Artist Carrie Marill alongside a detail of Violet Green Swallow 2007, gouache on paper with collage, 5" X 7"

Friday is here again, and so that must mean another glimpse into the life of a 20x200 artist. Today we will get to know Carrie Marill a little bit better. Carrie will be having a solo show at Jen Bekman Gallery in September, so now you'll have no problem striking up a conversation with her at her opening.

Enjoy!

It's clear from you participation in 20x200 that you're interested in making art available in affordable ways--what is your philosophy on this?

Obtaining and living with art shouldn't be a privilege.

How has participating in 20x200 helped your art career?

A lot of interest has come from the site and steered people to my website which has been sweet! Wish I had an assistant to respond to all the emails.

Do you collect art?

Yes! I love my Leigh Merrill photographs, Jeremy Bridell ceramics, Collin Chillag paintings and Melinda Bergman painting and sculptures.

Belted Kingfisher 2007, gouache on paper with collage, 5" X 7"

Continue reading "20x200 Artist Interview: Carrie Marill" »

Laia Garcia poses in front of her burgeoning 20x200 art collection.
I believe she is holding a hammer to show her distaste for unapproachably priced art.

Laia Garcia is a young New Yorker with a passion for art. As you can see from the photo above, she is filling up her wall with 20x200 art. I recently cornered her and asked her to say a few words about her love of affordable art:

So, I hear you've got a little 20x200 collection brewing, eh?

Yes! I am so psyched about it! All I had on my walls before were band posters... but everyone said how "young" and "dorm" it was, so I figured I needed to trade up.
As soon as Jen told me about the project I was so excited about it and I knew that I found a way to cover my walls!

Who have you collected so far?
My first one was Amy Ross' Manshroom, then I bought one of Luke Strosnider's chairs
from his Every Chair At the Visual Studies Workship series. (I love my crazy office chair hanging on my wall.)

For a while it was just the office chair next to Manshroom, and it looked really nuts. Then I got the second Kent Rogowski print, Untitled #5 because when the first one came out I was totally broke (which is why I dont have any of the Jennifer Sanchez prints).

I love them so much and they always come out when I am poor, and sell out in a second, so sometimes I miss out.

Any other 20x200ers who you'd love to have, but missed the boat on?

Jennifer Sanchez is my number one regret by far, and also Eric Graham's Unleaded, Unleaded, Premium Unleaded...but that was my fault for waiting too long.

Who will be the next addition to your collection?
I am now anxiously awaiting Jacob Magraw's AA, 2007 which was shipped last week! I like his wife's work too (Rachell Sumpter).

Had you collected any art before 20x200?

No, I never collected art before.

Is your background in art?

I have a degree in graphic design, but I'm a design/art junkie. My mom is really into art so she passed it on to me. We always had tons of fashion magazines and architecture magazines lying around the house...and my dad is an artist. I guess I was doomed from the beginning!

If your collecting budget were bottomless, who would you have hanging above your bed?

Ooh...Well, I've always loved Frida Kahlo since I was little, so god knows if I could have her Self-Portrait With Monkeys I would be all up on that.

Do you think collecting art is something you'll continue with? I suspect 20x200 is responsible for hooking you!

Oh definitely! I mean, I have a wall on my house that is the official 20x200 wall, and I hope that someday I'll make enough money to buy bigger edition prints.

And my advice for young collectors is: buy awesome stuff! You can always eat Chef Boyardee for a little while!
There is nothing better than looking at awesome stuff that inspires you every day.

How's that for enthusiasm?!
Love it.
Want more Laia? Check out her super chic blog:
Geometric Sleep

Jennifer Sánchez'sny.08.#7, 2008
Mixed mediums on canvas
30" x 40" x 1 1/2"

Ciao amici! For this week's artist interview I bring you some insight into 20x200 shining star Jennifer Sánchez.

It's clear from you participation in 20x200 that you're interested in making art available in affordable ways--what is your philosophy on this?
I just want anyone to be able to have some art; art isn't just for the elite/rich or something to be housed in a museum. The affordable prints are a gateway to even more art experiences.

The price of one print that you get to keep forever, equals admission for just one day to the MoMA, and I think that's ridiculous. There are a lot of barriers that established venues for art have built that intimidate the average joe. Jen's site makes it easy, friendly and fun.

How has participating in 20x200 helped your art career?
I've gotten a lot more traffic to my site! A Lot of people have signed on to join my email list and some have bought paintings.

What do you draw most of your inspiration from?
I like the idea of capturing movement, and awkward spaces that come from that motion.
My paintings tend to end up looking happy and optimistic; that's not necessarily my intent, but is what inevitably happens because I am attracted to bright, fluorescent and discordant color combinations.

I find interesting colors everywhere; on a t-shirt, plant or delivery truck. I bring those colors in to a painting and see what happens.

Continue reading "20x200 Artist Interview: Jennifer Sánchez" »

Jen Bekman Gallery Presents: Ornithology from Derrick Tan on Vimeo.

Hello! Today I'm happy to share a special little video with you. It is a guided tour of Ornithology, the show that is hanging now in the gallery, by Jen Bekman herself!

Hopefully it will inspire you to come out and take a closer look. But, if you cannot make it to New York, this is surely a good alternative.

The show is on view through August 2nd.

Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring St
(between Elizabeth + Bowery)

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday – Saturday | Noon – 6pm

Left: Artist Tommy Perman
Right: Traffic Mirror, Eindhoven Screenprint on paper, 2006

Hello! Today, many of us will be celebrating our independence from Britain, and I though it fitting to feature an artist from the UK, Tommy Perman, just to show that we've no hard feelings remaining. In fact, I am quite sure our founding fathers would be pleased with my decision to celebrate Tommy, as he is a man of many talents. While it's true that Tommy Perman did not discover electricity, he is indeed worthy of a seat at Ben Franklin's table of industrious young men. Not content to wear just one hat, Perman designs, writes and plays music, DJ's, makes art, shows his work and collaborates frequently with others.

Which came first for you--art or music?

Art came first – I was drawing from a very early age. My parent's still have drawings on the walls of their house from when I was three.

Music followed on soon after though. I come from a musical family. My dad plays bass in a blues band and my mum is a percussionist. My folks were always playing a diverse selection of music in the house when I was growing up. Mum used to review records for the Oxford Mail in the 60's and she still has some great vinyl from then. She almost interviewed Jimi Hendrix but passed it on to a friend because she was too nervous.

How does your music influence/inform your art and vice versa?

Since my early teens I've been interested in the boundaries between art and music. For me the two activities are inseparable. I am fascinated with the areas where disciplines cross over into each other and a lot of my work concerns this. With my band / arts collective, FOUND, we have done many projects that involve sound and visual art in equal parts.

Last year FOUND were commissioned to produce a piece of music to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop. Rather than just composing a song for them, we decided we wanted to build an interactive audio installation. What we came up with was a piece called Etiquette . It was an interactive table that allowed the user to move small boxes around and create their own interpretation of music we had composed. The best way to get explain it is to watch this video.

In 2006 I undertook an artist's residency in Eindhoven, Holland with my friend and collaborator Roel Knappstein. We spent two months examining the connections between the making of visual art and music through a project called Synchronicity. We share a keen interest for all forms of music and were particularly interested in the structures of contemporary music. We began by taking visual 'samples' – extracting small objects or areas of photographs that interested us. We gathered a large set of these samples and then 'composed' pictures with them.

I'm extremely interested in the idea of remixing and do a lot of audio remixes for other bands but I've also tried to cross these ideas over into my visual artwork. Possibly the best example of this is a two panel painting called Town & Country:
The second panel is a remix of the first; it is constructed using all the same constituent parts but composed in a different order.

Another of my passions is record sleeve art, as it brings together my three main interests: art, design and music.

It's clear from your participation in 20x200 and in your music endeavors that you're interested in making art available in affordable ways--what is your philosophy on this?

My involvement in both the art and music worlds has developed a dislike for exclusivity. In Scotland a great deal of the art community is very much like a private members club who seem to enjoy alienating people through their use of impenetrable jargon. I have no interest in alienating people and I create work in order to reach as wide an audience as possible – but I still wish to create work that is multi-layered, thought provoking and experimental. I believe that it is possible to produce accessible art without comprising it's integrity. Part of this ideology includes realistic pricing – obviously I want to earn a fair amount for my efforts but I also want my work to reach people. Multiples are a great way of achieving this and that's why I'm a fan of making my art available as prints, on tees and record sleeves.

However as I'm an artist I'm also slightly contrary! I like to make multiples in limited editions – I think it's a really nice feeling to know that you are one of only a small group of people who owns a copy of a particular piece of art.

Continue reading "20x200 Artist Interview: Tommy Perman" »

Yellow on White, 2007
Acrylic on canvas

A warm hello, lovely collectors! Today I am offering you another cheery interview with one of our artists, Giovanni Garcia-Fenech. By now, you might be realizing that my interviews are modified Proust questionnaires, but I really cannot top this format for getting a conversation going.

To begin, an easy question: what makes you happy?
Making my wife laugh. Not that it's particularly difficult to do.

How did you come to live in New York?
I was born and raised in Mexico, moved to Texas when I was twelve and spent six months in London before moving to New York to go to graduate school. I always had the feeling that if things didn't work out I had the option to pack up and go somewhere else, but as soon as I moved to Brooklyn (14 years ago) I realized I had finally reached the end of the road.

What is your idea of an ideal day?
It might not be the most exciting day to describe, but I am happiest when I'm working on something in my studio while Sabine is next door working on her book or writing one of her articles. I know that we'll both be tired around five o'clock and start trying to figure out what we'll do for dinner. She'll usually do the cooking while I might help with less challenging stuff like chopping vegetables or running out to buy some wine. And when we're in the kitchen our cat and our rabbit will start hanging out with us hoping to get fed. I can't imagine things getting much better than that.

Continue reading "20x200 Artist Interview: Giovanni Garcia-Fenech" »

Fernanda Cohen is a busy bee to say the least! I am pleased she made time stop long enough to answer some questions for us, and to share some of her recently completed illustrations. After reading her answers you may just feel a strong desire to find out where she lives and take her out for tea. I know I do.

First, an easy question--what is one of your guilty pleasures?
Reading gossip magazines while I'm in line at the supermarket.

Where in this world would you most like to live?
June-August in Buenos Aires, the rest in New York.

Where is your favorite place in New York? in Buenos Aires?
Grand Central Station, Recoleta.

How do the contrasts of New York and Buenos Aires affect your work?
I think if anything the similarities between the two merge in my work, such as the constant chaos.

Having a Ball, 2008

Do you find your work changes contingent on your location?
Not so much the location as the different experiences I go through while I travel.

Describe a perfect day.
Sunny but breezy. Breakfast with my husband, treadmill and Seinfeld for
an hour, 2 ad deadlines, tea-tea-tea, going to a good opening at a
gallery, dinner out and a Mojito.

Your favorite artist? photographer? author?
Saul Steinberg, Jacques Henri Lartigue, and Isabel Allende

What is your favorite Beatles song?
All You Need Is Love

War of Words on Love, 2008

Has music inspired your work?
Only when I allow it.

Which 20x200 artists do you enjoy most?
Rachell Sumpter and Jennifer Sánchez. I love and admire the way Jennifer plays with abstract shapes and colors. I like and identify with the magic in Rachell’s images.

[UPDATE I asked Jennifer Sánchez and Rachell Sumpter to respond to Fernanda's love of their work. Here's what they have to say:
Jennifer I really like Fernanda's work. I like the the silliness and freeness of her figures and subject matter; her lines are really beautiful and I love how she injects her illustrations with such playful colors.
Rachell Magic is everything. I like the energy in her lines and strong use of color.

Seems like these three ladies should all go for tea, n'est ce pas?]

What have you been working on lately?
I'm working on a new personal series about dogs and their owners. I'm also producing my line of kitchenware "Queen Renée" in the States through Pop Cling. I just finished illustrating an ad campaign through DDB. I illustrate a monthly column for the San Francisco-based magazine 7x7.

Any near future aspirations?
I'd like to write and draw an animated movie within the next 5 years.

War of Words on Customer Service, 2008

Smitten? I'll bet.
Fernanda's 20x200 edition: Hot Dog and I
Fernanda's website

PS
Fun fact-Fernanda likes this song from Flight of the Conchords.

PPS
If you just can't get enough, here is another interview with Fernanda that just appeared on Sprayblog.