Chelsea Thursdays 4/14

After a productive first day in my new full time job as an artist, I headed over to Chelsea with my abstract artist friend Jess.  It was so refreshing to have finally met someone who also loves to go to Chelsea Galleries and critique artwork.

The first show was appropriately named Awakening at Tria.  It featured works by Jenny Nelson & Keun Young Park.  A show of an oil painter and a collage artist who tears tiny pieces of paper to create pointilist drawings.

I'm BACK. Chelsea 4/13/11

For the month of march, and the first half of April, I was working full time in a movie production office.  As a result, I did not go to Chelsea, or spend much time on my art.  However, this was a fantastic time of financial security, and it allowed me to really enjoy my free time.  But on my first day of being 24, I woke up and realized I don't want this life in a year, and that I want to reach my goal of being a successful artist in NYC by the time I'm 25.  So sure enough, I was let go from work on Wednesday.  It was mutual, and I immediately left the office to go straight to Chelsea.  What a rebirth!  It was a fantastic re-affirmation of why I'm here, and now I'm back and more confident than ever that this is where I need to be.  Plus, I picked up some great business skills and a dose of professionalism.  What I found:

Danese - Lynne Woods Turner
Untitled (9030), 2009
oil on linen
14 x 14 inches

New York Art Expo, March 26 2011

David and friends and I went to this show specifically to see his boss' work.  Some works stood out (especially his boss'), but the rest was more consumer-oriented.  The artists at this show were incredibly successful, so for me it was a fascinating window into the Marketable Art World.

Landscape II-77876(the number of circles) by Paul Lee with Cosmos Gallery.  I loved the composition and profound impact of so many perfect circles.  An effect similar to pixels.

SINGLE FARE 2

At my friend Rami's suggestion (a NY Academy grad student), I entered the 2nd Single Fare show at Sloan Fine Art.  This show was a completely different scene from any of my previous shows, full of NY Academy students and famous artists within those circles.  The turnout was INSANE, and for the entirety of the 4 hour reception, the gallery was packed!  I met Rami's artist friends, and even some Academy friends of David's (he also used to go there).  And in the back, the work of Julie Heffernan and some other well-knowns was up for auction!  Once again, here's Julie, and this time I WAS IN THE SAME SHOW!  A great one to add to the resume.

So many people!

My two in the bottom-center

My other 5: the 4 skies and the light burst

Where's Colleen?

In the long pause between this and my last post, I've gone to a residency upstate, come back with a body of work, shown in 6 group shows and 2 solo shows in the city.  So, taking a pause from that, I'm back to getting inspired and meeting artists at gallery shows.  Here are a couple of my favorites:

Pace Gallery's Tara Donovan show.  The reception was packed!  So many fantastic pieces, all abstract and seeming to be focused on light.  I even managed to run into some friends I hadn't seen since last april!  I also met their friend who's interning at Pace Gallery!

Scope Art Fair, where I finally saw Carol Prusa's work!  I've been trying to see her fantastic light-filled domes since I missed her show in Chelsea last fall!  Sadly they were a lot smaller than I had thought, and were hidden in a corner. (what?) so were much less impressive.  But the detail and 3D effect was still inspiring.   

Photo prints on layers of glass

Waterfall By Hiroshi Senju of Sundaram Tagore Gallery

Huge! A wall of water in paint.  I ran across this gallery today in my most recent Chelsea visits.

Chelsea, 2/23-2/24.  The shows I saw inspired, but what was fascinating was how the visits ended.  Each day I was called to work as a PA or show up to an interview!  It was as if the moment I was inspired to go home and work, new opportunities started up.

Photo/Sculpture at Jack Shainman Gallery by Robert & Shana Parkeharrison

  

I fell in love with the solitude of this piece, especially the display of photos beneath glass.  They depicted space, and the glass really added to their depth.

Soapstone Gallery-Niagara Bar Location

Happened to be in East Village on April 29th when I got a text from Stacey about an art opening at the Niagara Bar-just a block away!  She introduced me to a couple people and Kathy, the first person I met actually went to Smith College, and she even knew my studio space-mate Wilson Kemp!  She volunteers for the organization, No Longer Empty which puts up art exhibits in temporarily empty storefronts and venues all around the city.

Then met Sarah Giarratana, who's intricate ink on watercolor drawings inspired me to no end.  And when we talked about our drawings, she totally knew where I was coming from!  She told me about a sketch-a-thon she does with some other artists-just what I need!  She introduced me to Michel McManus who curated the show with Soapstone Gallery.  He also liked my drawings, even though my tiny phone hardly does them justice.  He wanted me to e-mail them in, and when I get back from my residency in July that'll be one of the first things I do.

610 Dean Studio Party

I went to this a week ago and saw some interesting stuff.  Scott introduced me to his fellow Pratt alumns at their studio party in Brooklyn.
 

David Pierce

Traffic makes Traffic #2

Ink on Rice Paper Stretched on Canvas

30" x 48"

Saw the work of David Pierce and fell in love with his older meticulously drawn work.  From far away, they held such weight and were rich in texture.  From up close you would get lost in his tiny circles.  Very different from my work, but very inspiring.

 Gary Cullen

19 steps and repercussions

oil, cold wax enamel & pigment based marker on canvas

48"x52"

He and this artist, Gary Cullen,  created DJ Mayonnaise Hands, and they do some really awesome interviews.   Did I mention they're crazy?

Also met an incredible photo-realistic artist named Albert Shelton who is currently working in the studio of Jeff Koons.  I heard that one of his jobs is to carefully mix the right values of paint.  I think doing something that precise for hours would make me crazy.