nelson said Great Falls art buffs may be especially interested in works by late artists Joe Abbrescia and Arlene Hooker Fay.
Nelson also praised the support area residents give Western Art Week.
"I think they're very involved," he said. "We have tremendous numbers of people walking through our show."
In addition to Western Art Week's two big auction events, which grossed about $3 million combined last year, Cawdrey said the Western Masters Art Show and Sale sold about $1.5 million worth of art in exhibition rooms and through the Western Master's Off the Wall Auction and related events.
That's nearly $5 million generated by three major Western Art Week shows, not to mention other popular shows, including the Western Heritage Artists Show at the Holiday Inn, the Jay Contway & Friends Art Show at Montana ExpoPark, the Wild Bunch Art Show at the Hampton Inn, and several other shows selling antiques, guns and collectibles.
The shows and auctions this week are expected to sell as much as a combined $6 million worth of art in Great Falls.
Several officials with some of the bigger Great Falls shows and auctions say there is a general feeling that the economy in Montana — and the country — is improving. There also is a sense among some artists and galleries that they may be over the hump from the 2008-2009 nationwide recession and its aftermath.
"In general sense, I have seen actual results trending upwards," said Sarah Burt, chief curator at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, which will hold The Russell: The Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum this week. "It's rebounding from the terrible times of 2008 and 2009. I think it's pretty good right now."
Prices for work by one of the masters of Western art, Charlie Russell, "are pretty strong right now," Burt added.
On Saturday, 21 of Russell's works will be in The Russell Live Auction at the Best Western Heritage Inn — the final museum event of the week.
"It's fantastic," Burt said of the museum's Russell offerings, including three watercolors that may fetch $230,000 or more each.
Russell works also will be offered for sale at other locations around the city, including the March in Montana show.
Bigfork's Steve Cawdrey, who helps run the Western Masters Art Show and Sale at the Heritage Inn, said he believes the economy is looking up.
"We've seen a change the last six months," Cawdrey said. "People are buying art. My sense is the mood in the country is more positive, and our artists have been very upbeat."
Burt noted that there were "really strong" prices at last year's Reno, Nev., and Jackson Hole, Wyo., art auctions, which took place after Western Art Week in Great Falls. The July Coeur d'Alene Art Auction in Reno sold more than 300 works for about $17 million, up from $9.2 million in sales in 2010, and $11.7 million in 2009, but less than the $37 million in sales it had in 2008 — before the recession hit.
Meanwhile, the fifth-annual Jackson Hole Art Auction sold a record $9 million worth of art in September.
Great Falls' results from a year ago did not produce chump change, either.
The C.M. Russell Museum's three events grossed $1,499,690 in 2011, edging out the March in Montana auctions, which sold $1,451,400 at its pair of events.
"It's going to be much better this year," predicted Cheyenne's Bob Nelson, owner of Manitou Galleries, which teams with the Coeur d'Alene Art Auction to run the March in Montana show.
Nelson is less bullish on the national economy, which he calls "problematic." But he said art buyers with oil interests or rising stock market holdings have helped bring the Western art market around closer to where it was before the recession. Some art buffs have decided to part with their money even if the economy in general "isn't that good," Nelson said.
Manitou has galleries in Wyoming and Santa Fe, N.M. He said the art market in New Mexico remains slightly depressed, although his shops are seeing improved sales.
"We were cut in half in 2008," Nelson said. But even with improvements in sales the last two years, "we're still not back to where we were."
However, Western Art Week in Great Falls has a specific market, one that comes to the events to buy, and Nelson said he believes the week "is going to be great."
"The Russell has got some nice Russell material for sale," he said.
Nelson said March in Montana has fine pieces, too, particularly a large number of bronzes by living and deceased sculptors, as well as paintings and Western collectibles. Nelson said Great Falls art buffs may be especially interested in works by late artists Joe Abbrescia and Arlene Hooker Fay.
Nelson also praised the support area residents give Western Art Week.
"I think they're very involved," he said. "We have tremendous numbers of people walking through our show."
In addition to Western Art Week's two big auction events, which grossed about $3 million combined last year, Cawdrey said the Western Masters Art Show and Sale sold about $1.5 million worth of art in exhibition rooms and through the Western Master's Off the Wall Auction and related events.
That's nearly $5 million generated by three major Western Art Week shows, not to mention other popular shows, including the Western Heritage Artists Show at the Holiday Inn, the Jay Contway & Friends Art Show at Montana ExpoPark, the Wild Bunch Art Show at the Hampton Inn, and several other shows selling antiques, guns and collectibles.
2012年1月19日星期四
A Lilac-Hued Bacon at Christie’s
Have a Francis Bacon to sell? London is where many auction house experts are advising collectors to try their luck. “We’ve seen extraordinary prices paid for Bacons in London in recent years,” said Brett Gorvy, international chairman of Christie’s postwar and contemporary art department. “Americans have competed as aggressively as buyers from emerging markets.” And with so many rich Russians and Middle Easterners putting down roots in London, it’s the obvious place to sell.
That explains the image on the catalog cover for Christie’s Feb. 14 London sale of postwar and contemporary art. It’s a 1963 portrait of Henrietta Moraes, the model and friend of Bacon’s, reclining naked on a white bed in a room with a deeply saturated lilac wall and a bright red floor.
Bacon generally painted his subjects from photographs rather than from life, and for this picture he commissioned his friend John Deakin to shoot Ms. Morales in 1961. Christie’s estimates the painting will sell for about $23 million to $30 million.
The record price for a Bacon painting at auction is $86.3 million, achieved in May 2008 when Sotheby’s in New York sold a 1976 triptych, supposedly to Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch. Christie’s in London sold “Triptych 1974-77” that same year for a robust $51.6 million and a year later auctioned “Three Studies for a Self-Portrait” (1975) for $34.4 million. And in June Christie’s London sold “Study for a Portrait” (1953) for $28.7 million.
Mr. Gorvy isn’t saying who is selling “Portrait of Henrietta Moraes,” but art experts familiar with Bacon’s work said it was Sheldon Solow, the New York real estate developer and a well-known collector who bought the painting from Ernst Beyeler, the Swiss dealer, in 1983.
Mr. Solow is not known as an auction seller but at 83 is re-evaluating his collection.
The Bacon portrait is not all Mr. Solow is said to be selling at Christie’s next month. Two other works from his collection are coming to auction on the evening of Feb. 7: a 1925 Miró painting, “Painting-Poem,” which is expected to fetch $9.2 million to $13.8 million; and “Reclining Figure: Festival,” a 1951 sculpture by Henry Moore, expected to bring about $5.3 million to $8.5 million.
It may seem as if the art world is in the winter doldrums, but organizers of New York City’s contemporary art fairs are gearing up for the onslaught of events in March and May.
Those putting together the 14th edition of the “Armory Show — Contemporary,” which runs from March 8 to 11 on Pier 94, are eager to make a better impression than they did last year. “Our aim is for comfort and hospitality,” said Paul Morris, the fair’s founding director. They hired the Brooklyn architects Bade Stageberg Cox to open up the space, giving it two aisles rather than three.
This year’s fair will feature 113 international exhibitors representing 31 countries, fewer participants than last year in an attempt to improve quality and give the dealers more space. Gallery Hyundai, which has not participated in the show since 2004, will be back with works by Ai Weiwei and Lee Ufan. Sprüth Magers from Berlin will be back, as will Greene Naftali from New York. There will also be a new section, Solo Projects, dedicated to single artist exhibitions.
Because the fair’s location — 55th Street and 12th Avenue in Clinton — isn’t the easiest to get to, the organizers have met with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission and will use a text service to alert cabdrivers when they are needed. They will also offer free shuttle busses to neighborhoods in Manhattan.
Also in March is the Art Dealers Association of America’s annual Art Fair at the Park Avenue Armory, on 67th Street . Then come more fairs in May around the time of the big spring auctions.
Frieze, the London fair, will have its first iteration in New York, May 4 through 7, on Randalls Island. Those same days the New Art Dealers Alliance, otherwise known as NADA, has decided to test the New York City waters too.
“We’ve never done anything like this on our home turf,” said Heather Hubbs, director of NADA’s fair, which will occupy three floors of the former Dia Center for the Arts building at 548 West 22nd Street in Chelsea and include about 50 primarily younger dealers dedicated to new art.
That explains the image on the catalog cover for Christie’s Feb. 14 London sale of postwar and contemporary art. It’s a 1963 portrait of Henrietta Moraes, the model and friend of Bacon’s, reclining naked on a white bed in a room with a deeply saturated lilac wall and a bright red floor.
Bacon generally painted his subjects from photographs rather than from life, and for this picture he commissioned his friend John Deakin to shoot Ms. Morales in 1961. Christie’s estimates the painting will sell for about $23 million to $30 million.
The record price for a Bacon painting at auction is $86.3 million, achieved in May 2008 when Sotheby’s in New York sold a 1976 triptych, supposedly to Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch. Christie’s in London sold “Triptych 1974-77” that same year for a robust $51.6 million and a year later auctioned “Three Studies for a Self-Portrait” (1975) for $34.4 million. And in June Christie’s London sold “Study for a Portrait” (1953) for $28.7 million.
Mr. Gorvy isn’t saying who is selling “Portrait of Henrietta Moraes,” but art experts familiar with Bacon’s work said it was Sheldon Solow, the New York real estate developer and a well-known collector who bought the painting from Ernst Beyeler, the Swiss dealer, in 1983.
Mr. Solow is not known as an auction seller but at 83 is re-evaluating his collection.
The Bacon portrait is not all Mr. Solow is said to be selling at Christie’s next month. Two other works from his collection are coming to auction on the evening of Feb. 7: a 1925 Miró painting, “Painting-Poem,” which is expected to fetch $9.2 million to $13.8 million; and “Reclining Figure: Festival,” a 1951 sculpture by Henry Moore, expected to bring about $5.3 million to $8.5 million.
It may seem as if the art world is in the winter doldrums, but organizers of New York City’s contemporary art fairs are gearing up for the onslaught of events in March and May.
Those putting together the 14th edition of the “Armory Show — Contemporary,” which runs from March 8 to 11 on Pier 94, are eager to make a better impression than they did last year. “Our aim is for comfort and hospitality,” said Paul Morris, the fair’s founding director. They hired the Brooklyn architects Bade Stageberg Cox to open up the space, giving it two aisles rather than three.
This year’s fair will feature 113 international exhibitors representing 31 countries, fewer participants than last year in an attempt to improve quality and give the dealers more space. Gallery Hyundai, which has not participated in the show since 2004, will be back with works by Ai Weiwei and Lee Ufan. Sprüth Magers from Berlin will be back, as will Greene Naftali from New York. There will also be a new section, Solo Projects, dedicated to single artist exhibitions.
Because the fair’s location — 55th Street and 12th Avenue in Clinton — isn’t the easiest to get to, the organizers have met with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission and will use a text service to alert cabdrivers when they are needed. They will also offer free shuttle busses to neighborhoods in Manhattan.
Also in March is the Art Dealers Association of America’s annual Art Fair at the Park Avenue Armory, on 67th Street . Then come more fairs in May around the time of the big spring auctions.
Frieze, the London fair, will have its first iteration in New York, May 4 through 7, on Randalls Island. Those same days the New Art Dealers Alliance, otherwise known as NADA, has decided to test the New York City waters too.
“We’ve never done anything like this on our home turf,” said Heather Hubbs, director of NADA’s fair, which will occupy three floors of the former Dia Center for the Arts building at 548 West 22nd Street in Chelsea and include about 50 primarily younger dealers dedicated to new art.
2012年1月8日星期日
After Radeon HD7970 'Tahiti', GPU Compute becomes mainstream
Being among the first to get a hold of the new GPU - and multiples of them at that, in this case AMD Radeon HD7970 'Tahiti' has its advantages, one of them running a lot of tests for the first time for the public to see. In our case, benchmonkey Lennard ran quite a few such benchmark tests on one, two, three and, of course, four cards in parallel. You'd have noticed that the results from the compute tests scaled just as well, if not even better, than the 3-D graphics ones, which on their own did a wonderful scaling job as well - notice even the 3Dmark and Heaven test scaling gains between one and four cards!
Putting aside the numbers, which you can see on our site and widely across the Net now as well, the impact is interesting. The AMD GCN new GPU architecture, which basically looks a lot like a vector FP processor surrounded by graphics acceleration hardware, did provide for much higher usable vs peak FP rate, especially for double precision FP critical for mainstream PC and HPC applications. On top of it, the OpenCL programming model has now matured well to handle single and multiple tasks with many threads being well balanced and spread across multiple GPUs, which the benchmark performance gains when running on up to four GPUs have shown.
One important thing here is that the GPU compute is not limited by CrossFire - or SLI, on Nvidia - four-GPU barrier. If your application, or multiple tasks, can handle it, and the underlying board has enough PCIe slots to support it, there's nothing to stop you from having, say, eight or more GPUs in a single system, all running GPU compute and/or graphics at the same time. For instance, the upcoming Xeon E5 4600 quad-socket LGA 2011 platform, slated for release mid year, will have a whopping 160 PCIe v3 lanes available direct from the CPUs, enabling 8 or more GPU cards in the system. If each of these is a, say, 1.1 GHz pre overclocked 6 GB RAM HD7970, it would mean a 9 TFLOPs DP FP capability in a single box, yet with 48 GB dedicated RAM on these GPUs for large local dataset processing without having to go to the over an order of magnitude slower PCIe link - keep this in mind, as having to often go to PCIe for slow data movement was one of key limitations in wider GPGPU spread.
In those apps where you can tolerate even higher PCIe latency induced by PCIe bridges present on dual-GPU cards, in return for higher total performance, that same Quad Xeon E5 box could take eight dual-GPU, say 975 MHz pre overclocked AMD HD7990, cards, and have 16 TFLOPs peak DP FP performance in a single box. Whether one can fit 2 x 6 GB RAM on a single dual-GPU card right now, remains to be seen, but it would help keep all those data away from having to shuffle over comparatively slower bridged PCIe.
Why do I mention pre-overclocked here? Well, it seems AMD was really conservative with clocking the new parts, as so many of them run comfortably even at 1.1 GHz without any voltage changes or such. The yields seem to be good, and there's nothing wrong in producing higher-end binned parts, combined with more memory, to breach the 1 TFLOP peak DP FP limit, which for these cards would be at 980 MHz GPU, or let's just round it up to 1 GHz, frequency. The extra performance helps get a few more FPS in gaming, but it means real, monetizable, compute performance in supercomputing, workstation and multimedia use.
Let's see what Nvidia answers in with the GK100 chips in the next few months, then followed by Intel's 'Knights Corner' compute version of the Larrabee project. Either way, with the new 'Tahiti' chips, GPU accelerated computing seems to be more efficient and meaningful.
Putting aside the numbers, which you can see on our site and widely across the Net now as well, the impact is interesting. The AMD GCN new GPU architecture, which basically looks a lot like a vector FP processor surrounded by graphics acceleration hardware, did provide for much higher usable vs peak FP rate, especially for double precision FP critical for mainstream PC and HPC applications. On top of it, the OpenCL programming model has now matured well to handle single and multiple tasks with many threads being well balanced and spread across multiple GPUs, which the benchmark performance gains when running on up to four GPUs have shown.
One important thing here is that the GPU compute is not limited by CrossFire - or SLI, on Nvidia - four-GPU barrier. If your application, or multiple tasks, can handle it, and the underlying board has enough PCIe slots to support it, there's nothing to stop you from having, say, eight or more GPUs in a single system, all running GPU compute and/or graphics at the same time. For instance, the upcoming Xeon E5 4600 quad-socket LGA 2011 platform, slated for release mid year, will have a whopping 160 PCIe v3 lanes available direct from the CPUs, enabling 8 or more GPU cards in the system. If each of these is a, say, 1.1 GHz pre overclocked 6 GB RAM HD7970, it would mean a 9 TFLOPs DP FP capability in a single box, yet with 48 GB dedicated RAM on these GPUs for large local dataset processing without having to go to the over an order of magnitude slower PCIe link - keep this in mind, as having to often go to PCIe for slow data movement was one of key limitations in wider GPGPU spread.
In those apps where you can tolerate even higher PCIe latency induced by PCIe bridges present on dual-GPU cards, in return for higher total performance, that same Quad Xeon E5 box could take eight dual-GPU, say 975 MHz pre overclocked AMD HD7990, cards, and have 16 TFLOPs peak DP FP performance in a single box. Whether one can fit 2 x 6 GB RAM on a single dual-GPU card right now, remains to be seen, but it would help keep all those data away from having to shuffle over comparatively slower bridged PCIe.
Why do I mention pre-overclocked here? Well, it seems AMD was really conservative with clocking the new parts, as so many of them run comfortably even at 1.1 GHz without any voltage changes or such. The yields seem to be good, and there's nothing wrong in producing higher-end binned parts, combined with more memory, to breach the 1 TFLOP peak DP FP limit, which for these cards would be at 980 MHz GPU, or let's just round it up to 1 GHz, frequency. The extra performance helps get a few more FPS in gaming, but it means real, monetizable, compute performance in supercomputing, workstation and multimedia use.
Let's see what Nvidia answers in with the GK100 chips in the next few months, then followed by Intel's 'Knights Corner' compute version of the Larrabee project. Either way, with the new 'Tahiti' chips, GPU accelerated computing seems to be more efficient and meaningful.
2011年12月25日星期日
Wild collection of art, rare photos displayed in Lancaster’s Ladybird’s
First you see the rack of brightly painted wooden clogs, direct from the Netherlands. Just one pair is still its original brown color.
A few steps away are old cans full of artist paint brushes, and half-squeezed tubes of paint piling out of a battered suitcase.
They sit below a pieced-together circa-1924 poster of former Boston mayor James Michael Curley. Beside that is a cardboard box full of dusty papers, with a 1729 deed from New Haven, Conn., on top. The surrounding walls are covered with paintings of disembodied people — mostly half-naked women — and much of the floor space is taken up with large wooden sculptures, also mainly of folks missing torsos and stomachs.
“I am not fond of fat people,” said Tom Stanford with a slight smile.
He is the creator of this wild collection of art, rare photography, and ephemera (printed material.)
Mr. Stanford, 61, recently opened his new Ladybird’s Gallery — named after his aging dog — at 78 Rigby Road, a wooded area on the Clinton line. His house is beside the gallery.
He got the idea after a trip to Taos, N.M., where he checked out numerous art galleries.
Shuffling around his gallery in a pair of orange clogs, Mr. Stanford, who previously operated a gallery of collectible documents and prints in Clinton, explains his unique style of painting, which he has dubbed “subtractionalism.”
“Basically, a portion of the anatomy, usually muscle and bones, is missing,” he said of his Picasso-meets-Warhol-like abstract oil paintings. “It did not start out that way, it just came upon me.”
His sculptures, which were carved from single trees cut down during nearby construction, (“I dragged them across the street”) are a world onto themselves.
One shows a Greek god entwined with a swan-woman. Another huge sculpture (the trunk is upside down) depicts a sailor, a mermaid and a serpent. Mr. Sanford said he worked 12 hours a day for seven months on that one.
When asked how he came up with the theme, he responded: “I just looked at this big piece of tree and said, ‘What the hell is that?’ ”
Its $25,000 price tag reflects the effort.
His oil painting prices range from $200 to $7,000, depending on size; and his prints average around $150 each.
The best selling print, he said, is “Lady Dancing with Death to the Tune of the Harmonica Player,” done in carved aqua Linoleum. As the title suggests, there is a harmonica player, a grim reaper-like figure, and a nude woman.
A former house painter who grew up in Wilmington, Del., Mr. Stanford, the father of two grown children, had an artist mother and a father who gave up a job with DuPont to start his own vineyard — in Delaware.
Mr. Stanford, who has had a penchant for art since he was young, moved to Massachusetts in 1980, and soon after obtained his first cache of historical documents in Bolton while working as a house painter. He came upon a box of old railroad show memorabilia and asked the owner for it in lieu of payment for the paint job.
“I took that to a railroad show, and we blew people away. I got $10,000 for it, and I realized there was a better way to make a living than painting houses,” he said.
A collector by nature, he started his rounds of attending auctions and estate and yard sales, picking up old photographs, maps, posters, stamps, envelopes and letters — pretty much anything involving paper — although he managed to grab a few death masks, a bunch of pocket watches and a vial of kidney stones along the way.
He found a photograph of Mae West autographed to Anne Bancroft in a New York City trash container. It’s for sale for $500 in his gallery. He has all sorts of rock music-related items, including original Woodstock programs, autographed photographs of the original Rolling Stones, and photographs of the Grateful Dead on tour. There are wanted posters of Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger.
His most valuable photograph, he says, is a full-plate 1852 picture of someone at Niagara Falls.
“It was very popular to get your photo taken by the falls,” Mr. Stanford said.
Also in stock are hundreds of original cartoon illustrations by noted artists such as Mischa Richter, who was with the New Yorker for years; and with New Masses Magazine in the 1930s and 1940s. Mr. Stanford, who was the winner of the 2004 Jacob Knight Award, said he became friends with Richter when they both lived on Cape Cod.
“He sold everything he had, about 1,500 pieces,” Mr. Stanford said.
A section of Mr. Stanford’s inventory is devoted to old “girlie” magazines and prints — not suited for a family newspaper. But to balance that off, he proudly shows off his large signed portrait of Mother Teresa.
A few steps away are old cans full of artist paint brushes, and half-squeezed tubes of paint piling out of a battered suitcase.
They sit below a pieced-together circa-1924 poster of former Boston mayor James Michael Curley. Beside that is a cardboard box full of dusty papers, with a 1729 deed from New Haven, Conn., on top. The surrounding walls are covered with paintings of disembodied people — mostly half-naked women — and much of the floor space is taken up with large wooden sculptures, also mainly of folks missing torsos and stomachs.
“I am not fond of fat people,” said Tom Stanford with a slight smile.
He is the creator of this wild collection of art, rare photography, and ephemera (printed material.)
Mr. Stanford, 61, recently opened his new Ladybird’s Gallery — named after his aging dog — at 78 Rigby Road, a wooded area on the Clinton line. His house is beside the gallery.
He got the idea after a trip to Taos, N.M., where he checked out numerous art galleries.
Shuffling around his gallery in a pair of orange clogs, Mr. Stanford, who previously operated a gallery of collectible documents and prints in Clinton, explains his unique style of painting, which he has dubbed “subtractionalism.”
“Basically, a portion of the anatomy, usually muscle and bones, is missing,” he said of his Picasso-meets-Warhol-like abstract oil paintings. “It did not start out that way, it just came upon me.”
His sculptures, which were carved from single trees cut down during nearby construction, (“I dragged them across the street”) are a world onto themselves.
One shows a Greek god entwined with a swan-woman. Another huge sculpture (the trunk is upside down) depicts a sailor, a mermaid and a serpent. Mr. Sanford said he worked 12 hours a day for seven months on that one.
When asked how he came up with the theme, he responded: “I just looked at this big piece of tree and said, ‘What the hell is that?’ ”
Its $25,000 price tag reflects the effort.
His oil painting prices range from $200 to $7,000, depending on size; and his prints average around $150 each.
The best selling print, he said, is “Lady Dancing with Death to the Tune of the Harmonica Player,” done in carved aqua Linoleum. As the title suggests, there is a harmonica player, a grim reaper-like figure, and a nude woman.
A former house painter who grew up in Wilmington, Del., Mr. Stanford, the father of two grown children, had an artist mother and a father who gave up a job with DuPont to start his own vineyard — in Delaware.
Mr. Stanford, who has had a penchant for art since he was young, moved to Massachusetts in 1980, and soon after obtained his first cache of historical documents in Bolton while working as a house painter. He came upon a box of old railroad show memorabilia and asked the owner for it in lieu of payment for the paint job.
“I took that to a railroad show, and we blew people away. I got $10,000 for it, and I realized there was a better way to make a living than painting houses,” he said.
A collector by nature, he started his rounds of attending auctions and estate and yard sales, picking up old photographs, maps, posters, stamps, envelopes and letters — pretty much anything involving paper — although he managed to grab a few death masks, a bunch of pocket watches and a vial of kidney stones along the way.
He found a photograph of Mae West autographed to Anne Bancroft in a New York City trash container. It’s for sale for $500 in his gallery. He has all sorts of rock music-related items, including original Woodstock programs, autographed photographs of the original Rolling Stones, and photographs of the Grateful Dead on tour. There are wanted posters of Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger.
His most valuable photograph, he says, is a full-plate 1852 picture of someone at Niagara Falls.
“It was very popular to get your photo taken by the falls,” Mr. Stanford said.
Also in stock are hundreds of original cartoon illustrations by noted artists such as Mischa Richter, who was with the New Yorker for years; and with New Masses Magazine in the 1930s and 1940s. Mr. Stanford, who was the winner of the 2004 Jacob Knight Award, said he became friends with Richter when they both lived on Cape Cod.
“He sold everything he had, about 1,500 pieces,” Mr. Stanford said.
A section of Mr. Stanford’s inventory is devoted to old “girlie” magazines and prints — not suited for a family newspaper. But to balance that off, he proudly shows off his large signed portrait of Mother Teresa.
2011年12月13日星期二
Maritime artists contribute to Sail M.V.'s holiday art sale
There are boats, seascapes, fish, seabirds, and shells and there are…more boats. Not surprisingly, a good number of the artistic contributions to Sail Martha's Vineyard's Holiday Maritime Art Sale feature boats: sail, row, fishing, and of course, an icon of Island living, the ferry. However, given the number of artists contributing to the show, everywhere you look you'll see a different take on a seascape or a nautical scene.
The unique collection has been gathered for the fourth year now as a benefit for Sail M.V., the local organization founded in 1992 dedicated to offering youth programs for Island children in sailing, seamanship, and wooden boat building; to attracting historic vessels to the community; and to providing opportunities for all ages in maritime education, rowing, and sailing.
The show, which runs through December 23, includes painting, photography, sculpture, jewelry, and other gift items, and a couple of working boats. Taking up most of the westerly wall in the one-room show is a full size canoe by Rick Brown of Far Cry Boats, which has a price tag of $3,333. The catboat that graces the front of the historic building is also for sale for $4,444.
The rest of the collection is considerably less pricey and more living-room friendly. Approximately 25 artists are represented with prices ranging from $50 to $1,600 (there are also inexpensive cards and gift items). "The water and boats inspire everybody in so many dimensions," said Pam Flam, show coordinator. "There's something for everybody's price range and also for every taste."
Works by a handful of well-established artists are among the group show, including a black and white print by Allen Whiting called "Bequia Boat," which is a departure from his signature style and has an almost expressionist feel.
A large monochromatic work by John Holladay stands out. It's a study of lobster traps in greys and blacks with a few splotches of red. Two very attractive paintings of Squibnocket by Donna Straw dominate one of the rooms. They are done in muted blues and tans highlighted by bold outlines and sun streaks of metallic gold.
Marston Clough has the most paintings in the show with 10 works whose simplicity is very appealing, especially in ones whose rustic appeal is contrasted by painted gold frames. The works, many of which are quite small, in prices ranging from $50 to $350, would make great Christmas gifts, as would lovely little landscapes by up-and-coming local artist Dan VanLandingham, and some attractively priced paintings by Thaw Malin.
A large oil painting of Sail M.V.'s two pilot gigs — Cassie and Grace — is perhaps the most eye-catching piece in the show, and also the priciest painting at $1,600. Cassie, whose green and red color scheme has made her a very recognizable feature of the Vineyard Haven harbor, is also the subject of a number of other works in the show. A series of photos by David Dandridge feature Cassie, both in color and black and white. Mr. Dandridge is a skipper for the Steamship Authority who, according to Ms. Flam, always has his camera with him. "He gets shots of sights that mere mortals don't get a chance to see," she said.
Among Mr. Dandridge's contributions to the show are two wonderful photos with Cassie in the foreground and ghostly images in the misty background — one in color with the ferry and one in black and white with a barely visible schooner. These two are treasures that could easily be missed in a peremptory viewing of the show.
Other photographers whose work is represented are Alison Shaw, L.A. Brown, Jeff Serusa, Susan Safford, Dick Clark, Lisa Vanderhoop, Jhenn Watts, and Louisa Gould. Each has a distinctive style, from Ms. Vanderhoop's popping colors to Ms. Watts' emulsion lifts on glass, to Ms. Gould's popular action shots from sailing races. Mr. Clark has on display many photos at different price points, including some unframed prints for $30.
Sketch artist Tim Winchell also offers some unframed matted prints for under $50, as well as framed prints and originals. His charcoal sketches of Menemsha are masterfully executed and display his eye for detail. One print of the Menemsha wharf vista from above, with circling seagulls in the foreground, is a wonderful portrayal from an unusual perspective.
Metal sculptures by Charles Gibbs include a very attractive fish made from corrugated metal and other found objects. Woodworker J.P. Uranker has contributed a hand-carved boat hook and an oar to the collection. His wife, Fran Uranker, offers neat nautical gifts including rope-wrapped vases and decanters, sailor's knot-adorned stoppers, and monkey's fist necklaces.
There are two calendars — Catboats by catboat owner Jim O'Connor and Ms. Vanderhoop's popular Vineyard Seadogs. There is a small selection of jewelry including some lovely, simple modern pieces crafted by Kenneth Pillsworth from silver, titanium, and pearls, and there are hand-painted boxes by Lorraine Wells. A variety of artists have also contributed packaged cards.
The artists all keep 75 percent of the price with the remainder going towards Sail M.V. "This is great for the artists right now when they don't have a lot going on," said Hope Callen, Sail M.V. administrative director.
The unique collection has been gathered for the fourth year now as a benefit for Sail M.V., the local organization founded in 1992 dedicated to offering youth programs for Island children in sailing, seamanship, and wooden boat building; to attracting historic vessels to the community; and to providing opportunities for all ages in maritime education, rowing, and sailing.
The show, which runs through December 23, includes painting, photography, sculpture, jewelry, and other gift items, and a couple of working boats. Taking up most of the westerly wall in the one-room show is a full size canoe by Rick Brown of Far Cry Boats, which has a price tag of $3,333. The catboat that graces the front of the historic building is also for sale for $4,444.
The rest of the collection is considerably less pricey and more living-room friendly. Approximately 25 artists are represented with prices ranging from $50 to $1,600 (there are also inexpensive cards and gift items). "The water and boats inspire everybody in so many dimensions," said Pam Flam, show coordinator. "There's something for everybody's price range and also for every taste."
Works by a handful of well-established artists are among the group show, including a black and white print by Allen Whiting called "Bequia Boat," which is a departure from his signature style and has an almost expressionist feel.
A large monochromatic work by John Holladay stands out. It's a study of lobster traps in greys and blacks with a few splotches of red. Two very attractive paintings of Squibnocket by Donna Straw dominate one of the rooms. They are done in muted blues and tans highlighted by bold outlines and sun streaks of metallic gold.
Marston Clough has the most paintings in the show with 10 works whose simplicity is very appealing, especially in ones whose rustic appeal is contrasted by painted gold frames. The works, many of which are quite small, in prices ranging from $50 to $350, would make great Christmas gifts, as would lovely little landscapes by up-and-coming local artist Dan VanLandingham, and some attractively priced paintings by Thaw Malin.
A large oil painting of Sail M.V.'s two pilot gigs — Cassie and Grace — is perhaps the most eye-catching piece in the show, and also the priciest painting at $1,600. Cassie, whose green and red color scheme has made her a very recognizable feature of the Vineyard Haven harbor, is also the subject of a number of other works in the show. A series of photos by David Dandridge feature Cassie, both in color and black and white. Mr. Dandridge is a skipper for the Steamship Authority who, according to Ms. Flam, always has his camera with him. "He gets shots of sights that mere mortals don't get a chance to see," she said.
Among Mr. Dandridge's contributions to the show are two wonderful photos with Cassie in the foreground and ghostly images in the misty background — one in color with the ferry and one in black and white with a barely visible schooner. These two are treasures that could easily be missed in a peremptory viewing of the show.
Other photographers whose work is represented are Alison Shaw, L.A. Brown, Jeff Serusa, Susan Safford, Dick Clark, Lisa Vanderhoop, Jhenn Watts, and Louisa Gould. Each has a distinctive style, from Ms. Vanderhoop's popping colors to Ms. Watts' emulsion lifts on glass, to Ms. Gould's popular action shots from sailing races. Mr. Clark has on display many photos at different price points, including some unframed prints for $30.
Sketch artist Tim Winchell also offers some unframed matted prints for under $50, as well as framed prints and originals. His charcoal sketches of Menemsha are masterfully executed and display his eye for detail. One print of the Menemsha wharf vista from above, with circling seagulls in the foreground, is a wonderful portrayal from an unusual perspective.
Metal sculptures by Charles Gibbs include a very attractive fish made from corrugated metal and other found objects. Woodworker J.P. Uranker has contributed a hand-carved boat hook and an oar to the collection. His wife, Fran Uranker, offers neat nautical gifts including rope-wrapped vases and decanters, sailor's knot-adorned stoppers, and monkey's fist necklaces.
There are two calendars — Catboats by catboat owner Jim O'Connor and Ms. Vanderhoop's popular Vineyard Seadogs. There is a small selection of jewelry including some lovely, simple modern pieces crafted by Kenneth Pillsworth from silver, titanium, and pearls, and there are hand-painted boxes by Lorraine Wells. A variety of artists have also contributed packaged cards.
The artists all keep 75 percent of the price with the remainder going towards Sail M.V. "This is great for the artists right now when they don't have a lot going on," said Hope Callen, Sail M.V. administrative director.
2011年11月7日星期一
Pieces of the past up for sale at antique show
Salisbury is a long way from Lynchburg, Va., but Frances Jackson and her husband, Hugh, think it’s worth the time for the sake of antiques.
The couple own Jackson’s Antiques and will have a booth at this year’s Historic Salisbury Antique Show, which begins later this weekend. This is the 58th year of the event.
The show is at the Salisbury Civic Center, 315 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. The show hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday with lunch and dinner served, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday with lunch served.
Tickets are $6 at the door and $5.50 in advance.
Advance tickets can be purchased at the following places — Salisbury Emporium, 230 E. Kerr St.; the Rowan Museum, 114 S. Jackson St.; Clyde’s, 224 E. Bank St.; Queen’s Gifts, 221 S. Main St. and Caniche, 200 S. Main St.
“We have done it for five years and it’s a little far for us to come, plus my husband and I both have full time jobs, but everytime we go the people are just wonderful,” Frances said.
She said they always seem to do pretty OK when they participate.
The Jacksons have Chinese Export Rose Medallion, Canton, Early Chinese Export as well as English and American furniture.
In addition to setting up a booth, the two shop the show.
“I pick up items once I’m there. You’re always looking and always find things you add to your collection,” she said.
The annual event — the oldest of its kind in North Carolina — benefits Rowan Museum and its two house museums, the Old Stone House and the Utzman-Chambers House.
“I look at antiques as a wise investment,” said one organizer, Virginia Robertson.
She said there is nothing like the quality and craftsmanship of the items that will be found at the show.
“It’s unparalleled,” Robertson said.
She said antiques can be used as a statement piece in a room.
Tickets for the patron’s dinner are $85 and will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Davis Cooke with Old Sarum Gallery in Salisbury has been participating for years.
He and business partner John Short will have about 10-15 pieces ranging from museum quality art pieces, known artists and what Cooke calls “some sweet little paintings” that may not have a well known artist, but are still a great find.
“Antiques are a connection with the history of our past whether its jewelry or art, that’s a tangible link,” Cooke said.
The majority of what Old Sarum Gallery has falls under landscape and seascape.
The antique show is a way for some people to expand their art collection or start a collection.
“We’re preserving and restoring history,” Cooke said.
He also has people who typically stop by his booth who don’t necessarily want to buy a painting, but want to know how to restore one they own.
Old Sarum Gallery does restoration services as well.
The couple own Jackson’s Antiques and will have a booth at this year’s Historic Salisbury Antique Show, which begins later this weekend. This is the 58th year of the event.
The show is at the Salisbury Civic Center, 315 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. The show hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday with lunch and dinner served, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday with lunch served.
Tickets are $6 at the door and $5.50 in advance.
Advance tickets can be purchased at the following places — Salisbury Emporium, 230 E. Kerr St.; the Rowan Museum, 114 S. Jackson St.; Clyde’s, 224 E. Bank St.; Queen’s Gifts, 221 S. Main St. and Caniche, 200 S. Main St.
“We have done it for five years and it’s a little far for us to come, plus my husband and I both have full time jobs, but everytime we go the people are just wonderful,” Frances said.
She said they always seem to do pretty OK when they participate.
The Jacksons have Chinese Export Rose Medallion, Canton, Early Chinese Export as well as English and American furniture.
In addition to setting up a booth, the two shop the show.
“I pick up items once I’m there. You’re always looking and always find things you add to your collection,” she said.
The annual event — the oldest of its kind in North Carolina — benefits Rowan Museum and its two house museums, the Old Stone House and the Utzman-Chambers House.
“I look at antiques as a wise investment,” said one organizer, Virginia Robertson.
She said there is nothing like the quality and craftsmanship of the items that will be found at the show.
“It’s unparalleled,” Robertson said.
She said antiques can be used as a statement piece in a room.
Tickets for the patron’s dinner are $85 and will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Davis Cooke with Old Sarum Gallery in Salisbury has been participating for years.
He and business partner John Short will have about 10-15 pieces ranging from museum quality art pieces, known artists and what Cooke calls “some sweet little paintings” that may not have a well known artist, but are still a great find.
“Antiques are a connection with the history of our past whether its jewelry or art, that’s a tangible link,” Cooke said.
The majority of what Old Sarum Gallery has falls under landscape and seascape.
The antique show is a way for some people to expand their art collection or start a collection.
“We’re preserving and restoring history,” Cooke said.
He also has people who typically stop by his booth who don’t necessarily want to buy a painting, but want to know how to restore one they own.
Old Sarum Gallery does restoration services as well.
2011年7月28日星期四
Artists show off immense talent
'I CAN tell a person's humour and mood by looking at what they are painting,' said oilpainting tutor Sylvia McGahon.
' They tend to do a dark study if they're depressed or will use more flamboyant colours if in good form. People come to me saying they can't paint, but then surpass themselves with a real work of art.'
Mary Martin is proud of her two paintings, Lost in Time and The Old Cottage. 'I only started painting 10 years ago in Lifestyle and really enjoy it. I started on pastels, progressing onto acrylics and now I'm using oils which is my favourite.' As well as learning to paint, Mary also enjoys the social aspect of the classes where she finds other participants very encouraging.
Exhibiting for the first time is Anne Miley from Drogheda who painted scenic views in Carlow and Cork from photos taken by her husband. 'I have a great sense of satisfaction that my work is hanging here and that others can look at it.'
With local views, Maureen Moore painted the former An Oige hostel on Clogherhead, the Nanny Cottage in Laytown and a castle in Galway. 'I find oils a favourable medium to work in. It's great that Lifestyle was given the opportunity to mount a group exhibition here.'
Viewing the exhibits was artis Pat Walsh who commended the huge amount of work. 'It's a very peaceful pursuit from which I gain huge enjoyment.'
Now in his 80s, Eamon Faulkner from Bettystown took up painting in 1996 when he retired as daughter Eileen signed him up for a class. 'I never knew I could paint but found I had a hidden talent! I love the company and camraderie of the weekly class as it's a social outlet for me too.' Although bearing a pricetag, Eamon's daughter Eilleen and granddaughters Kate and Ciara Hanlon don't want him to part with his three paintings!
Commenting on the large attendance, Lifestyle Training Coordinator Rita McQuillan said it was a credit to the art group participants and tutors. Over 40 works are on display, including work by the late June Lowthe, class participant who passed away recently.
Although no romances have been attributed to the art class, old friends were reunited when two Drogheda-based ladies both aged 82, and originally from Dundalk and who hadn't seen each other since they were children, met again at the class!
Lifestyle directors Bridie Durnan and Nancy O'Mordha were impressed by the art work exhibited and that the participants could learn to paint from scratch! 'It's great recognition for Sr Ann who started off Lifestyle in the corners of the Boxing Club hall with a boxing ring in the middle and classes going on around it. The group progressed to prefabs and now have a state of the art building.'
Opening the exhibition, Deputy Mayor Richie Culhane said, 'These works of art are testament to the competence and professinalism of the tutors, Loreto Brodigan and Sylvia McGahon, and to the artists themselves who have created unique masterpieces in their own right.' He also congratulated Lifestyle coordinator Mairead Meade and Rita McQuillan who run this truely remarkable facility.
' They tend to do a dark study if they're depressed or will use more flamboyant colours if in good form. People come to me saying they can't paint, but then surpass themselves with a real work of art.'
Mary Martin is proud of her two paintings, Lost in Time and The Old Cottage. 'I only started painting 10 years ago in Lifestyle and really enjoy it. I started on pastels, progressing onto acrylics and now I'm using oils which is my favourite.' As well as learning to paint, Mary also enjoys the social aspect of the classes where she finds other participants very encouraging.
Exhibiting for the first time is Anne Miley from Drogheda who painted scenic views in Carlow and Cork from photos taken by her husband. 'I have a great sense of satisfaction that my work is hanging here and that others can look at it.'
With local views, Maureen Moore painted the former An Oige hostel on Clogherhead, the Nanny Cottage in Laytown and a castle in Galway. 'I find oils a favourable medium to work in. It's great that Lifestyle was given the opportunity to mount a group exhibition here.'
Viewing the exhibits was artis Pat Walsh who commended the huge amount of work. 'It's a very peaceful pursuit from which I gain huge enjoyment.'
Now in his 80s, Eamon Faulkner from Bettystown took up painting in 1996 when he retired as daughter Eileen signed him up for a class. 'I never knew I could paint but found I had a hidden talent! I love the company and camraderie of the weekly class as it's a social outlet for me too.' Although bearing a pricetag, Eamon's daughter Eilleen and granddaughters Kate and Ciara Hanlon don't want him to part with his three paintings!
Commenting on the large attendance, Lifestyle Training Coordinator Rita McQuillan said it was a credit to the art group participants and tutors. Over 40 works are on display, including work by the late June Lowthe, class participant who passed away recently.
Although no romances have been attributed to the art class, old friends were reunited when two Drogheda-based ladies both aged 82, and originally from Dundalk and who hadn't seen each other since they were children, met again at the class!
Lifestyle directors Bridie Durnan and Nancy O'Mordha were impressed by the art work exhibited and that the participants could learn to paint from scratch! 'It's great recognition for Sr Ann who started off Lifestyle in the corners of the Boxing Club hall with a boxing ring in the middle and classes going on around it. The group progressed to prefabs and now have a state of the art building.'
Opening the exhibition, Deputy Mayor Richie Culhane said, 'These works of art are testament to the competence and professinalism of the tutors, Loreto Brodigan and Sylvia McGahon, and to the artists themselves who have created unique masterpieces in their own right.' He also congratulated Lifestyle coordinator Mairead Meade and Rita McQuillan who run this truely remarkable facility.
2011年5月25日星期三
Tryon gallery walk set for June 4
The streets of downtown Tryon will come alive during the second Tryon Gallery Trot from 5-8 p.m. June 4. There will be 8 participating galleries, shops and businesses featuring artwork and refreshments.
The Upstairs Artspace will be opening a new show "Flood and The Pump: Galleries With Attitude." This exhibit presents 15 artists from the Flood Fine Arts Center, an Asheville institution that is well known for showcasing exciting, thought-provoking art. In addition, 20 artists with working studios at the Flood will be offering examples of their work.
Tryon Painters and Sculptors, located in Gallery One in the mid-level of the Tryon Fine Arts Center on Melrose Ave. is showing the work of Richard Baker. Baker’s oil paintings depict the architecture and landscapes of this area.
Kiveo, a Trade Street internet business is opening its’ spacious offices to display contemporary and traditional paintings from Ralph Berger, Robert Deterly, Alan McCarter, Jocelyn Davis, Richard Baker, and Catherine Gurri.
Kathleen’s Gallery will be featuring the “Small Wonders” of photographer Elaine Pearsons. Her new work is enhanced by a glaze of colorful glitter. Asheville poet and photographer, Tracey Schmidt will show giclee prints from her new book of poetry.
Vines and Stuff in the Shops of Tryon will be open late showcasing their wide variety of gifts for all ages including hand made pottery.
Just across the street Skyuka Fine Art will be opening “Landscapes of the Carolinas” dedicated to the art of the landscape. Much of the work will be of the Tryon area, its’ surrounding mountains as well as low country, marsh and coastal landscapes in a variety of techniques and mediums. New artists to the gallery will be represented in this exhibit as well as historical ones.
Next door to Skyuka, Green River Gallery joins in the trot offering a wide selection of paintings and prints from their collection.
Just down from Green River Gallery, Richard Baker Studio will host late hours with a special touch; Richard will be demonstrating how he captures the beautiful properties of water that he is so well known for. Mr. Baker has also taken on some new local artists who will have their work on display and be on site as well.
This, the second Tryon Gallery Trot, is sponsored by the Tryon Downtown Development Association. Look for maps in participating galleries and shops to guide you along on your own "Trot."
The Upstairs Artspace will be opening a new show "Flood and The Pump: Galleries With Attitude." This exhibit presents 15 artists from the Flood Fine Arts Center, an Asheville institution that is well known for showcasing exciting, thought-provoking art. In addition, 20 artists with working studios at the Flood will be offering examples of their work.
Tryon Painters and Sculptors, located in Gallery One in the mid-level of the Tryon Fine Arts Center on Melrose Ave. is showing the work of Richard Baker. Baker’s oil paintings depict the architecture and landscapes of this area.
Kiveo, a Trade Street internet business is opening its’ spacious offices to display contemporary and traditional paintings from Ralph Berger, Robert Deterly, Alan McCarter, Jocelyn Davis, Richard Baker, and Catherine Gurri.
Kathleen’s Gallery will be featuring the “Small Wonders” of photographer Elaine Pearsons. Her new work is enhanced by a glaze of colorful glitter. Asheville poet and photographer, Tracey Schmidt will show giclee prints from her new book of poetry.
Vines and Stuff in the Shops of Tryon will be open late showcasing their wide variety of gifts for all ages including hand made pottery.
Just across the street Skyuka Fine Art will be opening “Landscapes of the Carolinas” dedicated to the art of the landscape. Much of the work will be of the Tryon area, its’ surrounding mountains as well as low country, marsh and coastal landscapes in a variety of techniques and mediums. New artists to the gallery will be represented in this exhibit as well as historical ones.
Next door to Skyuka, Green River Gallery joins in the trot offering a wide selection of paintings and prints from their collection.
Just down from Green River Gallery, Richard Baker Studio will host late hours with a special touch; Richard will be demonstrating how he captures the beautiful properties of water that he is so well known for. Mr. Baker has also taken on some new local artists who will have their work on display and be on site as well.
This, the second Tryon Gallery Trot, is sponsored by the Tryon Downtown Development Association. Look for maps in participating galleries and shops to guide you along on your own "Trot."
订阅：
博文 (Atom)