Sorry for the recent lack of posts

I've been super busy preparing for a month of traveling, I also got some terrible stomach bug that knocked me out for a few days. I won't be back to regular Daily Book Graphics blogging until April 1st but I will hopefully be posting book and design related posts from my travels. I'm in New York at the moment, I have a set of books in a group show at Black & White Gallery in Williamsburg. There a few new ones, including the three below. 

On Tuesday I'm leaving on a European trip that will include London, Maastricht, Metz, Paris and Reykjavik. I'm sure I will find some books along the way. 

Montague Projects at Pulse L.A.

Sorry for the blog silence, this last week was a mad rush to finish multiple projects and get myself to L.A., which is where I am now. I'm at the Pulse L.A. art fair with Black & White Gallery. I'm showing new books and posters from the Secondary Occupants project, a few of them are in this post, you can see the rest on Flickr. I'll be back to Daily Book Graphics posts next week.

My little corner of Pulse

The Business of Art

I had a good week in New York working the Pulse Contemporary Art Fair with Black & White Gallery. There was a lot of interest in the books, I sold quite a few. Usually artists don't hang around their work as much as I do, but I find that it helps to be there, I end up meeting a lot of interesting people, and seeing old friends. It helps make up for not living in NYC. But the best part of being there this time was that I met David Byrne! I saw this guy taking a picture of one of my books, so I asked him if he had any questions, then, as I started to talk about my project I realized who he was. He seemed genuinely amused by the covers. It was pretty weird to be talking about what I do with such an icon.

Black and White Gallery's booth at Pulse Contemporary Art Fair, featuring Isidro Blasco, Alicia Ross, Shimon Okshteyn and myself.

Pulse party at Le Bain@ The Standard Hotel, amazing views of the city in all directions.

Flemish Masters, That's Life at Andrea Rosen Gallery

Jen's bunny

Slow but pleasant train ride home. On the way down I saw a coyote standing alone in a snowy field. On the way back I saw a beaver swimming parallel to the tracks in a flooded field.

Montague Projects at the Pulse NYC Art Fair

I won't be doing too much book blogging this week as I am in New York for the Pulse Art Fair. I was hoping to scan enough books for the week before I left, but I ran out of time. In any case, I'll be showing at set of sixteen of my faux books at Black & White Gallery's booth at Pulse. The first two below are the most recent and have not been shown anywhere yet. Pulse info here. Books in context here.

The Miami Art Fairs / Road Trip

I spotted this in a Home Depot parking lot in St. Augustine.

Blogging has been and will be slowed down for a little while because I'm on a Florida road trip until December 13th. The main reason for the trip is to attend the various art fairs going on in Miami from the 2 through the 5th. We are also visiting a number of relatives around the state of Florida. We are thrifting as we go so I'm hoping to find a ton of great new stuff for the blog. I'm also planning on doing a lot of scanning of my Grandfather's books in St. Petersburg.

If you are in Miami, I'm showing, my faux books with Black and White Gallery at the Pulse Fair and I have two pieces at the Aqua Art Fair (at the hotel) that are part of a William Brovelli project about contracts with Horse Trader Gallery. I'll be posting more about all this later.

Opening of "Commune" at Black & White

I went to the opening of Commune (a group show I have work in, see a couple posts back) last night and it was packed. The show looks great, check it out if you're in the area.

People having their minds blown by the Stray Shopping Cart Project.

Commune at Black & White

CHITRA GANESH

ODED HIRSCH

me

I'm going to New York tomorrow morning. I have several things to do there, one of them is to attend the opening of a group show called "Commune" at Black & White Gallery. I have a couple pieces in the show, it looks like it is going to be really cool. Here is the press release info.

May 21 - June 27, 2009
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 21, 2009 , 6-8pm
Black & White Gallery
636 W 28th St.,Ground Floor, New York, NY

BLACK & WHITE GALLERY is pleased to host COMMUNE – group exhibition organized by the independent curator and critic Dominique Nahas.

COMMUNE brings together twenty four nationally and internationally recognized artists whose diverse and surprising works examine networks of forces brought to bear by exchange through the social bond, be it through family, fellowship of friends, lovers, school affiliations, secular and religious organizations, class structures, collectives, and nations

NORIKO AMBE, ERIK BENSON, BRIAN BRESS, OSVALDO BUDET, CAROLINA CAYCEDO, JARED CLARK, BLANE DE ST. CROIX, OANA FARCAS, CAOIMHGHIM O FRAITHILE, CHARLEY FRIEDMAN, CHITRA GANESH, ODED HIRSCH, HIDENORI ISHII, STEVE KEISTER, JULIA KUNIN, OLIVER LUTZ, JULIAN MONTAGUE, MAURIZIO PELLEGRIN, JOHN POWERS, MICHAEL REES, PETER ROSTOVSKY, JULIANNE SWARTZ, JACQUES LOUIS VIDAL, ROBERTO VISANI

I’ve established deep personal and professional bonds with each artist in COMMUNE. They are my friends. Organizing the summer show COMMUNE at Black & White Gallery for me has been akin to the creating of a fantasy island. On this island distinct artworks co-exist in mutuality, as visions of possibilities and impossibilities are marooned, fated to converse, to sing and laugh together, endlessly, communally.

Dominique Nahas, April 2009, New York

Off to Miami

I'm going to Miami tomorrow for the art fairs. Black & White Gallery (which represents me) will be at the Aqua Fair with a couple of my spider pieces. This will be my fifth trip to the Miami Fairs, it's always fun, exciting, and a little appalling. In terms of weather and economics, the contrast between Buffalo in December and Miami Beach is almost surreal, I like the strangeness of travelling from one to the other. Unfortunately the mood is going to be less exuberant this year due to all of the economic problems. Colette can't go this time so I'm going with my friend and fellow B-lo artist, A.J. Fries. I won't be posting again until Monday or Tuesday.

Flying over Miami Beach, heading home (2005)

Flying over Coney Island, which seems like Hoth in comparison

Brunch at the Sagamore Hotel, the two identically dressed people are a strange art couple (man and woman) who are always dress the same. I don't know their names.

This is the trunk of a car, wholesome Miami style

Go to This Opening

My friend and Gallery mate Alicia Ross has a solo show opening tomorrow night. More at here.

Black & White Gallery
The Chelsea Terminal
Warehouse (Ground Floor)
636 West 28th Street
New York, NY 10001

"To Know the Spiders" Closes, "Season Highlights" Group Show to Open

Yesterday was the last day of my show at Black & White Gallery in Chelsea. I really don't know how it went as far as who saw it, the blogosphere has been silent on the subject. Hint: it's not too late for some clever critic to write something about the show and somehow work in Louise Bourgeois' huge faceless spiders over at the Guggenheim...

The good news is that some of To Know the Spiders will remain in the gallery as part of Season Highlights the Summer Group show. I think the show is going to be great. Because I don't live in NYC I missed a lot of the season, the one that I did catch in the gallery was Tamara Kostianovsky's incredible show Actus Reus. The exhibit consisted mainly of large sculptures of beef carcasses made out of discarded clothing, photographs do not do them justice.


2007/2008
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
SUMMER GROUP SHOW

July 17 - August 15, 2008

Opening Reception:
Thursday, July 17, 6-8pm

LISET CASTILLO
MICHAEL VAN DEN BESSELAAR
GRANT MILLER
ASJA JUNG
TAMARA KOSTIANOVSKY
JULIAN MONTAGUE

Black & White Gallery
The Chelsea Terminal Warehouse
636 West 28th Street, Ground Floor
New York, NY 10001

TKTS on Dailyserving.com

Check it.

Some Installation Shots / Going Home

We arrived back in Buffalo some time after 3 am this morning. We were on the 10:55 out of JFK, but due to thunderstorms in NY and bad weather in other places we were delayed by several hours. We were not happy, by the time we took the train out to the airport we were feeling drained by a full day out in the 90 plus heat. I can't take the New York Summer heat for too long, after a couple of days my skin starts breaking out in strange rashes (for those of you who have never met me, I am very pale). It's a relief to be home and to have my show up, but also a bit weird, I am not sure what to do with myself right now. Who knows, maybe I won't be able to stop killing spiders...

Opening Night / Chelsea Hotel

The opening went well, there was a good turn out (a lot of B-lo expats), and the response to the work seemed pretty positive (of course people lie to your face when you are the artist, so who knows). Colette took the above pictures.

We have been staying at the Chelsea Hotel for the last two days in a small room with a shared bathroom, it's one of the cheapest rooms I could find in Manhattan. Fortunately the incredible history of the hotel turns the rundown condition of the room from minus into a plus. My only internet access has been in the lobby, so I have not had a chance to post as much as I would like. When I get home I have a bunch of things I want to write about the shows I have seen while in the city.

View from our window at the Chelsea Hotel

Peep This

New York Magazine gave me a good chunk of real estate in their art listings section (if you click on the image you should be able to read the text). There is a bit about a "reconstructed kitchen" that is news to me, but other than that I am happy and surprised to get this kind of promotion.

In New York

View of the Empire State Building from Black & White Gallery on West 28th Street.

Waiting for a Sunday night C train that will never come.

Partial installation view of To Know the Spiders