There's That Ken Freed Stuff

Well I came across two of the works of mine that were sold from the collection of Ken Freed.The photos suck but it's nice to see them. Ken's story is a facinating one.



Artist John Morris
Title Untitled (+ 3 others; 4 works)
Year 1996 - 1997
Medium wax crayon, colored pencil and graphite
Size 9 x 6.1 in. / 22.9 x 15.6 cm.
Misc. Signed
Sale Of Rago Auctions: Saturday, November 18, 2006
[Lot 272]
Kenneth L. Freed Collection of Contemporary Art
Estimate *
Sold For *

Artist John Morris
Title Tribute to Cisco Systems (+ 2 others; 3 works)
Year 1997 -
Medium wax and pencil
Size 7.1 x 10.2 in. / 18.1 x 26 cm.
Misc. Signed, Inscribed
Sale Of Rago Auctions: Saturday, November 18, 2006
[Lot 273]
Kenneth L. Freed Collection of Contemporary Art
Estimate *
Sold For *

More Japan in Pittsburgh

This just in: New York author and debut novelist, Ellis Avery, will be reading from The Teahouse Fire in Pittsburgh on March 13th. Her novel is set in late 19th century Japan, and is based in part on her five years spent studying the tea ceremony, both in New York and Kyoto. The book is getting rave reviews, from the LA Times, Publisher's Weekly, and everyone inbetween. “Beneath the beautiful surface of Avery's artfully controlled prose...the novel's essential question is that of desire: By what ceremonies, through what pains and past what obstacles must we endure in order to have not just any life but the one we most want to claim as our own?” --Buffalo Artvoice; and “Ellis Avery's research included a stay in Kyoto where she studied the tea ceremony, but that alone doesn't account for her perceptiveness about Japan; she's simply a keen cultural observer.” --Japundit

See more at Ellis' website

This reading, reception and book signing will be on March 13th, 6:30pm, at University of Pittsburgh--Room 501 of the Cathedral of Learning. Free and open to the public.

Modern Japanese Prints 1868-1989 @ The Carnegie Museum

Images from Carnegie Museum Website

Modern Japanese Prints: 1868–1989
Through April 15, 2007
Heinz Galleries

Modern Japanese Prints: 1868–1989 presents a fascinating survey of woodblock printmaking during a period of dramatic changes in Japanese life and culture. This exhibition highlights master prints from the late 19th-century Meiji period through the developments in printmaking that occurred in the 20th-century with the new print (shin-hanga) and creative print (sōsaku-hanga) movements. The exhibition further explores the evolving role of the artist within this rich tradition, and the eclectic, sometimes idiosyncratic, but always passionate interests of print collectors. More than 200 prints from the James B. Austin collection at Carnegie Museum of Art and four private Pittsburgh collections will be on view.

The prints in this exhibition are drawn from the museum’s collection of Japanese prints, the majority of which were donated by Dr. James B. Austin in 1989, and from the Pittsburgh collections of Dr. Esther Barazzone, Nicholas Reise, Lila Penchansky and Daniel Russell, and an anonymous lender.

Modern Japanese Prints, 1868–1989 is made possible by the generous support of the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. Additional support has been provided by The Fellows of Carnegie Museum of Art.

General support for the exhibition program at Carnegie Museum of Art is provided by grants from the Heinz Endowments and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

I also found this informative post on the show.

Installation Olympic Theatre At The Mattress Factory

Installation Olympic Theatre at The Mattress Factory!

Artist Tom Sarver of The Tom Museum, along with the Mattress Factory Museum of Art present Pittsburgh's newest art event, Installation Olympic Theatre. This event features three teams of Pittsburgh artists competing over 2.5 hours to build winning sculptural installations. The night will also feature food, beverages, audience participation games, music by Totten (member of The Great Ants) and DJ Sarver Express.

Installation Olympic Theatre takes place, Saturday, March 17th from 7pm to 10:30pm at the Mattress Factory. Tickets are $9.00 and $6.00 for students. (Available at the door)

Conceived by Tom Sarver, Installation Olympic Theatre brings the drama and excitement of reality TV straight to the art museum. The idea is closely connected to The Tom Museum's "Art For Everyone"
mission. It also attempts to bring people who are drawn to the action and excitement of sports into the arts.
Three teams of artists will be competing in the event for the title of "Masters of Installation Olympic Theatre." Each team will be provided with a mystery pile of building materials that will be unveiled at the opening ceremony of the event. Teams will also be allowed to bring in one suitcase of their own tools and materials to use in the competition. Only raw materials and tools will be allowed in the team suitcases. Judging criteria will include aesthetic value of the final product, entertainment value of performance element and creative use of materials provided. Seating for the event will be minimal. Audience members will be able to walk around during the event to watch the installations in progress.
Tom Sarver, Mike Cuccaro and Liz Hammond will host the event.
Judges for the event will include Heather Pesanti, Assistant Curator at The Carnegie Museum of Art, John Morris, Owner of Digging Pitt Gallery, and Owen Smith, Assistant Curator of the Mattress Factory.
Three teams of diverse backgrounds will be competing in the competition. Team Leader Tavia La Follette (Founder and Executive Director of Artists Upstairs) is an artist, director, set designer, performer and puppeteer. She will be working with Atticus Adams, (sculptor and installation artist) Stephanie Mayer-Staley, (Head of Design, Conservatory of Performing Arts, Point Park University) and Larry Bogad. (Professor of Performance Studies a UC Davis)
Ben Kinsley, M.F.A. candidate at Carnegie Mellon University, will lead a second team. When asked to provide information on his team, Ben responded, "I play people like musical instruments." Ben's teammates include Kazuki Eguchi (who wrestles giant balls of dough) and John Peña (who races clouds).
The third team includes some of Pittsburgh's most prolific multimedia artists led by T. Foley. Her team includes Jesse McLean, Carolyn Lambert and Thad Kellstadt. Installation Olympic Theatre may be the first of a series of art theatre events. Plans are in the works for a series including sculpture, painting and drawing Olympic Theatre events.

Sponsors for the event include Pittsburgh City Paper, Whole Foods, The East End Food Co-op, Construction Junction, Trader Joes, Penn Brewery, Breadworks and Artists and Craftsman' Supply. The Tom Museum is a project of the Mattress Factory, supported by The Creative Heights initiative of The Heinz Endowments.

Contact:

Tom Sarver, Event Organizer & Director of The Tom Museum tomsarver@gmail.com www.tommuseum.com

The Mattress Factory
500 Sampsonia Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Phone: 412-322-2231

Braddock: City Of The Mind -- Is becoming a real place

And now you know that Braddock rocks.

Jefferson Presents this Friday

Jefferson Presents...7th Anniversary
(#76)Friday 02/23/07, 8:00PM;
$5, $4 Students;

Garfield Artworks,
4931 Penn Ave.

Tons of great stuff-- so much that I couldn't cut and paste it in right.
Get your info here:

Fat Tuesday In the Year of the Year of the Pig

It's Fat Tuesday in the Year of the Pig. This is gonna be great !!!

Luck Us!

Come One Come All to see Good Looking Cranky Quilts
By Lucky LeRoy at Digging Pitt Gallery!!
4417 Butler Street
Pittsburgh PA 15201
412 605 0450
Gallery Hours
TH 12-9
FR 12-7
AS 11-7
SU 11-7
Closing Reception April 7, 2007 6-9pm
www.diggingpitt.com

Frank Sobieski @ Panza Gallery in Millvale opens Feb 24th

FACEValues
Paintings by Frank Sobieski

Panza Gallery in Millvale is pleased to offer FACEValues- a comprehensive retrospective of the paintings of Frank Sobieski. Sobieski (1926-1975) was born in Central City, PA, and spent the bulk of his life living in the Johnstown area. A veteran of the Merchant Marines and manager of his family’s furniture store, Sobieski maintained his love for the arts community through his close ties to painters and writers in and around NYC from the 1950’s and throughout his life. Although an occasional world traveler, he set down roots in a secluded cabin atop Allegheny Ridge in Bedford County. It was there that he pursued his passions- painting and poetry.

We are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity, with the gracious assistance of Jean Crichton and Jim Varner, to present Sobieski’s vibrant and playful body of work. Within these paintings, Sobieski displays his manic intensity with broken line and an adventurous palette. The vibrancy of his touch displays irreverence for convention. In one vast portion of his work, his fantastic figures dance in a swirl of abandon. His commitment to his own idiosyncratic vision confronts the viewer through his bold articulation. In another group of paintings, muted faces become vaguely alien… and appear to recede slowly from the canvas, as in memory itself.

We invite you to join us in an appreciation of this seldom seen collection, representing a lifetime of love and artistry.

Tom Sarver at Drawing Marathon

Here's some shot's I grabed off the Tom Museum website of a wall drawing done during a drawing marathon that past.

At the "8-Hour Drawings," Tom created a piece called "Yesterday's News." Throughout the day, Tom asked spectators to read articles from the previous days New York Times. Ideas from the stories inspired the narrative of Tom's work.

January 20th, 10am-7pm - 8-Hour Drawings, Allegheny College, Meadville, PATom will be away from the Tom Museum this weekend participating in an all day drawing project. This event is open to the public. While Tom is away, museum staff will attend The Tom Museum. 8- Hour Drawings will be held in Allegheny College's Bowman and Penelec Galleries from January 23 through March 6th, 2007. An opening will be held Tuesday, January 23rd from 7pm - 9pm.

I am not sure if the drawings are still up.

Great Art in Shadyside??

There's a 125% cxhance that this show will rock your world.

Bellevue, PA, Feb. 16th, 2007 — Creative TreeHouse, a new artists’ collective, will host a 24-hour Creative Marathon for local artists beginning at 8pm Friday, Feb. 23rd at 517 Lincoln Blvd., 2nd floor in Bellevue and culminating with a free gallery show and sale open to the public at 8pm on Saturday, Feb. 24th, complete with free appetizers, drinks and live music.
Sponsored by Burn Energy Drink and Pat Catans, the Creative Marathon will feature artists of various disciplines creating works to help raise funds for the Creative TreeHouse, a new facility in Bellevue dedicated not only to providing artists with work space, community and support but also to supplying local businesses with a new choice for all of their creative needs, including web design, graphic design, video production and photography. Creative TreeHouse will officially open in March. More information on their services can be found at http://www.creativetreehousepgh.com/ or www.myspace.com/CreativeTreeHouse.
Doors will open at Creative TreeHouse at 8 PM on Friday, Feb 23rd for artists to begin their work. All participants will be offered a 12”x12” piece of masonite and will have 24 hours to create a piece. All art lovers are invited to attend the gallery show for free at 8pm on Saturday the 24th. All artwork will be available for sale, priced by the individual artists. Proceeds will be split evenly between the Creative TreeHouse and the artists. Artists interested in participating in the event should e-mail http://us.f611.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=CreativeMarathon@CreativeTreeHousePgh.com.
Upcoming events at Creative TreeHouse will showcase local artists’ work in fashion, art, photography, and music. They also plan to host the return of 24-Hour Comics Day, pairing writers and artists to create comic books in a 24-hour period. Check their website (http://www.creativetreehousepgh.com/) or become their myspace friend (www.myspace.com/CreativeTreeHouse) for updates.
For additional information, Contact:
Andy Rubacky/Jesse Hambley
Creative TreeHouse
517 Lincoln Blvd., 2nd floor
Bellevue, PA 15202
724-910-9947
http://us.f611.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=info@CreativeTreeHousePgh.com www.myspace.com/creativetreehouse
http://www.creativetreehousepgh.com/
Creative Treehouse to Host 24 Hours of Art

Now Showing at Digging Pitt and Digging Pitt Too

We took a few moments on Wednesday to shoot some installtion images from the current exhibits. There are more installation and reception images on diggingpitt.com as well as artist statements and images from the flat-files.

We'll be posting notices about upcoming events at both Digging Pitt and Digging Pitt Too. Email us, and we'll put on the update list.

Lush Life -- Side I

Paul LeRoy
Todd Pinkham
Jessica Sommer
Katherine Young

Katherine Young
Paul LeRoy
Jessica Sommer
Todd Pinkham

Visual Grammar:
Five Approaches to Abstraction (Side II)

Curated by Gary Jurysta
Charles Andresen
Glen Brunken
Joren Dykstra
Patrick Schmidt
Joren Dykstra
Gary Jurysta

Patrick Schmidt
Charles Andresen
Glen Brunken



Regenesis @Digging Pitt Too
David Grim

Opening reception at Digging Pitt and Digging Pitt Too

Last weekend was a very busy one for Digging Pitt Gallery and Digging Pitt Too. Three exhibits opened the same night. Thanks, Pittsburgh, for braving the cold on Saturday to celebrate the work and the artists included in the exhibits.

If you couldn't make it to the opening, all of the exhibits will be in place until April 7, 2007. And stay tunes for special events at the gallery, like the artist talk on February 22.

Lush Life -- Side I

Paul LeRoy
Todd Pinkham
Jessica Sommer
Katherine Young

Jessica Sommer and Paul LeRoy

Visual Grammar:
Five Approaches to Abstraction (Side II)

Curated by Gary Jurysta
Charles Andresen
Glen Brunken
Joren Dykstra
Patrick Schmidt

Patrick Schmidt, Charles Andesen, Gary Jurysta, Glen Brunken and Joren Dykstra


Regenesis@Digging Pitt Too
David Grim
David Grim

Artist Talk with Todd Pinkham and Patrick Schmidt

Save the Date
Artist Talk with Todd Pinkham and Patrick Schmidt
February 22, 2007
6PM
Digging Pitt Gallery
4417 Butler Street
Pittsburgh PA 15201
412-65-0450
Digging Pitt @MySpace
Digging Pitt Blog

Join Todd Pinkham and Patrick Schmidt at Digging Pitt Gallery for a discussion with artists included in two gallery exhibits. Their contrasting approached present unique perspective on art and life.


Todd Pinkam's sly images of candy and carnivals offer up enough visual pleasure to make one sick and then add a little more. Join us at the gallery for a closer look at Todd's processes. Todd Pinkham, whose work is included in the Lush Life exhibit, will be at the gallery to discuss his work. --more information


A contrasting artistic viewpoint will be examnied by Patrick Schmidt, whose work is based on the layering of line, color and pattern. Patrick's work is included in the Visual Grammar: Five Approaches to Abstraction exhibit. --more information

Brillobox Drink and Draw

The last few times that went to drink and draw, I forgot to take my camera. But on February 6th, I had it in hand. Our model for the evening was Chuck, who we called a Hell's Angel.
We have new faces at all of the sessions. Since I'm not really great at retaining names, I'll just credit the drawings that I am sure about.
If you want more information about the Drink and Draw sessions at the brillobox, just email me at the brillobox drink and draw email. I have uploaded a calendar for drop-in sessions in Pittsburgh. Right now, the only venues listed are brillobox and Barely Brunch at the Brew House. I would be happy to list other venues on this calendar. Just let me know.

Our model, Chuck
Selene DePackh, whose blog is here
Selene's partner, Sue


David Grim



Renee Ruth Ickes
Susan Constanse

Images From The Upcomming Shows

Here are a few images from the shows opening tonight @ Digging Pitt Gallery



Todd Pinkham : Lush Life

Todd Pinkham : Lush Life

Jessica Sommer : Lush Life

Charles Andresen : Visual Grammar

Charles Andresen : Visual Grammar

Keep up with the global burgh

I came accross a new blog/ online forum thingy that some guy started. I think you can go on there to post and talk about anything related to Pittsburgh. Lets hope the power of the yinzer nation is used as force for good.

The guy also has a blog called Burgh Diaspora.

The New Yinzer is an online literary journal dedicated to forming an updated image of Pittsburgh/ers and to writing that evokes a strong sense of place. Their periodic events draw impressive crowds to hear the work of local writers, get serenaded by local bands, and dance to a select few of the city's many DJs.

This Friday, February 9th, The New Yinzer will host the latest bash, LOVE BITES, at Brillobox. Readings at 8:00pm, Bands at 9:15pm, DJs at Midnight. Yinz come, now, hear?

Opening reception for Regenesis

Regenesis
@Digging Pitt Too
February 10 through April 7, 2007.
Opening reception: February 10 from 6-9pm
Closing reception: April 7 from 6-9pm.

Digging Pitt Too will be presenting Regenesis, a solo exhibit of work by artist David Grim, in February. David Grim explores abstract imagery with the eye of the camera, developing patterns that reverberate across fields of muted greys. -- more information

Artist Talk with Todd Pinkham

Artist Talk with Todd Pinkham
February 22, 2007
6:00PM
Artist Talk with Todd Pinkham
Todd Pinkam's sly images of candy and carnivals offer up enough visual pleasure to make one sick and then add a little more. Join us at the gallery for a closer look at Todd's processes.
-- more information

Opening reception for Lush Life

Lush Life - Side I
February 10 through April 7, 2007.
opening reception: February 10 from 6-9pm
closing reception: April 7 from 6-9pm

Paul LeRoy
Todd Pinkham
Jessica Sommer
Katherine Young

Lush Life is a show of four artists whose work deals with physical temptation and desire. Katherine Young and Paul LeRoy mix obsessive decoration and fervent craft usually associated with religious art, with explicit sexual imagery in a way that calls into question our definitions of sacred and profane. Todd Pinkam's sly images of candy and carnivals offer up enough visual pleasure to make one sick and then add a little more. Jessica Sommer paints the small flashing moments of summer fairs, plastic, bright colors and grease that fill the American landscape with no apologies. -- more information

Artist Talk with Todd Pinkham
February 22, 2007
6:00PM
More information

Does The Warhol Hate Pittsburgh? Follow Up

A few people reacted to my question about the Warhol not listing in the Gallery guide.

First, to get it out of the way; I think the Warhol is awesome and I want more people to know about them and all the other great things here.

I did some checking and I think the listing costs closer to $3000 a year, which is a lot. I think it includes a page on their website and other stuff. Anyway, it seems to have been worthwhile for most of the small college galleries and a non profits in other parts of the state and in Maryland, Delaware and D.C. to list themselves. In fact the guide just makes it look like cuture stops in western P.A. Why don't any of the institutions list themselves; the glass center; The Center For the Arts; Wood Street; Space gallery; The Society For Contemporary Craft; The Regina Miller Gallery???

I have been thinking hard about getting a listing but for me it's a lot of money and what use is a guide in which nobody lists themselves?