Praia Piquinia 02/08/07 15h16 by Christian Chaize

Praia Piquinia 04/08/07 16h04 by Christian Chaize

Wednesday greetings, collector friends! As I just said on The Twitter, I'm wearing a striped sailor shirt and chomping on a buttery croissant from the newish cafe around the corner, which has got me feeling all "Vive La France!" on this dreary (again, oh woe!) almost-summer day. I've also got a certain French photographer on my mind — our very own Christian Chaize! As reported here, he recently made his solo debut in New York City and I'm very pleased and proud to have 9 gigantic prints of his utterly gorgeous photographs hanging on the walls of Jen Bekman Gallery.

Many 20x200 collectors were hip to Christian's work long before Praia Piquinia made its way to our shores. They read all about it back in February, when I introduced his two exclusive 20x200 editions: Praia Piquinia 02/08/07 15h16 and Praia Piquinia 04/08/07 16h04. We've had lots of new collectors join us since then, so it seemed like a good idea to re-introduce Christian's editions here, especially because I've got so much great exhibition-related stuff to share along with them!

First off, have a look at the installation shots of the exhibition, taken by the extremely over-qualified Joseph O. Holmes. Also, be sure to check out the sweet, sweet video Christian created while he was here in New York for the show. It's almost like being here, which is great for those of you collecting from afar, but for the New Yorkers among you: it ain't nothing like the real thing!

The gallery is quite the oasis these days, so you should really stop by and see for yourself — we're located at 6 Spring Street, between Elizabeth & Bowery. We're open Wednesday through Saturday, from noon to 6 p.m., and are often there otherwise, so don't be shy about calling to arrange an appointment.

The prints in the exhibition measure an impressive 44" x 37"; in the context of the art world at large, their $3500 price is on the affordable end, especially since the editions are small.* Still and all, that's a lot of money for most people and not everyone's got room for prints with such presence. I'm happy that we're able to offer smaller, more affordable prints here. The 14" x 11" prints are quite lovely, especially as a pair, and the 24" x 20" editions make a huge impact in a smaller space. For collectors looking for a print close to the scale of those in the exhibition, we've got one 40" x 30" print remaining on 20x200 that's really quite a steal. In other words, there's art for everyone, which is exactly what we're all about!

Also, if you've got prints that need framing — and I know for a fact that lots of you do — bring them along! We're awfully experienced with framing and have lots of great resources. Jeffrey Teuton, the gallery's Associate Director, will be happy to help you frame your artwork beautifully and affordably.

With all these prints presented for you to ponder, I'm going to take my leave for today, but I'm back once more this week. Be on the lookout for an unusually early dispatch from me tomorrow — we're cooking up a little something special for y'all and I'll share the details with you then.

*We also have a very limited selection of images which are available as 88" x 68" prints — they're absolutely stunning at this size, but obviously high ceilings are a prerequisite!