Marked: A Show of Figure Gallery Opening

Greetings All! My name is Slater, a senior at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the newest addition (intern/crew person/photographer/garbage collector) to the Like the Spice Gallery team. I am in New York for the summer interning my heart out and it has started off with quite the bang. Seeing Manhattan, Times Square and the streets of Chelsea with 21 year old eyes makes everything look so much different and exciting! One of the highlighting moments so far has been the opening for Marked: A Show of Figure on Friday June 11th, at Like the Spice Gallery, for which I got the opportunity to be photographer of the evening.

The night began with a boom as faithfuls of Like the Spice gallery space poured in, ready to mingle and receive the work presented. With each arrival I grew more and more nervous, this being my first time on the "other side" of the gallery experience. As each guest arrived the energy accumulated and was very quickly streaming from the front doors and down the block, attracting not only the artist community but residents and families from the surrounding neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. With the help and comforting words of Olivia and Roxanne( a fellow intern), my nerves calmed and I began to feel right at home.



The reception was amazing and if you weren't here, you probably wish that you were. As Gallery-goers surrounded the pieces from LTS artists Jenny Morgan and Reuben Negron comments such as, "Remarkable technique" and "beautiful composition" were heard over and over again.



Of course, the crowd was just as taken by the work of Robin Williams, Alison Bickle, Brendon Lott, and Chino Amobi, and all the pieces were getting their share of attention. If you'd like to see them now, head to the special online preview page, but naturally, they're much better in person and definitely worth the visit.



The gallery buzzed from wall to wall as the featured artists were greeted with handshake after handshake. As the night went on, the line between viewer and the viewed blurred, as the pieces and the crowd interacted, coming to dance and breathe with each other as one. Intimacy, narrative, exaggeration and emotions all resonated, fueling an energy that only an opening night at Like the Spice Gallery can provide. It was a great way for me to be introduced to the more structured side of the Art world and all the work that goes into installing, hanging and uninstalling a lot of work simultaneously.

At the end of the night the LTS crew packed up another successful opening. From the perspective of this "Fairly new to the Gallery Scene" artist, I am definitely looking forward to many more to come!



Remember, Marked is open right now, and we can't wait to see you. We also can't wait to have you join us for our latest Monthly Dinner Series event, Figure Ates, on June 25th. Places are limited, so please, RSVP today!

An American vegetarian fights the good fight against alcoholism in Tuscany and Chianti but loses... gracefully.

Chanti part one, food:

(Funny sign outside of Antica Macelleria Cecchini )
I was warned on the road to Lucca from the airport that I would be visiting a famous butcher of the Chianti region the following morning. Being the self-loathing vegetarian that I am, I kept quiet for the moment while nervously trying to muster up the words, non mangio carne.

(Sabine, Henning, Marianne, Elke, and Heinrich entering Antica Macelleria Cecchini )
OMG! Saying I don't eat meat in Williamsburg with the plethora of BBQ places that surround and taunt me with their hot hipster chefs and their fantastic whiskys is bad enough, but having to remind Sabine, a gloriously kind host and a bonified foodie, that I don't eata the meata is no fun at all.

(Butcher Dario Cecchini, has been a butcher for 35 years and is the owner of Antica Macelleria)
Her response: It's not meat! It's the “sushi“ of the Chianti region. But how will I tell her that I don't eat fish either???
After driving past the vineyard of my favorite red wine, Castello di Gabbiano's and taking in the beauty, we parked at the base of Panzano, a charming little village in Chianti. Inside Antica Macelleria Cecchini, where butcher DARIO CECCHINI (pictured above) does his infamous butchering, we were promptly greeted by Kate! Kate's a feisty Southern California native who has been in Italy for over 20 years now, so it was great to see her.


She came with a carafe in hand and served us a local house red. She then passed us home made bread drizzled with locally grown and pressed olive oil that had been sprinkled with their special salts and herb mix (which I promptly purchased for myself). Yum!
We toured the shop littered with cooking books, butcher related paraphernalia, meat inspired art... oh, and carne.



Right pass the designer meat locker was a secret staircase which lead up to the restaurant where a pudgy and boisterous waiter stood excitedly waiting to feed us his beef. NON MANGA CARNE ? “Ok, ok, ok for you my love, anything ” he shouts. He brought me a full plate of veggies, potatoes, Insalata Mista, and some phenomenal cheeses with homemade ketchup and other mysterious, scrumptious sauces.

We ate a feast, even poor me, the veggie. With a tragically beautiful view of Chianti just beyond the deck we toasted to Chianti with some Chiante.

I took a short walk around the town and after seeing many watercolors and oil paintings of Chianti we were onto San Gimignano where the scavenger hunt for contemporary art in Italy began.

Why did I ever leave...? Oh... for the love of contemporary art, that's right.

I arrived in Florence, Italy and was instantly greeted by my good friends, Sabine and Henning. They whisked me off through Tuscany on the Autostrada to their gorgeous home away from on home, an Italian villa perched on a hill overlooking the ancient Etruscan city of Lucca.

Their home was surrounded by sugar and spice and everything nice. The spice is pictured below, the sugar and everything nice was provided by the excellent company of instant friends Marieanne, Elke, and Heiney. Marieanne's an architect from Hamburg, with a plethora of knowledge of all things Italian. Elke and Heinrich are the charming and proud owners of Ladage & Oelke, a 3rd generation family owned clothing shop, c.1845 located in Hamburg. Ladage & Oelke specializes in tailored clothing from and influenced by England.

Elka and Heinrich, (pictures of the shop to come when I visit Hamburg!)

(check out the Sage, Like the Spice...hee hee) EDITOR'S NOTE: HEE HAS TWO E'S, MARISA, AND NOT ONLY BECAUSE I'M BITTER THAT YOU LEFT ME BEHIND IN THE GALLERY WHILE YOU RAN OFF TO EUROPE

I toured the grounds, laid under the Tuscan sun, drank copious amounts of local white wine, and took in the fresh lavender, jasmine, and poppy scents that flowed freely through the valley's air.

Out of New York part one, Swiss airports and rest-stops vs American airports and rest-stops

While the Like the Spice Crew worked hard to open Marked: A Show Of Figure this week, I started off on an European adventure. I arrived in Florence, Italy on the 8th and I will leave Germany on June 23. Follow this blog to read all about my art and not so art related adventures!

The first leg of my trip began at JFK. There is not much to say about airport based travel besides this: it leaves you delirious, jet lagged, and slightly prone to stereotyping. I also could not help but make comparisons between America, Switzerland, and Italy. So, I will leave you with one visual comparison below and get right to Italy and all of its splendor.

Beef Jerky

On the road in South Carolina, bound for Art Basel Miami Beach 2008

VS

Chocolate

Zurich national airport 2010, bound for Art Basel 2010.

Interesting... very interesting...

The opening of "Marked: A Show of Figure" is tonight!!

Hello friends of Like the Spice, like the above image? Well then come and check it out in person! Tonight is the opening of Marked: A Show of Figure.
Come see new work by LTS artists Jenny Morgan and Reuben Negron and help us welcome Robin Willams, Alison Bickle, Brendon Lott, and Chino Amobi.

We know that the weather has been less than perfect but tonight should be clear and comfortable. What better way is there then to spend a breezy summer night looking at great art and hanging with your friends at Like the Spice. Be a social little june-bug this summer and come join us from 6:30 to 10 PM tonight...

We hope to see you there!

Bloggers Love Him, Artists Love To See Him

Of course we're talking about good ol' Ross Racine, who once more has been noticed by an online art aficionado. This time it's Love You Trick, who described him as "surreal" and "spooky" but clearly in a positive way.



Head on over to Love You Trick and check out their adoration. Way to stay cutting-edge, Ross!

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.