Good day to you, my collector pals, and welcome to the Wednesday edition of 20x200. I am not going to talk about the weather today except to say that it's most fine. And I'm not going to talk about my tiredness except to say that I went to bed at 3:30 a.m. and got up just a few hours later.

I am going to apologize for teasing you all last week with word of a 20x200 surprise that was due Monday. SO sorry! We're still putting the finishing touches on the details, but I promise it's coming soon. I will also mention that Carrie Marill's show is opening at the gallery the day after tomorrow, because we installed it yesterday and wow! It looks great, super fantastic in fact, and is quite a departure from the ordinary for both Ms. Marill and the gallery itself.

Now on to what's most important for the 20x200 addicted, today's photography editions, Untitled 2 (raft) and Untitled 5 (wallpaper). These quiet and lovely photos are by Dan Boardman, another member of the JB family by way of his participation in the Summer '07 edition of Hey, Hot Shot!, where he also exhibited work from this series, Home. His statement, much like the work itself, is simple and charming and (dare I say it?) sweet:

To grow up in a small town is to always be looking for something bigger, to be looking out to the next chapter, waiting, daydreaming. To move away from a small town is to long for its innocence and its comfort.

As it has been amply evidenced here, I am a fan of the square format for photography. My enthusiasm about the opportunities for elegant composition within an equally sided image are apparently infectious. (Not to mention alliterative, I see.) A friend is newly fixated on getting himself a Hasselblad and has rented one for the upcoming weekend, just to be sure. I don't even need to see the results! I am sure already.

What could be better than a square photo? Why, two square photos, naturally, especially two that go together as well as these do. All of the images from Home bring out the tender-hearted sentimentalist in me*, but I love how these two are the same and different all at once.

The compositional similarities practically hit you over the head, so much so that I was slightly sheepish when suggesting the pairing to my JBP cohorts. The counterpoints are perhaps a little more subtle — the opposition of the expansive outdoors against the intimate interior, the bright, cool blues and greens vs. the creamy intimacy of the domestic tableau. It's divine, if you ask me, and the sum of them is better than either on its own.

And with that (and with the acknowledgment that I need to come up with some new segue phrasing) I will leave you on your own for the balance of this week. There's a good chance I'll be back sooner than Tuesday with word on our special project, but the aforementioned opening of Doing a Lot with Very Little may well leave me with little time to spare.

If you're in NYC come see us at Jen Bekman Gallery! You'll find us toasting Carrie and ogling her fabulous work at 6 Spring St. from 6 p.m. — 8 p.m. on Friday, September 12th. (Toasting isn't your thing? You can ogle independently anytime between noon and 6 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, from September 13th through October 18th.) If you're afar, tune in to the 20x200 blog where the capable Ms. Canal has things humming along quite nicely.

See you soon!

*As if she needed coaxing.