The close of the year comes with the inevitable onslaught of holiday decoration at every turn. Believe me, I have nothing against holiday cheer, but some people’s idea of decorating their winter lawns for the coming Holidays should be banned on the basis of aesthetics alone. Check out the deflated plastic Santa above. Downright sad….!

I am wrapping up several projects (good) and embarking on some new ones (even better). There aren’t enough hours in the day to actually create all the ideas I have filling my head every day. Any artist knows that some works just have that special something that draws attention to it. To note, my recent painting Back View which I featured a few posts ago just returned from being exhibited at the New York Contemporary Art Fair and has now been selected for the rather prestigious show Au Naturel. 50 works were chosen out of 700, so that feels pretty good!

Back View

In art, size really doesn’t matter. It is all in the eye of the beholder. For instance, I am almost done completing a large commissioned painting,  and just found out that I sold another of my miniature figurines at the annual Miniature Painter, Sculptors and Engravers Society (MPSGS) held at the Mansion at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD. The rather stately mansion is an apt backdrop for the many awesome miniatures whose minute details defy  the imagination.

Mansion at Strathmore

Going to a new home

I have always enjoyed putting in my two cents’ worth when helping fellow artists out with their concepts or with the hanging of a new show. Now I get to have the opportunity to jury and curate an exhibtion at MOCA DC Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery in Georgtown, Washington DC. The new venture opens up the gallery’s front lobby to ‘UP.FRONT at MOCA.DC’ featuring my juried fugurative exhibitions. My first Call for Entries is entitled You, Me and Everybody Else. For further details and entry form go to http://www.mocadc.org/pages/upfront.php.

I am also happy to report that I have revisited a large ceramic installation project concerning young veterans and their tattoos. More details as the project starts to take shape but if you know of any recently returned vets who are interested in sharing their tattoos and their stories, please be in touch.

Happy New Year to All, and let’s try to Give Peace a Chance (really)…

 Mural at Jaffa Port, Israel

Sometimes what happens around art is more interesting than the art itself. Take for instance the event I recently attended in Tel Aviv, Israel at a gallery on Allenby Street, one of Tel Aviv’s busiest and grungiest commercial streets. The word-of-mouth invite mentioned some sort of performance marathon. After the cab dropped me off, I practically had to risk my life avoiding speeding buses and manic taxi drivers to get to the gallery on the other side. The storefront of the art space was in dire need of funds and/or aesthetic rehabilitation. Several rows of folding metal chairs had been set up on the grimy sidewalk in front of the gallery’s vitrine where a video was playing back the street scene superimposed with a rapidly blinking eye.  A set of drums squatted mutely on the pavement.

The seated guests represented a wonderfully bizarre cross section of Israeli society – old babushkas with headscarves waiting for the free booze sat beside artsy women sporting mannishly cropped hair and severe glasses. Ponytail-coiffed Israeli men chain-smoked next to hip-looking mothers watching their children chasing a smattering of the notoriously independent breed of Israeli dog.

The proceedings began with the gallery’s owner reflecting on the past year, though his efforts were challenged by barking dogs and accelerating buses. To mark the occasion of their first anniversary, shots of an unidentified strain of alcohol were passed around, causing a frenzy of serious elbow jostling.

Then the interior lights were dimmed and the night’s first performer stepped into the darkened storefront window dressed in a black suit punctuated by red LED lights. Taking his cue from the beating drums the ‘artist’ embarked on what looked like a series of slow-mo downward dogs and alternating ninja moves. After about ten minutes I took my leave, more out of pity than sheer boredom. The whole scene played like a Woody Allen movie in which Woody finds himself in a ludicrous social situation trying to think of something polite to say, and failing miserably. I must admit I expected more from the Israeli alternative art scene.

Gallery performance

Israel is bursting with creative energy and I met the most amazing artists in my research for my next feature article on Israel for The Great Nude. So please stay tuned for the winter edition which will feature my article The Holy Land laid bare. In the meantime you can browse my article on what’s going on with the nude in the Paris art scene.

Art poster, Jaffa port Israel

Since returning from Paris, I have been concentrating on some painting backlog. I completed my colored pencil piece for Women of the Book. The Torah section which was my task to illustrate and personally interpret was Ki Tavo which deals with various polarities – the balance between giving and receiving, between reward and punishment etc. My final illustration (below) hopefully invokes an ambiguity as to whether the hands are in the process of giving or receiving. The dramatic backdrop conjures the beginning of time when I believe our connection to the earth and the spiritual world was clearer. The pomegranate is a common Jewish symbol and also happens to be the meaning of my family name - Milgrom – in Polish. Working on tradtional klaf, or animal hide parchment, was a real challenge and also confirmed that colored pencil is a very difficult medium when working on a large scale. I look forward to seeing the completed artists’ Torah and its eventual travelling exhibition.

Last Friday night (9/9/11) I participated in a group exhibition Political Potpourri which was the result of a call for entry for political works which individual artists are passionate about. I was thrilled to be able to exhibit my video A Winter’s Tale with its new soundtrack provided by composer Gina Bever. My video was originally shot in Israel in 2002 during the height of the Second Intifada (Palestinian Uprising) when suicide bombings became a deadly part of everyday life. I am eternally confounded by the potential for Man’s cruelty to Man and suicide bombing is a most heinous, senseless and merciless act of cowardice. Apart from my video, I also exhibited several sculptures, and my Israeli flag painting trilogy at MOCA DC in Washington DC’s Georgetown district.

I also recently completed a very challenging painting set to be exhibited at The Great Nude’s booth at the November Contemporary Art Fair in New York City. It felt wonderful to get back to the challenge of photorealistic painting, but after spending three days on one finger, I do ask myself why I subject myself to this type of work. The result is usually my greatest gratification.

Finally, as an antidote for this type of meticulous painting, I am thoroughly enjoying creating primitive and whimsical illustrations for a possible French cook book collaboration with chef and recipe tester Fiona Reed who is based in Maisons Lafitte outside of Paris. What better combination than food and art??

B is for baguette

I went to check out the the National Gallery of Victoria and was met by a giant rabbit. Sigh…the contemporary art world pulls the wool over our eyes once again. At least it should have been a kangaroo! The gallery was

National Gallery of Victoria

holding some impressive exhibitions, my favorite being The Naked Face, a collection of self-portraits taking us on a  ’journey through the history of the human face.’ I attended a fascinating symposium on the subject which featured presentations by participating artists, and a range of lectures by professors in multi-disciplinary fields. Recognize the portrait below…??

In the picture....

I also visited a drawing session with a live model in my role as feature columnist for The Great Nude.tv. It has been quite a while since I drew from the model and it was an uplifting experience. Note to self: more of the same!

Drawing session in progress

                                    But it wasn’t all art, art, art. I also checked out the local food markets, hung out at a street festival, biked along the beach, had the best coffee in the Southern Hemisphere and did yoga with my niece and nephew!

                Answer to the riddle : When you’re Down Under

The New Year seems to be bringing some much-needed attention to my two-dimensional work. Within the past few weeks no less than four of my paintings have been juried into various shows around the country. Compared with the cumbersome slide entry process of the past, the opportunity to enter juried shows by email has made the entry process rather painless.

White on White

My acrylic painting White on White from the Chez Grace Paris series was selected for exhibition in the international small format competition The Richeson 75. The paint was barely dry when I spontaneously decided to enter it into the competition which drew over 500 entries worldwide. White on White will be on exhibit at the Richeson Gallery opening February 11 and will appear in the catalogue of finalists.

Rafting on the Jordan

Several years ago I did a series of six gouache paintings highlighting different parts of Israel. I love gouache as a medium, so versatile yet so under-appreciated. Yes, these are my feet as I kicked back on a family rafting trip down the Jordan River, which is actually deceptively treacherous. On a whim I entered this painting in a competition calling for River Art. Not only was it juried into an exhibition opening February 11 at West Shore Gallery, but it won Best of Category, and will be appearing in a book on rivers published by Sunbury Press! The only snafu is confusion over the title of the piece, which appears as Not a Care in the World instead of Rafting on the Jordan!

Break of Dawn

Break of Dawn is a large acrylic painting that has attracted quite a lot of attention. I would really love to do a whole series on pillows floating through black space. Lenny Campello recently juried this painting into the annual international show at Gallery West in Alexandria.

Waiting

During my extended stay in Paris in January 2010 I was fortunate enough to meet fellow artist Yael Braverman who taught me her unique copper etching techniques. One of my first etchings entitled Waiting will be on exhibit next month in New York City at the Fifth Avenue gallery of the National Association of Women Artists. 

It’s a good feeling to have one’s work out there, if only to clear the decks and make room for the next round!

 

 

In the spirit of ringing in the new, I have put the Paris art scene on temporary hold in favor of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Three weeks ago I had never heard of this charming destination, described as a Mexican version of a Tuscan hilltown. Now, after spending a week there, I can’t wait to return. Certainly it is delightfully picturesque, blessed with superb weather and home to thousands of ex-pats from North America and Europe. But it is also oozing with art from every cobblestone. This is largely due to the efforts of one Stirling Dickinson who wandered into the sleepy town in 1937 and established an art institute in a former convent. The rest is history.

Over the years, San Miguel de Allende has become an international art center, attracting hundreds of artists from all over the world. These newcomers have contributed a distinctly European art sensibility alongside the existing Mexican craft scene, resulting in a very interesting and textured visual feast. The countless galleries and art co-ops co-exist with local artisans peddling their traditional crafts such as the exquisite bead work (below) and finely detailed wares. For the tourist looking for art, the options are vast.

The offerings in the fine arts are incredibly diverse. I came across still lifes of clay pots against adobe walls; huge abstract canvases ripe for a NY penthouse; discerning abstract panels with thoughtful titles; powerful and humorous paintings in the primitive vein; large, sophisticated expressionist narratives; photorealist masterpieces and oversized contemporary ceramic sculptures. And if jewelry’s your thing, Pepe Cerroblanco’s designs at the Fabrica La Aurora art center are irresistible.

Art in San Miguel is a SERIOUS business, and so I was rather surprised by the generous and friendly sharing of information I encountered in the art community. But the highlight of my art experience came when I wandered into the brand new super-modern boutique hotel Matilda, only to come face-to-face with a sculpture by one of my favorite living sculptors – Mexico City-based Xavier Marin. What a treat!

I made a very exciting contact with a gallery in Paris that is interested in representing my work. Galerie Saphir is a small but well respected gallery in the 17th arrondissement. The gallerist, Francine Szapiro, has four galleries which she manages with her husband. Our first collaboration is already up and running – my small ceramic figurines can now be found at 69 avenue de Villiers, Paris! We are hoping that they will appeal as Christmas gifts….

We are also discussing introducing my paintings to her clientele. All very exciting. I have started a series I had in mind inspired by the home of one of my Parisian friends, Grace Teshima, whose Montmatre apartment doubles as a gallery. The salon is a beautiful light-infused space (see detail of one of my paintings below).

On a totally different note, I have been selected as one of 54 Jewish women artists from around the world to contribute to the artistic interpretation of the Torah. The project is called Women of the Book and is the brainchild of Shoshana Gugenheim, who is based in Israel. I will be receiving my piece of parchment mid-2011 and will begin working on my visual interpretation of my selected text at that time. So lots of work at the moment which should keep my mind off the coming Virginia winter…

On the home front, I will be exhibiting my new miniature ceramic sculptures, which have been aptly described as ‘sculptural collages’. The exhibition opens on August 31st at the NVJCC Gallery in Fairfax, VA. The sculptures all began with a woman’s head as a foundation, building up from there – it is not too difficult to jump metaphorically to the burdens, joys and dreams one carries as a woman.

Also opening in October at the Albany Institute of History and Art will be the travelling museum show The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories which will include my multi-media piece If The Shoe Fits…Buy It.

And finally, I have continued to write for Bonjour Paris as an art contributor. My latest article Good Things Come in Small Packages is my tenth article (!) and I am confident that my upcoming return to Paris will provide interesting fresh material.

I made this sculpture several years ago, and it has been exhibited at various venues. I am constantly reviewing calls for artists to see where past works may have a chance to be exhibited, often years after their creation. This particular work was part of a series examining the high price women pay as ‘collateral damage’ during wartime.

Interestingly, I have just recently begun sculpting a new series of small porcelain figures , but with a different emphasis. I want to create almost androgenous  miniature figures which project those BIG human emotions like inner turmoil, fear or introspection. 

Yes, they really are this cute!

Forget culture shock. How about temperature shock? Straight from a freezing cold Paris to the heat of Melbourne’s waning summer. A brief stay in Australia to participate in two family weddings did not leave much time for art. However, I did get to see (not once, but twice) the brilliant Ron Mueck exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in the heart of Melbourne. Mueck plays with our minds and our senses by pairing realism with exaggerated scale in his hyperrealist sculptures. A lot to see and a lot to think about.

Woman in Bed sculpture

Ruth and I in 30 years. Hard to distinguish which are the sculptures!