Friday, March 25, 2011

Triangle 100th Anniversary

March commemorating the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire


Today is the anniversary of one of the most tragic events in New York City's history.

People gathered at Union Square Park this morning, many of them family members, holding aloft 146 shirtwaists with a name attached.

Among the many events planned to mark this day, was a march down Broadway, starting at Union Square Park and ending at the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place.

I went to see the exhibit "Art • Memory • Place" at the Grey Art Gallery this week. The exhibit was fascinating and is located in the very same building where the factory had been located 100 years ago.

The Asch Building, now called the Brown Building and part of NYU, was the site of the fire. Many of the workers were young women, Jewish and Italian immigrants.

The event spurred outrage about workplace safety.

Many changes were enacted as a result of this tragedy, but 100 years later, unions then and now are still at odds over many issues.

Today's blog post does not share my paintings of the city but photos I took this morning remembering the Triangle Fire event. As the history of the city is so entwined with my art, I wanted to share this remembrance with you today.

Monday, March 21, 2011

SMSU Exhibit

Final weeks




Thought I'd share some installation photos of my exhibit at Southwest Minnesota State University Art Museum in Marshall, MN. I haven't traveled out to Minnesota to see the show but all accounts I've received are that they are happy with the exhibit.

The local paper, the Marshall Independent wrote an article on the show as well. Here's the link

I have been busy finishing up a commissioned painting for a collector and have been working on several new paintings. Happy first day of SPRING! It's been a long, hard winter and I'm looking forward to spending more hours in the studio now that daylight savings has kicked in.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Selling New York...art

Art on the small screen

"G.E."
Oil on canvas
30 x 24 inches


Last Fall I had an exhibit of my paintings in Warburg's Tribeca real estate office. They have an ongoing program of showcasing artists works. My friend Leslie who works at that location made the introduction and that is how that opportunity came about. I also found out that the HDTV program, "Selling New York" was featuring a broker from that office on the second season.

Long story short, a film crew was at the opening reception in September, busily filming away and the recent episode, "Big City Dreams" had a clip from the reception. The storyline of the episode featured a musician and an artist looking at real estate, hence the tie-in with the art reception at Warburg. The clip is a short one, and several of my paintings can be seen. The surprising thing is that I've received several emails and calls from friends asking if those were my paintings on television. It reminded me of the time I was watching an episode of "Law & Order" one evening, when an elevator door opened and there was my friend Denis with a newspaper in hand. After seeing my paintings on the small screen I have a better understanding of how my friends who do background work on film and tv must feel when they catch a fleeting image of themselves onscreen.

The episodes are repeated, so if you want to get a peek at some outrageously expensive New York real estate, here's your chance. You might even catch a fleeting glimpse of an original "Florin" too!


Photo of realtor Deborah Lupard, Warburg's chief, the artist looking to relocate and my painting "G.E." featured on the episode "Big City Dreams" on HDTV's "Selling New York." Note: Photographs on the left are not mine.