Eivind by Michelle Arcila

Kind Intruder by Michelle Arcila

Wednesday-that-feels-like-Tuesday greetings, my long-lost collector pals. As reported by Ms. Distin, my schedule has been particularly bananas as of late. I feel really fortunate that she's such a capable channel-er of my energies and inclinations. She's got an amazing knack for spinning our hurried IM conversations into entertaining newsletters, but I've missed the writing and the contemplation that goes along with them. You won't be surprised to hear that my brain performs as a multi-channel mechanism—art is always on in some capacity, but presenting new editions to you all each week is the greatest privilege of my job. Vociferous grousing about deadlines and such aside, reflecting upon the images, artists and audience of 20x200 is seriously amazing and inspirational.

Also inspirational are the five photographers who are debuting work at tonight's Hey, Hot Shot! opening over at the gallery. It's my job to be excited and enthusiastic about the artists that we show, sure, but my excitement about this exhibition goes well beyond the call of duty. I'm just so proud of who we're showing! I am particularly mama-bear aglow (pun intended) about today's edition-maker, Michelle Arcila, since I first showed her photographs way back in 2004, as part of Future Perfect, an exhibition of work by recent alumni that I curated for the School of Visual Arts.

Years later, I remain intrigued by Michelle's work. Her narrative-rich interiors, portraits and landscapes are "right up my alley"—just like Sara proclaimed over IM this morning. The tales told in Eivind and Kind Intruder are infused with a hint of magical realism that's somehow grounding—Michelle's scenes are built from dreams with a refreshing moxie. She imagines it and then makes it so, and with a seeming sense of effortlessness. That's a nice prescription for living, wouldn't you say?

See you tonight!