CJB's Art Notes: February 2014

Welcome Year of the Horse! I'm hoping it will be an auspicious year since I was born in the year of the Horse...

This post covers the past couple of months, after moving back from Berlin and settling in Ridgewood, a neighborhood in Queens NY that shares a border with Bushwick.

You may have heard the good news that I have been awarded a grant through the Queens Arts Fund, and will have more information about the work I will be making in the coming year soon. Another exciting recent project was having a painting featured on the cover of the L.A. Review of Books magazine. I hope you enjoy seeing some of the activities, art, and environments that I've seen and been a part of this winter.

One of my paintings, Depth of Field II, on the cover of the L.A. Review of Books magazine, The Fiction Issue that came out in winter of 2013

The following are images from my show at chashama 461 gallery in Harlem in Oct/Nov of 2013:

Installation

City Light (Reflections), 2013
Watercolor and gouache on mounted paper, oil on panel, wall painting
48” x 64” polyptych

Installation views

Tree Scrim with Branch Bend, 2013
Oil on linen
28” x 112” polyptych

Tree-lined Vanishing Point, 2013
Watercolor and gouache on mounted paper
32” x 20” polyptych

More recently, I completed a commission piece based on a piece I did earlier in Germany:

Sun Rise/Set, 2013
Oil on linen over panel
20" x 64" polyptych

The following are images from galleries and project spaces in the neighborhood that I visited recently:

At the gallery Life on Mars (Jim Herbert & Karen Schwartz)

One of Katherine Bradford's night divers paintings

On the left: Todd Bienvenu, on the right: Arnold Mesches

At Slag Contemporary, Hannah Cole

The following are images taken around the neighbor hood on excursions:

On my way to the Ridgewood reservoir, a 2 mile walk from our apartment

It was 23 F out, and windy, but that didn't stop some BBQers

New path around the reservoir

Winter trees

Huge field of pampas grass

A church nearby, and our living room set up for Thanksgiving

Tyson cooking the Turkey and getting ready to eat it with Alex and Abra

A recent show at Edward Thorp gallery, paintings by Allison Evans

Tyson and I both agreed that instead of Gulp, this painting should be called Shark

And this one Jaws, instead of Thaw

On the left: Jenifer Kobylarz, on the right: Mike Olin

Our first real snow of the season. Since this photo, this has happened a few times, and a bit deeper than shown here:

Outside out apartment

Linden Street!

A recent painting that I made, in stages. I used up some paint left over from other paintings, and was thinking about ritual quilt-making marking important transitions. It's titled Tunnel Vision (Color)

We were excited to head to CA to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, at least for a few days! Six hours took us from snow, to 65 degree weather:

In the Watsonville/Santa Cruz mountains

White deer!

Among the Redwoods

Champagne cocktails and a 16 lb. pork shoulder

Birds coming out of pies... good times--we miss you, family!!!!!

My brother at a family gift exchange on Christmas (the shirt is ironic, and that's Emily's BB gun)

Flying back to NYC...

Back to snow cats in trees (in our back yard)

And snow outside (this is currently what it looks like today, 2/13/14!!!)

And snow on the threshold...

Tyson's best birthday present from last year! One of my favorite smoothies to make is: spinach, basil, cilantro, almonds, pumpkin seeds, banana, frozen pineapple, almond milk = delicious. We've also started going to the "Y" 3 days a week--maybe by summer we'll be lean machines!

The following are more images from shows, this time in Chelsea: