Its called Doodling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't care if this is a Matisse but the man was clearly doodling. This is not something that required a bunch of thought and neither was any put into it, quite obviously. So people, quit putting doodles into frames and selling the name.

One of Henri Matisse's "works" at the Red Dot Fair in Miami

And this is not a Matisse but definitely not something a gallery should represent and sell at shows! Seriously, what makes this remarkable?

Miami Biennale, Miami

I had the opportunity to browse through the intriguing collection maintained by the Miami Biennale in the iconic Dorissa Building in Miami, FL. The exhibition is 'Beyond The Erotic'.

El Anatsui, Meeting of the Elders, 2005, Aluminium bottle caps from African liquor & copper wire, 79 X 135 Inches

Luca Pignatelli, Testa di afrodite, Undated, Acrylic on hemp tarp, 71 1/4 X 71 1/4 Inches

Michele Oka Doner, Primal, 2007, Relief Printing of organic materials; 96 X 48 Inches

Art by the Road Side

At the cross roads of Fry Rd and Business US 290 L in Cypress, TX, there is this vendor who sells his wares old world style, always there, come rain or shine. He says it is shipped from Mexico and made by artisans there. I choose to believe him. For once, I just want to take his word at face value:)

  

Fellow Etsy Artist

I have to share this print, adorable!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/johnclark

New Start

Unfinished 24" X 30"

Dancer Series

WHAM

I blew my anniversary budget at the 5th Annual Winter Holiday Art Market organized by Spacetaker!!! Yeh for me!

Soooooooo many artists(well, around 60 if you want to know:) and so much stimulation in one space left me more of a 4 yr old than my daughter:) It was a perfect end to my weekend and the best part - my husband and I both got gifts that will last forever. The environment was light and there was music in the air...literally, keyboardist Kris Becker was performing.

So let me get to the good part. Here's what I bought!!

A beautiful copper ring from Eduard Onecic's jewelry collection. Just the display and the care he took to explain how I should maintain my little piece is an indication of quality I think.

 A clay, canvas style rendition of this tiny bird for my daughter's room by Betsy Evans. The texture begs you to touch it. All the pieces there had a practical side to them. The little candle holder can moonlight as a vase in a second...talk about versatility!

And this absolutely amazing version of a tea kettle from Loes Berendschot! It is a perfect fit for my whimsical side. Her pieces look fierce but are surprisingly light! They are all hollow inside and she used the egg form to create most of the pieces on display.

Who wouldn't love this lovely message box? It is one of those tempting things that as a woman I cannot resist. Heather Beliveaux creates these cute little boxes with messages and a little token inside. I had to get one for a globe trotting friend of mine. And the kicker..it comes with this really adorable miniature envelope and blank card AND a 'Goddess' pouch! I am sure she has elves helping her cause the amount of detail in her work is astounding. Creating miniatures of anything has to be difficult.

So that was my damage for the weekend! But this post is so incomplete without mentioning some of the artists I interacted with and liked. More pictures of course!



Olga Nicolaevna Porter - Oil Paintings - http://www.olgaporter.com/



Collaboration of 12 print makers - http://www.printmattershouston.org/



 

I have to mention the Teen Council of The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. A group of young people working towards their passion. It was obvious they were having fun but took their work seriously.

Cannot wait to see what WHAM 2011 has in store...should start planning..hmmm

Betsy Siegel's Holiday Show

A beautiful concept. One that is exclusive and still has the aura of warmth and welcome. House to 16 artists this year for three days, Betsy Siegel's Holiday Show is like an evening with friends, only very talented and extremely creative friends:) The show is held in Ms.Siegel's house. The artists come, clear out the furniture, take over the first floor and voila! All through this post, I will be jumping in tangents talking about the artists and their works here and elsewhere, so forgive my ADD:)

.

The earthy clay and porcelain works had me in awe. No stone unturned, no wheel unchurned.

I have to mention a couple of artists here, Pat Johnson, Gary Huntoon and Lebeth Lammers. Lebeth is also represented by the 18 Hands Gallery and is their featured artists for the month of December.

Have you seen Origami jewelery?????? This was such a revelation that paper could be classy! Joan Son is one such artist who is not only a fun person to be with, her take on this discipline is intriguing. I had to buy this pair of earrings from her 'cause ahem,...god told me to :O Talking of paper, Nanci Engle is another paper artist whose meticulous creations are a gifter's delight! 

And of course there is my favorite Kiki Neumann who works with Recycled Garden Items and does she work it! Her current creation is dustpans made of license plates! How cool is that! And she takes custom orders too! (Unfortunately, photography is not my specialty as you can probably tell,sorry kiki!)

All in all, it was a fun evening that left me feeling all gooey and elated at the same time. Thank you Ms.Siegel, it is artists like you who are generous enough to open up to others that leaves us spellbound:)

Process

The Village Firefly

There is a certain truth to folk art that is hard to parallel in fine art. Folk Art originates from a culture's untrained artists who want to depict day to day activities or events in a style that is meant only to explain and record.

The Village Firefly in Houston is a gallery that has an interesting mix of various folk and mixed media artists. They range from jewelers to potters to painters to sculptors. Tucked in a little shoe box, this gallery is a little haven that has Alice and her wonders written all over it:)

The Village Firefly is located at 2422 Rice Blvd, Houston TX 77005.

Cholamandalam Artists Village, Chennai

Yea, what a let down! Such a disservice to artists! I am amazed by the callousness of this place. The only thing that appealed to me was the sculpture garden. Cholamandalam is a collection of galleries in Chennai, India and believe me its a waste of good space. It was blatantly obvious that the politics of the place has completely killed the essence that the founders meant to instill.

I walked into the main gallery in the ground floor and was greeted by a most unhappy lady at the reception who was busy signing papers of some kind, professor style. Anyway, when I picked up the artists information, I was told by the cleaning lady(!) that this information was confidential and I was not allowed to take it with me. And from then on, she followed me everywhere to make sure I didn't STEAL the artists info. I don't have a photographic memory and the inflated prices there definitely meant I wasn't going to pick anything during my first visit. So, how was I going to research on the artist???? I started writing down all the artists names.

Anyway, the best part about the galleries were the sculptures. Barring a select few, the paintings were mediocre and the concept of 'Indian Contemporary Abstract' seemed like a lost cause. The artists could not leave abstract to its true nature, it did not seem effortless. And too much of an overdose of mythological figures. They have been done to malnutrition, please find something else.

I had the opportunity to talk to a few Chola Artists and they were all disgruntled and none of them show there any more. And they are established artists who constantly show at galleries around town, just not here.
Says much doesn't it....

Gallery Ske

 Gallery Ske

"Give me space, Give me space. Now, give me style to do the space." - Me, in a moment of infrequent enlightenment.

First their site captures me, then the gallery kisses me. Again, Gallery Ske is set in an older architectural home that is in direct contradiction to the current show. Fabuloso! A few weeks at their new location, the gallery is a maiden with fresh paint and little complexity. The current show by Zakir Hussain is a slide into surrealistic realism that helps you read the artist's mind and makes you wonder how the translation happens. Being an artist, I constantly think in tangents but am still awed by others who traverse the sphere with me.

I don't want to detail down his work but it is a must see for anyone who feels art is a language. Gallery Ske is headed into adventure and I am sure glad I caught a glimpse of its coat tail:)

Crimson

This long break between posts is a credit to my preparation and travel to India for a 2  month vacation:) But being that I am in the land of uber creativity and a very porous art scenario, I am sure to find more than my share to write about.
It has been a while since I have walked around without company in Bangalore and reminiscence can be a bitter sweet.

Crimson - The Art Resource : There are two studios located in the very beautiful Hartworks Boulevard building which holds on to the old town architecture with so much flair, it is impossible not to just watch. At Crimson, there were traditionalists and surrealists who held my attention for equal measure. Raghava K K, Sujata Achrekar, her husband Vijay Achrekar, Rajiba Lochan Pani, Preeti Raja........I could keep naming them till I exhaust the list. And the best part, the two studios are at two ends of the walkway through the building and the walls in between are plastered with more art!! Felt fantastic walking down that road!

Thanx Crimson, 'twas a good Saturday stroll for my soul!