September

Veronesa
Mexico City
2007
copyright Allen Frame


Untitled #101
2007
copyright Tim Roda

I couldn't be happier that summer is coming to an end, and there is a fall buzz in the air on these early, sunny days of September. And best of all ... galleries are coming alive again with new shows, including work by some of my favorite figures in the photo community.

I developed an instant crush on photographer and photo professor Allen Frame when I met him last spring on account of his southern grace and natural sophistication - not to mention, his sweetness. I have been eager to see more of his beautiful work "live" as what I have seen from his books and website convey a sensitivity to mood in both private and public spaces that feel equally intimate. Allen makes use of the emotional resonance of light; figures emerge from deep shadows in both his earlier black and white work and his beautiful new color work that will be exhibited at Gitterman Gallery in a show opening on Wednesday, September 9th.

Three great shows are opening the following night including Tim Roda at Daniel Cooney. Omni-present art collector, blogger and enthusiast, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, has previewed the prints in Tim Roda's Family Matters series and has written a thoughtful analysis on his blog likening the images to Spanish or Italian cinema: Ruben on Family Matters. Judging from one of the comments, the show may provoke a range of impassioned perspectives on artists whose children are their subjects - historically, a heated topic in photography - especially when there is anything resembling sexual content in the work.

And I would imagine many of us are looking forward to the first New York solo show of one of the most dynamic and influential women in New York's photo community, Amy Stein. Amy's Domesticated series, which has toured the country and the world, will be exhibited at Brian Clamp ... and you can find more surreal animals and landscapes made by Simen Johan virtually next door at Yossi Milo in a show titled, Until the Kingdom Comes.

Also this month, photographer and co-founder of Women in Photography, Cara Phillips, will be exhibiting her Singular Beauty series in her first solo exhibition at the Suffolk Art Gallery in Boston. I previously had the opportunity to see her work in a Hey, Hotshot! show at Jen Bekman last winter, and her prints are stunning. There is an opening celebration on September 17th at the gallery, so if anyone is driving to Boston - let me know!


Brown Consultation Chair
Beverley Hills
2007
copyright Cara Phillips


Howl
copyright Amy Stein

culturehall at Foundation NY

Art fair action kicks off today, and my head is spinning a little from sorting out where to go and what to see, but here are a few stops at the top of my list:

David Andrew Frey, founder of culturehall, a new curated site for contemporary art, can be found at Fountain NY at Pier 66. I have recently taken on the position of Assistant Curator for culturehall and look forward to inviting new artists in the upcoming months.

Amani Olu Projects will be exhibiting work by a group of artists at the Scope Art Fair including Michael Buhler-Rose, Gerald Edwards III, Jon Feinstein, Alison Malone, Marc McAndrews, Bradley Peters, Peter Riesett, David La Spina, Tina Tyrell and Ann Woo. I got to see Amani participate in a panel discussion last night facilitated by the Camera Club of New York that created a lively dialogue about collecting photography amongst gallerists, Daniel Cooney and Michael Mazzeo, as well as photographer and curator, Cara Phillips, from WIP and two prominent photo collectors.

Photographer, Jason Lazarus, a former student and old friend from Chicago whom I haven't seen in person in nearly a decade, will be presenting a solo exhibition of his work thru Andrew Rafacz Gallery at VOLTA NY.

And the previously mentioned Juliana Beasley will be exhibiting work from her Eyes of Salamanca series thru Group Station Independant Projects at the Bridge Art Fair.

All events thru March 8th, 2009.

GLBT Gallery Tour

GLBT Gallery Tour
Daniel Cooney Fine Art Gallery

I had the pleasure of speaking briefly about my work at Daniel Cooney this afternoon to a group making a gallery tour of shows including GLBT artists. Led by Rafael Risemberg, Ph.D., former gay studies professor and art critic for the NY Blade, the group meets once a month to visit and to discuss exhibits of interest to the GLBT community.

More information about the tours can be found here: New York Gallery Tours

Thank you ...

Our show opens tonight! And it is time to give thanks to the people who made it happen:

Thank you to my friend and soulmate, Anthony, who provided some inspiration for this series and who flew out from Minneapolis to celebrate his birthday and to join me at the opening.

Thank you to Daniel for believing in this work and for giving me the opportunity to exhibit this series in a his amazing gallery. And thank you to Brett for introducing me to Daniel.

Thank you to Francesca for sharing this experience with me and for being so awesome to communicate with along the way.

Thank you to Alex for her friendship and pep talks. Thank you to Jonathon for his friendship and tech support. Thank you to Emily for her friendship, writing and insight.

Thank you Matt for the passion and enthusiasm he brings to his blog and my own and for the advice when it comes to matters of the heart.

Thank you to Kiko, whose teenage years were inseparable from my own and whose friendship remains for life - thank you for contributing to the production of the work.

Thank you to Keith at Laumont for his hard work and patience in making the exhibition prints.

Thank you to Ruben for his energy and enthusiasm and for the efforts he has made to understand and to support this series.

Thank you to Cara and Amy of WIP and Nina of Nymphoto for the efforts they have made to support my work and the work of women in photography.

Thank you to my parents for their love, support, faith and guidance.

Thank you to Barbara and her mother, Donna, for sharing their home and their hearts with me in Binghamton.

And thank you to the young men in Binghamton - Jacob, Jonathon, Johan, Justin, Matthew, and David - who gave a part of themselves and their stories to these photographs.

Thank you all for making this possible.

Emerging Photographers Auction at Daniel Cooney 2009

Nathan, Boonville
copyright Timothy Briner
2007


Morning Fog Lift in Bali
copyright Nina Buesing
2007


Untitled from Sukiyaki Western
copyright Walter Lockwood
2008


Nick
copyright Jon Feinstein
2007

Finally, I am back in the city after what felt like a long stretch of flights and car rides and bus trips and family and old friends and lots of food and freezing cold weather. My brain feels sluggish, and I am re-adjusting to that unique energy and stimulation and high anxiety that is New York City.

I looked at my first rounds of proofs at the lab today for my upcoming exhibition with Francesca Romeo at Daniel Cooney Fine Art which opens on February 19th. This month, Daniel Cooney is presenting another Emerging Photographers Auction with work by a number of friends and peers including Timothy Briner, Nina Buesing, Jon Feinstein, Shane Lavalette, Carolyn Monastra and Shen Wei.

The auction ends on January 21rst, so that means there are just a little more than two weeks left to bid on great work by emerging photographers.

Also, Daniel was recently interviewed by Photo District News and offers some interesting advice to emerging photographers about being involved in a supportive community and showing a commitment to making one's work, and how this might organically lead to opportunities for exhibitions and relationships with galleries. You can find his comments here: Daniel Cooney's Emerging Photographers Auction & Thoughts on the Fine Art Market.

Emerging Artists Auction at Daniel Cooney

Untitled (Shrubs)
copyright Dana Miller

Daniel Cooney has curated work by 25 photographers for an Emerging Artists Auction which is available online through December 10th. Among the participating photographers are Brett Bell, Dana Miller, Cara Phillips, Asha Schechter and Will Steacy.

All of the work can been seen and bid on here: Emerging Artists Auction

Camera Club of New York

Chuck After Being Attacked
copyright Francesca Romeo

A number of photographer friends have contributed prints for tonight's Silent Benefit Auction to support The Camera Club of New York, an non-profit organization that provides facilities, resources, residencies and classes for New York's photo community. Among the participating artists are Brett Bell, Timothy Briner, Amy Elkins, Jen Davis, Dana Miller, Carolyn Monastra, Stuart O'Sullivan, Richard Renaldi, Sean Carroll, Christine Callahan, Sebastian Lemm, Benard Yenelouis, Bill Armstrong, Jessica Kaufman, Wayne Liu, Lori Nix and Francesca Romeo.

Francesca Romeo and I have recently been invited by Daniel Cooney Fine Art Gallery to participate in a two-person exhibition of our portraits scheduled to open on February 19th, 2009. Daniel Cooney, who belongs to the Camera Club's benefit committee, will also soon announce an on-line auction through his gallery of work by emerging artists, including some of the photographers above.

A preview of the work in the Camera Club Auction can be found here: CAMERA CLUB AUCTION

CCNY Silent Benefit Auction
at Calumet Photographic
22 West 22nd Street
Monday November 10th
6:30 - 8:30pm
$10 admission

Sexy Rooms

Canon Falls (Cobain Room)
copyright Melanie Schiff, 2007


H.S.-N.Y.-0-94
copyright Dirk Braeckman


Abduction
from Fire Scene
copyright Sarah Pickering, 2007

Sometimes on my days off from working to pay NYC rent, I remind myself of the most obvious fact that the greatest luxury of living in this city is the ability to see extremely cool art beyond the internet on any given day. Recent trips away from my suburban haven in Brooklyn and into the big city led me to some beautiful and haunting rooms.

One of these rooms is currently on the wall of the Whitney Museum and was brought to us from Minnesota by a photographer based in Chicago, Melanie Schiff. Melanie has photographed a young woman standing with her back to us between parted curtains in a hotel room in Canon Falls, where Kurt Cobain recorded an album with Nirvana. The quality of light and the eerie lore surrounding the image left me standing in front of the it for a long time, mesmerized and quietly unnerved, and returning to it the following day. Her other images in the Biennial include similarly seductive and beautiful and pensive explorations of physical and psychological spaces such as a bathtub harboring an oversized house plant and a dark blue album decaying in a reflecting pool. Both resemble still life paintings and possess a simplicity and depth that rarely seems to be achieved so well in photographs.

I also liked what Melanie wrote about what motivates her work. She said "she wants to make photographs that are like a sad song that - even though created by someone else - somehow resonates with our own experience." She couldn't have accomplished that goal more poignantly, as far as I was concerned. It didn't seem accidental that her photographs were positioned in proximity to Robert Bechtle's photorealist paintings of empty, quiet, tranquil streets. The combination of these two bodies of work was the highlight of the Biennial for me, though I am admittedly biased and have a short attention span for the abundance of video and installation pieces.

I later discovered a vast series of rooms photographed by a Belgian photographer, Dirk Braeckman, at Robert Miller Gallery in Chelsea. When I moved to Minnesota in the winter of 2001, the first thing I bought was a small green book containing grainy black & white images of feebly flash-lit interiors with absolutely no trace of text. I fell in love with it in the bookstore at the Walker Art Center and brought it back to my suburban ranch house in St. Louis Park. I had never heard of Dirk Braeckman before and haven't heard of him since. According to The New Yorker, this is his first solo show in New York. The New Yorker described his noirish images of beds and couches and curtains and wallpaper as "deeply depressing" but I found them to be something more along the lines of profoundly mysterious.

Just one block below at Daniel Cooney Fine Art, I even got to see some rooms on fire. Wow. Sarah Pickering's new images were made in "burn units" - which, I learned, are fully furnished rooms rigged to teach forensic teams how to determine the origins of household fire and arsons. Well, the effect is astonishing. I couldn't stop wondering enviously how it is that some artists arrive at such crazy and amazing ideas. Why didn't I think of that? How fun would that have been to photograph? It appears from her website that Sarah is a big fan of explosions. Check it out.