With Curator Melanie Johansen next to my screen, “Never Look or You’ll Never Leap”, 2007
Seems like ages ago when I left NYC for Florida, but it was just December 2 when there was a press preview at the Cornell Museum in Delray Beach for Language Art, a show I’m featured in along with artists Mary Coyle, Michael Dinges, Reed Dixon, William Halliday, Kathy Halper, Robert Indiana, Meryl Pataky, Johnny Romeo, Matthew Rose and Annie Vought. Curator Melanie Johansen and the museum team couldn’t have been more welcoming and gracious to me –as was everyone I met. (Unbeknownst to me, though Melanie was biting her nails all afternoon as a large diptych of mine “The Future was Better”, was only delivered just 30 minutes before the show opened! Whew! The Future was almost the past before we got started.) Two nights later, when I was down the beach in Miami for Art Basel, the official opening happened with a martini party and hundreds of revelers pouring in the square to see the HUGE tree lit up (it’s one of the largest in the country and it’s hollow and you can go inside!) I missed all that fun, but here are some pics. Can’t reveal anything just yet but a year from now, I’ll be back in Delray for something exciting! To me, anyway.
Title alphabet collages by me
Trey Speegle, Yes!
Trey Speegle, The Here And Now, 2012
The Future finally arrived
Melanie with guests at the Martini Party opening
The lobby during the Martini party
It may or may not be the World’s Tallest artificial tree, but at 100 feet, it’s BIG!
The Cornell Museum all lit up with Language Art
The book that started it all
After 3 days at Art Basel with my pal Susan Kilkenny, I flew to San Francisco on December 7th for the opening for The Jealous Curator: From Blog To Book To Gallery at the Bedford Gallery. It’s actually outside SF in Walnut Creek at the Lesher Center for the arts. The author, Danielle Krysa wrote a book Creative Block: Advice and Projects From 50 Successful Artists, which I am still amazed to be included in. This was the basis for the exhibit with 20 of the 50 represented. Btw, the Huffington Post just named Creative Block one of the Best Art Books of 2014! And the great site Brain Pickings also picked Creative Block as one of their faves of ’14. Not bad, huh? See the book come to life was great for everyone, especially Danielle who wrote the blog and the book on these folks without ever seeing 90% of the work in person, so this show was a surprise. Danielle signed books and being the schmuck I am, I forced people to let me sign their books too, not realizing that six of the other artists were also there. Curator Carrie Lederer and her team were also incredibly accommodating and nice to deal with, the whole experience was really a cake walk. There was a great DIY area where visitors can color three of my project PBN pages and also a chalkboard in addition to the 4 paintings and one mirror piece I had on display. After the opening, Danielle, the artists, Lisa Congdon, Lisa Golightly, Stephanie Vovas and others all went across the street and had martinis and chatted. What a fun smart group –just like the author herself, who btw, just got her third book deal, which is a sort of follow-up to CB. The next day, Danielle and I returned to give a talk… no, I didn’t force myself on the crowd, this time I was ASKED.
And people say female artists don’t get enough attention! (I like being the only guy.)
Stephanie Vovas
Leah Giberson
Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith (detail)
Lisa Golightly
Sidney Pink
Danielle Krysa
Holly Farrell
Jennifer Davis
Martha Rich
My “Abstract Lighthouse & Sailboats”
My art advice, such as it is…
My DIY area
The crowd of docents listening to Danielle speak about each artist
Reflected in my “Abstract Sailboats”
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