Next week!

Whew! I can hardly believe summer is about to end. With all of the rain we've had in the city, it almost feels like we went straight from April showers to Autumn (minus a few weeks of hellish humidity and heat). I am really excited, not only to break out my fall clothes and order a Pumpkin Spice Latte, but to get back into opening season at New York galleries. Pretty much starting next week, most galleries will be opening their new September shows, and I can't wait. Here's a few that I will definitely be checking out:

Jan von Holleben, Mutatis mutandis

Farmani Gallery

DUMBO

111 Front Street, Suite 212, 718-578-4478

September 10 - October 3, 2009

Opening: Thursday, September 10, 6 - 8:30 PM

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David Gilbert, Ian Pedigo, Jessica Stockholder

Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery

Williamsburg / Greenpoint / Bushwick

438 Union Avenue, 718-383-7309

September 11 - October 11, 2009

Opening: Friday, September 11, 7 - 9 PM

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Janine Antoni, Up Against

Luhring Augustine Gallery

Chelsea

531 West 24th Street, 212-206-9100

September 12 - October 24, 2009

Opening: Friday, September 11, 6 - 8 PM

The Met Exhibiting Vermeer's Milkmaid

I'm incredibly excited for this upcoming show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art- they're receiving Vermeer's The Milkmaid from Amsterdam where it has been at the Rijksmuseum.

This will be the first time the painting has traveled to the USA since the 1939 World's Fair. It will be exhibited among five other Vermeers and work by other admired Delft artists such as Pieter de Hooch, Gabriël Metsu, Nicolaes Maes, Emanuel de Witte, Hendrick van Vliet, and Hendrick Sorgh.

The exhibition will open on September 10 and will be up until November 29, 2009. After such quiet weeks in the art world (as is usually in the month of August), I have something to look forward to - I absolutely adore Vermeer's use of light - who doesn't?

Click here to read The HuffingtonPost article on the upcoming exhibition of Vermeer's Milkmaid at the Met

MutualArt Open to All!

Thought I'd share some good news! One of my favorite art resource websites, MutualArt.com, just restructured its subscription service, allowing free access of the website without having to have a member profile (which is actually free anyway).

Keeping up with the art world is not easy, especially in a city like New York, with hundreds of galleries and dozens of museums. In order to stay up to date with the openings, events, happenings and news of the New York and international art scene, I check MutualArt.com every week because they have comprehensive profiles on galleries, art fairs, museums, artists and a free article database.

I signed up for a basic membership, which is free: you fill out a profile about your art interests, what artists or cities you want to track, and every week MutualArt emails you a list of events, venues, and artists that might peak your interests, based on your member preferences. And for the person who really wants full access to the website, there's a premium membership (offered now at a special price $19/month or $199/year) that has the works.

Anyway, I find the website pretty helpful and easy to use, so thought I'd share. Stay in the know--check it out!

ART Santa Fe Highlight: David Henderson

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending ART Santa Fe, the first non-New York City art fair I've attended (click here to read my full review of the art fair.)

One of the highlights, in my opinion, of the fair's offerings were the acrobatic sculptures of David Henderson, which toe the line of sculpture and installation. Using a very lightweight carbon fiber plastic, Henderson pushes the envelope of tension, gravity and spatial relations. The sculptures just gently kiss the wall at one point, creating an uneasy tension and awe in the spectator. Their unique design also allows the works to attach to the walls in innovative and flexible ways.

Despite the heavy, marble-like appearance of the pieces, this one on the left weighs six pounds, and can be held in one hand. And they are surprisingly sturdy--according to the gallerist who chatted with me, on opening night of one Henderson's pieces was knocked off its pedestal, bounced down the hall before rolling to a stop, in one piece.

The gallery that represented him at ART Santa Fe was a local one, William Siegal Gallery. You can also check out Henderson's work at http://davidhenderson.org/.

Structured Simplicity at Dumbo Arts Center

There's still a few weeks left to see "Structured Simplicity" at the Dumbo Arts Center (show closes August 9). According to the favorable review in ArtForum, the premise of the show is "extropy, or the gradual distillation of chaos and complexity into fundamental essence....Emerging from a sea of summer shows teetering on conceptual premises doomed by either willful obscurity or ham-fisted obviousness, 'Structured Simplicity' distinguishes itself with a bracing concentration on shape, color, texture, and—in the case of Amy Yoes’s hypnotic video loop Modification and Collapse, 2009—movement and sound."

While the reviewer sounds somewhat full of structured B.S., the artwork nevertheless sounds interesting, and covers a diverse range of media. And the artists are all women! You go girl...s.

An Insider's View of Warhol's Factory

So, sadly, the exhibition at 303 Gallery of photographer Stephen Shore's snapshots from Andy Warhol's Factory closes today. I didn't read about it until today. Doh.

But, even if you, like me, missed the exhibition, there's a cool feature with a selection of Shore's images in Time Out New York online. The photographer provides interesting anecdotes and tidbits about fifteen photos of icons of the 60s, such as Edie Sedgwick, kicking back in the studio. The Factory truly seemed like such a cool spot. Check it out!

Live Music Starting this Friday at the Whitney

Whitney Live, a program of live, "cutting edge" performances, is starting up this Friday, July 10, and will continue every Friday for the month of July in conjunction with the exhibition Dan Graham: Beyond. Kicking off the series are two bands, Titus Andronicus, and Real Estate. According to the Whitney website,

Titus Andronicus are from Glen Rock, New Jersey, and take their name from the Shakespearean tragedy. Their sound is punk-infused Replacements-esque pop music with screaming vocals, layered guitars, and songs about suburban malaise....Real Estate, led by singer/guitarist Martin Courtney, also has roots in the Garden State. Their songs evoke visions of tract housing, basement band practice, and wasted youth, mixing languid psychedelia, muted vocals, and a boomy undertow of drums.

How can you say no? I guess it is a toughie, with the Lesbian exhibition also opening tomorrow...hmmm...

Whitney Live is free with admission, which is pay-as-you-wish on Fridays from 6-9 pm. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis.