Jen Bekman Gallery blog

Clare Grill Opening @ Sloan Fine Art Tomorrow, April 21, 6-8 p.m.

Trick Candles, 2008 by Clare Grill

We are absolutely thrilled to report yet another upcoming solo show for Clare Grill, whose stunning paintings graced our very own walls, barely two months ago.

Her new exhibition, The Forest for the Trees is opening at Sloan Fine Art in New York. The reception is tomorrow, Wednesday, April 21st, from 6-8 p.m., and the show will run through May 15th.

The Forest for the Trees
Sloan Fine Art
Opening Reception: Wednesday, April 21st, 6 - 8 p.m.
128 Rivington St. (between Essex and Norfolk)

If you didn't manage to make it to What You're Told, or if you saw (and undoubtedly loved) it, be sure to take this new opportunity to check out her incredible work. And, if you don't expect to find yourself in the New York area in the next several weeks, it's very worthwhile to note that Clare also has several fantastic prints available at 20x200.

Two Clare Grill openings this weekend

Swingset, 2008 by Clare Grill

While we miss having Clare Grill's luscious paintings on our own walls, we're beyond excited to share that her work will be included in two group shows both opening in New York this weekend.

First, Grill's work will be included in Talk Show, a show of six painters opening this Friday, April 2, from 6 - 8 p.m. at Edward Thorp Gallery.

Talk Show
Edward Thorp Gallery
Opening Reception: Friday, April 2nd, 6 - 8 p.m.
210 Eleventh Avenue, 6th Fl
(between 24th + 25th streets)
New York, NY

Then on Saturday, Clare's work will be on view in I'm Caught Up opening at BronxArtSpace from 7 - 10 p.m. The exhibition is part of CONVERSIONS | one-night stands, a month-long artist festival dedicating each night to a different medium and theme. Located in Mott Haven, nearby where Clare participated in the Artist in the Marketplace Program in 2008 at the Bronx Museum, the festival offers commentary on how "contemporary art is seen and experienced in the South Bronx."

I'm Caught Up
BronxArtSpace
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 3rd, 7 - 10 p.m.
305 East 140th Street, Mott Haven, Bronx

If you missed the chance to see Clare's work at the gallery earlier this year, here are two great opportunities to catch it in-person.

Last chance to catch What You ' re Told by Clare Grill, closing this Saturday

Smoke Signals, 2007 by Clare Grill

Oh, the weather outside is frightful—slush!—but in here it's so delightful. Thanks in part to our trusty heater, but mostly because of the gorgeous paintings of Clare Grill, whose solo-exhibition What You're Told closes this Saturday. If the painting above doesn't warm you up, I guarantee that Clare's artist statement will.

Clare writes:

I didn't dare eat candy during Lent because the saints were watching. Our old house was haunted – our dad said so. We imagined a wolf roamed our neighborhood because it was fun to be scared. I thought our family was ideal. I believed in Santa until I was 13. I clung tightly to the things I was taught, my heavy cloaks of security. Like most, I've unraveled them slowly and steadily, being careful not to rip out all the seams through the years.

These paintings, however, aren't just run-of-the-mill nostalgia. "Ms. Grill’s expressionistic portraits can remind you at times of the work of Elizabeth Peyton, who made it big painting acquaintances at art-world parties. But Ms. Grill is actually a better painter, suggesting she will make a success of whatever subject she chooses," writes Benjamin Genocchio for The New York Times. Especially when seen up close and in person, Clare's intuitive technique, "makes you notice the paint as much as the pictures."

While the snow shows no signs of stopping, we really hope that you'll slog over the the gallery and check out these wonderful paintings before the show closes on Saturday!

The Overachievers, 2009 by Clare Grill (also available as a limited-edition print on 20x200)

Close Our Eyes and Go to Bed, 2008 by Clare Grill

If you're not in New York at all, make sure to have a look at the show's installation shots on Flickr and peek inside her studio, courtesy of MoMA/P.S.1.

Tonight ' s openings? There ' s an app for that.

Looking for openings and closings on the go? There's an app for that. Pop open the NY Art Beat app on your iPhone and it will present you with a list of shows, sorted by walking distance from your current location. Shown above is the info page for What You're Told by Clare Grill. From this page you can also access the press release, gallery hours, telephone number, subway directions and the option to email the information to a friend. The app also contains a fairly limited browse-by-neighborhood functionality.

Though its scope is simple, at just 99 cents there is no more convenient way to access this information on the go. You can grab the NY Art Beat app for iPhone and iPod Touch from the App Store.

Til 2 p.m. only! 3 Editions by Clare Grill for 20% Off!

The clock is ticking, but you've still got two and a half hours to get your hands on one of these amazing editions at 20x200 by painter Clare Grill, whose solo exhibition, What You're Told is currently hanging in the gallery. We've been sitting amidst Clare's work for the last two weeks, and the colors, textures and narratives that comprise this work are truly captivating. These prints do an incredible job of translating the motion and richness of her pieces in a way we can make available to every single one of you.

To pick up one of Clare's prints for 20% off, click on any of the works below, then enter the code RIDONK at Google checkout. This offer ends at 2 p.m. (EST) today, so do not delay!

Assignment by Clare Grill

Cake by Clare Grill

The Overachievers* by Clare Grill

*The original painting, The Overachievers, hanging in the exhibition, has been sold. But, that makes the 30"x40" edition of this print, only $2,000 $1,600, an even more incredible steal.

Photos from the Opening of What You ' re Told by Clare Grill

Photographs ©Elizabeth Leitzell, 2010

We just posted some photos from the packed opening of What You're Told by Clare Grill (smiling in the bottom photo!) on our Flickr. Thanks again to everyone who packed in to see the show, we hope you had a great time!

Check out the full set of images and see if you can spot yourself and as a reminder, What You're Told remains on view through Saturday, February 27th, 2010.

Installation Views of Clare Grill | What You ' re Told

Clare's show is on view through February 27th, so if you're in New York City, we hope you'll stop by the gallery to see What You're Told in person. We love spending the day sitting amongst these gorgeous works and invite you to enjoy them with us! For those of you who won't be able to make it in, take a look at the installation views taken by Elizabeth Leitzell we just posted on Flickr.

Clare Grill ' s The Overachievers on 20x200

The Overachievers by Clare Grill

We are anxiously counting down the days to Clare Grill's opening exhibition here at the JBG (details below), so were thrilled to release a new edition by Clare on 20x200 yesterday to give our collectors a taste of what's to come. While the textures and richness of The Overachievers can only be fully realized in the original, which will be one of the six paintings in What You're Told, the print is utterly gorgeous and we suggest you pick one up!

Jen wrote in yesterday's newsletter:

Looking at her works, I was transported back to those mysterious years of childhood and recalled the vague terror that arises when you're a kid and you've done something wrong. Without undermining the foreboding feeling of getting caught at being bad, the paintings are also comfortingly familiar — when you're young, that terror is (hopefully) the only terror you know. There's something cozy and sentimental about remembering that, especially when comparing it to the much more complex, unbounded realities of adulthood. These realities lie in the murky and misty areas in Clare's works and bring forth the lessons learned that weren't always as black and white as they were presented.

The Overachievers is available on 20x200 in four sizes for $20, $50, $200 and $2000, and—lucky you—the 35"x28" original is also available, which you can see for yourself at the opening on Friday night.

What You're Told
Six paintings on canvas and eleven works on paper by Clare Grill
Opening Reception: Friday, January 15th, 2010 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
On View: January 16th - February 27th, 2010
Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring Street
New York, NY

See you there!

Mixtape Opens TONIGHT at JBG!

Album 01 by Paul Madonna

Don't forget to come to the gallery tonight, November 20, 2009! Jen Bekman Gallery will proudly open Mixtape, a group exhibition featuring forty-five original works and limited-edition prints from 20x200, by thirty-six artists. In the spirit of what Geoffrey O'Brien declared the "most widely practiced American art form," Mixtape brings the studio soundtrack to the gallery walls.

Participating artists include: Michelle Arcila, Ian Baguskas, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Christine Callahan, Christian Chaize, Jorge Colombo, William Crump, Jessica Eaton, Scott Eiden, Clare Grill, Chad Hagen, Nick Hardeman, Joseph O. Holmes, Jason Jagel, Roel Knappstein, Gregory Krum, Liz Kuball, Jeff Lewis, Yijun (Pixy) Liao, Scott Listfield, Paul Madonna, Sarah McKenzie, Mike Monteiro, Jane Mount, Tommy Perman, Gary Petersen, Colleen Plumb, Jason Polan, Tyson Anthony Roberts, Mike Sinclair, Jessica Snow, Trey Speegle, William Swanson, Amy Talluto, Ann Toebbe and Matthew Tischler!

See you soon! If you are out of town, please visit the Mixtape exhibition page here.

Mixtape
Opening Reception: Friday, November 20th, 2009, 6 to 8 p.m.
On View: November 21st - January 9th, 2010*
Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring Street
(between Elizabeth + Bowery)
New York, New York 10012

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday - Saturday | Noon - 6 p.m.*

*The gallery will be closed for the holidays: Nov. 26 - 27 | Dec. 24 - 26 | Jan. 1, 2010