group show Archives

Ah, summer. Who doesn't love the enduring daylight and lazy haze of humid days? Daylight and its representation have long been the focus of many an artist. Now Jen Bekman Gallery has a group show dedicated to the very representation of light and dark, day and night.

Golden State Freeway/San Fernando Pass; from Los Angeles 02.12.04, by Michael Light

Entitled Dawn Till Dusk, the exhibition progresses throughout the course of a day to explore our impressions of time. From overt uses of light and shadow, to more subtle emotional cues in palette and tone, the exhibition brings together emerging and established contemporary artists to represent the passing of hours. Just as the sun rises on the east and sets in the west, the works in Dawn Till Dusk flow from day to night, reinforcing the influence of time-based elements.

Bask in the leisurely passing of hours as the shifting of light and shadow over landscapes and objects is examined in photographs, paintings and works on paper by 26 artists, including several 20x200 edition makers: Darren Almond, John Arsenault, Rachel Barrett, Robert Bechtle, John Button, Christian Chaize, Jorge Colombo, Amy Eckert, Candace Gaudiani, Derek Henderson, Todd Hido, Peter Allen Hoffmann, Jeremy Kohm, Michael Light, Michael Lundgren, Sally Mann, Klea McKenna, Sarah McKenzie, Stas Orlovski, Youngna Park, Ed Ruscha, Bryan Schutmaat, Mike Sinclair, Alec Soth, Esther Pearl Watson and Letha Wilson.

Exhibition details:
Dawn Till Dusk
Jen Bekman Gallery, 6 Spring Street, New York, NY
On view now through July 30th, 2011
Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 6:00 p.m., or by private appointment

Yuha Basin, by Michael Lundgren

And for today only, until 8:00 p.m. ET, be sure to take advantage of our Friday Flash special: Take $20 off of Dawn Till Dusk exhibited artists Michael Lundgren's Yuha Basin (available custom framed) and Michael Light's Golden State Freeway/San Fernando Pass; from Los Angeles 02.12.04.

Abstract artists and edition-makers Sean Greene and Gary Petersen will be exhibiting their work as part of the group show Traction at the Geoffrey Young Gallery in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, from now until June 23rd. The show (which opened last week) features work such as Sean Greene's Hold That Thought, a colorful painting resembling his two 20x200 editions, Try Letting Go and Let Love In.

Try Letting Go by Sean Greene

Color plays a prevalent, dominant role not only in Sean's work, but also in Gary's, with line and form closely following.

"Color is very important in my work," Gary echoes in his artist statement. "It allows the somewhat familiar forms to become personal and subtly eccentric."

Mixup by Gary Petersen

And he elaborates on his site:

I am interested in geometric abstraction that reflects our vulnerability and uncertainty in the world. I've always been interested in the line, how it contains, defines and suggests.

Both Sean's Try Letting Go and Gary's Mixup are just $30 (regularly $50) today only as part of our weekly Friday Flash deal. You may not be able to trek to Great Barrington, MA, but you can certainly enjoy (from the comfort of your own home) the energy that both works emanate.

Here at 20x200, our motto of “Art For Everyone” means we’re always interested in new ways of making great art accessible. It’s good for collectors, helps support artists, and enables everyone to live with art. A new-ish London outfit has found an intriguing way to address this concept with their Art Barter events. Art Barter is an auction, open to the public, taking place over 3 to 4 days. However, unlike at Sotheby’s, bidders are allowed to offer anything at all EXCEPT money for the work. Past bids have included a year of private chef services and cases of wine, but anyone is free to offer whatever they think is fair. At the end of the event, artists review all offers and decide what they’d like to accept. It’s an amazing way to open up the auction as a viable format for all kinds of collectors, and allows artists to trade their work for something of value to them without worrying about setting minimum reserves or what the long-term effect on their pricing will be.

Previous Art Barters have been held in London and Berlin. Art Barter 3 launches in New York today and continues through Sunday, December 12th. While the auction will feature some big-name artists such as Terence Koh and Mick Rock, all work will be identified only by a number, so the “value” of the work will really be determined entirely by each interested bidder.

Not only is this a fun idea, it’s a great way to make the auction sale format super un-intimidating for potential collectors. It’s interesting to note that Art Barter is also a Kickstarter project. We’ve featured some great art-related Kickstarter endeavors before, including Kevin Cyr’s Camper Kart and Rachel Sussman’s extremely successful journey to track down and document The Oldest Living Things in the World, which led to an invitation to give a talk at the prestigious TED conference on the project. One of the unique things about the Kickstarter model is the little incentives project owners offer to their supporters, which can range from a limited-edition copy of the work produced to lunch with the artist. As a whole, micro-funding sites like Kickstarter have the effect of fostering a personal, reciprocal exchange between donor and recipient that goes far beyond traditional funding models. Art Barter has the potential to do much of the same for the fine art market by encouraging art lovers to be creative and contribute more than just money. It’s less an auction than an exchange, based on the assumption that all participants have something unique and valuable to offer.

Art Barter New York
Thursday, Dec 9 - Sunday, Dec 12
NP Contemporary Art Center
131 Chrystie St, New York
Open daily from noon to 6 p.m.

Daisy, 2008, Woodgrain series by Christina Muraczewski

Rarely is an artist's statement as enigmatically engaging as the work itself, but Christina Muraczewski's reads like a philosophical text, meaning that you might have to read it and then re-read it again (and then maybe again) to best extract all the nuance and particulars one-by-one. Or, maybe it reads like the journal of someone who strives for as much order in personal articulation as in visual making: What you say about what you do can matter as much as the doing.

Before I leave the house in the morning I go through three sets of four rituals for getting ready to make sure nothing was forgotten. When I go to the store I plan to buy five things or in groups of five so I remember what I was supposed to get. I organize and categorize by a number of different systems...

By employing minimal characteristics, I create formal and informal relationships that...[are] disrupted purposefully by a foreign element: humor. Humor in the form of obsessiveness, senselessness, or sarcasm defines the absurd to serve as a balance to the mundane. The attempt is to fashion a new hybrid: minimalism as the backbone and idiosyncrasy as the fuel. This hybrid is meant to sit in the "in-between", the balance of abstraction and representation, the literal and the conceptual, sincerity and superficiality.

Muraczewski has referred to herself as an abstract painter, but has re-interpreted the label to include a methodology which incorporates a nearly OCD sense of organization, a serious love of ritual and contemporary design elements and a breezy, blink-and-miss it sense of humor. These elements of practice have culminated in her most recent series of work, Woodgrain. Using acrylic markers and glitter on canvas, Muraczewski creates a faux bois background that she then "overpaints" a scene of birds, vines, flora or colorful wallpaper or upholstery patterns. The result intones a whiff of David Salle, if Salle were perhaps more interested in the natural world as opposed to, say, the au natural girl.

We have a great fondness for Muraczewski's work here at Jen Bekman Projects, having shown her in two group shows at the Jen Bekman Gallery (X Marks the Art and Ornithology), and nearly selling out her editions here at 20x200 (you can still purchase the dwindling reserves from her featured editions here, here and here). We couldn't be happier to cheer and chart her current and future successes both in NYC and beyond.

To that end, if you live near or are visiting the left coast in the coming month, Muraczewski's work can be seen live and in person in the group show Woodie, an exhibition featuring art works made on wood, with wood or by wood simulation, at The Attic, 200 S. Ardmore Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90004. The exhibition is part of the Art LA Contemporary Fair programming, which includes a self-guided driving tour of new exhibitions at alternative spaces throughout the city.

The exhibition features: Anthony Brown, Brian Cooper, Craig Deines, Joan Kahn, Jared Pankin, Brian Mallman, Christina Muraczewski, Sharon Ryan, Klutch Stanaway and Noah Thomas and was curated by Cherie Benner Davis.

Woodie
On view: Jan. 31 - Feb. 28, 2010
The Attic, 200 S. Ardmore Ave.(cross streets: Normandie & 2nd St.)
Los Angeles, CA 90004
For more information or to view by appointment, call: 323-292-6029, or write: cheriebd@gmail.com.

The Enormous Tiny Art Show, February 2010

Who says bigger is better?

Despite what my first drawing instructor preached, there is something to be said for small work. Smaller pieces beckon, siren-like, for you to approach and be alone with them for a moment. They ask for mano e mano consideration, and alert one to the distinction between looking into instead of looking at something.

Every February and September, Nahcotta Gallery hosts the Enormous Tiny Art show, where all the art on the walls is a come-hither intimate size of 10"x10" or smaller. And this February is especially notable in that Valerie Roybal, Kate Bingaman-Burt and Lisa Congdon, three of 20x200's own edition-makers, are showcasing their small splendors.

The good people at ETA write:

As art lovers and collectors ourselves, we want nothing more than to share our ardor for original art, making it possible for almost anyone and everyone to own original and irreplaceable works of art.

We couldn't agree more with the sentiment, and the act of collecting itself.

A Brief History 2009, by Valerie Roybal

I was lucky enough to acquire a couple of Roybal's exquisitely detailed 20x200 editions during the last 20x200 RIDONK sale , and if you're able to make it to Portsmouth, NH you can purchase some of her's, Kate Bingaman-Burt's or Lisa Congdon's original pieces for very reasonable prices. Alternatively, if, like me, you are glued to your task chairs and monitors, you can also browse and buy Valerie's, Kate's or Lisa's work directly online on their respective ETA pages. All three artists also have work remaining on 20x200 here, here and here!

Enormous Tiny Art
On view: February 4th - March 1st, 2010
Artist's reception: Friday, February 5th, 5-8 p.m.
Nahcotta Gallery
110 Congress Street
Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03801
603.433.1704

Swingset, 2008 by Clare Grill

We are pleased to share that 20x200 edition-maker Clare Grill will exhibit work in Relocation, a group show curated by Los Angeles-based painter Aaron Smith at Sloan Fine Art. The opening reception will be held tomorrow evening, October 14 from 6–8 p.m.

Relocation features seven artists' interpretations of traditional landscape vernacular and in addition to Clare will includes the work of Erik Benson, Thomas C. Card, David Jien, Ryan Mrozowski, Marion Peck and Jean-Pierre Roy. The exhibition is on view through November 7, 2009 and the gallery is open Wed–Sunday, noon–6 p.m.

SLOAN FINE ART
Relocation
128 Rivington Street (@ Norfolk)
New York, NY 10002
212.477.1140

Clare's 20x200 editions, Cake and Assignment, are also still available if you'd like to be an collector of the fine paintings of Ms. Grill!

Boy do I wish I was in rural Wisconsin this weekend! Two time 20x200 edition-maker and watercolor painter extraordinaire Amy Park has informed us that everyone's invited to a "summer jamboree art weekend" at the Poor Farm in Manawa, WI.

The centerpiece of the weekend is the opening of an exhibition called The Great Poor Farm Experiment:

The Great Poor Farm Experiment is a series of works (performance, installation, sculpture, painting) installed and presented in and around the Poor Farm during the renovation of the main exhibition building. A three day open-house will inaugurate these projects during the weekend of August 7 - 9, 2009. Additional projects will be presented throughout 2009 and 2010.

And when they said "jamboree" they weren't kidding around. In addition to artwork by artists from across the country (including Amy!) there will be river-tubing, fishing, golfing, conversation, camping, canoeing, a Saturday evening BBQ and more.

The event is brought to you by Michelle Grabner and Brad Killam, founders of The Suburban, an Illinois-based contemporary arts organization. The weekend will serve as a preview of what's to come for the Poor Farm which will function as a space dedicated to artists.

So head on over the Poor Farm and pitch your tent for a weekend of art and fun!

Friday, August 7, 2009
12:00 noon
Campsite on Poor Farm grounds open: bring your tents, coolers, water-craft, fishing tackle, bug spray.

7:00 pm
Welcome Reception

Saturday, August 8, 2009
2:00
Saddle Fitting Seminar
Shane Selzer with Master Saddle Fitter Gina Perilla

5:00 pm
Reception for the Artists
Brats and Beer Cookout

Sunday, August 9, 2009
12:00 pm
Little Wolf River Tube Float
A central Wisconsin tradition since 1876
Bring your water shoes, swimsuit and floating device: tube, kayak, canoe

The Poor Farm
E6325 County Highway BB
Manawa, WI 54949
708 305 2657 (please call Michelle Grabner if you have questions)

The Mountain of Tomorrow's Sunrise
by William Crump
Buy one now

Dear Collectors,

The gallery will be closing X Marks the Art, Saturday, January 24th. X Marks the Art, is a unique opportunity for you to see original works and framed, limited edition prints by 20x200 artists:

Ky Anderson
Kotama Bouabane
William Crump
Kevin Cyr
Beth Dow
Scott Eiden
Don Hamerman
Gregory Krum
William Lamson
Carrie Marill
Christina Muraczewski
Kent Rogowski
Jennifer Sanchez
Aili Schmeltz
Kelly Shimoda
Luke Stephenson
Todd St. John
and
Bert Teunissen

X Marks the Art will be on view through January 24, 2009
Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring Street
New York

Image from Birth Piontek's Sub Rosa series

Bom dia collectors, especially to all of you in Brazil. 20x200 photographer, Fall 2007 Hot Shot and Ultra, Birthe Piontek is currently showing work at São Paulo's Galeria Leme in a group show, Portrait II. Selected images from Birthe's Sub Rosa series are up now through October 4th. The entire series was previously on view at Jen Bekman Gallery, and can be seen here.

Galeria Leme
Rua Agostinho Cantu, 88
São Paulo, Brazil

Birthe's edition print:
Untitled (from Sub Rosa)
Birthe's artist page at Jen Bekman Gallery
Birthe's site

This is the back of the painting that Jason Polan is showing at Jonathan LeVine

You don't need me to tell you that Jason Polan is hot shit because he is, by association, in the upcoming group show entitled Hot Shit. The Hot Shit show (that is fun to say out loud) will be opening Saturday September 6th at Jonathan LeVine Gallery.

Jason will be showing a painting that preserves hope and happiness:

The painting is of the moment before President Kennedy was assassinated. It is taken from frame 226 of the Zapruder film. I wanted to make my piece the last moment before things changed. I wanted everyone to still be happy. Jackie Kennedy is still waving at the people on the left of the car and President Kennedy is still smiling at the people on the right side of the car. It is sunny out and everyone is excited to see the President.

It's sunny out.

Jonathan LeVine Gallery
529 W. 20th Street, 9E
New York, NY

Jason Polan's 20x200 editions:
Hand Project
Every Person in New York

Jason Polan's sites:
Jason Polan
The Drawing Project
The 53rd Street Biological Society

Image: Top Ten Records group show postcard

I went to graduate school in Rochester, New York, and had my thesis show at the Visual Studies Workshop, so I'm feeling a little nostalgic writing this post. Rochester is a wonderland of large, inexpensive places to live and is the birthplace of Kodak and Wegmans. Sometimes I wonder why I ever left.

20x200's Luke Strosnider is a Rochester resident who will be part of a group show opening September 5th at the Visual Studies Workshop. The show, Top Ten Records, was curated by Robyn York and is an installation of Polaroid Top Ten lists from an international cast of photographers. The show will remain on view through September 30th.

Rochester is lovely this time of year, so if you're in the mood for a road trip, count me in.

Visual Studies Workshop
Print Loft Gallery
31 Prince Street
Rochester, NY

Luke's 20x200 edition print: Every Chair At the Visual Studies Workshop
Luke's site
Luke's blog
Luke's other blog
Luke's flickr
Luke's other flickr