Two Lavender Walls

. At Anthony Greaney Gallery, Boston: Daniel Ellis, inkjet on canvas, app. 10 x 12 feet
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Two lavender walls, one in Boston, the other in San Francisco, are gorgeous from a distance and surprising up close.

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On a quick trip into Boston I stopped into the Anthony Greaney Gallery in the 450 Harrison Avenue complex. The current show is a selection of work by gallery artists. Holding one wall: an inkjet-print-on-canvas triptych by Daniel Ellis. The color is a retinal jolt--electric minimalism, you might call it. Closer, you realize there's a pattern of letters. It is "Happy Birthday"? Aw, that's sweet. But no, there are C's and O's in the pattern. P. . . Y . . .H . . . O. . . Closer up you realize it's "Pyschopath." Don't get too comfy, the artist is warning us. It's a dangerous world out there even if the art looks inviting. I'm not sure I want to be reminded of what I already know, but the color is visually seductive.

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Daniel Ellis, detail of Lavender Psychopath
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Over on the other coast, there's another lavender wall, a color field inflected with red and blue. My friend, the New York-based artist Marietta Hoferer, has a wall at Hosfelt Gallery, in a show called "Wall Drawing" (through April 24). Hoferer, who is known for her white-on-white work, shared a few images of the installation, and I pulled another from Todd Hosfelt's blog. The surprise for me: She's working with color. And the surprise for you if you don't know her work: She does it with tape.

At Hosfelt Gllery, San Francisco: Installation view of Marietta Hoferer's wall
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Below, a detail. It's wide blue painter's tape over a thinner red drafting tape. The lines are straight, but the eye sees all kinds of undulations in the finished work, which reads as a springlike hyacinth from a distance.
Images courtesy of the artist

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Hoferer making the work. Image from Todd Hosfelt blog. There's more of the process on the blog, along with a great finished view--as well as work by the other artists in this show. If you're in the Bay Area, go see!
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As the Blogosphere Turns

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We are bloggers, hear us roar

(Image from the National Park Service website)

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So on the heels of my Hillbilly of the Week award a few weeks ago (by a pay-to-show gallery that I angered) comes a mass denunciation of bloggers as prairie dogs by the New Museum director, Richard Flood who, apparently, just learned about the blogosphere a few weeks ago. Flood even called Jerry Saltz "Mussolini," though Saltz is on FB and doesn't even have a blog, and does not share the same family tree as the reviled fascist.. .

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Sometimes the blogosphere can be like a soap opera. So lather up and enjoy:.

. Hyperallergic, which broke the story and then followed up

. Edward Winkleman blog, which weighed in

. Jerry Saltz's review of Skin Fruit at the NuMu, with a personal note to Flood at the end

Marketing Mondays: Tax Time

Click here for Geometric Themes and Variations
A must read: My First Blog Award
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For artists, the three inescapables in life are death, taxes and rejection. This column has already discussed rejection, and I'm not touching death, but with April 15 looming, let's talk taxes. Not that I have the appropriate initials to address the topic authoritatively--as in CPA or IRS--but I have plenty of OMG and WTF. Here's what I think is important. I hope you'll add to the conversation:
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1. Keep good records. I don't understand that everything-in-the-shoebox method. Someone has to sort those receipts, and if it's not you, you're gonna pay for someone else's time to do it. Have you switched to an electronic system like Quicken? Do you like it? I'm still using ledger paper for money in and money out, and in a notebook at the end of each day I enter expenses in the appropriate category I've created: art supplies, books, business services, mileage, office supplies, telecommunication, and many others. Then I tote up my figures at the end of each month, so that at the end of the year I add up 12 figures for each category. My system is "Slow-en" but it works for me.
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2. Get help. Do you freelance? Have a part-time gig with witholding taxes? Work a 9-to-5 and also make art? Do you pay a mortgage and maintenance? Do you have kids? Are you paying off an education loan? Do you own rental property? Do you have deductions for art supplies and activities? Do you work in different states? When you're filing a salad of W-2s, 1099s, Schedule A, Schedule C and more, the last thing you want to do is go it alone. Plus, tax laws change from year to year, so following last year's forms may not be to your advantage. I have used the same tax person on 19th Street for 20 years. She knows my history and, more important, she understands the particular needs of self-employed people. I pay her $600 for the job, but I'm guessing she saves me 10 times that, to say nothing of the agita of trying to figure out those forms. If I get audited, not only do I have well-organized records, I'll have a knowledgeable and experienced professional to represent me. (Seasonal tax preparers like H & R Block may be good for some folks, but I do not believe they have the expertise we need.)
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3. Don't cheat. Small businesses and freelancers raise all kinds of red flags because we don't fit into conventional IRS parameters, unlike the millions of folks who have one w-2 and file a short form. And you should know that the Feds are going after the small businessperson. (You'd think they'd go after the big corporations, where they might get some serious money. But no. The corporations have phalanxes of attorneys, so they go after us for chump change.)
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The good news is that pretty much everything we do is legally tax deductible; we just have to put it in the correct box and have a receipt or diary entry to back it up.
. Do you visit New York City (or another big gallery city) from time to time to see the galleries and museums? Deductible--airfare, hotel, food, museum entries, taxis or subway fare, everything; it's a business trip
. Do you travel frequently to deliver artwork and attend your openings? All the associated travel expenses are deductible
. Do you use your vehicle for business? Keep track of the miles traveled for business; a good percentage of your auto expenses may be deductible
. Do you have copies of your slides and art CDs in a safe deposit box? Deductible
. Career consultation? Deductible
. Computer assistance? Deductible
. Framing? Fed Ex? Maintaining your website? Entry fees? Deductible, deductible, deductible, deductible
. Telephone? Cable? They should be deductible at least in part
. Your studio? Deductible, of course
. The studio in your home? A percentage of your building expenses are deductible, but the space must be used solely and regularly for art business
. Your health insurance if you're paying for it yourself? De-frickin-ductible
. Your tax prep? Deductible for the following year
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There's much more, including equipment that has to be amortized over five years. Naturally there are particulars for all of this. You have to show a profit every five years or your business will be classified as a "hobby" with no deductible benefits, but an experienced tax pro may know of exceptions, especially as most business are suffering in the recession.
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Now, over to you. What are your thoughts, observations, advice to colleagues who are struggling with too many numbers and, probably, not enough cash?

Geometric Themes and Variations

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A peek into Gallery Onetwentyeight on Rivington Street, where Geometric Themes and Variations is up through April 10

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Geometric Theme and Variations, curated by the painter Gloria Klein, is at Gallery Onetwentyeight on the Lower East Side through April 10. Let me say right upfront that I have a work in this show. But so do 19 other artists, so I feel comfortable writing about it. This is my kind of exhibition--geometric, material, intelligent, well crafted--and I would be showing it to you even if I weren't in it.

Klein has curated one exhibition a year for the past several years in this gallery. Her concept this year was to bring together artists working in a variety of mediums and a range of geometric expression. I would describe that range as baroque(ish) to minimal to conceptual. One unifying element is how good each individual work is; it's clear the artists in this show have been at it for a while. Another is that all the work is small to midsize, which results in a visual conversation that takes place at the same pitch, so to speak, despite the diversity of voices. An inspired installation pulls it all together. Here, see for yourself.

We're starting on the left wall as you enter the gallery and continuing image by image into the back gallery. These installation views are followed by some individual images. Then we'll look down the shorter right wall, also followed by individual images on that side. (I was not completely successful in shooting the glazed work individually, so some artists are shown only in the overview, where I have provided information about the work. Otherwise, scroll down for specific info on individual works.)
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On the left wall as you walk in, from from the left: Betty Woodman; George Woodman, Eleonora Discovers Geometry, 2010, gelatin silver print, 26 x 39 inches (framed); Scott Malbaurn; Gloria Klein . . .
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. . . G. Woodman, Malbaurn, Klein, Joanne Mattera

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Moving into the second gallery: Edward Shalala; Bruce Pollock, Wink, 2008, ink and pencil on paper, 16 x 12 inches framed; Michael Knutson; April Vollmer
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April Vollmer, Power Lines, 2009, woodcut print, 26 x 26 inches; Kazuko Miyamoto
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Far back corner in the second gallery: Michael Otterson, Personality Type B, 2009, gouache, graphite and ink on paper, 30 x 22 inches; Steven Alexander; Kazuko Miyamoto
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The individual works:

Betty Woodman, Geometric Abstraction, 2010, glazed earthenware, 37 x 38 x 1 inches


Scott Malbaurn, Nautical Up, 2008, acrylic resin on linen over panel, 11 x 14 inches



Gloria Klein, Not Wallpaper, 2009, acrylic on Arches paper, 20 x 30 inches


Joanne Mattera, Uttar 157, 2006, encaustic on panel, 24 x 24 inches
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Edward Shalala, Untitled: Canvas Thread Documentary Photograph, 2009, B&W print, each 11 x 14 inches (bonus: that's Shalala's reflection in the glass)
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Michael Knutson, White/Black Four Cornered Coils, 2010, white watercolor on black Arches paper, 20 x 20 inches
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Steven Alexander, Sage, 2010, acrylic and gold leaf on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

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Kazuko Miyamoto, Silk Passage, 2010, nails, silk thread, wood, 11.25 x 12 x 17 inches
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Fred Worden, Everyday Bad Dream, 2008, six-minute DVD
(To orient you, this work is on the other side of the wall that holds the three sculptures, below)

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Switching sides now

On the right wall as you walk in, three from front to back: Richard Bottwin, Richard Kalina, Don Voisine . . .

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. . . Clark Richert, 6-D Hyperplane, 2010, framed digital print, 20 x 20 inches; Lawrence Kenny, Charles Dijulio, Richard Kallweit
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The individual works:

Richard Bottwin, Facade #5, 2009; wood, acrylic paint, textured acrylic sheet, 15 x 15 x 4.5 inches (you saw this work in Spring Greens last week)
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Richard Kalina, Practical Harmonics, 2008, watercolor and ink on paper, 22 x 30

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Don Voisine, Slitch R-10, 2010, oil on styrofoam, 12 x 12 x 2 inches

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Lawrence Kenny, Wall Work 7, 2010, graphite pencil on wall and painted wood, 16 x 22 inches

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Charles Dijulio, Triangle Playing Cards, 2010, inkjet print, 20 x 23 inches

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Richard Kallweit, Star Pattern on Twisted Cube, Infinite Regression on Icosahedron, and Twisted Cube Pattern; each 2009, 6 x 6 x 6 inches .

Three Sculptors

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Nancy Azara: Detail of Broken Red leaves, shown in full below

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In this post you see the work of three sculptors, each working in wood and each with a solo show up now: Nancy Azara, Donna Dodson and Ursula Von Ridingsvard. Formally and esthetically the three approach their material differently, but there’s a sensense of humanity, if not spirituality, present in each artist's work.

Nancy Azara’s show, Dawn/Light: Sculpture and Collages, is at Andre Zarre Gallery on 20th Street in Chelsea until the 27th (don’t miss it). Her handcarved works, suggesting totems or altars, give form to a spiritual sensibility. Lilly Wei writes in the catalog accompanying the exhibition: “A feminist and spiritualist whose production is a testament to memories and desires, to landscapes of the mind and soul with reference to nature and the architectural, Azara seems to transfer her own passionate convictions, her own breath of life into her constructs.” You do not walk away from this work without carrying an intangible part of it with you.

Broken Red Leaves, installed at Andre Zarre Gallery

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Altar for Nunzia: 1913-2004
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Azara with Dawn/Light

All the sculptures are carved, painted and gilded with various metal leafs

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Donna Dodson’s stylized and abstracted elephants are anthropomorphized into archetypes of the feminine: girl, woman, goddess or queen. “My artwork celebrates the mystical relationship between human beings and the animal kingdom," says Dodson. "The challenge is to fuse feminine sensuality, sexuality and soul with a well-proportioned figurative vocabulary." Her solo, Elephant Tribe took place at the Boston Sculptors Gallery, in Boston, in November, but if you’re in New England, you can see a new show at the Galletly Gallery in New Hampton, New Hampshire, which opens April 1 and runs for the month..

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Donna Dodson:

Elephant Bride, left, and White Elephant, two sculptures from the installation at the Boston Sculptor's Gallery, Boston, in November shown below
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Ursula Von Rydingsvard: Blackened Word, cedar and graphite, installed at Galerie Lelong on 26th Street
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Ursula Von Rydingsvard's handsome solo, Erratus, is at Galerie Lelong on 26th Street through May 1. Von Rydingsvard’s hewn cedar sculptures are massive and monumental. They are constructed from smaller elements that have been built into unfurling and undulating forms—and then, if I see correctly from her website—are cut up before being reconstructed. The work is too constrained in a gallery setting; it needs to be outdoors, where it has a more elemental relationship with its surroundings. Rydingsvard the organic Serra. Wait. Let me restate that: He’s the ferric Von Rydingsvard.
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Above and below: Details of Blackened Word
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Droga, cedar and graphite
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Marketing Mondays: The Art Consultant Who Doesn't Pay

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Art consultants play an integral part in how art gets placed in private homes, in corporate collections, and in public and private institutions. Unlike dealers who focus on placing the work of artists from their own galleries, consultants move freely to acquire art for their various clients, buying directly from artists or art fairs, for instance, or working with a range of galleries in different cities, sometimes commissioning artwork as well. Some consultants work freelance, while others may be hired as independent contractors for specific private or institutional jobs. (Some lucky few are even on staff at the big corporate institutions.) From this point of view, they are unique in the way they are able to see a lot of art and to connect the dots widely. We love what they do. .

But when a consultant goes rogue, getting paid can become an ordeal, which is the subject of today's post.

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A friend and I both had work selected by a consultant, let’s call her Josephine Schmo, for the collection of a high-profile medical institution in a large city in the Northeast. My friend made the sale directly, I worked through my dealer.

The sales were made in the first quarter of 2009. Payment would be made, said the consultant, when the work was installed in June. Well, OK, but when I buy a plane ticket, I’m billed when the transaction is made, not when I board the plane. June turned into September. The checks were “in the mail.” Then they were “in the mail.” And then they were still “in the mail.” At the end of the year, after numerous calls to this consultant, my dealer received partial payment and paid me in full.

“It’s my job to make sure you get paid,” said my dealer. (Bless her! This is just one of the reasons I never begrudge a dealer’s commission.) She then contacted the institution that had the work, and someone from the acquisition committee made sure a check for the balance arrived promptly.

My friend who made the direct sale is still waiting to get paid. She’s made numerous phone calls to this consultant and resubmitted the bill to her several times but has heard nothing.

If you do not have a dealer in your corner—and maybe even if you do—how do you handle a situation like this? Some thoughts (this is not legal advice, however, as I am not an attorney):

1) Contact the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in your city or region. This wonderful organization helps artists pro bono. Indeed, it turns out that another friend who had dealt directly with this same rogue consultant is also owed money; she’s working with a VLA to get payment for a rather large sum. If you work with a VLA lawyer, or any lawyer, work with the lawyer and disregard the rest of this post.

2) Find out who’s on the acquisitions committee of the institution for which this consultant works. You could go through a friend of a friend to get the information, but in terms of making the contact, you should do that yourself. You might prepare a letter to the director and members of the committee outlining the circumstances of the situation: the name of the consultant, date the work was picked up by her or delivered to her, a description of the artworks, money owed, date payment was expected, and the utter lack of response from the consultant. Include digital images of the work and copies of the initial paperwork. The acquisition committee should be familiar with these new acquisitions.

It’s possible that the issue will be resolved at this point, as it was with my dealer. Indeed, as I was telling this story to a friend in New York, he exclaimed, "We had a problem with her, too!" His dealer left a message with the consultant saying that she, the dealer, was about to contact the acquisition committee. "The check arrived the next day via Fed Ex," said my friend.

If financial resolution does not seem possible, you could remind the committee that this consultant who has not paid you was in fact engaged by them. If they can’t pay you, why not ask that your work be returned to you? If nothing happens . . .

3) Turn to the local/regional art institutions, cultural councils and other non-profit organizations whose mission is to support art and artists. They may have advice, leads, legal contacts. Concurrently you might. . . .

4) Turn to the local press, particularly the writers who cover the art/culture beat—and certainly the magazines and blogs in the region that cover the arts. Tell each one your story, succinctly. If the story is bigger than just you, say so. If you know of others and have their permission, note their names and particulars as well. If a reporter smells a good story, she’ll do what reporters do: contact the institution, the consultant, the other artists.

It’s possible that the resulting attention to the institution and the consultant will force the issue to be resolved. (The institution may even wish to pursue a legal issue against the consultant.) If you have received no satisfaction at this point . . .

5) You might take your issue to the airwaves. Many TV stations have a consumer advocate. Figure out the angle to interest them. For instance, if the collection is in a world-class medical institution, it would be ironic that an institution whose mission is to heal—and indeed whose art collection is intended to provide a calm visual oasis for its clients— can inadvertently cause such pain for the artist/s who created the work. But your pitch is not woe-is-me; it’s a consumer issue. They bought; you (and possibly others) didn’t get paid. Those TV segments seem to always get a quick resolution. Don’t be daunted if one station turns you down. There are others. Refine your pitch. Keep trying.

If you’ve gotten no satisfaction . . .

6) Start a blog called Josephine Schmo Has Not Paid Me. Tell your story. Show images of the work for which you have not yet been paid. If it’s possible to get into the institution to photograph your work in situ, do it. I’m not suggesting you break in. Many private institutions have public spaces, or make an appointment to see the collection. Ask for other artists and dealers to contact you privately if they are in the same situation—but encourage them to post their stories in the Comments section of the blog. Try to organize everyone who has not yet been paid. As a group you have more leverage, either in bringing the issue to a VLA lawyer, or in hiring a lawyer, or in presenting a unified face to the acquisitions committee of the institution, or even to the press.

If you’re worried about being sued for slander, know this: It’s not slander if it’s the truth. So while it’s likely libelous to say, “Josephine Schmo is a lying thief who rips off artists, steals children’s lunches, kicks dogs and smells funny” (unless you have incontrovertible proof), it’s entirely reasonable and legal to relate your experience: “Josephine Schmo has not paid me for artwork she purchased from me. Moreover, after having left repeated messages on her voicemail and email over a period of six months, I have not received a response from her.”

But at this point if the issue has not been resolved, you really do need legal advice and help. You may also need to press charges. Because let’s be clear: If a consultant sells your work and receives money for that sale and then and doesn’t pay you your share, that’s theft. She could be arrested.

If you’re concerned about not selling your work via this consultant again, what have you lost? You’re never going to do business with her again.

Now, over to you.
. Artists and dealers, have you been the victim of a rogue consultant?
. Have you taken legal action?
. Has the issue been resolved to your satisfaction?
. Do we have any consultants who are reading? What would you suggest an artist do?
. Do we have any attorneys in the house? How about a little pro bono advice?

Spring Greens

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Blade of grass from Joseph Patterson Blog

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In homage to the Vernal Equinox, which takes place tomorrow, I've curated a post with a primavera palette of shoots and new growth. What's not to love about a hue that starts out so fresh from its push into the light that it's almost translucent, deepens with chlorophyll, and then embraces a spectrum of verdancy that explodes into bloom?

To use the language of the season, the project germinated when I made a mental connection among the paintings of Sand T, a Boston-based artist, Julie Evans and Julie Gross. From there it just, well, grew. Joseph Patterson's Blade of Grass, the image that opens the post, is a lovely and poetic find from the Internet that unites nature and art. And now on to art and spring . . .

Julie Evans

Lesson From a Guinea Hen #10, 2008, mixed water-based media and colored pencil on paper, app. 23 x 30 inches

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Richard Bottwin

Facade #5, 2009; wood, acrylic paint, textured acrylic sheet; 15 x 15 x 15 inches.

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Sand T
The Space Between Z-1 Chartreuse, 2009; epoxy, resin, paint, graphite on board; 14.5 x 14.5 x 1.75 inches

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Julie Gross
Fugue State, 2002, oil on linen, 24 x 24 inches
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Alan Ebnother

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Anne Russinof
Yellow Quilt, 2010, oil on linen, 21 x 16 inches

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Steven Alexander

Chromatin, 2009, acrylic on linen, 26 x 20 inches

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. Anne Truitt

A Wall for Apricots, 1968, painted wood; from "Anne Truitt: Perception and Reflection" at the Hirschhorn .

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Douglas Witmer

Green Gloves, 2009, black gesso and acrylic on canvas, 24 x 20 inches.

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Joanne Mattera

Silk Trail #65, 2010, unique digital print, paper size 11.5 x 8 inches

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Joan Mellon

Amsterdam Prague Suite 13, 2005, oil on paper, 12 x 16 inches

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Melissa Meyer
The Nicholas Series XII, 2007, watercolor on paper, 17.5 x 32 inches
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Peter Wayne Lewis
Beijing Booster 37, 2007, acrylic on Linen, 216 X 183 cm

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Molly Heron
Unrest, 2007, gouache on paper, 7 x 9 inches
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Robert Sagerman
7373, 2008, oil on canvas, 21 x 20 inches
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Susan Schwalb
Songlines III, 2005, silverpoint and acrylic on paper on wood, 24 x 24 x 2 inches
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Margaret Neill
Untitled, gouache on paper, 23 x 22 inches
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. Jaq Chartier
18 Greens; acrylic, stains, spray paint on wood panel, 24 x 30 inches
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Pamela Farrell
All things Flow (Green), 2010, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
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Clytie Alexander
Diaphan Green 1, 2006; pigment, shellac and acrylic on kozo; 34 x 24 inches
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Grace De Gennaro
Green River, 2007, oil on linen, 28 x 16 .
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Chris Ashley

Green and Orange Grid, Black Corner, 2009, HTML (captured j-peg), 400x400 pixels.

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Julie Karabenick

Composition 88, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 inches

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Stephen Maine

Mesh Painting, 2008

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