~EMILY JANOWICK, SHILOH BLUE & OTHERS / ‘EXHIBITIONISTS’ / WALTER’S / AMSTERDAM, NY / OPENS SAT AUG 5

‘EXHIBITIONISTS: Art By Artists Who Curate’ – OPENS SAT AUG 5 / 4 – 7 PM . . . !!!!

WALTER’S / WALTER ELWOOD MUSEUM
100 CHURCH ST., AMSTERDAM, N.Y. 12010
HRS: TUES – THURS / 9am-3pm
or call for evening or weekend appts.

with: JOSHUA ABELOW, BRENT BIRNBAUM, BERLY BROWN, TREY BURNS, ANTHONY DISCENZA, NATE HEIGES, PHILIP HINGE, KEGAN HOLLIS, EMILY JANOWICK, BUTT JOHNSON, TAMARA JOHNSON, BEN KINSLEY, JESSICA LANGLEY, ARNELA MAHMUTOVIC, CATHERINE McTAGUE, PATRICK CARLO MOHUNDRO, MYLES STARN, MATT TABER, TRANG TRAN, MATTHEW WILLIAMS


EMILY & SHILOH
Photo via Instagram @pleather_mommy

@pleather_mommy: “hi! I have another collaboration with my daughter SHILOH BLUE, opening this weekend at WALTER’S in AMSTERDAM, N.Y. MIDDLE PART is a record of the precious banal moments of our life together that we humans tend to forget as time passes. What if we could keep all that ?”


Photo c/o EMILY JANOWICK
@pleather_mommy: “it’s a 12 part sound piece and here are all the mp3 players charging :) !!!!”




~MONSIEUR ZOHORE, GENE BERRY, AUDREY GAIR & LEV / KING’S LEAP & FREDDY / FREDDY GALLERY / HARRIS, NY

how fun . . another generational show, that skewed young / even if just by happenstance,
that’s the way it is / the kids & their mind-set !!! are . . very much PRESENT !!

KING’S LEAP & FREDDY PRESENT: A CO-CURATED SHOW of 34 ARTISTS
KING’S LEAP / FREDDY GALLERY / HARRIS, UPSTATE NY
on view by appointment . . . thru AUGUST 13, 2023


left: MONSIEUR ZOHORE, ‘Double Dates are Cute or Whatever’, 1889 – 2022 (I kid you, not !!!!)
mixed media on canvas / 72 x 33 in.
above the door: GENE BEERY, ‘Tra Rats!’, 2009.
acrylic on canvas / 16 x 12 in.
on the door: ‘WIZARD’ hanging banner-sign / by Freddybiz son: LEV, who is all of 8 !!
(that’s his bedroom door).
photo via Instagram @freddybiz


AUDREY GAIR, ‘Representing’, 2023.
oil on linen / 36 x 48 in.
photo via Instagram @freddybiz

now, that’s what I call a killer / combo . . !!




~’TIDUS GROUP SHOW 1′ . . SPIDER GALLERY, WICHITA / with a side of . . PATTY MULLEN

featuring . . CONNOR LANG, ELOISE LANG, and DEVON LOWMAN
organized by . . ELOISE LANG !! You Go Girl !!

the worst part of writing an Indie blog are the low level scavengers who make a pretty pretty nice
salary, chasing you – to work, for free of course, on their clients’ behalf.
so yeah if I could go away to the countryside, it sure wouldn’t be to that played-out & ticketed !! NADA – FORELAND !!
and, hell no, it definite would not be – to that nursing home center of worn-out scenic aesthetics . . NADA – MAINE, either.

FORELAND ?
FORECLOSURE is more like it – thanks to these art world vultures, and more importantly, the people who sponsor them.
“Dear Nancy, if you happen to be in Maine . . ?” / are you kidding me.
I can’t even afford an Uber to Marvin Gardens, apparently.
and, I mean Marvin Gardens, Ridgewood NY, not Monopoly.
because, seriously what’s the diff / it’s Pass Go & lose . . $200 in NYC / IRL.

nope.
Apparently, I was born to be hard-core Indie, and way ahead of the middling crowd, and probably will be, til the day I die.
timing is everything, and trust me when I say, being way ahead of the pack – is NOT the best kind of timing re your bank account.
slow and stupid – wins in this town.

well, maybe it’s not so stupid, to be able to get your little gallery-opening-ready black dress off the hard work – of someone else ?

nope, if I could get to the country, it would be somewhere . . raw, authentic, and totally off-the-beaten-track. where the talent, and the long summer days float up to that big summer sky, in perfect harmony.

nope, I’m going to – Wichita, if only in my dreams.


SPIDER GALLERY, Wichita, Kansas.
note: all photos courtesy of the gallery via Instagram @spider.gallery


yikes !!
did you notice the ‘detail’ of the scenic photo above ?
that’s what I mean, authentic & crushing it . . SPIDER, you lovely true-blue / hard-core Indie Rebel !!
just born that way, and nothing contrived.
this is what real creative community – comes down to.
take that, all you poser NYC art dealer wannabe . . bros.

the artist is . . PATTY MULLEN, who had the Spring 2023 show at SPIDER.
and, just in case you are a big-time artlovers fan from Japan – yes !!
we are talking Dorothy, the Wizard of Oz, and the fab fab Wicked Witch of the West – sprung from Depression era / mid-west America – and, that is spelt: K-a-n-s-a-s /
‘The Wizard of Oz’ – by L. FRANK BAUM.
which was actually written to address / expose . . . government corruption, and posers of all genres !!


YEP, I’LL BE FLYING IN ON MY VIRTUAL, TALENT-SEEKING, TWITCHY BROOMSTICK . . . TO SEE:

‘TIDUS GROUP SHOW 1’ – SUMMER 2023
FEATURING: CONNOR LANG, ELOISE LANG, AND DEVON LOWMAN
ORGANIZED BY: ELOISE LANG
SPIDER GALLERY – A DOMESTIC EXHIBITION SPACE IN WICHITA, KS / KANSAS.

PS: CONNOR AND CHLOE LANG,
EX-PATS . . from let me guess: Capital M F A / North East art schools & circles ?!!
run Spider, “out of our garage turned gallery space in Wichita, Kansas. We moved to Wichita about 4 years ago right before our now 4 year old daughter, Eloise was born . . .
We appreciate staying connected with artist friends and highlighting their work.”

PS: CONNOR LANG – designs those incredible awesome exhibition ‘posters’, and the logo spiders, which I first noticed on their BILLY GRANT / solo exhibition IG posts, March of 2021.
all I can say is: BILLY BE . . GOOD !!!!


the other thing I really REALLY like about this show,
and that I consider to be very brilliant, and of unique, cutting-edge rebel / forward-Indie vision / is that this is a GENERATIONAL SHOW / but, unlike your average run on-and-on, boring by now / multi-generational art shows in NYC, and probably around the world, in a ‘new’ (ugh) drive to be ‘inclusive . . which only leans to older / this one, ‘TIDUS GROUP SHOW 1’ . . . skews YOUNG !!
and I mean, young.
yes. their afore-mentioned daughter – Eloise Lang all of 4 years old, ‘organized’ the exhibit, and proudly displays her work too. I dare you to guess which piece . . is hers !!
hint: it’s yellow, abstract expressionist – and really ‘hugs’ the ‘plastic’ compositional borders of the surface.

the bright-eyed, drop-dead-comic, realist / ‘SUPER MARIO’ – is by DEVON LOWMAN, currently based in NY/CT.


DEVON LOWMAN, ‘SUPER MARIO’, 2023.
‘realist’ / animation game character – painting / with just the perfect amount of ‘bold’, and great diy humor in the details. and texture, heavy. just so you know, it’s ‘human-made’.
what could be better – than a fierce flying, almost one-eyed . . Mario /
counter-intuitively installed on a fabulous-in-its-own-right / wooden, barn-like, garage shed, in deep south-central Kansas ?!!


CONNOR LANG, CHLOE LANG, ELOISE LANG, ‘COLLABORATION’, 2023.
MIXED MEDIA.
GREAT FREE – FALL PAINTING / ESP INSTALLED ON THAT GREAT INTERIOR WALL.


detail, ‘Banana Dude’ / Chloe, Connor, and Eloise Lang.
Eloise !! hello !!
so fun, I’m going to be the very first line – in your CV / ‘Exhibits’ !!!!
best of luck, in all your future endeavors . . !!

all photos: Spider Gallery on Instagram @spider.gallery




~’ESTBAN CABEZA DE BACA . . ALMA’ / GARTH GREENAN GALLERY / CHELSEA, NYC / LAST 3 DAYS !!

WOW !!!!!!

SHOW CLOSES: THIS FRI JULY 21 / DON’T BLINK !!!!!!

‘ESTEBAN CABEZA DE BACA: ALMA’
OPENED JUNE 8
CLOSES . . THIS FRI JULY 21, 2023.
GARTH GREENAN GALLERY, 545 WEST 20TH St., CHELSEA, NYC
HRS: MON – FRI / 11am – 5pm

see: more exhibition photos / background info / “la alma – the soul”.


ESTEBAN CABEZA DE BACA, ‘Wedding’, 2023
acrylic on canvas / 72 x 72 in.
image via Instagram @garthgreenangallery


ESTEBAN CABEZA DE BACA, ‘Brown Eyed Children of the Sun’, 2023.
acrylic on canvas / 72 x 72 in.
exhibition image via Instagram Story – @nchlssdrf / Nicholas Steindorf


ESTEBAN CABEZA DE BACA, ‘Rosario Cabeza de Baca’, 2023.
acrylic on canvas / 72 x 72 in.
exhibition image via Instagram Story – @nchlssdrf / Nicholas Steindorf

NICHOLAS STEINDORF – THANKS !! for the GREAT SHOUT OUT !!!!!!




~NICK BLOOMSTEIN + OTTO OHLE . . ‘LIVING, ROOM’ / BABA YAGA GALLERY / UPSTATE NY / FRI JULY 21

NICK BLOOMSTEIN + OTTO OHLE
‘LIVING, ROOM’ – FRI JULY 21, 2023 / 6 -11 PM
BABA YAGA GALLERY, 5821 NY State Route 9-G / HUDSON, NY 12534




~SUSUMU KAMIJO & KOICHI SATO . . curate: ‘NOBUNAGA’ / JACK HANLEY / EAST HAMPTON NY / OPENS FRI JULY 14

so, when . . the IG poster for this show came up on my IG / Instagram
I thought, ok – that’s nice.

BUT, what I really liked was the poster, I liked everything about it, even the typeface !!
info spacing & and colorways.
but, especially what drew my ravenous attention, was the tiny figure riding . . . the waves.
it was so accidentally . . awkward, no ?

so, I had to ask KOICHI SATO, who did the poster ?, and when he replied, “I did !!’
that was . . so fun !!
kind of surfing the web, and damn straight: micro-dosing down – on the info !!

ps: ‘NOBUNAGA’ . . seems to mean, something like: “come on, let’s go, let’s go get ’em” /
in this wider group context of . . bravado & skill.
you know: COWABUNGA !!

this is SUSUMU & KOICHI’s . . . 4th time curating a ‘NOBUNAGA’ show /
the previous ones were: Miami in 2020, Berlin in 2021 & Los Angeles in 2022.

SUSUMU KAMIJO & KOICHI SATO curate: ‘NOBUNAGA’ / GROUP SHOW – SUMMER/BEACH EDITION 2023
OPENS . . . FRI JULY 14 / 6 – 8 PM
JACK HANLEY GALLERY in EAST HAMPTON,
98 NEWTON LANE, EAST HAMPTON, NY 11937

the 6 artists featured in the show are:
DAN McCARTHY, JANE DICKSON, JONAS WOOD, KOICHI SATO, SUSUMU KAMIJO, and SCOTT KAHN




~JACOB JACKMAUH . . micro wall works

btw, JACOB JACKMAUH a current co-director of ART LOT BROOKLYN,
also likes to . . . ‘micro-dose’ his art work.
and, pretty – seriously, too !!!


JACOB JACKMAUH, ‘B09CDBK9RF’, 2023.
cast aluminum, varnish, hardware.
6-3/4 x 5-7/8 x 5/8 in.
all photos via Instagram @jacob_jackmauh

that’s pretty damn . . radical. hardcore – to the core. the narrative, too.
hardcore contrarian – radical.
micro-dosing / esp. as in 3-d micro-sculpture, is to fabricate / design / create . . small, but super wonderous objects, that have the potential to make out-size impressions, leap-frog your imagination, and . . . just plain ole jog – your mind-set.
I’d say: mission accomplished . . !!


JACOB (JAKE) JACKMAUH, ‘B09CDBK9RF’ – staged on a wall.
of course, a BIG part of BEING BIG / LITTLE . . !!
is how the work is presented / is it going to be displayed on a big wall, that is otherwise empty, to show up its micro-ness ?
or, is it more 3D, and placed on a wall-shelf / or even, supported by a pedestal.


JACOB JACKMAUH, ‘Huddled Mass I’, 2022.
discarded fiberglass and resin mold fragment, moss, lichen, dirt, pine needles, acrylic paint, varnish, hardware.
39-1/4 x 42-5/6 x 8-3/4 in.

this project is a little larger, and (only) a little more conventional, than ‘B09CDBK9RF’ above / but – it still counts.
the interesting part here, apart from the narrative of the materials, and the classic shape, of course / is how it’s . . . . presented.


JACOB JACKMAUH, ‘Huddled Mass I’.


JACOB JACKMAUH, ‘Civic Virtue’, 2022.
biodegradable paper straws, brass plated paper fasteners, sugar free chewing gum, saliva.
22 x 23 x 23 in.

I actually posted the above piece, a mini-geodesic ‘straw’ dome, this past Dec 2022.
it’s still very relevant, and maybe the forerunner of my mini-moment of micro-dose consciousness / euphoria . . . !!
esp. in that it wasn’t tied to a vernacular object, such as a ‘lightswitch’.
the scale of an art work in a photo – is often left open / to the beholder.

what’s striking here – is also another aspect of being a genuine micro-dose, and, that is – the photo staging !!!
as well as, the ‘in real life’ staging.

at first photo glance – one is certainly feed the illusion, that this is a really large ‘faux’ straw geodesic dome, esp. because of that clever background horizon line that reads as the point where a classic white gallery wall, meets a concrete gallery floor / the concrete-toned table base is key to the illusion, as well.

see how these tiny things are kicking madly to get free / and, be recognized in all their mini-glory ?!!
just like a tiny squirrel struggling to get free – in your hands . . !!

the days of . . . CLAES OLDENBERG, JEFF KOONS, and maybe even URS FISCHER / are over.
I mean – and, so are the 80s !!
that art ball that once was a room-sized joke, is now a beach ball, if not . . .
a marble. a craft bead. and even, . . . a tiny unicorn.

see: jacobjackmauh.com

ALL PHOTOS: COURTESY of the ARTIST / via Instagram @jacob_jackmauh




~DAVID L. JOHNSON . . ‘Community Garden’ / ART LOT BROOKLYN / OPENS SAT Jul 8

OPENS TODAY . . . SAT JULY 8 / 4 – 8 PM

DAVID L. JOHNSON, ‘Community Garden’
JULY 8 – SEPT 20, 2023
ART LOT BROOKLYN, 206 COLUMBIA ST., BROOKLYN, NY 11231


DAVID L. JOHNSON, ‘Community Garden’, 2023.

COMMUNITY GARDEN . . consists of eleven street planters that have been removed from different parts of New York City. Public and private entities previously used these planters to obstruct access to steps, benches, building awnings, and other potential resting areas. Emptied of bricks, cast cement, dirt, and dead plant matter, each planter has been replanted with wild bergamot. Also known as bee balm , bergamot is a native herb to New York State that attracts pollinators such as bees, hawk moths, and hummingbirds. Chewing bergamot leaves can allieviate headaches, stomach pain, colds, and high blood pressure. The oil from bergamot plants can be used as a salve to treat burns and cuts,”
~ART LOT BROOKLYN




~NAVAJO WEAVING / ‘Shaped by the Loom: Weaving Worlds in the American Southwest’ / BARD GRAD CENTER GALLERY / last weekend !!!!

the show opened to . . not much fanfare, but it’s a remarkable, quiet, thoughtful exhibit,
with some pretty – special examples.

it opened last Feb 17, which seems ages ago /
but, its last days are this . . . SAT & SUN, July 8 & 9, 2023.

our south-western frontier, with its old ways, and deeply felt, hand-made ‘craft work’, is quickly passing into history. this show not only lets us view some original, and very wonderful ‘artifacts’ in the up-close & real / but presents them with a kind of big, big west canyon silence, and spiritual awe.
not only are we shown how these weavings were made, we feel how they were crafted, imbued with the very spirit of the land, and the (mostly) Dine / Navajo peoples connection to it. Dine being the indigenous term for Navajo.

‘Shaped by the Loom: Weaving Worlds in the American Southwest’
curated by . . HADLEY JENSEN
BARD GRADUATE CENTER GALLERY, 18 WEST 86th STREET, UPPER WEST SIDE, NYC
HRS: THURS-SUN / 11am – 5PM
note: requires admission ticket / see website


from the exhibit booklet:
“RAPHEAL BEGAY (Dine), Spider Rock (Tseyi’ – Canyon de Chelly, Chinie, AZ), 2021. Digital photograph. Courtesy of the artist.
Spider Rock, the sandstone monolith that rises from Tseyi (Inside the Rock), is the setting for the creation story of Na’ashjeli Asdzaa (Spider Woman), who brought the gift of weaving to the Dine.”


Dine artist
ca. 1900
wool yarn, cotton warp, and cotton string,
tapestry weave.
Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York.
Collection by Uriah S. Hollister, ca. 1911.
exhibit label: “This Germantown blanket is an example of the vivid ‘eye-dazzler’ style of the 1880s, characterized by the combination of zigzag patterns and brilliant colors. This aesthetic developed in response to the introduction of Germantown yarn, a synthetic-dyed yarn manufactured by a Pennsylvania mill.”

note: and now, we know where the Amish/Pennsylvania Dutch ‘abstract’ quilters got their deeply bright colors from.


Dine artist,
Blanket, 1850s-70s.
Wool, tapestry weave.
Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York,
donated by Dr. Isabel Bittinger


William Pennington & Lisle Updike, ‘Navajo Shepherdess (wife of Hosteen Joe near her
hogan at Sanostee)’, ca. 1920-25. Photograph.
Courtesy H. Jackson Clark II, Toh-Atin Gallery, Durango, Colorado.

PHOTOS of the EXHIBIT: NANCY SMITH




~NANCY SMITH . . ‘YEAR of the RABBIT’ / TURN ONZ / LIGHTSWITCH

even though I mostly repair – large quilts,
via hand-stitch / which is very ‘micro’ – on a whole other level.

I, also !!
like to . . . micro-dose !!

I make unique, one-of-a-kind, lightswitch covers for JEFFREY TRANCHELL / JEFF’S GALLERY, DETROIT.

they are all 100% hand-crafted by me, made upon standard hardware lightswitch covers,
which is so totally . . . DIY ‘gone creative’ on the vernacular / plus, they absolutely – function.


NANCY SMITH, ‘Little Missy Yin Yang, Year of the Rabbit’, Turn Onz series, June 2023.
mixed media, affixed to standard hard-plastic lightswitch cover, installs with 2 screws.
approx: 10-1/2 x 8-1/2 in.
about 1/4 in. shallow depth / of the plastic cover.

FYI: it’s 2 weeks since I made her, and she looks absolutely terrified ?!!
2023 is shaping up to be very dramatic on many fronts; global, and personal /
plus I’m a natural-born, Chinese Zodiac birth-year Rabbit / but still . . . ?

SCI-FI – SKY HIGH . . . !!!

it’s only when I saw that recent viral clip of a super terrified woman on a plane, freaking out that . . . “a passenger sitting back there – wasn’t real” / that I got – it.
sci-fi is here & it’s not going anywhere.

so, apart from that recent suburban family in L.A. sighting, multiple career army whistle-blowers, and congressional UFO committees, my big question is: do we have an active ‘Men in Black’ crew, and did they show up, to de-brief her ?


NANCY SMITH, ‘Year of the Rabbit’ lightswitch
for scale / on my desk.


NANCY SMITH, reverse / signed & dated.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH