Well, never write off Syracuse I guess. Here I am trashing the "Phonography: Cell Phone Photography" exhibit at The Tech Garden earlier with one of the show's curators, Theresa Barry ... At least it wasn't hers, which is behind me here. The collage (slapped against the wall by myself at the last second, with the moment captured by artist Nate West) was a success after all, no buyers but it was only the first night. And my debut gig at the Tech Garden gallery, something I'd worked at for a while and, surprisingly, needed to be reminded of. A more thorough look at the event will be posted sometime Friday, it is a VERY cool show with a wide variety of styles/approaches/media etc.
Go see it.
Here's Tech Garden's Artist in Residence & curator Ty Marshal at the reception, a highly valued friend and colleague who took time out of his schedule today to reassure me that Syracuse was just as eager for my artwork. Hamilton, Utica and all points leading downstate may be the current vibe but the landscape is always changing, and that which had seem inaccessible often turns out to be merely hazardous up close.
Case in point the totally unexpected reaction I encountered at the Phonography reception. Even just the last time I'd been to an opening there it was as a fairly anonymous viewer looking for something to blog about. Maybe it's just the hair but most of the new-to-me folks I met tonight already knew who I was, that one of my paintings was in the show, that I'd been working with artists from Utica & Hamilton, and that they were stoked to get to see some of my work in person ...
Come again? Surely, and what I discovered is that much to my surprise, while jetting back and forth between out of town venues folks back at home were watching. Most of them were artists in the show, some were not and almost all said "Oh, yeah I've got that bookmarked, cool!" when handing them a Jack Hardendorf designed business card. Son of a gun! Lesson being that eventually even Syracuse will get up to speed, and here's just one place in the 'hood eager for more Art By Nyland, people eager to see it and myself eager to make that happen wherever it's welcome.
Artist Maria Rizzo studying Phil Parson's paintings, with curator Caroline Szozda to her left and Phil looking on approvingly.
Another goal for the evening was to go see the show at Szozda Gallery at the old Delevan Center on Fayette St. downtown and plug the Utica mural (and the painting it's imagery was derived from) to curator Carol Szozda, who also expressed an eagerness to see them. What I hadn't known just from being too busy to look first is that her current exhibition featured landscape paintings by my hero Phil Parsons & painter Bob Niedzwiecki, who's work I had not encountered before. Both emphasized clouds, something I am rather keenly interested in at the moment, and it turned into a very instructional visit. Both are having other shows running concurrently, I'll try to find time to see 'em, and will post albums of the images I took tonight before tomorrow is out.
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