~15 WARREN . .


small watercolor on paper, by under-recognized 80s downtown artist . . . MICHAEL McCLARD.


watercolor by MICHAEL McCLARD in the recent, blink and you’ll miss it – cutting edge group exhibit,
. . 15 WARREN STREET.

SEAN VEGEZZI told me that this was one of his . . “most favorite pieces in the show”.

I’m thinking that what most attracted him to this piece, was the way the watercolor . . broke apart the otherwise flat conventional paper plane,
the inherent surface plane . . into multi-colored rays, of rainbow . . ‘light’.

it has an ‘immediacy’ that was echoed in the exhibit – as a whole.

the portrait was certainly ‘magical’.
as opposed to hyper-realist, or abstract expressionist, just saying.

also prob the ‘overlooked’ & ‘outcast’ status of the artist . . was bound to appeal to a ‘rebel’ crew.


part of the magic of the piece was most def, it’s presence – and presentation – in this utterly raw and mysterious, old bricked alcove, in the old store’s sub-basement.
MICHAEL McCLARD had most definitely been given . . a ‘place of honor.’

SEAN asked me – if I knew of . . MICHAEL McCLARD ?

of course, I did.

in fact SIMON, the recently departed SIMON CERIGO . . my so-called hubby, fellow art maven buddy, and learned music reviewer – was one of the first people, to support and show Michael McClard’s work, at the tail end of the Lower East Side glory days – in the early 80s. at his short-lived . . SIMON CERIGO GALLERY on AVE A, near 12th St.

we all, all of us un-recognized artists, hope we might pop up .. big, eventually (!!) on the art world grid.

that we will be saved by the newest generation to burst down the conventional forces that be. and just really weren’t that good at calling the art – are / were they ?
we all hope: to have lost the battle, but not the war ?!!

but, speaking of SIMON !!

ha ha – he would be rolling with laughter in his grave, now.
though actually what metaphor do you use, for someone whose ashes got scattered in a Vermont stream ?

oh, well, he’s still choking . . with side-splitting laughter, no matter.

RICHARD JOHNSON of PAGE SIX, has just informed the world, that MARK KOSTABI is taking up with CICCIOLINA !!
ha ha.
a true opportunist never leaves a ‘porn star’, unturned !!
or what / !!

hey, you never know: do we have buck-naked, hyper-realist Russian-type paintings of KOSTABI entwined with the 60+ CICCIOLINA . . to look forward to ?
can what worked huge for . . JEFF KOONS, work its magic again ?

talk about: S-L-O-P-P-Y SECONDS !!

read: KOSTABI PLANS BIO PIC . . for new SWEETIE: PORN-STAR POL CICCIOLINA !! – NEW YORK POST

XXX (!!!)

15 WARREN STREET, 10007

MORE PIX, to follow.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH