Space Project by Vincent Fournier

Brussels-based photographer Vincent Fournier’s ‘Space Project’ -found via viacomit.net.

Natural Causes pdf catalog

Natural Causes pdf Catalog (click to download pdf)

• The 20 page pdf catalog includes installation images, images of my work, and images of the works in the curated show. The curated group show is made up of site-specific work by Mindy Bray, paintings from New York artists Jason Stopa and Eric LoPresti, photographs by German photographer Alexander Binder, works on paper by Alan Kitchen, and new bronze work by Yoshitomo Saito.
• Also included is a curatorial statement by me, and an introductory essay by Christopher Reiger, and excerpts from the Denver Post article reviewing the curated show.

More catching up

photo from the collection of Nathan Abels

After a show is up a lot of artists get what they refer to as the "post-show depression". I've experienced the post-show blues from time to time but in general I feel pretty free - free to do whatever projects or processes I've been delaying because of the emphasis on whether or not it will go with the show. One of the things I've been wanting to do is make a blurb book of my personal collection of photographer's shadows (see above). I'm in the process of that right now and it will be a short, affordable soft-cover open-edition book in the near future.

Simulacra

Nathan Abels, “Without Haste, But Without Rest”, Acrylic and Oil on Panel, 24×36″, 2008

George Morland, "Before a Thunderstorm", 1791, Oil on canvas, 85 x 117 cm

see also:

Sanford Robinson Gifford, "Night on the Hudson River", 1870

Nathan Abels, "Pursuit", Acrylic and Oil on Panel, 24x36" 2008

New Music to Check Out

There have been several exceptional new releases in the last few weeks and days - here are a few you shouldn't miss.

The Onion's A.V. Club said of Midlake's new album "The Courage of Others", "Midlake’s sound is less about its influences than the atmosphere it creates: akin to being stranded in a dark place, unsure whether to search for a way out or get used to the surroundings."



Yeasayer's new album "Odd Blood" is even better than their last:



Broken Bells - made up of James Mercer (of the Shins) and Danger Mouse (I woke up with this song in my head this morning):

BROKEN BELLS, "THE HIGH ROAD" from EJ on Vimeo.

Photo of the Day

, originally uploaded by Trinki Jankapoka.

On a grander scale

photo taken in Rocky Mountain National Park this last weekend.

Henry David Thoreau -February 2, 1852:

Sir Francis Head says that in America “the moon looks larger” than in Europe. Here, then, more moonshine is to be expected. Perhaps the sun looks larger also. Such are the advantages of the New World. The same writer says, “the heavens of America appear infinitely higher,” “the stars are brighter.” These, too, are encouraging facts, symbolical of the height to which the philosophy and poetry and religion of her inhabitants may one day soar. At length, perchance, the immaterial heaven will appear as much higher to the American mind, and the intimations that star it will appear as much brighter. For I believe that climate does thus react on man, and that there is something in the mountain air that feeds the spirit and inspires. We shall be more imaginative; we shall be clearer, as our sky, bluer, fresher; broader and more comprehensive in our understanding, like our plains; our intellect on a grander scale, like our thunder and lightning, our rivers and our lakes, and mountains and forests. Are not these advantages? Will not man grow to greater perfection intellectually as well as physically under these influences? Or is it unimportant how many foggy days there are in his life?

Update

The opening on Friday was a well-attended success. Thanks to everyone who came out. There was a article in Sunday's Denver Post about the part of the exhibition that I curated in which Kyle MacMillan wrote that it was a "welcome burst of freshness" and that I had chosen six artists "who share [my] meticulous attention to detail and fascination with the less obvious, sometimes indistinct aspects of the world around [me]."

Variations on a Theme

Theodor Kittelsen

"Natural Causes"

My solo show “Natural Causes” opens tonight at Rule Gallery -the opening reception is from 6-9 pm. The exhibition will run through March 20th. I have curated a group show to go along with my show - it is made up of Alan Kitchen, Mindy Bray, Eric Lo Presti, Alexander Binder, Jason Stopa, and Yoshitomo Saito.

My statement for the exhibition reads:

The works in “Natural Causes” explore the landscape and its inhabitants with each image depicting a visual pause in an ongoing event. What I am capturing in these paused moments is a sense of “straining at particles of light in the midst of great darkness.” (Keats)

Here are the works in the show - some you may have seen previously and some that I haven't posted until today:

“Wildfire”, Acrylic on Panel, 42×60″

"Half-Seeing", Acrylic on Panel, 36x48"

"Lost to Sight", Ink and Acrylic on Paper, 22x30"

"Passage", Acrylic on Panel, 24x48"

"Kairos",Acrylic on Panel, 36x48"

"Harbinger", Acrylic on Panel, 11x14"

"Sullen Roar", Acrylic on Panel, 36x48"

"Floating", Charcoal, Graphite and Pastel on Paper, 20x24"

"Murmur", Charcoal, Graphite and Pastel on Paper, 20x24"

"Portent", Charcoal, Graphite and Pastel on Paper, 20x24"

A Preview of "Natural Causes"

My work can be seen in the background and in the foreground is a cut felt piece by Mindy Bray - photo by Valerie Santerli

Seen here - Mindy Bray's site-specific wall painting, two small works by Jason Stopa and a painting by Eric LoPresti - photo by Valerie Santerli

Photos of the entire exhibition will be up on Friday. Stay tuned...

Things are falling into place

Here's a photo of things as they were on Saturday. As of yesterday, Mindy Bray's site specific work directly on the wall of the gallery is nearing completion (you can see her working in the background of the above photo) and nine out of ten of my works are installed. We will be laying out the group exhibition for installation this afternoon. It is a real honor to present my work with such a talented and inspiring group of artists.

Less than a week...

I'll be back to more regular posting after next week. Hope to see everyone in the area at Rule this coming Friday.

Photo of the Day

, originally uploaded by Ivan Sanjuan (flickr).

Ane Graff, "Sliding"

I'm really late on this one, but enjoy these images from Ane Graff's most recent show, "Sliding" from a few months ago. I interviewed her in the fall of 2008 - you can read it here. The installation of this show is very inspiring:

Packing it Up

Shipping art work is one of those things that you hear horror stories about but I've never had a problem (yet). I know artists who build elaborate crates with wood and foam and even paint the outsides to show how well they were handled in transit (if the paint is chipped off a lot, the works might have had a rough journey). I even know an artist who simply wraps his paintings in brown paper and puts them in the mail. My personal approach is one of a straight-edge, xacto knives and lots of foam and cardboard. For the show up currently in Dunedin, Florida here's how I packed the works -from top down:

When opening the box you would see this - the notch is there to make it easier to pull out the foam:

After one layer of foam is taken out you will see the paperwork and the first wrapped painting within several layers of foam:
After that painting is taken out you'll see the next painting - again within several layers of foam - similar to how people hide things in books by carving out the pages:

A layer of foam between each painting:

The last painting fit snug in the bottom of the box:

All together the box was about eight inches deep and contained three canvases. I'm told they looked fine upon arrival in Florida - so here's hoping they can manage to fit them all back in the box!

"Natural Causes" update

As previously mentioned, my opening is next Friday (February 5th). I'm holding out on you a little because I have almost five new works that won't be posted online until the opening. Here are a few of the things for you to look forward to:

• A pdf catalog of the works in the exhibition including images of my work as well as the works in the curated show
• The catalog includes a curatorial statement by me, and an introductory essay by Christopher Reiger.
• Five of my never-before exhibited large works and four works on paper.
• A curated show with site-specific work by Mindy Bray, paintings from New York artists Jason Stopa and Eric LoPresti, photographs by German photographer Alexander Binder, works on paper by Alan Kitchen, and new bronze work by Yoshitomo Saito.

source.

Fatal Confinement

Lorenzo Lotto, Portrait of a Man, 1535

From the text in my Guide to the Borghese Gallery, "The melancholy Portrait of a Man by Lorenzo Lotto is probably the portrait of the widower, Mercurio Bua, because of the small skull surrounded by rose petals, reminiscent of a fatal confinement."