 |
 |
|
 |
|
       |
|
|
|
Ok, I have to tell you that Tel Aviv based artist Guy Yanai paints all sorts of things, but his plants… oh his plants! These bright beauties are quite big {most of them are roughly 3’x4′}, and clearly need to be on my wall. Ahh, it would be like a gorgeous oil-on-linen greenhouse in my house… and I’m pretty sure I couldn’t kill these.
{via Booooooom}
I’m not very good at keeping secrets (at all) but somehow I managed to keep this one under my hat for the last six months. You guys, I opened a gallery… a Fancy Schmancy Gallery. Here’s the gist:
MAKING EXCLUSIVE ARTWORK ACCESSIBLE, ONE FANCY SCHMANCY SHOW AT A TIME
Fancy Schmancy Gallery is open all day, every day. No appointments necessary. No need to find parking. Whether you live in a huge city or a tiny town you can “wander” through Fancy Schmancy whenever you like. Every two months there will be a new show, filled with original artwork that was created specifically for that show, and available nowhere else… fancy, right?
Gah – so exciting! I decided to do this with hopes of making unique, original art accessible to everyone everywhere. Ok, I also just wanted an excuse to give assignments to my favorite artists to see what they’d make!
Well, the first show, titled “WEST”, goes up TODAY! This whole online, podcast-filled, social media-saturated, no real rules world feels like “the wild west” to me, so it seemed like a perfect way to start this new adventure. I gave six amazing artists this brief… west… and they took it from there! Take a tiny peek:
Oh, I love it so much! Pop over to Fancy Schmancy to see the full show… happy art collecting (ps. all of these are originals created specifically for this show, so if you like something, buy it before it’s SOLD.)
Oh my word… love at first sight! Cold, forgotten places holding warm sunsets inside… Gor.Ge.Ous. This is the work {oil on linen} of Scottish artist Andrew McIntosh, AKA Mackie. If you’re going to Art Basel Miami this week, stop by the bo.lee gallery‘s exhibit {Pulse Contemporary S 107} to see some of these beauties in person. Happy Monday.
A “disciplined free spirit” … that is officially my new life goal! Also, I want to change my name to Bunnie. This was such a funny, inspiring, and yes, cosmic conversation with Los Angeles based artist Bunnie Reiss. I only discovered her work last month, but the moment I did, I knew I had to have her on the podcast! You can listen right under those fabulously “cosmic animal gloves”, or you can subscribe on iTunes.
First up, a few magical/cosmic paintings to put you in a Bunnie state of mind:
Oh. My. Well, that leads perfectly into this next batch of cosmic work. This is the book Bunnie made, titled The Cosmic Child, that we were talking about. It’s absolutely stunning. And cosmic:
Beautiful! It’s currently sold out (no surprise!), but she’s organizing another run very soon so keep your eye on her shop!
Next, I mentioned that Bunnie seems to really like painting on, well, everything. She agreed. Here’s proof:
See? We weren’t kidding! Boots, walls, books, and yes, her car.
These next images are so dreamy. This is what she was working on while she was in Paris last month … pastel and quiet and soft:
Lovely. It’s so cool that the work continues to look like hers, but the palettes and details often change depending on where she’s traveling. And yes, Bunnie travels a lot! {ps. these three images are from her inspiring Instagram feed}
And now, her murals. Of all the things Bunnie paints on, buildings are her favorite. Oh, and if you want her to paint on, or in, your building, CONTACT HER, because she’ll end up doing something like this:
Love! I included that scaffolding shot because she had talked about gridding out her murals by using the squares of the scaffolding… I’m going to have to trust her on that one, because my brain would not do that. My brain, however, can totally understand squirrels and rabbits eating donuts ♥
And last but not least, her gloves. This is how I first discovered the wonderful world of Bunnie Reiss, so I just had to share them again:
Gah! I love them so much… so much in fact that included a pair in the upcoming show, PRETTY / PECULIAR, that I co-curated at the Alison Milne Gallery in Toronto! If you’re in Toronto from Dec 1 – Jan 7th you have to go see them in person {ps. Dec 1 opening party info below}
And finally, a meringue-covered result of the not-so-speedy speed round:
Oh, that photo makes me so happy. Sunshine, laughing, and a GIANT lemon pie in Paris. Ah, oui… c’est parfait. Thank you so much to Bunnie for doing this with me and sharing all of her goosebump-inducing wisdom; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting yet another episode; thanks to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book – it’s officially available now – and of course, thank YOU so much for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.
Other links:
* “Pretty / Peculiar” Opening Dec 1, 7-9pm RSVP: gallery@alisonmilne.com
PRETTY / PECULIAR. Oh my goodness, I could not be more excited about this show! I was invited by the Alison Milne Gallery in Toronto to co-curate an exhibition, which was ridiculously fun because, as you can see, we have a very similar taste in art. Enter “PRETTY / PECULIAR”… yep, two of my favorite things, especially when combined! Here is the curatorial statement, along with a list of the fabulous female artists who are participating:
“Beautiful and odd. Colorful and bizarre. From cashmere-covered deer to plush handguns, from enchanted landscapes to painted gloves and undergarments – the female artists featured in this exhibition create very different work, but with a very similar result. Their work is an invitation to escape into a world of the wonderfully weird. Come on in! Exhibiting artists include (order of images above: Seonna Hong, Natalie Baxter, Martha Rich, Rachel Denny, Tania Love, Tonya Corkey, Tina Berning, and Bunnie Reiss“
That’s right, the work of eight of my favorite artists all hanging in one gorgeous space at the same time. Ah-mazing! Ok, so here’s what you need to know: Dec 1 ~ Jan 7th // Opening Thursday Dec 1 , 7~9pm RSVP: gallery@alisonmilne.com // 134 Osler St, Suite 3, Toronto // Enjoy!
“A Brief History of Complex And Delicate Situations”. Yes, indeed. Beautiful, clever, powerful… all of it. This is a series by American artist {and current MFA student} Katie Lochhead, and these are her words:
This body of work is made with graphite underlinings and ink on paper, and utilizes natural history illustration and botanical plate references combined with first person accounts of trauma. While some of the narratives are mine, others are attained from friends or research, but all are “true” in the sense that they originate from a living person’s viewpoint. I feel that I give myself and the other narrators more room to breath by maintaining some sense of anonymity.
Beautiful. Clever. Powerful.
Flowers caught in mirrors that seem to go on forever, creating dark, bloom-filled tunnels that I really want to explore. This is the work of French-American artist Sarah Meyohas, and all of these images are part of her series titled Speculations. I can’t find her artist statement for this work, so Sarah, if you read this please let us in on the magic.
Seriously, every time I drop by her portfolio site, Taipei based artist/illustrator Hsiao-Ron Cheng has more fabulous pieces! Her portraits are my favorite… can you tell? Sigh. Elegant and dreamy.
Oh. My. This is the work of Scottish artist Emily Moore. Elegant compositions, stunning color choices, and delicate lines. Those branches… sigh. This is some of her work from 2014/2015 but some of her latest pieces can be seen at the Edinburgh Collage Collective Exhibition, which opens this Wednesday night, November 23rd 7~11pm. If you’re in Edinburgh… GO! More info / RSVP right here.
Here we are, 77 episodes into “Art For Your Ear”, but today is something a little different. Yep, this was recored at a live event in Portland! Artist/illustrator Lisa Congdon and I showed up at a gorgeous shop called Hand-Eye Supply. But we weren’t alone, oh no, we had an amazing live audience there too! Lisa and I decided to sort of interview each other (really it was just a good excuse for me and Lisa to talk… which by the way we could do for HOURS.) I think my favorite part was at the end, when the audience asked questions. They were tough, but oh so good! You can listen right up there under the lovely Lisa, or you can subscribe on iTunes.
Alright, first up. Where were we? Right here:
Hand-Eye Supply is such a beautiful, creative space! This looks like me talking about when I started working on “Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk”… I had dinner with Lisa in Oakland about a week after I signed the contract, and to be totally blunt, I was freaking out. I have a feeling this was me saying, “Um, how do I write a whole book, Lisa!? You just wrote “Art, Inc.”, so TELL ME WHAT TO DO!” And no surprise, she had fabulous advice.
Next up, flowers, patterns, and Lisa finally being ready to put her own work on her own body:
Yes, there it is {photo taken today!} Her brand new tattoo, on her drawing arm no less. She has lots of tattoos, but this is the first one that is her work. I love the story around this, so if you’re not listening yet… hit play!
We were talking about showing “in progress” work, and I always love an excuse to post images from an artist’s studio, so here you go:
Ah, gorgeous! So happy and filled with life… much like Lisa herself!
Ok, here we go. Some of my collages because we talked about them and so I’m gonna show them, no matter what ‘Arlo’ has to say:
Oh, that wasn’t so hard. The titles of these three (because, for me, the titles are a huge part) are:
And finally, once the recording was over, we all headed back into Hand-Eye’s main shop area for chattin’ and book signin’:
Sigh. It was such an amazing night. I want to do lots and lots of live recordings now! Who’s in?
Ok, thank yous are going to pour out of me now… Thank you so much to Lisa for always being up for whatever I ask her to do; giant thanks to Hand-Eye Supply for hosting us and to their fabulous in-house go-to-guy, Matt, for doing the recording; thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that showed up to hang out with us even though there was a protest/riot going on that very same night (?!) ; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; thanks to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book – it’s officially available now – and of course, thank YOU for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend. xo
Other links:
|
 |
|
|
    |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|