Sutured Dinner

This past Friday, February 24th, Like the Spice Gallery had our monthly Artist Dinner. Catered by The Starving Artist Bakery, we enjoyed a phenomenal meal and great conversations with Joseph Heidecker, Robert Raphael, Vadis Turner, Richard Saja, and Zoe Sheehan Saldana, all of whom discuss the specific works on display in our February show, Sutured. The intimate meal had Saldana discussing the weaving practice she employed in her work "TEKLA", a piece that she later 'shop dropped' back onto the shelves of IKEA. Heidecker shared the different processes he uses when choosing which pieces he decides to work with. Raphael told us about his destructive yet contained ceramic process he created to produce 'Vertical Garden' and 'Folly.'

Sutured has had a great run, as we prepare for Arts Not Fair which opens the weekend of Armory March 9th - March 11th. Come back on March 9th as we turn Like the Spice Gallery into Arts Not Fair, our personal take on art fairs, with original work from Like the Spice artists Chino Amobi, Brian LaRossa, Allie Rex, Nicki Stager, Eric LoPresti, Jenny Morgan, Reuben Negron, Hans + Gieves, Matt Stone, and new comers Kim Holleman, Sylva Dean and Me, and more.

We're Baaaaaaaaaack!

Marisa and Olivia have returned from Miami and are so happy to be back home at Like the Spice! Though they had a fantastic time doing Scope during Art Basel they were certainly looking forward to the festivities of this week and next...

This past Friday was the perfect welcome back as it was the opening for the 2011 Curate NYC exhibition, "Layer Current." This beautiful show features works by Wayne Adams, Mira Alibek, Joe Banish, Ian Addison Hall, Nicholas Horman, Tamiko Kawata, Rachel Kohn, Keira Kotler, MaryKate Maher, Lael Marshall, Christina Massey, Dana McClure, Hannah Mishin, Jay Paavonpera, Erik Sommer, Rosemary Taylor, and Vadis Turner. Selected from over 1500 entries submitted by artists living or working in New York City, the exhibition showcases works built up in layers over time.

"Layering, as a strategy, takes on varying and multiple meanings and uses in each piece, some layers are there to hide or modify what's beneath, other layers combine to produce startling effects, some layers allude to geological stratifications and accumulations, others mark the slow, painstaking process of their intentional layer-by-layer creation. Colleage, decollage, collecting, accreting and composting are all in evidence," Click here to read the full press release!
This incredible show will only be up until Thursday, December 18th, so layer those sweaters up and come and visit us at Like the Spice! Or, better yet, join us for this month's artist dinner featuring many of the artists from "Layer Current." Dinner will be catered by the lovely and talented Neilie Meyer, owner and executive chef of The Starving Artist Bakery and if you have yet to taste her culinary masterpieces now is certainly the time to do it before you start filling up on all of those holiday sweets;) As always, our dinners are RSVP only, click here to get your tickets now. Doors are open at 7pm and dinner will be served promptly at 8pm, just enough time for you to choose your seat, enjoy a glass of wine, and meet our other wonderful guests. We hope to see you there!

Do you know your "Time Tables"?

We had a great end to last week with the opening of our current show 1+1=11, featuring Allie Rex and Brian LaRossa's layered installation and digital works dealing with time and space. Their works create a harmonious and colorful aesthetic that play off of each other. A beautiful show indeed that was admired by many (so many in fact that we could barely all fit)! Congratulations Allie and Brian!

The Gallery was jam packed with the help of Williamsburg Every 2:ND Friday which included a tour of our fellow Williamsburg galleries led by Stephan Fowlkes that began at (yours truly) Like The Spice Gallery. We were serving the famous (or infamous?) Green Beast Punch which features delicious Pernod absinthe; it has been quite a hit at every opening so far and don't think we don't remember you coming for your fourth glass;)

One last thing, don't forget to RSVP by tomorrow by noon (Thursday November 17th) for the 1+1=11 artist dinner, "Time Tables," with current artists Allie Rex and Brian LaRossa. It's THIS FRIDAY, November 18th at 8pm and it's RSVP only. The dinner will include both artists speaking about their current show, as well as a Q&A about their work, process, what inspires them, and anything else you can think of asking these two very talented people!
The dinner will include a lovely beet, walnut, and feta salad, a fall inspired chicken pot pie, and last but not least a pumpkin cake with a caramel sauce for dessert all for only 45 dollars per person! Wont you join us?!

We hope to see you soon!!

Life is uncertain, eat dessert first!

Though I wholeheartedly agree with the sage words in the title of this post, last night's artist dinner here at Like the Spice with guest of honor, Reuben Negron, did not quite start that way (though once you hear about the actual dessert you might end up agreeing that it should have). Even without dessert first the dinner last night was a spectacular event; fine food, an amazing show ("This House of Glass"), and wonderful company!

Despite the humidity and the torrential downpours we had lovely crew here to enjoy an intimate discussion with Reuben Negron about his most recent body of work, "This House of Glass," on view at Like the Spice through October 9th. Reuben spoke eloquently about the origins and process of each piece and I must say his technique blows me away whenever he describes it. Each subject is a volunteer, drawn to Negron's project by his desire to unravel a particular knot in their recent memory. He adopts the role of confidant and digests innumerable morsels of honesty over several weeks or months. These conversations turn into visual collaborations between Negron and his model, conceived as a collective narrative told on their terms. In person, these visual stories really do seem to come to life; the intense layering of watercolor over a graphite sketch is so expertly done that the figures' skin seems like it would be warm to the touch.
So, not only were we blown away by the work and words of Reuben, but the food certainly deserves mention as well. Our three course meal was created by the lovely and talented, Neilie Meyer, the owner and executive chef of The Starving Artist Bakery. Our taste buds were tantalized by the first course of a mixed greens salad with a pear, mushroom, and brie strudel. The second course featured home-made butternut squash ravioli (HAND ROLLED AND STUFFED) nestled perfectly under a layer of roasted garlic cream sauce. And then last, but certainly not least, was the salted caramel mousse sprinkled with chocolate-covered pretzel shards and served in its very own chocolate bowl, see above. I die.

So that was that folks, I hope that you are jealous enough to make it to our next dinner on November 4th!!!!

So many layers and flavors!

Our artist dinner with Jenny Morgan, "A Layered Menu," went spectacularly last Friday. It was a hot day that turned into a cool summer night and we were all able to enjoy it here at Like the Spice. With the white wine flowing and the wonderful workings of Gite catering, Jenny and guests happily chatted away about her recent and past projects before Marisa asked her to speak.

And then it was time for Jenny to take the stage; she spoke eloquently about her process and subjects and how deeply connected she has felt with all of them. She spoke about the building of a piece, the many many layers that go into making the skin of her subjects look warm enough to touch. The sanding process was also brought up, and how the building and layering are countered with destruction as she sands or uses turpentine to deliberately break down her beautifully rendered hands, faces, and hair. I think the best part was listening to the stories behind each piece; the individual canvases in the show each have their own personal history. It was a treat to be told each one!

In short, it was a lovely evening. Jenny's work was as breathtaking as always and the vibes around the room were nothing but positive. It was a great way to stay cool with the coolest people surrounded by the coolest art! Hope you can join us next time!

Eric LoPresti, plutonium, mac n' cheese, oh my?!

Well, I am still full from last night's amazing "Different Cuisine," dinner (the artist dinner for Eric LoPresti's current show "Different Country"). Eric did a fantastic job discussing this new body of work and just how much where he came from factors in.

Growing up in the desert steppe of eastern Washington state near the Hanford plutonium production site seemed completely normal in his early years; his parents, as well as all of his friends' parents, worked at the famed Hanford sites developing many notable technological achievements during a period where Nuclear technology was growing rapidly. As a young boy playing in the school yard Eric never really thought about how notorious that region was; established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project, the Hanford site was home to the B Reactor, the first full-scale plutonium production reactor in the world. Plutonium manufactured at the site was used in the first nuclear bomb tested at the Trinity site, and in Fat Man, the bomb detonated over Nagasaki, Japan.


Above is a photograph taken in 1960 of the Hanford site; the historic B Reactor, the world's first plutonium production reactor, is visible in the distance. It wasn't until later that Eric became interested in this world history that happened to be so closely tied to his own family history. He started reading and researching everything about the area and as well as the Cold War, fascinated by the dichotomy posed by the atom bomb and how it was the "ultimate success of theoretical science" but also its "ultimate moral failure."


Growing up in this shadow, surrounded by the aftermath of that era and remembering how is dad and his friends' dads did work they were not allowed to talk about speaks to what he refers to as a "dark center." Still fascinated by this dark center LoPresti created his new landscape paintings to reflect it; maintaining his established focus on the physical and psychological aftermath of the Cold War, the physical pock marks of nuclear testing, and subsequent environmental clean-up campaigns (today, Hanford is still the most contaminated nuclear site in the country). Cool, right? I love impromptu history lessons! Now that we have the historical and geographical background for Eric's dinner, let's talk about the food...


Famed Williamsburg soul-food mecca, Pies and Thighs, did an amazing job catering for us. I never thought a kale salad could win me over (I LOVE MEAT) but it did! We also had a delicious black-eyed pea salad that was just the right amount of spice and sweet (fresh jalapenos and chopped sweet pickles do the trick). We then had entree plates piled with Pies and Thighs' signature fried chicken (so good that even Martha Stewart needed to get a piece), smoked beef brisket with homemade bbq sauce, and black pepper and cheddar macaroni and cheese. Needless to say, it was all irresistible. For those of you who could not join us I would definitely recommend making a trip and tasting the food for yourself (plus, Like the Spice is in walking distance and you could come see us too!) Eric's show is open until May 8th so get to planning your Pies and Thighs/Like the Spice adventure!


A huge thank you to all who were able to join us, and to the rest of you I hope you will join us for Jenny Morgan's dinner for One and the Many in June!

It's a Different Country Out There!

Hello followers of Like the Spice!

The opening reception for Eric LoPresti's show Different Country is this Friday, the 8th of April, from 6:30pm - 9pm. We'd love for you to stop by!

Here is a video of the artist at work; check out his technique of overlaying dark, diagonal vectors in India ink over the gradient of color as he puts the finishing touches on a piece. Don't you want to see the final product?



If you missed the last video of Eric at work, laying down the first hints of color, check it out here.

We'd love to see you at the opening, and at our monthly dinner series on Friday, April 22nd. This installment will be Different Cuisine, and Eric LoPresti will be there in the flesh to speak about his work and process. RSVP now and reserve your seat to meet and discuss the pieces with the artist himself (and enjoy some delicious food and drink)!

Don't Miss the Upcoming Events at Like the Spice!

There are so many great things coming up here at Like the Spice Gallery, and you are NOT going to want to miss them!

Coming up April 8th through May 8th we have Eric LoPresti's solo show: "Different Country." In his newest body of work, Eric creates beautiful American landscapes in his oil paintings and graphite drawings with; they feature soft hues and color gradients that outline test sites, wastelands, and wide open spaces. "Maintaining his established focus on the physical and psychological aftermath of the Cold War, LoPresti renders landscapes bearing the scars of nuclear testing and subsequent environmental clean-up campaigns, especially those near where he grew up, in the desert steppe of eastern Washington state, near the Hanford plutonium production site." His third solo show here at Like the Spice, in "Different Country," Eric pairs spectral color gradients with dark linear elements suggesting a division of territory within each work.


Following Eric's show and (hopefully very few) April showers, May 13 through June 19th 2011 we are proud to present... wait for it... Jenny Morgan's second solo show here at Like the Spice: "One and the Many".

Jenny's figurative painting always has a way of reducing her figures and their viewers down to their spiritual core; by manipulating the oil paint Jenny strips her figures of their outer layers to reveal the inner depths of their person. This engages the viewer in a different way, giving them a closeup of the process as well as the subject. In these new works, Jenny's intense realism merges with surreal imagination, and "despite the traditional beauty of her oil paintings, Morgan actively contradicts simplistically pretty hyperrealism with gritty psychedelia."


And looking even further into the future.... we have sculptor Matt Stone's opening on June 24th, more about that to come so stay tuned!

More Elder Kinder News!!

We here at Like the Spice simply can't get enough of Jason Bard Yarmosky's show, "Elder Kinder," and it seems that we aren't the only ones! Check out Culture Catch's most recent write up here. And stay tuned for more LTS news, we have a lot coming up including "Senior Prom," the monthly artist dinner for "Elder Kinder" on Friday, February 25th at 8pm. There are still tickets left to this RSVP only event, click here to reserve your spot!