Hungry Like The Wolf

We stayed up all night and it was totally worth it. Like The Spice's current show, Deer Art, has us all staring like meerkats.



Running from now until February 3rd, Deer Art is a celebration of all things animal, from owls to eels, and some animals that just got thought up.



There's work here to fit everyone's needs and interests. It's the season to think of other people, after all. And the best gift is something they'll love, but never expect.



Also come by after 5pm to see our video tiger. He's pacing the front door! He's kinda hard to photograph but you can see him from the street as soon as it gets dark and it looks amazing. The neighbors keep telling us how much they like him, and we bet you will too.




Don't be scared, nothing will bite! Come visit us and check out this show. We're absolutely rabid about it.



Also be sure to be there on January 11th for the Castle Critters! They're as comfortable in the subway as the New York Times and they've performed in Central Park and at Hollywood parties. You can't wait to see them, you just don't know it yet.

Home Again

We're back from a very successful Miami trip! Everyone is too tired from unloading the van to tell you any more. Just look at the pretty pictures for now. We'll talk when we wake up.

Fountain Miami Continues To Spray

After an exciting Saturday night we wake up to find some talented bloggers have been giving Brooklyn some props. Here's a taste:

Rhizome:

My inbox is already filled with messages from galleries announcing their special projects. While business-as-usual is the bottom-line, Fountain Miami has a rather distinct agenda. Founded in New York City in March 2006, Fountain is "a guerrilla-style art fair... an effort to leverage support for independent galleries largely overlooked by corporate-sponsored art fairs."

Art Fairs International:

AFI: How did you feel when The Brooklyn Rail dubbed Fountain “a perfect example of avant-energetics”? Did you feel that you’d achieved what you had originally set out to do for the art world?

David Kesting: Yeah. James Kalm wrote that about NY 2006 and then included us in his review of Miami 2006. I cannot tell you how supportive our critics have been... I think the reason for the good press really is due to the relationships galleries and artists develop during the exhibition. I think critics see that and realize the authenticity of what’s happening and they buy into what we are doing in a big way.

Click through the links for the full articles. And thanks both AFI and Rhizome!

"Indie Fairs full of surprises" - Miami Herald

Indie fairs full of surprises
Posted on Thu, Dec. 06, 2007

Fifty-seven galleries exhibited contemporary photography at Photo Miami in a 40,000 square-foot tent in Wynwood.

''It's hard to gauge sales, but we had some folks from the Guggenheim Museum and Santa Barbara Museum of Art come through earlier,'' said Tim Fleming, director of the 2-year-old fair that's gained about 15 galleries since its debut. On Thursday afternoon, the second day of fair, there were just a few red dots on the walls, indicating sold pieces. ''There's no rush. There's plenty of time'' for buying, Fleming said.

Although it has ''photo'' in its name, the fair also include a handful of video and electronic pieces. On the more traditional end was Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq, a series of large print images of Iraq war veterans, many with prosthetic limbs, by noted portrait photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. (Greenfield-Sanders' portraits were part of an HBO documentary of the same name.)

Admission to Photo Miami, located at 3101 North Miami Ave., is $15 for access through Sunday. It's open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday.

FOUNTAIN MIAMI

Fourteen small and independent galleries, many from Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood, showcased young artists' work at Fountain Miami, a 10,000-square-foot warehouse space that purposely has a rough and unfinished feel to it, said organizers.

''What really sets Fountain apart is the camaraderie and friendship between these galleries. We're all within walking distance of each other back home,'' said Christina Ray, founder of Brooklyn-based gallery and performance art space Glowlab.

Although most art pieces were for sale -- many for less than $500 -- Ray said Fountain's purpose was equally about showcasing experimental and developing artists as it was about sales. The red dots that dominate Art Basel and other exclusive sales were nowhere to be seen.

For Fountain's first year in 2007, Glowlabs hosted The Sams, where more than 50 bald performers recruited by the gallery hopped from parties to gallery openings dressed as and impersonating Art Basel Director Samuel Keller, a seemingly omnipresent figure at the fair's numerous events. ''It was fun,'' but don't expect to see that again, said Ray. Fountain Miami is at 2841 NW 2nd Ave., open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. Admission is $2

EDGE ZONES

At Edge Zones, a 12,000-square-foot space in Wynwood, the focus is Latin American artists. Of note were eight large original photos of collaborations by Mexican-American performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña, whose works comment on ethnic and linguistic identity and colonialism, were on display. With price tags as high as $15,000, they had gone unsold. Other artists whose work was display included Miamians José Bedia, Nicolás Leiva and Rubén Torres-Llorca.

Edge Zones, at 2214 N. Miami Ave., is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily (open till 11 p.m. Saturday). Admission is free.

-- JAWEED KALEEM

More press and images to come!
Check back soon!

The Only Bad Publicity Is None At All

Thankfully Hrag Vartanian had nice things to say about our dinner with Jason Bryant and Paloma. We won't spoil it any more than that, zip over and see how many different ways he liked it! And please mention how humble we were.

We Had 99 Problems But DinnerWeren't One

Friday November 30th saw a steady stream of good looking people coming to join artist Jason Bryant for our regular monthly dinner here at Like The Spice. Catered by Paloma, and sponsored by Pernod, the dinner was just as friendly and at ease as you would expect it to be. After all, everyone was so wonderful!


Artist Jason Bryant (seen here with our good friend Mandy) was happy to discuss his gorgeous paintings and the ideas behind his work. Extra napkins were available to wipe up the drool as we stared at the art. Jason's show continues until the 14th of this month, so if you have not already come to see them, please do! You'll understand once you're here and you'll be happy you came.


Also speaking was Chef Camile Becerra from Paloma. With a life that has moved her through all the parties and secrets of Manhattan, including an appearance on Top Chef and being voted New York's Sexiest Chef 2008, Camile had plenty of stories and kept us all laughing. Except when we were eying the food.


Speaking of food, Paloma's menu was easily some of the best we've had. The custom made Pernot chocolates were a big hit, as were the parmesean crusted tilapia and grilled free range chicken. In fact, it was all good. Go here if you'd like to be thrilled by the menu. Heaven knows we were.

Our next dinner is coming up, as is our next show, Deer Art. We hope to see you there! Watch this space!

Deer Art!

Deer Art: Animal Imagery in Contemporary Art
December 15th – January 11th 2008
Opening Saturday December 15th 6:30-10:00pm

You’re trapped like a deer in the headlights…you can’t run from the upcoming show at Like the Spice.
We hope it don’t run you down.

Images of animals have been increasingly prevalent in contemporary art recently…you can't spit at an art fair without hitting two deer, a bear and probably a sasquatch. Exploring the urgency animal representations have had recently, this show includes works that explore several different aspects of the relationship between animals and culture.

In some works animals stand in for people, they are vulnerable or ferocious in ways that reveal more about the human condition than about the animals themselves. This is the Disney approach, where animals are used to illuminate character types and traits. An owl becomes a wise old man and a fox is always the trickster. Other works use animal imagery for its psychological associations: totemic symbols for forces of nature, threatening or shamanistic, these animals confront us with their unpredictability and archetypical wildness. The unsettling sight of eels crawling over each other. The horror of confronting a predator in the wilderness. This psychological take is complimented by an approach that recognizes our tenuous and mediated contemporary relationship with nature as commodity, test subject, lifestyle accessory and fashion trope. The first dogs in space. The kitten as makeout voyeur. These ideas of course inform and resist each other and some works borrow aspects of each mode.

In the fable of the Scorpion and the Frog, animals cannot help but be what they are...this show asks whether people are any different or whether animals are really that transparent.

This show includes works by Amy Hill, Thomas Clark, Seth Cohen Cair Crawford, Ondine Crispin Allison Edge, Abby Goodman, Jason Head, Undine Brod, Tatiana Kronberg, Max Liboiron , Eric LoPresti, Johnna MacArthur, Philip Simmons, Chadwick Whitehead, Grace Teng, Rachel Lowther, and Steven Tabbutt.

With a special closing performance Friday January 11th 2008, 7:30-10:00pm by Castle Critters.