Here is Jason himself in front of one of his other works. See other thoughts below.
“It Could Have Been Oh So…” by Jason Grunwald
Last night was the opening of the show “U-Turn,” a group show of portraiture at Petra Projects in Soho. Shown here is Jason Grunwald’s painting “It could have been oh so…”. I had seen this image on the postcard before the show and I was refreshingly taken with the “real” thing. To me this shows again the power of the actual object of art, with visible brushstrokes and all its painterly qualities. Plus I really love the intensity of this girl’s gaze, even though her eyes are hidden behind the sunglasses. There’s a sense of expectation, but also a hint of a challenge in the subject’s face.
I don’t go to galleries expecting to enjoy the art and I was happy to say that while some works in the show I was more taken with than others, it was nice to see a strong showing of portraiture in different mediums in one space. There was a kind of conversation between the pieces, asking us how we see people and how artists choose to show us their subjects. What captures the essence of someone? Is looking at people ultimately comforting or does it confront us with questions about our own identities and what we present to the world?
Visit to My Grandmother’s
After the craziness of First Saturday I took a quick, one night trip up to Massachusets to visit my Grandmother who just celebrated her 87th birthday! It is always a wonderful time to see her, to sit by the fire together and talk about our lives and times, watch a hockey game and drink tea. The snow was too melted and icy for skiing, but the cold wind didn’t stop us from taking a short walk in the woods. Happy birthday Gram and all the best for the next year!
Perils at 169 Bar
This past week Perils played our first show in too many months down in Chinatown. Despite being wildly different from the other bands that played that night and a little nervous, it felt great to play a show for our friends. What felt really cool was friends from Portland, Maine and OR were in attendence, making me feel like there was some kind of history and continuity to my music making. It also made me feel like the ties I have forged through creating music and art are strong and enduring and that is really rewarding. Hopefully Perils will have some more shows coming up, so check out our myspace profile to find out.
Happy new year, let’s eat more!
What better way to bring in the lunar new year than with a trip to Vegetarian Dim Sum to stuff our faces. So, so good…
Painting and Sculpture by Kim Krans
Also showing was Kim Krans, with a show called “I stood in the forest and felt nothing.” Similar to Noah’s, this was another show that created an environment with painted branches, stumps and well, paintings. How nice to see interesting art in Chelsea!
Noah Sheldon at D’Amello Terras
Last weekend Noah Sheldon had an opening at D’Amellow Terras in Chelsea. The show is entitled “Pink and Tan” and the whole thing- sculptural installations like the chimes shown here, a fountain, a wall infused with Christmas lights, a scap of a peacock feather and gorgeous black and white photographs are bathed in a peaceful, flattering pink light. Also featured is a programmed upright piano, which play sustained notes, adding to the warm environment.
Pick up sticks
In case you are wondering what the new hip party game is, it’s pick up sticks. It was intense competition between architecture nerds, linguist nerds and a 7 year-old named Dex. This was one of my favorite games as a kid, though I had completely forgotten about it. My skills have also completely deteriorated, darn adulthood…
“Scarfenhood”
I made this for G. as a present. However, the winter in France is not nearly as frigid as it is here and I’m wondering if I shouldn’t use my remaining grey alpaca wool to knit one of these strange things for myself. It’s a scarf/hood combination with optional mittens. LJ found the pattern on the web and it was, admittedly, funky. However, I was delighted with the soft wool I chose and often found myself sitting on the subway, impatient to get home so I could curl up and knit.
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art Blog
A great blog that all interested in feminist art should keep their eyes on lately is the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art blog (or EASCFA for short). The EASCFA will be opening on March 23rd on the Brooklyn Museum’s 4th floor. There will be months of exciting programming and art, including an exhibition of contemporary feminist art called Global Feminisms. Those interested can keep themselve in the know by visiting http://eascfa.blogspot.com. There is also currently a very interesting entry about object conversation for an Egyptian statue for one of the upcoming shows, Pharaohs, Queens, and Goddesses, so if you ever wondered what bronze disease is, cruise over to their blog and find out!
Killerfemme 