Rainfall, Upstate New York by Chikara Umihara

Tuesday greetings, collectors! It's a lovely springtime day here in NYC and I'm just about recovered from last week's excitement, which included a whirlwind trip to San Francisco with Sara, returning just in time for Michelle Muldrow's fantastic opening at JBG and our eagerly anticipated announcement of 2010's Hey, Hot Shot! winner. As Sara mentioned last week, it was tough to make a decision with five great artists to choose from: Laura Bell, Michael Bodiam, Amy Stevens, Zhijie Sui and Chikara Umihara. When all was said and done, though, Sara, Jeffrey and I came to a unanimous decision and selected none other than today's edition-maker, the world-wandering Chikara Umihara.

Rainfall, Upstate New York is a very different photograph than Untitled, from the series Aggressive Girls, an edition we released a few weeks back from Chikara's body of work that initially captured our panel's attention. Similarly, the Chikara we met in person was very different than the person we imagined the maker of such a series might be. During his last two trips to NYC, everyone here at JBP has been glad to have the opportunity to spend lots of time finally getting to know him. I've certainly grown quite fond of him, although differences in culture and language can be strange mediators in new relationships. I think that's why I found his statement about Rainfall to be so charming and affecting. My forthright, sometimes-bordering-on-overbearing-mama-bear way feels utterly at odds with Chikara's much more reserved nature, but the frankness of his statement accompanying Rainfall reassures me that the person beyond that reserve is as interested in being known as he is in knowing.

With Chikara starting the MFA program at University of Hartford shortly, our getting-to-know-each-other prospects are excellent. We're so thrilled to continue our collaboration with him as he enters this exciting new phase of his career, and our hope is that the good stuff that comes with being selected as our Ultra—the $10,000 grant and gallery representation—will help pave the brightest of paths.