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Monthly Archives: November 2009
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Possibly the most remarkable thing about the Bullseye Glass factory is that it exists at all. It is the 21st century. Stuff is made in China, Indonesia and Vietnam. That any product can be made by hand on an industrial scale in America today defies the economic odds. That many of those same hands – in their off hours – also make art, is the second miracle of Bullseye.
Last night I went to the awards reception for the factory’s eighth annual show of glassworks made by its people. The Working Glass exhibition is always fun. This year the minds, eyes and hearts that schedule, ladle, roll, build, sell and teach with Bullseye glass delivered up some of the most engaging pieces I’ve seen in years. |
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For better or worse, an art fair is ultimately about buying and selling. And the buyers are an undeniable force in what is shown. But what about those of us who can often only buy with our eyes? I’ve walked the SOFA Fair in stolen moments over the last four days. What follows is my own personal Shopping Cart – the one I’d roll home if money were no object. Of course, my cart ignores the contents of our own booth. I’d obviously roll all of our own work home – and some we will - or we wouldn’t have brought it.
Top of the list is this quiet wall set by Sibylle Peretti at Heller Gallery. Like virtually everything I’ve seen of this artist’s work, it takes me into another world – a place that is both soothing and disturbing. |
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It’s the start of the second full day of SOFA Chicago. The opening was grand. Friday had equal energy. But no one’s energy matched Dan’s. He must have buzzed up the Rogers staircase at least a half dozen times. Despite encouragement from a group of passing teens, he never jumped.
The architectural ideas got a lot of chatter. Sales were satisfying. |
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In short: it was a spectacular opening night. A larger crowd than I’ve seen in years. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we were so busy talking, explaining, and mostly reconnecting with old friends and clients that I didn’t get a chance to get out of the booth once. But, at the end of it all, what everyone always wants to know is “What sold?” It’s the ultimate scorecard for so many. OK OK. So here’s where we are after Day one.
Placed with a good home in southern California, the small Moje that has traveled across Australia and to museum exhibitions on both US coasts finally finds a family. |
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Somewhere back in Portland, Oregon, Susan, Janet and a dozen other serious-minded staffers at the Bullseye Glass Company imagine that their leader, Jim – in Chicago for Bullseye Gallery’s showing at SOFA 2009 – is working hard to uphold the supremely professional reputation of the company and the many fine artists its gallery represents.
Wrong. Made irreparably giddy by the fumes of Sherwin-Williams #7048, the normally no-nonsense Mr Jones has been buzzing about the monkey bars all morning, drunkenly painting and repainting the endless corners and angles that make up the skeleton of Michael Rogers’ Beekeeper’s Staircase. |