Two Girls, One Truck - Like the Spice is going to Scope Miami!

Hey everyone! First off, a big shout out to Rebecca Prusinowski of Paper Magazine. Check out her awesome article about "Nicole Stager: Synaesthesia" and our Monthly Dinner Series!

Rebecca says that Nicole's photograms' "piercing turquoise, minty green and fiery red colors are best viewed in person.", and we totally agree. Make sure you come out here to visit Synaesthesia before it's too late!

In other sweet news, Like the Spice will be loading up and heading to the SCOPE Art Fair in Miami this December. We'll be in the new pavilion (sounds grand, no?) in the heart of the Wynwood Art district, showing works by our next exhibiting artist, Liz Brown, and many more! 250,000 attendees expected? Oy vey!

Look out for us Booth #473, and stay tuned for more details and announcements, SCOPE-wise!

We Prefer To Think Of It As OURami

Alison Edge

Who doesn't like Florida in December? Only TERRIBLE PEOPLE. And you're not terrible. That's why we want you to visit us at Scope Miami, from December 3rd to December 7th.


Nicole Stager


Rachel Beach

We'll be in booth 473, and we'll have some great art along for the ride. You're looking at some examples right now, and we're working on a few surprises. Have we ever steered you wrong?


Eric LoPresti


Jenny Morgan


Anna Druzcz


Abby Goodman

Scope Miami will be located at 2951 NE 1st Avenue, Miami, FL 33127 (between NE 29th & 30th Street). What else will you be doing at the start of December?


Liz Brown


Dean Goelz


Jason Bryant

We'll see you there, right? Right?

We Really Tried To Get That Synaesthesiar Salad, Honest

The happening place to be on Friday October 17th was Like the Spice! We hosted Light Fare, the most current installment of our Monthly Dinner Series. Dinner was sponsored by Pernod Absinthe, who have also joined the high-stakes world of blogging with the new Art & Absinthe weblog. Be sure to check it out! Light Fare was themed to complement Nicole Stager: Synaesthesia, and our senses were overloaded with Nicole’s sumptuous photograms. And let us not forget the scrumptious meal catered by Rose Live Music.





As you can see we were packed! Pernod provided tasty and meticulously prepared pre-dinner cocktails, with names like The Sauzerac, The Candy, and The Bridget Bardot. Good times were definitely had by all.



The meal was catered by Rose Live Music, and our compliments to Chef Christoph Frasolet, who concocted a delicious menu of assorted bruschetta, a tarte fine of grilled vegetables, pine nuts, and goat cheese, grilled salmon with seasonal vegetables and Pernod sauce, and a Belgian black chocolate mousse. Yum!










Between courses, Nicole had the opportunity to discuss her work and the processes behind it.





She views each photogram as sort of a science experiment, writing with light or drawing with found objects, manipulating colors in her dark room to produce her beautiful, saturated C-prints. Her procedures left everyone dazzled!



Did you miss out? Then start planning now for November 21st, when our dinner guest will be Liz Brown. As you can tell, our monthly dinners are always lots of fun. But you know what would make it better? You! And we’re not just saying that, either.

Hungry for Light Fare?

So, we're still in recovery from the Artlog Collect Williamsburg Tour (see below to get a sense of the madness), but that doesn't mean we're taking it slow. Our awesome monthly artist's dinner is coming up on Friday, October 17th. Chef Cristoph Frasolet of Rose Live Music has created a gorgeous meal to complement Nicole Stager: Synaesthesia. Want a sneak peek? Look how delicious:



Nicole's going to give a special talk over dinner and Pernod Absinthe. Make your reservations ASAP - as you can see from our Fowel Play post below, our dinners fill up, and fast!

It Tasted Like Smiling! Nicole Stager's Opening Night

Friday, October 10th? Our senses were overwhelmed! Partly because it was opening night for the marvelous Nicole Stager: Synaesthesia, partly because we welcomed PhilipsArtExpert and ArtLog with WGA 2nd Friday on the Collect Williamsburg Event, and partly because the work was so good! And we were happy we got noticed by the NY Culture Examiner!

Before we start don't forget about the Artist's Dinner on October 17th! But more about that in a bit. Now you're hungry for some photos, right?



Even on the sidewalk, it was a big, big night. Good thing so many of the neighbors were attending.



We were overwhelmed by our positive crowd. Everyone seemed to enjoy the work. And with good reason, we think!



Here's Jonathan Greene of Greene Contemporary Art. We're not sure what he's saying, but maybe he's talking about how he curated the fantastic new show Draw Me A River, now on display. We were very pleased he stopped in.



A little further in was Nicole Stager herself. She had plenty of well-wishers. And rightly so! Conversation kept her busy all evening long.





We tried to photograph the work, but everyone was looking at it! Thankfully, we've got a small internet preview right here. Take a peek, but remember, it's more impressive in person. Be sure to visit.



Here's our lovely new assistant Leia in a moment of reflection, guarding the rear of the gallery. She got those bios printed just in time!



Think that's it? Not quite. The art wasn't just inside.



Graffiti artist Ellis G. was doing a little chalk work outside the gallery. He traced the shadows on the sidewalk, and we were very pleased. Our flash scared them away, but trust us, his work was perfect. We're leaving them out front until they erode naturally. Come quick!



Hey, who's that in the white pants? Why, it's Liz Brown, who'll be showing her work at our next show! Keep an eye out for details!

Speaking of details, remember that dinner we mentioned? Make your reservations for Light Fare on Friday, November 17. Enjoy a delicious dinner with Nicole, right here in the gallery. This month we'll be treated to cuisine from Rose Live Music, (including a special Synaesthcaesar Salad). We usually fill up fast, so save a place now. Just look at how much fun the previous dinner guests had!

Nicole Stager: Synaesthesia runs through November 9th.

Nicole Stager and Collect Willimasburg at Like the Spice Gallery

This is going to be a special night as we Collect Williamsburg with Artlog.com and Phillips Art Expert. We have a wine tasting with Blue angle wines at 8:00pm.

Emotionally evocative yet inherently mysterious, Stager’s work sits at the crossroads of several different artistic practices. In a process that combines the specificity of the photograph as document with the aesthetic history of abstract painting through the performative manipulation of light and color in real time, Stager induces a kind of trans-media synthesis rarely seen in work that is so simple in its beauty. Time, color, shape and line are all uniquely presented in Stager’s work.
Nicole Stager: Synaesthesia
October 10th – November 9th, 2008
Opening Reception: Friday October 10th 6-10pm
Artist’s Dinner: October 17th 8pm - RSVP Required

Fowel Play on Arts and Absinthe...

sunday update: we definitely like the spice

Art and Absinthe.com

This past Friday night, I had the chance to attend one of Like the Spice Gallery’s monthly dinner parties, which honor its current exhibiting artist along with related special guests. If you’re the sort who ever feels a disconnect in traditional gallery spaces, this bandwagon is one to hop on. Hearing artist Dean Goelz explain a bit of his inspiration and process for the show Migrations was, simply put, cool. In person, Dean is endearing and earnest, which comes through in his work, a series of sculpted clay human heads on top of geese-like bodies in various poses. What may sound silly on paper comes across in person as an apt exploration of awkward vs. humorous in human relationships - in a sense, turning the term “anthropomorphism” on its head.
artist Dean Goelz in front of his work for "Migrations"


Artist Dean Goelz in front of his work for "Migrations"

Out of all the “cosmic underdogs and nerds,” however, the probable award for piece we’d-most-like-to-take-home belongs to a work on paper, a piece Goelz created after the death of three grandparents within a two year span. A graphite rendering of a face peeks out from a mass of white acrylic dots on white paper, forming a shadowy cloud over the slightest hint of a human form. The white-on-white raised dots added a sculptural element to a piece that might have otherwise seemed out of place in a room full of 3-D fowl with human heads.

Two additional artists were on hand to supplement the night’s theme, “Foul Play.” Andrew Garn showed a clip from his film “The Last Pigeon,” and JL Aronson (whose film Up on the Roof is screening Sept 22 at the Village East Cinemas) spoke about how his film is attuned to the human interest side of the greater pigeon story, i.e. gentrification in New York and how that affects old-school birding folk. As for Garn, check out his insanely detailed pigeon portraits at A.M. Richard Fine Art in Williamsburg - a cross between National Geographic and f/2.8.


See here for more details on Dean’s show at Like the Spice Gallery. And save the date for October 17, the date of the next gallery dinner party with artist Nicole Stagg.

PS. Dinner was divine!