ALEXANDRA GRANT @ MWG OPENING

ALEXANDRA GRANT
Contender (after Michael Joyce's 'Contend' 2004), 2005
mixed media on paper, 126 x 80 inches

EXHIBITION OPENS: Saturday, Febraury 21st 6-8 PM -artists Alexandra Grant + Thomas Feulmer will be in attendance.

The new exhibition at Marty Walker Gallery there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you… , presents a compelling contemporary survey of emerging and mid-career artists utilizing text as a means of visual and conceptual communication. Artists include Mark Flood, Thomas Feulmer, Archie Scott Gobber, Alexandra Grant, Mickey Smith and Wayne White.

LA artist Alexandra Grant collaborates with hypertext writer Michael Joyce to explore the relationship between image, written word, and the effect of language through the context of color, shape, and arrangement among other aspects. Through the intermingling of these elements Grant creates a new hybrid which is neither language nor image, yet both at the same time. Grant was recently the subject of a Focus exhibition in 2007 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in LA -and the catalogue from the exhibition is available for purchase @ amazon.com by clicking the image below.

ARCHIE SCOTT GOBBER: CHANGEABLE BILLBOARD

PHOTO, COURTESY MIKI BAIRD

Archie Scott Gobber's new commission for Art through Architecture's (AtA) “Art Achievement” project can be seen above on a pair of converted billboards over the Missouri Bank & Trust Crossroads Branch, @ 125 Southwest Boulevard, in Kansas City, Missouri. (MAP)

Archie Scott Gobber’s two images, to be displayed side-by-side facing east, are adapted from a recent painting by the artist titled “Changeable,” (which can be seen in the upcoming exhibition at Marty Walker Gallery, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you...", opening Saturday, February 21st 6-8pm) which references, and literally illustrates, the buzzword that so pervaded the 2008 presidential election and that represents a sense of optimism for the future. Gobber, who regularly uses text in his work in manners both playful and pointed, here not only alludes to this specific historical moment in American history, but also capitalizes on the nature of the billboard itself as something temporary, to be replaced in the near future with a different message.

“I enjoyed the process of adapting this painting to the billboard format,” -says Gobber.

“The word ‘change’ is powerful, but the word ‘able’ becomes significantly more important in this version. Originally this piece was intended to read ‘Available,’ but as time went on and the election neared, I altered it to the current version. Thus, it was truly ‘changed,’ and the final work captures this idea of "change" as unfinished and in progress.”

To read the rest of the press release, click here for PDF.

ARCHIE SCOTT GOBBER Changeable, 2008
latex and enamel on canvas, 35 x 80 inches

FOCUS: Jeff Elrod @ Fort-Worth Modern

Visit the The Modern Art Museum of Fort-Worth for "FOCUS: Jeff Elrod" presenting the artist’s first solo exhibition in an American museum. Exhibition runs February 15-March 29, 2009.

To create his large, abstract canvases, Jeff Elrod explores the intersections between drawing and painting, words and pictures, organic and geometric form, and digitally generated and freely drawn imagery. The artist begins his process with what he refers to as “frictionless drawings” made with a computer mouse and a simple computer graphics program. The detached, graphic quality and compressed, shallow space of his initial sketches are inherent to the digital age of drawing. Yet, through Elrod’s creative process—the action of transferring the drawings onto canvas by hand—space and imagery take on a hybrid quality in which flatness and depth coexist.

Contact the Fort Worth Modern:

• www.themodern.org
  
• 817.738.9215 / Toll Free: 1.866.824.5566
• 3200 Darnell Street, Fort Worth, TX 76107 (MAP)
• info@themodern.org
• Hours: Tue-Sat: 10 am - 5 pm, Sun: 11 am - 5 pm
• read the press release for the exhibition here.
  

For more information and additional available work by Jeff Elrod, please contact Marty Walker Gallery.

(pictured above, Jeff Elrod, Pieces of Sky, 2006, acrylic and silkscreen on canvas, 80 x 62 inches)

Dallas Art Fair Feb 6-8

If you live in the DFW area, I hope that you will make time to check out the Dallas Art Fair this weekend. Chris Byrne, the fair's organizer, described it to me as "galleries are by invitation only and it is an encyclopedic approach" to an art fair. There are only 45 galleries showing so it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to cover. While you are down in the area, make a day of it by heading over to the Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas new space (CADD ArtLab) on Main St between the Joule and Neiman Marcus. There is a wonderful drawing exhibition curated from several of the 14 CADD member galleries. This space practically serves as a year-round mini art fair, all work is available for purchase and worth checking out often to get a taste of the overall gallery scene in Dallas. Pick up a CADD Guide while you are there and check out the Dallas galleries, all will be open on Friday and Saturday during the fair. Finish off the day or weekend by attending the Olafur Eliason exhibition at the DMA, not to be missed.

And for those new to collecting art, the Dallas Art Fair is an excellent opportunity to see a range of work all under one roof. I've put together a few tips on navigating an art fair for those new to the experience.

BEFORE the artfair:

• go to the artfair website and become familiar with the galleries that will be exhibiting, check out their websites to see what kind of work they show. If you find an artist that is of serious interest, contact the gallery to see if they will be bringing that particular piece or others by the same artist. Let them know that you will be attending the fair.
  

DURING:

• wear comfortable shoes (no joke)
  
• use the gallery's business cards to write down names of artists and works of art that are of interest. Introduce yourself to the gallery staff and ask for prices.
  
• bring a digital camera or camera phone --taking pictures of work that is of interest will not only help you remember and but may also help you to communicate with the gallery should you be interested in a purchase after the fair. You can also ask the gallery if they have any promotional material available on the artist as well.
  
• if you are using any sort of video device, it is good etiquette to ask the gallery for permission before recording. Some galleries allow, some don't.
• if you are an artist, refrain from pitching your work to a gallery during a fair. The gallery's primary focus during an art fair is meeting with existing and new clientele and making sales. A brief introduction and leaving a card with the gallery is fine IF you think the gallery's program would be a good fit with your work.
  

AFTER

• Transactions occur before, during and after the art fair, so don't feel pressured to make a decision on the spot. Contact the gallery to see if the piece that is of interest to you is still available. You may miss a few in the beginning (it happens) but if you are just starting out be patient and take your time.
• Gather your notes from the fair and go online to research more about the artists and their galleries. Galleries often do not post ALL of the work that is available by an artist, so it is a good idea to ask if more work is available other than what is shown on the website IF you are serious about a purchase.

Have a great weekend!