I hope you are all following the flack over censorship to the Jonathan D. Katz and David Wards Hide/Seek exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in DC. Although the show is a wonderful and positive step into the future for the GLBTQ experience it is unfortunate that they chose to bow to a few very vocal voices and take out a small but important piece of the show.

It seems to me that we should be beyond this sort of thing but obviously we are not. So we have to keep fighting. Check out ArtPositive and take action.

Check out facebook to read more about this atrocity.

Summer Doldrums

It has been a while since I have posted anything new and that is my fault. Sorry. But now in August there is nothing much to report except for two brief shows that are not "Leslie+Lohman" shows. We occasionally loan out our gallery space to other worthy causes.


In this case the first is a show by members of the Housing Works Creative Arts Therapy Program titled, Creating Home. Artistic Expressions of a Positive Community.

All proceeds from the sale of artwork will benefit Housing Works, which provides holistic health and housing services to homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.

The show runs Aug 13 - 14, 2010
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The next show to take place this month is Transformation. The Photography of Mike Ruiz.

With a unique approach to the exploration of visceral brilliance, his finely crafted frames of reference have appeared in Vanity Fair, Conde Nast Traveler, Interview, Italian Elle, Spanish and Brazilian Vogue. Additionally, Mike has contributed to D&G’s ‘Hollywood’ book and Iman's ‘The Beauty of Color’ beauty book and continues to explore different forms of expression via film, television and music.

The show runs Aug 26 - 28, 2010.
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Both of these shows look interesting and worthwhile and offer a brief respite from the normal mundane heat laden days of August -- the first home grown crafts and art the second slick and professional -- two extremes in one month.


See you there.

FUNDRAISER AUCTION

Well, the work for the benefit auction is finally installed and up online. One can see the work free from Tuesday the 20th till Saturday the 24th, 6pm.

There are some really wonderful pieces in the show. I don't want to single out any one because of being accused of favoritism. But come and see for yourself. A Broadway producer has even donated tickets to several shows. The price range is wide and the work ranges from a painting of a clown (given to us by a Frenchman--what can I say) to a work by Red Grooms and one by Al Hershfeld.

A vast majority of the work is "living room friendly" so don't be afraid. Come on down.

Click here to see the show.

You will have an especially good time this Saturday (24th from 6:30 - 9pm) when the final bids must be in. There will be refreshments and drinks for all. Donation at the door is $10 per individual.

See you there!

Carlo Pittore

On Saturday, 13 March 2010 there will be a special one evening preview exhibition of paintngs by Carlo Pittore. Prices will reflect significant reductions for collectors and members.

This is a prelude to a full exhibition of paintings running from November 23, 2010 - January 15, 2011 when the full market value of the work will be in effect.

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CARLO PITTORE was not only a painter of note but he was also a major force in the "mail art" movement of the 1960s - 1990s.  


Carlo Pittore (b. Charles Stanley, 1943-2005) was an internationally renowned painter and mail artist who lived and worked in New York City, Southern Italy, and Bowdoinham, Maine. Over the course of his 40-year career Pittore created a prodigious body of work, adding his unique vision to the American figurative tradition. A pioneer of the mail art movement in the 1970s, he contributed pieces to over 1,000 mail art exhibitions and corresponded with such mail art luminaries as Buster Cleveland, Ray Johnson, and the iconic performance-artist, writer and publisher Bern Porter.

Pittore's work resides in numerous private and institutional collections, including the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art, the Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, and the Portland Museum of Art.

A broad range of Pittore's nudes, both male and female, will be on view.

Click on the following links to read more about Carlo Pittore...

The Carlo Pittore Foundation for the Figurative Arts http://www.carlopittorefoundationforthefigurativearts.org/

Some thoughts on the life and mail art of Carlo Pittore by Mark Block http://www.panmodern.com/carlopittore.html

Ray Johnson, the father of mail art
http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/emma/Gallery/galleryjohnson.html

A Brief Histor of Mail Art
http://www.panmodern.com/one/history.html

Mail Art Archive
http://a1mailart.blogspot.com/2005/07/carlo-pittore-1943-2005.html

Carlo Pittore
http://www.panmodern.com/carlo_home.html

Mail Art Postcard Exhibition
http://digitalmailart.blogspot.com/

When Girls were Boys and Boys were Girls

Interesting title, huh? Check out the new show opening on Friday, April 19 and running through April 10, 2010. The exhibition is displayed in the windows of Leslie/Lohman so you can only see it from the street. The opening reception is 7-9pm at the gallery.

When Girls Were Boys and Boys Were Girls is an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Grace Moon and Jen P. Harris, respectively. Focusing on portraiture, the artists use the media of oil, ink and pencil to explore themes of romance, androgyny and homosexuality in queer pop culture.

The show is curated by Cora Lambert who is on the Board of Directors of Leslie+Lohman. Each artist has four pieces in the show.

Of course it is best viewed after sundown.

Drawn Together

Well, finally I have started a blog for Leslie+Lohman. I will try to keep it up-to-date to let you know of events and shows at the gallery. I'm also anxious to see your comments...don't be shy...email us.
See our website at Leslie+Lohman Gay Art Foundation.

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An exciting new show will open next week at the Leslie+Lohman Gallery in SoHo. The show is titled Drawn Together: Works on Paper and features nearly 80 artists with 140+ works hanging on the walls plus work displayed in portfolios and a whole wall of smaller drawings that are priced at $60 to $100+. Certainly affordable enough -- great bargains for good art. You don't find that true many places these days.

Rob Rosen, the curator of this show has been working day and night to make this show a success. He says he expects a large opening. So be forewarned that it will be a packed evening. Come early to avoid the crowd.

The opening reception is Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 6 - 8pm.

See you there.