Monthly Round Up- June

Here's this month's list-o-links that I found to be particularly interesting. Please enjoy!


Incredible macro photography of the hidden world around us, brought to you by photographer Miki Asai.

Miki Asai

Thrift store paintings are given a comical twist when artist Thyrza Segal gets her hands on them.

Thyrza Segal

See how the meatpacking district in New York has cleaned up its act over the past 30 years in these before and after images by photographer, Brian Rose.

I can't stop looking at these highly saturated, bold, and playful images by photographer Maurizio Di Iorio.

Maurizio Di Iorio

Comic book legend, Lynda Barry, sits down with ArtNews to reveal how she keeps a smile on her face while pushing all the boundaries, how a non-artist can be an artist, and more.


-Chelsea

Monthly Roundup of Links- April

Because we've been so busy at the studio lately, our weekly round-ups will now be monthly.  This month in the world of art and design, I bring to you these little nuggets of interest:

Charles Emerson's photos of flowers underwater are striking and fresh.

This 360˚ panoramic GoPro video is unreal and extremely innovative.

Jonas Ginter

Finding Vivian Maier is a documentary film that uncovers the truth about a mysterious nanny who, unbeknownst to everyone around her, captured beautiful street images her whole life, only to be discovered after her death.

These photos aren't totally a new concept but these are by far the best execution I've seen of re-creating classical paintings in photography.

Bill Gekas

Bing Wright's mesmerizing photos of sunsets projected on a broken mirror is like a beautiful watercolor, interrupted by dark chaos.

There's something so aggravatingly beautiful about a simple+clean design...for example, these counter weighted candle holders.

twocreate.co.uk

So that is what tickled me this month! See you next time.

Art Basel Miami

Here we are, again, swiftly approaching the holiday season. It happens every year, I know, but I never feel quite prepared for the frigid Chicago weather, the frantic purchasing of gifts, and the making of travel plans. However, there is an upcoming event this winter that allows us to put the holiday madness aside and dive into the world of art and warm weather.

At the beginning of December, we will hop on a plane to Miami, Florida. With the city's iconic Art Deco architecture, Miami make the perfect backdrop to an event such as Art Basel.

Miami's Art Deco District

Originating in Basel, Switzerland, this international event occurs annually in its birthplace, as well as Hong Kong and of course, Miami. It is considered to be the hub, the meeting place, of world renowned art, its creators, and the places that exhibit them. It's a wonderful platform for anyone working with or around art, as well as those who simply appreciate modern and contemporary art. Of the 258 galleries participating in this years Miami show, here are a list of galleries we're most excited to visit:

Richard Gray Gallery

Richard Gray Gallery

As Chicagoans, we are happy to see our city represented at Art Basel. Their display at this year's Art Expo Chicago stood out to me the most and I'm really pumped to see what they come up with for Miami. 

Kavi Gupta Gallery 

This gallery, rooted in Chicago, also has a Berlin location. Its newest location in Chicago is now the largest commercial gallery in Chicago.

Gagosian Gallery

The Gagosian Gallery can be found in fourteen different locations across the world. They are legendary. Enough said.

Baro Gallery
Located in a hangar in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Baro Gallery is home to established and up and coming Latin American artists. Because Brazil is one of Darryll's favorite places to    visit, he is especially excited to discover whats trending in their unique art scene.

Art Basel Miami, 2011

If you are visiting Miami for this event, let us know who you are excited to see!

-Chelsea

A Brief Report On My Trip to NY and the AIPAD Show

On April 5^th I flew to New York to see the AIPAD show, which is a yearly event featuring many of the top photography galleries nationwide, including a few from other countries. I wanted to get to this recap of the event sooner, but upon returning to Chicago I had a confirmation and check waiting for me for two 5’x9’ prints.  Suffice it to say, I needed to do the finishing touches and get them printed as soon as possible.

Anyhow, back to AIPAD: I started attending the event last year, mostly to see who was there, both gallery- and artist-wise. It is always good to get out and see art, and it never hurts to gauge how the work that I am doing functions alongside that of other artists. 

By the time I got into NYC on Friday and up to my room at the London Hotel, I decided I would give myself a break, meet my son for dinner, and give myself plenty of time to explore the show come Saturday.

I arrived at AIPAD just a few minutes after the doors opened, which turned out to be quite a good thing; within an hour or so the show was completely packed.  My sister Lesley, an impressive artist herself, met me there.  Overall, I have to say that the show itself was quite good.  One was immersed within an epic range of photographs dating from the 1800’s up to to very modern, innovative, contemporary work.   As expected, there were galleries that specialized in classical photographs, others in modern photos, and some who contributed a mix of everything.  

As a part of my background, I thoroughly studied the history of photography, and also taught seminars about fine art photography that incorporated pictures from the early 1800’s and onward.  Perhaps because I feel that current day photo artists bring something new and exciting to the table, they have tended to spark my curiosity a bit more than the traditional artists.  And at AIPAD, there was a lot of them to be seen, some with work that was just ok, but some of it quite fantastic.  

Two of my favorite galleries showed some excellent work.  Catherine Edelman, the best photo gallery in Chicago, displayed, among other pieces, some of John Cyr’s pictures of renowned photographers’ developer trays.  These could be very mundane pieces if handled by any other artist, but the way John works so directly with the pieces allows them to become much more than that.  Cathy sold me one of his prints of the tray that Aaron Siskind, one of my former teachers, used. I feel honored to own a little piece of artistic history.

Next was Kim Bourus’ Higher Pictures from New York.  I met Kim last year, and within minutes knew she and her gallery were important entities in the photo art world.  Higher Pictures was showing just one artist’s work, K8 Hardy, which is a series of wonderful self-portraits.

I always wonder when I go to galleries if I’m going to see work like mine.  I find that I am more of an artist than a photographer in my recent years; I use the camera like a paint brush, and just about never take a ‘straight’ picture anymore.  An artist, I feel, should have a unique vision which is apparent in my work. I have yet to encounter someone who is doing what I do, the way I do it. 

I won’t get in to more specifics than this; there is just much too much to talk about!  But I will say this, if you love photography and you love art, go to AIPAD – you won’t regret it.