The two paintings that will be travelling to Holland are in the mail as of today. They will be part of a show to take place in April at the Gallerie Gang in IJmuiden, Holland. I am very grateful to Alexandra Drenth, the gallery director who contacted my and asked me for entries for the show. It’s an honor…Let’s hope that everything goes well: the pieces get there intact, everyone loves them and they can go to a good home…If you wish to look at the paintings they will be posted soon…perhaps here in the blog…
In the home front…we are trying to get back to something that resembles normal….Work is piled up high and spirits are still damp…We are taking entries for Desert Blooms at ARTHAUS66 and trying to get the pages on the website…Lots of beautiful and very diverse work…Very interesting.
I will be having a show at the extremely popular Flying Star Cafe here in Albuquerque. It is the gathering place around here. I always find all of its many locations (they seem to be sprouting everywhere) full and buzzing. From downtown to the westside. I imaging that more people will see the pieces there than at every other opening combined….It truly is the best opportunity to reach those who otherwise would probably not see the paintings…I am very happy that they called me to offer me this great chance. I believe, that the show will hang at the Downtown location (another possibility is the Satellite in Central)… Please, come by and look at the work while you enjoy a fabulous piece of cake! What could be better? Good food and (may I be so bold as to say) good art at the same time!!!….I guess, some sales would be even better…We’ll see.
posted by Cristina at 5:45 pm
Here is our artist. Exuding confidence…Two visitors in the background enraptured by the collages…
It was truly a full house and there was something for everyone. Rave reviews for the artwork and some guests looking at our roster of very talented artists…
Moments before the guests started to arrive…and last minute jitters…a photo for posterity…
posted by Cristina at 5:19 pm
My Happy Period was indeed a happy ocassion. The turnout was fabulous, with more people than expected. The feedback was also great and everyone was amused and intrigued by the artwork. There were favorite picks of the evening ( Michael,Lindsey,Paris and Nicole discover new life as their careers decline) and everyone wanted to see more and know more about ARTHAUS66 and our artists. Great time! Even got an in-the-spot submission by an artist that looks extremely promising for a future event. All in all, it was a very uplifting opening that I am sure holds some good surprises…
Thank you so much to everyone in attendance!
posted by Cristina at 2:30 pm
Here are a few views of the Fragile show at N4th Gallery. The show ended a few days ago with and overall grade of B+. We had a good opening reception with fabulous music, great food and a good turnout. By the end of the show, we had managed to sell six pieces in all. I won’t complain since breaking even is quite a feat these days…
Best of all was the feedback from not only friends (supportive as always) but from people I had not met before…They had questions for me, insightful comments, some funny remarks and what I perceived to be genuine interest. Good stuff.
I would like to thank everyone once again for coming… and special thanks go to those who reached into their pockets and backed up their nice words with a purchase. It is very much appreciated.
posted by Cristina at 6:03 pm
The next show is coming together quickly. A lot of waiting and a few bursts of frantic work. It always seems to happen this way…I am liking how involved our artist has been this time…He has provided us with ready jpegs, he has read and checked all the specified guidelines regarding presentation and dates… Impressive. The best so far…Mr. Berube deserves a good opening and I hope this can be our best to date.
Invitations will be going out mid-January. Check the arthaus66 website for some really fun, really edgy images. Enjoy.
posted by Cristina at 2:43 am
Another exhibit to benefit the Harwood Art Center is opening on December 4th. The Harwood is located at 1114 7th Street NW in Downtown Albuquerque. It promises to be an array of interesting, small format artwork from many different local artists. You are bound to find something that you like…or just something that really, really matches your sofa…In any case, you should swing by if you are in the area because it is a treasure trove for the aspiring collector. Three pieces that I completed last year are part of the show. Two of them are collages and the most recent one is a mixed media piece. The mixed media work is a precursor to the larger, more painterly pieces I am currently working on…It has the blues and cool tones that originated the pieces that I will exhibit at the N4th gallery in January. Do check it out and leave with some fabulous gifts for the holidays…
posted by Cristina at 10:43 pm
The sudden but overdue wave of wintery weather did keep some people at home but some very brave and nice people made it to the opening.
I got to finally meet the artist. Eileen is an acquaintance of my husband’s since high school and the evening turned into an interesting exchange of anecdotes and stories. It was very funny at times…I enjoyed seeing these 20 something kids (quite a bit younger than myself) talk about their high school years as if they had one foot in their grave…It was making me feel like I should retire to a nursing home where I can be fed, changed and cared for for the remainder of my days…Ouch!
I understand that Eileen was feeling a bit ambivalent about her new work because it is such a departure from her previous art. I think that going out on a limb regarding ideas, materials and style always deserves the highest praise, if simply because it is not an easy thing to do. It is not for the faint of heart…The pen sketches are delightful and, even if this is just transitional work, I am glad that she showed it with us. I wish for her all the luck in arriving at where these pieces are going… I only wish we could have sold all of them…but we are doing OK.
Thank you to all who came by despite the bitter cold. You know who you are. To those who would not even consider showing their turned up noses around the gallery in the warmest, most comfortable of New Mexico evenings…well, you know who you are too! No loss there…We are still meeting the most delightful, uncomplicated and honest people. Artists and art lovers who are truly interested and interesting. Their feedback is very much appreciated as is their presence. Thank you.
Eileen’s clay animation video titled “What have I done?” was the highlight of the evening. Twelve minutes long. It is beautiful and poignant.
posted by Cristina at 10:06 pm
Transmutations will be opening soon. Very soon, in fact. The show will be comprised of paintings and drawings that mirror each other. The drawings, I understand, precede the paintings. They are the embryonic form of the larger paintings…I can’t wait to see them in person…We are hoping that we can attract as large a crowd as we did during our first opening…For a modest size gallery such as ours, over a 100 people is quite a big crowd.
The artist, Eileen Anastasia Reynolds, is in transit from Singapore… She will be here for the opening.
Those of you who are on our mailing list will be receiving the invitation to the opening very soon. Save the date…It promises to be a fun opening! Do consider art as the stuff of holiday giving…You support the artist and make someone’s life more beautiful with your gift…Fewer things are more suitable to be shared than art.
…and if you cannot make it this time, the artwork is on display and online for a solid month…There’s no excuse for missing it.
posted by Cristina at 2:00 am
There are a couple of group shows happening during the Fall. I was pleased I contributed a piece to Choice Art Auction to benefit Planned Parenthood… The auction took place last night…I hope “Near Love” (the above mentioned piece) was able to bring in some much needed cash…
The Las Cruces show is coming down soon. Life and Liberty after 9-11….Food for thought…I so love those three pieces..They are so much unlike what I have been doing up until now…That path requires more exploration…I’ve been getting very good feedback for those pieces…
I will have a piece in Small is More…a yearly fundraiser for Harwood. I’ve participated continuously for a few years now…It’s an unrequitted love that I don’t wish to give up…I keep trying…I have not decided which piece(s) I’ll donate this time…It all depends on how well I am doing for my next solo show at N4th Gallery.
And that brings me to Fragile…Funny how ideas grow up to be complete strangers…They take on their own life and personality… Like rebellious children, perhaps. We help them through and guide them to a succesful end…hopefuly. After all, I am just the one holding the brush…Fragile has become a lot of things…The pieces are very quiet…and very blue (which is not a color I’ve favored in the past) They have a silent intensity…kind of a constant humming…I don’t know. They’ve been accused of being sad…I think there is a bit of subtle humor in them as well…but mostly they feel very watery…ondulating.
I think of that bumpersticker I saw the other day…”If you’re not depressed, you’re just not paying attention…” Maybe Fragile is just me paying attention…
posted by Cristina at 5:18 pm
Paper Trail finally came together. The opening came and went as well. A steady trickle of people…Not bad. I was quite happy with the pieces in the show…Works on paper…There is something very delicate and ephemeral about them…The best thing about Arthaus66 is that we continue to meet very competent, very nice artists…A blessing. I’m thankful to all that attended…particularly Margi Weir for her encouraging words and her outstanding artwork. Thank you to Evey Jones for her beautifully haunting monotypes and her ongoing support…The sales help too…Always welcome…
posted by Cristina at 4:47 pm