death of dance, wall drawing 2004.

I've been slowly progressing with the work for my bau 6 show in June, discovering certain things that are not working, and exploring other options. I'm enjoying the machinations of trying things out, rejecting some, hanging on to others. The image above, was a quick note made on the wall of my studio, and has served as the touchstone for the development of my concept for the show, even though there may be no visual reference to this drawing in the installation.

I also helped Angelika hang her pieces for her current show at bau. I really enjoy the results of what she has done. The process was fun to be a part of as well. Her pieces are life size photograms of several of the folks around Spire Studios. In addition to assisting her, I was working on an impromptu series of work with another studio mate, Matt Kinney, on an installation of work at Juicy. I will be organizing some odd visual excercises with various artists that will be installed at juicy over the course of the coming months. This should be fun, I'm looking forward to what may happen with that.

amalgam at b a u, opening in June

I will be having an exhibit of sculpture, and assemblage pieces at b a u in June. Below are some images of things that I'm working on. This is very much an exploratory show, as I am delving into areas that I don't normally explore with drawing and painting. This exhibit is also allowing me to further develop concepts that have been floating around for sometime, but I had not really sought a practical manner of execution for them.


relic


study for jc's pimhand


affection

Spire Recap

I ended up not really taking photos of the open studio last Saturday. It was a long night, and I had my fill of photogging over at bau.

It was another major party, exhausting, but fun.

The exhibit ended up looking good. If I get a chance to take some images, I'll upload them sometime this week.

Another open studio

It's happening again. Our next quarterly art binge is coming up on Saturday. I am really looking forward to this, if I can get my studio cleaned up without too much trouble. Work will be presented by current, and past spire studio tenants.

open

Some recent artwork

repose

I have been working on many varied pieces over the past year, and I am overdue for updating the rest of my sight with new images of artwork. In lieu of that action, I will start posting a sampling of images of things I've been working on recently.
These two pieces are four foot square, oil on masonite.


repose 2

My first carp.....on a plate.

On my trip to Nuremburg Germany in December, I was privileged to experience a local delicacy: Fried Carp.
This fish has a fairly poor reputation in the States, basically, that of a trash fish. We caught many of them in South Dakota, when I was young, and they were good to catch, and they got pretty big, but after we got them off the hook, my cousin would kill them by jumping on their heads. But that was a long time ago.....

Anyway, the fish we ate on this day was farm raised, and It was prepared by a local restaurant, and Angelika's dad brought them home. The fish was gutted, but everything that was left was dipped in batter, and fried, scales, fins and all.
The fins are said to be the best part, and they were good, with plenty of batter. I have to say that batter fried anything tastes pretty good.

b a u happenings

I'm currently in Denver, working on some projects, and will be back in NY in about a week.
Our first b a u opening was enjoyable, and successful, and getting ready for it was exhausting. Two days later, I was on the road, heading west, still battling a little jetlag from returning from Europe. I managed to nap through some heavy weather in the midwest, and dodge what apparantly were some very treacherous conditions. Between the Mississippi, and Des Moines (a distance of about 200 miles,) I counted over 60 cars on the side of the road, 9 jacknived semis, and one large box truck on its side. I was pretty fortunate to have slept for those two hours in that Super 8 parking lot.

So, I have been away from alot of the activity surrounding b a u. I am anxious to get back. Our next show should be very interesting, and exciting. We've invited 2 artists from Beacon, and 2 from across the river to show. All of these artists in one way or another use computer technology to create their work, but their results are very different from one another. There are different things happening within the art communities of each city, and I'm hoping to explore the things that distinguish the two cities with a discussion that will accompany the exhibit. Check out the b a u site for more info. We'll be having a film screening at bau on the fourth of Feb. that unfortunately I'll miss. It'll be good to get back. In the meantime, I'll post somethings I've found interesting out here in Denver...

There are days, and there are days

It's been pretty hectic these last couple of weeks. My family was in town, and that kept me jumping down to NYC frequently, then coming home working on miscellaneous stuff for b a u. Things are moving fast, and our first show is opening on Jan 8.

Tonight, I am leaving for Germany. My girlfriend is there spending the holiday with her family, then we'll spend a few days in Milan, visiting friends of mine....Then back on the 6th with a little over a day to finish preparations for the opening.

I have not been able to get to the studio much recently, and when I have been there, it's generally in and out, doing quick tasks. I was able to spend a good portion of Christmas day in the studio, tinkering, and playing with plaster, and doing a little drawing. It's the perfect way to spend a holiday. I very much appreciate the silence, and calm that suddenly descends everywhere on such a day, and I realize that this day is indeed different than the others. This is a great prelude for doing work in the studio, I am already clear of other concerns I usually have. I am exceedingly fortunate to have this opportunity to have such a place on such a day to do such enjoyable, and fulfilling work. Given the recent tsunami in asia, as well as the general hardship that many face, and that many of our soldiers are deployed, and have sacrificed heavily, I consider myself blessed and so remind myself daily. Being aware of my fortune, is half of the equation, the other is consciously sharing my fortune with others who are less so, and honoring those who are performing a great task, when they would much rather be home, indulging in the privilege of spending a holiday in any way that would most gratify them.

We hosted our open studios saturday evening. It was very well attended from 6pm on. Generally, there is slow steady flow of folks through the night until around nine, when the other galleries and shops close, and many people come to our place to unwind. This night, though, there was great flow of people starting early. I had to leave at about 1:30am. I also only had half a cup of beer. But the keg was kicked in less than 6 hours. Yes, indeed, a good time was had by all.

Angelika Rinnhofer's tweaked landscapes

Some entertainment for the night.

more Flock.

Matt Kinney's studio

Our common room that is hosting the exhibit, Flock, curated by Linda Stewart, and Coulter Young

This is the studio shared by our three resident Moms, two of which are seen here..Katherine, and Shannon

Beacon Artist Union

I, along with six other artists, am opening b a u, a cooperative exhibition space in Beacon NY. It's a chance, and a place, for us to experiment and collaborate on another level. We are definitely looking at this space as an extension of our studios, playing with the line between creation, and exhibition. I am really excited about working with these other artists; they are all assertive forces, and just a bunch of ugly mugs....save the 2 fairer bau fraus of the group.

beacon artist union

This rundown of the presentation at Spire Studios' Open Studio on Saturday, designed by Todd Spire.

Another action-packed open studio

Winter '04 Open Studio.

We have more artists than ever working in the Studio, and a new curated show in the common areas. This should be just as fun, if not more so than any of our previous open studios. The Beacon Dispatch just named Spire Studios open studios the Best open Studios in Beacon..... Of course, aside from Bulldog Studios, we offer the only coordinated open studios in Beacon.....but that's not the point. The point is that when we have an open studio. We do our best to make it an open studio worth attending.....Yes, that is the point.