Modern Cycle by Grace Hartigan oil on canvas
Grace Hartigan, passed away this weekend. She was well-known as a painter, and also for her collaborations and close friendships with poets from the New York School, especially Frank O'Hara.
Also see: For Grace, After a Party.
Holly Lynton, Brad Moore and Diane Meyer photos in my apartment.
Easing the Pain of Collecting, which appeared on the front page (holy smokes!) of last Thursday's New York Times Home section, answers all your burning Jen Bekman questions. Does she have a trust fund? Did she graduate from college? Can she make a bed? No, no and, um, clearly no. (Pictures don't lie.)*
Seriously, it's actually a thoughtfully written piece that I'm very pleased with and flattered by. Staff reporter Julie Scelfo frames out my history using my apartment to shape the tale. We talk about my art, my various collections of things (pottery, stuff from eBay), how I got started in the art business and how everything in my life is totally and completely perfect now. Woo!
Don't miss the audio clip (all "likes" and "ums" miraculously edited out!) In the clip I give some tips on getting your art on. There's also sidebar that includes many of my recommendations on places to get awesome art affordably, online and off.
In other media news: 20x200 is the best! The best of New York that is. Their big fat Best of double issue is on newsstands now, and 20x200 is proclaimed to be the best Starter Art Collection.
Ok, that is all. I will now return to my glamorous New York life of takeout, heavy-footed upstairs neighbors and pet hair.
*I also don't do dishes.
Screenshot of the 20x200 homepage. Check out the real thing.
It's still in Preview mode for a few days, but 20x200 is up and running. We've stocked up on the equivalent of 3 weeks worth of editions to give people an idea of the range of work we'll be showing. Live editions start next week.
Many, many, many thanks to Raul Gutierrez, David Yee, Alison Grippo, Jeff Kirsch and the fine folks at Little Jacket. I have never worked with such an amazing, talented crew of people.
We might still have some kinks and/or hiccups along the way, so please bear with us in these early days. If something doesn't seem to work quite right, or is confusing, or if you see a typo: do drop a note to hello AT 20x200 DOT com and let us know about it.
Portrait of Curator, Historian, Critic John Szarkowski by Richard Avedon
Via Conscientious comes the sad news that John Szarkowski has passed away:
John Szarkowski, a curator who almost single-handedly elevated photography’s status in the last half-century to that of a fine art, making his case in seminal writings and landmark exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, died in on Saturday in Pittsfield, Mass. He was 81.
81 is a ripe old age... Here's to a life well-lived and the legacy he leaves behind.
