Great Time To See Work By Pittsburgh Artists, Diane Samuels, Kim Beck and Mary Mazziotti in New York

Mary Mazziotti @ OK Harris
EXHIBITION: APRIL 9 – MAY 14, 2011



Mazziotti Rooster - 2011
embroidery and applique on textile
50 x 46 in. (127 x 117 cm)

"This series of embroidered and appliquéd textiles is presented as a memento mori for our nation. Each figure is worked in black felt and mounted on a vintage tablecloth that bears the wear and tear of use. They suggest the notion of a great empire, slipping from the strength of her glory years into an inevitable decline."

So sorry I will miss this show which revives the language of naive optimism often associated with early American and Mexican folk art-at the very time so many are questioning our nation's future.

Diane Samuels: A Noisless patient spider @Kim Foster Gallery
April 28 - June 4, 20

"Samuels’ drawing The Odyssey of a patch of street exactingly renders a 21 x 310-feet stretch of scarred asphalt onto a 92 x 33-inch sheet of paper. With the help of a magnifying glass, you discover that the drawing is made from handwriting that word for word transcribes the entire text of Homer’s Odyssey, the epic poem of war and homecoming. The cracked asphalt is the street in front of Samuels’ home. The text winds its way down one side of the sheet of paper returning up the other side, back to her home, and ends with the text’s call to bring a halt to the great leveler, War.

Before beginning to write, Samuels affixed a photo-mask of the street’s crevices and potholes over the paper. After the text was written, she peeled away the mask removing some of the text. Where the text was destroyed, the drawing was created. Accompanying the drawing is an archive of the lost and destroyed memories made from the text-covered photo-masks."

Kim Beck: Space Available on The NY High Line

March 4, 2011 - January, 2012. On rooftops along Washington Street, between West 13th and Gansevoort Streets.



Kim Beck presents three sculptures resembling the skeletal framework behind advertising billboards. These blank forms emulate the abounding indicators of the economic recession, such as empty storefronts and "For Sale" signs. Beck's sculptures have the illusion of depth when viewed from the front, but as visitors move past them, the side views reveal that they are completely flat, cut from perspective drawings and built like theater props.

Pittsburgh Artist, Diane Samuels: A Noiseless patient spider @ Kim Foster Gallery in NY

"Samuels’ drawing The Odyssey of a patch of street exactingly renders a 21 x 310-feet stretch of scarred asphalt onto a 92 x 33-inch sheet of paper. With the help of a magnifying glass, you discover that the drawing is made from handwriting that word for word transcribes the entire text of Homer’s Odyssey, the epic poem of war and homecoming. The cracked asphalt is the street in front of Samuels’ home. The text winds its way down one side of the sheet of paper returning up the other side, back to her home, and ends with the text’s call to bring a halt to the great leveler, War.

Before beginning to write, Samuels affixed a photo-mask of the street’s crevices and potholes over the paper. After the text was written, she peeled away the mask removing some of the text. Where the text was destroyed, the drawing was created. Accompanying the drawing is an archive of the lost and destroyed memories made from the text-covered photo-masks.

The patch of street is the same small slice of Sampsonia Way, that inspired this major Samuels's work you might have seen at The Mattress Factory.

"Diane Samuels lives on a small alley in Pittsburgh that was originally populated by immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries and is now the home to several exiled writers in the City of Asylum/Pittsburgh project, of which she was a co-founder. Samuels will be participating in the exhibitions “Neighbo[u]rhood” curated by Georgina Jackson, independent curator from Ireland, at the Mattress Factory opening in May and “Gertrude’s/LOT” curated by Eric Shiner, Acting Director & The Milton Fine Curator of Art, at The Warhol Museum opening in September."

Diane Samuels
A Noiseless patient spider

April 28 - June 4, 2011
Reception: Thursday, April 28, 6 - 8 pm

Open Tuesday through Saturday 11am to 6pm

Kim Foster Gallery529 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011

Diane Samuels: Mapping Sampsonia @ Kim Foster

Here are some images of the Diane Samuels show at Kim Foster, taken from the gallery website. Yes, the title of the show refers to Sampsonia Way on the North Side, where Diane has lived since 1980.