I plan to go to both of these, maybe Thursday or Friday – depends when I can get over to see the Armory Show; the Dot Fair is nearby.  I guess I’d have gotten a similar experience if I just went up and down Chelsea (which I often do anyway, but just for openings I’m interested in).

I suppose I’ll have more to say about both shows later this week.  Here’s part of a press release that was sent to me by Michael Sellinger of The Cottelston Bulletin.  How I get onto these Bulletins, I don’t know – but I don’t mind.      In fact, I’ll just past the whole bloody press release here – maybe someone will want to read it (which is probably why Michael sent it to me in the first place).  

Honestly, reading though this press release I’m more confused than before – and overwhelmed by the abundance of Art Shows going on -many with similar names – so it’s easy to confuse them. 

Well…enjoy the press release, which I separated into paragraphs – since it was hard to read as one block of text.

“….Today begins the descent of the international art world on New York City.  Over the following week, eight fairs and many more events will vie for attention in New York’s already art saturated environment.

The two mostfamous draws are The Art Show, a fair organized by the prestigious Art Dealers Association of America, and The Armory Show.

A bit of history might be helpful for those less familiar with The Armory Show. The Armory Show began in 1994 as an emerging art fair started by fiveupstart dealers as a response to the hegemony of The Art Show. The fair, originally called the Gramercy Art Fair, was held for the first five years in the rooms of the Gramercy Park Hotel. Back then the fair was in May, timed to coincide with the spring auctions.

In 1999 the fair changed location, moving to the Lexington Avenue Armory, home of the fabled Armory Show of 1913, and assuming its present name. A couple of years later, outgrowing the space at Lexington Avenue, The Armory Show shifted venues again to the west side cruise ship piers. Despite this move, the fair is still known as The Armory Show.

The fair’s title has been a source of enduring confusion, especially since The Art Show and PULSE New York are themselves held in armories. On the competitive front, The Armory Show has lost some ground over the last few years as the calendar has loaded up with almost weekly art fairs. This is especially true on the contemporary/emerging front: first Art Basel Miami Beach plopped down in the beginning of December, then the Frieze Art Fair leapfrogged the art fair calendar, taking over the fall season and staking a claim for the importance of London.

Historically February has been the sole domain of The Art Show, but this year The Armory Show has shifted its dates to coincide with its opposition. While the date shift brings The Armory Show closer to the shadow cast by Art Basel Miami Beach, aligning with

The Art Show gives a compelling one-two punch for attracting the intelligentsia of the art world. Adding to all the excitement, Cottelston is pleased to present the second installment of M*A*S*H, an independent series of exhibitions showcasing some of the hottest emerging artists as curated by the brightest talent. Located at The Helena, 601 West 57thStreet, M*A*S*H New York will present 37 artists as selected by Omar Lopez-Chahoud and Amy Smith-Stewart. Attached is a map of all the major New York art events of the month. Enjoy as much as you can, and be sure to stop by M*A*S*H and say hello. We look forward to seeing you there!
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New York Events 2007 101 West 23rdStreet, Suite 4P, New York, NY 10011 msellinger@cottelston.com www.cottelston.com 917.514.7007 The Art Show www.artdealers.org 7th Regiment Armory Park Ave. at 67th St. 2/22-26 (gala 2/21)70 Exhibitors The Armory Show www.thearmoryshow.com Pier 94 West Side Hwy at 55thSt. 2/23-26 (benefit 2/22)156 Exhibitors DiVA New York www.divafair.com Embassy Suites Hotel102 North End Ave.2/22-25(vernissage 2/22)30 ExhibitorsFountain New York www.fountainexhibit.com 660 12thAve. at 49thSt. 2/22-26 (reception 2/22)7 ExhibitorsLA ART www.laartfair.com Altman Building135 West 18thSt. 2/23-25 (reception 2/23)29 ExhibitorsM*A*S*Hwww.cottelston.comThe Helena 601 West 57thSt. 2/22-26 (reception 2/22)35 ArtistsPULSE New Yorkwww.pulse-art.com 69th Regiment Armory Lexington Ave. at 26thSt. 2/22-25 (brunch 2/22)62 ExhibitorsRed Dot New York www.reddotfair.com The Park South Hotel122 East 28thSt. 2/23-26 (reception 2/23)45 ExhibitorsScope New York www.scope-art.com Lincoln Center10thAve. at 62ndSt. 2/23-26 (benefit 2/23)61 Exhibitors
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New York Events 2007 101 West 23rdStreet, Suite 4P, New York, NY 10011 msellinger@cottelston.com www.cottelston.com 917.514.7007 M*A*S*H New York is an all-media group show taking place during The Armory Show and The Art Show, February 22-26, 2007. Curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoudand Amy Smith-Stewart, the exhibition will present a fresh look at the current stateof the art world. M*A*S*H New York will be the second installment in a series ofshows produced by Cottelston Advisors/Michael Sellinger. The exhibition will presenta dynamic and diverse survey of work by early career artists. Artists: Derrick Adams, Richard Aldrich, Nina Lola Bachhuber, Katherine Bernhardt,Sean Bluechel, Anna Craycroft, Jeff Davis, Jen DeNike, Angela Dufresne, John Espinosa, Adriana Farmiga, Charley Friedman, Gabriela Galvan, Rico Gatson, KateGilmore, Mark Golamco, Deborah Grant, Rashawn Griffin, Daniel Hesidence, Alex Hubbard, Ryan Johnson, Matt Keegan, Laleh Khorramian, Ignacio Lang, Molly Larkey,Jen Liu, Rachel Mason, Diego Medina, Christopher Miner, Laurel Nakadate, KarynOlivier, Kambui Olujimi, Reka Reisinger, David Scanavino, Xaviera Simmons, Hank Willis Thomas and Roberto Visani. Location: The Helena, 601 West 57thStreet, 2 blocks from The Armory Show. Dates: February 22-26, 2007. 12-6pm. VIP reception: Thursday, February 22nd, 7pm-10pm. Performance by M.R.Sontag. Omar Lopez-Chahoud is an independent curator based in New York City. Amy Smith-Stewart is an independent curator based in New York City. Michael Sellinger created Cottelston Advisors to provide art advisory and exhibitionproduction services. Sponsored by The Helena and The Durst Organization. Beverages provided by Christiania Vodka. For more information, please contact: Michael Sellinger,917-514-7007, msellinger@cottelston.com or go to www.cottelston.com.

Sunday night I also went over to the Tripnotica festival at The Delancy bar in Lower Manhattan.  I did not stay long because there was not that much for me there when I arrived (around 8 PM).  I’m told that 400 people attended by the end of the evening (I was long gone by then).

A couple of thoughts.  I spoke with someone from Art For Progress group and it sounded like it could be good to join it – I briefly mentioned the group the other day; but I’m not thinking of it for myself - it’s right for some artists, but not for everyone.  Most of what Art For Progress – www.artforprogress.org offers can be easily gotten elsewhere – but the packaging might be right for artist seeking to get visibility.  An artists’ life is not an easy path (not that any one’s life is) and anything that can make it easier is worth a look.

On the other hand, I’m too aware of how easy it is to get the thing that Art For Progress offers, so their pitch really does not work for me (website, multimedia upload and sharing is so common these days, and often free – that it makes little sense to sell that as one of your main features – and Art For Progress does do that).  The opportunities for showing work at various events and the community aspect of the membership, along with access to health benefits (which, as an artist, you can probably get via Healthy NY, from NY State without Art For Progress) are the main reasons to join.

After one drink and a conversation with an artist representative (of some pretty hideous work, by the way – my opinion) I left.

And it reminded me of just how hard it is to be an artist, to expose yourself via your work to the public – and now, via the internet, to the world at large.

Last Saturday, I also got to briefly look at Odd Nerdrum’s current show at Forum Gallery on 57th Street.

 In Limbo – Odd Nerdrum – 76″ x 110″ care of Forum Gallery

Odd Nerdrum’s work reminds me of Rubens, but it’s different too.  I can relate to the feeling of “Limbo”; it’s a common experience to be “in between” two states, where there’s something unresolved.   In my life I had many unresolved, limbo like, feelings and states, especially over the last year or so, and, to me, that’s what Odd is painting – for me.

I was curious about the lighting in the Forum Gallery; is was low light with spotlights on the paintings which added to the effect – but I also wanted to see what the paintings look like in normal light.

I don’t know about you, but the feeling I get from Odd Nerdrum’s paintings, overall, is sadness and introspection.  Maybe it’s his Nordic heritage – I don’t know, just making a guess. Nothing wrong with that – because I “feel” his paintings – part of that is my own empathic ability – but most of it is Odd Nerdrum is a great painter. 

Still, I wonder about the sadness in his paintings - is Nerdrum a happy person?   I’m not a happy person (except when I’m happy) but when I paint, you don’t get “sadness” out of my work.  Van Gogh was a sad person, but most of his paintings don’t convey “sadness”.   So why are Odd Nerdrum’s paintings “sad”?  Maybe that’s why Odd’s work is great – he leaves me with a question, the question of why?  Why are these figures floating in dark “ether”?

I went over to the Forum Gallery with Marsha Wooley before seeing Janet Fish at the DC MOORE Gallery; normally I don’t go out of my way to see shows on 57th Street – I found the art atmosphere uptown too stuffy for me.  When I see a show on 57th Street or above, it’s usually about “the money” – the artists are established (and I’m not counting  Museums, which I love to go to).

I met with Marsha Wooley yesterday to discuss art and the Paris Trip she leads on a yearly basis; I don’t have the one for 2007 yet and there’s much time to make a trip like that come together with time, money, family or all three.   

I ended up following Marsha uptown to see the opening of Janet Fish at the DC MOORE Gallery - which was crowded and attended by a couple of other well known artists including Alex Katz (who I did not speak to), and I decided not to talk with Janet Fish but I could have.  Most of my questions were covered in the press release which is also on Artnet.  If Janet Fish were someone I’d really wanted to talk to….I would have, yet despite knowing of her for 20 years (since my summer in Vermont during 1987) I did not feel a need to connect.

I found Janet Fish’s work even in quality and, more or less, predictable - still overall, pretty good (but not cutting edge).   I guess Janet Fish can get attention without being shocking and annoying (which is so common today in both painting and online media).  People are so saturated with media messages – to just be yourself - to just paint, and make attractive paintings, takes a certain about of courage.  Because selling out today, might be to attempt to be “cutting edge” and not being “yourself”.    So, whatever you think of Janet Fish, she stays within her range.  

However, risk taking, I think, is what makes Art and Artists really interesting.  If you don’t take some risks in your work, it’s easy to knock out work, and she had a lot of work at the opening, and I’m told, most of the show was sold out (I did not look at the price list, I’m sure Janet Fish’s paintings are expensive).

You can see a collection of what was in the show here but I took some photos too – and here’s what I liked.

This red vase was part of a painting I liked – the red symbolized something, and I could feel it.  Is the red vase symbolic of something in the artist’s life that’s broken or is it just a vase she toppled so it would make more of an “effect” which the broken glass?  I guess we’ll never know because I did not ask her. 

But I’d like to think these arrangements work because they are also symbolic of something broken in the Artist’s life and she’s conveying that with the “red” vase – and the red carries because it’s fused with her feelings.  And it’s not the red vase that’s broken, it’s the blue glass jar .. and who knows that that means?   Oh well, I can go on and on at this level, but as along as a painting poses a question – it’s interesting,

I think all of Janet Fish’s work has color – color tone – each painting has it’s own range – in some it’s reddish, and in other lilac while others could be Naples yellow.

So, while her work is predictable – there’ passion in it = and it’s probably among the best that you’ll see on 57th Street. 

I could say more, but I’ll stop here – best to stop while your ahead. Right?

I still did not get fully down what the next step for the Paris trip – but I hope I got the ball rolling – would have liked to have a brochure but ended bumping into Marsha Wooley as she was leaving her gallery here, and she left the brochures at the gallery.  Maybe I got enough information as it was.