Get Your Arse to Brooklyn, Yo!

© Andrew Miksys

This Thursday the Nelson Hancock Gallery will be hosting the opening of two shows by two very talented artists, Jon Gitelson and Andrew Miksys.

Jon's work is smart, funny and personal. It is part Larry David and part Martin Parr, but really it is pure Gitelson. I am super excited he decided to come to town for the opening.

Andrew's photography is rich, classically stylized and flat out gorgeous. He was kind enough to share his work with my class at Parsons yesterday and we were all stunned by his beautiful photos.

Jon and Andrew's work couldn't be more different which should make for a great show.

Here are the details:

Jon Gitelson | Artist's Books and Andrew Miksys | BAXT
Nelson Hancock Gallery
May 1 - July 6
111 Front St. #204
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 1, 6 - 8pm

If two shows in one location is not enough to satisfy your art appetite, New Orleans' own William Greiner has a show opening that very same night on that very same block in the very same building. Be sure to stop by Klompching Gallery for the opening of Fallen Paradise.

See you in Brooklyn!

Don't Call It a Comeback

Love Kills, 1979 © Jill Freedman

The New York Times has a great profile on Jill Freedman. Jill made a name for herself in the 70s and 80s with her gritty black and white images of a city in serious decline. She is now enjoying a bit of a renaissance with a show at Higher Pictures.

It's great to see an artist get her due after so many years, but it's disheartening to know you can have the goods and still fall off the art world map. The sad truth is Jill's story is probably more common than the stories of artists who enjoy a consistent and sustained success throughout their career. Too often I focus on career lessons learned from those who have made it, but the wisdom of those that struggle is just as valuable. "You have to be good at hustling," Jill says.

And so I hustle...

An Opening, Two Closings and a Monkey on a Motorbike

Pieter Hugo Cover/Juxtapoz Magazine

Just a quick update from the California Zephyr as I speed across America. Tonight my first solo show in Germany opens at the Pool Gallery in Berlin. The people at Pool couldn't be nicer and Art Das Kunstmagzin has chosen the show for their Tip of the Week.

This weekend marks the closing of both my first solo show at Paul Kopeikin Gallery and the Car Culture group show at SMoCA. Very sad to these shows come down, but all things must pass.

Also, some of my work is featured in the latest issue of Juxtapoz Magazine. The issue highlights work by a number of great photographers like Pieter Hugo, Boogie and Corey Arnold. Get your copy now!

New American Fables Solo Show in Berlin this Friday

New American Fables opening Friday at Pool Gallery

Today I am leaving on a four day cross country train trip. Yes, I'm riding the rails like Boxcar Bertha, but instead of livin' and lovin' like an outlaw I will be shooting an editorial assignment. I suspect a train across America means serious connectivity lapses, so I may be off the grid for a few days.

I previously planned on going to Berlin this week for the opening of my first solo show in Germany, but over the past six weeks I have suffered through a series of flus, colds and an assortment of maladies that made it difficult to plan a trip oversees. It's too bad because it should be a pretty happening event.

The show is called New American Fables and features a selection of work from my Domesticated and Halloween in Harlem series. I will definitely make it over before the show closes and hopefully time it to catch the openings of Alec Soth's TWO SHOWS in Berlin. Talk about a big-time art superstar.

If you are in Berlin this Friday please stop by Pool Gallery for the opening.

Here are the details on the show:

Amy Stein | New American Fables
Pool Gallery
Apr 26 – May 24
Tucholskystraße 38
Berlin, Germany
Opening Reception: Friday, Apr 23, 7-11 pm

Corey Arnold on NPR

© Corey Arnold

Corey Arnold is a great photographer who manages to marry the best parts of documentary and conceptual work to produce images that are uniquely his own. He is also on my shortlist of truly wonderful people in the world. Check out this nugget of audio and visual gold he just did with NPR.

Trapped!

The New Yorker has posted a fascinating time-lapsed video of Nicholas White, who was trapped in an elevator for forty-one hours. Mr. White stays remarkably calm during his ordeal. I would have chewed off my arm and clubbed myself to death with it.

Jessica Dimmock and The Ninth Floor

© Jessica Dimmock

This Thursday Jessica Dimmock's The Ninth Floor opens at Foley Gallery this Thursday. If you haven't seen Jessica's work yet check out the show or pick up her book. You will be hard pressed not to be effected by the work.

Anna Sirota is a student of mine from Parsons. She was moved by the images from The Ninth Floor and approached me about writing a review of the book on my blog. I am a big fan of writing about your own work and the work of others, so I was happy to oblige.

Here's Anna's review:

The drug epidemic in America has escalated to an all time high. People all over the country are falling into the abyss of addiction and the war on drugs is an endless and seemingly hopeless endeavor. Many feel disconcerted and disgusted with the idea of injecting a lethal chemical into their veins, but the importance of recognizing and discussing the emotional pain and suffering that addicts experience on a daily basis is the way to initiate change.

Jessica Dimmock’s “The Ninth Floor” is a hauntingly uneasy documentation of young heroin addicts living in squalor. Jessica successfully captured the stale, dismal atmosphere of the space, once a representation of beauty and class. The vacancy disintegration of each of her subjects is palpable. Through a muted color scheme and a straightforward snap-shot perspective, Jessica Dimmock evokes feelings of sadness and sympathy. The images are genuinely disturbing and impossible to be ignored. If this book is not a cause for reflection, then nothing can be.

Here are the details on the show:

Jessica Dimmock | The Ninth Floor
Foley Gallery
547 W 27th Street, 5th floor
New York, NY 10001
Apr 17 - May 31, 2008
Opening reception: Apr 17, 6 - 8 PM