Stephen Boocks

In The New Year

2011-12-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

The crazy crush that I find myself in each December has passed. I've been considering what direction my work should take. I am very happy with my current paintings but have to realize that they have not gained an audience. I believe these painting will make more sense when shown together so I do plan on continuing the series and searching for a place to show them. From the beginning, I saw this series as a step towards abstraction and now I feel like I am ready to work non-objectively for the first time since completing a project during my first semester at the Corcoran.

I have also been planning a multimedia project for a couple of months. At this point, I am expecting the project to take around a year to come together, perhaps continuing indefinitely.

I spent much of the early part of 2011 working on Material World and only exhibited my work at Artomatic@Frederick. It still may be some time before I show again but I am looking forward to resetting the studio and getting down to work.

NYC Trip

2011-11-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

I went up to NYC two weeks ago for a wine tasting event (day job) and haven't had the time to write up my thoughts. Before I get to the art, I thought I'd do a quick post on the wine and food aspect of the trip.

First the wine- Best Wine Saxum Syrah (I can see why Wine Spectator has this as their #1 wine last year.) Very close were two Aussie Shiraz- Two Hands Ares and Mollydooker Velvet Glove. The Cheval Blanc was my favorite Bordeaux followed closely by Lafite and Haut-Brion. The Bruno Giacosa Barolo was awesome. I made a point of tasting a number of Pinot Noirs since it is generally not my favorite varietal but the Kosta Brown was fantastic (could this be the wine of the year this year?) as well as the AP Vin, Bergstom and Beaux Freres. For California cab- my pick goes to Staglin. I was very intrigued with the blend that Brian Loring was pouring.

For food, I had a couple of burgers from places that had been suggested. HB Burgers was fine. Its the bar and grill version of Heartland Brewing. Beers were ok, burgers were fine, Nothing special. Tried the Shake Shack burger on Friday. Again, a weaker version of Five Guys with good crinkle cut fries. BTW- when you are going to a tasting expecting to taste 60-80 wines, you need protein before hand. Of course, I spit at the tastings, there is no other way to taste that many. When I organized my notes on Friday morning, I realized that I had tasted 85 wines Thursday night. Anyway, For lunch on Saturday, we met a friend in Chelsea were we had lunch at the Half King- better burger than either of the recommended burger places.

On Friday, we had lunch at a Bobby Flay restaurant, Cafe Americain which was recommended to us by some folks at Food & Wine Magazine. They know what they are talking about- one of the best steaks I've ever had. The spice rub worked perfectly with the house-made steak sauce. Since I believe I make a great steak, I don't usually order them out but since Flay is a grill kind of guy, I figured I'd give it a go- and there was the protein thing too.

On Saturday, we ended up on Mulberry Street at dinner time. We found a place that didn't seem like a tourist trap, Da Nico's. There was no slick guy trying to hustle us to a table. They appeared to have plenty of regulars that the owners were greeting. The food was very good if not great but we had a lovely time. A nice, completely unknown to me, Nero was recommended by the waiter.

Surprise food experience- truly kick ass meatballs in the MoMA cafe!

My Favorites from Artomatic@Frederick

2011-10-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my favorites from Artomatic@Frederick. I wish I had taken pictures since I had some difficulty finding sites or images by a number of these artists. So, make sure you go and when your there, make a point of seeing these spaces.

Brain Slagle- I helped Brain and his father put together the base portion of Corn Crib. It really turned out beautifully.
http://www.artiqueunderground.com/artist/28

Jeff and Kristin Bohlander- First I want to thank them for the additional reflected light. Jeff's collages and Kristin's mixed media sculptures are very different. Having spouse that is an artist, I think it is so interesting when couples make work very differently. I think it just has to be that way.

Jennifer Bernhard Hatfield- Quirky, wonderfully crafted pieces
http://www.jenniferbernhardhatfield.com/

Roberta Staat- I'm sucker for good drawing. Though there are a lot of cow artwork out there, I really like these for the technique.
http://staatworks.com/node/149

Rhonda J Smith- Her prints with added collage and embroidered elements convey a mystical quality that touches on universal themes

Kristin Partridge- Hard to not like something this lovely
http://kristinpartridge.com/photography/alternative-process-photographs.htm

Deborah Winram- Her keepsake piece is intriguing. It is made of small jars containing, for the most part, delicate reminders of the past.

Michael Winger- Excellent sculptures with wood, twine and other natural elements. I was particularly taken by the wall piece.

Whaddya Know?

2011-10-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

I read an interesting piece at Wine Spectator Online today by writer Matt Kramer. He is a fascinating wine writer, though I don't always agree with him (well, not very often at all actually) but I find his positions to be thought provoking, challenging to my own ideas.

The article begins by quoting NYT writer, Eric Asimov on the confidence beer drinkers have about enjoying the beverage vs the anxiety wine consumers have about wine. Where it gets interesting is when Kramer brings in Adam Gopnik's critique of "elitist" wine writers. Kramer does a good job of taking down Asimov and Gopnik's arguments but the analogy of wine writing to contemporary art criticism got me thinking.

OK, so having a dual life as a wine educator/retailer and a contemporary artist that actually reads Artforum. I think that just might make me qualified to chime in on this one.

I believe it is true that you can gain more pleasure through knowledge. Here I'm talking about wine, art, music, poetry, etc. I get more out of wine now than I did 15 years ago. I also get more out of music since I've learned more about how music is constructed. But one thing I find is true, I don't usually decide something that I did not like initially all of the sudden becomes better because I came to understand it more.

Around the age of 13 or so, I first read T.S. Eliot. I'm not sure that I understood much of it but I was intrigued by it. Over the years, I kept coming back to his work and by my senior year of college, I had dove deep into his world, creating a suite of paintings based on his life and work. Clearly, my appreciation grew with knowledge but from the start, I knew his work was great.

So take wine, many of my colleagues prefer wines that some would define as sophisticated. These wines may have mineral or earthy characteristics. As a guy selling wine, this is how I describe them to customers. To friends, I would say they tasted like rocks and dirt. No amount of elevated understanding will cause me to like these flavors. I know people that do naturally prefer wines like these, but for the most part, wine geeks "grow" to like these wines.

I'm pretty sure I know what Paul McCarthy is doing but I find his work to be ugly and well, kind of stupid. It has been a long time since art has shocked me, so let's go with stupid. Likewise for Jeff Koons. Never once did I think these guys were making great art. Money- yes. Art-no. Somewhere some tastemakers decided this was good art and we are expected to fall in line. In art, as with wine, I believe in trusting yourself.

At Once I Knew I Was Not Magnificent

2011-09-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

This painting was begun at the same time as Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. Here, I returned to an image I have worked with in the past. Like a book or shoe, the design of a chair is has basically remained the same for centuries. This is actually my dining room chair. It is very solid (and heavy). Like the shoe, I set a single image against a extremely worked background. The chair is a strong image so it does not necessarily recede into the background here, rather it fits nicely into its surroundings.

The title comes from the song Holocene by Bon Iver. I believe I heard Justin Vernon say in an interview that the song, especially that line, was about a very bad night in a bar.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

2011-09-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

This painting grew out of my Guston readings. Like Guston, I wanted to paint an object that is part of my everyday world. I saw this as a celebration of a thing that is well crafted and built to last. The design for a basic shoe has not changed for a long, long time. I was also striving for immediacy in getting the image down, using a projected image to get the placement just right. A funny thing happened as I worked on the piece. It became less about the shoe, or I should say less a celebration of this functional object. As in life, the shoe is begins to get lost in its surroundings. The large color fields, consisting of dozens of layers of paint, quickly draw a viewer's interest away from the shoe. I believe this painting will be a pivotal one. The push-pull between the mundane and sublime has opened up avenues of explorations.

For Guston (Books)

2011-09-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

Last Spring, I spent a few weeks with my right arm in a sling then about 6 weeks of physical therapy. During this period, I spent a lot of time reading, especially the writings and statements of Philip Guston and his friend Morton Feldman. It was fascinating to note that Guston's views never changed much, even when he made the "shocking" break from abstraction to figuration. I was drawn to his use of a limited amount of everyday objects and their placement on the canvas. Watching film of Guston at work also inspired me to be more direct in my painting, getting it down quickly. Guston was described as the best read high school drop out ever. I decided to paint a stack of books since this was an image Guston painted over and over again, plus it is a nice play on my last name. Well, the direct thing didn't work out though this was record time for me at around one month to produce. I had already begun work on a couple of other paintings but I realized that I was being drawn to the background as much as to the pile of books. This was more obvious in the next couple of paintings where there is only a single object depicted. I am intrigued by having this celebration of everyday battle and perhaps lose to the empty background. This is more pronounced in the work that follows.

The Richter Resolution

2011-09-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

A while back, art critic Jerry Saltz published The Richter Resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of projection in the production of art, especially painting. Luckily for me the moratorium had expired when I purchased a little pocket sized projector. My newest paintings are the first time I have ever used projection. I've never been morally opposed to its use. I enjoy good art regardless of how it is produced. I just don't think my previous work would have benefited from projection. In these new works, I'm not trying to achieve type of photo-realistic verisimilitude. The placement of the object on the canvas was critical to these pieces and projection allowed me to play with size and placement until I felt it was right. Much of the drawing was ignored as the paintings progressed. Here I show the projection, the drawn object and the finished piece Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. I would keep losing some of the details of the shoes as I would layer paint so I was constantly correcting the drawing. While I spent time and energy on the image, the painting is not about the shoe.

Getting It Back

2011-06-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, I haven't posted since April. In this time I have been doing what jazz musicians would call "woodshedding." I've been reading a ton, looking at a lot of art. I've gone through about 5 weeks of physical therapy on my right arm after a few weeks in a sling. Things are much, much better but there are still issues. I try to keep my whining to a minimum since others, say, Chuck Close, have worked through far worse.

I really immersed myself in the world of Philip Guston and it is really showing in the work. Part of that world includes the work of the composer Morton Feldman. From Guston, I take the idea of working with the everyday to create enigmatic works. One thing I could not emulate is the immediacy of his work. He would paint and scrape and paint and scrape until the work would tell him that it was done. I started trying to free myself up in that manner but it just did not work for me. I laugh because I am making work that is directly in line with his but his own words would suggest that he would not like what I do.

Guston was particularly interested with placement of objects on the picture plane. This is a big concern for me and is deeply informed by the minimal works of Feldman, where very spare compositions are constructed with only a few carefully placed notes/sounds.

I've completed a painting and a drawing of books that take a cue from Guston. Books are a huge part of my life and use of them as subject matter is not intended to be a play on my last name. I own tons of books, read as much as possible, I worked in a book store in college and my wife worked in libraries for more than 15 years. I've also been working on shoes, particularly a pair of Doc Martens I wore when I worked in a retail store, on my feet for 50-60 hours a week. They were beautiful shoes that did not let me down. Guston obviously painted many shoes and I don't think our reasons are that far off in exploring this subject.

Art & Music

2011-04-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

Having my arm in a sling has taken me out of the studio for a while. I've spent a lot of time reading and listening to music. Both activities are generating ideas, making me want to get to the studio even more.

I've been fascinated with Morton Feldman's music and how many of his ideas grew out of his associations with with members of the New York School. He was a very close friend of Philip Guston and composed two pieces titled For Philip Guston, the second one lasting over 4 hours. One of his first breaks in the music world came when Jackson Pollock asked him to compose the score for the famous short film about Pollock from the early 50's. Other works include a shorter pieces For Franz Kline and the gorgeous Rothko Chapel which was commissioned by the Menils to celebrate the anniversary of the opening of the chapel in Houston. Feldman was committed to abstraction in music, painting and all other art forms. This commitment caused a premanent rift with Guston as the painter began to re-introduce objects into his work during his last decade.

Every artist I know is deeply interested in music though usually rock, not modern concert music. In writing the catalog Material World, I described one artist's work as sharing qualities with the musician Brian Eno. Since Eno is one of my all time favorite artists, this was a very positive remark.

A number of musicians are also serious visual artists. Eno has created numerous video and light installations. David Byrne of Talking Heads has worked in photography, film and installation. Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) quit music all together to concentrate on his painting for the last 20+ years of his life.

I'll be exploring the subject more thoroughly in future posts.

Masterpiece

2011-04-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

Well, its a game actually. Earlier today I was discussing with another artist about how our childhoods may have played a role in our work. I remembered a game my family had in the early 70's called Masterpiece. My memory was you bought and sold art- knowing that you were selling a forgery or a Masterpiece. What was really cool was the game came with a lot of postcard images of real art- in our case, the work all was part of the collection of the Chicago Institute (no I don't remember this fact, I just looked it up). Even at that early age, I was drawn to the contemporary works more than the old masters. I think it would be cool to have a 2011 version but the $1m top value would simply be the entry level work.

http://www.amazon.com/Masterpiece-The-Art-Auction-Game/dp/B000MZZMVA

Material World is Winding Down

2011-04-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

This great show has closed and tomorrow we take down the work. It is always a little sad to take down a good show and this is no exception. I've learned a lot through the process of putting this exhibit together. As in most endeavors, clear communication must be a key element if you are looking to be as successful as possible. This will be a top priority for me as I look to continue curating shows.

The three key retail elements - Location, Location and Location certainly came into play. I admit, I assumed we would get people to come out to Hyattsville to see a show with so many top DMV artists but attendance at the opening and the gallery talks was good but not great.

I put a lot of effort into documentation and the show will live on with through the online catalog.

I appreciate the efforts of all the artists (Marie Ringwald, Matthew Langley, Michael Janis, Katherine Mann, Sherill Anne Gross and J.T. Kirkland) along with the help of my wife Lori Anne (editing and great general support) and my daughter Heather for video duties. Thanks again to Jesse Cohen and Fine Arts Ventures/artdc for the opportunity to mount this fantastic show.

Online Catalog Now Available

2011-03-11T16:14:00.000-08:00

With the show opening tomorrow, artdc.com has posted the online catalog of the exhibition.

http://artdc.com/2011/02/23/material-world/

I'm extremely happy with how the catalog came out. We have some installation views along with statements from each artist and a short essay explaining the concept behind the show and how each artist fits the concept.

Even if I didn't have anything to do with the show, I certainly wouldn't want to miss it. We have work some of the area's finest artists included. I look forward to seeing everyone.

Material World is Up

2011-03-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

Today, I met the artists at the gallery to hang the show. There are often unforeseen issues when you get to the actual point of hanging that sometimes require a last minute change which was the case today. We moved Michael Janis to a different wall because the movable wall was not going to allow enough space for the work. There is such depth to his pieces that viewers need to look from the sides as well as straight on. I knew the gallery was making some changes to the back room so I did not have a set plan for that area but the changes that were made did not effect the linear dimensions of hanging space but did allow for larger work than before. It turns out that we had just the right amount of art work with the addition of a piece by Peter Gordon which is part of the gallery's permanent collection. Here are some images of the installation.

In the Home Stretch

2011-03-05T04:14:00.000-08:00

Serving as curator for Material World has been a rewarding experience. It's been close to twenty years since I've put a show like this together. Some things haven't changed much. Artists are typically eager to have their work shown, especially in a truly professional space alongside other quality artists. What has changed is the abundance of talent available and the speed of communication.

The DC area has a wealth of gifted artists working in very diverse ways. Given the title and theme of the show, I specifically sought to include artists working with different media who were not using standard techniques. With fragmentation of the area scene a common complaint, I was also interested showing artists of different generations who are at various points in their careers, even attempting to pull artists working in different parts of the region together. In meeting with the artists, I found that each was familiar with nearly all of the others in the show and some had actually worked together on projects. Perhaps the scene is not so fragmented after all.

The speed of communication actually presented challenges and this is the area in which I learned the most. It all comes down to timing. With the proliferation of art websites and the influence of blogs, much information needs to be held until very close to the event. Print media still requires plenty of lead-time. Hopefully we have navigated this well and there will be a strong turnout.

Material World- artdc gallery Hyattsville, MD March 2011

2011-01-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

Things have quickly been falling into place for the show I am curating for the artdc gallery in Hyattsville. The show will be titled Material World and will focus on artists who use non-traditional materials or tradition materials in non-standard ways to produce their work.

I've been reading the writings, lectures, etc of Philip Guston over the past week or so and he alludes to a special thing that occurs when you're not sure how a work was made and that you stop concerning yourself with that. The finest work takes on a life of its own and its production eludes the viewer and sometimes it maker. The artists I have selected for this show make work that must be taken on its own terms. The work is not about the material or technique yet they are integral to our experience of the work. While the viewer will inevitably wonder how these pieces where made, with appreciation for the craft involved- in the end, we are left to contemplate these works on their own merits.

Critical Theory

2010-12-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

A post on Matt Langley's blog made me start thinking again about critical theory and its relation to postmodernism and other art world isms that have come about since theory forced itself on an equal plane with artistic creation. Like Matt, I found the group associated with October to stimulate ways of thinking about art production and, on a higher level, its purposes in the contemporary world. The book "Art After Modernism" which was edited by Brian Wallis was my bible in art school with Hal Foster, Craig Owens and the other October editors being as influential as the Euro scene to me. I recently repurchased the Anti-Aesthetic (ed. Hal Foster) to read on an extended business trip and found myself thinking deeper about all levels of art from production to presentation and, ultimately critical scrutiny. I'm starting to dig into Hal Foster's book "The Return of the Real" which was published when I was not engaged in the art world enough to know of it. I received it as a Christmas gift from Lori who stated that she hopes she is never forced to read it. Now, Lori is one of the best painters I know and is intellectually superior to just about anyone I have ever met. It is telling that critical theory holds no real place in her practice. Does it really matter?

Matthew Langley Wooster Street 2010

Material World

2010-12-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

I often joke that I only learned three tangible things in art school and only one had anything to do with technique. Back in 1984-85, when I was a foundations student at the Corcoran, I learned two of these three things. Franklin White taught me what a powerful tool the eraser can be. In response to my use of crappy, cheap acrylic colors and student grade canvas, Marie Ringwald told me to use the best materials I can afford. She showed me slides of some pieces that used glass bricks and neon (if my memory is correct). Over the long run, that statement has always stuck with me as much as a pink pearl and dry cleaning bag. I've come to understand that statement to mean, know why you are using what you are using to make your work. Does the material support the work or does it get in the way? In art, as in most things, it all comes down to balance. Do all elements work in concert with each other to create a seamless whole. I am looking to find work for Material World that finds that balance.

Marie Ringwald 2010

Making it happen

2010-11-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

There are many ways to be engaged in the art world. First and foremost is to create work. This has always been a main pursuit of mine. The other side is to present work whether my own or that of others. In the late eighties and early nineties I was able to put some shows together and still remain proud of the shows we assembled at the short lived Praha Gallery in Norfolk. I am currently pursuing some curatorial opportunities and will use this space to help develop my thoughts as this progresses.

True Artists

2010-10-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

So what is it that we try to achieve as artists. To have passion? Technique? Originality?

I watched a documentary about the punk band the minutemen last night and it struck me that these guys achieved what we all wish we could do. Listening to their music, even if you hate the style, there is no denying that these guys had awesome chops. There is no doubting their sincerity and passion. Now they were always striving for something a little beyond themselves which kept the flame burning. Their politics were sometimes naive but definitely earnest in their intent. Most of all- there has never been band, before or after them that sounded anything like them.

One of the things in my life I will brag about is seeing their show at the 9:30 club in the Spring of 1985 (they played the night before a rally to protest US intervention in Central America). Even more brag worthy was to spend an evening with them as they stayed at my friends' place after they opened for REM in Norfolk. They played a large chunk of Double Nickels on the Dime on Acoustic Guitars (Mike and D fought over the 12 string).

New Computer

2010-05-22T03:59:00.000-07:00

Finally, after a few months without regular access to a computer, we have made the switch to an iMac and I should have more time to work on the inevitable issues of getting work out into the world.

12 X 12 at artdc.org Gallery

2010-05-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I helped out getting tons of working into the gallery. As the name suggests, all work must be less than 12" on any side. It looks to be a fun show with tons of good work, all priced at less than $300. Most pieces seemed to be priced between about $75 and $150. I wan unable to stay for the actual hanging of the work, so it will be interesting to see what it looks like in the wend. I have my favorites but it was so crazy, I can't remember their titles or who made them. I'll have a full review after I head back next weekend. The big fun will happen on the 22nd when the the whole arts district of Hyattsville opens up for the annual festival. Head over to the gallery early and buy art because plenty will be sold by the end of the festival.

Mark Rothko in the tower at NGA

2010-03-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

The second in a series of "contemporary" exhibits in the Tower Gallery of the National Gallery of Art features 7 large Rothko paintings from 1964. Since I took the elevator up, I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of earlier Rothko paintings in the smaller area before the main tower gallery. The earliest works are smaller paintings that are somewhat rough around the edges. I don't know Rothko's biography well enough to make definitive statements but I would guess these did not meet with a lot of success. They are interesting simply for how they may help in understanding of his development. The works from the forties are more accomplished, with surrealist tendencies which Rothko and other New York School painters were employing at the time.

Unlike the first new tower show which presented Philip Guston's work in a straight up manner, the NGA has chosen to try to tie all of these works together in the context of Rothko's use of black. I personally find it a bit of a stretch. What becomes clear as one enters the main gallery is that these 7 paintings are not black. They are certainly dark but I was seeing purples, reds and blues. The essay material suggests that by sitting and looking at these paintings for an extended period of time you will notice subtle colors peaking out. Well, maybe I'm just super-observant(not likely), but this was simply obvious.

To make another connection,they chose to play Morton Feldman's chamber piece "Rothko Chapel" every half hour. It is a wonderful, contemplative piece which was first performed in the Rothko Chapel in Houston. Yes, these paintings were precursors to the cycle in the chapel but did its inclusion here really make sense. I happen to like Feldman, and this piece in particular, so I found it a nice touch.

So this is must see show, not necessarily to come to any conclusions about Rothko's use of black but for a chance to see a number of great, related paintings along with some earlier paintings that are not seen all that often.

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/rothkotowerinfo.shtm

New work

2010-03-06T05:31:00.000-08:00

I have posted some new work to my portfolio. I'm particularly happy about these two. The first is a reworking of the Entanglements piece which began this series (36" Sq Acylic on Canvas)

The second is titled Untangled (also 36" sq acrylic on canvas)

Images

2010-03-04T16:31:00.000-08:00

So I'm very happy with the way my work came together last weekend. The problem came with trying to get good images of them to send off. The surface is very important to my work. The paintings are created by building up dozens of layers of paint with a final surface that is rich, but subtle. The surfaces are quite glossy too, making the acrylic paint seem more like oils. This is an issue I will have to figure out soon.

Big Weekend

2010-02-26T17:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm hoping. I was really getting some traction last weekend before this cold kicked my butt. I'm looking forward to digging back into these new works. I'll update later this weekend.

41st Annual Laurel Arts Guild Juried Exhibition

2010-02-20T06:04:00.001-08:00

Just found out this morning that my painitng Nemesis was accepted to the Laurel Arts Guild Juried Show. There are a few artists that I am familiar with from Artomatic and artdc.org, so I can tell this should be a quality show that I'm very pleased to be part of. Here some basis info from their site:

41st Annual LAG Open Juried Exhibition - March 5 - 28

The juror, Michael Janis, is Co-Director of the Washington Glass School in Mt Rainier, MD and also has taught at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina and at Istanbul’s Glass Furnace in Turkey. He was awarded a 2009 Artist Fellowship from the DC Commission on the Arts as well as ‘Outstanding Emerging Artist 2008-2009’ by the Florida Glass Art Alliance. His work is in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Please visit the Montpelier Arts Center to see the artwork. The gallery is open 7 days a week from 10am - 5pm.

March 5 Exhibit opens to the public
March 7 Reception 2-4pm
March 28 Exhibit closes

Been a while

2010-02-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

Since our main computer went down, I haven't been posting much anywhere. Today, I dropped off one of my paintings and two of Lori's to the multi-venue "Lust" show. I always say that I don't want to make work specifically for a show. I broke my own rule this time since it was a painting I have wanted to do. Unfortunately, I rushed the drawing and it did not come out as good as I would like. It also took me away from the series I'm working on. Anyway, I can get back to work on them today.

Wolf Kahn at Addison Ripley

2010-01-13T16:10:00.000-08:00

A quick trip into DC on Sunday to see the Wolf Kahn show and pick up some paint that has gotten critically low. I like his paintings a lot. The well executed but in the end, these paintings lacked a certain spark. So while I was excited by his technique no paintings blew me away. These paintings seemed quite "safe" though there is no doubt that he can paint. I noticed three red dots. Two pastels and a relatively small painting. Added up to about $22K. Not bad but there is a lot of work left in the gallery. Perhaps the frames were a turn off. They looked like they were salvaged from a dump in the 60's. They were beat up, scratchy and had paint stains on them. Seemed odd for a gallery that has a high end frame business.

The weather outside is frightful...

2010-01-03T05:58:00.001-08:00

...and our furnace is broken. Its pretty cold in the house. The main floor is really cold but it was pretty toasty upstairs under about 5 blankets. The good news, if there is any- the basement is still pretty warm so if we can't get ti fixed today, I should still be able to paint.

Back to Work

2010-01-01T05:33:00.000-08:00

Unlike many artists that must work a day job to make ends meet, I actually like my job but it keeps me extremely busy during November and December including time spent in markets across the country. This, and wonderful visits from friends and family, has kept me out of the studio for about 3 weeks. The first couple of days back were a little frustrating. Though I did no irreparable harm to the works in progress, I felt as though I was simply pushing paint around, not getting any closer to finishing- even, perhaps taking a step back. I think it took a while to get back to normal (if that is possible) from both the time zone change and recovering from working in stores for about 11-13 hours a day. I've finally started to feel like myself, especially in the studio and the paintings are moving forward. I am trying to finish three that were close to completion before I left for Arizona a few week ago. I hope to finish them up this weekend. I really need to get some more work together. There are a number of opportunities I would like to try to take advantage of but don't know if I have enough work.

artdc.org Patron Member Show

2009-12-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to announce that Lori and I will both have pieces in the artdc.org patron member show at the artdc.org gallery in Hyattsville, MD which opens this Saturday.

Here is a link to the full information:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=355099515163

Hope to see you there.

Old Haunts

2009-11-29T13:03:00.000-08:00

On our trip back home, Lori and I got to visit a few old haunts. Actually, our first meal away from family was a Chinese buffet. They have these all over the Norfolk area and we have become fond of one near my mother's place in Va Beach. Like so many of them, it is called something like "Lucky NO 1 Buffet." We like it because it has some unusual things- my favorite being something they call Thailand Chicken. Quite a medley of spices providing plenty of heat but still terrific flavor. We then went to see An Education at the Naro, an old art house theater- one screen, balcony, affordable snacks, may made by local places. The movie was good since it was a cautionary tale for parents of a "clever" cello playing girl. I got to see some old friends at the Ghent Total Wine where I was the wine manager when it opened. Finally, Lori and I ate at the site of our first "date," Orapax. I'm a sucker for their wings. The pizza was excellent with a perfect crust. I think they may have changed the sauce a little because it seemed a little darker lending it a little more robust flavor than I remember. Lori got the spanakopita which was much larger than we remembered. All and all, a nice day. We finished by driving down Granby street, where we opened the Praha gallery many years ago. What was a pretty edgy place after dark is now populated by nice restaurants, a campus of the area community college and boutique shops. I guess we could say we are pioneers. We didn't get a chance to check them out, but I understand there are some good galleries in Norfolk now.

Back to the Studio

2009-11-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

Well, its good to be back from our thanksgiving trip and now I'm ready to get back in the studio. When I left, I had a couple of pieces nearing completion and another canvas ready to go. I have finished the small version of Nemesis and it will be in a show art the artdc.org gallery in Hyattsville opening on December 12th. I will post more info soon but here is an image of the piece.

Blogging

2009-11-11T16:54:00.001-08:00

I'm slowly working on updating this blog. Lori and I are moving towards having our own sites so we are using this as an intermediate step. I've posted my resume. I need to get a gallery of work up and running. Its getting there. I've also been working. I typically do not like to make work specifically for shows. I'm a slow painter and I try to place all my energies on creating the work I want to do. But recently, I have started working on some smaller pieces for the upcoming patron member show at artdc.org's Hyattsville gallery. This worked out well since I wanted to explore the same themes I have been working on in smaller format. I have finished one and will post as soon as I can get a good image. I have a number of paintings going in studio but I am also working hard on drawing again. I also plan to blog about my other interests such as wine (my day job) and music.

New York

2009-10-25T04:09:00.001-07:00

So I used to love going up to New York but it has been a long, long time. Last time I was there, nothing much was happening in Chelsea, Soho was were all the established galleries were (well except the uptown ones) and Williamsburg was just become the hip place for artists. Yep, I couldn't believe how long its been. The other thing that was different- mode of transportation. Back in the day I usually took the train up but here in the DC, the trendy folks take one of a slew of buses offering express routes with wifi and outlets. After much debate, I decided on the Bolt Bus, mainly since it offered a departure after the wine tasting event I was attending.

The Post did a big article a while back which made this sound like a good alternative to the train. I heard from friends that they were sometime unreliable in terms of being on schedule. Well, Bolt left the parking lot at 6:59, 1 minute ahead of schedule and dropped us of at 11:20, 5 minutes "late." If only airlines could be that on time. Being the early bus out, we were not full, so i had no one beside me. I'm a big guy, and though the bus had plenty of leg room, the seats are pretty narrow. I can't say it was the most comfortable trip but no worse than flying.

Returning the same night, I was exhausted from walking around Chelsea for a few hours and then attending a 3 hour tasting event, only to walk back down to the bus stop in the rain. Everyone was tired and a little confused when a Bolt bus pulled up dropped some people and left, but sure enough, our bus arrived and we left on time, getting back into DC at about 4:10, 5 minutes ahead of schedule.

I guess I'm getting old but I was so surprised to see cop cars and people all over the streets at 4am coming in DC on rt50. Every fast food joint was packed, it seemed crazy- could some event have just ended/ it didn't seem unlike a club closing but that amount of people would have been more like a Redskins game.

All in all, I'd take the bus again.

New Camera

2009-10-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

We just picked up a new camera, hopefully we will figure out how to work it. I think this is an improvement over the old picture of this work.

12 Angry Women

2009-09-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

Just received word that my piece Hangers (Entanglements) was accepted to the 12 Angry Women show at the Soundry in Northern Va. Its a fun concept- a juried show using a jury of 12 women- the catch is the artist had to be male. Yep, I'm a dude. Its a bummer that I'll be out of town for work the weekend of the opening but I look forward to seeing what they came up with.

I personally think Entanglements is the weakest of the Things I Really Don't Like series, but looking at the images together in my past couple of posts- it probably does show better. In person, I don't believe it is in the same league. I think I noted earlier that we need a new camera and I would say this is proof. The richness of the surface simply does not show in these images

http://blog.soundry.net/

Speed Painting

2009-09-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

I am notoriously slow to complete paintings, adding layer after layer of paint until it feels "done." Well I set out to make a painting in two days and well, it took 5 to get to this point. I'm really happy with it but had planned to keep working the background. Instead, I'm taking Lori's advice and calling it quits. It is part of the Things I Really Don't Like series titled Hanger (Nemesis/Lurking). It is 36" square, acrylic on canvas.

Note: We are getting a new camera soon because our digital images do not do the paintings justice. Our camera was nice 5 or 6 years ago when I bought it to use mainly for snapshots but its time for an upgrade.

New Work

2009-09-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

Its been a while but I have finished some new work. These came about while I was messing around and I think I've stumbled onto a path that may lead to many ideas. I've been working with still lifes but to represent people- in other words these still life works were meant as portraits. For instance, the shoes that I completed earlier are actually a portrait of Lori. So thinking about still life, I came on the idea of painting things I like as self portrait but then I thought about flipping that around- how about things I don't like? I have a real problem with my hands and arms, especially when I have to fight with things. Anything that gets tangled can be a real problem. I was mad at some hangers one day and threw them on the floor and, whoa- the pattern was interesting. I started painting a picture of them and this whole idea started to grow. I believe I have a large bank of compositions with the line and it is interesting to think of these things as a nemesis, evil twin type of doppelganger thing. The first (Entanglements) is a little shaky in terms of technique but with the second (Nemesis) I feel like I'm getting my chops back.

Kingsteen Rocks!

2009-08-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been meaning to post a bunch of stuff about all my interests- music, art, food and wine. It took my ol' buddy Gary to bring his new band (him and his young nephew) to Norfolk the same weekend I happened to be heading down. It was cool to see some folks I haven't seen in a while but best of all- Gary's new songs were terrific. Very promising stuff. I was dead tired after 8 1/2 hours of travel so I skipped out after his set. Luckily the ride back the next day only took 3 1/2 hours. Check out their songs on my space under Kingsteenrocks.

Random notes:

Really taken with the music of St Vincent. Amazing textures and instrumentation. The songs are good to great and her singing is right on.

Went to First Fridays in Dupot to check out some galleries and had a wonderful dinner at Sette. Not cheap by any stretch but certainly worth it.

Went to a old favorite restaurant in Va Beach, Athens Pizza. This great place used to have excellent, reliable pizza. I guess I should have figured something was up when they were only about 1/4 full at 6:30 on a Saturday. Bland pizza, inattentive service- Should have went to the better Greek place, Chesapeake Pizza, just down the road.

Really excited with my work- so much that I'm going to exit out of here and get down to the studio.

Little Catching Up

2009-07-24T19:37:00.001-07:00

I've been working a lot on some new pieces and I'm pretty happy so far. But I thought I'd catch up with some beer and wine thoughts.

First beer- thanks to Artomatic for turning me on the Flying Dog's Amber Lager. I really haven't been a huge fan of Flying Dog in the past. First, I'm not a fan of Ralph Steadman and the beers seemed a little uninspired to me. Well, they seem fresher now and this may be due to the fact that they are brewed just up the road in Fredrick, MD. This is said to be in a California Common style (think Anchor Steam) but to me it is simply a well made amber brew with nice malty aromas and flavors and a super smooth finish. It is like an amped-up Yuengling. It is my session beer for now. I still keep some Yuengling cans around in case I decide to make some beer can chicken.

The other night, I opened a Central Coast Syrah called Domain Alfred Califa. It was rich with layered dark fruits and subtle baking spices and a touch of earthiness. I rated it 92 points (Wine Enthusiast had rated it 93) but Lori thought it was too minerally. Thought the price has been dropped considerably, I will pass on purchasing any more for the cellar. There are plenty of wines we both like, such as the Sonoma Loeb Cabernet 2005 which seemed to be gone as soon as it was opened.

Studio Setup

2009-07-15T16:04:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty excited. I've been wanting to clean up the studio, making it more workable. I was waiting to get the lights we purchased for Artomatic back to get enough light in there to really see what is going on since I work mostly at night. Well, after a few snags with finding solid wood to drill into I finally got the lights up. I moved some shelves around and moved some crap to some other locations and now I think we have a good working environment. The drawing table is to left now providing an entire wall for working. The room is about 11' x 14' but I haven't measured it so I could be wrong. Being a basement the ceilings are a little lower causing the lights to make the room look (as Lori likes to say) "like an alien surgery theater."

I typically paint against the wall and Lori likes to work on the ground, so division of space is fairly easy right now. She's so prolific, I'll probably be relegated to a small corner. Seriously, we'll probably need to expand the operation to the garage- this will require a little weather proofing but it seems pretty nice out there most of the time.

Still Drawing

2009-07-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

Really haven't had a lot of time to accomplish much. I've decide that I must force myself to draw a little each day. When I say that, some think I mean sketch/doodle/what-have-you. I do sketch when planning compositions but I think of drawing as a serious form in itself. So I'm really talking about creating finished, accomplished pieces. So far the results are mixed. I'm doing some good things but I'm having issues too. For one, I'm getting a little old. I can't see detail very well up close, with or without my glasses on, though it is better without. I was working on a still life last night and it was looking pretty good and I was starting to feel rather proud of myself. I propped it up on my makeshift easel- sitting back a few feet with my glasses on only to find some of the elements weren't lining up very well. I think I'm going to look into a pair of reading glasses from the drugstore since I know I'm not ready for bifocals yet. I just need to remember to step back every once in a while.

Drawing

2009-06-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

So I think I need to work on my drawing. Getting back into this art stuff is going well but there are things I used to be able to do easily which are more difficult now. In the past I cold rough out what I want to paint and simply work it to a good point. I now believe this was due to the fact that I drew alot too, so painting became an extension of drawing in a way. Since I've done neither in so long I can't simply rely on my skills as a draftsman anymore- I need to get those chops back. Though I will still paint, my plan is to concentrate on drawing for a while.

My style always relied on large areas of rich, dark colors. Now that I am working with a single object or a few, I need to be sure I don't copy Jim Dine (or even Donald Sultan) too much. Again, I'm little less worried about content at this point but still...

I'm pretty happy with this shoe- it is a study for a painting I will complete soon. I'm messing around with stuff in the studio like the corkscrew and the cork drawing. With the cork drawing, I am going back to the old style. Still not sure where I'm going to land

On Vacation

2009-06-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

I had a pretty intense week at work trying to get everything in order to take next week off. I will have to take a couple of hours to run some reports on Tuesday, but other than that my attention is all on my family and making art. So Friday we tasted through about 20 Zinfandels in less than two hours- this is work so we do spit the wine- it is tasting and all of us drive home so drinking is not a good option. There were plenty of good ones- nothing really sucked (excepted a corked Mendo ZIn but that doesn't count). There were quite a few nice finds at the 8-12 dollar range. We also tasted a sample of a new Dogfish Head project- a really nicely balanced IPA at about 9% ABV.

Anyway- getting the reason for the post, Lori and I had a nice dinner (I grilled Rock Fish for her and a Ribeye for me). We drank two Titus wines with them- The Reserve Chardonnay and the Amphora Red Blend. Both were very, very good and with recent price drops due to the economy, relatively good values. I am a big fan of the Titus wines. I've hung out a couple times with Eric Titus who runs most of the family operation and his brother Phillip is simply one of the best winemakers working in California right now. I'm kinda bummed that another wine he makes, the Chappellet Signature Cabernet just got 94 points from Wine Spectator (last year's Pritchard Hill scored 96). I say bummed because I usually buy a few bottles of this wine each year and I'm afraid it is going to sell out quickly now. With the Disney trip this week, I didn't want to plop down the money for the wines right now. Let's hope I'm worrying too much about this and the wine will hang around a while. That said- you should get some.

Meet the Artist Night at Artomatic

2009-06-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

So the truffles went over well, probably better than the art. Their chocolaty deliciousness got people to hang around a bit. I had some really good comments but, as usual, Heather stole the show. She was working her shift on the fourth floor but telling everyone to come down and try the truffles- it worked! We met Conner, the 12 year old artist- seems like a good kid.

I also reconnected with someone I knew from the 80's when I was at the Corcoran, painter Matthew Langley. I was a little embarrassed since my work being shown is simply ok, but it seems he went through the same sort of trajectory as I did- Stopped painting shortly after art school, found a way to makes some money (day job) and then began to work painting back into his life. It was encouraging. I'm already much happier with my latest work. I'm giving myself a year to see, if I can get back to a high level of work I was at before.

Right now there are two struggles- getting my chops back and what I should paint. I'm working on the first issue and simply painting whatever for the time being. I'm researching and planning out some future work- going back to TS Eliot- this time I'm working with the Four Quartets. I'm hoping that by the time I'm firing on all cylinders I will also have arrived at some subject matter that will make for compelling work.

Truffles Anyone?

2009-06-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

Dang- I just don't know how people keep up with this blogging stuff. Anyway- I'm making truffles tonight for tomorrow's Meet the Artists night at Artomatic. I stopped by Whole Foods to get the finest ingredients. I'll post later with chocolate on my fingers.

Savor

2009-05-31T04:58:00.000-07:00

Last night was the big Savor beer event at the National Building Museum. A group from work were planning to meet at RFD around 3:30 to make sure we got some food in us. We knew there would be food at Savor but we wanted to makes sure we had some solid stuff already in our bellies. Well, of course, the organizer of this meeting never did show but he did arrive at the event just in time for our first "Salon."

Sam Calagione led us on a tour of Ancient Beers in the Modern World. As could be expected from Sam, there were no notes or PowerPoint slides. What we did get was a sampling of 4 beers and some information on the history of brewing. This was a great session since I had never had two of the beers. It start with the 90 minute but moved quickly to the Midas Touch which was excellent with the aged cheddar pairing. Then why tried an even older recipe recipe, from China of all places, called Chateau Jiahu. I was enjoying these beers but really thinking that it is a shame Lori was not there, I think she would have loved them- all this was before the Theobroma which is based on a 500-1200 year old Honduran recipe. Now this baby was made with some very fine cocoa powder- paired with some Askinosie Chocolate (You must try this chocolate!). With the Theobroma, I knew that I needed to stop by the store and pick some up.

I'm guessing that crowds are simply following me around because the Building Museum was packed like Artomatic was on Friday. Some stand outs for me were Brooklyn's Local 2, Rock Bottom Highland Courage Scottish Ale, Saint Louis Brewery/Schlafly Oak Age Barleywine, Arcadia Cocoa-Loco Triple Chocolate Milk Stout (yes, I was in a chocolaty mood after the Salon).

There were a number of breweries that I simply love to drink though they don't excite the way those listed above do. I love high-gravity beers but I usually like to drink more than one so last night reaffirmed how good St George, Clipper City (Marzhon), Great Lakes (Burning River), Legend and Oskar's Blues are at crafting delicious "session" brews. Another brewer I enjoy, Smuttynose was only pouring Belgian-styled brews- It would have been nice to show one of their more straightforawd beers.

Opening Night

2009-05-30T05:13:00.000-07:00

Last night, The team all went down to opening night at artomatic and were blown away. The place was so jammed- using the elevator was simply a joke and even the stairways were filled with people. We did trek up to the ninth floor and back down so at least a little exercise was had. We spent the last hour or so that on the 3rd floor near our work. Lori and I kind of hung back and let people look. We didn't have too many people stopping to look at our stuff- we're guessing that we are not flashy enough. Plus we have a very subdued floor. I did see a lot of people take my postcards but no comments (not even a "U SUCK") were left in the comment book. Heather on the other hand was working the crowd and really charming them. We keep our eyes out, looking to see if people were trying to get away but they really seemed to be enjoying talking to her about the work. We ended up staying to nearly 11pm. I forgot how infrequent the trains are later at night. We didn't get home until after midnight.

On the beverage front- good beer selection (Yuengling and three Flying Dog brews) and not a bad call on the wine (Barefoot) in terms of a drinkable inexpensive wine. Yep, I got beer. I may suggest that they offer a premium wine choice at a higher price to give wine lovers an option but then they may want me to volunteer as bar manager and I see that is a tough job.

Artomatic Opens Today

2009-05-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm not so sure why I'm excited about Artomatic opening today but I am. It was satisfying getting the work together and installing. I learned quite a bit in this foray back into painting and I can't wait to get back to work. I believe my work will continue to get stronger. I'll make sure to chronicle my progress.

So what I'm really concerned about is whether they will have decent wine or not. Tomorrow I'm going to the big Savor beer tasting at the Building Museum where I will taste at least 50 high gravity craft beers so I'd rather have wine tonight.

Celebrate

2009-05-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

As mentioned previously, Lori was anxious about us completing the AOM install. To celebrate, we met some friends at Night of the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian. The kids loved it as did the adults- pretty fun stuff- though not quite as good as the first. The movie didn't allow me time to cook anything special so we ate the pulled pork from yesterday- Since it takes about 6 hours to cook the Barbeque, I was able to cook it in between layers of paint. I look forward to making some good meals now that i won't be painting every waking hour. Anyway, this post is about wine isn't- well, I didn't have enough time to run by our store in McLean so I picked up a bottle of Beringer Cabernet Knights Valley. As usual this is a good, reliable Cab though I do miss those mid-90's vintages that were excellent- Well its still about the same price as it was then so I guess we can expect a little slip in quality. All in all, not a bad substitution for the Chateau Chevalier Cabernet (made by Spring Mountain Vineyards) I was planning on. Must remember to pick up a couple bottles next time in the store.

Artomatic Install Complete

2009-05-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

I was glad to finish up installing our spaces today. I expected there to be tons of people waiting but I was one of the first to arrive at about 11:30. I guess hoping to avoid some kind of rush, they had the loading dock open. I finished hanging my paintings and title cards for Lori and Heather by 12:45. This gave me a little time to preview the show.

There has been plenty of discussion regarding the adult subject matter being shown but as I walked around there was little that I could not easily steer clear of. From what I can see the quality of work looks better than last year. Since that was the first AOM I visited, I can't comment on previous shows. I'm still surprised at how many people have done so little to their spaces. I guess I fit into that category but I knew it would take less than an hour to hang all of my work.

Lori was really worried about me finishing my work. I was ready to cut one painting (Shoes) since it wasn't coming together. After explaining to Lori that it may be best to leave it out, I went back down to the studio and nailed the part that kept tripping me up. Of course, this had me back in the studio at 6:30 this morning trying to finish it up. It turned out pretty good. I've learned a lot with these paintings but the biggest thing is making sure to take more time to draw instead of simply roughing in the basic composition thing winging the details.

Artomatic

2009-05-23T05:26:00.000-07:00

Well, somehow things are coming together. The main goal for doing AOM this year was to force me to complete some work. Its been more than 10 years since I have completed a painting so getting four ready to show is an accomplishment. Well only one is complete right now but, hey- I've still got two days.

Overcoming a long inactive period would be hard enough but I also switched from oils to acrylics. Since my style relies on numerous layers of thin paint, getting used to the transparency of acrylics is difficult. I'm arriving at some techniques that are getting the job done though I hope to be able to refine them soon to get the results I want. As it stands, I'm about 80% there. I believe the future paintings will be stronger as I incorporate what I've learned from these works.

Portfolio

2009-04-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

Artist Statement

2009-04-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

While my work does include recognizable imagery, I often feel more closely aligned with abstract/non-objective artist than representational ones. Images are used to provide structure for the work, allowing the building up of desired surfaces to be the primary concern in the studio. Once a work's composition is established, layer upon layer of paint is added to create a deep, rich surface. The layering continues until a harmonious balance is reached across the entire surface. Drawing also deals with the same concerns though the surfaces are built through additive and subtractive methods.

Many artists such as Susan Rothenberg or Jim Dine have worked with a limited range of objects to explore certain abstract painting goals. Like these painters, I typically depict a narrow set of images but I allow them to suggests content. Rather than take on specific maeanings the objects portrayed are likely to eveolve or changes as subject matter over time. The obvious reference point would be Jasper Johns whose work incorporated many of the same pictorial elements over long periods of time to convey different elements and themes, most notably after adding art historical references to his painting from the 1970s on.

I don’t set out to tell a specific story or argue a particular point of view. The goal is to provide a starting point for a viewer’s interpretation. The recent works are less personal than the previous “Hanger” series. By using everyday objects, these pieces share a kinship with the late work of Philip Guston. Like Guston’s compositions, my placement of the depicted items is a major concern, though my working methods are quite different. As with music or literature, the finished work should appear inviting and enigmatic at the same time, with the goal of leaving a lasting impression.

Portfolio

2009-04-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

Contact

2009-04-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

Stephen Boocks

(240) 753-2724

stephenboocks@hotmail.com

Resume

2009-04-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

Solo Shows

1992-Con:text; University Gallery, Norfolk, VA (With Lori Anne Foster now Boocks)
1990- Images From the New World Order; University Gallery, Norfolk, VA
1989- Freedom, Longing and Existence (Drawings); Pungo Gallery, Tidewater Community College, Virginia Beach , VA
1988- Mench: Feind der Umwelt; There Gallery, Norfolk, VA

Selected Group Shows

2011- artomatic@Frederick, Frederick, MD
2010- 12 X 12, artdc.org gallery, Hyattsville, MD
2010-41st Annual Laurel Arts Guild Juried Show, Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel, MD- Curated by Michael Janis
2010- Lust, Cheryl Edwards Gallery, Hyattsville, MD- Curated by Cheryl Edwards, Jesse Cohen
2009- Patron Member Show, artdc.org gallery, Hyattsville, MD
2009- Twelve Angry Women; The Soundry, Vienna, VA- Curated by: Lauren Kotkin, Amanda Jiron-Murphy, Melissa Branin, LisaMarie Adams, Jennifer Crawford, Veronica Szalus, Shauna Lee Lange, Teresa Ahmad, Sara Minarik Applegate, Janet Rems, Lee Lovelace, Darlene Howell
2009- Artomatic, Washington, DC
1993- Fresh Paint; Praha Gallery, Norfolk, VA- Curated by Stephen Boocks
1992- Irene Leach Memorial Exhibition; Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA- Curated by Thomas Sokolowski
1991- Juried Exhibition; Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA- Curated by Tom Armstrong
1990- Juried Exhibition; Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA- Curated by Donald Kuspit
1988- Juried Exhibition; Peninsula FIne Arts Center, Newport News, VA- Curated by Barry Walker
1987- Juried Exhibition; Virginia Beach Arts Center, Virginia Beach, VA
1985- Juried Exhibition; Virginia Beach Arts Center, Virginia Beach, VA
1984- Irene Leach Memorial Exhibition; Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA- Curated by Willam Olander
1983- Juried Exhibition; Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA- Curated by Ted Potter

Shows Curated
2011- Material World: artdc gallery, Hyattsville, MD
1992- Fresh; Praha Gallery, Norfolk, Va
1993- Solid: Praha Gallery, Norfolk, VA

Education:
1989-1992 Old Dominion Universty, Norfolk, VA (B.F.A.)
1984-1985 Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC

Related:
1992-1993 Founder, Co-director, Chief Curator, Praha Gallery, Norfolk, VA
2009- Artdc.org, Patron Member

Publications:
Art Matters, Teresa Annas (Irene Leach Memorial Exhibition review), Virginian-Pilot, August 1992
Art Matters, Teresa Annas (Sam Sebren at Praha Gallery) Virginian-Pilot, March 1993