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.

Here is a great opportunity to check out some work by jen bekman artist Dana Miller! Dana will be participating in open studio hours on Saturday, May 6th and Sunday, May 7th where the public can come in and see her photographs in person. Here are the important details:

Dana Miller’s Open Studio Weekend
195 Chrystie Street (between Stanton + Rivington)

Studio 601

The hours you can visit are: May 6th, 3-9pm and May 7th, 1-6pm. (That’s today and tomorrow!)
Stop by and say hi!

For all of you out there who couldn’t make it last Sunday to the Jen@Joe reception, check out some pictures we put up on Flickr. (Thanks to Antony Van Couvering for playing photographer!)

Hello everyone! This is just a reminder to keep Sunday, April 30th from 2-4 pm free so you can join us for our Jen@Joe reception. Join fellow friends of jen bekman and Joe, The Art of Coffee for socializing and refreshments at the Joe location on 13th between University Place and Fifth Avenue.

Hope to see you there!

How exciting! Page 14 of the April 26, 2006 edition of the New York Sun featured photos of the SVA Mentors dinner. And who is right smack in the middle? Ms. Bekman herself! The dinner which was held af the The Modern (the restaurant in MoMA) was hosted by Stephen Frailey, the SVA Photography Dept. Chair AND a Hey, Hot Shot! panelist.

Nicholas Fevelo Lobster Liberation

As mentioned a few weeks back, Jen has been acting as a mentor for the SVA Mentors program in its photography department. We posted some work by Jen’s mentee Nicholas Fevelo, BUT I failed to tell you more about the program and where you can see the work in person!

Taken from the SVA Mentors site:

SVA established the Mentors program in 1992 to introduce new talent to the New York City arts community. Stephen Frailey, chair of the BFA Photography Department and curator of the exhibition, says, “Students at SVA learn from professionals on a daily basis, but Mentors goes even further. This is a unique opportunity to take their work to a new level and reach a new audience. In a sense, students know the city is watching, and it shows.”

The Mentors show, including Nick’s work, will be on view at the SVA Gallery (located at 601 West 26 Street, 15th floor) until April 29th. For more information check out the SVA Mentors site.

Photography from Tema Stauffer

jen bekman artists Ben Donaldson and Tema Stauffer are included in the April edition of Group Show! Group Show is a monthly online gallery featuring the work of 24 emerging and established photographers.

Also included in the April Group Show is Casey Kelbaugh. Kelbaugh is a photographer known for founding a great project for the arts/photography community called Slideluck Potshow.

For those unfamiliar with the event, Slideluck Potshow is a slideshow and a potluck to which members of NYC’s arts, photography, and media communities bring food, drink and slides. The evening begins with a couple hours of dining on the home-cooked delights of participants, while drinking and mingling. Following the potluck everyone gathers to watch the slideshow of participants work. The location changes with every event and the next is yet to be determined. Each event has a particular theme and submissions follow a deadline so if you are interested make sure you check the Slideluck Potshow website as more details become available.

Bruce Grant, Fearful Symmetry # 2

Well-known photographer and critic Bruce Grant, who received an honorable mention for the Winter ‘06 Edition of Hey, Hot Shot! at jen bekman, will lead an open Postive Focus critique at Safe-T-Gallery at 111 Front St. in DUMBO, Brooklyn on April 11th at 7 pm.

Positive Focus was founded to provide a Brooklyn community of emerging photo-artists with a supportive environment for artistic development, youth education and community outreach services. So if you are not already a member, this is a great opportunity to check it out (i.e. bring work and they might critique it if there is time).

Here is a little clip of what nyc.photobloggers.org contributor, Tim O’Connor had to say about Grant’s work:

Bruce Grant’s pictures have an unforced grace that comes very close to feeling casual. You suspect they might be fun to take. His subjects – mostly ordinary objects and patterns encountered on long walks through his native Philadelphia – are familiar to any American urban dweller. But you have not seen doors and air conditioners, signs and telephone poles, walls and chainlink fences like these before.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Bruce Grant’s work, check out his fotolog and Flickr pages. You can also find the complete post about this event on nyc.photobloggers.org here.

For those of you who are heading south some time soon, jen bekman artist Holly Lynton is participating in a group show at Rocket-Projects in Miami called THE SOCIAL BODY, opening this Saturday April 8th.

Here is the description:
“This exhibition explores the common disparity between the classical
and conceptual uses for the body and its actual use in everyday life.
The body has typically been isolated and idealized through art,
whether to provide a model for representational scale and beauty, or
to show how the body belongs to the person, as do all of the
significations attached to it. Useful as both of these approaches may
be, they also push us away from any comprehension of how the body
exists as a means of social expression. In most cases, we cannot help
but contribute to the context of social expression which the body
controls. From an early age, we are made superconscious of the type of
body that we have, how we perceive its merits and its shortcomings,
and how others perceive them as well. The disparity between one manner
of perception and the latter fills in many of the gaps of early
socialization. Bodies have a language all of their own, which may be a
product of ethnic or sexual identity, a response to the population in
which we move, and to a sense of our innate self-worth.”

Sounds like an interesting show! Holly’s work at jen bekman has included many self portraits shot at very close range and explore events in her day to day life. For images of Holly’s work check here.

Chiaroscuro -n. pl. chi·a·ro·scu·ros

1. The technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation.


2. The arrangement of light and dark elements in a pictorial work of art.

I’ve had this photo sitting on my desktop for a little over a week. I “borrowed” it from Addie’s personal pictures of her opening.

I love art with high contrast. Extreme shadows juxtaposed against extreme light sources make me happy in an odd, but satisfying way. This picture of the gallery at night is a good example – I’m just a little sad I didn’t take it myself.

Ms. Juell looked as cute as ever last night while she listened to everyone gush over how wonderful her work is.

People really love the endearing quality of her photographs – much like their creator you could say! Two of the night’s favorites were definitely “Manifest Destiny” and “There Are No Wrong Answers.” Everybody loves those dancing gnomes. . .

The nice weather brought out a really great crowd who gave the whole evening a friendly atmophere. The “Addie Juell Lovefest” was especially delightful with the three beautiful bouquets of flowers Addie received before the opening. . .

AND our delicious selection of colorful chocolates!

For even more photos from the opening of Addie Juell | The Way It Is check out our photoset on flickr.

Addie Juell | The Way It Is will be on view at jen bekman through April 29.

There Are No Wrong Answers, 2004

Moonshot lovers unite! Your favorite caffeinated beer will be making a second appearance tonight at the opening of Addie Juell’s first show at jen bekman. Join us tonight to celebrate Addie and her show, The Way It Is, from 6-8pm. AND if you have any doubts about why you should join us this evening check out our last post about Addie’s photographs.

jen bekman is located at 6 Spring Street ( between Elizabeth and Bowery).

Antony Van Couvering was kind enough to take some installation shots of the Winter Edition showcase. Check out his photoset on Flickr.