Married to Art

Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce S2 Ep8

Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce is a tamer Sex in the City. LA instead of NYC. Bravo instead of HBO. Still painfully skinny, lots of money and great shoes. Not my reality, but in S2 E7 Phoebe meets an artist. Legit, since LA's art scene is vibrant. He takes her to sort of a rave art thing. She's hooked. She's a former fashion model so he gets her to pose for him. Only it's not him who does the drawing. An overworked pathetic looking man with some serious eye baggage draws her image. It's as wonderfully sad as the executioner himself. He explains that he does the drawing, then the artist photoshops it for the end product. Phoebe asks if the entire art world is this terrible? The former brush cleaner, now first assistant says "not at all" commenting his arrangement isn't that unusual. The scene at the preview opening of the work is pretty on point. The bullshit language the artist uses to make the work sound more important than it is. The collector who's looking for something in the 40x60 range for his super snotty walk-in. The artist spots Jeff Koons in the fray and disappears into a schmooze haze.

Art is similar to stock in that it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Art is particularly tricky because very few actually know what's worth all that money. Marketing and perception. Blue chip artists' messages get lost, if not completely obliterated, in the pursuit of recognition. Justin Giarla took advantage of that ambition combined with new money's insatiable appetite for just the right bling to cement their status. His Geary Street scam made him rich and the artists he made promises to broke.

So what's a true art lover to do? I'm happy to report integrity in the arts is alive and well. Painters, sculptors and photographers are genuinely trying to show you a different way to look at our world. Every piece I've been given, made or acquired makes me happy. GG2D S2 E8 "One of our buyers has a Picasso displayed with a black light to bring out the colors. Another one has his Basquiat hung upside down."  For the love of god, black lights went out with the '70's. If you don't know what your looking at, find someone you trust to help you. I only buy work I have a visceral reaction to. I still get that sensation when I look at any one piece. I'm perilously close to running out of wall space. I got 99 problems, but my art collection ain't one. 

EVOLUTION

Drip and Pitch
20x20
acrylic on canvas

This is the image that started it. Just appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Posted it on Facebook unsure of where it was going and sold it. The buyer said it was dope. He bought a second one. Guess it's ok then. Kept painting. New pieces from this series are included in a four person exhibition at Galerie Camille opening October 14. 

I valiantly attempted to reposition Reel Art Detroit after Governor Snyder pulled the film incentives and killed the industry. I was unsuccessful. Time to call it. Time to call it on a bunch of things. Life is forcing a profound evolution. Stripping me down to the bones. So I can build anew. 

I'm continuing to write the art column for DDEAF magazine (cover story this issue!) I have been approached on another writing assignment, but it's not confirmed yet, so hush hush for now. I am enjoying teaching at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center going into my fourth year. Working with a new collector and helping to curate an impressive collection of local talent. Pretty stoked about earning my living through so many creative avenues. 

As I begin what appears to be my third career incarnation and because I'm passionately involved in Detroit art via several mediums, I needed a brand that covered more than just painting. Presenting "detroit art junkie". Started with an instagram handle and went from there.  In marketing and branding terms, it's great if everything matches. One thought, one name, one purpose. So new domain for the website, email, cards, the works. Detroit is staging a fantastic comeback and I'm thrilled to be riding that wave right along with her. 

There's some crazy lawn equipment harshing my mellow right now, so I'm out before I can really edit/polish this blurg. Y'all understand. 

Using the Whole Chicken

Rick Vian

The abstract painter is held to the same rules of construction as a representational one but doesn't have the luxury of an obvious subject to lean on to compose and create a space. I'm generally suspicious of an artist who uses loads of paint to persuade the viewer the work has value. Here, Rick Vian uses heavily textured layers to add depth to his magically lit, rollicking descriptions of trees, water, fire. The grids he's introduced in this series seem to hold back the furious brushstrokes from leaping off the canvas. Glimpses of his subjects are expertly revealed in mindful compositions. It's the emotional blast of color that really knocks me out. This is what the Expressionists were aiming for.

I'm more than a little biased on this one. Not only is Rick Vian an abstractionist and one of Detroit's best, he and his brilliant wife Sue Carman are friends. Spoken as objectively as I'm able to, this show is fantastic. On view at the Robert Kidd Gallery in Birmingham through December 19. 

Btw, the second issue of DDEAF comes out next week. I'm thrilled to be asked back as an art contributor. This time it's local sensation Scott Northrup. Hope y'all like it.

*post-script: DDEAF comes out online first week of December. Print January 1. 

Collage Show

Jeanne Bieri

Scott Northrup

I fully understand it's not merely cutting out images and slapping them together. Teresa Peterson is a master. Her compositions are thoughtfully composed and can be downright hilarious. I bought an Alison Wong during a fund raiser to support her gallery Butter Projects. It was $25. (You don't need to be in the top 1% to be a collector. You just gotta know when/where the deals are) Despite my respect for the practice, I'm not wild about collage. Can't give you any sort of well thought out reason why. It just doesn't move me the way other art forms can.

There were too many fantastic artists in this show to ignore it. Curated by Jack Summers at Hatch this past Saturday, was an exhibition of collage and assemblage I actually liked. To clarify, assemblage isn't exactly collage as it's 3D, however, it qualifies to pair with the 2D variety. Regardless of the classification particulars, this show took collage to another level for me. Ok, the pieces I enjoyed the most were 3D, but, I was interested in some of the 2D offerings. I'm impressed with the ability to configure images so they don't look cut and pasted. Their elements blend together seamlessly so you notice the work first, that they're collaged second.

Always loved Jeanne Bieri's tiny paintings arranged inside some kind of repurposed drawer or box or something. She encourages you to handle her work. You kind of have to, they're so small, in order to fully appreciate the intricacies. Scott Northrup's scathing humor makes his contribution to this show a definite fave. Additionally, all these works are at reasonable price points. Several around the $2-300 mark. Crazy affordable for really good work. And Hamtramck is simultaneously staging a Labor Day festival with parades and live music. Good God. Perfect conclusion to the summer. 

Launch

As Detroit stages the greatest comeback of any major city, and I only say that due to its history making bankruptcy, there's plenty to talk about. The artists always show up first. Mostly for the cheap real estate. They come, changing the landscape and setting up the foundation for the rebirth. Then there's those of us who were here the whole time. Weathered those black days after October 2008 and survived. So who are they are what are they up to? Report, but not hard. Keep it light and friendly. Easy to read. Don't take it all so seriously. Discuss cool shit without being uppity or snarky. None of that art speak. I am an artist and don't understand what the hell they're talking about half the time.

To establish my cred to discuss this topic, I'm one of the artists who's been here the whole time. Been a working painter here since 1992. When Wall Street collapsed the economy, we all had to scramble to earn a living. Most of us had paying jobs. I worked with interior designers, some had automotive related work. Gone. Hollywood showed up. I scored a job as a scenic painter on a Brad Anderson film November 2009. I got abnormally good at making things look gross. I mildewed Kumar's bathroom. On the Gerard Butler film, I worked on the biker bar set and faked everything from nicotine stains to rust. I also met some set decorators who needed art for their sets. That resulted in Reel Art Detroit, a company that provided the art they were looking for. It launched right into the big pool. No warm up. No crescendo. First two clients were ABC and Warner Brothers. Holy crap, it worked! Until our state government, in their infinite wisdom, killed the incentives and a much needed second industry that was on the precipice of exploding here. Back to square one.

Which is where I am now. Reinventing myself. Again. Back in the loop with interior designers, I sold a 5x15 foot painting for $11,500 February 2013. First time I'd ever sold a piece for that kind of money. That painting has since been resold and now owned by Roger Penske. Sold several abstracts last year. I've decided to reposition Reel Art Detroit to reach out to local collectors via the interior designers I already have a relationship with. Additionally, I was invited to write an art column for a new magazine, DDEAF, launching tomorrow September 1. This blog is designed to be a companion to my reconfiguration. Report what I see. I'll post more of the visuals on my detroitartjunkie Instagram, if you're interested. I don't hit every opening, there are too many these days, but I'll post what I see and you can follow here or come out and see for yourself.