Membership

50/50 Call for Art Collectors

50/50 is a benefit, curated exhibition and silent auction featuring works by over 35 artists. The bids start at the ticket price and all proceeds above that are split 50/50 with participating artists. Funds go to support artists and programs at BAG that provide opportunities for artists, such as our single parent artist and recent graduate residencies, artist talks, workshops, and gallery space for guest curators.

Just 50 tickets are available for purchase. The reception is free to attend, but tickets allow you to bid and each ticket guarantees an original piece of art at the end of the night. Which one, however, depends on how quick you are, and your competition! The reception and silent auction will be held on December 10th starting at 6pm. We can accept proxy bids arranged ahead of time by phone: (718) 858-9069 or email: info@brooklynartistsgym.com.

Call, stop by, email, or purchase tickets online at: http://www.brooklynartistsgym.com/5050-fundraiser-2/

Ticket prices are as follows: Before Nov 1^st, $85; before Dec 1^st, $95; After Dec 1^st, $100.

Artwork available at the auction by participating artists:

Meredith Alcarese, Susan Allbert, John Azelvandre, J Carpenter, Liza Cassidy, Kenny Cole, Reuven Dattner, Ariana Fields, Veronique Gambier, Daniele Genadry, Eric Ginsburg, Brent Hallard, Kristen Haskell, Rhia Hurt, Will Hutnick, Richard Kessler, Michele Kucker, Ajit Kumar, Annette Laszczkowska, Allison Maletz, Barbara Milot, Melanie Paterson, Bonnie Recca, Mari Renwick, Rob Samartino, Bailey Saliwanchik, Alice Schenker, Stuart Shedletsky, Jocelyn Shu, Radek Szczeny, Matthew Taylor, Jannell Turner, Osaretin Ugiagbe, Gillian Wainwright, Peter Wallace, Rachael Whitney, Ann Williams, and Heidi Yockey.

Collaborations Call for Art

Compelling works of art have often been produced by the meeting of two creative minds, or as a result of one artist’s exposure to the work of another. Historically, schools of art were a breeding ground for new ideas, where artists could learn from their masters and grow from one another, bringing the large world in a little closer. To share images and ideas over distances was difficult, but expected as part of one’s training. It was simply a stepping stone to individual fame.

In the age of Flikr, FaceBook, and hostyourdomain.com, artists may now share their work with the world at the touch of a button. We can choose to bridge an ocean in an instant, or to isolate our work entirely. It is entirely ours to decide. So the choice to collaborate may now be deliberate; choosing to ‘share’ can be more profound than an RSS feed, more mindful than physical proximity, and more creative than working alone. How have you combined your work, your world, and your vision with that of another artist? What have you chosen to create together? We are interested in seeing what the meeting of your creative minds has produced.

For our ‘Collaboration’ show, all entries must be the combined work of two or more artists. Please briefly indicate in your artists’ statement the nature of your collaboration, as well as a 1-2 paragraph explanation of your work.

To apply: http://www.brooklynartistsgym.com/brooklyn-art-events/show_applications/

“BAG Artist Talk Series Presents: Allison Maletz” AT BROOKLYN ARTISTS GYM Gallery

Brooklyn Artists Gym is pleased to announce an artist talk with Allison Maletz, a watercolor painter who has participated in the Liverpool Biennial, New Contemporaries UK, Zoo Art Italy, The Royal Watercolor Society in London, and the Moscow Biennale for Young Artists at the MMoMA.

Allison Maletz is a contemporary mixed media artist. She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL. Maletz began as a documentary style artist-photographer, traveling throughout the world making photographs about being normal, yet misplaced. Wanting to branch out into different mediums and art communities, in 2007 she moved to London. There she started making sound installations and large-scale watercolor paintings from photographs that further developed the concepts in her previous work. In recent years Maletz has focused on the idea of the domestic, platonic- yet secretly dysfunctional western family. Her artwork is bright, humorous, and nostalgic, yet she pushes it to a breaking point, when the works pleasantries overtake it. As a result, her artwork starts to evoke discomfort, allowing for the possibility that something grotesque is trying to surface. She is currently living and working in New York City, and has exhibited various mediums in the Liverpool Biennial, New Contemporaries UK, Zoo Art Italy, The Royal Watercolor Society in London, and the Moscow Biennale for Young Artists at the MMoMA.

“BAG Artist Talk Series Presents: Lynette Bester” AT BROOKLYN ARTISTS GYM Gallery

Brooklyn Artists Gym is pleased to announce an artist talk with South African Lynette Bester, a sculpture finalist for the Celeste Award, who is also showing at Invisible Dog Gallery in Brooklyn, November 11^th-13^th.  

Bester explores the materiality, meaning and gathering of found objects and alters them through amputation, arrangement, and binding, reinventing them as sculpture. Subjecting the object to process changes meaning, not only physically challenging its original function, but also de-contextualizing it.  Bester aims to expose ordinary purpose, asking the viewer to create a new narrative. In her third and most recent solo exhibition, “Stalking the Familiar” 2010, she explored the concept of artist as scavenger or gleaner. She also aims to challenge the idea of the artist as isolated genius as the artwork is meant to invite the viewer’s interpretation on the object’s new arrangement.

She will be speaking about her work at the Brooklyn Artists Gym on 8 November 2011 while in New York, visiting from South Africa. 

About Lynette Bester

She participates actively in the art world in South Africa and abroad. She has been on residencies in Egypt, 2008 and England, 2009, and has been a finalist in national art competitions: The Sasol New Signatures, 2006 and the ABSA l’Atelier, 2007 in South Africa. After graduating from Stellenbosch University completing an M.A. in F.A. (Cum Laude), 2002 she has participated regularly in group exhibitions in South Africa as well as abroad in Brazil in 2005. Bester's third and most recent solo exhibition, entitled Stalking the Familiar, 2010 received positive critical review. Lynette Bester also lectures in theory and discourse at tertiary institutions in Cape Town.

“A Romance of Many Dimensions” Curated by Brent Hallard at the Brooklyn Artists Gym

A Romance of Many Dimensions is comprised of nine artists/painters who share at least two things: their work expands the idea of dimensionality past the exactitude of two and three-             dimensional space, and, they have had all been interviewed by Brent Hallard. You can find             the interviews posted online at Visual Discrepancies. Artists: Clary Stolte, Don Voisine, Henriëtte van ‘t Hoog, José Heerkens, Kasarian Dane, Linda Francis, Mel Prest, Paul Pagk, Richard Schur 

           

            The title of the show comes from... Edwin A. Abbott’s Flatland – A Romance of Many Dimensions, who dedicates the book... 

To The Inhabitants of SPACE IN GENERAL And H. C. IN PARTICULAR This Work is Dedicated

            By a Humble Native of Flatland

            In the Hope that

            Even as he was Initiated into the Mysteries

            Of THREE Dimensions

            Having been previously conversant

            With ONLY TWO

            So the Citizens of that Celestial Region

            May aspire yet higher and higher

            To the Secrets of FOUR FIVE OR EVEN SIX Dimensions

            Thereby contributing

            To the Enlargement of THE IMAGINATION

            And the possible Development

            Of that most rare and excellent Gift of MODESTY

            Among the Superior Races

            Of SOLID HUMANITY

            What better sentiments come to mind than this to suggest the tenets of a reductive visual practice... the enlargement of the imagination, the development of that rare and excellent gift of modesty?

           

            Like the novella, the paintings in “A Romance...” do not provide an axiom for the existence of higher dimensions into other worlds. That’s something a mathematician or physicist might be able to do better. Rather, the works in this exhibition attend to the flat – surfaces, shapes and color – as if in defiance of the existence of the dimensional world that they inhabit. 

           

            The experience of a painting, noting that the term painting here can be applied rather loosely, is primarily phenomenological. Yet just as a line or shape can suggest an aspect of the recognizable as a response to the world around us, shapes also go on to form recognizable things, and, as such link the three-dimensional experience of supports and canvases as they protrude from the wall.

           

            While early abstraction had its interest in non-Euclidian geometry, the fourth dimension and the idea of time and motion as a perceived illusion, artists such Mondrian and Malevich clearly worked with the phenomenal world that they were in. Their mature paintings generally had a top and a bottom, not of sky and sea, but in correspondence to the way the body responds to the environment. And if some of this early experimentation appears to be gravity free, on closer inspection it becomes clear that a bodily response to gravity is there expressed through a modesty of means.

           

            The artists in the show all work with visual dialects, understanding that line is connected to form, that object is connected to color and line, that our participation informs and blends all this, and the relationships formed hereafter are very much about our connectivity, be-coming aware of another sensual realm that may have no physical location. It is here that the artist romances, bringing together relationships, for the viewer to experience and wonder about.

About Brooklyn Artists Gym

BAG is gallery and artists’ studio facility in the Park Slope/Gowanus area of Brooklyn, NY.  BAG’s mission is to help make it possible for artists to further their work and careers at a reasonable cost.  Started five years ago, BAG also offers classes, critiques, figure drawing, library, wifi, kitchenette and all studio facilities.

“within________distance” BY JUST US ARTIST INITIATIVE AT BROOKLYN ARTISTS GYM

Just Us, in collaboration with Brooklyn Artists Gym, is pleased to announce the opening of “within_______distance," the second collective group exhibition of works by the artists of the Just Us artist initiative.

The idea of distance, in its various forms, is so often simplified and overlooked, despite its presence in our daily lives. The exhibition will include artists presenting their perceptions and interpretations of distance. Whether it is within viewing, reaching, or even a non-existent distance, the work presented in “within_______distance” will approach spatial distance, literally and figuratively.  “within_______distance” will include works in various mediums, including video, animation, printed and painted images, and three-dimensional installations.

About Just Us

Just Us is an artists initiative dedicated to the recognition and self-promotion of young artists. Our goal is to educate artists and form a community to provide information on how to communicate and navigate the art world. Just Us aims to offer opportunity and a professional experience by; providing artistic opportunities and professional connections; promoting young artists through exhibitions and fundraising events; and pursuing knowledge of the art world to enrich the artistic experience.  Just Us was co-founded, and its exhibitions curated by David Luis Alvarez and Paula Victoria.

About Brooklyn Artists Gym

BAG is gallery and artists’ studio facility in the Park Slope/Gowanus area of Brooklyn, NY.  BAG’s mission is to help make it possible for artists to further their work and careers at a reasonable cost.  Started five years ago, BAG also offers classes, critiques, figure drawing, library, wifi, kitchenette and all studio facilities.

Fall 2011 Member Salon

Please join us for our Fall 2011 Member Salon Opening Reception, Saturday October 15th 6:00-9:00pm.  The opening is after the Gowanus Open Studios. 

Internship at Brooklyn Artists Gym

Internships

Interns are critical to the smooth operation of the BROOKLYN ARTISTS GYM. Thus, they are selected carefully for their ability to responsibly carry out tasks and assignments.

BAG is looking for someone who can stay for 3-5 months, and spend their time (typically 10-15 hours per week, days starting at 11:00 am) split between general management tasks and a specific, independently-driven project unique to each intern and his/her skills. 

In particular, for individual projects, we are looking for someone with knowledge of HTML, design skills, or marketing experience.  When not working on an individual project, interns will assist the Directing Manager and Gallery Director with daily tasks that include: cleaning, running errands, updating the website, general administrative tasks, traveling around the city to distribute marketing materials, painting walls, working gallery openings, hanging shows, and occasionally staffing events (for pay).  Strong communication skills, character, self-motivation, dependability, and a positive attitude are critical traits that are looked for in the selection process.

Interns are also members of BAG; they receive a free membership to the open studio, and in turn their maturity as working artists is taken into account in the selection process.  Interns should count on a minimum three-month commitment.  They are scheduled for 40+ hours a month of direct service.  Compensation for service includes college credit where applicable and full membership privileges as well as free attendance to figure drawing sessions.

Competition for internships is intense so please fill out this application thoughtfully and completely. Include an up-to-date resume indicating your employment history and education.