Memorial Day Alert! June's Gonna Be Busy!

We hope that wherever you are today, you're thinking about Like the Spice's events calendar. But just in case you're not, we're using this post to give you a heads up. Because we've got a lot happening in June, and you need to be here to enjoy it!

First up, on June 5th and June 6th, Like the Spice is turning four years old. Can you believe it? How the time flies! Our two day party will overlap with the final days of Greg Haberny: The Homeless Boys Social Club and you can read about all the exciting party details right here. Here's the short version: June 5th, 6pm-10pm is the birthday party. June 6th, 1pm-6pm is the hangover brunch.

Then, on June 11th, we're throwing ANOTHER party! This time, it's opening night for Marked, a show of figure. Featuring work from Alison Bickle, Dean Goelz, Brendan Lott, Jenny Morgan, Reuben Negron and Robin Williams, Marked is going to be absolutely beautiful, and you can see an advance sneak preview right here.

But that's not all! We've also got our next RSVP only Monthly Dinner, Figure Ates on June 25th, the wonderful Northside Music Festival running June 26th and June 27th with music here at the gallery each and every day, and did we mention that Marisa's going to be blogging from Europe? Yeah, we all hate her too. But more on that next week.

For now, just trust us when we say June's going to be packed with great stuff, and you're going to be a part of it. That's right, we're giving you no choice in the matter. If you don't make it out, we'll come get you.

Greg Haberny with the Homeless Boys Social Club extended!

Greg Haberny – The Homeless Boys Social Club
Exhibition Dates: April 16 – June 6th 2010

announcing the extension of Greg Haberny's instillation to June 6th, make sure you check this out while you still can!

Lots Of Good Press!

As you loyal readers know, we're thrilled with how much fun we had at the NEXT Art Fair. But now we can be equally thrilled at how much fun other people had with us! We had a very nice nod from ArtNet, who stopped by our booth and seemed very taken with the work of Jenny Morgan, as well as the general feel of our gallery space. Thanks for visiting, ArtNet! We're so glad you enjoyed us!

Of course, Jenny's been getting lots of press lately. You already saw our previous post from Sunday mentioning her Art Ltd Cover Story. But did you know she's becoming a darling of the blog circuit? We found her getting some attention from Wicked Wink and Proteus, both of whom clearly find her work as irresistible as we do. Isn't it great to see an artist getting so much attention?

Her Mom Must Be So Proud

So we seem to talk a lot about Jenny Morgan lately, don't we? Maybe that's because everyone is noticing what we've known all along... she's great! And keep in mind that we've got some of Jenny's latest pieces along with us that the Affordable Art Fair, running until 5pm today. It's a great thing to enjoy with Mom, or even just on your own. And as you already know our booth also features work from Chino Amobi, Rachel Beach, Allison Edge, Treasure Frey, Dean Goelz, Eric LoPresti, Jenny Morgan, David Mramor, Bennett Morris, Reuben Negron, Leah Oates, Nicki Stager and Jessica Stoller.



This post, however, is all about the wonderful Ms. Morgan. And that's because, firstly, she's been given a very nice image recap on art blog Sweet Station, and secondly, she's just made the cover of the May/June issue of Art. Ltd Magazine. Art Ltd also has a very nice profile piece inside, and we recommend it to all of Jenny's fans and collectors. Run and find your issue as soon as you can! But first, stop in to the AAF and take one more look at the lovely "Inner Island", as seen above. She's about to explode, and don't you want to say you knew about her before she was famous?

We Didn't Forget! We Didn't Forget!

It's just that we've been so busy lately, what with all the work we've been doing at the Affordable Art Fair (which, incidentally runs until Sunday) that we haven't had time to recap Stone Soup, the wonderful dinner featuring artist Greg Haberny, the man behind our current show, The Homeless Boys Social Club. It was a sold out event, and even though we hated to do it, we were actually turning people away.



Of course, some of that was because we got the nod from Time Out, but mostly everyone was there to see Greg. And we gotta say, Greg makes for a great reason. He's been working so hard on this show, with new pieces turning up every day, but we were still amazed he took the time to created a special flag, brand new for the dinner, just for our guests to enjoy.



In keeping with the style of Greg's work, we broke out the checkered tablecloths and had ourselves a little BBQ. Fette Sau and Fatty Q provided the meat and fixins, and judging from what we saw on our guest's faces, they both got everything just right. All our guests seemed clever and happy and ready to talk. Nothing creates good fun like good food.



As you can see, here's Marisa, introducing the man of the hour. Doesn't Greg look shy in this picture? You wouldn't think he had so much to say, about art, his life, his decisions and technique and... well, everything! If you were there, you understand. If you weren't, you can get a taste of what Greg is like by hitting up our Like the Spice podcast on the iTunes store. This month we've got an interview with Greg about the show, and we think everybody will be interested. Sign up and get them coming right to ya.



If you missed out on this great, great dinner, we're so sorry. One day, when our gallery is the size of a city block, we'll be able to let everybody in. But for now, you just have to remember: get in early for the next one! And speaking of the next one, it's a good time to warn you to get ready for June, because that's when the next installment of our Monthly Dinner Series lands. Also keep in mind that The Homeless Boys Social Club will be open until June 6th, so there's plenty of time to come and enjoy the work of Greg Haberny.

Tired... But Happy!

See that? Who could that be? Why, it's Manish Vora of Artlog.com, taking a break at the AAF to get his shoes shined by artist Greg Haberny! What more could you ask from opening night?

With Greg in one booth, and LtS in the other, you can be sure that there's plenty of great art happening each day this weekend. Even after day one, we've made some great new friends and kissed a few of our pieces goodbye. And all the excitement! The traffic! The way we forgot to take pictures because we were so exhausted from excitement and traffic!

But don't you worry, because we ran into our new pal Rafael Fuchs from Rafael Fuchs Art Photography and he shot a bunch of pictures. We're thinking you'll find them here on his blog once he sorts them all out. Rafael was a really great guy and we expect to see him again, so watch this space, and we'll remind you when they're up!

In the meantime, want a little sneak peek of the booth? Here's a brand new Rachel Beach we're proud to have on display. It's called "Strange Loop" and we bet you can just imagine what that's gonna look like in person...



...but why just imagine? Why not come in and check it out? Also, don't forget, we've got different work every day, including Chino Amobi, Rachel Beach, Allison Edge, Treasure Frey, Dean Goelz, Eric LoPresti, Jenny Morgan, David Mramor, Bennett Morris, Reuben Negron, Leah Oates, Nicki Stager and Jessica Stoller, and that means you'll never see the same booth twice. Plus the I Heart Brooklyn Party is happening on Thursday night, so you know Thursday's gonna be a wonderful time. Stop in, enjoy the excitement, say hi to Greg Haberny, and check out some Affordable Art!

We HEART Chicago!!

"But among those of us for whom 17th century French landscapes and $50,000 price tags are more fairy-tale than art fair, NEXT: The Invitational Exhibition of Emerging Art, is quickly becoming the must-visit event..." -The Chicago Tribune, April 30th, 2010

That's right folks, NEXT is really the next big thing in visual-arts events and we are so honored and elated to be a part of it. The Chicago Tribune even paints NEXT as a "feisty up-and-comer that in its third year may have the potential to bypass Art Chicago's three-decade legacy, with flying colors." Woohoo!! We have never been so proud to exhibit and be part of this exceptional and, might we say, historic event. We arrived in Chicago Wednesday afternoon and have been moving non-stop since the plane hit the tarmac. It has been a challenging quest but there is no shortage of energy and excitement, it's impossible to lose that titillating feeling when surrounded by such incredible work and participants. An estimated 50,000 folks supposedly will be stopping in at NEXT by the end of the fair and Like the Spice plans to wow all of them! Now, we don't mean to pat only ourselves on the back as there are many people to congratulate, including all of our amazing artists whose work we are exhibiting at the fair. A special shout-out goes to Jenny Morgan, her incredible new piece, Inner Island, is shown above. This piece has been lauded as a "show stopper" here at the fair and we would like to offer Jenny a huge applause. We have been following Jenny Morgan and her work for years and we are so proud: news and praise of her work has spread like wildfire and we have no doubts that this recent success in Chicago is just another fantastic beginning of something great.

BUT, our most humble thanks and never ending gratitude must be offered to Ken Tyburski, the curatorial director of NEXT. Of the new director Viveros Fauné stated, “As a terrific dealer of young contemporary art who has had two very successful outings at the show, Ken is uniquely qualified to take over NEXT’s mantle as a major American fair of emerging art.” We could not agree more. The success of this fair is contingent upon what is included in it and Ken and his team have masterfully created this amazing accomplishment. Congratulations! Artslant has described NEXT as not just a fair, but "an opportunity t o redefine the relationship between art and its public...A portal to seeing contemporary art in new, innovative, eye-opening ways." Many exhibitors here at the fair have referred to you as a "savior" of the Chicago art fair and art scene; though some might see this as a bit of a loaded statement, we must admit that and in our hearts Ken is most certainly an angel. Thank you, Ken.
For the skeptics, you do not have to take our word for it; amazing press has been swirling around NEXT long before its doors were open to the public. Metromix Chicago has made sure to mark this four day celebration of art, and Chicago Now agrees that there is so much "fresh art to take in." Gozamos and Art Pilsen blogs have also noted NEXT as an incredible showcase for the world's talents. The original founder of NEXT, Kavi Gupta, has proclaimed the fair to be focused strictly on "the up-and-coming: young and midcareer artists, their paintbrushes firmly on the pulse; and, in many instances, young dealers to match." We could not be happier to be included in such a category. Many, many thanks!