the studio

artist work spaces are fascinatig.  i love seeing where and how people work.  i am thinking about finishing out my garage and turning it into work space.  the space i am in now has amazing 14ft ceilings, sublime light.  i have mixed feelings about giving up the space itself and giving up a certain physical and psychological distance between home and work,

i think of all these, this is my favorite space

I like the dog on the floor under the table.  i wish my dog would come to work with me.  she hates my studio.  the building is very close to train tracks and the noise and vibration of trains going by terrifies her

the black and white photo makes in even more serene

who could work in this space with the amazing view?  is it a studio or a boat?

this happens to be ross bleckner's studio, pretty serene

Philip Taaffe, paintings

firend and colleague Ellen Hart re-introduced me to Philip Taaffe.  she thought of me in connection with his work for obvious reasons.  several years ago i took a pretty close look at his work and for the life of me I can't figure out why i was not much interested.

these are images i found on the web.  there are paintings i like better but these are representative.  he uses silk screens to repeat his repeated motifs.  naturally i love the layers.  and the complexity and the delicacy. 

it seems to me that his motifs work as signifiers.  he has been connected with neo-geo, based on his use, in some of his work, of non-western-european motifs such as arabic caligraphy and hispano-moorish designs.

taaffe has a great website:

philip taaffe

show at Installations, may/june 2010

 pretty much all of the paintings shown in these installation shots can be seen in previous blog entries (just keep scrolling down). the purpose of these pictures is to show how they were installed in the Installations space (confusing). who thinks the setting detracts from the art? not me. i LOVE it. i think the art, objects and furniture becki and jur curated and arranged are amazing. i think the art and the furniture/objects speak to each other and make each other more interesting. my hope for my work is that it is LIVED WITH (for a long time) and enjoyed. i think seeing work in this kind of context helps viewer imagine, think about living with art.  

Thanks to Becki and Jur for such an amazing, thoughtful, sensitive job.

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Ryan McGinniss

I have just discovered the work of Ryan McGinniss.  Where has he been all my life?  I wanted to get this posted and will have more of his work soon.  This piece is from 2009. 
http://www.ryanmcginness.com/

Cal Lane

"Lane is intrigued by contrasts in feminine and male conventions, and uses her welding torch to cut doilies and baroque patterns into mundane objects such as wheel barrows, I-beams, dumpsters and shovels. These objects, once relied upon for their durability, are transformed via oxyacetylene torch into delicate and decorative skeletons."

this is a dumpster that Cal Lane has "filigreed" with a torch.

this is from a piece called "filigree car bombing"--the exquisite and disturbing irony of applying a decorative motif to something quite horrific and all too familiar

see more of Cal Lane at http://www.callane.com/

opening friday night 21 may at installations

we had a great turn out for the opening friday night and the gallery looked AMAZING.  becki and jur did such a fabulous job of hanging/installing the show and it is such a wonderful room.  i could not have been more pleased.  i wish i had photos of the opening to post but i don't.  i will post pictures of the installation tho next week.  THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SHOWED UP!  and thanks to becki and jur for doing such an amazing job!

Ryan McGinniss

I have just discovered the work of Ryan McGinniss.  Where has he been all my life?  I wanted to get this posted and will have more of his work soon.  This piece is from 2009. 
http://www.ryanmcginness.com/