Landscape Missing a Byte (2009) by Jessica Eaton

We hope you’ll join us at the gallery this Friday, March 5, 2010 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the opening reception for the Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 Second Edition Exhibition, featuring fifteen works by the five photographers newest to our Hot Shot roster: Marisa Aragona, Leah Tepper Byrne, Alejandro Cartagena, Jessica Eaton and Justin James King. All five photographers will be present at the opening, so stop on by to say hello in person!

The exhibition will remain on view from March 6 through March 20, 2010.

We had the chance to do Q&As with each of these talented photographers a few months ago over on the HHS! blog, but in case you missed them, head on over there to learn a bit more about the artists:
+ Marisa Aragona
+ Leah Tepper Byrne
+ Alejandro Cartagena
+ Jessica Eaton
+ Justin James King

We’re also celebrating the fifth anniversary of the competition in 2010 and offering photographers more opportunities than ever before. HHS! 2010 will open for submissions on March 15, 2010. To be automatically notified of the competition’s opening, sign up for the low-volume newsletter, keep your eye on the HHS! site and follow us on Twitter.

Ty With Gun by Nina Berman from Marine Wedding

Jen Bekman Gallery artist Nina Berman spoke with Mike Melia of PBS’ Art Beat to discuss her work, particularly the series Marine Wedding, which will be exhibited at the upcoming 2010 Whitney Biennial. In the article, Associate Curator of the Biennial Gary Carrion-Murayari says of Berman’s work:

You come away with a real emotional connection to the individual she is depicting. Anybody could take a picture of someone who is disfigured and make a shocking image. These go beyond that and get to the emotional experience of soldiers.

PBS’ site also features an audio interview with Nina. Click HERE to read the full text and to hear Mike and Nina’s conversation about her exceptional bodies of work, Purple Hearts, Homeland and Marine Wedding.

Danziger Projects (James Desk) from Workspaces by Joseph O. Holmes

JBG artist and 20×200 edition-maker Joseph O. Holmes has been included in the upcoming show The Year in Pictures at Danziger Projects, opening this Thursday. The show, which has been put on annually since 2007, is curated from work that has been featured in the last year on the popular Year in Pictures blog of gallery owner James Danziger.

Danziger writes,

The 15 contemporary photographers featured in the show represent 9 different countries – Saudi Arabia, Korea, Denmark, Britain, Mexico, Japan, France, Canada, and the U.S.. Over half have work I had originally only seen via the internet, evidencing the well-known power of the web as a connector, and what is sometimes taken for granted – the web’s unrivalled capacity as a transmitter of photographic images.

Earlier this year, Joe and Danziger crossed paths when Joe was working on his Workspace series, candidly documenting the unique spaces in which people do their work.

About the series, Joe writes,

Because I document a space exactly as I find it, never arranged for the camera, the Workspace project is necessarily a spontaneous process. I can’t, for example, call ahead and explain what I’m after without inviting the destruction of what I hope to capture. Lately I’ve been finding workspaces by walking in off the street with camera and tripod and simply asking (though “simply asking” doesn’t quite convey the complex dance of explanation, skepticism, persuasion, and fascination that goes back and forth). What I end up capturing, then, turns out to be the work that was interrupted to answer the door.

Danziger responded, “As I like both my workspace and Joe’s work, I was happy to co-operate and now his picture (above) is about to be all that remains as a visual record of where I’ve sat for the last five years, often writing this blog!”

Congratulations to Joe and to Danziger Projects on the show, which we cannot wait to see!

You can view the full Workspace series on Joe’s website and grab limited-edition prints on 20×200. Keep your eyes peeled because we’ll be opening a solo-show of Joe’s work later this year at Jen Bekman Gallery.

The Year in Pictures
Danziger Projects
Opening reception: January 21, 6-8 p.m.
534 West 24th Street
New York, New York 10011 USA

Featuring: Jowhara AlSaud, Chan-Hyo Bae, Thomas Bangsted, Mandy Corrado, Stephen Gill, Joseph Holmes, Alejandra Laviada, Greg Miller, David Schoerner, Patrick Smith, Tommy Ton, Scout Tufankjian, Oliver Warden, Katherine Wolkoff and Tsukasa Yokozawa.

West Nineteenth Street (Yellow Dress) by Joseph O. Holmes

Marine Wedding by Nina Berman

Jen Bekman Gallery is pleased to announce that represented artist and 2007 Hot Shot Nina Berman and 2005 Hot Shot Curtis Mann have been selected as 2010 Whitney Biennial artists.

Berman’s first solo show with Jen Bekman Gallery in 2007, Purple Hearts, the ground-breaking work that placed Berman in the Biennial, received international attention and acclaim. In a review for The New York Times, critic Holland Cotter proclaimed, “the images add up to a complex and desolating anti-war statement.” Purple Hearts received a tremendous response both locally and internationally. The gallery presented Berman’s second exhibition, Homeland, in October 2008.

Both Berman and Mann have released editions on Jen Bekman Projects’ online print program, 20×200.

The 2010 Whitney Biennial is being curated by Francesco Bonami, in collaboration with the Whitney’s Gary Carrion-Murayari, who will be associate curator. This will be the 75th in the series of Whitney Annual and Biennial exhibitions, inaugurated in 1932 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. The show—which is scaled back to exhibit just 55 artists at only one location in 2010—opens to the public on February 25th and runs through May 30th.

Tree Tops, from the series Somewhere in Israel by Curtis Mann

G.I. Goat by Nina Berman

Howon-dong | 40” x 50” | Edition of 5 | Digital C-Print
Larger views and image details are available on our Flickr page

Jen Bekman Gallery is pleased to announce the extension of  A Square through November 14th. Hosang Park is one of two artists to be awarded representation by Jen Bekman Gallery in 2008 through the international photography competition, Hey, Hot Shot!

Park, a Korea-based artist, began taking aerial photographs of parks that are often developed alongside luxury apartment buildings in Seoul. His resulting images in A Square flatten the spaces into geometric surfaces reminiscent of modernist abstraction.

Recently DLK Collection posted a review of the exhibition; there is more to Park’s photographs than meets the on-screen eye. Associate Director of the gallery, Jeffrey Teuton, also talks about the subtle details of Park’s work in the 20×200 reprise of the artist’s two editions.

Untitled (Hanoi no.2) by Hot Shot Kelly Shimoda

We at JBP are an understanding group of art lovers, so we have extended the deadline for Hey, Hot Shot! to Tuesday, October 27th at 11:00 p.m. (EDT). THAT’S TODAY!!

The exposure Hey, Hot Shot! affords is unbeatable—editions of each selected Hot Shot’s work will be released on 20×200! Every applicant is considered for 20×200 editions. Check out work by former Hot Shots we’ve featured on 20×200 in the past.

Buona fortuna!

Time flies so we want to remind you that the deadline to apply to Jen Bekman Projects’ international photography competition, Hey, Hot Shot! is upcoming on Friday, October 23rd @ 8 p.m (EDT).

Hey, Hot Shot! offers photographers at all stages of their careers unrivaled opportunities for exposure and advancement. All entrants have their work reviewed by top-shelf panelists and enjoy the potential to be promoted online, selected for 20×200, and exhibited at Jen Bekman Gallery. Now in its fifth year, the competition has been acclaimed by curators, critics, educators and journalists alike.

Untitled (Bondi Baths, Sydney, Australia) by 2007 Hot Shot Carlo Van de Roer

The guidelines are simple: contenders submit three photographs from a single body of work using an online upload tool, with an entry fee of $60.

Incomparable Exposure:
Our panel will select five Hot Shots for inclusion in a two-week group show at Jen Bekman Gallery. In conjunction with the exhibition, editions of each photographer’s work will be released on 20×200.

Additional Benefits:
Each Hot Shot is awarded a $500 honorarium.
At year’s end, two Ultras will be selected from 2009’s ten Hot Shots. The Ultras are represented by Jen Bekman Gallery and slated for solo exhibitions.

All entrants are reviewed for participation in 20×200; entering the competition is the only opportunity for photographers to have their work considered.

In addition, as always, our writers will select contenders to feature daily on the Hey, Hot Shot! blog throughout the entry period.

Apply now:
We only accept submissions online, via this website.
The deadline for entries is Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 8 p.m (EDT).

Hot Shots will be announced on Monday, November 30, 2009.

There is a $60 handling fee for your entry.

Submissions are open to everyone, from anywhere in the world!

Questions?:
Check out our informative FAQ, follow us on Twitter or find us on Facebook.

Interested in seeing work from previous Hot Shots? Check out the index for all previous Hot Shots, visit the Hey, Hot Shot! blog or look at our photo sets on flickr.

Apply Now!

Dongbaek-dong by Hosang Park (detail)

Part of what makes the photographs work in Hosang Park’s A Square is the myriad of entry points into the photographs. In Dongbaek-dong, my eye moves like a snake through the images and between all the subtle details.

When I first unpacked the photographs, my favorite find was the two abandoned bicycles in the pond (above). In order to help show these details in the work, we have created four detail images of each photograph that is included in the show. Moving clockwise through each image, the detail shots help to bring this amazing work closer to those of you who cannot make it in to the gallery.

To check out all the detail shots head over to the gallery’s Flickr page.

Dongbaek-dong by Hosang Park (detail)

Dongbaek-dong by Hosang Park (detail)

Dongbaek-dong by Hosang Park (detail)

Dongbaek-dong by Hosang Park

For his upcoming exhibition, A Square, photographs of man-made Korean parks surrounding luxury high-rise buildings, Hosang is looking at areas that are created to bring people out of their homes and bring them together. However, he says of his photographs:

I find that showing the parks in this way reflects the characteristics of the Korean metropolis where I live. While a park might be associated with rest and play, these areas are increasingly used commercially as a means to boost property values. It would, after all, be hard to have discussions or take rest in such places. Likewise, for people in contemporary Korea, days are compressed in terms of time and space and taking a rest in a small downtown area doesn’t seem to have any meaning at all.

Have Park’s parks lost out to video games such as Second Life perhaps? James Deavin’s work from his 2006 solo show, Photographs From The New World explores where perhaps the people have gone. 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?

Untitled (interior) by James Deavin

Are the parks in Park’s photos just as much a fabrication of an ideal as what Deavin found in Second Life? Is one more real than the other, just because it physically exists? Is the online world winning out against our real lives?

Though the Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 First Edition Exhibition is only up at JB Gallery for a few more days, on Tuesday, September 29th, you’ll have another opportunity to mingle with Hot Shots. Team JBP is hosting the first-ever Hey, Hot Shot! Confab + Print Trade at White Rabbit from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. Come mingle with past and former Hot Shots, esteemed panelists, contenders and fellow artists.

Space is limited, so please RSVP to RSVP@heyhotshot.com.

We’ll also be having a Print Trade! To participate, bring an 8.5” x 11” (or smaller) photographic print of your own and leave the party with another artist’s work! When you RSVP, please send a jpeg (800 pixels wide, 72 dpi) of the print you plan to bring to RSVP@heyhotshot.com.

We’ll also have drink specials, giveaways from our generous sponsors at Arlo/Artists and Crumpler—with a few surprises from JBP as well—and ample opportunities to meet fellow photographers and artists in the JBP community.

If you’re interested in applying to Hey, Hot Shot! and want to know more about the competition, more information is available on the site. Or, come by the confab and ask us about it in-person.

Faering, 2007 by Michelle Arcila

Why don’t you join the New Museum as they lead two groups of tours around LES galleries! It is this Sunday, September 13 with a group leaving at noon and another at 3 p.m. Both groups meet in the New Museum Lobby and take off from there. Each tour is different so come to both!

The JB Gallery’s Associate Director, Jeffrey Teuton (me) will be around to talk about the current Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 First Edition Exhibition that is currently on view, as well as other Jen Bekman Projects, like the Hey, Hot Shot! competition itself and 20×200. The show looks great so I suggest you take advantage and get here before it comes down on September 19!

LES Gallery Tour Group One 12 PM @ The New Museum Lobby
DCKT Contemporary (I love the current show, LOVE), Jen Bekman Gallery, CANADA, James Fuentes LLC, Rental,Invisible-Exports, Lisa Cooley, Rachel Uffner, Number 35.

LES Gallery Tour Group Two 3 PM @ The New Museum Lobby
Sue Scott, Thierry Goldberg Projects (a great painting show is up), Eleven Rivington, KumuKumu, Nicelle Beauchene, LMAK Projects, Small A Project, On Stellar Rays, Sloan Fine Art, SUNDAY.

New Museum
235 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
212.219.1222
MAP

Be there or be boring and sleep all day.

Laundromat by Colleen Plumb

If you are in Fort Collins, CO you can start off your Labor Day weekend by going to the opening reception of JBG, 20×200 artist, AND Hey, Hot Shot! 2008 Ne Plus Ultra Colleen Plumb’s Animals Are Outside Today at the Center for Fine Art Photography, this Friday, September 4th.

If you can’t make it, check out Colleen’s available 20×200 prints. Don’t forget about free shipping on orders over $50 (before shipping + handling + taxes!) through Monday, September 7 @ midnight EST.

Center for Fine Art Photography
Friday, September 4, 2009

400 North College Avenue
(in the Poudre River Arts Center)
Fort Collins, CO 80524
MAP

The exhibition will be on view through September 26, 2009.

American Heritage Encyclopedia by Hot Shot Parsley Steinweiss

Mark your calendars! Before you know it it will be Thursday, September 10th! On this day from 6-8pm be sure to swing by Jen Bekman Gallery to see our Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 First Edition Group Exhibition. You’ll see photographs from a brilliant bunch:

Michelle Arcila
Daniel Cheek
Mike Sinclair
Parsley Steinweiss
and Kurt Tong

See you there!

Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring Street
(between Elizabeth + Bowery)
New York, New York 10012

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday – Saturday | Noon – 6pm
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 10th, 6pm – 8pm
On View: September 10 through September 19, 2009

Untitled by Mike Sinclair

Since the 2009 First Edition Hot Shots were announced at the beginning of June, everyone at Jen Bekman Projects has been excitedly looking at the photographers whose work will be hanging in the Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 First Edition Group Exhibition opening September 9, 2009 here at JBG.  One of those Hot Shots, Mike Sinclair, caught my and Jeffrey’s eye with his spectacular artist blog.

I think Youngna said it best when she wrote that Sinclair “takes large ephemeral portraits of crowds at sun-soaked fairgrounds, beaches, and baseball games capturing a sense of nostalgic Americana that many of us get lost in, but hardly look at with any distance.” The work on the blog continues in this vein offering images, most recently, from the Missouri State Fair.

Untitled by Mike Sinclair

I’m a sucker for portraiture so I can’t stop looking at images like the one above. Everything from the subject’s poncho to her modest toe ring to the bangs flowing from her visor describe something normal and everyday, but her posture and Sinclair’s lighting transform it into something out of 16th century Dutch paintings. Nothing is particularly invasive or exploitative about what Sinclair captures in the festival goers—what he captures is honest and true.

When asked about the best advice he’s ever received as a photographer (and/or a human), he responded that his wife told him: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Sinclair seems to view every subject with new but knowing eyes.

I’m excited to see more of his work in the upcoming Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 First Edition Group Exhibition opening September 9, 2009. Stay tuned for more!

Jen Bekman personally took to the Hey, Hot Shot! blog yesterday to introduce the project’s new Associate Director, Alan Rapp. I won’t repeat too much of the eloquent Ms. Bekman’s introduction (you can read the full post), but here is a brief bit about Alan and the path that led him to Jen Bekman Projects:

Alan recently joined the JBP team as the Associate Director of Hey, Hot Shot!. As our intrepid panelist Nion McEvoy can attest, we’re awfully lucky to have him! Alan arrived here in NYC about a year ago, leaving behind SF and his plum role as Senior Editor of art, design & photography titles at Chronicle Books. Nion—Chronicle’s Chairman and CEO —was recently telling me how hard it’s been to fill Alan’s shoes, giving me the opportunity to proudly announce our good fortune. (There might’ve been a little bit of “Nyah! Nyah!” in there, not that I’m competitive or anything.)

It is a busy time for Alan to come aboard and we are pleased to have him.

The 2009 Second Edition of HHS! is currently open for submissions! The deadline for entries is Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 8pm (EDT).

And the gallery is in full swing for the upcoming opening of the Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 First Edition Group Exhibition.

HHS! 2009 First Edition Group Exhibition Opens September 9th

Artforum by Parsley Steinweiss

Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 First Edition Group Exhibition
Please join us at the gallery Wednesday, September 9, 2009 from 6-8 p.m. at a reception for the artists.

The exhibition will be on view from September 10 through September 19, 2009 and features photographs by 2009’s First Edition Hot Shots: Michelle Arcila, Daniel Cheek, Mike Sinclair, Parsley Steinweiss and Kurt Tong.

See you there!

As Youngna posted over on the Hey, Hot Shot! blog, PetaPixel, the photography blog geared towards the tech-savvy, has an interview up with our very own two-time Hot Shot and Jen Bekman artist, Joseph Holmes. In it, he talks about his popular blog, joe’s nyc, his work-flow, which camera he takes out on the streets and how he got acquainted with Jen Bekman Projects.

New York Times Digital by Joseph Holmes

Here’s a wonderful sentiment from Joseph when asked about his goal in photography:

My goal is to continue to explore and learn. Photography isn’t a journey with a final destination, it’s a life-long process of discovery. That sounds corny, but it’s important: photography is infinitely deep, and becoming a photographer never ends. I’m a beginner, and that’s something I embrace, not rush away from.

Universal Spring by Joseph Holmes

With that in mind, check out joe’s nyc and visit the archives to see Joseph’s work from the very beginning, dating all the way back to 2004! I’ve chosen a few of my favorite images from Joseph’s Workspace series.

Don’t forget to head over to PetaPixel for Joseph’s full interview!

Jen Bekman Projects is happy to announce the opening of the 2009 Second Edition Hey, Hot Shot! competition.

Entries will be accepted now through Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. EDT.

The premier international photography competition, Hey, Hot Shot! offers photographers at all stages of their careers unrivaled opportunities for exposure and advancement.

All entrants have their work reviewed by top-shelf panelists and enjoy the potential to be promoted online (more than sixty were featured here on the Hey, Hot Shot! blog last season alone!), selected for 20×200 and exhibited in our New York gallery. Now in its fifth year, the competition has been acclaimed by curators, critics, educators and journalists alike.

A panel of seasoned photography professionals—including founder Jen Bekman, photography book evangelist and publisher Darius Himes, Aperture Foundation publisher Lesley A. Martin, former Creative Director of Colors magazine and photographer Stefan Ruiz and Chronicle Books chairman and CEO Nion McEvoy—review all the photographs that are entered.

The guidelines are simple: contenders submit three photographs from a single body of work, using an online upload tool, with an entry fee of $60. The 2009 Second Edition will add new features and more benefits for all entrants—among the many reasons why Hey, Hot Shot! remains one of the most desirable photography competitions around. Stay tuned for details!

So what are you waiting for? Get your work out there: Apply Now!
We only accept submissions online.

The deadline for entries is Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 8pm EDT.

Hot Shots will be announced on Monday, November 30, 2009.

There is a $60 handling fee for your entry.
Submissions are open to everyone, from anywhere in the world!
The competition is now open.

Questions?

Check out our informative and frequently updated FAQ, follow us on Twitter or find us on Facebook.

Orb 5 (Long Island, New York), by Carlo Van de Roer

Today’s editions on 20×200 are by photographer Carlo Van de Roer. Van de Roer was a Fall 2007 Hot Shot who has seen his work on the walls of the gallery, and now is offering his fifth and sixth edition prints on 20×200.

Today’s edition prints are super special as all of the print sales will go directly to Carlo! From Jen’s newsletter:

We’re releasing Orb 5 as a new kind of benefit edition, one offered specifically in support of the artists themselves. In this case, all profits from the sales of this print are going toward funding Carlo’s critically acclaimed, ambitious Portrait Machine Project. The project also happens to be an expensive one, as the equipment he uses to make the portraits is costly.

Doing an edition like this puts the spotlight on 20×200’s ability to directly support artists in their practice — it’s one of the things that really drives me to want to make the site a sustainable, successful endeavor. As you all know, I work with lots of artists; what causes many of them to give up on making art is something I’m all-too-familiar with. Unsurprisingly, money is probably the biggest obstacle. It’s all too easy for the making of art to become a luxury, especially these days. By participating in 20×200 as a collector, you’re a patron. You’re helping them not give up.

Yes, you read that right. With just a few clicks, you can help yourself get some excellent art and help an artist keep on keeping on! How fantastic is that? Click on over to 20×200 to enact a mutually beneficial purchase now!

I’m particularly fond of the Orbs photographs, which I wrote about here last summer. I was amazed to discover that there is a burgenoning population of people on our planet that believe that lens flare is more than just lens flare. It’s true, and it is this fascination that started Van de Roer on the project. You can see and read more coverage of the Orbs project:
but does it float, The Exposure Project, design work life, ISO50 Blog, Abecedarian, Dossier Journal,Beautiful Decay,Dear Ada, SeeSaw Designs.

More about The Portrait Machine Project, which, yes, I also love here:
The Portrait Machine Project site, The Moment Blog (NYTimes.com), Interview Magazine

Rose Room, Tustin, California, 2008

Brad Moore is enjoying a busy summer schedule of shows. He won the Best in Show award for the Works of Man Exhibition at The Center for Fine Art Photography, in Fort Collins, Colorado. The show will have a reception this Friday July 3, and will remain on view through July 25, 2009.

Kermore Lane, Stanton, California, 2007

Later this month Brad will be showing in Texas at the Houston Center for Photography’s 27th Anniversary Membership Exhibition. The exhibition will open July 10 with a reception from 6 – 8, and will remain on view through August 23, 2009.

To finish off the summer with panache, Brad’s work will be featured in The Art of Photography Show 2009. An opening reception gala will be held on August 29 at the Lyceum Theatre Gallery. The show was curated by Charlotte Cotton, Curator and Head of the Photography Department at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

In addition to all of the above, Brad won the Grad Prize for his slide show he entered in the Palm Springs Photo Festival, was a nominee for the New York Photo Awards Fine Art Series, and was selected for the American Photography 25 Anniversary Annual which will be released this November.

Moore was a Winter ‘07 Hot Shot!, and a Ne Plus Ultra winner gaining him representation by Jen Bekman.

His edition print for 20×200, Dutch Club, Anaheim, California, is available in all sizes here.

View more images from Brad on his Jen Bekman Gallery page, and on his website.

Jen Bekman is interviewed in the June/July issue of HotShoe International. Jen talks to Bill Kouwenhoven about the gallery, 20×200, and Hey, Hot Shot! The article features the work of Christian Chaize, Allison Grippo, Joe Holmes, Holly Lynton, Youngna Park, and Colleen Plumb. You can read the full interview with a paid online subscription to HotShoe International.

Here is what Jen had to say about the witty bit that graces the door of this establishment, “Live With Art, It’s Good For You.” – “People think it is a tag line, but it is real. It really is what drives me. I want to help as many people as possible live with art.” You have and you do! Read more online.