News

JJ Miyaoka-Pakola, OR #3 and OR #4, 39"x24". — JJ Miyaoka-Pakola, OR #3 and OR #4, 39″x24″. Part of FJORD’s curated show at RISD. Photo: FJORD Gallery.

This week, the members of FJORD Gallery held a special opening reception and panel discussion for Mechanical Turk, the show they’re curating at the Rhode Island School of Design’s Memorial Hall Gallery. For this exciting venture, FJORD’s participating artists include Seth Adelsberger, Colin Benjamin, John Bohl, Pia Howell, Katie Kehoe, Sam Lipp, JJ Miyaoka-Pakola, Michael Sirianni, and Rachel Stern. The works were chosen from a list of artist websites sent via email by five artist-run spaces in five cities, many of them chosen sight unseen.

“The plane, a french Jodel from 1968 i sin working condition. It's being sold as it stands. The only modification is a small hatch in the rear window from where the teddy troopers was dropped. It's served and in working condition. Profit goes to the struggle for democracy in Belarus.” — “The plane, a french Jodel from 1968 is in working condition. It’s being sold as it stands. The only modification is a small hatch in the rear window from where the teddy troopers was dropped. It’s served and in working condition. Profit goes to the struggle for democracy in Belarus.”

via Tomas Mazetti – The “teddy bombing” plane used by artists to make a powerful political statement about Belarussian human rights is up for sale. Although it’s been caustically suggested by the artists that Lukashenko himself put in a bid, anyone is welcome to put in an offer. Any profit goes to those fighting for human rights in Belarus. Read more about the flight in the New York Times.

On September 27, Chestnut Hill and Studio Incamminati are celebrating the start of a brand new partnership. While offering its own self-standing Art Studio major, the College is now also offering a Bachelor’s Degree program with Studio Incamminati, School for Contemporary Realist Art founded by Nelson Shanks. Students from Studio Incamminati can pursue a Bachelor’s degree from Chestnut Hill College, and Chestnut Hill College Art Studio students can take courses at Studio Incamminati. The benefits are wonderful – students receive both a comprehensive liberal-arts education and skills-based representational art training. In addition, students can earn a Certificate of Proficiency with a fifth year of study at Studio Incamminati. To be considered for admission, you must submit a portfolio. If you’re intending to major in Art Studio, the program allows you to take courses as you prepare your portfolio. For information about the Art Studio major, please contact The Dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies at 215.753.3623 or ccavanau@chc.edu

Opportunities

via Billy Dufala – The Recycling Center’s call for applications has kicked off, with artist residencies for the 2014 year now open after over two years of hard work to bring it all to life. This program is a unique opportunity for artists to interface with a fully operating recycling center. Two residency tracks are open for application: the Biggie Shorty, anywhere from a site visit followed by a weekend long project, to 3 weekends only, to 2 weeks straight through; and the Standard Residency, anywhere from 1 to 3 months in length.. This is RAIR’s first time officially making the program available to the public. Artists are provided with a 10×10 personal studio space, access to a large project area, wood shop equipment, metal working facilities, and access to the waste stream for materials. For Biggie Shortie applicants, flexible scheduling is available for projects using the yard and warehouse area as staging grounds. Artists have a variety of resources available, not the least of which are opportunities for exhibitions throughout the year. The residency program is open to all emerging and mid career artists. Students may apply but may not be actively enrolled in classes during their residency. Applicants must be 21 years of age or older. To review the full prospectus, visit RAIR’s site.

Do you have what it takes to bring it? Do you even like collaborating? Or are you just a little press w***e looking for a little CITYWIDE a**? An explanation: faces, heels and trash talk usually don’t coexist with the art world (we think), but on November 8 all that changes. Space 1026 is looking for wrestlers, in costume, for this year’s very much un-kid-friendly iteration of the CITYWIDE Challenge. With inspiration born from 1026’s 1998 exhibit “Fort Thunder Attaks!” (the experience, we’re led to understand, involved ‘baking vegan cookies, music, screen printing, comics, crawl spaces, eviction notices and ready for this, wrestling’) they’re using the CITYWIDE initiative to re-create an exhibit from a gallery’s past that embodies their creative goals, aims, and aesthetic. The “turf” (for the month of November) is Space 1026, and that means it’s their rules, and a chance to become “Heavyweight Champion of the Philadelphia Art Scene“, a title currently held by Vox Populi. The headlining match – Little Berlin vs. Vox Populi – takes place on First Friday, November 8 at 9pm. Respond by email if you’re interested in participating in other matches. You’ll be matched with another collective at random. From the organizers: “Fake collectives do apply – there must be at least two people since this is a tag team event. You must be in costume. Winners to match are pre-decided through coin toss. Your match must be choreographed – well or not well – you decide. You have to sign a waiver — it’ll be a drafted in a humorous light, but still, you can’t sue Vox or Space 1026 if you get hurt, since they don’t have a grant for that. Speaking of getting hurt — this is for fun, no a**holes.” Noted! You can see the email challenge in detail here. Contact bethheinly@gmail.com for more information.

Talking about insurance can stress you out, but actually having it won’t. Jenny Welsh, the Programs Manager at the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym, along with Betsy Spivak, is hosting a free talk session on Wednesday, September 25 about the Affordable Care Act for Artists/Small Business owners, etc. We can agree this applies to the vast majority of us, so don’t miss out! Wine and cheese await.

Artist News

"Escapes," by Blaise Tobia, now at OK Harris. Photo courtesy of the artist. — “Escapes,” by Blaise Tobia, now at OK Harris. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Blaise Tobia’s much-anticipated O.K. Harris show, “Slight Perturbations of the Surface,” is finally happening. Having previewed in advance at 3808 Lancaster Avenue earlier this month, the show can now be seen at OK Harris in NYC.

Douglas Witmer is one of the exhibiting artists in Light Conversation at Long Island City’s Key Projects, also featuring Lynne Harlow, Henriëtte van ‘t Hoog, and Mary Schirillo. Organized by artist Patricia Zarate, the show runs September 14 – 29, with Saturday & Sunday hours from 1 – 6 PM and by appointment.

Chad Muthard, founder of the now-closed Diplomat, is hosting a book release of Follow My Lead After You, debuting at the New York Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1. Beginning Thursday, September 19 and continuing through Sunday, September 22, this is a small and very special first edition of 100 hardcover leather-bound books produced in conjunction with Conveyor Arts. The first thirty sold come along with recently printed bookmarks featuring two different abstractions, made by Muthard last fall while working on the narrative.