Yep. An old feather factory turned into a gallery, and several artist studios {psst… that are for rent!}. The Active Space is in Bushwick Brooklyn, and looks like this:

Oh, it’s like a huge blank canvas! I desperately want an artist to paint a giant feather mural all over the exterior… wouldn’t that be cool!? Maybe in gold!!! Anyway, this post is about them {not my feathery mural ideas} so let me get back to the point! It’s a space with one large showing gallery, and several individual artist studios {free heat included in the rent – you can’t beat that!}. Here is a layout of the space, two examples of the rooms, and some jealousy-inducing work from a few of the ‘Active Space‘ artists:

{1. Lauren Clay 2. Sebastian Vallejo 3. Matt Nichols }

They are having a grand re-opening this Friday night, February 24th from 7 – 10pm, and you should go!  They’ll be featuring the work of street artist Criminy Johnson:

Have an amazing time on Friday night… and tell them about my gold feather mural idea! Thanks ; )

I love these delicate, washy paintings by LA based artist Sara Escamilla. I also love that they are currently for sale on Buy Some Damn Art! Yes, Buy Some Damn Art! It’s a new online gallery concept brought to you by the lovely Kate Singleton of Art Hound. Every Tuesday at noon she’ll feature six new pieces… original, reasonably priced, fabulous pieces! Her mandate… to bridge the gap between prints and far-too-expensive originals for a new generation of art buyers. Hey – that’s you!

{Sign up for the mailing list, and you’ll get previews of the upcoming pieces delivered right to your inbox… and hurry, because BSDA is only two weeks old, and things are selling fast!}

I don’t write about abstract art that often, but yowza… these compositions, those colors! Gor.ge.ous. And, if they look this good on screen, just imagine what they must look like in person! Well, if you live in Berlin you won’t have to imagine much longer… Emma Coulter, a UK born, Australian artist, currently living and working in Berlin has a show opening this Saturday evening. It’s titled Viscerality, and you should go.

September 17, 2011 ~ October 08, 2011
Opening:  Saturday September 17, 5pm to 9pm
Kunstraum Tapir, Weser Str. 11, Berlin, Friedrichshain
Open times: Wednesday, Sept 21, Sept28, Oct 5, 4pm to 8pm / or by appt.
contact taktberlin@googlemail.com or 0162 -1560185

If you live anywhere even kinda close to Portsmouth, New  Hampshire I know what you should do tonight! It’s the opening of The Enormous Tiny Art Show at Nahcotta. Yes, that’s right, there will be an enormous amount {50 artists are participating} of tiny original art {10″x10″ or smaller}. The line-up of artists is insane… insane I tell you!!! I managed to control myself and only show a few of my favorites pieces, but I could have easily shown work from all 50 artists! Seriously. Ok, so back to planning your Friday night for you: Tonight, September 2nd from 5 ~ 8pm… but if you can’t make it to the opening, don’t worry, the show will be up until October 2nd. Have an enormously fun, yet tiny, time!

{A few of my favorite pieces by: 1. Shannon Rankin 2. Jennifer Davis 3. Stacey Durand 4. Amanda Blake 5. Sarajo Frieden 6. Leah Giberson}

Oh my delicate, golden, feathery goodness! I absolutely love this work by American artist Jaime C. Knight… and possibly Lena Wolff. I know that they had a collaborative show, titled In the Beginning, last December at Lake Gallery in San Francisco, but I’m not sure if these pieces were done by both of them, or if these are Jaime’s solo works*. Either way, I truly do love them {…and all of their delicate, golden, feathery goodness!}

*Just got a comment from Jaime, and sure enough, these are her pieces! Thanks Jaime : )

That’s right… I said your shirt! Yep, all you have to do is get a ticket to the  submiT event in Vancouver on Thursday August 18th, 7pm at Performance Works on Granville Island, and you’ll be all set. Here’s the deal – there are ten very cool, limited edition t-shirts featuring artwork by a killer line-up of artists* for sale, and the money will go toward primary education in Ethiopia through imagine1day. Great art, great cause! Now, what do these very cool t-shirts look like? Well, you’ll have to go to the party to find out, and…

I’ve got a pair of tickets! Who wants ‘em?
Answer this question:
Who’s your favorite unconventional artist, and why?
Tweet your answer, and be sure to include @submiTvancouver and @jealouscurator so that we know you’re talking to us! The winner of two tickets to submiT Vancouver {value at total of $60} will be drawn at random from all entries on Wednesday, August 17 at 10pm. submiT Vancouver will announce the winner on Facebook and Twitter. Good luck!

*{The work shown above is from five of the featured artists… but not the art work that will be on the shirts, of course! In order: 1. Ben Skinner 2. Jessica Bell 3. George Vergette 4. Fiona Ackerman 5. Sarah Gee}

If I was in Brooklyn tonight, I would be at Curbs & Stoops Active Space {566 Johnson Ave}. In fact, I would be there right at 7pm because that’s when their latest show, Goodbye Space Shuttle, opens. Here’s what it’s all about:

To those born near or after the Apollo 11 lunar landing in 1969, the Space Shuttle Program epitomized the ascendant glory of U.S. manned space exploration. Now, thirty years after the launch of the first space shuttle, we react with ambivalence to the retirement of these artifacts of 20th century technology. Ending manned space exploration represents a silent admission of the United States’ lessening world status and ambition. It echoes the seismic shift in potential that seems to have been brought on by concurrent economic, environmental, and geo-political crises. This confluence of disasters points to another meaning of Goodbye Space Shuttle, which is: no rescue. What new visions can alter the trajectory of this overcrowded rock?
In retrospect, the abandonment of the shuttle program may prove to be as large a milestone as its first launch. It thus seems appropriate to dedicate an exhibition to the moment. Artists participating in this late summer homage include:
Taylor Baldwin, John Bianchi, Matthew Capezzuto, Jane Corrigan, Bill Donovan, Jen Durbin, Sue Havens, Alexis Knowlton, Andy Lane, Beth Livensperger, Sakura Maku, Brian Maller, Vasken Mardikian, Jason Mones, Wilfredo Ortega, Jen Schwarting, John Silvis, Lee Vanderpool, Peonia Vázquez-D’Amico, Letha Wilson

{The work shown above is titled “Payless” and is by Jason Mones. The show runs from Friday July 29th until August 19th}

Ok, I am seriously considering buying a plane ticket to LA for the sole purpose of getting my picture taken by the amazingly talented Stephanie Vovas… granted, I’m pretty sure that I couldn’t pull off the vintage vixen look, but I sure would try my hardest {pout, hair tossel, repeat…} Her entire portfolio is filled with fabulous shot after fabulous shot, and if you’re in LA, or have already bought your plane ticket, she’ll be having a solo show this November at Edgar Varela Fine Arts.

Aaaannnnd, exhale. The gorgeous work of New York photographer Mikael Kennedy is now hanging on the pristine white walls of Catalog Gallery, and will be there until July 17th. “Pieces of the Moon” opened last Thursday in Vancouver… and I loved every single minute of it! The work looked amazing {obviously!}, the place was packed with fabulous people, and on top of that we got the very talented Jonathan Dy to document the whole thing with his stunning black and white photography. Maybe I should change my name to, The Lucky Curator! Thanks so much to everyone who was involved in putting this show together {Peter Hay Halpert in New York, Robert Squire of Catalog, Paul Burger of Cargoh who introduced me to the guys at Catalog, and of course, Mikael Kennedy for trusting me to do this on the other side of the continent. xo}

ps. That’s me in the bottom photo, which by the way, I am totally framing!

Anybody up for breakfast in Vegas? On the menu… “over-sized pancakes made from photo optimized recycled fabric, stuffed with what actually feels like real pancake.” Sounds good to me, and although I usually prefer my pancakes without fur, I think I’ll make an exception for that last one!  Todd Von Bastiaans, and Bryan McCarthy have teamed up to bring you Todd & Bryan’s Pancake Bed and Breakfast at the Trifecta Gallery in Las Vegas. It opens tonight, June 30th, and runs until July 29th. I’d get there early, because I’m pretty sure that these 54″ pancakes will be sellin’ like hotcakes!*

*I totally stole that quote from a writer that I used to work with named Jane Murray, because well, it’s hilarious! Thanks Jane : )