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FEATURED ARTISTS:	Sara Greene, Dom Gray, Jess Levey, Kathryn Kelley, Dennis Jones.
INTERVIEWS:	Michael Betancourt, Jessica Danby, Todd Kelly, Christian Schumann, Zach Stein
ART NEWS:	Watch copyright laws and how they impact artists; The Rembrandt painting was real; Damien Hirst painting thrown out by accident; California is home to the most artists.. . .
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Below are a few artists we'd like to call your attention to this week.


Sara Greene	Comfort Zone	Sara receiving her BFA in Fine Arts from SVA Spring 2008. In her own words "The term "obsessive" can be defined in a variety of ways, depending on the context, but it all inevitably reverts back to the root of the word, "obsess." The word can refer to a recurring action or thought to which the individual has little to no control over, and while the compulsion to act upon may provide temporary comfort, the end result inflicts more damage than good. In some cases, it could hinder the psyche on a highly emotional level. As a person who has these obsessive tendencies, I know on a first-hand account just how exhausting it is to have ruminations and actions consume everyday functioning, leaving my mind overwhelmed--like each solitary memory is collected into thriving clusters, or even growths, slowly taking over and weakening my well-being."


Dom Gray	Recent Paintings	Dom hails from the United Kingdom. He attended the Northbrook college Art and Design Advanced and holds a BA in Fine Art Painting in Art from the Wimbledon School of Art (1998). In his own words "Making The Paintinhgs is an evolutionary process; each work describes a different place a different statement of form, There is no predestined image just a decision making process."


Jess Levey	In Defense of Food	Jess is currently getting her MFA at Hunter College in NYC and she works as both a Photo Editor and a wedding photographer in her “spare” time. She was the curator and one of 8 featured artists at “The Gallery at Artists & Fleas” in Williamsburg in 2004. She was also the Gallery Director for LISTEN…NYC, a unique east village Dj shop and gallery which closed in August ’04. In Jess's own words "Since the mid 1990s, my work has involved the creation of conceptually based photographs with the body as the main point of entry. What began as narrative based work, however, quickly took a socio-political turn, and by adding text to my body via projection for my “New Intimacy project”, I began to incorporate a process that I have continued to develop."


Kathryn Kelley	2007-2008	Kathryn holds and MFA from the University of Houston and a BS Texas A & M. In her words "I have fallen into a void where there is no individuality, no unique private world, no authorship or originality. I find myself not in utopia but dystopia. There is no space; there is no silence. All inventions have been invented and recombination replaces creation. I fight the void. I become incapable of representing my current experience except through things that already exist. I dredge the archives seeking new meaning through new combinations. A rapid rhythm of change accelerates as I move through the limited number of combinations. Empty space is filled up. I consume all. Signifiers fail to link into coherent wholes. I pile up the appropriated fragments ceaselessly and empty them of their significance. The promise of new meaning evades me. The narrative stands still. Reality becomes that which is defined by media. Life is subordinate to the laws of the market. High and low culture merge. I sense loss and I drink Diet Coke like a dog gets excited about going for a walk ON A LEASH."

Premium Spotlight

Dennis Jones	Sometimes My Thoughts...	Dennis holds a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Wayne State University and a Bachelors of Architecture from the University of Detroit. In his words "Drawing is fundamental to my process through its immediacy as in the way I'll scribble a quick note to myself in pen or pencil to capture a passing word or thought. The computer too is a useful tool that allows a different sort of drawing that can be more immediate and economical than my analog scribbling. The glut of visual information and data from multiple sources including reading and advertising, television and the Internet overspills into my daily activities. I feel urgently compelled to record and sift through these fragmented regurgitated words and phrases so I carry around a small notepad or laptop with me wherever I go and compile lists. Painting enables me to flush out the errant noise and discover a few jewels.".

Brian Sherwin, our senior blog editor has been continuing his interview series with artists. Below are a couple of recent highlights.

Michael Betancourt

Michael Betancourt, an avant-garde film maker, is one of a handful of artists leading the experiment film movement in South Florida -- and across the United States. Michael has been making movies for over 15 years and has exhibited in places such as Tampa's Ybor Film Festival; Plugged-In: New & Electronic Media at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood; Cinematheque's Views from the Underground in Miami Beach; The Athens Video Art Festival; Short Cuts Cologne 8; and been shown in contemporary art museums such as The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and The Painted Bride. Wildside Press published his book, Structuring Time: Notes on Making Movies, in 2004. His writings have appeared in Ctheory, Semiotica, and Leonardo, among others. ...

Jessica Danby

Jessica Danby is a mixed media encaustic artist, her work focuses on the struggle between human industry and development with the survival of our natural environment. Both her paintings and sculptures contain areas of negative space that are not really empty. Finding places in nature devoid of human activity is becoming increasingly more difficult. Therefore, the negative spaces in the pieces are cluttered with billboards and grocery carts faintly drawn in, but ever present. Jessica holds a BA from Southeastern Louisiana University and an MFA from Memphis College of Art. She is a full-time instructor in the Talented Arts Program at Fontainebleau High School...

Todd Kelly

Todd Kelly has stated that painting is largely about imagination, momentary inspiration, present consciousness and serendipity. He firmly believes that painting can make the world a better place. Todd lived in London for a few years. While there he was involved with several exhibits in London, including exhibits at the National Portrait Gallery and Seven Seven Contemporary. He has recently moved back to New York. Todd studied at Anderson University and the School of Visual Arts....

Christian Schumann

The majority of Christian Schumann's paintings are like a visual car-crash of images within images-- laced with a dash of social commentary and childhood wonder. Christian allows his intuition to guide his paintings. He has stated that vagueness and random selection is actually obvious intent. Over the years his intent has shifted from the abject/grotesque to the desire to include everything in giant amalgams of impossible visual sculptures to self-parody to the natural world to the internal world. In a sense, his works are just as complex as the reality we face in our daily lives-- lives that can be deceptively simple on the surface...

Zach Stein

Zach Stein's installations, monotypes, and paintings tend to be experimental in nature. This is achieved by the fact that Zach utilizes a variety of mediums in an intuitive manner-- everything from hot glue to rum. He is an artist who is not afraid to test the limits of his materials. Zach is currently a student at the University of Kentucky....

Will New "Orphan" Copyright Rules Hurt Visual Artists? -- "The Copyright Office proposal would have a disproportionately negative, even catastrophic, impact on the ability of painters and illustrators to make a living from selling copies of their work. This is because--unlike books, songs and films--works of visual art lack universally accepted titles that permit searching by name. And, the number of works by most artists typically exceeds the output of novelists, composers or script writers." The Art Newspaper 06/19/08

Bargain Painting Turns Out To Be Authentic Rembrandt -- "The auction house thought the portrait was a 17th century Rembrandt knockoff, and valued it at just $3,100. But experts have confirmed "Rembrandt Laughing" -- bought for a bargain price of $4.5 million at an English auction house in October -- is a self-portrait by the Dutch master himself." Yahoo! (AP) 06/18/08

Man Accidentally Throws Out Hirst Painting -- "Chris Evans, the BBC Radio Two disc jockey, has accidentally thrown out a piece of artwork by Damien Hirst. Evans, 42, made the admission on his evening drive- time show, saying the print - worth thousands of pounds - was now lying in a charity shop waiting to be bought for a fraction of its true value." The Telegraph (UK) 06/12/08

Study: California Has Most Artists In US -- Among United States cities, greater Los Angeles ranks as the urban center with the most working artists and California is the top state by the same measure, according to a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts. Los Angeles Times 06/13/08

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that's it ~ have a great week.