Untitled #17 by Matthew Tischler

Untitled #9 by Matthew Tischler

Thursday Edition: Matthew Tischler

Greetings from the city of big shoulders, my collector friends. We're in the final hours before tonight's preview events for the NEXT Fair. Booth 7-8033 — featuring paintings by Sarah McKenzie — is looking most fine, thanks to the labors of Mr. Jeffrey Teuton. A much-deserved shoutout also goes to the folks at DWR, who've generously provided us with lovely furnishings for our little square of art fair.

We've been busy bees, but still! I've missed you all these past two newsletters, resting somewhat easier knowing that you were in the capable, articulate care of Youngna and Sara. It's a good thing they swept in from the wings; the internet has SO not been my friend as of late, making it a Sisyphean challenge to eke out even the most meager of tweets. Surely a small price to pay, considering the amazing adventures I've been enjoying, but I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear lack of internet access leads to the onset of an ideological Phantom Limb syndrome. On the bright side: Oh, the places I've gone! Such adventures, including the one I'm in the midst of one right this very second.

All this air travel and not-being-able-to-get-on-the-internet-no-matter-how-hard-I-tried time has given me a chance to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes: overdosing on magazines. My #1 read thus far is the newly retooled Interview which included conversation with the enterprising and talented Andy Spade wherein he name-checked our very own Jason Polan and HHS! panelist Julia Leach. Speaking of Hey, Hot Shot! — we're close to 24 hours out from our deadline, so if you want to get your work in front of the likes of Ms. Leach — now's your chance.

Today's edition-maker Matthew Tischler did just that back in the early days of the competition and Julia was impressed enough by his Screens series that she added one of his prints to her very impressive, witty and gorgeously curated personal collection. Now you too have an opportunity to have some Tischler's in your midst. You could create quite a nice salon style hanging of them in fact, since today's Untitled #9 and Untitled #17 are follow-ups to our not-so-long-ago release of two other images from the series, Untitled #4 and Untitled #15. As I said when announcing those two beauties, Tischler's series triggers a remembrance of things past in the most delightful way. With the summer months tantalizingly close at hand, I'd like to also think of them as predictive of some very near future R&R. (I need it bad!)

Alas what I really need to do, righthisminute is get! going! I need to figure out my look for tonight (thank God JT's here to help!) and then we're off to put some finishing touches on the booth. Egad! I have lots more to tell you about my trip to France. (Was I really just in France?! It already seems so far away...) I met so many amazing people there!

The event's organizer, Michel Mallard, is a social engineering genius (and that's just one of his many geniuses). I also got to hang out with some friends I never get to see enough of: the estimable Mr. Joerg Colberg, editor of Conscientious and former HHS! panelist, and the now-Philadelphia-based Hot Shot Daniel Traub, who recently moved back to the States after living in China for nine years. Which brings me back to my parting bit of advice for the photographers among you, namely: enter Hey, Hot Shot!. The panel is awesome — not to mention thoughtful, engaged and passionate, and the opportunities are incredible.