http://bushwickgallery.tumblr.com/

artruby: Admission pins to the Met Museum

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 08:54:19 -0400

Admission pins to the Met Museum

Thanks again big time to the awesomest printing studio in New...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 12:50:53 -0400

Thanks again big time to the awesomest printing studio in New York, Quad Right, for preparing our beautiful printed materials for Fountain Art Fair.

enterthequad:

Gallery Booklet for Bushwick Gallery

brooklynstreetart: New HUSH in Melbourne #streetart (photo ©...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:58:35 -0400

brooklynstreetart:

New HUSH in Melbourne #streetart (photo © Cleo le Vel)

Saturday Nite’s Art Beat

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:08:00 -0400

By Maria Gotay

Last Saturday night came and went in a flash! With 15 Bushwick art spaces participating in Beat Nite and additional 10+ in Bushwick Afterhours, Saturday night was a huge success for artists, curators, galleries, and art-enthusiasts alike. I visited around 15 galleries total across the ‘hood’s sprawling streets and avenues from Morgan to Dekalb. Personal favorites were Forest Ave’s huge, splendid, and flashy English Kills Gallery, which featured the show The Permanent Collection: Volume 2: My Own Private Serpico. The exhibit sampled drawing, painting, and sculpture and the most stunning works in the gallery came from Don Pablo Pedro, who mixed sublime and classical imagery in his large-scale paintings, making them both alarming and intruiging.

On the other end of the spectrum, I thoroughly enjoyed the understated and carefully put-together 950 Hart Gallery‘s “Go Figure” exhibition deeper into Bushwick. The collection gathered works that examined different methods of creating figurative art. In three rooms bursting with drawings and paintings, they showcased adventurous yet meticulous artworks- favorites coming in fantastical neon portraiture by both Antoinette Johnson and Raquel Echanique . This gallery was the most local-feeling of all the spaces I visited and is a sure building block in the non-Chelsea Bushwick art scene.

All in all, it was an event that was a perfect opportunity for the community of this neighborhood to get together, enjoy the new works, have a beer, and become inspired by the great energy, praise, and momentum Bushwick’s art scene has gathered.

New pieces up by Eric Trosko and Nate Anspaugh! Cone by the...

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:41:52 -0500

New pieces up by Eric Trosko and Nate Anspaugh! Cone by the Fountain Art Fair and check them out!

Bushwick gallery is up and running at the Fountain Art Fair! Be...

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:22:17 -0500

Bushwick gallery is up and running at the Fountain Art Fair! Be sure to stop by booth C 104!

Setting up at the Fountain Art Fair!

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:21:28 -0500

Setting up at the Fountain Art Fair!

Setting up for the Fountain Art Fair!

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:18:07 -0500

Setting up for the Fountain Art Fair!

Fountain Tattoo of Elizabeth Tully

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 19:31:00 -0500

By Katarina Hybenova

It’s good for people to be scandalized; it’s good for people to see all kinds of art and everybody should be able to show it.

1. Knowing exactly what she’s doing; 2. A great deal of energy; 3. Lively curly red hair. Those are probably the first three things you will notice when meeting Elizabeth Tully. Elizabeth who is one of the two Fountain Art Fair producers, lives in a loft across the street from Roberta’s. We took a walk on a crazy windy day around the factories of Morgantown, and talked a lot about Foutain and Elizabeth’s involvement with it. Elizabeth started as an intern at at Leo Kesting Gallery whose owners also happen to organize Foutain Art Fair, and it all went from there.

It’s just over a week before the Armory Week starts in New York, and I was curious how Elizabeth handles Fountain’s organizational team, 60 exhibitors, and the huge space of 69th Regiment Armory where Fountain is taking place this year.

How did you get involved with Fountain?

In 2009, I was interning with Leo Kesting, and also I helped out at Fountain. I was just taking money at the door, but it was an incredible experience, and I have never seen anything like that. There was this amazing energy! Later, it was the time of Fountain Miami. We went down to Miami, and somebody who was scheduled to run the front door the entire time got sick just one day before the show, so I did it, and it was pretty insane! When we came back to New York, my internship ended and John [Leo] and Dave [Kesting] hired me, and it grew from there.

Now you are a producer.

Yes, Rachel Esterday and I are producers. She deals with all the logistics, and I deal with the gallery services. She and I started at the same time. In New York we both worked at Fountain, but we didn’t know each other, because I was at the door the whole time. Then we were in Miami together, and we became friends and we started having our private meetings as a preparation for the meeitings with John, David and the rest of the staff. We would go to have coffee at Think Coffee at Mercer Street, and to discuss all our ideas that we were so excited about. John and Dave have been doing this for years and they would always tell us: “Ok, show us a plan, give us a proposal.” And Rachel and I would go to Think and work on that. We kept them asking if we can change small things, and subsequently they have given us more responsibility. We were like “Please let us do this!!!” It has been the best learning experience. I should have been in grad school now, because I was just applying when I started working with Leo Kesting. But they don’t teach you at school what working at a gallery entails. As a major in art history you can name all the artists in the history, but they don’t teach you how to work in the art world.

As a major in art history you can name all the artists in the history, but they don’t teach you how to work in the art world.

Rachel and I have gotten to a point where we play off each other. She is like a rock, never shows anything, while I am the talker. I don’t mind being the bad guy. Just imagine a situation where multiple things go wrong at the same time. The Internet is down, exhibitors can’t sell art; an exhibitor has a piece of art stuck in UPS somewhere in the city but nobody knows where; and there is a scheduling conflict. What are you going to do? This all is very intense and so I try to keep a clear head. I just put my game face on, because I know what it is and I am used to it. Never show exhibitors something’s going wrong. Always maintain that: “How is it going? Are you enjoying the show? Your booth looks great!”

How does it feel to produce such a giant event as Fountain Art Fair? How does the weekend look for you?

There is always this feeling of anticipation. It’s a combination of a little bit of nerves, a little bit of excitement, a little bit of unknown – What’s going to happen? Are people going to show up? Are people gonna get it and like it? There are all these questions. You have been working with all these people; you laid all your plans, and now it’s the Go Time: Let’s go! Then the exhibitors start showing up, and art is being installed, and that’s my favorite part… I love walking around as people are installing, and it’s this crazy energy that forms as everybody is working together. We have this thing “Shit Fountain People Say”: “Can I borrow your ladder? Can I borrow your drill? Do you guys have a wire? What about my lights?” And people are helping each other and loaning each other things. I love seeing the exhibitors bringing this amazing art, and getting along with each other. Our team is so energetic. You can feel this Fountain buzz, I can’t explain it. You are like: “Wow! This is going to be amazing!” Art in your face! That’s my favorite part!

As a producer, how do you keep up with all the multi-tasking?

I just keep my phone on! As the Fair progresses, I like to do laps. I am trying to say hi to everybody in the morning and see what’s up, if everybody is happy, if they are having fun, if they sold anything. I also learned that you have to take breaks. Take an hour and shut off. Let somebody else be on the floor…

Can you explain the Fountain logo inspired by Duchamps’ famous piece ‘Fountain’?

That’s also my tattoo [Elizabeth shows her tattoo on a forearm]. I got one in Miami this year! It was my 7th show. Well, the idea of Fountain Art Fair is to support egalitarian spirit in art. Art for art sake. I mean of course we also want people to sell, but mainly we think that if you have great art, you should be able to show it. What’s nice about it is that it’s becoming really viable. Other art fairs, museums, art organizations and the people whose attention was hard to get in the past are becoming interested in what we are doing. That was the whole purpose of the fair, and of theoriginal Armory Show. Duchamps scandalized people with his Nude Descending A Staircase, and that’s good. It’s good for people to be scandalized; it’s good for people to see all kinds of art and everybody should be able to show it. These other fairs are wonderful, but if you’re a young gallery, young artist who is just starting out and are working to pay your bills, it can be really hard to participate, and we provide that space. I think it’s really important.

Art in your face! That’s my favorite part!

How old is Fountain?

We are celebrating seven years. We are one of the youngest fairs.

How do you perceive the role of an art fair in the art world? Isn’t it too much? Meaning too much art, too many galleries concentrated on one spot?

I can speak only for Fountain, but I feel like it’s wonderful because it gives all these new people voice and a platform to be seen when when all the people are in town to see art. They will meet all the VIPs; maybe they will get coverage in Time Out NY or New York Magazine. I think that is beneficial to the artists and to the art world. There is new talent and there is opportunity to be recognized for your art. I think we do a service to the art world because we keep it alive and fun. Fountain isn’t just white boxes and boring art. I think it’s beautiful, because the whole thing is beautiful. The fair is art itself. The art show feels like a big explosion of craziness. I think it exposes art to a lot of people who aren’t normally exposed to art, because people come with their friends who tell them how much fun it was last year. That’s bringing art to people.

What is your background?

I graduated as an art history major from Hunter in 2006. I was commuting every day from Long Island; I was waitressing full-time and going to school full time. It was constant “hustling” and it was really intense. The art fair is really intense too, but I’m enjoying it, and when it’s not happening I am kinda bored…

How many exhibitors do you have this year?

We have almost 60 exhibitors; last year we had 25, so it’s growing a lot. The day we signed the lease for the 69th Regiment Armory, I couldn’t believe it… The Fountain on the pier was amazing, but it’s kinda hard to get there, because the subway is a little far and there is a highway, so you can’t get dropped off by a taxi there, and all those little things…So having the space, especially with its history is just the most exciting thing. I still can’t believe it. It’s really great and we are so happy.

What about the Fountain team?

Everybody’s effort on the team is amazing. You don’t get paid much doing something like this, obviously, so to do it you really have to love it and be passionate about it. And just having all these people around and all this energy is amazing.

I felt it when I came to your meeting. Everybody was really amazing, right on the spot.

It helps that we don’t get paid a lot, because it keeps the people who are really passionate about it around. But you know if I could quit my babysitting job, if all of us could quit our day jobs, and just sit in the office and play with Fountain all day, that’s my dream… But for now, it’s not possible. The grassroots of Fountain feel really satisfying. I feel like I am working on something with my friends for my friends. It’s for all of us to shine: for the people on the team, for our artist and gallery friends, for everyone. I put so many of my artist friends in the show, and so did everybody on the team. It’s so great to be in the position where you are able to help out people. I didn’t have that when I was starting out. Epecifically there is so many amazing young women!

Fountain Art Fair, March 9-11 at 69th Regiment Armory at 68 Lexington Avenue @ 25th Street, NY, and will be featuring many Bushwick artists! Come check it out.

laughingsquid: Stunning Half Graffiti Hotel Room

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:48:40 -0500

laughingsquid:

Stunning Half Graffiti Hotel Room

Secret Street Art! Send us street art in your back yard!

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:15:00 -0500

Secret Street Art! Send us street art in your back yard!

tumblropenarts: Black pen + pencil illustrative portrait by...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:09:26 -0500

tumblropenarts:

Black pen + pencil illustrative portrait by Leah Leslie :)

rhapsodical: Lee Miller

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:08:34 -0500

rhapsodical:

Lee Miller

milkstudios: Faces in the dark. Photo by Balarama Heller.

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 19:34:24 -0500

milkstudios:

Faces in the dark.

Photo by Balarama Heller.

Pearl Beads of Andrea Bergart

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:06:00 -0500

By Katarina Hybenova

“Brooklyn is so brown when compared to Manhattan,” says Andrea Bergart when leaning on the fence at a pier. Manhattan looks like a toy city; you could just reach and touch the plastic buildings. Brooklyn, on the other hand, looks like its humble brother. The wind is fierce; our hair is flying around; the seagulls shriek as they are flying around. There are strange places in New York, and the Brooklyn Army Terminal is certainly one of them.

Andrea lives in Ridgewood, but as an artist in residency at Chashama uses a subsidized studio in an enormous fortress of Brooklyn Army Terminal at Sunset Park. The building is partially occupied by Chashama artists; partially is empty; and according to rumors, it partially serves as a storage for governmental super-secret documents…

Andrea loves it there. She has been in her studio since last May, and she can’t wait for the summer. She says the closeness to the water makes her feel connected to nature. It is a bit ironic because the building itself is a huge concrete giant, and the neighboring vacated industrial buildings couldn’t be any less natural. But there is something serene and beautiful about the Brooklyn Army Terminal.

Andrea is a painter who has a great eye for colors and pattern. She has spent a lot of time in Western Africa painting murals and learning about textiles there. Her paintings are fresh and energetic; her vivid colors won’t let you idle. She uses a lot of imagery and techniques she remembers from her childhood – a pattern from an old coloring book; zebra and leopard patterns; she makes pearl bead necklaces and scratches patterns into acrylic paint over crayon drawings…. She is one of the artists in Mushroom Universe at Bushwick Gallery, and I had a couple of questions….

How do you select the materials you’re using? From pearl beads to friendship bracelets….

A lot of it is a return to my suburban upbringing – all the things I used to play with. I was always beading, braiding or weaving. Throughout my whole childhood, I was occupied with some kind of a craft. It seems natural to continue that. Additionally, I have always been making jewelry along the painting and drawing, so it seems natural to have my patterns translate across the media. Also weaving or beading designs help me generate the imagery…

Can you describe your drawings? How do you make these?

I love this stuff! I have been thinking about doing this for months. And there is an element of surprise to them! I just create different patterns or movements with crayons, without thinking. AI make several drawings at the same time, cover them with black or blue paint and then quickly forget which pattern is hidden beneath. When I start drawing into them with an exacto knife or a pushpin I realize which drawing I am working with. The surprise reminds me a little bit of printmaking…

How did you end up in Ghana?

I first ended up in Ghana studying bead making for a semester in college. After graduate school, I was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study patterns found in textiles, bead making, sign painting. It was an incredible year traveling throughout most of West Africa. I often travelled with bead traders on ancient bead trading routes taking me from Ghana to Timbuktu to Nigeria… I completed acouple of murals with Ghanaian painters and designed textiles with a major textile company that producestextiles for all of West Africa. That experience was incredible! Just generating patterns for a specific audience was great. Thinking: “This is for Nigeria, this is for Togo…” Every country had a little bit of a different design…. The company would reference traditional weaving but also try to make it contemporary… That was really great.

Last December, I went to do another mural in the neighborhood of North Keneshie which is located in Accra.

How did they accept you there as a foreign female making a mural?

Men control all the street painting. You would never see woman paint on the street. Also it’s a profession that is completely married with advertising, it is all utilitarian. So to see a mural painted by a painter not commercially invested is so strange to them… They were stopping by and asking: “What is this? Who paid you to do this?” I collaborated with a couple of sign painters there, and referenced imagery from local garments, children’s murals, and personal textile designs. Everyone loved it and wanted to help.

Now in May, I am going to South Africa to visit the Ndebele who have a long tradition of women painting their homes with geometric patterns. Their designs are amazing!

What There is To Know. Bushwick in Chelsea.

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:06:00 -0500

By Terri Ciccone

Ben Godward. “Let the blood show (a piece of my circus),” 2012, urethane foam, beer bottles, and mixed media

Imagine taking a tour of an art gallery through someone’s mind, where each and every fold of the brain is another corridor leading you to a brilliant piece someone had once seen or thought of. What I Know, a group show curated by Jason Andrew is currently on view at NYCAM Gallery in Chelsea feels exactly as a physical tour through an art gallery of the mind.

Austin Thomas. “Survival Manual”, 2012, ink, graphite, and collage on paper

What I Know is a show that features over 40 artists from the tight nit and burgeoning art scene in Bushwick that the curator and collector himself is very much a part of. The opening night was packed with a sort of who’s who of the Bushwick art scene, those one would normally see hanging around Norte Maar or Storefront. It was as if a space ship had sucked them all up and dropped them off in Chelsea. Some speculated that this was the slightly less than unintentional plan of Jason Andrew himself, to swipe the artists from their homey-digs as Chelsea big-wig Luhring Augustineopened their new space in Bushwick on that very night.

Ali Della Bitta. “Rugose,” 2011, cast aluminum and resin

There is less than a visual theme that ties the show together. Paintings seemed to work with drawings, drawings with sculpture, sculpture with collage. But despite a theme not being visibly apparent, it was clear that these pieces were tied together by community. In a statement in the gallery, Andrew ponders the fact that we live in a very uncertain era, and all we can really rely on is our creative wits. So whether it was Paul D’Agostino’s collage of clock cut outs ticking along near Brooke Moyse’s abstract painting “Kalied,” or Ben Godward’s giant blob of paint that looks like it had once wreaked havoc on a street, swallowing bottles and license plates in its colorful path – these ideas juxtaposed against one another in one space created a solidness and a comfort.

Sean Pace. “Super Natural,” 2010, wood and steel

What we know, or can take from the show, is these great works are being thought of and created, and don’t just exist in a Bushwick vacuum. The show is unapologetic in being simply a massive collection of great, solid pieces. And because of that, there was a different feeling in the air in Chelsea that evening. A shift, a change, a quake could be felt in the art world.

Jackie Sabourin. “North Country Seedlings”, 2012

10 Tips: How NOT to Network with the Luhring Augustine Crowd

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:15:06 -0500

By Katarina Hybenova

The remaining 500 openings in Bushwick last weekend had a common topic for discussion: Did you go to Luhring Augustine opening? What did you think about the mega-space?

We have discussed the potential impacts of having a fancy Chelsea gallery taking a slide on Bushwick DYI hippness back and forth, and then we discussed it once again. It seems like all that remains is to acknowledge that they are here, and to hope that their presence will bring as many positive things as possible. Hopefully, they will acknowledge us back, make a studio visit here and there, and discover local emerging talent. Some of us were asking how does one even make them notice us? How does one network with art world celebrities? Well, we don’t know either. But here is what you definitely should not be doing:

#1 Stare creepily at Marina Abramovič, because the fact she starred at you at MoMA gives you enough of an excuse.

#2 When bumping into Charles Atlas in the bathroom, ask casually whether his barber takes hallucinogens.

#3 Give wrong directions to that middle-aged lady who is scared to death trying to navigate her GPS from Grattan to Knickerbocker crying she doesn’t even know where she is… Send her to Johnson Avenue for a late night Bushwick scenic walk.

#4 Demand a free can of Tecate from Luhring Augustine employee with British accent. Insist you need it to process the trippy installation!

#5 Roberta Smith will surely reserve a spot for you among her Top 2012 if you only perform that piece you’ve been practicing with your roommates in your loft. Yes, perform right there at the opening. Naturally, her friends are interested too.

#6 Ask that artsy middle aged French lady next to you at the opening to tell you stories about Henri Matisse when he was still alive.

#7 Just stand there. Be naked while at it.

#8 Wonder where all these old people came from and why they keep staring at all those numbers. Wonder aloud.

#9 The best way to get the attention of Jerry Salz is to steadily scream in a high pitched voice (we swear).

#10 Stalk Kathy Halbreich home. For the future reference, you need to know where she lives.

Gesine Marwedel

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:34:00 -0500

Gesine Marwedel

Bushwick Represent at Armory Week

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:25:31 -0500

By Katarina Hybenova

Early March in New York means art, and nothing else but art. Why? Because it’s the Armory Week!! Seven awesome art fairs will present their art shows to the public following the historic tradition ofthe Armory Show that was held for the first time in 1913 as International Exhibition of Modern Art at the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue between 25th and 26th Streets.

Among the seven art fairs, Fountain Art Fair is arguably the coolest and the most open to emerging artists and galleries. Naturally, this means that Fountain is a popular destination for exhibitors and their friends from Bushwick, and by now it’s a good tradition of many awesome Bushwickians not to miss Fountain. From the exhibitors this year, we are totally looking forward to see Microscope Gallery, who will present the most viral of all the current performers – Marni Kotak. Mighty Tanakagallery, whose owners are from Bushwick represents many Bushwick-based street artists, and our favorite chick in street art Gilf! will be at Foutain too. Amazing performers from Grace Exhibition Space will be there too, and let’s not forget about our artsy sister project, the 1st Bushwick internet-based gallery, BushwickGallery.com, objective of which is to endorse Bushwick art using the power of the Internet.

This year’s Foutain is taking place in the historic 69th Regiment Armory, and we went to check out the location and to meet up with the Fountain organizational team. I’m sure you’d be excited to hear that many of the people on the team are also from Bushwick, like the producer – Elisabeth Tully.

Fountain Art Fair is having a big launch party tonight at Gallery Bar in the city, and with a discounted ticket you can drink as much free beer as you want to and listen to all the awesome DJs. So don’t miss out if you’re in the city tonight.

Are you from Bushwick and are you part of the Armory Week? Leave us a comment, we’d be happy to check you out!

"As the crowd thinned, Vartanian reflected on the peculiar evening. “One thing I like about this is..."

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:07:46 -0500

“As the crowd thinned, Vartanian reflected on the peculiar evening. “One thing I like about this is that it’s just a fucking mess,” he said. “Is it meta? Is it meta-meta? Is it satire? Who knows?” He patted a flask in his pocket. “I’m just glad I brought my own vodka.””

- My quote in Capital New York about Art Fag City’s #AFCRPAAaA. (via hragv)