Installation in Progress

Johnnie Winona Ross just rolled in with the work for our upcoming exhibition. His paintings are incredibly sophisticated. They're subtle and assertive and pregnant with his laborious process. I have a feeling I'll be thinking about them a lot this week. I've been working on the price list for his paintings and one ingredient in particular caught my attention - carbonized bone. He has refused to expose any further details. Perhaps it's crushed up Jimmy Hoffa.

Gallery Night

So the opening at Conduit wasn't like being in a BET video this time, but it was still really neat. Fahamu Pecou knows how to push some paint. The work was really impressive and it was interesting to talk to him at the opening. We also swung by the Holly Johnson Gallery and quite liked the show there of Precisionist paintings by William Steiger. His buildings were especially appealing with their implied dimensionality. There were obvious connections to Charles Sheeler, but his work also reminded me a bit of Sol Lewitt's variations of incomplete cubes but without the systematization or mathematical functionality. My boyfriend Jonathan, a physics man, saw visualizations of forces and energy in many of the paintings. Cool stuff.

He's back!!

I don't have the best cheerleader handwriting, but I tried

Barry with Bill & SueSue Bounds, Rachel, and Fahamu Pecou
looking at Lawrence Lee's drawings

Welcome back Barry Whistler! As predicted, Barry made it in today for the last day of Allison's show. He started off by talking with Atlanta artist Fahamu Pecou who is having an opening this evening at Conduit Gallery. Fahamu's work blends the artificiality of hip-hop culture and the art world, and his openings are quite an experience. I'll take photos and post about it as words alone cannot describe. People have begun picking up their pieces from Allison's show, and we're taking everything down on Monday. Johnnie Winona Ross is arriving on Tuesday with the new paintings for his upcoming exhibition, and the process begins again.

Shoo Fly

James Cope at the Goss Michael Foundation posted this awesome article about gallery assistants on his blog. I can't claim to have found a private jet in one hour or flown an ice cube halfway around the world, but the gist of the diversity inherent in the job is fully spelled out. Along with the usual hustle and bustle of this week, a large priority of mine was ridding the gallery of a small fruit fly infestation. My current technique is red wine vinegar with dish soap so the flies sink and drown when they go for a drink. Another photograph sold, and the director for CADD ArtLab came in to select works for her next exhibition, but I was worried about discreet pest control everytime someone stepped foot in the space. Hopefully, this weekend's traps will curtail the problem. In other news, I predict Barry Whistler will be back at the gallery sometime next week! It might be brief, but he's determined to get there. Tomorrow will be exactly 3 weeks from his surgery.

Double Dang

In case anyone was unclear about the Barry Whistler Gallery cool factor, here's an interesting fact – Quincy Jones just left the gallery! A longtime friend of Allison V. Smith's he stopped by to see her show before his lecture at SMU this evening. I shook his hand twice and showed him the work of an African American artist, Lawrence Lee, which he seemed to really like. Allison managed to snag a quick photoshoot with him which I then snagged a photo of. Can you believe it? I can't. Big shout-out from Unfair Park on my gallery blog, too. And another big shout-out from the Frontburner! Hi Zac!

Conversation

Having the work of a local artist hanging on the walls can be a huge benefit. Especially if it's an artist who totally sits at the popular table during lunch. Today was a day of great conversation about Allison's photos. One couple came in early and stayed for nearly 45 minutes talking about every photo with me. The man was a photographer, so he admired things from a knowing standpoint, but his friend didn't know much about the subject. She asked all kinds of questions and seeing her excitement about the work was contagious. Next walked in a big fan of Allison's work who talked with me about her sense of color and composition. He came from a graphic design background, so his appreciation was entirely different and just as interesting. My job rules.

I'm sorry

I apologize for my grumbles and bleats yesterday. The culprit for all of my recent woes can be seen above in the stack of almost 300 images that I have to memorize for one of my midterms. If these cards were placed end to end, they could reach Lubbock from here - although they're only 3 x 5", so maybe just Fort Worth. I will get through it, fear ye not. On a lighter note, I dug around today and found contact information for a handful of people who should be aware of our current show. I extended personal invitations to them, so hopefully they will come by. I've also updated the upcoming section of the gallery website with images from our next show.

Keep on truckin

Allison V. Smith's show has been a continual success. We just sold another large photograph today and still have plenty more irons in the fire. With Barry holed up at the satellite office (aka home), it has been a lot of work keeping things running smoothly. Barry hired someone to get here early since my school schedule doesn't allow me to arrive on time, and I have been trying to pull things together for him to do. On top of it all, I am feeling the pressure of making sure everything gets accomplished that needs to on time. The little things, like making sure the bathroom has enough toilet paper, are on my plate with just as much importance as getting a package together in time for an art consultant's presentation or laying out the next mailer. And don't anyone mention midterms. Seriously.