20x200 Archives

Well, hello there, collectors! May I invite you to sit here with me, for just one second to soak in the stillness and quiet that photographer Taca Zhijie Sui is presenting to us so elegantly? His layered, steely shades of gray add up to poetry in today's edition—White Dews.

China's earliest collection of poems, The Book of Odes, is the source of Sui's inspiration. The ancient text led the NYC- and Beijing-based Chinese photographer on a sojourn of sorts, through geography, history and cultural identity, to seek the images that would bring new life to the secrets—concealed and distorted over time—of the Odes.

The resulting, stunning body of work won Sui a spot as a 2010 Hot Shot. Learn more about his work and read his interview with Hot Shot and 20x200 artist Youngna Park, here. Sui exhibited his work, along with fellow 2010 Hot Shots Laura Bell, Michael Bodiam, Amy Stevens and Chikara Umihara, earlier this year at Jen Bekman Gallery. His rising star status was also recently recognized by the Lianzhou International Photography Festival, where he won the Photographer of the Year Award for 2011. Well done, Mr. Sui, I say!

Opening tonight: CHRISTIAN CHAIZE at Jen Bekman Gallery
If you're in NYC, please join us this evening, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Jen Bekman Gallery, 6 Spring Street, to celebrate Paradis, new color photographs by Christian Chaize. For all of you far from NYC, never fear, we'll have new 20x200 prints from Christian, here, soon.

Hey, photographers: Enter HEY, HOT SHOT! today
As you might know, the Second Edition 2011 Hey, Hot Shot! Competition is in full swing—entries from talented photographers far and wide are coming in. Those who enter now will save a pretty penny: On Monday, October 31st, the entry fee will rise from $60 to $70. Consider this fair warning and don't delay—get your entry started today.

Since its inception in 2005, Hey, Hot Shot! has provided one hundred and forty photographers from all over the world with unrivaled exposure, support and recognition. Photographers who enter are in the running for a $10,000 grand prize, with countless other invaluable opportunities to be had along the way, including the chance to see your work here on 20x200.

Psst! Photography by JESSICA CRAIG-MARTIN. Available here. Tomorrow!
Yep, that's right—Elle leaked the news earlier this week. Set your clocks and tell your friends: To get the first peek and dibs on a pair of gorgeous photographs from Ms. Jessica Craig-Martin, make sure you're on the ready tomorrow, October 27th, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. ET. (As always, you dear newsletter readers will see the prints before then, in your inbox.)

— Sara

How It Works by Austin Kleon

Happy 2011, friends! It's Sara on this first day back in the new year. We're all well-rested, full of resolutions and good intentions to be better, nicer, smarter, healthier, happier, etc, etc. In the spirit of hitting reset on January 1st, we're going back to the beginning—to the ABCs and 123s of how 20x200 works. Because, every day that we bring you new work, we're doing so in efforts to support you, the collector, as well as the artists we work with. As Jen, 20x200's founder and CEO, said a little while ago: "I started 20x200 with two core goals in mind: I want everyone to collect art, and I want enable an economy that allows more artists to make a living by making work."

Consider this a primer if you are new to 20x200, and a refresher if you've been with us all along. This is how it works (all the cartwheels we do for you):

WHAT'S THIS NEWSLETTER ALL ABOUT?
This is where we present new art to you. Right here! In this very newsletter! It's exciting stuff in your inbox, every Tuesday and Wednesday, and sometimes more often. As a regular reader, you get first dibs (and sometimes, with fast-selling editions, the only dibs) on new prints. You also get the lowdown on why we like a particular work or artist and why we think you might like it too. If, by chance, you don't like what you see that day, you'll find a whole bunch of prints to browse in our archives. It's all part of the process—as you refine your taste, seeing art that you don't like is as important as seeing art you do like. If you really have no idea where, why or how to begin, Jen gives some tips in this interview in Theme Magazine with Sarah and Marc Schiller of The Wooster Collective. But, if it's love at first sight, don't hesitate, snap that print up. Seriously.

WHAT'S THE RUSH? YOU HAVE A LOT OF PRINTS. WON'T THEY ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE?
Nope. Every image that you see on 20x200 is released in a limited edition. This means that, for example, in an edition of 200 8"x10" prints, only 200 8"x10" prints will be sold. Ever. When you see "SOLD OUT" on an edition page, it doesn't mean "out of stock"—sorry folks, those prints aren't coming back. Every print is accompanied by an artist-signed and numbered certificate that guarantees that the artist approved the edition and that only that number of prints was produced. So, if you see something you like, just get it, and save yourself the heartache.

By traditional, old-school gallery measures, an edition of 200 to 500 prints is a large edition. Two things about that: one, on average (ballpark figures) A LOT more people see and buy prints on 20x200 than happen to walk through a gallery* on a regular basis. And two: offering larger editions allows us to keep our prints, especially the smaller sizes, affordable.

HOW DO YOU MAKE THE PRINTS?
Affordable, yes, but cheap our prints are not. We work with amazing printers—the same ones who produce prints for our gallery and museum exhibitions—to create our editions. The artist is involved every step of the way as we proof and print the image. To proof, we make a test print (and often, multiple test prints) and tweak and edit until the test is exactly as the artist would like the edition to be, paying close attention to the colors, the contrast, the texture, all the details! Most of the prints you see on 20x200 are archival pigment prints on 100% cotton rag paper but some are silkscreens, printed on mylar, letterpress, digital or analog c-prints, or colored by hand. Regardless of the process, every print is made with care, inspected, and thoughtfully packaged so that you receive a beautiful object, along with information about the artist and the work.

WHERE DO YOU FIND ALL THIS ART?
We scour art fairs, the internet, books, magazines, galleries and museum shows to find all kinds of great artists creating art today. We're always looking, and we try our best to look at everything that gets sent our way. The Hey, Hot Shot! competition is the only way we review photography submissions, and we get lots of great ones—much of the photography you see here was discovered by our esteemed panel.

While many of our artists already have well-established careers, and show their work at museums and galleries all over the world, we pride ourselves on representing artists at every stage of their careers. Whether they're under-the-radar or legendary, our artists are the best and the brightest.

SO, I'M A COLLECTOR, HUH?
You, yes you! are supporting all these artists. Once you've bought just one print, you're a collector. You've acquired something that directly supports the livelihood of an artist, so not only are you a collector, but you're a patron. Now, it's time to actually live with art. We do offer a few prints framed and ready to hang, and you'll likely see more of those in the near future. But, if you must, or if you prefer, to mat and frame works on your own, I have two things to help you: watch this video and then, download the framing guide for your print (you'll see a green link in the lower, right-hand corner of the edition page).

So, I'll let you get on your way now but if there are questions you'd still like to know the answers to, send us an email at collector@20x200.com and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Jen will be here tomorrow with the very first edition of 2011.

* Yes, we have a gallery, too! Jen Bekman Gallery is located at 6 Spring Street, on New York's Lower East Side. Jen opened it in 2003 with the goal of creating a warm, welcoming environment for collectors and artists. It was there that she found the inspiration to create 20x200, and its programs remain intertwined with what we do here to this day. Be sure to pop in if you're in the area: there's lots of great art to see and buy there. One thing to keep in mind is that we don't maintain stock of 20x200 prints there; those are carefully packaged and shipped straight to you.

*UPDATE*: For a chance to win a $50 print of Jane Mount's Ideal Bookshelf 102: Cooking + a cookbook! Follow @seriouseats + @20x200 on Twitter and RT "My fave book on this @20x200 shelf is [with the name of the book]".

Foodies out there already know that Serious Eats is the place to get the scoop on what's cooking: recipes, the restaurant world, how to stock your kitchen, chef gossip, and what gifts to give the culinary sorts in your life. So, we're excited to announce that tomorrow, Wednesday, December 15th, we're teaming up with Serious Eats to release our newest edition by Jane Mount, whose Ideal Bookshelves have documented the bound collections of architects, designers, chefs, friends and little ones.

To be the first to hear about Jane's new edition, follow our friends @seriouseats on Twitter before 10 a.m. tomorrow! They'll be the first to release a link to Jane's print and have all the details about our giveaway where you can win a cookbook + a $50 edition of Jane's print.

Whet your pallette? Then be sure to follow @seriouseats and keep your eye out for a treat of a tweet tomorrow morning.

Ideal Bookshelf 42, JMM by Jane Mount

The World by Paula Scher

Today's edition from the inimitable Paula Scher posed a considerable challenge for us at 20x200. Based on a 43.5"x60" silkscreen, that's both enormous and incredibly rich with gorgeous details, we couldn't shrink The World down to fit onto 11"x14" paper. We worked with Paula to divide the piece into 11"x14" panels that would best translate all of the information. Below is an image of The World, if the sixteen panels were brought together.

When you order one of the 11"x14" ($50) prints (1 of 16 panels), you will receive one of the sixteen panels above. Below, you can find detailed views of all of the panels. Panels will be shipped to collectors at random but duplicate panels will not be sent within the same print order. There is a limit of five panels per order.

The $1000 11"x14" (set of 16 panels) includes one of each of the sixteen panels.

Prints in the 11"x14" editions are full-bleed—there are no white borders. They should be framed to the edge without a mat and handled with care.

The 20"x24" ($500) and 30"x40" ($2000) prints in this edition feature the entire image as shown at the very beginning of this post.

If you have any questions about your order, please send a note to support@20x200.com so we can help you out.

Click below to see all sixteen panels in Paula Scher's The World.

Continue reading "Taking a Closer Look at Paula Scher's The World" »

For those of you giving the gift of art this season—here's one more reason to get excited. You can now wrap up those 8"x10" and 11"x14" prints in shimmery gold wrapping paper and a luxurious green ribbon. We'll also handwrite your custom note on one of our beautiful cards, which we letterpressed ourselves!

Have a peek below at the pretty pieces that make up the package you could be sending your friends and family this year and add gift wrap* to your print order for only $5.

*Once you've added all the prints on your wishlist or gift-list to your shopping cart, you'll be given the option to add gift wrap, as it appears below. By selecting gift wrap, it applies to the entire order. That is: all items in the order will be gift wrapped together.

Your brother already bought him that laser level he's been lusting after and Mom got a hold of those season tickets behind home plate. It seems everything else on his list is crossed off, except maybe that Iron Man suit you'd rather have for yourself than see your Dad wear.

Fortunately for you, Clifton Burt has come to the what-to-get-for-guys-in-your life rescue with his Official 2010 Holiday Guide For the Males in Your Life. His hilarious list takes care of your shopping list musts not only for Dad, but for the rest of the guy-crew as well. Why give art as a gift? As Clifton puts it: "For the love of God don’t buy them ties or socks (unless they’re expensive) this year."

So, what's on this list? Gifts for your brother-in-law, your other brother in-law, grandfather, and even your boss. See below for some of our favorite and most fitting recommendations excerpted from Clifton's guide.

As Clifton puts it:
Jump by Thomas Prior was made for your younger brother.

This print is going to the younger brother that’s always taking bigger risks than he should due to being the baby of the family and feeling that there’s always a safety net. Diving into 2 feet of water should cure him of that.

Jump by Thomas Prior

Forest. Exclusion Zone, Chernobyl is for your dad. Why? Clifton explains:

This one’s for your Dad who grew up in a Cold War reality and quietly prefers a world full of nukes to one full of underwear bombers. Yes, he’ll think you’re weird when you give him this print, but he already thinks you’re weird so you might as well just run with it.

Forest. Exclusion Zone, Chernobyl by Donald Weber

Also on the list is West Forty-third Street (Yellow Cabs) by Joseph O Holmes, an edition aimed specifically at your boss who's "slightly more important than you are."

West Forty-third Street (Yellow Cabs) by Joseph O. Holmes

Clifton Burt's own think-make-think (second edition) also makes the list, but how could we blame him? This inspirational print is practically made for everyone.

think-make-think (second edition) by Clifton Burt

To see the rest of Clifton's hilarious 2010 Holiday Guide, click here. And, because his list will presumably only take care of 50% of your holiday shopping needs, we can help you with the remaining half with our own helpful Gift Guide. For starters, you can find art for her, and also for the wanderers, shutterbugs, do-gooders and nighthawks in your life and check out our other artist gift guides by Ky Anderson, Jorge Colombo, Lisa Congdon, Dustin Hostetler, Clare Grill, Mike Monteiro and Jane Mount.

Should you need more advice in the male department, you can also check our favorite prints for him. But beyond that, you'll have to get in touch with Clifton.

Food and art are a natural pair; in their best forms, both stimulate the senses, tickle the tongue and whet the palette. Over the years, food has found its way into the 20x200 archives, by way of signage, cookbooks and a photographic explorations of people's refrigerators. Take a look at some of our favorite food-related editions on this Thanksgiving—perhaps today is the day to satisfy both your visual, and your gustatory palettes!

Frozen by Katie Baum

Hot Dog and I by Fernanda Cohen

Midwife/Middle School Science Teacher | San Antonio, TX | 3-Person Household (including dog) | First week after deciding to eat locally grown vegetables. by Mark Menjivar

Cake by Clare Grill

Jones Boulevard Location #1 by Kevin Miyazaki

Ideal Bookshelf 6, GW by Jane Mount

Salty by Michelle Vaughan

Have a happy, hungry and healthy Thanksgiving from all of us at 20x200!

Are you an Internet savvy art lover with an addiction to blogs and a penchant for grammar? Jen Bekman Projects is looking for a part-time blogger to help produce and edit content for our myriad web presences.

You should: read way too many blogs (especially of the photography, art and tech ilk), and perhaps you even have one—or a few—of your own. You’re expert at navigating your way around Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and Flickr and are familiar with WordPress and Movable Type (or are very willing to learn). Basic HTML skills are also a plus! You are reliable, motivated and always make a deadline.

If this sounds like the perfect fit for you, send your resume and cover letter to jobs@jenbekmanprojects.com with the subject line: “Blogger, Last Name, First Name.” Include your cover letter in the body of the email and attach your resume. Boilerplate cover letters will get the heave-ho, so be original! Let us know what blogs you read daily and include examples of past blog posts and writing. And, let us know why you think you’d be a good match for a position at Jen Bekman Projects.

Resumes without cover letters will NOT be considered. This position is located in NYC. While you are not required to be in the office for all the hours you are blogging, candidates must be available to come in for regular check-ins. No recruiters please.

The Add to Amazon Wish List button is an easy way to add your most coveted prints to your Amazon Wish List directly from 20x200. Don't you want all your friends and family to know which prints you love most ---especially with the holiday season quickly approaching? PLUS you are automatically eligible to win $100,000 in Amazon's Wish & Win Sweepstakes! We're just saying, $100,000 can buy a lot of 20x200 prints!

Modern Art by Craig Damrauer

We're normally pretty tight-lipped about our upcoming editions to preserve the integrity of the new prints as they come out. But every once in a while we get so excited about an upcoming edition that we can't help but drop a few hints.

If you use the internet, chances are that you've come across at least one of Craig Damrauer's clever and hilarious New Math equations. Kate Donnelly recently interviewed Craig for her "From the Desk of..." blog and got a look at the space where he works plus some hints about what he's working on next.

Here's an excerpt:

Craig, talk about your great hue of blue. What is it called?

The blue has no name other than I know it when I see it and I’m pretty particular about it. I’m doing two projects right now, a book of the complete set of formulas and a series of lovely prints with Jen Bekman’s 20×200 series based on relationships. That blue is the elusive partner in all of this. I’ve been looking at a lot of paper samples, let me tell you. Maybe we SHOULD give it a name? Darrin?

That’s a start. How you derive your formulations?

The formulas, believe it or not, are pretty hard to come up with. What it amounts to is fiddling with things in my mind and giving myself the space. It’s definitely a writing process. In other words, they don’t just float into the head. I sit down and grind them out much the same way I’d write a story. When they’re right they feel right.

Craig put out a set of New Math Postcards, hand selected by the one-and-only Ed Ruscha, but they quickly sold out. We can't wait to bring you more New Math! If you want to be the first to know make sure you're on the list.

From the desk of... also has plenty of great artists in the archives, so poke around and you'll discover the desks of creatives near and far.

New Math Postcards, hand selected by Ed Ruscha

Playing the Building by David Byrne, presented by Creative Time, NYC 2008, photo by Justin Ouellette

In David Byrne's world, bicycle racks are reborn as sculptures, abandoned buildings are wired up to become gigantic musical instruments, and PowerPoint is subverted into a tool for making art. The best part is that all of these works are made available for all to enjoy. Byrne's prolific interventions with the everyday bring delight to places that were once overlooked, in a sense personifying our motto: "Art for Everyone."

We're honored and crazy-excited to be releasing an edition by David Byrne, on Monday, October 18th, to benefit our friends at Creative Time. Make sure you're on our list (and ready to click!) to get first dibs on the edition.

Portrait of David Byrne, Chris Buck, 2004

While he is widely known as the co-founder of the band Talking Heads, Byrne has also had an active solo and collaborative music career. His work as an artist (DB is represented by Pace/MacGill) writer and thinker is all over the map—in the best sense! Browsing his website you'll find music, art & books, film & theater, sound & video, a personal radio station and a funny, thoughtful and frequently updated journal. Most recently Byrne released an audiobook of The Bicycle Diaries. In addition to music and narration by DB, it also features location sounds, creating an atmosphere more akin to a radio show than a simple reading of the book.

Arboretum by David Byrne, published by McSweeney's

This summer, Byrne exhibited drawings from his series Tree Drawings at Electric Works in San Francisco, alongside Dave Eggers (founder of McSweeney's who published a gorgeous book of the drawings titled Arboretum in 2006).

Byrne describes the drawings, mostly in the form of trees, as a combination of faux-science, self-therapy, and irrational logic. He writes:

The world keeps opening up, unfolding, and just when we expect it to be closed—to be a sealed sensible box—it shows us something completely surprising. In fact, the result and possibly unacknowledged aim of science may be to know how much it is that we don’t know, rather than what we do think we know. What we think we know we probably aren’t really sure of anyway. At least if we can get a sense of what we don’t know, we won’t be guilty of the hubris of thinking we know any of it. Science’s job is to map our ignorance.

Corporate to Personal Homeomorphism, 2004, by David Byrne, courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery

And using his pencil as a "flashlight," Byrne plumbs the depths of satire, culture, and self to create these drawings. It's this delightfully irrational logic which that makes Byrne's work so lovable. He pushes sense all the way past nonsense, until it becomes a whole other invigorating and inspiring kind of sense.

To drop a final hint before the big release, the edition is an image that can be found somewhere in the pages of the Arboretum book, but it's none of the diagrams featured in this post...begin the process of elimination, art-sleuths!

More of David's tree drawings:

You'll Get Used to It, 2004, by David Byrne, courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery

From a Seed it's All Downhill, 2007, by David Byrne, courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery

Human Content, 2002, by David Byrne, courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery

Military Technology, 2004, by David Byrne, courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery

Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.

- The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere, Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Mostly, the water here at 20x200 is not potable because it is in the form of artwork and thus made of paper. But, if you still want to capture the refreshing qualities of water on your own walls (without risking water damage), browse these prints, which'll refresh, quench, cool and relax you. Water, being the diverse assortment of atoms it is, can come in a few states; namely solid, liquid and gas. In it’s solid form, Hydrogen Oxide (aka ice), water is actually a naturally occurring mineral! In it’s liquid form, water is referred to as a the universal solvent, meaning it can dissolve pretty much any substance over time. Powerful stuff! Finally, in it’s gaseous state, water is invisible, but highly reflective and can be seen in the form of clouds and steam! Go on, buy an H20 print and pay some homage to the bringer and sustainer of life. Why not include every aspect of the water cycle?

Solid:
Icebreaker, Emperor penguin, Southern O., Antarctica by Stuart Klipper

Liquid:
Untitled, Tidal Bore (Surfer) by Chris Ballantyne

Gas:
Lumber Mill by Bryan Schutmaat

Scientifically speaking, the earth is a closed system, similar to a terrarium, and rarely loses or creates extra matter. This means that you are probably drinking the same water molecules that Alexander the Great, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Gandhi, and Joan of Arc once consumed. Thus, technically speaking all of our water-themed photographs contain traces of aquatic history.

On the theme of water, JBP's very own Youngna Park will be guest curating Pictory's next showcase of picture-stories around the theme "Bodies of Water." Pictory writes, "There’s something so indescribably calming about oceans, lakes, rivers, swimming holes, even pools. Show us the bodies of water — large or small — that summer adventures have taken you to and describe your experiences there."

The deadline to submit is August 11th, so hurry up and send your photos in!

It is amazing to see how color can enhance your day. Several ancient religions used to employ chromotherapy, or the healing effects of color. More recently, scientists have developed color mood theory and color psychology. The hues can affect our disposition, appetite, self-esteem, and spirituality. For example, blue represents peace, tranquility, stability and confidence. Black fills one with feelings of sophistication, mystery and depth. Green is soothing, youthful, and associated with fertility. But, in general, the human eye is (supposedly) most attracted to red.

What color brightens your mood? Why not try some yellow prints for optimism? Or an orange based print for an energy boost? Explore the complete visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, the rainbow, here.

Also in honor of Roy G. Biv’s mood influences, there is a new and exciting project going on worldwide called the “Let’s Colour Project”. Imagine the planet as a giant coloring book. Before we color in the pages with magic markers, crayons, or colored pencils, they are empty and grey…rather drab. Well, the Let’s Colour Project sees the world as a coloring book yet to be filled in! They say, “Grey is out. Gloom is gone. It’s time to live our lives in colour.” The project, started in March 2010, is working together with local communities, across the globe, and rolling up its sleeves to paint streets, hotels, houses, schools, villas, and squares. More than simply gentrification and renovation, the "Let’s Colour Project" aims to encourage local participation and collaboration. It wants denizens of a town to design and style their own communities! So far London, UK; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Jodhpur, India; and Marseille, Lyon, Paris have been colored in! The next stop is Istanbul, Turkey.

If you’re far and away from the aforementioned locales, do not fret, anyone can get involved! It doesn’t matter if it’s your bedroom wall or your local school. Everyone can be part of it. Read more about the "Let's Colour Project.

Browsing by color is one of the most exciting ways to browse 20x200. Using our color browser, we took a scroll through our archives to rediscover hidden gems across the spectrum:

Verlag 3 by Carol Padberg

See more RED →

Untitled (Geese, London) by Dana Miller

See more GREEN →

La Paz, Bolivia by Stefan Ruiz

See more BLUE →

Photographer's Dilemma by Tatsuro Kiuchi

See more YELLOW →

Untitled (My bad) by Mike Monteiro

See more BLACK →

Polly by Christina Muraczewski

See more BROWN →

Mossball by Don Hamerman

See more PINK →

Lamb No. 3 by Sharon Montrose

See more WHITE →

Nonsensical Infographic No. 3 by Chad Hagen

See more PURPLE →

Lovebirds by Lisa Congdon

See more ORANGE →

The Pinetum, Wakehurst Place by Beth Dow

See more BLACK & WHITE →

Team 20x200 hit San Francisco in stride last week for our annual Collectors Confab, and while we were in town Jen stopped by the Web 2.0 Expo to speak to a packed room about how 20x200 is disrupting e-commerce and the art world. The talk was fast-paced, each presenter had just 5 minutes to present 20 slides that advanced every 15 seconds.

You can check out Jen's talk above, as well as presentations by fellow "disruptors" Charlie Kim of Next Jump and Rebecca Thorman of Alice.com.

A huge thanks to everyone at O'Reilly and Web 2.0 for putting together this great event!

Agoraphobia by Austin Kleon

Thanks to podcaster Sean Ear1ey for the shout out to 20x200 and Austin Kleon in Episode 3 of his "Phonocast" (it happens around 9:35).

Phonocast#2 by seanear1ey

You can see all three of Austin's Newspaper Blackout Poems on 20x200, or see the fun links about Austin's work on our JBP Tumblr.

The 20x200 print giveaway that we posted about last week is going down this Saturday from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum, and we couldn't be more excited. The prints are packed, the banner has arrived, and we’re uhhh…still brainstorming on our apparel. Nevertheless, we hope you’ll join us for what is sure to be an awesome evening full of talks, music, film, dancing, and art.

Ms. Jen Bekman will be speaking, exclusively to 1stfans, about 20x200 and JBP's approach to supporting artists. So, after you've started or renewed your 1stfans membership (and picked up Valerie's print!), join us for a talk!

Target First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum
Saturday, February 6th, 2010 | 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Jen's talk | 8:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway, BK, NY

For the full details, check out our previous post or read on:

We've been collaborating with 1stfans founders, Shelley Bernstein and Will Cary, and Valerie over the last few months to produce this unique benefit edition. For the first time ever, collectors will be able to pick up a print in person and become a 1stfans member all for the ridiculously affordable cost of $20! 1stfans is the Brooklyn Museums's socially networked membership. Valerie Hegarty and 20x200 have donated the prints for this event.

The larger prints sizes in Valerie's edition (14"x11" and 20"x16") will be released on 20x200 the following week of Monday, February 8th. Every print in this special edition comes with a 1stfans one-year membership! And, all proceeds will go to benefit the Brooklyn Museum. To find out about the release online, make sure you're signed up for the 20x200 newsletter.

There's less than a week to catch Mixtape at Jen Bekman Gallery before it closes on January 9th. If you can't make it to NYC, don't sweat it...collect it! You heard that right, many of the pieces hanging in the show right now are framed limited-edition prints from 20x200.

Just for you, we set up a 20x200 Mixtape page that rounds-up all the editions in the show including work by:
Christian Chaize
Mike Sinclair
Paul Madonna
Jorge Colombo
William Swanson
Gregory Krum
Tyson Anthony Roberts
Jason Jagel
Michelle Arcila
Liz Kuball
Matthew Tischler
Mike Monteiro
Joseph O. Holmes
Yijun (Pixy) Liao
Jeff Lewis
Amy Talluto
Scott Eiden
Colleen Plumb

Phew, what a list! There are a number of gorgeous originals included in Mixtape which you'll only be able to see at the gallery, but with this many prints at home you could put on a Mixtape show of your own.

While we hope you already snapped up some prints to give to your family and friends for the holidays, if you're a true procrastinator (like some of us here at JBP happen to be), we still have the perfect gift for anyone on your list: Virtual Gift Certificates!

Here's what to do:
Step 1. Select I would like to give a digital gift certificate. (It's the default option.)
Step 2. Choose an amount to give and purchase your gift certificate.
Step 3. Pick a design, print it, personalize it—don't forget to write in the redemption code!
Step 4. Give the gift of art! Make someone super happy.

It's really easy—we promise! So, wait no longer and pick from one of the five holiday designs below:

We can hardly believe it's the Monday before Christmas and our 12 Days of Festivus have already come and gone. There were lots of brand new editions hitting your inboxes these last few weeks, so we wanted to remind you of all the great art here for you on the site that you can still order in time for Christmas*.

What now seems like a long time ago, we kicked off our festivities with two editions for the shutterbugs among you: Photographer's Dilemma by Japanese artist Tatsuro Kiuchi and 28 Camera Drawings by Ms. Christine Berrie. From there, we introduced a photograph of a dusky Nevada tree lot by 2009 First Edition Hot Shot Mike Sinclair. The quietude of lights above the trees offered a moment of pause before the forthcoming holiday hubbub.

28 Camera Drawings by Christine Berrie

We were back the following day with two new Ideal Bookshelves from 20x200-favorite Jane Mount—one, a collection of cookbooks and foodie favorites from Brooklyn chef George Weld; the other a selection of children's book standouts from Ella, the daughter of design blogger Tina Roth Eisenberg (aka Swiss Miss).

From there we hit the beach—Praia Piquinia in Portugal to be exact—where Christian Chaize has photographed this pristine parcel of land at all hours of the day and seasons of the year. His two newest 20x200 editions Praia Piquinia 06/08/09 14h01 and Praia Piquinia 27/08/09 15h17 have us wishing for warmth as the days get colder (but at least after today—longer!).

Amy Casey's intricate tangle of houses in Residential Web started off week two of Festivus, before switching gears—literally—with four new images from Joseph O. Holmes' Custom Machinery series. Capturing working spaces full of seasoned machines (and the men who operate them), Joe's serene portraits of age-old spaces captures a moment of New York that may soon be lost.

Book-designer Stefanie Posavec helped us tap the collective literary nerd within with her infographically luscious Walter Benjamin: A Literary Organism Analysis. Words, lines, sentences and paragraphs were broken down with intricate care; Stefanie both reads between—and creates—literary lines.

Icicle Intervention, Victor, Idaho by William Lamson

We next saw two images from Will Lamson's whimsical and nature-drive Interventions. Dandelion Clothesline, Santiago, Chile and Icicle Intervention, Victor, Idaho are both ethereal and whimsical. As Sara wrote just over a week ago, "Will's interventions are all about making the most of our time here on earth—exploring, playing and pushing the most visceral aspects of our experience."

We introduced Curvilinear Time by Jessica Snow, another 20x200 veteran on Day 9, her "graphic-yet-painterly" lines filling the page with a sense of perpetual—yet encapsulated—motion. On the opposite spectrum, the four images from James Deavin released the day afterwords: Climbing Wall No. 3, Golf Driving Range, Velodrome and Long Jump Pit, are exercises of extreme restraint. The abstraction of sporting grounds is contained within a calculated frame and the playing fields are at an absolute stand still.

We followed with the release of ny.09#19 and ny.09#20, two cheerful and energizing paintings by Jennifer Sanchez.

alleverythingthatisyou sno7.1_003 by Mike + Doug Starn

And then! Just when you thought we were all done! We were back with an utterly gorgeous snowflake print (and it seems you all thought so too) from the Starn Twins' series alleverythingthatisyou to really round out our holiday spree.

Now if you still haven't found the perfect print amongst all these, there are featured sets, artists gift guides, newsletters, staff and VIP picks to help guide your way.

Happy Holidays; we hope it's filled with art!

*Order single prints and 20x200 gift certificates of $200 or more, and we'll give you an instant upgrade to FedEx Overnight Delivery!

Curvilinear Time by Jessica Snow

Blustery and flustered greetings, collectors. It's Casey here, filling in for your usual troupe of newsletter-writing ladies: Jen, Sara and Youngna. It's a busy day and this newsletter is chock full of great news so I'll keep my introduction brief! I'm in art school here in f-f-frigid New York, and I've been interning at JBP since the beginning of the summer. It's a great job* that includes lots of writing about art, running around New York City and the occasional surprise challenge: writing today's newsletter!

First, I want to let you know about today's 20x200-Minute special (that's 4,000 minutes!) to ring in our 9th day of Festivus and the first night of Hanukkah:

10% off all gift certificates $100 or more. Enter code 10xGIVE at Google checkout 'til Monday, December 14th** at 9:55 a.m.

To ensure arrival of your prints and super-fine printed gift-certificates by the 25th, place your orders by our drop-dead date for holiday shipping, Thursday, December 17th.

Today, I have the pleasure of introducing Curvilinear Time, a graphic-yet-painterly edition by Jessica Snow. It's fitting, actually, because this hectic holiday season has everyone at the office wishing we could bend time, or at least tack on a few extra hours to the day. But dealing with a lot of things at once is what makes life exciting, right?

The same is true of Jessica's paintings which seek to "reconcile the conundrums of existence" and pay testament to this internal debate. Curvilinear Time is a piece full of visual and conceptual struggles, seeking to find balance. There's tension between "the immediacy of gestural drawing and the meticulous nature of painting"—the battle between freedom and routine. Jessica writes, "the mind constantly strives to reconcile these opposing states and swings back and forth, desiring one, then desiring the other." So, even if we can't actually have more hours in the day, there's something soothing about the visual enigmas that Jessica's work encapsulates.

I could keep waxing poetic about Jessica's painting but instead I'll turn it over to Jeffrey Teuton, Associate Director of Jen Bekman Gallery, who writes:

What I love so much about Jessica's work is that it draws you in to this abstract world where you feel right on the cusp of substantial change and movement. It is the point right before anything could happen, and you feel as if you get to witness this perfect thing, for a split second, before it is gone—an ebb and flow of shape and color that will never be seen again. As with Amplitude, on view in the current Mixtape exhibition at the gallery, I look at the work and feel that at any moment, the weight will become too much—the image is seconds away from disappearing. The weaving of color created by overlapping areas is a perfect thing captured by Jessica, just before it advances and never returns. You look at the work feeling you are part of it but distant enough to understand you will never be able to fully grasp the fleeting moment unfolding before you.

You probably recognize Ms. Snow's work from her previous three editions and her big and beautiful painting that is currently hanging at Jen Bekman Gallery. Like Jessica's other editions, this one is printed full-bleed, meaning that the ink runs directly up to the right edge of the page. In fact, if I press my nose up against the colorful proof I can practically smell the paint.

Last but certainly not least, I have some absolutely amazing news that arrived late last night. We want to extend a huuuge congratulations to JBP artist and 20x200 edition-maker Nina Berman and Hot Shot + 20x200 artist Curtis Mann, who will have their work included in the 2010 Whitney Biennial! In fact, both artists are Hot Shots, both have editions on 20x200 and both made their NYC exhibition debuts at JBG. Jen commented this morning:

This is one of the proudest moments in JBP history. Nina and Curtis are two artists that are taking really different approaches to dealing with the Middle East and what's going on in our culture. I'm incredibly proud that we've exhibited their work and, to me, having it shown again in this context, to a whole new audience, is really going to bring it to a new place.

We'll be back on Monday with four new Festivus editions. Until then, check out our illustrated Artist Gift Guides. We've put together a few staff picks too and there's more to come! Stay warm and have a great weekend!

*If it sounds like something you'd be interested in, check the link at the the bottom of this newsletter. Among other roles we're looking for interns!

**Apologies! We sent out our email saying the special ends December 13th, but in fact, our gift certificate offer lasts until 9:55 a.m. on Monday the 14th!

Shortly after today's edition by Scott Listfield was released, we received an email from a dedicated reader. Vittorio Mezzano wrote in,

My congratulations for all the good work that you've been doing and for the great images that we dig so much (and sometimes buy), but this time you have to make a correction: the car in the painting is not a DeLorean at all, rather is a 1968 Bertone Carabo, a one off prototype based on an Alfa Romeo P33. You have to be forgiven though, since the designer of both cars is the same: Giorgetto Giugiaro.

And, a quick Google search (not that we didn't trust you, Vittorio) proves that he is correct!

Waiting Dangerously in Rio by Scott Listfield

While we're sad this was not the car used as a time machine in Back to the Future, we're now very glad to know the true model of the car in Waiting Dangerously in Rio.

Untitled (Let's Get Lost) by Shaun Sundholm

[Ed. note: Ms. Jen B. + Lesley A. Martin, Publisher at Aperture Books, spent some time chatting last week about Lesley's picks as a guest curator browsing the 20x200 archives. Part of the conversation was excerpted in today's newsletter. The entire artful conversation is published below!]

Lesley: Hola!
Jen: Hi there, long time no IM, or talk at all! How are you? I was really pleased by your selection because it was totally unexpected.
Lesley: Really?
Jen: I mean I did expect the Umbricos, of course. But I love the other selections you made and how they look together.
Lesley: I'm glad. I thought the selections might be somewhat expected but I couldn't help it—they all fell together pretty naturally and followed a nice thread—in my mind in any case.
Jen: I'm curious about the Let's Get Lost inclusion.
Lesley: That image resonates for me on several levels. First of all, I really, really wouldn't mind a few more sunny beautiful "lost days" before this summer ends. Second of all, how can I resist the Chet Baker reference? It's slightly paraphrased, but still... And well, in this case, it's a nice double layering of places where jazz and photography overlap. The Bruce Weber film, Chet Baker and a cool image that kinda brings these things together in a way that makes me think: yes, please, why DON'T we just get lost. It is the jumping off point for the rest of the selection.
Jen: You jazzy lady, you. That is true. What I really love, and what reinforces my feeling about it being a good idea for CURATORS to make selections from our archives, is the rosy glow you coaxed out of them. I know I'm hopelessly in the thrall of the color green but I'd never draw a rosy thread through the archives my own self. (Which isn't to say I'm not a Pollyanna, because I so totally am!)
Lesley: Yeah, rosy! It did turn out to be a bit pinkish in hue, didn't it? I thought I'd gotten that out of my system—if you look at the Aperture Spring '09 catalog, you'll see we had a bit of a pink and purple binge when it came to the covers of that list. I'm really not a pink person, truth be told—but yes, the Hassink, the Crane, the Abstraction book, even the MP3 are all in a pink and purple mood.
Jen: It took me some time to figure out my green problem. So now when I'm attracted to something and it's green, I stop myself and say "Do you love it because it's green or because it's GOOD." It's knowing what you're naturally drawn to and being able to account for your instincts in good ways and bad.
Lesley: Right. Right. You have to know when you're drawn to something just because it's one of those usual suspects. But I think it's also important to allow yourself to go toward something that you think you ought not to like, but you do despite yourself.

Shill by David Corbett

Jen: Let's talk about the non-photo selections.
Lesley: Sure.
Jen: So Gary Petersen—who is a super nice guy by the way—and David Corbett: they're both working in/out of strong traditions, building on abstract-expressionism and minimalism. But also, there's a really clever interplay between the two and in an odd way, now that I look at it, Jeff Lewis's work is sort of alike.
Lesley: I love the way David Corbett uses the frame.
Jen: The gooey centers of it all... not just ONE center either, lots.
Lesley: Oh yeah, gooey—but also both really dynamic. One is pushing toward the center, the other is pushing to the edge. And then Jeff Lewis just scatters that focus across the frame. Popcorn.
Jen: They all have that curvature in common, and yet: three totally different treatments of the surface. I gotta say, and I'm not flattering you because you're my friend, or because I think you have wonderful taste generally speaking, both things are true, but man, the selection is growing on me. There is a LOT going on!
Lesley: Curvy and roundness, yes—but the motion within each pulls the eye in unique ways.
Jen: I moved ahead in my head, and started looking at all the orbs. Jeff leading me to Rachel, and back around to Penelope’s, and then putting Chad's piece in there.
Lesley: I got into it. Really, the theme is, in fact, escape. But yeah, the orbs were a key factor. This is one of those things that I had to work against, truth be told. A little like you and the color GREEN.
Jen: You have an orb thing, I have a green thing.
Lesley: Yup. Or birds ... no?
Jen: Yes, birds too, but they are an easier weakness in a lot of ways. Part of why I love birds is because I know how much they delight other people.
Lesley: We all have wished to be a bird at some point, no?
Jen: Flying dreams are always disappointing to wake up from.
Lesley: I love my flying dreams.
Jen: Well, this imagery is certainly celestial, literally and figuratively. But the inclusion of Chad makes it about light rather than shape, in my mind, maybe light AND shape, but when I start or end with him, it's more about that—light.

The Drive with Christine by Chad Muthard

Lesley: What I like about the mix of the photos and the other mediums, is that the non-photographic material contributes movement and dynamism—the shape and motion thing. And then, for me, the photo-based work contributed an underlying narrative. It truly is about escape.
Jen: Dreamy and kinetic—all at once. You're a freaking GENIUS I say!
Lesley: Aw shucks, I just like to read the tea leaves.
Jen: Yeah, it's a little weird for me to ask people to go through what I've selected and re-sift them.
Lesley: It felt really good to me, to be able to manifest a particular mood based on the possibilities. There are a lot of possibilities for interpretation—I could have gone in several different directions. I started out thinking along the lines of a tech-driven theme—Mark Richards, for example.
Jen: Right. I like that you went for something abstract, and I like how every time I look at it, I notice some different interplay.
Lesley: Yay! I'll also add that some of my favorites, the Rogowski and the Mann, were on the blog last week, so I didn't pick them. But they're my two favorites not within my theme of inter-planetary escape!
Jen: Perfect. Oooh! I have a question: SOUNDTRACK. Aside from Chet Baker.
[Ed. note: J + L simultaneously typing here]
Lesley: Also—I have two requests for a soundtrack to listen to while enjoying this selection...
Jen + Lesley: HEY!
Jen: So, what do we listen to on the intergalactic Lesley Martin trip? Any particular track or album?
Lesley: Sun Ra! Sun Ra Visits Planet Earth + Interstellar Low Ways.
Jen: Nice.
Lesley: Space is The Place. Ok. Back to reality though. This was fun!

20x200 room, Storrs, Connecticut by Don Hamerman

The above photograph was sent to us by 20x200 photographer Don Hamerman who was immediately reminded of 20x200's color palette upon entering this cheery classroom in Storrs, Connecticut. Don couldn't resist snapping a photograph and sharing it with us. I see it as an early Valentine.

Viva l'amour!

Viva 20x200!

All of Don's 20x200 edition prints have increasingly limited quantities available: Hemi, Mossball, Stricken, Untitled (Elephant) and Rawlings, so hop to it!

See more of Don's work on his site.

Untitled (Suzie Hedge), 2006 by Brandon Herman
Choose your print size here

Hello collectors! Dendrology? Yes, dendrology. I'm here to tell you that mere minutes ago I also had no idea what it meant, but now, I bet you already have an inkling of what the word might mean as your eyes scan for the similarities in the 20x200 edition prints above and below.

Panda, by Charlie Crane
Choose your print size here

Resting on a Bush by Yijun (Pixy) Liao
Choose your print size here

Newfoundland 1, by Carrie Marill
Choose your print size here

Untitled, Swamp #2, by Dorthe Alstrup
Choose your print size here

Birch Forest No. 7, by Lisa Congdon
Choose your print size here

Untitled (from Sub Rosa), by Birthe Piontek
Choose your print size here

Hermaphrodite, by Amy Talluto
Choose your print size here

If you're thinking dendrology might have something to do with the study of trees, go to the head of the class, and on your way select an edition print or two to add to your collection.

Jeff Hamada Guest Curated 20x200 Set by Various Artists

After long admiring his taste in art from afar, we asked Jeff Hamada from Booooooom to dive into the 20x200 archives and see what he could find. After he plucked the above gems from the mine, Ms. Jen Bee pinged Jeff on instant messenger to see what he's all about. The following conversation is what transpired between the two curatorial geniuses. Enjoy!

Jeff:
hey Jen!
Jen:
Hiiiiii, we meet at last!
Thanks for making time for me on IM.
Jeff:
No problem!
Jen:
So, first I had a couple questions about you + Booooooom: What is your background? I confess that I don't know much about you. And also: when did you start the blog + why? How'd you come up with the name?
Jeff:
I am 26, I live in Vancouver, I am third-generation Japanese, meaning my parents were also born in Canada. I guess I am a designer. I used to work for Electronic Arts as a concept artist, then I went back and graduated from film school—kinda all over the place.
I think a lot of people sort of hone in on one thing or a few things they like as time goes on, sort of like focusing a lens, but for me, I just get more interested in more and more things. By the time I finished film school, I wanted to make t-shirts instead. And now I don't anymore!
I started Booooooom a year ago, just as a personal blog for me and my friends to read. [The name] was kinda arbitrary, the amount of "o"s I mean—it just fit nicely into that box shape. I wanted to make a name that stood out in a list of blogs to make people wonder if it really was for real.
I had no intention of becoming a "blogger."
Jen:
And it's totally taken off!
I think they all inform each other... like the fact that you went to film school means that the type of t-shirts you wanted to make were a certain way and the experience with those two things makes your blog what it is, etc...
I am an all-over-the-place person myself.
I think it's the best way to be.
I love doing 20x200 because it combines my internet nerdery with my art experience with my writing stuff—I get to do all my favorite things all the time!
Though the newsletter-ing is HARDCORE.
Jeff:
Internet nerdery! yes
Jen:
Anyhow, I guess we should talk about the artz!
Everyone at JBP HQ was excited about your selections. Having someone who curates curate a set of stuff from what we've released is something we're really excited about—it gives us a fresh perspective.
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.
And in my head, you and Jacob Escobedo could be total buds.
Jeff:
Haha, what makes you say that?
Jen:
I'm not sure. He's a designer too and it makes sense to me that you'd dig his work based on what you curate for Booooooom.
Jeff:
I wish I could draw like he can... He obviously thinks in a way that I never could. I come more from the Mike Perry school of drawing, not that Mike Perry can't draw, I just couldn't make a drawing like Mr. Escobedo. It's like the math style of the drawing world.
Jen:
HAH! Yes. Jacob's stuff is super-precise.
And what about Amy Ross? What drew you to her work?
Jeff:
Amy Ross' work is just so ridiculous. I love it. I think the first work I saw of hers was some mushroom people dancing or something.
Jen:
Her Manshroom edition was the very first print we sold on 20x200. And yes, there is a ridiculousness to Amy's stuff that is just delightful.
Jeff:
I had a really hard time in art school during critiques when people would use a lot of "artspeak" to describe a work and when I would ask a question, I would feel like they were saying, "Haha, you don't get it? You are stupid if you don't get this work, and we won't tell you what it means."
So, I really identify with work that has humor in it because right away, it's like a doorway into the art. I can feel like I "get it."
I tried to make my site with people who didn't go to art school in mind.
Jen:
That "I don't get it" feeling, it's the worst. It's what keeps so many people from connecting with art. That's why I write the newsletters, because I really want people to understand that to think about art at all is to get it. And that thinking about art is really awesome — to use the technical term.
Haha.
We have the best jobs!
Jeff:
Totally agree! If I can make this my full-time job, (soon, hopefully) I will be living the dream. Sharing art for a living!
Jen:
It's a good goal.
So what are you excited about in your world right now; what's next for you + Booooooom?
Jeff:
I'm going to put more time into the Projects section of the site. I want to focus on the community part—really get people doing stuff, making art and snapping photos. I like seeing people commenting and interacting with each other. It doesn't happen on a lot of blogs!
Jen:
Yeah, I've noticed that you have a lively community, which is something I want to get happening more on 20x200.
Jeff:
It's exciting.
Jen:
What other things do you think lead to the site becoming so successful? And by successful, I mean: you've made a name for yourself! I am sure you don't feel like the mackdaddy of the internet or something but hopefully you're proud to have built such an enthusiastic art community so quickly.
Jeff:
I think it's been a bunch of things, I really like street art but Fecal[face] and Wooster [Collective] already have that locked down; so I do post a little bit but there isn't any point in starting another street art site, ya know. So, I have been trying to differentiate the content on my site from other art blogs. I would often just go around on Flickr and hop from person to person, bookmarking along the way. I decided to try to focus my site on those people a bit more. I also focus on "crafts" when I think some other sites brush them off. I think there is a stigma that "crafts" aren't art.
Jen:
That's a whole other LONGASS conversation, an interesting one, but whoa.
Jeff:
I think that has played a huge role in it. If you are knitting cool little wool animals, you have just as much chance (maybe more) to be posted, as someone making large oil paintings and showing in galleries. Actually, if you have an agent, your chances of being posted might be worse than the knitter.
Jen:
Do you just get scads of people sending you work now?
Do you have people sweating you now to post artists they rep?
If you can think of one, tell me a success story via your site that you're particularly proud of.
Jeff:
I probably get 200 or so emails/week from artists and yeah, lots [from reps].
I've received several emails from artists thanking me because an ad agency had seen their work on the site and they had since been commissioned to do something, which is really awesome!
One of my favorite experiences so far though was regarding this one artist, Karen Caldicott. Seven years ago or so, I had bought this issue of a Canadian magazine called Shift, that featured these amazing clay busts of the whole Simpsons family and I immediately ripped out the pages and put them on my wall (they are still on my wall). I eventually lost the magazine and all I had were these magazine pages.
I decided I wanted to track down the artist and I was going to take them down off my wall and scan them and before I did, I got a random email out of the blue from Karen asking me to take a look at her work and the first images I saw were her clay Simpsons pieces! So I took a photo of my wall and sent it back to her and we both kinda freaked out.
The site has been awesome for that kinda stuff, even just emailing back and forth with all these artists that I had no connection to before, like on a personal level now. It's rad.
It's great to connect with all these people excited about the same things.
Jen:
Hah! That is a great story. I love that about 20x200 too.
So my last question is this: Who are a few of the artists you've featured on the blog that you'd love to see making 20x200 editions?
Jeff:
Ohhh good one, let me think.
Agustin Sirai!, Leopold Rabus, oh Zhou Fan!
Jen:
Those are good. I really like the range of those picks. Also, I posted about Scott, the astronaut dude, on my blog, with a hat-tip to Booooooom, of course.
Thanks for making time—to talk with me and to select work to begin with!

Hello collectors! Just back from a virtual walk through our archives, and found a few favorites to share. First, an ornithological pairing:

Untitled (from Sub Rosa)
by Birthe Piontek
Choose your print size here

Untitled (Geese, London)
by Dana Miller
Choose your print size here

Next, a literary trio:


Secret Language 3
by Valerie Roybal
Choose your print size here

Bookshelf 20
by Jane Mount
Choose your print size here

Darkness moves
by Wendy Heldmann
Choose your print size here

And lastly, but not leastly, elephants!

The Constellation of the Elephant
by Alexander Beeching
Choose your print size here

Untitled (elephant)
by Don Hamerman
Choose your print size here

Buongiorno collectors! Few months pass by that don't feature an edition with a flair for fonts or a twist of text, so today I've culled together some of our edition prints that possess the aforesaid passion.

OK
by Trey Speegle
Large print size available here

Untitled (I'm an island of such great complexity)
by Mike Monteiro
Choose your print size here
*Also see Untitled (You're Impossible), Untitled (I told my therapist about you), Untitled (Let's make better mistakes tomorrow), and Untitled (We are going to make it through this year if it kills us).

Fortune (will be successful in...)
by Kirby Pilcher
Large print size available here

WORD STUDY
by Mickey Smith
Only one large print remains!

If you were in the crowd at Ignite NYC III last Monday night, you would have heard Jen Bekman's talk about why "crowdsourcing is ruining everything." Well, maybe not everything. Last Thursday Jen tried an experiment. What would happen if she asked her 20x200 twitter followers to recommend an artist they would like to see on 20x200? Which artists would they recommend? How far and how quickly would the tweet spread?

The responses came in fast and furious. We're thrilled to now know which artists you're hankering for. Here is a run down of how it all went down:

Last Thursday morning, Jen tweets, "Crowd-sourced curation alert: Name an artist/photog who you'd love to see on our site. #20x200".

@kathleenlosche is the first to reply. She recommends Lisa Solomon, Aurora Robson, Rachel Salomon, and Catherine Ryan.

Charlie's Piece by Rachel Salomon

Minutes later, @its_amber chimes in with Matt Furie and Clare Grill. Two more great suggestions.

Secrets, 2007, by Clare Grill

Very quickly, the retweeting (RTs) began! @artcity, Mary Louise Schumacher, the art & architecture critic for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, jumps in and retweets before offering her own suggestion--the photographic duo of J. Shimon and J. Lindemann.

@SarahM, Sarah Milstein of TweetReport, quickly picks up the 20x200 tweet and passes along word of crowd-curated art to the wider twitter-verse.

@ntmce, Nion McEvoy, CEO of Chronicle Books, owner of SPIN magazine, and a fellow panelist of Jen's at SXSW, RTs and spreads the word even further.

Barry Hoggard, @bhoggard of ArtCal, offers a vote for photographer Meredith Allen.

8.02.06, 2006, by Meredith Allen

Continue reading "A new way to use Twitter: Crowd-sourced curation" »

Image by Joseph O. Holmes

Hello beloved collectors! You know about our flickr account, right? I sure hope so! I recently uploaded images from our latest gallery reception, Sarah McKenzie's Building Code. Click on over to see photos of happy faces and excellent art snapped by our very own Joseph O. Holmes.

Sarah's 20x200 edition print:
Site
Sarah's gallery images on jenbekman.com
Sarah's site

Joseph's 20x200 edition prints:
Prospect Park
amnh#30
amnh#10
amnh#62
Joseph's gallery images on jenbekman.com
Joseph's site

Second to last day of the year greetings, my collector friends. I trust you are all fat and happy and have been enjoying your holidays. Or perhaps you're just relieved to be back at your desk, away from malls and families and forced cheer? Regardless, I'm happy to see you! You look fabulous and seem poised for a fantastic 2009. We too are poised, or at least preparing to take our poses, but we're not springing into the next calendar year before sharing some more art with you in the '08.

Today's colorful edition, Saint-Pierre, comes to us from local abstractionist Ian Carpenter. His Chamonix, which we released back in April amid a stream of consciousness, was much beloved by our collectors. Saint-Pierre has a lot in common with its predecessor, and its higher amplitude seems fitting for the season.

Also fitting for the season: X Marks the Art at Jen Bekman Gallery, which opened last weekend. The show is comprised exclusively of works that have been featured right here on 20x200, and damn! It looks super.

The gallery's Associate Director, Jeffrey Teuton, has put together a very cool mix which includes original works from artists like Jennifer Sanchez and William Crump, along with 20x200 prints like Chateau Pool by Gregory Krum, printed at its largest (and oh so glorious!) dimensions, and Scott Eiden's Opp, Alabama, which is a traditional old-school darkroom c-print, meaning it's a pleasure to behold in person AND an absurdly amazing bargain.* Also on view: original puzzle collages from Kent Rogowski and Ky Anderson's Fingerprint painting, which is begging me to take it home. Since I'm running out of wall space, I might restrain myself and let some other savvy collector get a hold of it.

It's really a great show, which I can say unreservedly — I had nothing to do with putting it together, just ask Jeffrey! And speaking of Herr Teuton, he's over at the gallery today till 6pm. We don't usually have hours Tuesdays, but he's there working on our upcoming Hey, Hot Shot! showcase and has thrown the doors open for visitors. Go say hi, ok?

As for me, it's bye for now, but just till tomorrow when I'll be back with a cool photograph from a piping hot Hot Shot. Look for me then!

*A 20"x24" c-print for $200? Inconceivable! What's even more inconceivable is the fact that any of those prints are left. Same goes for his more recent Hank Williams' Bed print — get with the program people!

Newfoundland 7 by Carrie Marill

Newfoundland 1 by Carrie Marill

Friday greetings, collectors! I am writing to you via a tethered, achingly slow internet connection whose expense is entirely unwarranted. So it goes when you're a captive hotel audience, I suppose, but I wonder nonetheless — if I can get affordable, zippy wireless on an airplane, why can't the hospitality industry get with the program? Annoying! Especially considering that I'm here in Monterey to attend a very future forward conference called The Entertainment Gathering. Along for the ride is the multi-talented Ms. Mount. We're looking forward to a day full of amazing presentations, but the first order of business for me is to introduce our fourth AAA edition from Carrie Marill.

Newfoundland 1 and Newfoundland 7 are from Carrie's amazing Newfoundland series, which depicts threatened or endangered flora and fauna existing in an imaginary world. Like our AAA editions from Ms. Sanchez, there are editions available for $20 (11"x8.5"), $50 (14"x11") and $200 (22"x17").

A vision, better than sugarplums, has been dancing in my head since we planned this release. Perfectly arrayed in my mind's eye is an utterly delightful salon style hanging of all Ms. Marill's 20x200 editions. Anchoring the arrangement would be The Faceted Couroucou and A Dream World Glimmers in the Background of the Soul, each of which have just a single 30"x40" print remaining from their entire editions, along with a 17"x22" print of Space and Illusion, an excellent reference for Carrie's distinctive palette that illuminates her virtuosity with abstraction. Today's two Newfoundland offerings look fantastic at our recently introduced 14"x11" dimensions, and 11"x8.5" versions of House Plant 2 and House Plant 3 would provide delicate yet emphatic punctuation.

That'd be quite an amazing gift of art to give, or receive! And now, of course, with combined shipping, it's easier (and cheaper!) than ever, to pick up all these prints in one fell swoop!

As for me, I'm off to another day of mind-expanding conference attending. I'll be back on Monday with tales to tell and editions to announce. Bon weekend, and see you then!

By far the biggest feature request over the last year of 20x200 has been a shopping cart. This was initially difficult for a number of esoteric reasons, but we've finally solved all the kinks in the system and are happy to be able to allow our collectors to group prints and save on shipping (Thank David, he did most of the heavy lifting). Note that medium and large prints will still ship separately. In order to protect them properly we have to ship them individually in tubes.

The shopping cart is a new feature so if there's something that is not working for you, or you think could be better, let us know.

20x200 and Carie Marill were selected for the Hot List in Louisiana Homes & Gardens September issue.

Look for Carrie Marill's solo show, Doing a Lot with Very Little, opening at Jen Bekman Gallery September 12th.

Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring Street
New York, NY

Opening Reception: Friday September 12th 6pm-8pm

Jen Bekman is vying for a panel spot at SXSW '09. You can help her secure this place by casting a vote for her proposal:

Curating the Crowd-Sourced World

Type: Panel
Presenter: Jen Bekman, 20×200 | Jen Bekman Projects, Inc.
Description: With all the stuff we weed through online, good filters are crucial. Who’s best-suited to determine what’s best – curators or the crowd? People have their religion about one or the other, however this panel will focus on the overlap, the grey areas and how curating and crowd-sourcing enrich each other.

Voting closes on August 29, so please, kind reader, give us a vote!

Left: Artist Ann Tarantino
Right: Brazil (stripes), 2008
Ink and gouache on paper, 18 x 24 in.

Hello and Happy Friday collectors. Today is a very fine day to get back into the Friday interview pattern with 20x200 artist Ann Tarantino. Ann has been spending her summer teaching art in Italy, but she graciously managed to find a little time to help us get to know her a little bit better. Grazie Ann!

Breath Portrait (favorite pinks), 2007
Ink and gouache on paper, 10 x 7 in.

Firstly, how did you come to work in Italy this summer?
I teach at Penn State, and came to Italy this summer to teach a drawing class for one of their study abroad programs. We're in Todi, a lovely little Umbrian hill town that I'll be sad to leave.

When did you first feel a calling to be an artist?
I think I first felt that calling as a child, although it wasn't until much later in life that I articulated it as such. From a very young age I remember constantly making and inventing, always needing to do something with my hands--baking with my Betty Crocker oven, or crocheting, or making collages and drawings. Later there was knitting, journal writing, making gifts for people. I felt a tremendous outpouring of creative energy but I didn't really understand it, or know what to do with it. It wasn't until the end of my second year of college that I took my first painting class and something finally clicked; I knew instantly that I wanted to be a painter. It just hadn't occurred to me until then that this was something that I could do, something that people did with their lives.

Do you collect art?
I DO collect art, and I love it. I started by trading pieces with friends while in graduate school, and later on starting buying a few small things when I could afford it, or bartering with other artists. Now I have a small collection and am in the process of building it. I have bought two prints from 20x200: one by Linzie Hunter (for myself) and another by Aili Schmeltz (to give as a gift).

Continue reading "20x200 Artist Interview: Ann Tarantino" »

Used, at last, to your absence, 2007
acrylic on canvas
22" x 28"

Greetings and salutations collectors! 20x200 painter, Wendy Heldman, is part of a group show called Tree Service that is up now through August 9th at LA's domestic setting space.

domestic setting
3774 Stewart Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90066
July 12th - August 9th

Wendy's website
Wendy's 20x200 edition print: Darkness moves

Liberty City, 2008 gouache on paper, 33″ x 53″by Michelle Weinberg

Congratulations are in order for 20x200 artist Michelle Weinberg! Michelle is one of 13 South Florida artists to win a 2008 Cultural Consortium award in Visual and Media Arts. The winners are on display at the Museum of Art Ft. Lauderdale now through October 6th.

What a fabulous excuse to hop on a flight to Ft. Lauderdale this weekend! Did you know that it's the Venice of America? Now you do!

Museum of Art Ft. Lauderdale
One East Las Olas Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
July 13 – October 6, 2008

Michelle's website
Michelle's 20x200 edition: Cul de Sac

20x200's Linzie Hunter has a book of postcards, Secret Weapon: 30 Hand-Painted Spam Postcards, available here. Well, actually they aren't really available just yet, but you can pre-order a set now, and I suggest that you do. Recently I wanted to let you know about some adorable tea towels Linzie made for PataPri but by the time I was ready to post (less than 24 hours!) they were sold out.

Linzie is just delightful.
It's impossible to look at her website without smiling.
We still have a few of her edition prints available:
Boundless
Say Goodbye

Yesterday we introduced a print by the Starn Twins. Within 20 seconds all the slots had been filled and within 7 minutes all the orders were processed. I wanted to respond to some of the common emails we received yesterday from people who were disappointed that they missed out.

Can't you produce another edition?

One of the reasons 20x200 works for artists and collectors is that we close editions. Once we've sold out, there are no more prints.

I saw 25 prints remaining. Why did it say sold out when I put the order through?

We only update pages once after you land on the site, so in fast selling editions it's possible that 25 more orders started being processed after you arrived. Even if you hit refresh, sometimes numbers get cached in memory depending on the browser you're using. So sometimes the numbers are misleading.

I had google problems. What can I do to make those go away?

If you want to move quickly, the best thing you can do is to set up your google checkout account beforehand. You can do this at http://checkout.google.com. When setting up an account google charges you $1 and then credits you $1. Usually this is instant, but sometimes the procedure takes hours. Most people with google problems are stuck waiting for that transaction or one of the other credit checks google runs to clear. Also make sure your address and phone number are up to date. Google verifies your credit card info against them.

Why wasn't the new edition up at 2:00PM EST as promised (and why did the email go out after 2:00PM EST)?

We're a small company and we're human and things don't always make it out the door on time. All this said, we're trying to be better and more predictable.

Why was the edition sold out when I checked my email?

Depending on how your email is set up it might check the server every minute, every ten minutes, or every thirty minutes. People whose email programs check their servers more frequently get their emails faster than those who have it set at longer intervals. Also depending on the vagaries of the internet some emails take longer to be routed to their destinations. With a fast selling edition this can mean the difference between getting a print and not getting one.

Generally speaking emails go out before the edition is posted live on the site, so if we're running late we'll post first to the email and then post to the site 30 minutes to an hour later. You can buy as soon as you get your email. If you have some problem reading the email in your reader you can always go to ttp://www.20x200.com/email. Buyin g early is the big advantage of being on the email list. For fast selling editions being on the list is the only way to get an edition as they are starting to sell out before we post to the live site.

What happens with cancellations? Is there a waiting list?

Cancelled orders go back into the pool and show up on the site. This is why inventory sometimes fluctuates. We don't have a waiting list because quite frankly it would be too hard to keep track of.

How do I know my order went through and what's the best way to contact you about an order?

If you receive a Purchase receipt email from Google Checkout with a order number, you order went through. In that email is a link to request a change in the order. You can also just reply to the Purchase receipt.

Is there nothing I can do?

If you like the work of one 20x200 artist, the odds are that you'll like others. We have new editions every week. So if you don't manage to get one today, you'll get one in the future. If things get too crazy and editions regularly sell out so fast that most of our list is disappointed, we'll release editions more frequently. There's nothing we enjoy more than connecting artists with collectors!