Jen Trolio has written a piece about 20x200 in the current issue of ReadyMade, a lovely print magazine "for people who like to make stuff." Be sure to pick one up the next time you peruse through the design section of the newsstands as there may be hints contained inside for editions to come. As the article is not available online, here is a transcription of the text:

INSIDE EDITION

New York gallery owner Jen Bekman is fed up with the notion that a $5,000 price tag on art is a bargain. So after nearly [five] years of running her eponymous Soho space, Bekman, a long-time supporter of emerging photographers, set out to offer aspiring collectors something a bit easier on the pocketbook. The resulting venture - an online showroom called 20x200 - offers small-scale prints, photographs, and mixed media in limited editions of 200 for $20 a pop. Bekman's business model - inspired by Tiny Showcase, another online purveyor of small batch broadsides - provides a simple way to ease into the world of high art.

"There's this weird, dark cloud over the concept of affordable art that equates affordability with mediocrity," Bekman says. "I'm trying to create a unique opportunity to purchase quality art ... at an insanely affordable price."

New work is posted twice a week. Artists showcased thus far include Kate Bingaman-Burt [...] and Tema Stauffer. Visit 20x200.com to get your own mini masterpeice. - Jen Trolio

The scan can be viewed after the jump.

Clockwise from top left: Brooklyn Morning by Youngna Park, Palm Aire by Tema Stauffer, Untitled (Hanoi No. 2) by Kelly Shimoda, Rain Celebration by Allison Grippo, Westview by Brad Moore, Untitled (Geese, London) by Dana Miller.

Breath Portrait, by Ann Tarantino

It's print time again (already!) at 20x200. As you might know by now, Tuesday is work on paper day. Today's edition comes to us from Boston artist Ann Tarantino. The edition is a reproduction of Breath Portrait (favorite colors), an ink and gouache painting that Ann made especially for 20x200. The edition is available in 3 sizes, printed with archival pigment prints on a nice hefty 100% cotton rag matte paper. They are now available at 20x200:

200 of the smaller prints (8.5"x11") are available for $20 each.
20 of medium prints (13"x19") are available for $200 each.
2 of the large prints (22" x30") are available for $2000 each.

The made-special-for us original painting is available too. To inquire about purchasing it, send an email to collector@20x200.com.

The Breath Portraits are the product of a new kind of action painting: the foundation of this series is patterns Ann creates by blowing ink through a straw. She goes on to embellish the work with paint and ink, adding purpose and intention to the (somewhat) random outcome that her breath initially creates.

It's an interesting contrast - the idea of the control of one's breath and yet only having so much power over its outcome, which is then followed by the attention and focus of emotion and intellect. It's an exercise in letting go and also taking charge of what you're able to. There is something of an Eastern vibe, which makes sense, considering that Ann started working on the series while residing in Kyoto.

When a friend recommend that I check out Ann's work, I was apprehensive. Having a friend recommend another friend who's an artist is always a dicey proposition. The collision of differing tastes in the context of a relationship can be awkward.

I was delighted (and relieved!) to go to Ann's website and find work that was different than what I'm normally drawn to, and lovely to behold. Picking things that I know I like is always fun, but discovering I like something that's new to me is even better. So, many thanks to my friend Karen for the excellent artist tip.

Tomorrow is photo day, and boy oh boy, we've got a good one, so check back then!

Bodega Avenue, CA, by Eliot Shepard

This week's photo edition comes to us from Eliot Shepard, a photographer who recently made the transition from digital to film.

We've made 3 editions of this photo. All are archival pigment prints on cotton rag paper:

200 of the smaller prints (8.5"x11"") are available for $20 each.
20 of the medium prints (17"x22") are available for $200 each.
2 of the large prints (30"x40") are available for $2000 each

You might be familiar with Eliot's photoblog Slower.net - one of the first, best and most well-known photoblogs out there. It's also possible that you saw his solo exhibition at Jen Bekman a couple of years ago.

Hearts broke the world over when Eliot ceased to publish Slower a few weeks ago. I am sad too, but knowing Eliot, it makes perfect sense to me. His switch to film, just when most people are throwing in the towel and surrendering to the digital future, is perfectly in sync with his renegade style.

His show at the gallery in 2005 was mostly portraits, but I've always enjoyed Eliot's un-peopled shots too. This one caught my eye back in August, and I posted it on Personism in response Alec Soth's question heard 'round the web: Where are all the great photos on Flickr? I knew then that I wanted to use it for a 20x200 edition, so I was really happy when Eliot suggested it for the site. I am even happier to be presenting it here to all of you, such a short time later, on this October afternoon.

The opportunity to introduce new work so frequently is one of the funnest aspects of 20x200 for me. I've heard from collectors, both experienced and novice, that weekly deliveries of fresh art is proving to be rather enjoyable as well. That being the case, I look forward to bringing you some excellent new stuff next week, and encourage you to browse the archives in the meanwhile.

New York Post - Page Six Magazine
Sunday October 7, 2007, Page 59
Culture - Totally Legal Substance

Easy Access Art

Gallerist Jen Bekman's new project offers prints for only $20.
Consider it a gateway to springing for those Rothkos.

This belief in art for everyone has led Bekman to create 20x200, a Web site and online art gallery that launched last month as a digital extension of her Spring St. space. Through the site, the New York native sells limited editions of striking photographs and works on paper by emerging artists such as Kelly Shimoda and Youngna Park, and starting a $20 each, they go fast. The entire edition of 200 prints tends to sell out within a week, lending the work a fast-changing, addictive quality - many buyers grab two or three pieces at once. Bekman, a self-proclaimed "cultural populist," wouldn't have it any other way.

"I like to think of this as a gateway drug to collecting," she says. "buying art and actually holding it in your hands is one of life's great pleasures. But so many people are afraid to go for it. Now they can do it once a week." - Rachel Syme, Oct. 7, 2007

See the scan after the jump.

Above: Bodega Avenue, California, 2007 by Eliot Shepard

Birds of the Rockies, by Laura Levine

This Tuesday we bring you our 6th work on paper edition, based on a piece by upstate New York denizen Laura Levine. This print is a reproduction of an 30"x30" original mixed media painting, which is also available for purchase. The prints are produced with archival pigment inks on a matte cotton paper. We've created 3 editions:

200 of the smaller prints (8.5"x11") are available for $20 each.
20 of medium prints (17"x22") are available for $200 each.
2 of the large prints (24"x30") are available for $2000 each.

The prints will be available on the site at 2pm (EDT) today. But you, special email subscriber, are afforded instant gratification. You can click through and buy now.

Raul was nuts for this painting the minute I showed it to him. As you can tell if you read his blog, and you should, Raul is a charmingly nostalgic fella, and a collector of things. The vintage trading stamps Laura uses as the foundation for the painting brought him back to his childhood days in Texas.

For me, it's the birds. Not surprising, considering my aforementioned affection for them. I also love the square format, the color palette and use of text, text-based art being another thing I enjoy immensely. The texture and color reproduce beautifully in the print; Laura herself was thrilled upon receiving the proof in the mail. You will be equally thrilled to get a print, is my guess. So, go ahead: brighten your week with some art.

Tomorrow is photo day, and we've got a gorgeous unusual print in store, along with a special announcement. See you then!

Bags, by Beth Dow

This week's photo edition, Bags, is our first black and white piece, by our second Minneapolis-based photographer, Beth Dow. In related news, Beth's first NYC solo exhibition, Fieldwork, will open at Jen Bekman Gallery on Friday November 2, 2007.

Our 20x200 editions are produced with archival pigment inks on cotton rag paper. We've made 3 editions of this piece:

200 of the smaller prints (8.5"x11"") are available for $20 each.
20 of the medium prints (17"x22") are available for $200 each.
2 of the large prints (30"x40") are available for $2000 each.

I've exhibited lots of artists from the fine state of Minnesota, but I first discovered Beth's work via the photography blog Mrs. Deane, which comes to us from Holland.

Mrs. Deane and I share an interest in how B+W photography fits into our digital world. We're most certainly not alone - curator Charlotte Cotton created quite a stir earlier this year when she published an essay online entitled The New Color: The Return of Black and White.

This 20x200 edition is based on a gorgeous platinum print that will be included in the Fieldwork exhibition. Being able to offer such a fine reproduction of a platinum print is what 20x200 is all about.

The prints we'll be exhibiting at the gallery are amazing objects: labor intensive, created by a highly specialized and increasingly rare process, produced in small numbers. The prints we're offering here still capture the subtlety and light of these images, allowing a much broader audience to live with their beauty.

As with the prints in the show, Bags is even better in person. Eye-catching as it is, the .jpg here doesn't show you the delicacy of the image, nor does it express the range of tones you see in the print itself. I can't really describe it either, so you'll just have to see for yourself when your print arrives in the mail.

101Cookbooks:
"Bravo to Jen Bekman and the 20x200 crew for making prints available for just $20 dollars - it's such a cool idea."

Apartment Therapy: The Nursery

It is a new way to think about buying art, and we like it. 20x200 is a very elegant, Web 2.0 sort of way of bringing people who need art in contact with people who sell their art.

20x200 has a blog, which gives a little more information about each piece, which is fun. And while 20x200 may be new - it just launched in September 07 - we have bookmarked this site as one to watch. We are always looking for affordable art for our home, and never so much as now that we have a child joining us, and are looking forward to seeing what 20x200 showcases next.

Amy Stein Photography

I have ... received my first two pieces from 20x200. Arriving were gorgeous prints by Amy Ross and Carrie Marill, respectively. Both prints are still available. [Update: Carrie Marill edition of 200 sold out.] For only $20! What are you people waiting for? Beyond the solid curating, Jen Bekman has done a wonderful job with all the identity work around 20x200. When your prints arrive it really is an impressive production.

Boing Boing features Birds of the Rockies by New York artist, Laura Levine.

Casasugar, Great Art Online: 20x200
Getting your art collection started is often limited by your pocketbook. The only way I could afford my first large art purchase was because I bartered an artist friend for it. So what to do if you're art-friend-free and low on the benjamins? Why, turn to the internet, of course. One site that I'm in love with is 20x200.

Design Mom:
"It's a smart idea and a great way to bring art into your home."

Design Sponge:
"A wonderful resource for affordable prints."

Untitled, by Mike Monteiro
Photo by Existentialism

Sparrow Rudbeckia 2 by Amy Ross (detail), watercolor on paper, 30x22 inches, private collection.

Painter and most all-around splendid artist, Amy Ross is gearing up for her her new two-person show at Romo Gallery, which opens on October 18 and will be on view until November 24. For those that live in and around Atlanta, or will be in town during the exhibition, you should definitely go see Amy's work in person. Romo will also be taking Amy's work to Aqua Art Miami in December.

Amy had a solo show in New York with Jen Bekman earlier in the Spring and traveled with the gallery to the Scope Art Fair: Hamptons. The "Sparrow Rudbeckia" and 'Goldfinch Magnolia" below, were some of the work shown at each exhibition.

Detail of Goldfinch Magnolia #2, watercolor on paper, 30x22 inches, private collection.

Amy Ross has a website and writes a blog where you can see more of her art and learn more about her work.

If the sight of all of Amy's wonderful paintings gets you salivating, her collages are quite something as well. She will be showing some brand new ones in Atlanta, and because the world is good, her wonderful Manshroom is still available.

Manshroom by Amy Ross, archival pigment ink print on Crane Museo Portfolio Rag Paper.

Amy on her 20x200 edition,

I saw the prints from 20x200 over at the gallery, and my Manshroom collage at 16x20 inches is, simply put, divine. The print quality is to die for. It is amazing to see the small collages at such a large scale, and it got the old creative wheels turning and churning, which is just the sort of inspiration I was looking for. I'm very excited to be part of this project which has gotten a ton of good press lately and deserves every good word written about it. I know I'm biased, but I have seen the goods, and they are good.

There is no reason to wait.
Click here to buy one for yourself.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Your Walls Should Talk

Excuse me sir, would you like that photo super-sized?

Yes, we gab a lot about finding cool, original-yet-affordable stuff for your home. Maybe it's because we hate the idea of you living in an apartment with sparse, white walls, or even worse, some framed Van Gogh poster that your parents forced you to buy at MoMA.

Enter our new hero, Lower East Side gallery owner Jen Bekman, and her Web site, 20x200. The gist: Jen realized that there were a lot of people looking for a place to sell their art and even more people who were looking to buy it. She makes a connection between the groups by introducing two new pieces on her site every Tuesday and Wednesday: one photo and one work on paper. Each image is available in three sizes, with a price to fit every budget. Small (an edition of 200 sold at $20), medium (an edition of 20 for $200) or large (editions of two for around $2,000). They only hard part is deciding on which one you want to score.

Ridiculously affordable art that comes in every size...we think it's finally time to stop making excuses, and take down those freaking water lilies!

- Caroline Stanley

Optical-01, by Michael Perry

This week's work on paper edition is Optical-01 by Brooklyn-based artist and designer Michael Perry. We've created two sizes of the edition, small and medium, as archival pigment prints on cotton rag paper. The two large prints are handmade 3-color silk-screens on Lenox Paper.

200 of the smaller prints (8.5"x11") are available for $20 each.
20 of medium prints (17"x22") are available for $200 each.
2 of the large prints (30"x40") are available for $2000 each.

The print is based on a drawing that originally appeared in Arkitip Magazine. As you can see from looking at Mike's site, he's had quite the wunderkind career since graduating from MCAD 5 years ago. He's driven by curiosity and positivity, two fine qualities in any human being. This energy is evident in both the diversity and volume of his work; you can get lost in his archives already, and he's only been at it for a few years now. I look forward to watching his career unfold.

This piece is a bit of a departure from 20x200 editions to date, but it's a tangent you're likely to see with some frequency. I've always been a design aficionado and some of my favorite art has its roots in graphics and typography, so naturally we've got a lot of great designers in our upcoming line-up.

Mike's talents in these disciplines are what reeled me in. He recently published a book about hand-drawn typography, Hand Job: A Catalog of Type, which is how I came to know of him and his work. Kate Bingman-Burt has work in the book, which I was very excited to hold in my hot little hands in the midst of installing her show at the gallery. Ah, the smell of fresh ink on paper. It's divine.

This Saturday, October 20th, we're hosting an event at the gallery that will feature Kate, Mike AND the book. I can't wait. Kate and Mike will chat about art and design, books will be signed, beverages will be quaffed. Festivities start at 3pm and go til 5pm. Kate's coming all the way from Mississippi for the talk. If you happen to be in the city, surely you can catch the 6 train to Spring St and come on by.

Plattsmouth, Nebraska, Carts #1, by Kate Bingaman-Burt

This week's photography edition is Plattsmouth, Nebraska, Carts #1 by the prolific and multi-talented Kate Bingaman-Burt. Kate's solo exhibition, Obsessive Consumption, is on view at Jen Bekman Gallery through October 27, 2007. This weekend, Kate will be at the gallery with 20x200 artist Michael Perry. Mike is the editor of Hand Job: A Catalog of Type, which includes work from KBB herself. Their artist talk and book signing is from 3pm-5pm, on Saturday October 20th.

We've created this edition in three sizes. All are printed with archival pigment inks on 100% cotton rag paper.

200 of the smaller prints (8.5"x11"") are available for $20 each.
20 of the medium prints (17"x22") are available for $200 each.
2 of the large prints (30"x40") are available for $2000 each.

The shopping cart is a favorite subject of young photographers. Entire books have been devoted to these vessels of consumerism. The Hey, Hot Shot! panel keeps count of shopping cart photos when reviewing entries. (We usually hit the double digits.) Former panelist, and 20x200 photographer, Eliot Shepard advises against carts, gas stations and lonely parking lots as suitable subjects for aspiring entrants. As Eliot says in his treatise, it's not to say good photos of these things can be made, but rather that these subjects "place a greater burden on the photographer in terms of originality."

KBB came to be represented by the gallery via Hey, Hot Shot! Today's 20x200 edition was one of the photos she submitted. She distinguished herself, and her subject, by going to a shopping cart factory and shooting carts there. Here were a nearly uncountable number of carts, throwing a wrench into the panel's calculations. (It didn't hurt that it's a great photo too.)

I'm so glad to able to offer this photo via 20x200. It's always a heartbreaker when I see someone come into the gallery and fall in love with a piece of art, but they simply can't justify the expense. I've exhibited this photo on a few occasions, and several people have been disappointed to find it out of their reach. Now that it's freed from the walls of the gallery and reinvented as 20x200 edition, lots of people can live with lots of carts. And that makes me a happy gallerist.

Installation Shot from Obsessive Consumption on view at Jen Bekman Gallery until October 27.

Please join us at Jen Bekman Gallery this Saturday, October 20 , from 3pm-5pm, where we'll be hosting an artist talk and book signing from this week's 20x200 artists, Michael Perry and Kate Bingaman-Burt.

Kate Bingaman-Burt will be talking about her current exhibition, Obsessive Consumption. She'll be joined by Michael Perry author of Hand Job: A Catalog of Type, which happens to include some work by KBB herself.

Hand Job: A Catalog of Type published by Princeton Architectural Press.

Kate and Mike will talk about art, design, typography and books. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during the event. If you'd like to reserve a copy in advance, send an email to rsvp@jenbekman.com.

Check out Mike's drawing and Kate's photo. [Her superb illustration is still available for purchase.]

You can read up on the editions on the 20x200 blog.

See you Saturday!

Postcard Image from Obsessive Consumption.