We Wanna Be Adored

After our last post, what more could we say? Nothing? Then it's a good thing that Fade is getting so much positive attention!

First up is the terribly awesome Artmostfierce, who rated us one of the Most Happenning Art Shows In NYC! We always knew we were happenning but we're glad someone else noticed. Especially someone so fierce. And we're very very thankful for the praise, so head over there and enjoy the blog!

We were also happy that Eric earned us a very special treat! Portuguese blog Minas de Ouro decided to give the world a very nice look at Eric's work... written in Portuguese! If you're not fluent, Google's pre-translated version will help you read some lovely words of praise, but if you are, you'll likely enjoy it more in the original. It's a nice thing when art goes global, so we're very happy to be noticed. Thanks, Gisela!

One thing should be very clear by now, if you haven't yet seen Fade, you need to start making plans. Maybe even dinner plans, perhaps for September 18th? Because, coincidentally, that's when we'll be having the next installment of our Monthly Dinner Series, Feed, a very special night with artist Eric LoPresti. An RSVP is required, so RSVP right here, right now. It's going to be a blast!



THIS JUST IN!!

After we'd already published, we found this wonderful interview courtesy of Revel in New York. Covering details like Eric's hard science background and his feelings about the Brooklyn Art Scene, Revel in New York's interview is a must read for LoPresti fans. Thanks for the attention, Revel! We love you so!

Post-Opening Recap (please don't talk too loud kthx)

The wonderful thing about being a gallery is learning the secrets of how this:



becomes this:



Sure, it took us a day to sleep off all that fun, but now we're back, we've found our pants, and we're ready to tell you all about the fantastic opening night of Eric LoPresti's Fade. You can even catch a special sneak preview right here if you're so inclined. And we're telling you now, you want to be so inclined.



That's artist Nora Herting on the right. Eric's well loved and well respected by the Like the Spice artist crowd, so it was no trouble at all to get them to stop by. One look at the work and you'll understand why he gets attention from his peers.





The crowd was clever and friendly and fun and we're pretty sure everyone had a great time. If you weren't there... why not? Look at what you missed!



Fade runs until October 4th, 2009. It's been getting some great press, and we'll even have a very special RSVP only dinner on September 18th... but you'll find out about all that in our very next blog post. Stay tuned...

He's A Man Of Many Interests

Our good friend Eric LoPresti isn't just the mastermind behind the impending beauty that is Fade (opening reception September 11th, 2009, 6:30pm - 10pm if you didn't already know). He's also a blogger! At least, he is now that Nathan Abels of the blog minutiae has offered him a chance to guest blog for a day.

Now that I’m back in NYC, I’m in crunch-mode, starting the final few paintings for my upcoming show... This work is about the desert, and my feelings about growing up in the waning aftermath of the Cold War. I’m using aerial imagery of desert weapons sites, e.g. Nevada Proving Grounds and the Hanford Site in Eastern Washington... Following are my thoughts, in no particular order.

Eric's guest post covers a whole slew of his current influences, from William Turner to Richard Rhodes to Tillman Kaiser to the recording artists Department of Eagles. What comes out is an interesting look at the mind of an artist, and a dissection of the inspirations that have combined to create Fade. We think you should head over and check it out.

Meanwhile, in a studio in DUMBO...

We paid a visit to Eric LoPresti this week in his studio, where he's prepping for his solo exhibition Eric LoPresti : Fade next Friday, September 11th, at 6:30pm! Here's a little video of him talking about the new works!

FEED at FADE! Special Thanks to Nita Nita...

Ready for another installment of Food and Art here at Like the Spice? Here's a sneak peek at FEED, Eric LoPresti's artist dinner. This month, wine and tapas restaurant Nita Nita will be treating us to a spanish feast, featuring Apricot glazed chicken, Mojo Potatoes and Garlic Shrimp with a scrumptious selection of fine cheeses and serrano ham.

James Duffy of the L magazine says "Mercifully low-key, Nita Nita aims for quality and familiarity, featuring everything a good bar should: a sensibly pared down selection of very good beers on tap (including Abita Turbo Dog Ale, Brooklyn Pennant Ale, Blue Point Toasted Lager, Stella Artois, Blue Moon, and the aforementioned Spaten); a modest, vegetarian-friendly tapas menu from a kitchen that clearly knows what it’s doing; a cocktail list of specialized favorites, each one lovingly made with fresh ingredients (the margaritas are wonderful); and, of course, an impressive, Spanish-heavy wine list, from which a select bottle is matched with a different cheese plate each week. All of which can be enjoyed in the spacious back garden, a tranquil space that feels more like the mellower parts of Portland than New York City."

We're psyched to be working with this fabulous restaurant. If you haven't had a chance to visit yet, be sure to stop by for a drink in their outdoor garden before the weather gets too cold! Of course, it's always hot (metaphorically, not physically cause that would be uncomfortable) at Like the Spice. RSVP's are required, and space is limited, so head here to be a part of this monumental collaboration between art and cuisine on Friday, September 18th. Dinner's served at 8pm!

Extra, Extra! Read all about it! Ross Racine is Totally Famous

So, we don't really know what happened, but somewhere between the beginning of Summer and Like the Spice's Costa Rican vacation, the digital drawings of LTS artist Ross Racine went Viral.

I mean we know that his strangely haunting, unbelievably intricate drawings are always a favorite at LTS art fairs and group shows, and now the blogosphere is actually exploding with over twenty mentions in the past four months.

What's really interesting is to see how the different people who write about Ross's work come at it from such different angles. There's the architectural viewpoint, for one. Architecture for geurillas observes " Row after row after spiral after spiral of organized, seemingly generic homes is supposed to be a system of order. But Elm Court, Sycamore Lane, and Poplar Street all share such similarities that it's often impossible to identify where one is." There's the voyeuristic. GPCB says "his images immediately fulfill my love for traveling via Google Earth and obsession with maps and aerial images." There's the vaguely befuddled Eins, Zwei, Drei. "i’m not bougie enough i don’t have enough art savvy to get how it’s a comment on the dreams of suburban culture." And a comment on Swiss Miss hits the nail on the head, saying "Love his stuff. Somewhere, someone mentioned that these works remind them of The Twilight Zone. I can see that… Everything looks perfect and clean, riding your bike down the street… until you pan out and see the layout of the suburb and realize something just isn’t quite right."

Yes, Ross is pretty much a weblebrity at this point. And we're glad to be just one of the many blogs to join his fanclub! After all, in the words of Urbanophil.net "Wer schon einmal durch Suburbia gefahren - und im schlimmsten Fall gelaufen ist - kennt die Problematik: Gleichförmigkeit und fehlende Orientierungspunkte. Mit diesem Dilemma einer städtischen Siedlungsform, die leider in großem Maße unsere Städte mitbestimmt (erinnert sei hier an den Vortrag von J. H. Kunstler) setzt sich der Künstler Ross Racine auseinander. Er zeichnet in einer Mischung aus Handzeichnen und Computerarbeit suburbane Landschaften."

Watch This Space

So most of you know that, very soon, we'll be hosting our pal Eric LoPresti's solo show Fade. But did you know that the opening night reception is September 11th, from 6:30pm to 10:30pm? And did you know that our latest and greatest Monthly Dinner Series, Feed, will be happening on September 25th and we're waiting for you to RSVP? And most of all, did you know that you can see see a special advanced online preview of Fade before it even opens to the public? That's the sort of thing you'll be learning this week and next, as our quiet little blog features all sorts of wonderful Eric LoPresti events.

You'll see interviews, you'll see video, you'll see fresh new links and exciting pre-review blog posts! Maybe you'll even get to see his kitchen sink! So keep an eye on us, we're counting down the days until Fade's opening night... and we want you to be there! And also here. We're so needy.