Living Walls, the City Speaks

(images courtesy of Living Walls Conference, Creative Loafing and Brooklyn Street Art.)

Come this August, our city will play host to the much-anticipated Living Walls, the City Speaks conference, an international, no-holds-barred, outdoor exhibition of street art. As seen recently in Creative Loafing, the very first mural has been completed on the West side of Atlanta by Oakland, California based street artist, Doodles. Canvasing 3,500 square feet, the piece stretches across the entire rear exterior of a building at the corner of Ralph David Abernathy and White Street. One of a number of local and international artists hailing from Europe and South America who will participate in the conference, Doodles has been on the scene for four years now. This large scale figure representing Poseidon comes as a timely reaction to the BP oil spill, and should not be missed!

Living Walls can be seen as part of a larger overarching movement to amp up Atlanta's urban planning, and fuel fundraising for the local arts scene. Similarly, the BeltLine transit system, and like-named 'Art on the BeltLine' project, which runs through October of this year, has been gracing Atlanta's streets with the works of local artists for months now. As citizens of the largest metropolis in the Southeast, Atlantans are feeling a surge of motivation to step out in defense of local artists and artisans as the economic downturn is still being felt, and budgets cuts seem never ending.

Also a part of the conference, scheduled for the week of August 13, is a lecture series featuring the Georgia Tech architecture department, and presentations at Eyedrum. The largest and perhaps most widely-hyped gathering leading up to the main event is being held at 7:00 p.m. this Saturday, June 26 at Mint Gallery and is hosted by Dashboard Co-op. The "Art Auction and Celebration of Badasses" will feature works donated by local artists to support the movement.

To donate, or learn more about Living Walls, please visit them online, or to read profiles of artists and updates on fundraising efforts, spend a few minutes on their blog. We hope to see you there this weekend!

And we're back...

Image courtesy of toxel.com

So sorry for the long delay in posting for the last 6 months or so. Luckily for us, the gallery is very busy at the moment, which makes it a bit harder to devote the proper time and attention to updating the blog. The current exhibition in the gallery is Re-Purposed: The Use of Everyday Materials in Contemporary Art featuring gallery artists Sara Cole, Sherry Williams, Will Corr & Clayton Santiago. The participating artists express their ability to create seemingly traditional work with non-traditional materials, by exploring media such as coffee, tar, sawdust, and rust. The show continues through June 30, 2010. Hurry in to see this wonderful show before it's too late!

In other news, our own Laura Clappier will be jetting off to New York City in just a few days to attend an intensive summer study program at Sotheby’s Art Institute to supplement her education in art history from UGA. What a great opportunity!

We hope that everyone is enjoying their summer, and finding refuge from this sweltering summer heat! More to come very, very soon...we promise!

Always ask questions

a sign spotted in New Orleans reminding gallery-goers not to be intimidated

This afternoon, I received this image via email from my great friend and fellow art lover, Alex West, the co-founder of Wonderroot. He and his family are in New Orleans this weekend and, not surprisingly, he has been doing some gallery hopping this Saturday. He and I have talked repeatedly about how to make art less intimidating, which is one of the unintentional bi-products of Wonderroot's mission. By "uniting artists and community to inspire positive social change," Wonderroot also ultimately brings art to the masses and abates people's fear and intimidation surrounding the arts.

As a gallery owner, I think the most important tool a gallery-goer can possess is knowledge. AND, the only way to be more knowledgeable about things with which you are unfamiliar is to ask questions, and lots of them. If you have ever visited the upper-east side galleries in New York City (or those in Chelsea for that matter) there isn't even usually anyone present to inquire to. Often times the seemingly sterile white box galleries are just that, sterile. There is no desire to make people feel comfortable, welcome, or at-ease, and being inquisitive certainly seems out of the question (no pun intended).

In the south, things work a little bit differently. I always greet people when they walk in the door and introduce myself. I usually encourage people to walk the loop around the gallery and engage them an additional time to see if they have any questions. Gallery owners as well as managers, directors, and interns are all more than willing to answer questions and often great conversation can be started with one simple question. Asking about the artists' process, their medium, their background or even the intention of the work is a successful way to learn more about the work and why you may have been drawn to it.

I think my eagerness to inform the viewer and my outgoing nature is a product of my upbringing. As Alex actually recently pointed out, my dad is a great conversationalist, in large part due to his willingness to ask tons of questions. In turn, he is one of the most knowledgeable men I know. So, please "be inquisitive; ask questions." Do so at the galleries and in life. Although it may be intimidating at first, soon you will become a wealth of knowledge (like my dad).

And we're off...

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...to NYC that is! My great friend Courtney Giles and I are headed to the big apple this afternoon for a much-needed girls weekend. We are going to spend most of our time shopping, eating, drinking and being merry in the best city to visit during the holiday season! We are even supposed to have a little snow Sunday, which will make for some great pictures. But, alas, I could not visit New York without doing a few arts-related things. So, our plan is to spend Saturday visiting the cutting-edge Lower East Side Galleries. I hear from some wise curator/dealer friends of mine that they will certainly not disappoint! So, here is our short list:

1. Sunday - 237 Eldridge Street

Talyor Davis: boardroom no. 1

2. nicelle beauchene - 163 Eldridge Street

ALMOST, curated by Lance Goldsmith

3. Lehmann Maupin - 201 Chrystie Street

Tracey Emin: Only God Knows I'm Good

4. Eleven Rivington - 11 Rivington Street

Volker Hueller: Solo Show

5. envoy - 131 Chrystie Street

Elise Ferguson: Capital X

6. Small A Projects - 261 Broome Street

Jesse Willenbring: Landscapes & Interiors Meour

Have a great weekend...I know I will be!

Westside Arts District 3rd Saturday Art Walk tomorrow from 11am-5pm

Please join us tomorrow for the Westside Arts District's 3rd Saturday Art Walk. A schedule of events is listed below. I hope to see you at the gallery!

Schedule of Events:

BOBBE GILLIS GALLERY—event 11:30am – 12:30, open 11am – 4pm, FREE
1000 Marietta Street, Suite 108 www.gillisgallery.com
Art lecture, 11:30 – 12:30pm
Bobbe Gillis Gallery will host Gary Hughes, consultant for the “Audubon Centennial Edition” collection. Gary will discuss the “Life and Art of John James Audubon” at 11:30 am. A 40- minute video presentation will be ongoing throughout the course of the day and selections from this limited edition folio will be on display and available for acquisition.

GET THIS! GALLERY—event 1pm – 2pm, open 11am-5pm, FREE
662 11th St. NW www.getthisgallery.com
Artist talk, 1 – 2pm
Fahamu Pecou will give an artist talk about his solo exhibition, WHIRL TRADE.
“WHIRL TRADE” is a new suite of NEOPOP paintings by Atlanta artist Fahamu Pecou. Inspired by his travels, these new paintings address the impressions, interpretations and misconceptions of blackness that African descended communities perform for each other. “WHIRL TRADE” re-presents, questions and plays with the global representations reflected in popular media and entertainment.

ATLANTA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER – event 1 – 4pm, open 11am – 5 pm
General admission, $5; Students/Seniors, $3; Members, Free; Children under 12, Free
535 Means Street, NW www.thecontemporary.org
Family Day, 1 – 4pm
Kids of all ages can participate in artist Mel Chin’s nation-wide FUNDRED DOLLAR BILL Project, and help support OPERATION PAYDIRT’S solution to lead-related pollution in New Orleans. Final weekend to view exhibitions, Harry Shearer: The Silent Echo Chamber, Corin Hewitt: Seed Stage, and Will Rogan: Remnant World. FUNDRED activities are free; admission fees apply to view the exhibitions.

Additional galleries open for viewing:

EMILY AMY GALLERY—event, open 11am – 5pm, FREE
1000 Marietta Street, Suite 208 www.emilyamygallery.com
Emily Amy Gallery is pleased to present our fall exhibition of new works by Sarah Hinckley, Color Logic. Drawing inspiration from a spring show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pierre Bonnard: The Late Interiors, Hinckley began further exploration of multi-color relationships. Painting from memory and through emotion, Hinckley’s process is grounded in her appreciation of line, her automatic response to gesture, and most importantly, the logic of color.

KIANG GALLERY—event, open 11am – 5pm, FREE
1011-A Marietta Street, NW www.kiang-gallery.com
Chi Peng (Beijing), an internationally recognized artist, is known for his surrealistic staged photographs. His recent work, “The Journey to the West” blends a magical Monkey King with monsters and Buddhas and modern settings into formats reminiscent of ancient scroll paintings, made magical in content by the artist’s phenomenal use of digital media, his primary tool, bringing the ancient story to life.

OCTANE COFFEE– open 8am – 10pm
1009-B Marietta Street NW www.octanecoffee.com
Octane presents its annual staff art show, an eclectic show featuring various Octane staff, former employees, and close friends.

SALTWORKS—event, open 11am -5pm, FREE
664 11th St. NW www.saltworksgallery.com
“Ten Tigers of Kwangtung” Featuring new works on paper and sculpture by Houston-based artist Dawolu Jabari Anderson will be on view through January 9, 2010. The artist’s first solo exhibition in Atlanta, “Ten Tigers of Kwangtung” takes it name from a Shaw Brothers film of the same title released in 1979. The Shaw Brothers Studio was the Hong Kong-based Hollywood-styled film studio responsible for the large U.S. import of English-dubbed Kung Fu movies during the early 80’s. Through drawings and sculpture, Anderson has created a hybrid alternative reality full of irony and humor where the shared experience occurs simultaneously and cross-culturally, highlighting the parallels of experience and the abstraction of heroic figures.

SANDLER HUDSON GALLERY– open 11am-5pm, FREE
1009-A Marietta Street, NW www.sandlerhudson.com
Know for a wide variety of techniques and materials used in her artwork, Howardena Pindell’s exhibit will include abstract paintings, collages, “video drawings,” and “process art.” Her work explores texture, color, structures, and the process of making art; it is often political, addressing the issues of racism, feminism, violence, slavery, and exploitation. The show includes mixed media works featuring Pindell’s dot pieces, split photographs, and video drawings from 1974-2009 and is in conjunction with Atlanta Celebrates Photography.

ABOUT THE WESTSIDE ART WALK

The Westside Art Walk is a presentation of the Westside Arts District and occurs on the third Saturday of every month from 11am to 5pm, unless otherwise noted. This art-centric event is intended to encourage public interaction and education of visual art in the emerging art district in Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood. There is plenty of free parking at each venue, however, the public is encouraged to walk the approximately 1 mile route between member locations to view the exhibitions and, in many cases, attend a lecture or tour given by the art space. Events are free unless otherwise noted. Maps and exhibition information will be available at each location the day of the event.

The 2009 Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles Christmas House

James Koskinas, Corez, Acrylic on canvas, 28" x 22"

Cecil Touchon, FS 2729, Collage on panel, 11.5" x 11.5"

Paul Rousso, The Rolling Stone, Beatles Anniversary Issue, Collage, 30" x 30"

James Koskinas' Corez in Bob Brown's study. Courtesy of Peak of Chic.

Cecil Touchon's hanging above the Hermes bicycle in Mark Williams' room. Courtesy of Yummy Scrumptious.

As many of you have likely already read via Peak of Chic or Things that Inspire, this weekend marks the opening of the 2009 Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles Christmas House! Those of us at Emily Amy Gallery are particularly excited this year because both Bob Brown (Robert Brown Interior Design) and Mark Williams (Mark Williams Design Associates) chose to use EAG artists in their rooms. Personally, I have not yet seen the house, but I am sure with the roster of designers this year ranging from Suzanne Kasler to Beth Webb, the house certainly will not disappoint. The house is open November 14th-December 6th, so be sure to stop by.

Oh, and look out for gallery artists James Koskinas, Paul Rousso and Cecil Touchon who will be gracing the walls!

When Art History goes Bad

Damien Hirst's dead butterfly wing-covered bicycle, 2009

Horatio Greenough, George Washington, marble, c. 1840

Frank Gehry, Ray and Maria Stata Center, Cambridge, MA, 2004

Thanks to Joyce Youmans and the rest of the crew at local Atlanta outfit, Burnaway.org, I recently discovered a clever new blog to add to my blogroll. Nicole Jordan is an art history graduate student who is a self-proclaimed "art history nerd who likes to complain," which makes her ripe for the job of blogging about When Art History Goes Bad. Although you may not agree with all of her gripes, most of them are hard to refute. Take for example Damien Hirst's dead butterfly wing-covered bicycle on which Lance Armstrong finished the 2009 Tour De France, Horatio Greenough's semi-nude statue of our nation's founding father, or Frank Gehry's Ray and Maria Stata Center on MIT's campus. Although her examples could fill a book, Jordan doesn't stop at bad works of art, she discusses exorbitant price tags at auction, highly inflated artist's egos, and influential critics (who shouldn't have been).

I could spend all day reading her blog. Her ideas are humorous, her writing is clever, and after all, she is an art historian.