RSG

Personal Opens

2009-05-07T19:24:00.005-04:00

I am very excited about this show and the public opening on May 13th.
Please come out and enjoy the exhibition and take in the New York Photo Festival's opening night as well.
The week of May 13-17 DUMBO is overtaken by NYPH09, a huge photo festival that has a gazillion exhibitions, lectures, panels and just all things photo. Check out the link below and come on by.

Our opening is sponsored by Vitamin Water and Crop Circle Beer (My new favorite beer..it's yummy).

Headed to Portand, OR

2009-04-20T13:39:00.002-04:00

I'm headed to Portland, Oregon this week to do the portfolio reviews for Camera Lucinda.
I love their Critical Mass book competition...you should submit...

If you are in Portland, come find me and buy me a microbrew.

http://www.photolucida.org/critique.php?pl=d679d87e1abd4e17b483deb20f880044

Target First Saturdays @ Brooklyn Museum

2009-04-20T13:07:00.002-04:00

Brooklyn Museum.
Wish I was there to do this...it looked like fun.
Print with Swoon!!

This place is cool, and you can get in for only $20 a year, worth the trip to Brooklyn and you really don't need a passport!

1stfans: a socially networked museum membership

Socialize at exclusive events during the Museum’s monthly Target First Saturdays and continue connecting online with access to artist-created content on our 1stfans Twitter Art Feed. This paperless Membership is only $20 for the year and is fully tax-deductible!

When you become a 1stfan, you can:

mingle at exclusive events during every Target First Saturday
access artist-created content on our 1stfans Twitter Art Feed
receive updates via Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, or e-mail
skip the movie lines at Target First Saturday

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/join/1stfans/

Personal: almost here

2009-04-18T15:46:00.004-04:00

Our second show, Personal, is slated to open May 7th..I hope you can drop in and take a look.
We have a couple events lined up during the show.

First...There is a soft opening on May 7th, which is the DUMBO First Thursday's art event. Feel free to come on by and take a sneak preview before the main opening party May 13th.

The opening party will be May 13th 7-9pm and is scheduled to coincide with the opening night of the NYPhotoFestival. It's going to be a madhouse over here that night (our opening is sponsored by Vitamin Water and Crop Circle Beer), so get here early.
RSG suggests you attend the Opening of PhotoFest which will be at Powerhouse Books at 6pm, then come over here at 7pm, meet the artists and catch the show, then head out for one of the many local events surrounding the Festival in the area....then if you are still standing, hit the PhotoFest After party down the block at 9pm.

We will also have Martin Schoeller's book "Female Body Builders" available during the show. Martin will be here on Saturday, May 16th at 1pm for a book signing. Don't miss that.

We hope to see you during the show!!!

Kyoko Hamada's got a webste!!

2009-04-18T15:37:00.002-04:00

Oh, no...the long awaited (at least by RSG) Kyoko Hamada website is finally here.
http://kyokohamada.com

Go take a peak.

New Space...New Artists Added

2009-03-30T09:36:00.004-04:00

RSG would like to welcome two new photographers to our team.

Thekla Ehling and Marco Delogu

Please check out the website to see some of their work. They are both wonderful photographers and create beautiful work that is thought provoking and emotionally moving.

Thekla will have her first US Solo show here in June!!!

I met German based, Thekla Ehling at last years NY PhotoFest. She had this wonderful artist book that I adored. She was also part of the FOAM Magazine exhibit. Well, I took her card and put it up near my computer and it was there all year till she found me in Miami during art fair. She had had the book published and presented me with a copy..A week later, she was on my artist list.

Her work, Sommerherz, is a beautiful slice of life, personal and carefree, like the Summers we had as kids, on endless vacation, exploring and lying around, taking in the experience and capturing it as a lifelong memory. Her work makes me smile, endlessly, and god knows we all need an endless smile after the last 6 months.

Come see her show in June and lose yourself in the images.

Marco Delogu is one of those photographers that live and breathe his country. He is Italian and his work is all about Italy and it's people. From Vatican Cardinals to hard core criminal assassins in prison, Delogu is there with his large format camera to capture it. His work is deep and rich in black and white, full of mystery and emotion, life and passion.

RSG Goes to Brooklyn

2009-03-30T09:13:00.002-04:00

I know, I am horrible about posting here. But, I have been a bit busy.
In February I decided to move the gallery from Washington DC, to the DUMBO district of Brooklyn, NY. I know, crazy...but why not!

DUMBO is a wonderful place. It is establishing itself as a solid destintion for the photographic community with galleries, publishers, agencies and photo creatives all coming to work and play here. It is a great community, vibrant with a happening night life.. Accessible from NYC by train, car or walk within minutes.

In May, the NY PhotoFestival takes place in DUMBO and attracts some 30,000 people during the week long event. All the local galleries present amazing exhibitions and the festival invites 4 curators to put together a selection of talented photographic artists. There are also lectures and panel discussions that are not to be missed.

All this was a big draw to DUMBO. Mainly, I felt the gallery and the artists would thrive better in the NY environment and at this moment...a positive outlook and forward direction is essential to navigate our changing times.

I do hope you will come by and see the new space. We are located in the 111 Front Street Building on the corner of Front and Washington. Look for the orange door.

Best train to take is the F to York st. (first Brooklyn Stop) or the A, C to High Street. (first stop). When here, walk around the neighborhood, there are amazing shops and places to eat and several great watering holes (I like reBar).

Here is a pic of the space....See you soon!!!

I Love a Good Photo in the Morning

2008-06-27T08:30:00.003-04:00

Was sent a link to this guy who copies classic photographs with scenes make from legos.
I just love creative people.

RSG announces VIDEO SMACK

2008-06-26T12:01:00.002-04:00

Video Smack
Beginning in July, RSG will present our Summer Project, Video Smack.

Video Smack is a semi-covert artist video/film project where we
take our projector/projectors to various locations
on any given summer night, and turn them on.

Video Smack is inviting film/video artists
from around the world to participate.

Here is how it works:

Sign up for the mailing list at the Video Smack Blog
(even if you are getting this email you still need to sign up)

Six hours before the screening we will send out an e-mail, post on the blog
and announce on Facebook
the location, directions, time and artist/artists.

Come on out and enjoy.

if you miss it, do not worry, most likely we will screen
the films on two separate nights, or you can see all the videos in the gallery.

8 Summer Group Show

2008-06-26T11:47:00.004-04:00

Our Summer Group show is scheduled to open July 11th 7-9pm.
It features the work of Eight amazing photographers:

Kyoko Hamada and Tema Stauffer
Jessica Dimmock and Peter Van Agtmael
Alexandra Catiere and Shen Wei
Alison Brady and Ryoko Suzuki

The show has a rotational design.
Eight photographers in Four
2-person, 2-week exhibitions

Opening night all eight will have work on the wall.
That night, we hang the first 2-person show.
So, every other Friday, a show will close and the next
opens the following morning.

Who said nothing happens in the Summer.

Cell Phone Coverage

2008-06-10T09:00:00.004-04:00

Are these images of Saturn, taken from the cassini spacecraft not amazing!!

It is a wonder that such clear photos can come from across the solar system, but my ATT cell phone network drops out when I am under a tree in the middle of the city.
Check out the photos..they are amazing.

Matt Mahurin

2008-05-22T12:16:00.007-04:00

When I was a young art dealer in Los Angeles, some 20 years ago I traveled to New York to meet Matt Mahurin. Matt was a photographic hero of mine. His work was full of emotion and subtext. It was dark and gritty and his prints were toned apparitions of dreams and nightmares and amazing worlds that crossed the grain of traditional editorial photography.

We had first met in a darkroom I was working at in Santa Monica in '89. He came in to make a print for Matthew Modine (the actor). I knew who Matt was, and I introduced myself. The print he made was amazing. He told me everything was done in his camera. I wanted to press him for details, but sometimes magic is best left to imagination so I shut up.

Matt Mahurin started out at Otis Institute in LA. He soon landed illustration jobs for the LA Times Op/Ed Section. Every week a new illustration would appear and people took notice. The illustrations were hand drawn, burnished, painted, scratched and were friggin powerfully amazing. Then he set out to translate his illustration to photography. This was 1989ish, Photoshop was a billion years away. His portrait work was soon sought after and he began a career shooting rockstars.

Countless album covers and magazine shoots later, he thought that what he was doing could work on film, so he started to make videos.

The first videos he did (music videos) didn't even have rockstars in them. They were art films snippets of film he shot on 8mm or 16mm stock just driving down the street or things he set up. Soon it got more complicated, but his work was groundbreaking for music video (which had been boring "Live" action concert footage or silly Huey Lewis dribble). Artist vision was introduced to music video as a solid component of the song. A component that didn't really mimic the song story line, but created an interpretation of.

So I went to see Matt in NY. I showed him my work and he showed me the prints from his first book. I felt a little bit in awe. I asked him if he would like to show in my gallery in LA, he said that he had just been offered a show at a gallery (a big one) right down the street from me. It was a wonderful private star studded opening. I walked in with Jodie Foster. My friends inside were floored when Jodie whispered something in my ear (I forget what it was...something like "you're standing on my foot").

Time moved on for all of us. Matt's work switched to digital and he now creates amazing digital illustrations based on his photographs. His work is on the Cover of Time all the time.

I talked to him last year. I wanted to bring him into the gallery. He told me no one would want to see his work. I told him he was quite mistaken.

He is now directing films. His documentary "I like killing Flies" is amazing (check it out on netflix). And I think he just finished another film. And he did a number of PSA's like H2...

Reason for my post is I was talking to a curator friend of mine about film work and he popped into my mind. So, while he was still fresh in my head, I wanted to put him here for you to see.

Here is his film version of Unforgiven by Metallica.
its 12 minutes long and I still love looking at it.

Wish me luck as I try and get him to send me a video collection for the gallery!

Cara Ober Closes On Saturday...get on over here

2008-04-09T13:20:00.003-04:00

Cara Ober's "ia am who i pretend to be" is slated to close this saturday. I strongly suggest you all get on over here and pick up a drawing off the "Wall.

The Wall is a collection of single drawings following Ober's visual vocabulary.
At $75 a piece the original drawings and mixed media pieces are a steal.
Heck, you can pick up several and make you own Ober!
not that we condone such a practice.

Nick Walker Show in London

2008-04-09T12:59:00.002-04:00

Mr. Nick Walker will have a show opening in London on April 17th.
Black Rat Press
It promises to be jam packed with London hipsters and people trying for one of 75 limited edition pieces he is making for the event.

Nick sold out his last show in LA in a couple days...Giving the demand I have been seeing for his work, better get in line a day before.

For those of you who can't make the opening...
Black Rat Press will release two limited edition prints on the morning of the show.
(Be prepared to be one with thousands of people looking to get in before they are all gone)

Please remember, London time is 5 hours ahead of the US. So, I suggest stocking on the Red Bull and throwing an all nighter.

If you can't wait...I still have 5 "Can't Be too Careful" paintings left.

Congrats in advance to Nick!

Sarah Wilmer to Open May 31st

2008-04-07T09:01:00.005-04:00

There is nothing like that feeling when I find a new artist whose work I absolutely love.
The hairs go up on the back of my neck and I feel the need to speak to them right away. I hate to wait.

Last Summer I came across Sarah Wilmer and put her into my summer group show "Subtext."
I am constantly amazed by what she photographs. From a family trip to New Zealand (My Brother Max...above) to her weekend photographic excursions around Jersey, to her commercial portraits and advertising. Her sense of natural light, composition and her approach to mystery/suspense and that cinematic (without being 'Cinematic") suck me in and hold me in this vortex of wonderment.

On May 31st I am excited to give her her first solo show at RSG. The work will be a wonderful collection of pieces that are both lyrical, romantic, mysterious and linger in a narrative both personal and emotive.

In the coming month I will put the work up on her website...or if you want a sneak peek...
go here.

I Like Jackson Martin

2008-03-01T10:19:00.003-05:00

Create something beautiful and give it away for free!

Jackson Martin
Transform

www.jacksonmartin.com/Jackson-Martin-Transform.mov

The talented photographer/videographer, Hugh Swingle
cut together a short documentary-style video for my
DUMBO Art Under the Bridge project. You can view this
video by clicking on the link. Enjoy!

Lori Nix Cool Hunting Video"

2008-02-18T15:09:00.003-05:00

I'm beginning to think all artist need a video as promotion.

Lori Nix, from cool hunting.

Another video of Nick at work.

2008-02-17T19:10:00.001-05:00

Stencils are no laughing matter. Nick is an exacto master.

Nick Walker has arrived...finally

2008-02-15T18:42:00.006-05:00

A year ago I started working with Bristol, UK based street artist Nick Walker. Nick is an original. He helped shape the Bristol street artist (some say graffiti) movement some 20 years ago that gave rise to Banksy. Long overlooked, not really into commercial gallery whatevers, Nick just hung out in his studio cutting stencils and making work. He produced limited edition prints and canvas editions. He occasionally ventured out onto the streets of Bristol and applied his vision to a wall, or a door, or whatever he thought needed a bit of color.

Well, Nick has arrived, finally, and recognition is around him.

Last week, Nick sold out his first solo show in Los Angeles. Then one of his amazing Moona Lisa canvas paintings sold for $90,000 at an auction in London. Demand for his work shot out across the pond. RSG has been getting countless requests for the edition "Can't Be Too Careful" and the paintings in stock sold first thing.

We here at RSG wish Nick the best on his success and the art world finally paying some attention. Nick is priceless and a true original who cares more about the work than most baggy pant, aerosol wielding kids that write their names everywhere.

Cara Ober

2008-01-27T22:52:00.000-05:00

Well, by now you have all seen, heard, or witnessed the ongoing debate concerning Cara's work being appropriated by another Baltimore based artist. It made the front page of the Baltimore Sun and was commented on in the Washington Post.
So, it seems fitting as Cara's represented gallery in DC to make a statement...so here it is.

There is only one Cara Ober and she is an original.
Her vocabulary has been in the making for (withheld by threat) years
and it will still be refined and expanded in the many years ahead
long after this is all forgotten.
That vocabulary is hers and her authenticity rests
within the narratives she constructs.

We hope you will join us for her first solo exhibition at RSG on March 8th. Please make sure you are on the mailing list to receive upcoming announcements!

website updating

2007-12-28T20:03:00.000-05:00

Please excuse the website as it is being updates and cleaned up some.
Still rough around the edges, feel free to drop a note to tell us any glitches or typos.

New Artists: In Sook Kim

2007-12-27T18:37:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine in New Mexico turned me on to In Sook Kim, a Korean photographer who is doing wild things with, umm, lets say, the old notion of the "Peep Show".

Be looking out for this one.

In Sook Kim
Saturday Night

ya can't see the detail, but there is a lot of naughty things going on in these cellular rooms.

Kim is represented by Richard Levy Gallery

Insanity in Miami

2007-12-18T22:18:00.001-05:00

What a week Miami was.
Aqua Wynwood was amazing. The building was subdivided into what seemed like little galleries, perfect walls, concrete walls and little newts scurrying around the floor and walls. This was the best kept secret fair that was supposed to not be a secret.

Julia's work flew off the wall. As expected, she drew a great response. Nathan Baker, who's amazing "detergent" and "Ashes" greeted people as they entered the "back" area stopped traffic. Margot Quan Knight, Lori Nix and Etsuko Ichikawa all showed well. Cara Ober was gobbled up by a Swiss collector.

RSG introduced two new artists at the fair. Shen Wei, from NY captures people in intimate settings, people he hardly knows, granted closeness and trust in his handling of a private moment. What emerges is a quiet nobility, a voyeuristic pleasure into the lives of strangers. The subjects may not be the most attractive people to photograph, but they are real. Real to Wei, real to themselves and in relation, real to us.
≈
Ryoko Suzuki, towered over the aisle with a seductive "you should be ashamed of yourself" attitude in her #5 Anikora-Seifuku image. Standing 7.5' tall, placed on the edge of the booth, it dominated the corner. Jane Corkin from Toronto went mad with excitement. She brought several people back to see it and then asked if she could have an exhibition of Ryoko's series in her Toronto Gallery. Ryoko, rocks. If you have not seen the work, click on her link.

Visiting Miami were Nathan Baker, Lawrence Gipe, Shen Wei and Etsuko Ichikawa. Much appreciation to my drop dead beautiful art fair assistant, Cheri' Landry who put up with my shit for 6 days without bitch slapping me (except when I let a collector walk on a $15,000 sale cause I didn't give him a big discount). Money ain't everything sweety!

Cheri rocks, and she somehow kept the booth stocked with a steady stream of single young males (oh how exciting...not). Can it boys..she has a boyfriend, who cutely leaves singing messages on her voicemail.

Oh, we had celeb sightings too. Steve Martin came to the booth and looked over Lu Zhang. Mandy Moore supposedly came by, still don't know who she is. And a guy who looked like Michael Stipe, straw hat, white shirt gave Nathan Baker's work a hard look.

High points to the week...
Seeing old friends from LA day's long since passed. Watching naked men taunt security guards in the Raleigh pool. Waiting 30 minutes for Larry Gipe to bring us a glass of $20 wine, also at the Raleigh. Running into an old art fair friend and getting a mad crush on her. Bear hugging Bennett Roberts. Having Caprice Horn scowl at me. Meeting a million collectors. Meeting a million curators. Meeting a million single young guys who were hovering around my assistant.
Resisting buying a Joel Peter Witkin, and buying Lawrence Gipe instead. Discovering Cuban coffee. That stuff is like moonshine.

Now, on to NY.

Margot Quan Knight to Open December 15th.

2007-11-24T19:26:00.001-05:00

We at RSG have been patiently awaiting this exhibition since Margot came on board the gallery.

Margot Quan Knight

intervals

December 15th—January 18

How do we experience the passage of time?
While physics may accurately describe a universal space-time,
our human experiences seem to defy uniform time on a daily basis:
each of us has lived a moment that seemed to last forever
or hours that passed by in a heartbeat.

Please join in at a reception for the artist
December 15th 6pm-8pm

Don't Miss this...

2007-11-07T17:43:00.000-05:00

The Randall Scott Gallery will be exhibiting at the Aqua Wynwood art fair!

Nathan Baker|Julia Fullerton-Batten|Lawrence Gipe
Etsuko Ichikawa|Alejandra Laviada|Lori Nix
Cara Ober|Dane Picard|Elena Volkova|Sarah Wilmer
introducing
Ryoko Suzuki and Shen Wei

December 4th- 9th
Aqua Wynwood

Booth # 29

42 NE 25th Street, Miami Wynwood District

For more info, visit aquaart.com

Lori Nix: "The City"

2007-11-07T12:14:00.000-05:00

Running October 27th- December 8th.

The camera, originally used to capture and document reality, has evolved into a tool which aids in the physical manifestation of imagination. In her latest series, "The City," Lori Nix fabricates environments based off elements found in a city that has eroded with time. The viewer may mistake these scenes as reality until they realize that what they're seeing is slightly too amazing to be true. Nix's attention to detail is provocative and obsessive. In "Museum of Art," a colony of bees has reclaimed the museum as their hive haven. Amongst the framed paintings, an encased Gothic Virgin and Child, and statue resembling Michael Angelo's David, golden honey drips from a beehive perched in a barrel vault. Flowers and vines, emerging from cracks in the floor, are seen climbing up podiums and Corinthian columns, while bees fly under spacious domed ceilings.

The detail is incredible! How does Nix do this? Well, she meticulously creates intricate miniature dioramas by hand with basic materials such as plaster, cardboard, Styrofoam, mixed with the occasional fur, plants, cat whiskers and found objects. She builds all scenes, which take from 4 months to a year or two, for a single photograph that is taken from one preconceived angle. The 8x10 camera is used to capture the surreal scene on film where the illusion comes to life. Nix then dismantles the process and begins a new.

See more at www.lorinix.net
Come see her latest series at RSG while you have the chance. It's too good to be true :)

-Nadia from RSG

Come to the fair...

2007-08-17T11:39:00.000-04:00

Randall Scott Gallery will be in the following art fairs:

Bridge London (October 10-14) during the Frieze Festival
Aqua Wynwood Miami (December 6-9) during Art Basel Miami.

Come join the madness, we will be showing the work of:

Julia Fullerton-Batten
Cara Ober
Nick Walker
Etsuko Ichikawa
Amy Stein
Ryoko Suzuki
Sarah Wilmer
Alejandra Laviada

Nathan Baker "Rupture" to open in September

2007-08-17T11:24:00.000-04:00

Chicago based photographic artist, Nathan Baker will open the art season at RSG on September 15th. Baker's large scale photograph series "Rupture" will be exhibited..

This body of work, titled Rupture, Part One aims to portray the situation that arises when things break down; when the routine of life pauses and the door is opened for basic, unmediated humanity to step in and replace the automata of contemporary rigor. 1 Such moments are inflections on how we function on a most basic level, without the societal and psychological influences that we have grown to rely upon. Separated into two distinct groups, the photographs provide a shift for the viewer between directly experiencing this moment and a voyeuristic perspective that allows the viewer the spectacle of watching another in the thrall of this experience.

sub-text to open August 4th

2007-07-19T12:03:00.001-04:00

Opening in the gallery for August will be a group show called sub-text. This exhibition collects 5 new photographers I have found while searching the web, or believe it or not, off the RSG myspace site. These photographers are fresh. Their resumes exhibition list may not quite fill half a page, but this show is not about that.

Thematically, the exhibition is about sub-text. Those of you that have followed the past 8 months of gallery exhibitions may have seen that I look for artists who are rich in sub-text. I never want to know everything about a body of work, I love the mystery, I search to uncover the hidden meanings and multiple understandings (if that makes sense). I am all about sub-text and I chose five people who's work sucked me in.

I hope you enjoy this show as much as I will.

sub-text

work by
Victor Cobo
Alejandra Laviada
Lindsey McCracken
Caitlin Phillips
Sarah Wilmer

August 4th-September 8th
artists reception will be on
August 11th 6pm-9pm

you can preview the work here

"Healing" performance by Kata Mejia set

2007-07-06T14:09:00.000-04:00

Performance artist Kata Mejia will bring her new work "HEALING" to Washington DC on August 1-4th.
The performance will take place in the BodySmith parking lot located at 1622 14th Street NW (between Corcoran and R Streets). BodySmith is generously donating the outdoor space for the exhibition. RSG will construct a stage for Mejia to present Healing (see below).
Performances will be from 6pm-7pm nightly.

HEALING was presented at NY's Lab Gallery in June and stopped traffic as people gathered to watch the performance through the gallery's windows.

The DC stage will face out onto 14th Street and is open for all to watch.

We hope to see you at one if not all of the performances!

News: Kata Mejia in NY and at RSG

2007-06-19T22:57:00.000-04:00

I am please to announce that Philadelphia based/Colombian born performance artist Kata Mejia will be debuting her latest performance/installation "Healing" at NY's LAB Gallery, June 26th-29th.
Here is a bit about Healing...

Healing is a performance-installation which represents a breaking point with life caused by sudden, violent death. Symbolic, ritual actions expressing the pain and chaos this wrenching of life creates will be performed along with those expressing transcendence and healing of the departed soul and the loved ones who remain.

This performance commemorates the first anniversary of the death of the artist’s little brother, who was kidnapped and murdered in Colombia by the FARC terrorist guerrillas.

PERFORMANCES WILL BE EVERY NIGHT AT 6PM

Kata Mejia is no lightweight performance artist. Her work is raw emotion played without pretense. She attacks her concerns with everything she has: her body, mind and soul. That attack is dramatic, sometimes violent and controversial.

Kata will bring a performance (as yet undecided) to RSG, August 1st-4th. Make sure you get on the mailing list for announcements. This is not to be missed.

If you can't wait, we will be running her video reel covering several previous performances on Saturday night during the Hamada Reception. Or Stop by anytime and ask to see one.

RS

Hiroyuki Hamada opens Saturday

2007-06-19T22:28:00.001-04:00

I love Hiroyuki Hamada's work. I am just at a loss for words.
Come see the show, come by on Saturday night and meet him. Have a beer, and just loose yourself in the texture of his surface.

Here is a bit about him....

Hiroyuki Hamada’s 2-D and 3-dimensional work is about communicating, the construction of a language in line, form, color, materials and alteration, sometimes savage, sometimes methodical. It’s a language written over years of doubt, elation, self-abuse, clarity, misunderstanding and happiness.

As a teenager, Hamada was displaced from his suburban Chiba, Japan roots to West Virginia, where his Father worked in the steel industry. He went from being an ordinary, bored kid in a majority to being the minority Asian guy, with little English skills in a remote part of the US. Teenage rebellion and introspection led him to, creating art. He sought refuge in the exploration of imagery. He found communication in line, tone and shape, turning frustration, anger, confusion and desperation into the abstract.

Hamada graduated from the University of Maryland MFA program in 1995 and set off to New York to take a studio. Over the years, he experimented with materials that took him off a 2-dimensional canvas to create the sculptural, 3-dimensional paintings he produces today. Like struggling to find the perfect word, Hamada was constructing painted sentences/objects with layer upon layer of misunderstanding, eventually finding cohesion and a unique voice. His materials, burlap, plaster, oil, enamels, solvents, wax, wood, resin, tar and staples became about finding the solution to what his mind and his eyes were seeing. A process that may take 2-3 years to complete, Hamada carefully explores the surface and how he manipulates it through the drilling of holes and the etching of what could be hundreds of circles.

That's right, he graduated at the U of Maryland.

I hope to see you there.

RS

Artist Pick of the Week::: Antony Micallef

2007-06-16T18:43:00.000-04:00

This blog has only been going now for 2 days, so here is a weekly feature you will find posted every Friday or Saturday. I will highlight an artist I have found on one of my mad internet searches. I'll post a couple photos and let you all go check them out. No big review, no critical analysis. Just a starting point for all you to see something new.

This week Antony Micallef

Those of you who may know me know that I adore this painter. He is a nice guy who in the past year has exploded on the art scene in London. His work is highly original. It drops just the right bit of information necessary to be covered in paint, or charcoal, or crayon, or pencil. His images float in a sea of white negative space that is alive with tension.

Antony, based in London, is an illustrator by trade and a painter in reality. His imagery chock full of media references in the way of corporate logos, marries itself to the bodies of babies, children and horrifically disfigured persons with angels wings. Corporate identity is overshadowing individualism in the form of dismemberment and substitution. Antony by no means is a fan of corporate anything.

I tried, and am still trying to get Antony into RSG. He is represented, worldwide by LAZ in London, the same dealer who reps Banksy. Antony told me he is comfortable to not show anywhere else in the world. "My work sells out before the show opens, why would I".

Let's hope he changes his mind.
RS

This just in. I just got an e-mail from Antony, He is having his first major exhibition in LA sometime in September. It is run through his London dealer, the same dealer who reps Banksy. Expect a huge event!

Adventures in Baltimore

2007-06-15T19:30:00.000-04:00

I don't know what it is that keeps me looking to Baltimore for artists. It just seems that B-More is a-buzz with amazing painters, photographers and a wonderful collection of artists working in mixed media.

First I signed multi-faceted artist/writer/curator Cara Ober. Cara is now my new best friend. Not only is she a wicked smarty-pants, but she is dialed in to everything and it seems everyone. First thing she did after signing was to send me countless e-mails of people I "had" to look at. I have the tendency to listen to what my artists tell me, and she has a great eye. You will find Elena Volkova and Isabel Manalo on my exhibiting list. Isabel has two paintings in the hallway leading into the space and Elena, whew! Elena set a gallery record for having spent the shortest amount of time on the wall before she was bought by a collector (2 hours). You can see Elena's new "Airscape" in the next show opening on June 23rd.

So. back to Baltimore. The show closing tomorrow "industrials" features Michael Sandstrom and Jackson Martin. Both of them are going to impact the region for years to come and both are in Baltimore. Michael, although off to Berlin on a Fulbright will come back in a year with new insights and Jackson...I am grinning ear to ear as I write this...you keep looking for him here. His ideas and the way he marries the natural and the man made is both provocative and down right cool.

The main reason we see such an amazing collection of artists in B-More is, well, MICA. That, and tons of warehouse space at cheap prices, offer optimal conditions for working. That and a fun nightlife, hell, if it was not for the nasty commute, I'd be there.

So it leads me to my B-more trip this week.

Last week at Anonymous III I saw a painting that I absolutely loved. Tar on Wood panel. A fine line of intricate shapes and designs. I knew it would be sold and it was. I went back after it was closed, jotted down her name and started my search. The next day, I found her, took a look at her website, sent her an e-mail and told her it was a necessity that I meet her ASAP cause the hairs on the back of my head were telling me she is the real deal.

I met Lu Zhang on Tuesday in her way cool apartment in the center of Downtown Baltimore where I was greeted by a 4'x8' work on paper that blew me away. And there was sweet, petite Lu, about as wonderful to talk to as can possibly be. We talked for 2 hours and I look forward to spending some more time talking. You may have read Rachel Beckman's article on the Anonymous III show in thursday's post, she mentions Lu's piece.

Lu Zhang

Baltimore. Who would have guessed it. I thought it was just a place with a cool Aquarium.