Exhibit: 440 Gallery presents A Cup of Air by Karen Gibbons

February 23 through April 8, 2012.

Opening reception: Thursday, February 23th, 6 -9pm

“I’m going out for A Cup of Air,” Brooklyn artist Karen Gibbons’s mother would say to her five children as she stepped outside for a reprieve from the stresses of parenting. The free-standing sculpture and sculptural wall pieces in this exhibit, A Cup of Air, express that whimsical metaphor. They are playful, curious and evocative. This new body of work draws inspiration from three sources: the pastoral landscape, the Gowanus Canal neighborhood of Brooklyn, and the artist’s recently rediscovered family photo archives. Gibbons ingeniously integrates photographs and found objects with an eclectic approach that combines sculpture, painting, drawing and photography in surprising ways. Delightful, unexpected contradictions arise out of the mixture of these elements. The pieces have an air of both reminiscence and anticipation, they combine the ephemeral with the enduring, and they mingle the cherished and the forbidden.

A Cup of Air opens at the 440 Gallery on Thursday, February 23, and will run through Sunday, April 8, 2012. There will be a reception for the artist from 6:00-9:00 PM, Thursday, February 23. The 440 Gallery is in the Park Slope neighborhood, convenient to the F, M, and R subways. The gallery is open Thursday and Friday, 4:00 – 7:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM, or by appointment.

440 Gallery | 440 Sixth Avenue | Brooklyn | NY | 11215

Exhibit: CRITICAL PATH : Nicola Ginzel and Chester Nielsen at Art 101

ART 101 will exhibit the respective works of Nicola Ginzel and Chester Nielsen, artists whose process is both visible and coherent. CRITICAL PATH opens on February 17 and runs through March 18. The opening reception is from 6 to 9 on February 17.

The exhibition reveals each artist’s CRITICAL PATH — from photographs of corners of rooms and empty candy and soap wrappers — to the eventual transformation into artworks.

Nicola Ginzel : My work is based on the transformation of random ephemera gathered from the everyday. Through the process of transformation the original meaning of the object changes. The mundane, that served as a particular function at one time or another, is given place and reverence. It transcends its identity.
The selection of all found objects reference time, space or human interaction — they become a sort of ‘philosophical anthropology.’ The level of attention in an experience gives value and meaning.

Chester Nielsen : Process in my work is of imminent importance, it has become the key variable and method of my studies. I am … deeply interested in perceptions and the intimacy of understanding we have of our environment. I attempt to analyze how our intimacies with our own private environments are reflected and influenced by the world around us. The phenomena of perception, specifically the personal perception of our environment is where I begin .There are layers of intrinsic value in all elements of our environment, some real and some are aspects of personal perception… It is precisely the idiosyncrasies and overlaps of our individual realms of comprehension that interest me most.

Nicola Ginzel has exhibited both internationally and nationally. She has received A Change Inc. Grant Award from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation; the Artists’ Fellowship Inc. Assistance Award; the Stephens Grant Award, along with two residencies in Iceland.

Chester Nielsen is an interdisciplinary artist and architect. He received both a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture degree and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Rice University, working and studying in Houston, Texas and Paris, France. Recently he has worked at the offices of Richard Meier, Martha Schwartz and Frank O. Gehry. He exhibited at ART 101 in 2009, with CALIFORNIA HOUSES.

ART 101 is located at 101 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY 11249.
Open Friday through Sunday from 1 to 6 or by appointment. 718-302-2242 – www.art101brooklyn.com

The gallery is wheelchair accessible.

OPEN CITY DIALOGUES presents: ARTISINAL PENCIL SHARPENING

OPEN CITY DIALOGUES presents:
ARTISINAL PENCIL SHARPENING

w/David Rees

FREE LECTURE!
Monday, Feb. 13
7:30pm, Pete’s Candy Store
(709 Lorimer St., Brooklyn. L to Lorimer; G to Metropolitan)

In New York’s Hudson River Valley, craftsman David Rees still practices the age-old art of manual pencil sharpening. His artisanal service is perfect for artists, writers, and standardized test takers. For a mere $15, Mr. Rees will hand-sharpen your pencil to the most exacting standards, returning it to you together with the shavings, and a certificate of sharpening. Come learn about this fascinating lost art from one of its only living practitioners, as he prepares for a nationwide pencil-sharpening tour to coincide with the release of his upcoming book HOW TO SHARPEN PENCILS (Melville House).

DAVID REES used to be a political cartoonist, best known for his syndicated strip Get Your War On. His work appeared in Rolling Stone, GQ, The Nation, Harper’s, and many other publications. He gave that career up to pursue his dream of getting paid to sharpen pencils.

Exhibit: Sutured at Like the Spice Gallery

“Sutured,” a mixed-media exhibition featuring the work of Adam Parker Smith, Jude Broughan, Joseph Heidecker, Richard Saja, Robert Raphael, Vadis Turner, and Zoe Sheehan Saldana, opens at Like the Spice Gallery on February 10th, 2012.

Fabric cannot be disassociated from both its practicalities and its histories. It can be soft or course, rigid or supple, and its linkages to gender and status are unshakable. While the smallest fiber can evoke notions of femininity, touch itself is the first sense we gain in our mothers’ wombs. In “Sutured,” Like the Spice presents seven artists whose work bears, and yet also exploits, the cultural norms associated with textiles and other craft materials.

Since the 1970’s the media of everyday objects have become more and more pervasive in fine art, but craft is still distinguished from sculpture and painting as art with a utilitarian purpose. For the artists in this show, both quotidian and concept can become query as they incorporate discourses of high versus low art? in acts of subversion and aesthetic playfulness.

February 10th – February 26th, 2012
Opening Reception:
Friday, February 10th, 2012 6:30-9:00pm

http://www.likethespice.com

224 Roebling Street. Brooklyn, NY 11211

 

Exhibit: Dona Nobis at Concrete Utopia

Dona Nobis

On view February 11 – March 3, 2012

Opening reception February 11, 2012, 7-10 p.m.

at Concrete Utopia

39 Hampton Place, Brooklyn, NY
Art is a gift. This winter the 20 artists of Dona Nobis have probed the gift dimension of the work of art—the idea that seems to come from somewhere beyond the artist, the value of the work that escapes the valuation of the market, the communities art builds through viewership and circulation, and the world of exchange between artists themselves. On February 11, Concrete Utopia opens its winter group show Dona Nobis at our project space in Crown Heights, featuring paintings, sculpture, electronic installation, and photography from:

John Krauss, Dave Brooks, Alexis Neider, Bill Liebeskind, Shana Moulton, Grayson Cox, Jeremy Shaeffer, Mara Sprafkin, Lane Sell, Paloma Crousillat, Emily Weiner, Nancy Woods, Jacqui LeBoutillier, Jesse Weiss, Theresa Himmer, Nate Flagg, Allison Halff, Erich Erving, Becky Hersch, Gabriela Vainsencher

Participating artists have spent time in each other’s working environments to produce examinations of one another’s work, published in our accompanying catalogue.

39 Hampton Place | Brooklyn, NY  11213

www.concreteutopia.org

Exhibit: Rachel Pollak “…the I and the We” at Gowanus Print Lab

Rachel Pollak …the I and the We
on view February 8th – March 5th

>>>opening reception Friday February 10th, 6-9pm. Free!

Gowanus Print Lab presents ...the I and the We, an exhibition of gouache on paper pieces by Rachel Pollak.

Chosen from entries to their GET SERIOUS GO SOLO solo exhibition contest, Rachel Pollak’s sensitive paintings of ritual captured us with their quiet significance and simultaneously sparse and ornate spaces.
Rachel on her work:

“In my work I am seeking out moments when an “I” becomes a “We”—and moments when these affiliations break down. My gouache paintings are inspired by rituals I observe in everyday life: crew members raking the infield dirt at the seventh-inning stretch, children playing parachute games, the inauguration of a new president. By re-imagining the context of these rituals, and their accompanying furniture, uniforms, and equipment, my works consider the tension between the persistent identities of the individuals in these scenes and the groups they are a part of.”

As our GET SERIOUS GO SOLO winner, Pollak also receives a free 1 month studio pass to explore what print can bring to her work.
The content of this work– focused on the relationships between individuals and groups–would lend itself in an ideal way to the the print medium and its traditions of multiples, repeat patterns, and narrative series,” Rachel says of exploring print.
Gowanus Print Lab
54 Second Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718.788.3930
gowanusprintlab.com

CraftNEWYORK a benefit for CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund + Artists’ Emergency Resources


CraftNEWYORK, a benefit for CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund + Artists’ Emergency Resources), will take place Friday March 30 through Sunday April 1, 2012 at NYC’s 7W New York, on 34th Street at Fifth Avenue, directly across from the Empire State Building.

This exhibit and sale is a must see for anyone interested in the finest American craft being made today and will feature 120 internationally renowned artists producing one-of-a-kind and limited edition pieces. Working within, and expanding from, the traditions of Louis Comfort Tiffany, Gustav Stickley, Alexander Calder, Isamu Noguchi, George Nakashima and Dale Chihuly, the award winning artists chosen for CraftNEWYORK have become America’s “living treasures”.

Net profits from admission to CraftNEWYORK will benefit CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund + Artists’ Emergency Resources), a non-profit organization committed to supporting the careers of craft artists throughout the United States.

Schedule

Friday, March 30 from 3 pm to 8 pm
Saturday, March 31from 10 am to 6 pm
Sunday, April 1 from 11 am to 5 pm

http://www.artrider.com/CNY12.html

Syma, Ole Blue Eyes

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“The Greatest City on Earth” by Linda Zacks

The Alliance for Downtown New York announced the latest Re:Construction installation, The Greatest City on Earth, located at Nassau between John and Fulton Streets by artist Linda Zacks.

“As Lower Manhattan continues to grow, construction can be tough on small businesses and confusing for pedestrians. While we look forward to all the great improvements happening downtown, this latest Re:Construction installation is a creative and resourceful way to support small businesses, direct visitors, residents and local workers and beautify Lower Manhattan all at the same time,” said Elizabeth H. Berger, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York.

The Greatest City on Earth is an ongoing series of skylines by artist, Linda Zacks. Linda’s art reflects her passion for the city of New York; she uses a combination of imagery and materials to capture the vitality of the urban, modern experience “that turns a jackhammer into a musical instrument.” Zacks’ powerful body of work captures the life and emotion in a city skyline evoking the frenetic and visceral to the quiet and serene moments that mark the experience of daily life in The Greatest City on Earth.

http://www.downtownny.com/node/10147

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Exhibit: The Influential Female at Kentler International Drawing Space

THE INFLUENTIAL FEMALE
Drawings Inspired by Women in History

CURATOR:
Randall Harris

ARTISTS:
Clarity Haynes, Meridith McNeal, Edward Monovich, Arlene Morris, Annysa Ng, K. Saito, Jacquelyn Schiffman, Vivianne Silvera, Lorene Taurerewa, Jono Vaughan

February 3 – March 25, 2012

RECEPTION:
Friday, February 3, 6 – 8pm

CURATOR’S TALK:
Sunday, February 19, 4pm

The human figure has been a subject for visual artists throughout history. With such an expansive subject matter, this exhibition has chosen to focus on contemporary artists drawing inspiration from the female form. Refined even more, these artists draw their inspiration from historic or specific female subjects to create fresh and challenging gender related artwork. This new work is intriguing because it directly reflects on history while making history.

A brochure with an essay by Randall Harris accompanies the exhibition.

KENTLER INTERNATIONAL DRAWING SPACE
353 Van Brunt Street
(Red Hook) Brooklyn, NY
718.875.2098

www.kentlergallery.org

Open free to the public:
Thursday – Sunday, 12 – 5pm

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Exhibit: Pixelating: Indie Films in Black at MoCADA

The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) and Black Public Media present Pixelating: Indie Films in Black, a series of screenings held in the month of February in honor of Black History Month. Screening throughout various venues in Brooklyn and New York City, this film series couples independently produced films with web series to promote and highlight emerging Black voices in film and television. Following each screening, join us for a discussion with the directors, producers, and players that make this series possible. All screenings are free and open to the public.
MoCADA
80 Hanson Pl. #102
Brooklyn, New York 11217

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Show and Tell: Artists Talk and Answer Questions with Shawn Dulaney and Hugh Crawford

Show and Tell: Artists Talk and Answer Questions with Shawn Dulaney and  Hugh Crawford

On Tuesday, February 7 , 2011 from 8-10 p.m. at The Old Stone House

Remember Show and Tell in elementary school? When you got a chance to bring something in from home to show your class. It was simple, innocent, and fun.

Show and Tell: Artists Talk and Answer Questions will attempt to conjure the innocence and wonder of those experiences. In the cozy upstairs gallery at The Old Stone House in Park Slope, painter Shawn Dulaney and photographer Hugh Crawford will answer questions about their work and their creative process. An informal gathering with wine and light refreshments, the artists will explore the themes that inspire their work and their reasons for making it. For the audience, it’s a chance to go behind the scenes of the the creative process and find out the why’s, what’s and how’s of an artistic endeavor.
Says organizer Hugh Crawford (whose work is currently on view at The Old Stone House): “I have found that talking with others about my work brings to light aspects I was not consciously aware aware of while making it. It is a big part of the creative process and often fuels more work.”

Come be inspired!

Shawn Dulaney’s work is currently on view at the Sears Peyton Gallery in Chelsea. Her style, a layered construction of color merging to form spacious abstractions, has been described by William Zimmer of the New York Times as belonging to “a very strong tradition, that of 19th-century Northern European Romanticism in which nature was seen as corresponding to human emotional states.” He says of her work, “Ms. Dulaney makes it clear that her inner life is very much a part of each painting, and this alone distinguishes it from most abstraction…Shawn Dulaney is deliberately out for grandeur. but she is also out for intimacy. Her paintings take advantage of their innate ambiguity and declare themselves to be very current in the thinking that lies behind them.”

Shawn Dulaney has worked as a painter for over three decades, exhibiting nationwide. Her paintings can be found in extensive public collections worldwide-the Hunterdon Museum of Art in New Jersey, the Trump International Hotel in New York, The Venetia Resort in Macan, China, as well as in the private collections of author Annie Proulx, actor Steve Buscemi, artist Jo Andres and musician Stuart Copeland.

Hugh Crawford studied photography and received a BA from Bard College, and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and Tattler.  His fine art work has been exhibited in numerous galleries in NYC and San Francisco. A recipient of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, he was also an artist-in-residence at ArtPark in Buffalo, NY. He is currently at work on a book about Polaroid photographer Jamie Livingston. His photos can be seen daily on the No Words Daily Pix feature of Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn. 

Show and Tell: Artists Talk and Answer Questions
Tuesday, February 7, 2012  8-10 p.m
The Old Stone House

Third Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Park Slope
Due to park construction, enter on the 4th Avenue side of the house

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Exhibit: “Expanding the Landscape” at Art 101

EXPANDING THE LANDSCAPE
Alexandra Limpert
and Patrick Whalen
January 13 – February 12

ART 101 heralds the New Year with EXPANDING THE LANDSCAPE, an exhibition of figurative drawings and sculpture by Alexandra Limpert and Patrick Whalen.

Limpert’s figurative sculptures reflect the architectural structures of her native New York. “Steel allows me to create life-size open bodily forms while leaving space for the unseen aspects of the figure. Several pieces in the exhibition are manually operated by a hand-crank…Interestingly, the mechanical motion adds an element of humanity to the work.”

She has been creating the animation for the holiday windows for Lord & Taylor, Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue for ten years. In 2006 and 2007, her sculptures were featured in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman.

Limpert has exhibited extensively here in New York and in Europe. She is a teaching Artist with the Rush Foundation.

Patrick Whalen began exhibiting in California, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and the Berkeley Art Museum, prior to moving to New York where he has shown at White Columns and Smack Mellon Studios among other venues. This is his third exhibition at ART 101.

His drawings examine both time and memory. “How memory can mash events together. How it can play tricks on you. How your perceptions can be off, but so sharp in remembering a tiny detail. I base my work on photos I take. I have hundreds of them and I work from those re-assembling my memories… (The installation) … all came together to be a fiction, an image of something that very well could have happened.”

The closing reception is Friday 10 February, 6 – 9 PM.

The gallery is wheelchair accessible.

http://www.art101brooklyn.com/

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