Must-See Gallery Shows Currently in Pittsburgh.

I was blind-sided this weekend. With the numerous art events around town the last couple of weekends, I had no expectation of seeing more eye-opening work. I thought I would be too desensitized to truly appreciate the offerings this past Saturday. I could not have been more wrong. The work currently hanging in a select few galleries around town is extraordinary. These venues might be a bit beneath the radar compared to the major local institutions (the Carnegie, PCA, Mattress Factory), but they demonstrate just how strong of an arts scene there is in Pittsburgh. I'll take this opportunity once again to lament the moribund state of art collection in this city. It's too bad there aren't more people in the position (or with the willingness) to financially support the artists.

Anyway- despite better sense, I am still doing my part. I was absolutely convinced of my commitment to be more temperate in my buying habits. I understand that it's getting rough all over, so I don't mean to whine about finances. Let's just say that with gas prices facing a seemingly unending increase, I really should be more careful about 'unnecessary' purchases. So that's the attitude I've tried to assume when leaving my house for the most recent art shows. But the reality is that Pittsburgh is a buyer's market. I'm cheap... I'll admit it. Still I am blown away by the prices young artists are willing to put on their work. I've developed a better idea about the resources that go into making an art object. When you do the math, a lot of these folks are getting sweat shop renumeration.

I started off with Randie Snow's exhibition at Moxie Dada. I was already familiar with her work from the last few years. I tried to cultivate her participation in Carnivalesque at the Digging Pitt gallery a couple of years ago. That didn't work out, but I continued to take a look whenever she had a show. Comparisons to the sadly-departed local legend James Church were inevitable- Snow studied with him during the last couple years of his life. I thought I knew the type of assemblages I would see at Passages at Moxie Dada. I had no idea that Snow has ascended to a new level in her output. She has produced an extremely moving body of pieces based on the seven sins and seven virtues of Catholic faith. She sought out and bought over-sized bibles from the 1800's, and carefully cut windows in their covers, hollowing out their innards. Inside she has encapsulated the very essence of morality. They are quite remarkable, and you can (and should) see them them through May.

Next I rushed over to the La Vie Gallery to see what I thought was a collection of collaborations between Thommy Conroy and James Maysles (turns out that I'm a week late on that one- it opened at the Red Room on April 30th). Instead it was an outstanding group show called A Dream of Fair Women, and included some of my favorite locals (Elina Malkin, Jairan Sadeghi, etc.). I think I'm getting spoiled by this gallery. On several occasions I've believed that the exhibitions couldn't be any better. But every time I drop my guard they exceed my expectations. They got my money again this month. Masha Vereshchenko had a grouping of extremely detailed ballpoint pen and ink drawings. I've been keeping my eye on her work for awhile (she also used to show occasionally at the Digging Pitt). I've been intrigued before, but this time I was compelled to buy a piece. You can see it (and buy a print!) at her Etsy website. Yay! I've finally found an ethical way to spend the Bush tax rebate that is supposedly forthcoming. This will be a centerpiece of my growing collection.

Finally I made a point to stop in at Paul Leroy Gehres' opening for Paid Sick Days at the Panza Gallery. For those not in the know- he is Leroy "King of Art"- man of the multitudes, former illustrator for the New Yorker, designer for Anna Sui, alumni of the aforementioned Carnivalesque show, and the reigning champion of post-pop in Pittsburgh. And as attested to by the wall-to-wall panorama of quilts, drawings and sundry currently up at Panza... he is ultimately irrepressible, indefatigable, and irresistible. The first thing my friend and I noticed in walking into the gallery was that every single damned piece was tagged as if priced at a vintage clothing shop. Listed were crossed-off prices, and the stuff was actually marked up! By his own reckoning, it took him almost 24 hours to hang this aesthetic panoply. But to look at him on the big night, you'd never have known it. He wasn't even winded! You can see this extravaganza until May 31st. If you go, look closely... because the dirty secret is that there are some incredible bargains to be had. If you can't make it, make sure to visit Leroyland today.

NCECA Ceramics Pittsburgh.

Truth be told, the sum total of all I know about ceramics could fit into a soup bowl. Naturally I never thought I'd be writing a post about this crafty art form. But one never knows how the exigencies of fate will conspire to make you consider something you never really expected to think about. I guess the seeds for this particular post were planted when the funding for the new David L. Lawrence Convention Center was in place. The state-of-the-art facilities have attracted a number of events that ordinarily would have bypassed Pittsburgh. Who could have ever predicted that the Furries would come to the Three Rivers? Likewise, who would have known that NCECA would decide to locate their annual event in the Burgh?

NCECA stands for the National Council on Education for the Ceramics Arts. It's too late to book your reservations for this year's conference, but you can still take advantage of the many events around the city that galleries, studios and other cultural institutions have planned in conjunction with NCECA. In fact, if you are a regular at art openings around town, you've likely already seen a fair amount of ceramics work this month. As I (somewhat offhandedly) remarked to one friend via e-mail- "This town is lousy wit' 'em" (ceramics, that is). And just from one observer's perspective, it is amazing how versatile artists can be while working in this medium.

Surely anyone who grew up in the 80's knew at least one person that got caught up in the trend of ceramics painting. You'd go choose one from among many generic molds, and paint a hardened gray object to suit your tastes, and to match the colors of your home furnishings. I'm not very proud of the fact that I broke many of these craft products in the process of negotiating my way through my tempestuous preteen years. Little did I know that I'd be looking at examples of the form in art galleries a couple of decades later. The difference is that these are one-of-a-kind works of genius. The range of subjects that can be conveyed in clay of one sort of another is limited only by the wild imaginations of the creators.

I bought my first ceramics piece from Laura Jean McLaughlin -a friend of mine that runs a great galley/studio called the Clay Penn. I caught sight of a truly wondrous object- a round glass tabletop suspended above a fantastically strange mermaid. It was something out of a child's fevered hallucination-dream. It was truly unlike anything else I had ever seen, and I had to have it. It took me months to arrange its purchase, but it now occupies a central place in my burgeoning art collection. I have since acquired several more of McLaughlin's pieces, which are dispersed throughout my house. I've also subsequently learned that my friend is internationally-known for her work. And I've started to appreciate ceramic arts in a way that I would have never guessed. But you can see for yourself this weekend...

Particular highlights around town include the work at the La Vie Gallery, the Clay Penn, Fe Gallery, and Modern Formations. I've seen these shows personally, and so I can recommend them without reservation. Now that the official participants of NCECA have arrived (approximately 5000 of them), these places will be having official receptions to welcome connoisseurs. You can find out what's happening at the larger institutions around town by visiting NCECA's official site. But to really get the most out of this weekend, you are going to have to do some digging. If you have a favorite gallery in the area, stop by and see what they are offering. Some of the places that I know are hosting ceramic art (that I haven't visited) include Moxie Dada (North Side) and the James Simon Gallery (Uptown). This "gallery guide" site is an especially comprehensive gateway for specific information.

Art Bargains in Pittsburgh.

As I expected, my father and I had a fun time last night at the downtown gallery crawl. He was in town for a couple of days to get his first look at his new grandchild. For some odd reason my Dad enjoys just holding the baby quietly, and it doesn't seem like he needs much else to keep him content. That worked out well for M. and I, as it gave us our first opportunity to go out by ourselves for a couple of meals. The first chance we got to do that- we headed out to a local pub. It was refreshing and a bit surreal to be in that kind of environment (especially for M.). Yesterday we had lunch together. Unfortunately we ended up with a fairly terrible meal when I suggested that we try something new. With the new logistics regarding baby care, the stakes are higher every time we get some time away. It's probably good policy to stick to what we know and enjoy.

Regarding the crawl, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a few things I merely glossed over in my preview. Ladyboy's solo show down at 707 Penn Avenue is a bit of a must-see. I had no idea that "Totally Maybe" was a black-light (black-lit?) show. The artist used glow-in-the-dark and fluorescent paints to screen-print his designs on identically-sized panels of wood. In the center of the gallery space, he erected a shrine with a green plaster cat statue at its center. Surrounding this centerpiece was a pyramid of multi-colored luminescent strings, stretching from floor to ceiling. Apparently this was the part of the installation that required the most effort, as Ladyboy hadn't anticipated his initial hours-long effort failing to hold. I had no idea that this was his first solo show in the city, and I was honestly impressed by his articulation.

I was especially pleased by Ladyboy's references to the cat-portrait-painter Louis Wain. Several months ago, I included a YouTube clip about this artist in one of my blog posts. I was fascinated by several aspects of Wain's life. The idea of obsessively focusing on portraits of cats for an entire career is an adequately interesting idea in and of itself. But add in the progressive mental deterioration of schizophrenia, and you get a particularly compelling story. I'm frankly drawn to appreciating feline imagery, and so I couldn't forget many of Wain's later depictions. There was no missing the inspiration behind one specific Ladyboy painting last night- it was a psychedelic homage to the master himself. I got to share a short discussion with Ladyboy about the place Wain has had in his own formation in the arts. On a peripheral note, I also learned that Ladyboy had the unique distinction of getting two vehicles (a moped and his friend's car) impounded within a 24-hour period while setting up the show. Hopefully this won't cause a "Wain-esque" disruption in this promising creator's life.

Moving on, I'd like to point out that I enjoyed the Mattress Factory Staff show at 937 Liberty... and I'd like to draw the reader's attention to a bargain basement deal available at the gallery. Katherine Young, whose works I have been following in town for a couple of years, has two large ink drawings depicting a pair of adolescent girls walking through an idyllic natural setting. They are framed very nicely and priced at a mere $250 apiece. I consider them excellent pieces, and highly representative of what Young is capable of as an artist. If I hadn't already spent over a grand on art this past month, I would have purchased one myself. Have you been considering starting an art collection, or expanding an existing one? This is a great place to start.

Finally, I want to express my excitement in discovering the work of another talented young artist who is new to exhibiting in the city. As soon as I walked into La Vie last night I was drawn to a group of smaller-scale paintings prominently featured on the wall. They were of an exceedingly-skilled illustrative quality, with subconsciously realized elements of fantasy and bright fields of color. Suffice it to say that they were quite extraordinarily consistent with my aesthetics and taste. When I consulted the gallery guide and saw the prices attached to them, I was amazed. Gabe Felice is a Greensburg artist and amiable conversationalist, who has done a great service by offering his work at an almost obscenely low cost. Not only did I walk out of the opening with two new pieces for my walls, but Felice also sent me on my way with a VHS copy of Eye of the Tiger, with Gary Busey. Anyone who appreciates that prince-among-men is one to watch, very closely. Luckily for you, I left some great pieces unpurchased. Get your ass down there and get in on that action while you can.

Once again, the "Value of Art".

I thought that tonight I'd write about the value of art. But it occurred to me that this subject had already been extensively examined on this blog. To verify that this was the case, I did a search on my front page for "value of art". This is what I came up with. So, yeah... I've already said a lot about this topic. But being in a reasonably inebriated state, I'm going to forge ahead as if I was covering novel ground. Please forgive me for redundancy, syntax and typing errors, and whatever rambling tone I set in this post.

Once again I spent my Friday evening at a gallery opening. This was actually the grand opening of a new space on Hatfield Street in Lawrenceville (the Zombo Gallery). The inaugural event ("Squaresville") featured a middle-aged local illustrator named "Wayno". This artist has been prolific, and I knew his work from local media and from a comic called Beer Nutz that he created years and years ago. He's actually had work in The New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, and The New York Times. Here's a guy who has found commercial success in creating images and lives in the suburbs (Mt. Lebanon). And he's selling his paintings in the $200-500 range.

I'm considering these prices in the context of having just made a trip to the galleries in Chelsea. Granted that this section of NYC is pretty much the pinnacle of the international arts acene, but (after all) the shows I saw were mostly of "emerging" artists. Yet you'd be hard-pressed to find an original painting there for under $1000. From the perspective of someone that's spent any amount of time in the Pittsburgh arts scene, those prices seem exorbitant. But who's to say that the art market in the 'Burgh is more representative of the "true" value of art? Certainly from what I've heard, the local market is extremely depressed. I recently bought a painting (here, in Pittsburgh) from an artist who is selling his work in Chelsea for four times as much as I paid. What is the intrinsic value of that object?

Just like with real estate, all types of factors affect the cost of art. But unlike property, artwork can't provide you with shelter. You can't eat it. It doesn't help you get to work any faster. It's value is determined (mostly) by what someone is willing to pay for it. Why would some people pay $1000 for a print (with an edition run of 500) of a work created by an "art star"? Does it represent the time it took to make it, or the quality of the materials? Does it depend upon the past and/or the prospect of future work by the artist. Is it based on the quality of the piece- and who even determines that factor? Ask an expert. Consult a ledger of previous sales. Consider where it is being shown, and who represents the sale. Throw it all in a blender and pour that mess into an objective assessment.

It's too easy to get caught up in the mind-frame of the investor. You start out buying artwork because you love the way it looks. You want to have it... to put it in your living space. You want to call it yours. Then you become a collector, and you start considering the relative value of different works. Does it seem like a "good" deal? Maybe you eventually find yourself purchasing a piece that you don't even really like- just because you think its creator is "going places"... and it will surely appreciate in value. But what is it worth if the economy collapses, or after a nuclear war, or when the oceans rise a few feet? It' merely an object with some medium of color applied to some material- often wood or canvas. What's the price of that material per pound?

I find these questions compelling. I even play with the answers in my own work. For Christ's sake, I draw on phone book pages. What? That's last year's directory? Throw the damn thing away! It's not archival anyway. But I make scans of the work on quality photo-paper with archival ink. Surely the intrinsic value of the print is worth more than the original? Hmmm... it's awfully fun to turn a convention on its head. What if I make 1000 copies? Then what happens to the value? Hahaha.