Greetings, collectors! I'm excited to unveil our very first guest-curated selection of 20x200 art, thoughtfully assembled by boy-genius Jeff Hamada, of Booooooom fame. With this fresh perspective comes opportunity; we've got a limited number of discounted prints available of Jeff's selections and we're offering them exclusively to our mailing list subscribers.

[Oops! Sorry, if you didn't get full details about the discounted editions in your inbox, make sure you're signed up for the 20x200 newsletter so you'll get the scoop on list-only specials and new guest curator selections next time. Don't miss out again!]

It was really cool to see what Jeff came up with when let loose in our archives. He put things together in ways that I'd have never done myself, plus, he took me down memory lane, giving me a chance to revisit some of my favorite past editions. I hit him up over IM to discuss what he chose and why, and I also got to hear more about Booooooom's short but brilliant-so-far history. You can read the full transcript on the 20x200 blog, but here's a bit of what Jeff had to say about some of the artists he chose:

Jen:
How'd you winnow it down to the choices that you made?
Jeff:
I'm not sure exactly, they had to catch my eye, which really isn't revealing anything about my process but that's what it comes down to. I have been told that there is usually a certain style to the things I post on my site and I have been trying to figure out a way to describe the things I like in a general sense. I really do like work that is hand-made or has that imperfect quality to it. I don't post a lot of slick, perfect, computer generated stuff, it's just cold, I think.
Jen:
Hah well, I can totally identify with that.
Jeff:
So, maybe there is a warmth to the majority of the work I pick.
I do like dark work as well though.
Jen:
The gallery's motto is, "Live with art - it's good for you." But my personal motto is a quote from a Frank O'Hara poem, "You just go on your nerve."
Jeff:
Yeah, totally.
Jen:
I'm all about gut instinct... I find it hard to explain why I pick what I do.
There is a certain in-commonness about the line quality of the images you picked from our archives though. And it's not something I'd have picked up on myself, like putting the two Jacobs [Escobedo + Magraw] together, when you see them, they make total sense.
Jeff:
Yeah. I guess these pieces have really skinny line-detail stuff, even the Amy Ross work. But, the Ky Anderson work is kinda the other side of it, really free and expressive.
Jen:
I love her stuff. I feel like she is an unsung hero of 20x200!
Plus she is a lovely human being.
Jeff:
Yeah, her work is amazing.
Jen:
Also Whitmarsh and Ky side-by-side! Brilliant. Really nice combination.
Jeff:
Yeah, two mountains that couldn't be more different.
Jen:
And again, not something I would've thought of. Megan's work is really incredible too.

To hear more about Jeff's background, the future of Booooooom and his curatorial process, read the whole conversation. I want to send a big THANK YOU his way, for his time and attention and for everything he does to get people excited about looking at and making art. His energy is inspiring, and I couldn't think of a better person to kick off this series for us.

I'm back next week with some fresh editions, so look for me then.