Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Absrd Comedy posted my article! Woohoo

http://www.absrdcomedy.com/2014/07/02/art-sculpture-subjects-just-friends-claims-artist/

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Sam Friedman in Detroit

Remember the good ole’ days when you were served a meal on an airplane or had your gas pumped at the gas station? Those were the days when there was no such thing as hand sanitizer or selfies and you had to be in New York City to see a world glass art exhibit? Well my friends, the times they are a changing! This past weekend I had the pleasure to attend yet another huge and successful gallery opening at the Library Street Collective in Detroit. Yes, you heard me right…DETROIT. Detroit is now the new go-to Mecca for artists from all over the world. In fact, one of newest and coolest new art exhibits in Detroit is actually in a parking structure! The “Z Lot,” is a flashy new place to park your car off Library Street and Grand River and boast over 25 of the most notorious street artists from around the world. Among these hoody wearing, paint covered, tattooed and tougher then nails personas exists Sam Friedman, a soft spoken lovable guy from Brooklyn, whose dad still helps him make his canvases. Friedman is the only Jewish artist who painted in the structure. He is a New York native who grew up Jewish and still feels spiritually connected to Judaism. His work is simultaneously loose and precise with choices of colors that are near perfect. "Sam Friedman could be compared to a discerning curator of a botanical garden or patient botanist... on a planet in another solar system far away from the natural laws on earth" says Matt Eaton local artist, gallery partner, and curator living in Detroit. He is currently exhibiting his new works in a one-man show called “Easy” at The Library Street Collective in Detroit, which opened on May 10th and runs through July 10th. The Library Street Collective specializes in cutting edge modern and contemporary fine art with a primary focus on artists who developed their skills in public art spaces. I had a chance to catch up with Sam while he was travelling between his shows in New York and Detroit. He told me that over the past 5 or 6 years he has focused on making abstract and landscape paintings. Rather then re-creating a realistic landscape on canvas, Sam’s paintings aim to express its essence. No single work of art can hope to express the complex spirit of a landscape, much less the infinitely sophisticated ecology (or nature) that it sustains, so Sam paints what he feels the landscape is evoking, and if you ask me, and the hundreds of people who have purchased his paintings, it’s working. Make sure to visit Sam’s work before July 10th at The Library Street Collective and stop by Floor 2 of the Z Lot for his mural, heck, take a selfie in front of it, #ZLOT!

Monday, March 3, 2014

Detroit Artists Market

The annual Detroit Artists Market (DAM) Scholarship and Exhibition Program opening this Friday at DAM's midtown gallery. It features work by 10 Cranbrook graduate students, all finalists for the John F. Korachis Scholarship Award, as well as a few alumni. There was a great variety of work to see this year, including fabric sculptures, ceramics, painting, and even an artist who dabbles in scrimshaw. If you missed the opening, which was jam packed, and in a good way, make sure you stop by when the gallery is open to check it out. The gallery store is filled with a lot of great new art and artists, they really kicked it up a notch, since the last time I visited. the show runs through April 5. Detroit Artists Market 4719 Woodward Avenue Detroit Below is a picture of the first place winner Katy Richards work and a couple others I enjoyed.
Fiber work by artist Kari Cholnoky
Mark Sengbusch schrimshawed acrylic on canvas

Saturday, February 8, 2014

THE DIRTY SHOW! International Erotic Art Exhibition

Last night the 15th annual Dirty Show opened in Detroit at it's new location in the Russell Industrial Exhibition Space. The space was a genius idea in itself. I'm guessing there will be many new events happening in this enormous, raw and edgy exhibition center. I have been to this show for many years, and have learned a lot of the art is really meant to just shock you. Not shock you like eeewwwww gross, I mean shock you like WHAT THE FUCK! (I suppose that is why they call it an international erotic art show) For those of you that know me, I do not shock easily, but this year there were several pieces that made even me blush. For instance: (and this was one of the milder ones I thought I could post) Fez by Tony Waligorski. The performances are definitely the highlight for the crowd. (aka my husband and his friend Doug) Amateur acts including, girls using giant feather fans to reenact a burlesque show, a giant blow up of the female body where you could actually unzip her and take a peek inside ( I passed), several bondage displays, and let's not forget the twins acrobatics on the stripper pole. (Betcha 5 bucks they aren't really twins) Crowd watching is by far my favorite activity. I saw a man dressed in yellow vinyl with the word pig on his back, another man wearing a leash which his date carefully pulled as she walked him through the exhibition, and a lot of trannies, bad trannies too, did I mention a lot? (In case my mom reads this http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tranny) Usually after opening night, there are a lot more pieces sold then this year, I only saw about 4 or 5 red dots, but then again I didn't see anyone helping with sales. The ticket price went up again this year, but I will always pay whatever the admission is because The Dirty Show is just that, Dirty. Below I picked 3 of my favorite pieces from the pool of work I considered erotic or dirty, but not gross get me a puke bucket. I took pictures of the artist cards so I could remember their names, but apparently my camera was drunk last night so I only know the first piece is by artist belozero. I will get the the other artists names today and will update it then.