Summer's Here!

It might feel like autumn, but we looked at the calendar, and it said SUMMERTIME! So that means we're ready for our summer show, Off The Clock, a celebration of the artist's assistant.

Off The Clock is a great chance to get to know some of the artists who have been learning their craft under certain modern masters. In this group show we'll be featuring Jason Bryant (who assists Kehinde Wiley), Allison Edge (who has assisted McDermott & McGough and Jeff Koons), Charlie Ledbetter (also has assisted Jeff Koons), Jenny Morgan and David Mramor (assistants to Marilyn Minter) and Reuben Negrón (who assists Papa Colo).

As you well know, nearly every one of these artists have had a successful solo show here at Like the Spice, so we've been really looking forward to this show. We think you should be doing the same. Opening night is is July 17th, so plan now!

Of course, with every new show comes a new chance to dine. This month's dinner is Assisted Dining. We'll do the hard work, all you'll have to do is finish! A show like this is likely to get some attention, so we want to warn you: make your reservation now! Hit our online reservation page to save your spot. Everyone remembers how much fun our previous dinners were, right? What if we said this was going to be the best dinner yet?

Rainy Day, Dry Wine

Hope everyone has been enjoying the rainy summer weather. Here at Like the Spice we're becoming umbrella aficionados! Grab your rainy weather gear and come to the 92nd Street Y on Thursday July 9th at 7pm because...



...we're hosting a special a wine and cheese party alongside a fabulous discussion with the talented Colette Robbins! Colette's work is on display alongside the work of Dean Goelz, in a very special show that you probably remember us talking about before. Tonight's a great night to check it out! As Colette answers your questions you'll get to enjoy some icy wine, chill cheese, and the even chiller collaboration that is on display.



Colette's paintings portray ordinary objects with a twilight zone twist, finding the unusual in the usual. In Colette's style a boring old acorn receives a dash psychological uncertainty and a splash of visual clarity and suddenly it becomes an awesome acorn that you can't escape! Come out at 7pm, rain or shine!

How our Collectors' Tour saved us from the All-Car-Rent-a-Car Blues

Dear All Car Rent a Car,

If you didn't want to go out with us, all you had to do was say so. Why did you have to ignore our phone calls, then answer only to lead us on? It hurt us when you acted like you didn't remember that you'd promised us a 15-seater passenger van. Like all your vows meant nothing to you. You seduced us with your siren song of a one-time payment of 159.99. What changed? We just can't give you what you want anymore. Don't you know that you can't put a deposit down on love?

And still we tried to love you. We took your van. Were you trying to tell us something when you almost gave it away to a church group minutes before we arrived? There are better ways to break up with someone than tricking them into returning a van all the way out in Brighton Beach with no money in our pocket and way to get home. We've had it, All Car Rent a Car. We took the un-airconditioned death box on wheels that you gave us and turned it into a motorized love-machine.

We like big butts and we cannot lie...

Our little gang of collectors and artists started off at 92Y Tribeca with a discussion by Dean Goelz and Colette Robbins. Here is Colette talking about "Spirited Away" while her audience follows.

After 92Y, we piled into the death-trap and bumped and sputtered our way across the bridge to DUMBO, where we paid Eric LoPresti a visit in his studio.

Today's Art Lesson: The Power of Primary Colors (Illustrated in Polo Shirts)
A couple of glasses of wine and a few nibbles of cheese later, we were back in the van and heading to Jenny Morgan and Peter Rostovsky's studios in Greenpoint!Then on to Rachel Beach who fed us dumplings and a heaping serving of new work. Check these babies out:


And here's Rachel herself, trying not to let on that she knows she's way more brilliant than any of us could ever hope to be.

And on and on! To Diana Puntar's. Here's one of Diana's sculptures. We were very excited to get to know her!


Finally, back to Like the Spice, where we had heroes deliciouso from Curiouso! David Mramor and Allison edge were sweet enough to come give us a little talk about their work, and who should reappear but Jenny and Colette! Our stalwart little crew of collectors had a well-earned snack and glass of wine, and stayed at LTS just long enough to catch the AMAZING double rainbow that appeared in the sky (no joke). Quite the party. And you know who WASN'T invited?

That's right, YOU, All Car Rent a Car. We wrote this letter to let you know that WE DON'T NEED YOU ANY MORE. In fact, we're seeing someone else. His name is Danny, over at AAMCAR rentals. We don't know what he looks like, but his phone voice is deep and sweet, and he's got a 17-seater waiting just for us and our next Collectors' Tour.
BECAUSE WE'RE WORTH IT.

Best wishes,

Like the Spice

T-t-talkin' 'bout Our Event Makin'

We've been doing so many things lately. We've even forgotten to recap our press! Well, it's never too late for that. Especially when there's something so exciting to talk about.

Our current show, Dirty Dirty Love, has a attracted a little attention... from a different country! Brazilian blog Ideafixa seems to really like artist Reuben Negron. We had to run it through a translator, since we don't speak Portuguese, but that doesn't change how flattered we are! A gallery likes to feel international, after all. Remember that we've extended the show, and Dirty Dirty Love now runs until July 12th.

Also of note is our offsite show at the 92nd Street Y in Tribeca. The lovely Colette Robbins and the just as lovely Dean Goelz are joined together in a fantastic show made up of their very latest works. Some of you might remember that we blogged about it before. Well, Dean and Colette will soon be stopping by the 92nd Street Y to talk about their work. On Thursday, June 25th, come enjoy a discussion with Dean and Colette. Just $5 holds your place in advance. If you've never met them, you have to go. If you have met them, you have to go again. We can't stress it enough: these two are so great in person.

Keep in mind that we're gonna be open all Summer long (except Tuesdays) and we want to see YOU! If nothing else, be sure to stop in on July 17th for opening night of Off The Clock! And make your reservations now for Assisted Dining, coming on July 24th. Remember, even though the weather is cool, we're still hot!

northside festival weekend!

We had a super busy weekend at Like the Spice and we're amped to tell you all about it!

On Friday night we hosted the "Sex Toy Party," which featured titillating "adult" information from our experts, as well as a fantastic live karaoke performance from...all our audience members!

Saturday was Crest Fest, presented by Crest Hardware (the show is ongoing, check it out here). All the galleries in the Williamsburg Gallery Association turned out to show their support. And we danced in the rain!

And on Hangover Sunday Like the Spice hosted the awesome, Holy Holy Vine from Baltimore, MD.



Pedestrians and onlookers stuck around to enjoy their sweet sounds and it was the perfect sunny Sunday afternoon everyone needed.




June's not over yet! Don't forget to stop by Like the Spice, we've still got lots planned for the rest of this month!

philly-night at the gallery

On Thursday the 11th Like the Spice took part in "philly-night."



The night was in large thanks to the "curators of music" Gabriel Rodriguez and Ava Hassinger, who were kind enough to find the talent from Philadelphia (hence the "philly-night"), and it was quite the talent. Bleep Blop THUD and Alien Architecht DJed the gallery and proceeded to impress onlookers, providing great beats for everyone at Like the Spice.



With the live music and Amstel Light courtesy of The Northside Festival and The L Magazine, we proceeded to rock the night away and, on top of all this, the weekend is not even over yet.



The DJ's aren't stopping on the 11th; Crest Fest will be going on all throughout Saturday the 13th in Macri Park and is going to be filled with live music and fantastic art. So, grab some food from the vendors and come on out to support the vast amount of arts here in Williamsburg and the refurbishment of Macri Park. Now, if you where unable to join us at Philly-Night, and you're just too busy to take park in Crest Fest, then don't you worry yourself because we still have one more event taking place on Sunday the 14th. Baltimore bands Holy Holy Vine and the Expotentials will pick up where the others left off and keep the masses entertained. Come by on the 14th and join us at Like the Spice for some great music, tasty drinks, and even better company. Hope to see you there.

wine.woot tasting

On Friday evening Like the Spice teamed up with wine.woot for an awesome tasting event at the gallery. And the rain didn't stop us: we had over 150 attendees and live musical accompaniment by Tony Hightower!



woot.wine featured a special sneak peek of their new white, Triacipedis (say it out loud, hehe) which turned out to be a huge success! The gallery was packed upstairs and downstairs with guests returning for seconds and thirds of the new blend.



And although guests were a little soggy at first, everyone dried off enough to have a great time. Some guests even made friends with the woot monkeys! So much fun!! Stay posted and we'll catch you next time!