What is new with me October 8th, 2010

View of the MoMA

From the Newsletter:
It has a been while since I have wrote or sent my news letter, but a lot has changed in my life. Now I am living in Philadelphia, PA so I am no longer working in New York. Arthouse28, Makada.net, and the loft is still there under the complete guidance of Peter with the help of Edit and Natty who is now working out of Virginia. My partner in this venture, Matt Jacobs, aka Gomaar, is still in New York and writing on art and whatever catches his eye. So you should still read his reviews. My role though will be a little different. I will still tell you about what grabs my attention but now it will include Philadelphia, if you are interested, as well as what interests me in New York. Hence, we have taken "New York" from the title and left it Ubihaus. In this sense I have become my audience, so my perspective will be similar to yours. When we started the blog we began with the idea of maintaining the connection with each other that was formed through the loft at 28 street. Now our perspective is a little bigger. Let us know too about you. Cheers! -- Rafael Damast

Other News

Just completed: Apple of His Eye Installation Video that I did for Kukuli Velarde's exhibition at the Barry Friedman Gallery. This video I did for her in order order to document her installation that took her 80 hours to do and was then, at the end of the exhibition painted over. It now in memory and in works like that video I did. It took a lot of work and would not have been finished without Kukuli's input.

I had started Arepa Digital Publishing, LLC.  Now that I have been moving back in video producing, shooting, editing and doing business.  The company focuses on art and education.  Two videos I have worked on for Arepa DP our with Lisa Mackie,  the Art of Printing from a Xerox Copy and Non Toxic Printmaking in Action.

Peter Mackie has partnered with John Stookey to start the Castleton Project Event Space in Castleton New York.  This space is prime 9000 square feet of raw creative space.  More information is here. Contact John if you need further information. Joanne Mattera wrote a great piece on the opening exhibition of the Castleton Twelve and on CPESpace. You can find it here.

Apple of His Eye Installation by Kululi Velarde at Barry Friedman 2010

This a video I just did for Kukuli Velarde documenting her installation "Apple of His Eye" at the Barry Friedman Gallery in March 2010. It was a really good show and I am proud of the job I did for her.  If you have a chance, take a look and let me know what you think.  Cheers!

NOF: Conan's now so new white Guitar from Finland

Life is full of funny surprises.  And here is one, Antti J Kallio who stayed with us some years back emails me this video of him bringing the Eero Aarnio gutitar to Conan O'brien.  I remember it now when he was here.  Very nice guitar!  The interview was done by another friend of ours, Raija Kantomaa.   It is mainly in Finish but one gets the gist.  It was funny and it is good to see our friends do well.  It is a good omen.  How come Conan gets to go to Finland!   Cheers!

August 7 Castleton Twelve Group Exhibit

This is from Lisa Mackie and Peter Mackie.  

 Announcing the Opening Group Exhibit of

 Castleton Project and Event Space

Castleton Twelve

Opening Event - August 7, 5:00 PM ON

60 South Main St. Castleton, NY 12033

Exhibit continues through September 17, 2010

Co-curated by LISA MACKIE and PETER MACKIE

Artists

SHEILA MANION ARTZ

NANCY BAKER

MANHEE BAK

JACKIE BRICKMAN

MARYLYN DINTENFASS

LAURENCE FAYARD

MATT HART

RICHARD JOCHUM

LISA MACKIE

PETER MACKIE

JOANNE MATTERA

JEFFREY ALLEN PRICE

CPESPACE is a 9,000 sq, ft, artist owned and operated building located on the Hudson River seven miles south of Albany N.Y.

The space can accommodate up to ten creative artists with short-term residential and studio work spaces.  In addition, the second floor, and old silent movie theater, is an event space that seats 75

people and is ideal for dance, theater and mixed media productions.

News from our friends, Vincent Scilla Baseball Series

If there is a such a thing as summer reading then why can there not be such a thing as summer art.  It makes no sense just the same.

Summer is almost here. Kids will soon be out on summer break. Adults will be planning their vacations. The parks will be full of sun worshippers, and people of all ages will be at play at sports, and leisurely excitement will be had by all. Today I received an email from Vincent Scilla. He is an artist who I have known for a very long time and who, in his baseball series paints so honestly what he loves that he captures the complexity of America, much like James Thurber did in his writings: The contrary nature of what we hope for and the blatant reality of what we must do in order to live.    In our dreams we may see ourselves (or even our heroes) hit the great home run that wins the game or make the great catch, but in reality it is always against the back drop of the hot dogs or the yams or you fill in the blank for sale. Don't get me wrong, I am not against capitalism. I don't know of a better alternative, but it is the reality of the time we live in. It is like the great American past time, it is a part of our psyche.  Like Thurber his work is a parable about success having its cost. It is a parable that has intimate characteristics of trying to be more than what you buy or sell.   Maybe it is equal, and thus it cancels itself out,  50  % accomplishment vs 50 % selling items.  Or maybe it is not.

In case your are in Chicago he will be in a group show at the Springfield Art Association from June 25th to August 21. The location is Google mapped below.

His website is here. And you can learn some more about his personality from his blog at VincentScilla.blogspot.

New from our friends, Barbara Andrus Review an Show through May 2nd.

Barbara Andrus's at  the A. Wallace Gallery Show through May 2nd and NYT's review

I just read this great review in the New York Times of our friend Barbara Andrus,  a fantastic artist, of "Regarding Nature: Thorns, Twigs, Buds and Branches" a  show she is currently in with two other artist at the Amelie A. Wallace Gallery.  The direction is below.  The review was very positive, painting it as a "beautiful, inviting exhibition that invites us to ponder art's enduring links with nature."  Her work was described as being able to "evoke the experience of being alone in quite wilderness."  Congratulation Barbara.  Now everyone else, if you have the chance, go catch it before it is over!

“Regarding Nature: Thorns, Twigs, Buds and Branches,” Amelie A. Wallace Gallery, Campus Center, SUNY College at Old Westbury, Route 107, Old Westbury, through May 2. Information: (516) 876-3056 or oldwestbury.edu.

My Monday List for April 5th

My Monday list of odds and ends that I find interesting.


• Opening this week, a good friend,  Manhee Bak: Unrolling Time   April 6 through 22nd at John Jay College of the City of New York. He is a really interesting artist. More information can be found on his website. The reception is on April 8th from 5-7
• Artcat has great list of Gallery Opening's in New York.  Check it out here.
• Kiki Smith: Sojourn at the Brooklyn Museum
• Hanmi: Celelbrating the Cherry Blossom Season,  April 3 to May 2 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
• The City Reliquary,  the Museum and Civic Organization in Brooklyn
• Jazz: Amanda Monaco's Deathblow at Local 269
• Hip Hop New: Das Racist at Death by Audio
• Flea Markets:  Brooklyn Flea, starting April 10th


My bookmarked tags on delicious

My Monday List for March 29

My Lists of odds and ends that I find interesting


• Manhee Bak: Unrolling Time, from April 6 through 22nd at John Jay College of the City of New York. He is a really interesting artist. More information can be found on his website. The reception is on April 8th from 5-7.
• Marina Abramovic, The Artist is Present at MoMA through May 31. Marian Abromavic is performance artist who is having a retrospective of her work. The New York Times has a good review of the show here. On the MoMA site you can experience the show here.
• The Drawings of Bronzino at the Met, through April 18. Gomaar reviewed the show well, and this looks like a show that I should not miss before it ends in April.
• Flemish Illumination in the Era of Catherine Cleves at the Morgan Library. Gomaar gave it a really good review. It is up now through May 2
• The 2010 Whitney Biennial is up on until May 30th. This is always an event that is worth seeing. Holland Carter of the New York Times gave it a good review. You can read it here.
• Ken Price: "New Sculpture" through April 10 at Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsee
• Two exhibitions at Duke Riley: Those About to Dia Salute You and Daniel Bozhkov: Rebulik of Pertual Reconstitution and Rebuild through April the 25 at the Queens Museum of Art I don't know much about the artists but it does look very interesting.
• On Tuesday, March 30th and Saturday April 3rd, Kukuli Velarde will be at Barry Friedman working her mural for here show Patrimonio. She has a blog in which you can comment directly to her here. The shows up until April 17th.
• Geometric Themes and Variations through April 10 at Gallery Onetwentyeight. Joanne Mattera is part of this group show. It is an intimate gallery and I like her work, so it is worth noting.

More information on what is showing can be found here.

Deeper Than Y - Watch the Documentary Film for Free | Watch Free Documentaries Online | SnagFilms

Check this out it. It is a film edited by a good friend of mine, Timothy Schneider. It is worth a look. You might even enjoy it.

Deeper Than Y - Watch the Documentary Film for Free | Watch Free Documentaries Online | SnagFilms

Empire Falls - Nancy Baker and Oriane Stender, March 4 - 28

EMPIRE FALLS at Flanders Art Gallery

Here is a belated announcement. Nancy Baker is in a show in Raleigh, NC with Oiane Stender. The show is a collaboration, and from what I have seen on the web looks great!

I am always meeting people from around the world who are curious about the state of the U.S. Who wonder how we feel about our economy or about the war. To me, this show addresses that question. It gives body to our frustrations, angers and fears as Americans. It is something, that I hate to say everyone in the entire world can relate to.

Check out the show at the Flander's website here. See the show if you are in Raleigh. Here it is on a map. Read Nancy's blog regarding her show at Tire Shop here, it is a trip. Don't forget to read their review here. It's worth your time and if you like what you see let Nancy and Oriane know. Leave a comment. Cheers!

Artists at work should read Joanne Mattera

For almost the past year Joanne Mattera, a fantastic artist and writer has been writing a series on how artist and galleries have been surviving in this difficult economic climate. If you are an artist, a collector or just interested in the art market I can't help but recommend that you read and follow this series, Marketing Mondays.

News: Manhee Bak is on Blogspot

Manhee Bak is a New York City based artist and a good friend. When we created the blog we wanted to let people know about the richness in creativity and depth that is in New York and that comes through here. Here is an artist of note. I like what he does with found objects. How he finds organic beauty in their artificial form. .

Take a look at his work.

Contact him and tell him what you think if you feel you must. Art, like us, does not exist in a vacuum. Enjoy

Photos from Wondermere

Here is are some photos from our friend Susan McIntosh reception last week at Apex Art. It is series of very interesting video installation that is worth a visit. For more information on the show click here.

NEWS: July 8th is Wondermare! Curated by Susan McIntosh & Albert Wilking

July 8 to August 8th,

Scene One: Take One - July 8, 6-8PM

Directions to ApexArt

Our friend Susan MacIntosh with her partner, Albert Wilking, are curating a show at ApexArt, Wondermare! Knowing them it will be a test of our reality. You know I wont miss it. Susan is an artist, actor, writer, film maker, survivor, mad genius, and many things more. Go see her show! I am sure you will not forget it.

NEWS: Conversation with Fanny Sanin Thursday July 2, 2009

Our friend Fanny Sanin is having a talk tomorrow at her gallery Latin Collector today. She's really artist who's worth hearing. She had shown with my mother in the past and so we share some history. The following is information from her e-card on tonight's Talk.

7-9 pm, talk starts at 7
37 West 57 Street

Please join us Thursday July 2nd, 2009 for a talk by Michelle Heinz about the work of Fanny Sanin. Fanny Sanin will be answering questions
about her work directly after the talk.

Fanny Sanín is one of Latin America's most distinguished and well-
respected abstract painters. Though she has worked outside of any
group affiliation, Sanín has remained faithful to the principles of
hard-edge abstraction since the early seventies and has constantly
created enigmatic color combinations and architectual shapes that
create subtle spatial suggestions that feel monumental.

Sanín studied at the University of the Andes in Colombia and pursued
graduate studies at the University of Illinois and the Chelsea School
of Art in London. Her work has been included in over 300 shows
including the landmark exhibition Latin American Women Artists
1915-1995 and is included in many important collections worldwide.

Matt Jacobs at George Bills Gallery Photos

These are some pictures I took at the opening of Matt's current exhibition at the George Billis Gallery. It was a lot of fun and worth the visit. Maybe you were there. Enjoy, and I hope you get a chance to see the show.

Andreas Herzau Onscreen

Hi everyone,

I have been looking at videos and photos from our friend Andreas Herzau for the past few weeks and been very impressed. I have not seen anything like these photos video essays before. They are wonderful and well produced works that take you to a place that is akin to visual poetry. Looking at the photo essays, Skyscrapers, brought me back in time to when airplanes in the sky were mysterious and the world was large.

Explore his photo essays. Download his videos from Itunes and then tell him what you think.

He also has an interesting blog called Hellonewyork Hallohamburg. This is a wonderful blog of photography of competing visions by Stefan Falke and Andreas Herzau. I suggest an exploration. You will not be disappointed.

Matt Jacobs at George Bills Gallery May 26th to June 27th

Our friend and contributing blogger, Matthew Jacobs, will be having and exhibition at the George Billis Gallery from May 26 to June 27th. The reception is on Thursday, May 28th and will be from 6 to 8PM. The gallery is located at 511 West 25th street.

What will be exhibited, I consider to be a major departure from his past work in that the human figure is represented. His new work, from what I have seen in my studio visits, I've found to be both exciting and provocative. For there is something dirty in the beauty of his new paintings. I can't tell you what is in his head but I do like what he is doing. I don't want to say more about what I feel because he is my friend and I would like you to see it in person. I will be at the opening. Maybe there, we will have the opportunity to share our impressions. It is well worth the visit. I hope to see you there.