Second Saturday, Jun 14 revisited

We were at Bard for the opening of the new exhibits at The Hessel Museum, and a bbq afterwards. We returned to Beacon late with just enough time to check in at Go North, Open Space and Van Brunt, after which, we headed over to Will Walker's and Jesse Lebwohl-Steiner's apartment for grilled watermelon and pineapple at the after opening party the pair hosted for Go North's current exhbiting artist, Ketta Ioannidou.

Ladies Ladies Ladies at Go North.

"I love you man. Give Me a hug."
"You're not getting my Bud Light."

Peter Iannarelli's beautiful mess at Van Brunt Gallery.

Dan Weise at Open Space.

cloud . [ the exclusive ] at Open Space.

Portraits by Temre Stanchfield in the window of Fire Lotus.

Goings on outside the City Folk opening at Zahra's.

On the walk home.

A quickie

I've been underwater out of touch and generally out of town for the last two weeks, and I ain't quite done yet.
Of course, Second Saturday is coming up, and there are openings going on. There's the stencil show at Open Space, Zahra's Studio is proclaiming June National Graffiti Month with City Folk. There' s an artist reception happening for Carla Goldberg at Zuzu's in the old Cthonic space. Fovea Exhibitions is kicking off a monthly summer screening and jazz program.
So yes, there is a lot going on. My head will again be above water by then, and hopefully I'll be around for for everything, if not, I'll catch up soon when I have a chance to breathe more easily next week.
By the way, the CCS Hessel Museum at Bard College is having an opening on the fourteenth as well featuring work by MICHAEL BEUTLER, ESRA ERSEN AND KIRSTINE ROEPSTORFF in the CCS galleries and Bik Vander Pol interacting with the Hessel collection in the museum's galleries.

May 10: Second Saturday openings in Beacon NY

@ Pearldaddy: "The Best Medicine" - Paintings and Sculpture by Edie Nadelhaft. Also for the evening, Ron Raymond & Andy Gabrys will be providing music on upright bass and guitar. The reception will be held from 6-9pm and the exhibit will run through July 6.


@Fovea Exhibitions Beacon Gallery: Free screening of Vanishing Giants at 5pm. There will a Q&A session with filmmaker Jennifer Hile and National Geographic Adventure photo editor Sabine Meyer. There is limited space for the screening and reservations are highly recommented, call 845.765.2199. The screening is in conjunction with the Palani Mohan Exhibit of the same name currently on view in the gallery. The exhibit has been extended through June 1.

In Thailand, wild elephants have it good: They're legally protected. Tame
elephants, on the other hand, live with a more uncertain fate. Considered
livestock, they have no protection from being maimed or killed by cruel
handlers. Activist Sangduen "Lek" Chailert is changing that with the creation of
the Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary north of Chiang Mai where rescued
elephants can heal and thrive.

@Hermitage: "Awake at Night," work by Christian Toscano
"Stars Eat Your Body"Detail. mixed media on paper. 2008

@Zahra's Studio: "Taboo" - photography and painting by Kaylynn Tucker. Opening Reception from 6-10pm. Don't forget the pin up girls that will be circulating through the gallery, passing out goodies, so plan accordingly-whatever that means for you.

@ Go North: "AfterMath" - abstract paintings by Erik Hanson. The reception if from 6-9pm, and the exhibit will run through June 1.

Flash of Blue Streaming, 2008, oil on canvas
@Open Space: "Electric Walls" an exhibit of work by the artists that are participating in the Electric Windows project on May 17. The exhibit runs through June 7 and the reception is from 6-9pm.

Rhinoceros at Beacon Studios May 2-3 & 9-10

Oy. How late am I on posting this info?

Susan Osberg, Marika Blossfeldt, Dean Sharp and Susan Magnus are collaborating to produce a "salon-style, inter-art performance" called Rhinoceros. As the press release states, "Rhinoceros is a big thing in a small room." The piece will be performed in said small room before an audience of ten.

Choreographer, Susan Osberg was interested in developing a
piece for a small room and breaking away from a theater setting, into a
visual/sound space. This dance will eventually tour to Sweden to be performed in
a clone space called 25 sq. meters. Marika Blossfeldt, an Estonian performer,
known for her presence and haunting ‘Butoh-based’ lyricism, is one of her
favorite dancers, and they have worked together in numerous performances in New
York City. Marika will perform ‘Rhinoceros’, an hour-long solo for an audience
of ten, in a movement narrative that unwinds like a mobius strip. She will take
the audience on an intimate journey through a world of her own, accompanied by
composer, Dean Sharp, who will be playing live, mixing his contemporary Gamelan
with computerized sound loops, and poetry by Susan Osberg. Visual artist, Susan
Magnus has provided the visual concept and reflective materials for
‘Rhinoceros’.

Performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday Nights, May 2-3 and May 9-10, 2008 at 8pm at Beacon Studios, 211 Fishkill Ave in Beacon.
$12 at the door, reserve in advance, seating is limited to 10.
For reservations call: 845 831-1832 or e-mail susanosberg{at}mac.com with subject “Rhinoceros”.

Super Soaker Second Saturday- March 8 2008

A torrential downpour at 7pm had me gearing up with slicker, rubbers and such for my trek along Main St. However, by the time I left the house fifteen minutes later, the rain had stopped permanently, and we were left with a dry but gusty evening for the vernissageago-go.

Below is a sampling of images taken at the various sites I stopped in. There will be some more posted on maykr's flickr page - just give me a few more days.

Above: folks at Fovea Exhibitions Beacon Gallery(I'm tempted to begin implementing an abbreviation for typing purposes) for Palani Mohan's opening of photographs documenting the interactions of man and elephant in Asia. Below: Palani Mohan.

I started at Fovea where I sadly learned from Kirsten Kucer of the recent death of Walter Castle. I'll do a separate post on this soon, but I can hardly imagine a Second Saturday without the ubiquitous Walter.
Black and White: an invitational exhibit of artwork that fits that bill at bau.

Terry Micheal's photographs at Mt. Beacon Fine Art.

From Fovea, I stopped into bau which had an appealing salon -style installation of b/w work. I really didn't examine any individual pieces. I rather enjoyed the overall effect. Mt Beacon Fine Art opened an exhibit of Terry Micheal's photographs printed on canvas.

I ventured on passed Iron Fish Trading Co. where passersby were treated to a silent storefront screening of Austin Powers.

Mark Roland's feature presentation at Iron Fish.

Sometimes I just inadvertantly miss things, and this weekend two such things were: A. spacing out on the opening at Ann St. Gallery in Newburgh of "Women's Work" featuring Nina Katchadourian, Elizabeth Mackie,Kathy Moss, Andréa Stanislav, and Kazumi Tanaka and B. Beacon Institute's opening of Leigh Wen's water paintings. One of Leigh's paintings is on the cover on this month's Chronogram. I was intrigued by the cover image, but I never read the accompanying piece. Anyway, the gallery was closed by the time I passed by, but there's plenty of time to catch the exhbit as it's running through July 8. Women's Work will be on exhibit at Ann St. Gallery through April 19.

Lou Patrou's prints at Pearldaddy.

I spent some time speaking with Pearldaddy proprietor Andrea and artist Lou Patrou whose prints are on view there. One of Lou's drawings is featured in Chronogram's Parting Shot this month.

I then stopped into the bCOOP space which was quiet, but it seemed some dj action was about to get going.

Above and below: artwork at bCOOP (specific artwork details to come shortly)

On to Jeff Caramagna's boldy hued paintings at Go North. I dig much of this work, particularly the volcano and cactus paintings. There's a level of rawness within the seemingly clean flatness that exudes a liveliness. When paired with Erica Hauser's homemade truck cookies of two months ago, Jeff's color coordinated, custom printed M&M's are setting a precedent for Go North's exhibition-themed treats that can only result in disappointment (for this writer,at least) at the first exhibition with no such accompaniment. Above and below: Jeff Caramagna at Go North.

Above: Open Space's steamy window with mobile installation by Patrick Winfield.

Below: a few folks at Open Space.

A detail of one of Patrick Winfield's poloroid photomontages.

I was expecting this Second Saturday would coincide as it has in years past with the annual, City Council-contested Pub Crawl, which is actually happening next year. Actually the two events parallel each other in many respects, and in fact I did witness a bit of curbside vomiting rounding the bend on the East End. I don't think this nausea of art opening related, I just hope Jacqueline didn't find an unpleasant surprise in front of her store on Sunday.

Open Space still had a crowd as the opening for Patrick Winfield wound down and preparations were being made to move the party over to the Piggy Bank. Check out Open Space's opening pics. The crowd at Zahra's spilled out onto the sidewalk as usual, and maneuvering inside was difficult for fear of being impailed on any errant spikey protrusians on the walls or other people's attire.

Above and below: Zahra Studio's take on "kinetic art". Barbara Doherty's leather

and rubber Primitive Occult Adornments.

Above and below: Kulan part 2 at Hermitage.
Hermitage, inviting as usual, sported new works from the collaborative efforts of Jon Beacham and Kensie Duffy.

Earlier, as I passed by the now closed Chthonic Clash, I was surpised by a partially blocked window, a large projection inside and cryptic flyers pasted to the window. I headed back over there after leaving Hermitage. In what turned out to be the highlight of the evening, Shawn Trail and John Cason transformed the former coffee joint into a transy-lounge/audiovisual meditation. The guys created a collaborative video and audio piece called Special Treatment. The setup consisted of two separate screens, forming different viewing spaces for the two unsync'd versions of the forty minute piece. I can't quite describe the soundtrack of ambient and rythmic noises and music because it was so enveloping. The imagery was at times abstract flourishes of light and color and at times visuals of city scapes and the activites therein. There was a short section depicting a window washer moving between windows, doing his job in double time that mesmerized me somehow. There was just a trickle of folks that came in through the evening, and the guys didn't do much to promote it, but I could have sat there all night. Part of the appeal of the installation, beside the entirely comfortable atmosphere of the scene was that this piece was happening - utilizing a space that currently (unfortunately) is without a use at the moment. The fact that this location is in a sort of commercial-use limbo, sitting dormant and this piece filled that void with art for a short time is what much of it is about for me - the Use and re-Use of our home environs to share what we do with each other. Special Treatment by John Cason and Shawn Trail at Chthonic.
I stopped in briefly at the Next Step Party at the Piggy Bank, watched Dan Weise and Tom Moore do a little live painting while the DJ's spun and took the long walk back home.

Tom Moore and Dan Weise at the Next Step at the Piggy Bank.

On the walk home: after just short of a year, the restaurant Tonique has closed its doors.

March 1 opening @ VanBrunt Gallery

VanBrunt Gallery will be opening a new set of exhibits on Saturday, March 1. Work by Thomas Huber, Ed Smith and Michael Zansky will be on exhibit at the gallery through March 31. An opening reception will be held from 6-9pm.

Feb 9, 2008: Second Saturday revisited in pictures

A definition of the deal at Hermitage.

Our Saturday evening started off when Todd Spire stopped by for dinner. We haven't seen Todd much lately and we had an enoyable time reminiscing about the bounty of rapscallions and eccentrics who have come and gone and come and stayed the recent history of the true life embodiment of Northern Exposure that is Beacon, NY.

We as usual, we weren't able to make it everywhere last night, and we called it a night well before the Next Step party, but I'm sure Open Space's blog will have images of the fete when they recover from it. Below are images of what we were able to get to.

Above and below: bau's group show of members and friends.


Erica Hauser has set up shop for one week and one week only to service all of your valentine's day needs with a selection of cookies, cupcakes and lovely art items by a bevy of friends. The temporary shop is in Go North's former space at 469 Main, and will be open 3-6pm, and bit later on VD eve.Jennifer Mackewiecz and Margaret McDuffy at Dan McCormack's exhibit at Go North.

The youngest of the Youngs at Go North.

Above and below: Matt Simone's work at Zahra Studio.Lights out at VanBrunt Gallery. Although you may not see it in this shot through the window, there was a sizeable crowd viewing David Rothenberg's "Why Birds Sing."

It was a night of moving pictures as VanBrunt, Open Space, and Hermitage all had film or video screenings.

Collabortive work by Jon Beacham and Kensee Duffy at Hermitage.

K. Duffy's typed manuscript of Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury."

Jon Beacham queing up the film for the screening of one of his silent shorts.

Above and below: awaiting the intimate screening at Hermitage. The ever dapper Robert Brush below.

Jeff Caramanga, who will be exhibiting at Go North in March, was out rehearsing for the Hat Parade coming up in May. Todd Spire is prancing about in the rear.