Out on the Town and Country

Todd Knopke has a solo show up at Feature Inc called CEC "Changing Everything Carefully". The Opening was Thursday night and it was great to see how many people came out for it. 

I met Todd about 5 years ago on a photo shoot and it turned out that he, like myself, grew up in Richmond, Va and received his BFA from VCU. Despite graduating in different years, we did share the good fortune of studying with Richard Carlyon, I wrote about him here in Oct 09. Todd was in the sculpture dept, then headed by Myron Helfgott, a terrific artist and friend of the family. 

Todd went on to Yale for his graduate degree, which I've heard is an ok school ;)

Todd currently sews together large narrative scenes out of disparate pieces of fabric evoking a dreamlike quality that is both enticing and eerie. His work is non linear and filled with symbolism and personal iconography. This particular series taps into my own fears about camping and bizarre experiences with the Boy Scouts of America.

Below is an excerpt from an interview Todd gave, you can read more at Artslant

What’s with your exhibition title?
An acronym is a perfect analogy for my work so I made my own from a part of a sentence that seems as if it should be the motto for today’s world: “changing everything carefully.” Taking parts of a preformed whole to create a new clearer idea/vision/word. CEC sounds like “seek” but also contains double vision, in the form of two Cs (pronounced see). With (E)cstasy in between. It seems like art’s goal. Read more...

The previous week, Kristine Lombardi, fab illustrator and Blipadee contributor, and I attended Bookmaker's Dozen Event/Launch/Party at PowerHouse Arena in Dumbo. Below are Kristine's photos from the event.

Bookmaker's Dozen is a group comprised of talented published illustrators who have banded together to exhibit original artwork together, sell prints and provide friendship and support in what can be quite a solitary existence. I'm a fan their work and I recently wrote about a few like John Bemelmans Marciano, John Rocco, Brian Floca and Sophie Blackall after seeing their work in the Brooklyn Public Library's "Drawn in Brooklyn" Exhibit. Sophie's book, Big Red Lollipop is included in the New York Times Top Ten Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2010. 

 

The image below is not an indication of how I felt at the event. In fact, PowerHouse Arena serves fine wine and delicious snacks that you rarely see at art openings anymore. Not that I attend that many, but the ones I end up going to seem to favor cheap beer :(  
This is a terrific book store with lots of over sized art and photography books!

Sunday, Peter Brown (Bookmaker's Dozen member) read from his new book, Children Make Terrible Pets at Book Court, my favorite local bookstore. This book also made the New York Times Top Ten Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2010. Melissa & Mike brought Freddy, who owns some of his other books. I love Chowder and Flight of the Dodo, so I went, too :)

Here he sketches out his character, Squeaker! 

Jonathan Franzen read from his highly acclaimed novel "Freedom" earlier in the week. I was not disappointed! I thoroughly enjoyed "The Corrections" and so far "Freedom" far exceeds my expectations. It doesn't take long to know and care about his characters and feel like you grasp, however fleeting, the complexities of contemporary life filled with seemingly endless choices, compromise and disillusionment.
In person, he was unassuming and charmingly funny. It was a standing room only event and I was nervous just to have him sign my book. Fortunately, he couldn't have been nicer.

Above, Mike tries to keep up, constructing origami dinosaurs with Freddy .

At Thanksgiving, Bryon invited the Zexter clan and me to his friends, Brian and Karla's organic farm Simmons Farm in Middleton, RI. It was a cold and blustery day, but we took a pleasant walk through the petting zoo and to the water...

Some great faces...

Adore their two dogs :D

I liked this little pup, too!

I've always appreciated these old typewriter models. This one was for sale at Brownstone Treasures last week. I never learned to type, a mistake that haunts me and probably annoys my studio mates ;)

Carroll Park Tree at night :')