20x200

In the May issue of InStyle, top home decor professionals give easy-to-do home style secrets. Included in their suggestions is Jessica Snow's "Louis the Third", something that can make an ordinary space feel palatial.

Here's what we said when we first released this edition:

"It's a wry and witty take on Morris Louis's Point of Tranquility. Just how Louis created his canvases is a mystery; he destroyed many of his works and kept his process a secret, leaving us to wonder in his wake. Jessica's got a few tricks up her sleeve as well--but she's traded the seeming spontaneity of Morris's overlapping color fields for her own sophisticated and specific color combinations. Look closely and you'll see they're not what you'd expect."

Jessica has been quite busy of late. Her work is currently part of the Color Theory: The Use of Color in Contemporary Art exhibition at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art. Also, see if you can spot her work in Design Sponge's recent tutorial on curtains.

Want to know the "why" and "how" behind 20x200? In an enlightening article by Angela Haines, Forbes profiles Jen Bekman and describes how she developed her mission to "democratize art."

"My business arose out of frustration. I realized that the reason I had never bought art was that no one had ever tried to sell it to me," said Jen.

The story chronicles how Jen used her background in technology to form 20x200, a new way for potential art collectors to buy art without the anxiety and intimidation oftentimes found in the gallery world. The article also talks about 20x200's mission to help emerging artists sustain themselves, and details the Hey, Hot Shot! photography competition.

Definitely worth a read!

We're happy that the editors at Real Simple have featured Aaron Straup Cope's Prettymaps series among their top "Modern Wall Art Under $100."

Cool and graphic. Influenced by how a city looks at night, the color gets deeper in more “congested” areas. Choose from 10 cities around the world.

We couldn't have said it better. Of course, don't forget to browse Aaron Straup Cope's prettymaps series.

In a recent interview on Observer Media's "Design Matters" podcast, Jen Bekman spoke with Debbie Millman and talked about being a Queens native, junior high school regrets, online community in 1994, losing forty grand, maxing out her credit cards to start the eponymous Jen Bekman Gallery, and how sheer determination turned that gallery into the core of what we 'humbly brag' are some pretty amazing projects - like this and this.

Among the many worthwhile soundbites from Jen were: "The expense of something is often more of a reflection of someone's ego than its inherent quality."

It's a lengthy interview, but like all things that require a bit of effort, it's worth the time.

Just in time for the new year, MSN's Glo is offering its readers a number of DIY projects to spruce up their homes in "New Year, Fresh Start." Interior designer Saudah Saleem offers creative inspiration and tips, including William Swanson's Chemical Schematic.

Often overlooked, a hallway is a prime area for a DIY project to refresh your home. "Small areas are the perfect places to accent with bold color and accessories," says Saleem. Get the family involved by framing photos to create a striking collage.

In what can only be described as a mammoth effort, Buzzfeed, the purveyor of "the hottest and most social content on the web," wrote a (long) article about the artists and editions that made it onto 20x200 last year.

The story by Amy Sly lists out 60 artists in total, and shows each edition in magnificently large sizes. If you want a terrific visual recap of the year, give it a read (each artist's mention includes his or her statement as well). You can also browse our 2011 in Review as well.

In this past weekend's edition of the Wall Street Journal, in an article titled "Search. Appreciate. Buy.," reporter Sameer Reddy wrote about how online art sellers like 20x200 are broadening the art world's scope.

Sameer highlighted 20x200's price ranges help collectors in every stage of collecting, including "nascent collectors, unseasoned in navigating art price points and purchases." 20x200 founder + CEO Jen Bekman said, "I see a huge opportunity in getting people who can easily afford more expensive pieces hooked with the lower-priced prints, and then helping them make bigger purchases once they're more confident about their taste."

The Journal also reaffirms 20x200's success in that it has sold more than 150,000 prints since 2007. The story featured editions from Jessica Craig-Martin and Todd McLellan.

Our mission here is to enable everyone to live with art. As you can tell from our artwork, when we say "art," we mean real art. And when we say everyone, we mean everyone. We're so proud to be the "gateway drug" to the art world for new collectors, and we're also super proud to count among our collectors folks who are more experienced in collecting.

We've sold more than 150,000 prints, yes, but with your help, we will one day sell one million, and living with art will be much more common! Hope you're looking forward to the ride!

The Inside Source, eBay's digital lifestyle magazine, recently did a Q&A with Jen Bekman where Jen shared her personal background, collecting habits and more.

Did you know that Jen didn't have any artwork on her walls at all before she opened her gallery? Quite amazing. From those beginnings she went on what she described as her biggest art splurge - an Ed Ruscha print she bought from Crown Point Press in San Francisco.

It was well beyond my means at the time, but I had obsessed over it for at least a year before taking the plunge. (And was able to do so because they let me pay it off in installments.)

Jen also talked about approach to buying art:

My first and last rule of collecting is to buy what you love. While I'm really drawn to certain colors (green) or styles (love text art, for instance) I don't collect or display work thematically. In fact, I really enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to make a very diverse array of stuff work well together.

The writer, Marni Elyse Katz, described 20x200's approach very well:

Taking a democratic approach to an arena that’s historically been, well, stuffy, pretentious, and intimidating to many, the site proclaims, “Everyone needs art,” and it takes the sentiment seriously.

The profile showcases artwork by William Wegman, Mike + Doug Starn, and Carrie Marill, and offers details on what other artists are among Jen's favorites.

Of course, everyone's path to becoming an avid collector is different, and while Jen's way is not necessarily something for everyone, it does show how quickly and rewarding taking the jump to live with art really can be.

prettymaps (dallas/fort worth) by Aaron Straup Cope

prettymaps (chicago) by Aaron Straup Cope

Whoa-we're-barreling-towards-the-holidays-mighty-quick greetings, collectors! Bringing us even closer, faster, is this abbreviated week—we're T-minus a coupla days away from the first bout of harrowing holiday travel and the boarding of planes, trains and automobiles to celebrate T-giving with friends and family afar. In honor of wherever you might be bound, we're unleashing another set of prettymaps from Aaron Straup Cope and Stamen Design, covering the territories that sprawl from cities across the U.S. of A: dc/baltimore, boston, dallas/fort worth and chicago.

Hot on the heels of the MoMA exhibition Talk to Me, which featured prettymaps earlier this year, these fair four also follow up the already released editions of nyc, la, sfba and paris prints. MoMA featured Manhattan* along with Beijing and Tokyo, but we're staying closer to the homefront—for now! More international destinations coming soon—favoring the places we know a little more intimately. (Though, that's up for debate; I'll be the first to admit that Dallas/Ft. Worth is as foreign to me as the far reaches of the Faroes.)

Dizzying and data-licious, Aaron's maps are the product of enormous amount of freely available info streamed from sources around the web. The nitty-gritty details of just how they were created can be found on the prettymaps site, and among the plethora of blogs that hopped on the story as soon as the maps came out. Though Open Source Maps is indeed a source for these, they're not made for navigating. But, they sure are nice to look at. Among the pinks, yellows and oranges, orienting yourself in the cities you do know is an immersive, instantaneous pleasure. In the ones that you don't know, the palette keeps the secrets of those unknown territories. But fear not, if you're ever lost, home is always where the he(art) is.

— Sara

P.S. If you haven't already, like us on Facebook. We have a host of special scoops and deals for our friends!

*MoMA also cleverly charts how all the works featured in the exhibition connect to one another, but one thing they didn't link was all the 20x200 artists included in the show: namely Stefanie Posavec and Matt Jones. We're mighty proud of all three.

Animal Locomotion; Plate 187, Dancing (Fancy) by Eadweard Muybridge

Good morning, collectors! Hope this finds you well this fine Saturday. Reporting sunny skies from NYC as I slip a little art in your inbox from one of photography's most influential heroes: Mr. Eadweard Muybridge. Animal Locomotion; Plate 187, Dancing (Fancy) is our second vintage print, a fitting follow-up to the entirely sold-out Animal Locomotion; Plate 197 (Couple Dancing).

Dancing (Fancy) appears in museum collections around the world, accompanying notes about Mr. Muybridge's considerable contributions to both art and science as well as juicy bits from his made-for-the-movies life. An eccentric fellow born as Edward James Muggeridge, he changed his name several times, finally settling on a spelling to match that of King Edward as shown on the plinth of the Kingston coronation stone. Long a resident of San Francisco, he also lived in Central America, leaving the U.S. after standing trial for killing his wife's lover. Ignoring his plea of insanity, a jury of married men acquitted him, calling his actions entirely justifiable. The sensational saga spawned the great Philip Glass's 1982 opera The Photographer.

While old tales surround Muybridge and his famous works, new ones abound. Of the sweetest is James Danziger's seeking, finding, losing and re-finding Couple Dancing, but the story we're most excited about marks an important chapter in 20x200 history: the initiation of our artist fund. Jen introduced it here, writing:

Supporting contemporary artists in their practices is, and will always be, core to 20x200's mission. The introduction of vintage editions today is a key component to furthering and expanding upon that mission... you can purchase this print today knowing that a substantial portion of its proceeds will be funneled into 20x200's newly formed Artists' Fund.

With the spinning miss in Dancing (Fancy) we're taking another step forward in establishing the artist fund. Big thanks to the Trustees of the Boston Public Library, Rare Books Department for contributing to this epic tale that's only just beginning.

— Sara

Animal Locomotion; Plate 187, Dancing (Fancy) by Eadweard Muybridge

Good morning, collectors! Hope this finds you well this fine Saturday. Reporting sunny skies from NYC as I slip a little art in your inbox from one of photography's most influential heroes: Mr. Eadweard Muybridge. Animal Locomotion; Plate 187, Dancing (Fancy) is our second vintage print, a fitting follow-up to the entirely sold-out Animal Locomotion; Plate 197 (Couple Dancing).

Dancing (Fancy) appears in museum collections around the world, accompanying notes about Mr. Muybridge's considerable contributions to both art and science as well as juicy bits from his made-for-the-movies life. An eccentric fellow born as Edward James Muggeridge, he changed his name several times, finally settling on a spelling to match that of King Edward as shown on the plinth of the Kingston coronation stone. Long a resident of San Francisco, he also lived in Central America, leaving the U.S. after standing trial for killing his wife's lover. Ignoring his plea of insanity, a jury of married men acquitted him, calling his actions entirely justifiable. The sensational saga spawned the great Philip Glass's 1982 opera The Photographer.

While old tales surround Muybridge and his famous works, new ones abound. Of the sweetest is James Danziger's seeking, finding, losing and re-finding Couple Dancing, but the story we're most excited about marks an important chapter in 20x200 history: the initiation of our artist fund. Jen introduced it here, writing:

Supporting contemporary artists in their practices is, and will always be, core to 20x200's mission. The introduction of vintage editions today is a key component to furthering and expanding upon that mission... you can purchase this print today knowing that a substantial portion of its proceeds will be funneled into 20x200's newly formed Artists' Fund.

With the spinning miss in Dancing (Fancy) we're taking another step forward in establishing the artist fund. Big thanks to the Trustees of the Boston Public Library, Rare Books Department for contributing to this epic tale that's only just beginning.

— Sara

Apres Grande 7 by Christian Chaize

Sans Titre 21 by Christian Chaize

It's-almost-the-weekend greetings, collectors! Today I write with news of new editions from one of 20x200's most beloved artists, the charming and talented Christian Chaize. What makes this announcement especially special is that Apres Grande 7 and Sans Titre 21 are our first editions from two of Christian's new bodies of work. Drifting away from his much-adored images in Praia Piquinia, Apres Grande 7, from Christian's evolving Praia Grande series, carries us into the territory explored in Paradis, including Sans Titre 21.

In both works, we find ourselves looking at the prosaic details of seascapes—water, sky and sand—from a different, increasingly distant perspective. Christian describes the Portugese beach featured in Praia Piquinia—the first series of his we presented here and at the gallery—as being "as familiar to me now as a family member." With Paradis, created farther south, in the Seychelles, Christian finds himself in his element, along the shore, but not quite at home. In this familiar-yet-foreign setting, it's the characteristics of the place that he hones in on, rather than its people and their attendant things.

The resulting images are more subtle—sculptural, abstract and meditative; assembled elegantly within a squared frame—than the exuberant finery of the Piquinia vacationers' umbrellas. The beauty in Paradis emerges from a more nuanced palette comprising the curves of tide-worn boulders and the hearty plant life that takes hold amongst their crevices. As I wrote in the press release for the exhibition of this work that's currently on view at Jen Bekman Gallery, "here Chaize uses the lens to contemplate the beach in a more private and reverent manner. Paradis demonstrates his ability to shift subjects and tonal ranges and still manage to coax out details of the beach others might overlook."

We'll also have work from both this and his beloved Praia Piquinia series at the upcoming Pulse Art Fair in Miami. You'll find us in Booth E101, where Christian's photographs will be hanging alongside new work by Carrie Marill, Sarah McKenzie and Michelle Muldrow. As you might have surmised, there's much to feast your eyes upon 'round these parts right now and, yes!, there's more to come. In fact, it just so happens that today's photographs are two of the three new editions we'll be presenting by Christian before year's end. What ever will that last edition be? You'll just have to keep an eye on your inbox to find out.

— Jen

Please note: Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists' originals. The 11"x11" and 20"x20" prints have a border of 0.5 inches to allow for framing. The 35"x35" prints have a border of 3 inches, and the 50"x50" prints have a border of 4 inches, per the artist's specifications.

Apart Phone by Todd McLellan