Ahhh… it was a blur of glitter, candy sprinkles, painting, assembling, matting, and a whole lot o’ coffee. Yep the opening of, TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS AS PAINFUL AS IT SEEMS, New Work by Ben Skinner, was everything I’d hoped it would be. I had planned to write this post last week, but honestly I needed a bit of time to come down from the thrill of seeing this show actually come together. Aaaand exhale. Ok, I’m ready. From the 65′ text mural, to the 20′ foam board scaffolding, everything came together perfectly. All of Ben’s work looked amazing, the opening was filled with wonderful/excited people, and I still can’t believe I got to curate my first show with such an incredible artist at a gallery staffed by really, really, really nice people. Thank you Ben, and the Honfleur Gallery. It was an amazing journey. What now? Well, on to the next proposal I guess!

{1. TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS AS PAINFUL AS IT SEEMS ~ glitter on Alupanel  2. HOME WRECKER ~ ink on wood  3. TWICE ON SUNDAYS ~ candy sprinkles on wood  4. A SIMPLE GESTURE ~ paint & dye on wood  5. I’VE GOT JUST THE THING ~ watercolor, gold leaf on glass  6. MAYBE WE CAN WORK SOMETHING OUT ~ RGB LED’s & light tube  7. UNTITLED ~ 20′ foam board scaffold  8. THIS TIME NEXT YEAR ~ 65′ text mural  9. THE BLINDS LEADING THE BLINDS ~ ink on wood blinds  10. a. THIS ONE’S GOING TO HURT ~ spraypaint on mirrored plexi  b. NOW TAKE A DEEP BREATH ~ paint on plexi  11. MY HEART IS BIGGER THAN YOUR FIST ~ glitter coated screenprint 12. The Honfleur Gallery on opening night… the show runs until April 8th, so pop in if you’re in DC!}

Yes… so far this experience has been all of those things:  astounding, brilliant, amazing, incredible, fabulous… Washington DC is astounding, Ben is brilliant, the staff at the gallery are amazing, and we got to do an incredible interview yesterday. In short, it’s been fabulous!

The 65′ mural is done. The two storey high foam board scaffolding sculpture has been assembled. The site-specific work is in place throughout the neighborhood {ex. ‘every time you walk by’, shown above},  and there are just a few pieces left to hang at the gallery today… and then at 7pm the doors at Honfleur Gallery will open. I’ll be back with a full report {and photos of everything mentioned above!} on Monday morning – wish us luck! Oh, and if you happen to run into the Obama’s, let them know that they’re invited. Thanks!

It’s go time people! The work has already arrived at the Honfleur Gallery, and as of tomorrow morning Canadian artist Ben Skinner, and his lovely wife/installation assistant/fellow artist Genevieve Dionne, will be boarding a plane for Washington DC. Ben is creating some of the work on-site {a painted text mural, site specific vinyl text installations, and a 20 foot sculpture} and so, obviously, he needed a few extra days on the ground! I’ll be arriving on Wednesday to do whatever he tells me to do, and of course, hang the show. TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS AS PAINFUL AS IT SEEMS opens on Friday March 4th at 7pm. You really have to see the glitter-covered screen prints, and the pink text coated in candy sprinkles with your own eyes. Yes. I said candy sprinkles.

{I cannot wait to post photos of the final show… stay tuned! If you want to see more of Ben’s work, check out ‘the jealous curator goes to washington (1) and (2)‘. Happy weekend everyone xo }

In December, I wrote the first post in this series to keep you in the loop re: one of the coolest things I’ve ever been asked to do! Now it’s just a little more than a month to go until TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS AS PAINFUL AS IT SEEMS, a solo show by Canadian artist Ben Skinner, opens in Washington DC! The invites are being printed today, I’m knee-deep into writing the curatorial statement, and Ben is up to his elbows in glitter, vinyl lettering, and pink wood stain. Yep. It’s going to be amazing! Above are just a few of the pieces that will be part of the final show. You better get there quick though… I might end up buying everything!

{Honfleur Gallery March 4th ~ April 8th 2011 : Opening Reception Friday March 4th 7 ~ 9pm  // Oh my word… so excited that this is actually happening?!}

Yep! I’m curating a show in Washington DC this March. Oh my word – I’m curating a show in Washington DC this March!? Seriously, I could not be more thrilled, and wanted to make sure I was keeping all of you in the loop! So, here it goes, the first post in a new series… I’ll try and keep it short ; )

This fall I was contacted by the Honfleur Gallery in Washington DC. They asked if I’d be interested in curating a show in their 2011 schedule… umm… YES! Ok great, that was taken care of, now I just had to come up with something. After a week of brainstorming like a maniac, I ended up submitting three ideas – the first one was a solo show, and the other two were group shows. Now, I have to admit, I loved all of the ideas, but was so excited when they picked the solo show featuring Canadian artist, Ben Skinner. Not only do I love his work {he was one of the first people I ever wrote about, and last summer, I bought one of his pieces at The Cheaper Show}, but his portfolio is filled with work that speaks directly to the issues that are affecting Anacostia, the neighborhood that the gallery calls home. Ben is currently working away on a whole bunch of fantastic pieces. Some of the work featured above is similar to the new pieces he’s creating, along with installations, a text-based mural, and site-specific pieces in the neighborhood around the gallery. It’s gonna be amazing! Anywho, that’s all for now, but I’ll be sure to give you a sneak-peek as the work progresses!

{The show opens on March 4th 2011 and runs until April 8th. Wish us luck, and I hope all of you can come!}