Art Thompson, Jr. - Drawings + Paintings

Square Foot Photos; Casey McGlynn

2005-11-24T14:07:00.000-05:00

The Square Foot opening was a blast and made even more enjoyable by hanging out with Casey McGlynn, the owner/resident of Project Spaceman Gallery and one of the most prolific artists I've ever met. It's like the guy never stops working but to eat and sleep. I ended up buying a couple of drawings from him that night, which I'll try to shoot and upload soon. Of the five pieces I submitted, my two favorites didn't make the cut, which meant that the bottom three of the order were hung. Oh, well. All of the folks from AWOL Gallery (Toronto) were great and pretty psyched to be in New York. I hope to go up and visit them soon.

Night of 1,000 (and two) Drawings

2006-10-23T21:28:00.000-04:00

See these two [tiny] drawings in person at Artists Space Wednesday, November 8th, 5-10pm for their annual cattle-call benefit, Night of 1,000 Drawings.

Proposals for Large-Scale Works

2006-11-06T23:58:00.000-05:00

No, I've not yet approached the MoMA to see if they'll let me use the big room, but I'm hoping to settle for a stairwell... Seriously, though, I see these images not only as intimate items created from everyday, discarded materials but, also, as larger-than-life images in public places where they may confront the viewer from a hundred feet away.

New Work

2007-06-08T13:56:00.000-04:00

More later...

More color. More collage.

2007-02-27T00:56:00.000-05:00

Yes. Next, black paper.

Color? Collage?

2006-11-08T01:40:00.000-05:00

Yes? No?

Christo & Jean Claude in NYC again?; Louis Lozowick murals

2005-11-24T13:18:00.000-05:00

No, they're not at it again, but, by the looks of the 33rd Street main Post Office, you would think this place would be swarming with European tourists taking snaps of the joint.

I was taking snaps inside the building and looking mighty suspicious, too. Couldn't help myself. Turns out that there are two large murals tucked away in the north and south entrances of the building painted by the renowned lithographer, Louis Lozowick (American, b. Ludvinovka, Russia, 1892 - 1973).

Entitled "Manhattan Skyline," the murals, painted on canvas mounted to the walls, soar some 18 feet above NYC's oblivious patrons scurrying to drop off their tax returns, holiday packages and whatnot. Finished in 1935, the bottom of the south entrance mural was practically ruined when some postmaster general in all his infinite wisdom decided that this was the best place to install a large, bronze memorial to the fallen of WWI. I can only imagine what kind of ship, whose plume of smoke rises from behind the memorial, was churning up the harbor toward Manhattan...

New Year, New Studio

2007-01-25T22:08:00.000-05:00

2007 is looking good already with the recent acquisition of a 11' x 15' studio space with two large, east-facing windows. I'm still emptying boxes and will hopefully be working (larger) again soon.

A New One

2006-10-11T12:22:00.000-04:00

Finally some getting time to updating the site. Expect more soon.

New and Recent Work

2006-03-21T00:58:00.000-05:00

I've added some new pieces to the Paintings and Drawings sections including four of the Square Foot Show drawings. I haven't been painting much due to time/space constraints but that could change if I find some studio space. In the meantime, there a new one to gander at.

See "Art" @ Square Foot IV, Williamsburg

2005-11-14T00:25:00.000-05:00

I'll have up to five pieces hanging in the Square Foot IV, Toronto & New York group show being held at Project Spaceman (229 Roebling St, Williamsburg). They're all new ink brush drawings on corrugated cardbord bound with twine, similar to the recent drawings on display here. The details can be found here.

Recent shows I've seen..

2005-10-14T20:30:00.000-04:00

Here's a run-down of the shows I've seen over the past couple of weeks:

I hit two different openings at Exit Art:

Biennial II: Traffic
I hate to say it, but I was mostly bored at the Traffic show and somewhat disappointed with the lack of painting and drawing. There were a few interesting installation/sculptural pieces. One involved a huge sheet of clear plastic with thousands of different colored toy cars adhered to it and suspended in a sloping wave shape overhead. The double-sided foam tape used to affix the cars didn't seem to be working too well as there were several on the floor halfway through the opening. Another was a spider web-like cluster which hung in the corner of the room that revealed its true identity as you got closer. The artist had cut all of the major interstates and highways delicately cut from several atlases and carefully pinned to the wall.

World War 3 Illustrated's 25th Anniversary Issue Exhibition
At the WW3 opening, I was pleased to see such blatant narrative picture-making all in one place (albeit in a tiny room in the back). The founders Peter Kuper and Seth Tobocman were on had as were other long-time contributors such as Sue Coe, whose wrap-around cover painting was a treat to see close up. The works were all bold and politically unapologetic.

Ed Ruscha: Pools Parking Lots, Gasoline Stations and Sunset Strip @ Yancey Richardson
This show, while quite a mouthful, was a tasteful salon-style show of four of Ruscha's photo essays from the '60s. The bird's eye view parking lots became beautiful geometric abstractions replete with oils stains and fishbone markings.

Colin Burns @ Metalstone
Burns' work seemed designy and illustrative at times, but it was never dull. His use of linocuts within larger, mixed-media works that also incorporated hand-printed type were a joy to look at.

El Salvador: Work of Thirty Photographers @ ICP
This is a collection of photos taken by photojournalists traveling in El Salvador at the height of the 1980s civil war. The images are stark and sometimes hard to take in. My introduction to political activism was brought on by the US's involvement in a part of the world where we never should have been. I remember seeing some of these photographs back then and they have not lost any of their power. The exhibit is a return engagement as the collection was originally shown at the ICP in 1984.

Yin Zhaoyang @ Max Protetch
These large scale, somewhat social-realist-style paintings were much more interesting when seen through the window on 22nd Street. Not that they were "bad" in any way, it's just that their Richter-like diffusion was less evident from that vantage point. I have nothing against Richter or his softening/smearing technique. I just feel it's his schtick for better or for worse.

Photos and Beer in DUMBO

2005-10-15T11:48:00.000-04:00

Went to the opening last night for the Art + Commerce 2005 Festival of Emerging Photographers, which included my friend Jeffrey Ladd's beautiful photos of Serbia. Aside from his, I was only really moved by a few other photographers, namely Anna Bauer's photos of her family, Michele Abeles' strange portraits, and Sung Jin Park Kid Nostalgia snapshots.

The rain had just stopped and the umbrellas stashed to free our hands for the excellent (and free) Sixpoint Brewery's generous pints. Apparently over 1,100 photographers submitted work but only 24 made the cut. Good on ya, Ladd.

New Drawings

2005-10-25T00:52:00.000-04:00

I've posted some new work in the Drawing section and inadvertently gotten (optionally) three-dimensional for the first time in years. More to come.

It's Twine Time

2005-10-19T21:58:00.000-04:00

I've started stitching together some of the individual cardboard drawings using basic twine. They're much more interesting this way. I'll try to get some updated photos online soon.