Untitled (Three) by Fall Hot Shot Patrick Smith

We just announced the winners for the Fall 2006 Edition of Hey, Hot Shot! over on the competition’s blog. And the winners are….

Juliana Beasley
Joe Fornabaio
Hans Gindlesberger
Joseph O. Holmes
Mette Maersk
Chad Muthard
Victoria Rich
Sasha Rudensky
Patrick Smith
Shen Wei

The Fall Edition opening reception, featuring delicious top-shelf beer from HHS! sponsor Crumpler, is Wednesday, December 13 from 6–8pm. The show will be up from December 14–17, 2006.

In other good news, the Fall Hot Shots will be included in the first of its kind HHS! Yearbook, brought to you by Blurb — out this December! (In the for the opening reception, is what we’re hoping!)

As always, many thanks to our fantastic group of panelists, to Jeff Kirsch and Jesse Chan-Norris for all their hard work and commitment to the jb, and, of course, a big thank you out to all of the participants!

In addition to the winners who will be showing @ jb, there are Honorable Mentions too:

Joslin Van Arsdale, Alain Astruc, Meg Birnbaum, Karin Bubas, Alana Celii, Larissa Cleveland, Cary Conover, Rachel Herman, Alexandra Huddleston, Siri Kaur, Drew Kelly, Orrie King, Daniel Kopton, Suzette Lee, Nick Meyer, Stephen Miller, Graeme Mitchell, Mark Rubenstein, Lissa Rivera, Angie Smith, Sam Sweezy, Grant Willing, Christopher Young.

I am whupped from all the reviewing and deliberating, which was really quite agonizing this time around. I suppose having too much good stuff to choose from is a nice problem to have, but it was still really hard putting the final list together.

Holly Lynton | Solid Ground : Installation Views 3, originally uploaded by msjenbee.

Holly’s critically acclaimed exhibition Solid Ground has lots of images associated with it. Here’s a round up:

– images, statement, release, bio (on jenbekman.com)

– installation views of the exhibition, shot by the estimable Joseph O. Holmes) (on Flickr) – photos from the artist’s talk by JCN (on Flickr)

I’m very excited about this exhibition which is opening next Wednesday.. You can go to the gallery website to view images, or you can read the press release if you click the “read on” button at the bottom of this post.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE NEW WORLD 
November 1 – December 9, 2006

NEW YORK, NY – jen bekman is pleased to present Photographs from the New World, an exhibition of new work by James Deavin. The exhibition will be on view from November 1 – December 9, 2006, at jen bekman, located at 6 Spring Street, between Elizabeth and Bowery, New York, 10012.
Photographs from the New World documents user-generated landscapes in the online, virtual world Second Life.
Jen Bekman will host an opening reception for the artist on Wednesday, November 1, from 6:00 – 8:00pm at the gallery.
From being featured recently in Rob Walker’s ‘Consumed’ market trendspotting column in The New York Times Magazine to the surprising success of insider web sites devoted to the virtual world and its inhabitants, Second Life has begun to attract the sort of real world fervor that its fans experience when they log in and assume their alter egos. A real life corporate presence is emerging there – companies like Starwood, Intel, American Apparel and Penguin Books UK are getting in on the action building virtual versions of their businesses in SL.
Deavin says, “Second Life is a place where people can live out their dreams. Some people’s dreams are to have a bigger version of what they already have. Others’ fondest wish is to be a talking elephant from Mars. Second Life is not a ‘game’ – there is no ‘next level,’ no ‘level boss,’ there is no winning or losing. Rather, characters enter into complex relationships, build things, earn and spend money. In fact, the world turns over ten million dollars a month. This money is spent in the market place and certain consumer products have become ubiquitous: grand pianos, waterfalls, boats, Japanese gardens. If money were no object, is this how real life would look?”
Gallery director Jen Bekman observes, “I am naturally inclined to be interested in a visualization of a virtual world. I have been involved in virtual communities since the early nineties and it remains a big part of my everyday life, but only as text. Many of the photographers I work with create the fantastical from the mundane. In these photographs James is documenting other people’s manifestations of fantasy and uncovering their interpretations of what physical trappings provide happiness and comfort and/or signify success.”
About the Artist

James was born in 1973 in London in the UK. He graduated from King’s College in 1995, with a bachelor’s degree in Classics. His earliest assignment was traveling to Bosnia at the time of the ceasefire in 1995 with an aid convoy. Since then he has had documentary and portrait work published in magazines including the London Times, Sunday Review, W, Harper’s, Photoworks, 125 and Next Level. He has exhibited in various group shows including the inaugural Brighton Photo Biennial, Art and Commerce Emerging Photographers, and at jen bekman.
Photographs from the New World at jen bekman, 6 Spring Street.
Hours: Wednesday — Saturday, noon – 6pm or by private appointment.
For images or more information, please contact Lauren Cerand: 917.533.0103 or press@jenbekman.com.

Holly’s critically acclaimed exhibition Solid Ground closes this Saturday.
Tomorrow evening (Thursday) we’re hosting a Q+A with Holly and critic Paddy Johnson, she of Art Fag City fame. The gallery is wee, so please let us know if you’re planning on coming: rsvp AT jenbekman DOT com.

Artist Talk/Closing Reception
Thursday Oct 26 | 6pm-8pm
jen bekman
6 Spring St (between Elizabeth + Bowery)
NYC 10012
+1.212.219.0166

Check out more installation views of Holly’s exhibition, shot by the estimable Joseph O. Holmes.

The excellent Vince Aletti writes about Holly Lynton’s exhibition Solid Ground in this week’s edition of The New Yorker.

HOLLY LYNTON
Exploring the possibilities for fantasy in her own back yard, Lynton turns it into a wild kingdom for a series of color photographs that assume the point of view of a playful and inquisitive child. Lynton’s nearly naked little girl and a bare-chested friend take on a fairy-tale presence in a landscape rendered mysterious by worm’s-eye-view closeups. He’s a giant seen through a scrim of leaves; she’s a sprite, crouching to catch a sprinkler’s spray in her mouth. But some of the most intriguing images are unpopulated: a tunnel in the snow; a bird caught behind the netting on a raspberry bush; leaves, petals, dead bees, and dry ice floating in a plastic pool. Through Oct. 28. (Bekman, 6 Spring St. 212-219-0166.)

We’ll be hosting a Q+A between Holly and Paddy Johnson of Art Fag City on Thursday October 26 from 6pm – 8pm. (There will be wine + beer, the talk starts around 7ish.)

Space is very limited, so please RSVP: rsvp AT jenbekman DOT com.

The show remains on view through Saturday October 28, and the gallery is open Wednesday – Sunday from noon – 6pm or by appointment.

As I’ve discussed extensively with the talented, gorgeous and awesome La Lux, it is a time of Bold Tings.

Over on Personism, I’ve been pretty fired up lately about the under-representation of women in tech, in art and um, rather broadly speaking creativity. Rather than pointlessly bluster, I started (you have to start somewhere) with a List of Women Speakers for Your Conference.

In other news: we’ve got a whole new crop of excellent interns here at the jb. Be on the look out for their blogging debuts. (Alice Wells made her debut on the Hey, Hot Shot! blog just the other day.)

Speaking of HHS, as previously announced: we’re accepting entries for the Fall Edition of Hey, Hot Shot! The deadline is Tuesday November 7th @ 6pm, but why wait? Apply now.

Special guest panelists this season include Amit Gupta of Photojojo fame and Joerg Colberg who writes the must-read fine-art photography blog Conscientious.

The last edition got some terrific press:

Kate Bingaman was featured on Cool Hunting.

Rob Walker of my most favoriteist NYT Sunday Magazine column, Consumed gave Ernie Button a shout-out on his blog Murketing. (Did you know he has a blog? He does and it’s good.)

Paddy Johson, of Art Fag City fame, stopped by and liked what she saw.

This is the last season of HHS for the year – we’ll be announcing the Ultras in December and their group show will open in January.

Regarding our current exhibition, Solid Ground:

On Thursday October 26 I’ll be hosting an artist talk with Holly Lynton. She’ll talk about her current exhibition, Solid Ground and we’ll ply you with booze. Not to be missed! Reception from 6pm – 8pm, artist talk at 7.

You can stay up to date on gallery related events by subscribing to our email list.

NEW YORK, NY – jen bekman is pleased to present Solid Ground, an exhibition of new photographs by Holly Lynton. The exhibition will be on view from September 13 – October 28, 2006, at jen bekman, located at 6 Spring Street, between Elizabeth and Bowery, New York, 10012.

Solid Ground is comprised of fifteen c-print photographs. Titles such as Emberizidae, Supernal, and I Love Monday span the celestial to the mundane, much like the photos themselves, where commonplace elements are transformed into chimerical tableaus.

Jen Bekman will host an opening reception for the artist on Wednesday, September 13, from 6:00 – 8:00pm at the gallery.

Lynton says:

In my new series, Solid Ground, I photographed a series of events in my small back yard. My back yard is hardly the Serengeti, but after a trip to Tanzania, I became convinced there existed within it hints of the same beauty and danger. Instead of vultures eating a lion’s discards, we have sparrows eating raspberries. Instead of green mamba snakes, we have slugs, but there is a jungle at grass level from the slug’s point of view. In the image entitled Limax slugs climb over the tangled grass to occupy the glasses of sugary mojitos that have been left outside. I limit the visual information in each situation and remove the story or the context for an action, so that a fragmented narrative remains.

Gallery director Jen Bekman observes:

Lynton’s work is intimate without being sentimental. The most mundane elements of our daily lives – children at play, a suburban backyard- are woven into an otherworldly existence without employing artifice or fanfare.

About the Artist

Holly Lynton received her BA from Yale University, and a MFA from the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College. Her work has been exhibited at jen bekman, Mixed Greens, Wooster Projects, Lennon Weinberg Gallery, and Margaret Thatcher Projects all in New York: and at Ambrosino Gallery and Rocket Projects in Miami, the Jersey City Museum, and in London, England. She recently completed Emerge 8 at Aljira in Newark, NJ. Her photography has been published in The New Yorker, GQ, and New York, and her work has been reviewed in The Village Voice, NY Arts, and The New York Times.

Solid Ground at jen bekman, 6 Spring Street.
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, noon – 6pm or by private appointment.
For images or more information, please contact Lauren Cerand: 917.533.0103 or press@jenbekman.com.
To download this release as a PDF, click here.

Photography by Kate Bingaman

T-minus 3 hours until the Summer edition of Hey, Hot Shot opening reception! The reception will be from 6-8pm and refreshments will be provided by the awesome people over at Crumpler.

The showcase will be on view until September 10, 2006 so be sure to come on by and support these great photographers.

After a Hard Day’s Work by Dan Woods (from flickr pool)
Flickr has grown to be a trememendous website and grow more and more each day. There’s a great deal of fantastic photography flowing into the website therefore they created The Blink of an Eye contest. Tonight they will announce the five winners at Midtown Loft, 267 5th Avenue, 4th Floor from 6 – 9PM. (They say there’s air conditioning, so definitely a plus!) Jury members include: Sara Heinrichs, Catherine Jamieson, Kevin Meredith, Eliot Shepard and Ty Siscoe.

Also, I will also be updated the Hey, Hot Shot blog everyday until the submissions deadline to provide you with a taste of the submissions. Keep the submissions coming! Deadline is August 9th at noon!

The 3rd Ward, located in Brooklyn, will be showing two peices by Tema Stauffer in a group show. “Strange Instrument” opens this Friday, August 4, from 6-9pm and will be up through September 9. The 3rd Ward has also invited Tema to teach a class on Tuesdays beginning September 5th. Her class “Photographing at Night” will be offered to both members and nonmembers of The 3rd Ward. Check the website for more details.

The Morning News also interviewed Tema awhile back on her trip to New Orleans. Her interest in the American landscape and the American experience was heightened by the news coverage of the devastating hurricanes. While some of her photographs did not scream New Orleans, they did speak together in providing some eerie and mysterious feelings about the hurricanes and all that it left behind.

Remember that Tema also has some work shown right now in “Meditations in an Emergency“. So be sure to check it because Friday will be your last day to see the exhibition.

Our lovely gallery is hosting a cocktail reception, this Saturday from 4-6pm, with friends and members of MetaxuCafe, a Web community devoted to highlighting the best content from bloggers who write about books.

Featuring special items from Moleskine and Soft Skull Press for attendees who RSVP in advance to budparr@sonnetmedia.net .

So be sure to come down to mingle and take some time to see Meditations in an Emergancy!

Video Still from Sunday in the Country with Larry Rivers by John Glassie

It’s not that I’m curious. On the contrary, I am bored but it’s my duty to be attentive, I am needed by things as the sky must be above the earth. And lately, so great has their anxiety become, I can spare myself little sleep.
— Frank O’Hara, Meditations in an Emergency

NEW YORK, NY — jen bekman is pleased to present Meditations in an Emergency, a group exhibition of work in various mediums inspired by and interpreting Frank O’Hara’s poem of the same name. The exhibition will be on view from June 20 – August 4, 2006, at jen bekman, located at 6 Spring Street, between Elizabeth and Bowery, New York, 10012.

Jen Bekman will host an opening reception for the artists, all represented by the gallery, on Tuesday, June 20, from 6:00 – 8:00pm at the gallery.

From salad days at the Museum of Modern Art’s front desk to curating exhibitions and writing criticism later in life, Frank O’Hara (1926 – 1966) was a controversial figure in his time as today for both the content of his work and his refusal to draw formal distinctions between mediums. O’Hara was a pivotal figure during the particularly vibrant and creative era of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s; he was a prominent poet of the New York School and collaborated with many of the leading New York School painters as well. O’Hara’s synergetic spirit carried across media and genre and impacted a number of artistic realms.

Gallery director Jen Bekman originally planned on curating an exhibition of art interpreting Lunch Poems, probably O’Hara’s best-known collection, but ultimately decided that Meditations in an Emergency was most meaningful given the current political climate. Says Bekman, “The tenor of our culture now is that we’re in a constant state of panic and alarm and I like the idea of art and creativity providing calm in chaos or helping us to maintain composure in an unsteady moment. During the curatorial process I’ve really enjoyed the dialogue with each artist; seeing which part of the poem each artist responds to is fascinating. And of course there’s my obsession with O’Hara and the fact that he’s been a source of inspiration to me since my poetry-writing college days.”

Participating artists include Agnes Barley, Mara Bodis-Wollner, Christine Callahan, Christine Collins, Benjamin Donaldson, John Glassie, Anne Hall, Addie Juell, Holly Lynton, Dana Miller, Katie Murray, Leon Reid, Eliot Shepard, Tema Stauffer and Jeffrey Teuton.

Meditations in an Emergency at jen bekman, 6 Spring Street.
Hours: Wednesday, Friday & Saturday, noon – 6pm and Thursday noon – 8pm, or by private appointment.

Hey jb readers! Don’t be a loser with a sprained ankle like me and come down to the gallery! Tomorrow is the last day to view the Spring, Hey Hot Shot! showcase!

Photography by Spring Hey, Hot Shot!, Ian Baguskas

We’re busy bees here at Jen Bekman! The panel discussion on Photo Blogs is tonight at the School of ICP with panelists like Eliot Shepard, Jen Bekman, and Travis Ruse. Read more about it a couple posts down.

The Spring Hey, Hot Shots will open tomorrow with a reception from 6-8pm. As I said in the previous post, the awesome guys at Crumpler will supply beer, as part of their Beer for Bags event. You just might be able to win a free bag!

Exhibition Dates + Hours
Thursday through Sunday, June 8-11
Noon – 6pm (til 8 on Thursday)

You can also view some of the work the Hot Shots submitted on our flickr site and read some of their interviews on the HHS blog.

SlideLuck PotShow is coming up June 17th. The deadline for submissions is June 5, with the theme being “Grace.” Our Spring Hot Shot, Casey Kelbaugh, started the event in Seattle and many other cities. Great way to combine photography with audio (or silence.. depends on what you’re going for) and with people bringing in food, how great is that! I would love the combination of someone’s jambalaya with someone else’s chow mein. Mmm, food and art. Great combo! Another Spring Hot Shot, Sarah Small (HHS interview) also will be showing a slide show in the upcoming event. Lots of the jb family have contributed to the fun gathering!

Also, our represented artists have been working hard on the next show, Meditations in an Emergency, which will be opening June 20th. Read what all the artists were given as inspiration: Frank O’Hara’s prose poem, Meditations in an Emergency.

The awesome guys over at Crumpler are hosting an event this week (June 3-11th). It is what the title suggests: Beer for Bags! Simple idea that involves bringing a specified brand of beer and amount to the store and trade it in for a bag, an ipod case, or even a bean bag chair! All the beer will be dedicated to a party at the end of the week. Crumpler makes fantastic messenger bags, great photo bags for your equipment, and other bags to protect your goodies. They come in all sorts of colors to fulfill your style.

The store is so kind enough to offer some of their refreshments to the Spring Hey! Hot Shot reception this coming Wednesday! So come on by and maybe we’ll have some promotional goodies!

“Photoblogs- Photography meets Social Computing”

Photography by Eliot Shepard

Photoblogging is probably the easiest way to display artwork and be able to get widespread attention. Travis Ruse, photo editor and photographer started documenting his commute on the MTA and got widespread attention with an interview in the NY Times. What makes a successful photoblog, may you ask? Well, what are you doing next Tuesday at 6:30pm? The American Society of Professional Photography is hosting a panel discussion at the School of ICP about the popularity of photoblogs and the art of it all. $5.00 for ASPP MEMBERS// $20.00 Non-Members and Guests

The speakers include: Photographer / photo editor Travis Ruse will show his critically acclaimed EXPRESS TRAIN photoblog; our own represented photographer Eliot Shepard will show how his photoblog promotes his editorial photography; together with gallery impresario and technologist Jen Bekman. They will discuss the larger context—what photoblogging means now and what it’s future might bring. Sam Merrell will moderate.

Amit Gupta speaking about his blog.

The Apple Store in Soho featured the seventh NYC Photobloggers event yesterday night at 7:30pm. Great discussions were held about the art of photoblogging. Lots of the jb family have presented there before such as Jen Bekman, Eliot Shepard, Jake Dobkin, Joe Holmes, Youngna Park, Laura Holder, David Gallagher, Jesse Chan-Norris (our tech guru!). Last night’s line up includes Jay Parkinson of darkshapesprowl.com, Kevin Walsh of Forgotten NY, Kara Canal & Amit Gupta of Photojojo, Ed Leveckis of leckis.net, Matt Weber of Urban Photos, and Justin Ouellette of chromogenic.net. The event was hosted by Jake Dobkin and sponsored by Gothamist and NYC Photobloggers.

New Yorkers, I agree it is quite crappy outside with all the rain and such but have you seen Our Greatest Hits yet? If not, Saturday is your last day! So drop by and check out artwork from all represented artists.

The Spring Hot Shots have interviews posted on the HHS blog, so get some incite from the winners! Remember the reception is June 7th, 6-8pm!

Photography by Donna Alberico

If you haven’t noticed, the new Hey, Hot Shots! were announced yesterday. Head over to the blog to read the artist’s statements and other info. I’ve compiled a flickr set with the photographs that the Hot Shots submitted. The gallery is currently very busy making this show happen, so remember to join us on Wednesday, June 7th from 6-8pm for the reception. The show will be up from June 7 to the 11th. There will be more posts leading up the the big opening with artist interviews so be sure to check the blogs!

In the meantime, come to the gallery to see Our Greatest Hits, works from all our represented artists. It will be up until June 3rd.

I’m very excited about Meditations in an Emergancy, exhibition featuring our represented artists interpreting one of Frank O’Hara’s prose poems. The date of the show is scheduled to open mid-June. More details will be revealed soon!

chip’s drawing of a robot from outer space, 2005

It’s that time again – We’re very excited to announce the finalists for the Spring ‘06 Edition of Hey, Hot Shot!.
The Spring Edition Showcase will open with a reception for the artists on the evening of Wednesday June 7, 2006, from 6-8pm. The showcase will be on view Thursday June 8 from noon – 8pm and Friday June 9 – Sunday June 11 from noon – 6pm.
Without further ado, we present to you the Spring 2006 Hot Shots:

donna alberico

ian baguskas

andrea chu

alison grippo

raul gutierrez

michael itkoff

casey kelbaugh

andrea longacre-white

stefan simikich

sarah small

Special thanks go to our awesome, fabulous and excellent panel for their insight humor and hard work. And the other people who help make it happen: Jesse Chan-Norris and Jeff Kirsch for their technical prowess, Antony Van Couvering for hosting our panel meetings, Lauren Cerand for PR support, and also just for being her amazing self and last but not least the Spring intern crew: Anna Wolfgang, chief Hey, Hot Shot! blog editor, Christine Dillion (editor of the jen bekman News Blog) as well as recent arrivals Sophie Lvoff + Jane Tam.
It’s always tough to narrow it down to the final ten, so we’re also happy to include a list of great photographers in our honorable mentions category:
Keliy Anderson-Staley, Dave Barry, Michelle Bruzzese, Sylvie Buchler, Samantha Casolari, Jessika Creedon, Eric Ray Davidson, Amy Eckert, Bethany Fancher, Rachel Hawthorn, Brandon Herman, Simone Lueck, Sara Macel, Jeremy Mazzenga, Liz Nielsen, Leah Oates, Pascal Shirley, Don Simon, Joanns Simpson, Michelle Westmark, Jen Williams and Shiigeki Yoshida.