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April 20, 2016
Table of Contents
FLAX Art Supply Opens a New Store and a New Era With Move to Oakland ......................................................................... 2
Mas Art Provides Art Supplies, Framing Services and Opportunities for Local Artists ........................................................... 3
Interview With Artist Karen Gibbons ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Holocaust Survivor Sues German Auction House To Locate Family's Nazi Looted Paintings ................................................. 6
Pandering or Populism in the Arts .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Art Supplies Making a Difference for Perth's Homeless ......................................................................................................... 8
From Operating Table to Canvas, Nate Lewis Finds Intricate Art ........................................................................................... 9
FBI and Interpol Alerted: Springfield Art Museum Official Says Warhol Prints Stolen ......................................................... 11
'Cool Yoghurt Guy' Terrorising Auckland Art Supplies Store ................................................................................................ 12
Painting Found In French Attic Is $137 Million Caravaggio, Say Experts .............................................................................. 13
Art is Helping This Painter, Who Lives With a Brain Injury, Soothe the Wounds of Ferguson ............................................. 14
Artists Mourning the Loss of Two of Edmonton's Free Graffiti Walls .................................................................................. 16
Before You Go To the Top of the World... ............................................................................................................................ 17
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April 20, 2016
FLAX Art Supply Opens a New Store and a New Era With Move to Oakland
OAKLAND, CA: FLAX art & design, a venerable establishment
displaced from Market Street in San Francisco by yet another
condo project, has found new life in Oakland, with Thursday’s
opening of a spacious and light‐drenched store.
“It’s just another sign that people are recognizing the incredible
value, vitality and hotness of this city,” Oakland Mayor Libby
Schaaf told KQED’s Tara Siler at the opening‐day celebration. “And
FLAX is really meant for Oakland … this is a family‐owned business
… so it’s perfect to place this in a city with so much artistic energy
and legacy — so close to public transportation and in the center of
the Bay Area, where all artistic souls can get here conveniently.”
The store’s third‐generation owner, Howard Flax, said: “This is
definitely an underserved market and the more that we talk to
different people in the community, and the more that we get to know Oakland and the greater East Bay, there are a lot
of pockets of artists here. And we just look forward to connecting with each and every one of them, and partnering and
collaborating to grow the arts in the East Bay.”
The beloved family‐owned business has been around for almost 100 years, starting out in New York City in 1918. Its first
San Francisco shop opened in 1938 on Kearny Street. A few incarnations later, it moved to Market Street in 1981, but its
lease expired last year. A Fort Mason store debuted in November. The 15,000‐square‐foot Oakland location, a former
auto repair shop at 15th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, offers storage, a back parking lot and proximity to public
transit — all things that Flax was looking for.
“We were displaced from Market Street and here we are — and there’s no going back,” Flax said. “There’s no
bittersweet feelings on my part. It’s the end of an era. … We attained that iconic status in San Francisco and that’s what
we plan on building here in Oakland as well.”
Schaaf said the opening is a “happy story” for the city in all respects.
“We cannot have new people come here at the expense of our longtime businesses, artists, residents,” she said. “But we
also have to make sure that we build places for them to come to. One of the things that’s exciting about this store is it is
in a new part of town. It did not displace another small business.”
Devin Katayama, who covers Oakland for KQED, said the move by FLAX is symbolic of a massive shift of art and artists in
the Bay Area. Many have been priced out of San Francisco, and now Oakland is also becoming unaffordable.
Katayama interviewed Chloe Veltman, senior arts editor at KQED, for her take on the departure of FLAX, which had
searched for sites to relocate in San Francisco but couldn’t find anything.
Describing FLAX as a true “gem” in the art‐supply world, she said, “It wasn’t the cheapest place to buy supplies in town,
but nevertheless the community supported it and loved it because it wasn’t a chain and had been around for so long.”
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April 20, 2016
For starters, it means fewer places in the city to buy art supplies. Beyond that, it’s a sign of the “relentless displacement”
of San Francisco’s arts community.
“On the one hand, we’re seeing a lot of exciting movement in some ways, like the development of Minnesota Street
Projects — a facility in Dogpatch which houses many cutting‐edge studios and galleries,” Veltman said. “And, of course,
big, flashy, attention‐grabby things like the reopening of SFMOMA, the rebooting of the Bay Lights. But, on the other
hand, it continues to be extremely difficult for local artists and organizations to thrive in this climate.”
For example, the San Francisco Arts Commission heard from nearly 600 artists last summer that either live or recently
resided in San Francisco, Veltman said. The survey found that over 70 percent of the respondents had been, or were
being, displaced from their workplace, home or both.
“Libby Schaaf spoke of the hotness and vitality of Oakland,” Veltman said. “Well, artists have played an immense role in
making Oakland vital and hot — look at the gallery and theater and music clubs and restaurant scene, the thriving First
Fridays, etc. And now everyone wants to live there.” KQED: http://bit.ly/26aO1S8
Mas Art Provides Art Supplies, Framing Services and Opportunities for Local Artists
LAS CRUCES, NM: Artists in need of supplies for school projects or
their next creative endeavor can find everything they need at Mas
Art Frame and Art Supplies, 126 S. Main St.
Sisters Sandra Bender, 52, and Malu Bender, 50, opened Mas Art,
along with business partner Karen Matthews (now retired) three
years ago to provide a wide range of affordable art supplies, as well
as framing services and art classes to students and community
members.
“We decided that we wanted a store that was economical — that
was not so expensive and that would cater to NMSU (New Mexico
State University) and to the artist,” Sandra Bender said.
One of the unique aspects of the store is that NMSU professors and instructors at the Las Cruces Art Museum will send
Mas Art a list of what is needed for their art classes, so the Mas Art team can make sure they have all the necessary tools
and materials for students, Sandra Bender said.
If customers can’t find something specific that they need, Mas Art will order it for them, she said.
“We try to have a more personal business rather than simply, you have to buy what we have on the shelf,” Sandra
Bender said. “We don’t do that. We try to provide what the artist needs.”
Along with supplies, like colored pencils, paints and jewelry‐making materials, Mas Art also offers custom framing
services.
“A lot of people in Las Cruces don’t know we exist and sometimes they have a simple picture or a flower they want to
frame and they don’t know what to do with it," Malu Bender said. "But we can frame almost everything."
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April 20, 2016
Sandra Bender, who has several years of experience in framing, said she enjoys getting to be a part of creating
something special for her customers.
“We were just framing a photograph for one of our customers, five generations of women in one photograph, and this
young woman who came to get it framed was so touched by the knowledge of that amazing time in her life,” she
said.Mas Art also reaches out to the community through special art shows, face painting for kids during the Saturday
Farmers’ and Crafts Market downtown and the Downtown Art Ramble, held from 5 to 7 p.m. the first Friday of each
month along Main Street. Each artist featured during the Ramble has his or her artwork displayed at the store for the
rest of the month.
“It’s fun, its free and they can meet the artists and see what people are doing in relation to art,” Malu Bender said of the
Art Ramble. “It’s a time where people can browse and see what we have (in the store) and see the art.”
Sandra Bender said she enjoys being involved in the art community because “it’s a happy business."
“It’s a business of knowledge; the pursuit of new experiences,” she said. “People want to learn things and how to do
different things. We work with instructors because we have classes here and people become amazed by the new things
you can draw by the end of the day.”
Classes at Mas Art are taught by various local artists, including Mary Zawacki, a permanent instructor at the store.
Throughout April, Zawacki will teach a class on drawing southwestern plants and animals from 9:30 a.m. to noon on
Saturdays.
Outside of the office
Outside of running Mas Art, Sandra Bender works as a psychology professor at Doña Ana Community College. She also
enjoys traveling, cooking and spending time with her friends and entertaining, she said.
Malu Bender is an artist and enjoys painting, meditation and yoga when she has the time.
Sandra and Malu Bender both enjoy going on walks and exercising. Las Cruces Sun‐News: http://bit.ly/1SV7CMD
Interview With Artist Karen Gibbons
Karen Gibbons has been making multi‐media artwork for many years.
She has also done free‐lance design work, run a bed and breakfast,
taught art and been a yoga instructor. Karen has a Masters of Fine
Art from Hunter College and a Masters in Professional Studies from
the School of Visual Arts. She is currently a holistic psychotherapist
using yoga and art to help people thrive.
Karen is also a writer. She has co‐authored of a book of poems and
drawings with Rebecca Aidlin called “Goldfish and Pumpkin Vines”.
Recently, she published a book about the combination of yoga and
art making, “Integrating Art Therapy and Yoga Therapy; Yoga, Art and
the Use of Intention.”
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April 20, 2016
Karen has exhibited her work extensively in New York City and elsewhere. Recent exhibitions have included: Common
Ground Gowanus, a group show at The Old Stone House Gallery, All In, a group show at Site Brooklyn Gallery,
Asymmetry, a two‐person show at the Brooklyn Creative League Gallery, Chronicles, a group show at the 440 Gallery,
and a solo exhibition in the 2016 Arts Gowanus annual open studio tour.
Recently, Karen spoke to the Examiner about her experiences working as an artist and her hopes for the future:
Meagan Meehan (M.M.): How and when did you decide to become an artist?
Karen Gibbons (K.G.): I like to think that I was always an artist. My fondest childhood memories have to do with making
things. I had a wonderful aunt who would always give me art supplies for Christmas, which definitely fueled my
production. I remember having (solo) art shows in the basement where I would hang everything salon style and force my
siblings and any visitors to our home to tour the exhibitions.
M.M.: Growing up, which artists/types of art interested you?
K.G.: I have always had eclectic tastes; I particularly loved Degas, Rembrandt, and Rauschenberg. I liked the
Impressionists, Expressionists, Abstract Expressionists, Renaissance Masters, etc., etc. When I was in high school we had
a very rigorous art “major” program which included art history—I gobbled it up.
M.M.: How would you describe your work and what inspires it?
K.G.: My work is always produced from an intuitive process using mixed media and found elements. Currently this
means both 2d and 3d work that includes collage and mixed media. For me, collaged elements are “found” whether they
are images from my family/childhood, my own photographs, or images collected randomly from magazines, etc. The
intuitive process brings images together with sculptural, painterly or drawn forms to create an effect that could best be
described as dream‐like near‐narratives. The overall inspiration for my recent work is the sacred aspect of mother earth,
the feminine earth spirit.
M.M.: How did you go about getting into galleries?
K.G.: I have always applied for juried shows, and followed up on leads and opportunities for curators to view my work.
Marketing my work on my own in the midst of a complicated life has always been challenging and exciting when things
work out.
M.M.: How did you get involved with the 440 Gallery?
K.G.: When I first heard about 440 Gallery I wasn’t interested because of the poor associations I had with traditional
artist’s collectives. When I began to look more closely at the work and the interesting things going on at 440, I decided
to give it go. I am very happy with my decision because I am supported to really focus creating artwork, which has
always been my preference, and have a way to show regularly among truly exceptional peers.
M.M.: Do you have a favorite piece? If so, which one and why?
K.G.: My current favorite is a largish sculpture called “Pachamama”. The title comes from the name of the Peruvian
earth deity. On a recent trip to Peru I was so impressed with the reverence for the mountains. The energy of the place
stayed with me and the idea for the piece grew out of that special feeling.
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April 20, 2016
M.M.: What are your mediums of choice?
K.G.: For a long time I made painted sculptures which were made from plaster and found objects. The work, over time,
evolved into more two dimensional collage. Now, my methods have come full circle. I now use plaster substrates for
mixed media collage including acrylic, oil and wax and graphite.
M.M.: Are there any mediums that you haven’t worked with yet but hope to soon?
K.G.: I often flirt with using encaustics to create the rich surfaces I like…maybe sometime soon I will set up for this.
M.M.: To date, what has been the most rewarding experience involving your artwork and/or being an artist?
K.G.: I feel so lucky and appreciative having a wonderful studio and the ability to have an ongoing, long term art making
practice.
M.M.: What advice would you give to someone who is aspiring to become an artist?
K.G.: The art market is an ever‐changing scene and I fear increasingly high‐brow. So, if you wish to make a living selling
your art in galleries, well, who knows? However, my advice to a person who loves to make art would be MAKE ART. The
world needs people who are willing to express themselves honestly and sincerely. If you love what you do, there will be
way to do it.
M.M.: Are there any upcoming projects and/or events that you would like to mention?
K.G.: YES! I have an upcoming solo show, Pachamama, at the 440 Gallery, 440 Sixth Ave, Brooklyn, NY, opening on April
28 and continuing through May 29, 2016. The opening reception is on Friday April 29th from 6‐9pm. I am also involved
in a group installation with Gail Flanery and Tom Bovo at the Lazy Susan Gallery, 191 Henry St., NY, NY. That runs June 15
‐ June 21, 2016. Examiner: http://exm.nr/1YD7fud
Holocaust Survivor Sues German Auction House To Locate Family's Nazi Looted Paintings
Retired New York attorney David Toren—blind and almost 90—
whose entire family was killed by the Nazis, has petitioned
German auction house Villa Grisebach to reveal the identities of
the buyers of two paintings that were looted from his great
uncle's home around 1940, the New York Daily News reports.
Toren's great uncle, industrialist David Friedmann, had 54 pieces
of museum quality art in his Breslau mansion, all of which were
seized by the Nazis in 1940. Toren, who escaped as a child on the
Kindertransport in 1939, recently discovered that three works
from his family's collection were in the trove of Cornelius Gurlitt, son of Hitler's art dealer, Hildebrand Gurlitt. Two of the
works discovered in the Gurlitt trove were by Max Liebermann, and the third by Franz Skarbina.
According the the Art Newspaper, a Polish museum director offered Hildebrand Gurlitt the two looted Liebermann
works in a letter dated 1942: Die Korbflechter (Basket Weavers) (1900) and Two Riders at the Sea (1901). The latter was
returned to Toren in 2015 and sold at Sotheby's London for a triple estimate $2.5 million.
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April 20, 2016
Now, Toren wants to know the location of the other works, worth an estimated $5 million. Both were sold through the
Berlin‐based Villa Grisebach Auctions Inc., which has a midtown Manhattan branch. Liebermann's Basket Weavers was
sold in 2000, and Skarbina's Nach Hause in 1995. The petition filed at NY State Supreme Court states that Grisebach has
refused to identify the buyers, citing the need to maintain client confidentiality.
However, Liebermann's Basket Weavers was commissioned to the auction house by the daughter of Hildebrand Gurlitt,
a fact that Toren's lawyer Martin Bienstock claims should have raised a red flag. “Despite the fact that Grisebach knew
that it was selling Basket Weavers on behalf of the daughter of the infamous Nazi art dealer, Hildebrand Gurlitt, and that
the provenance of the painting was highly questionable, Grisebach simply auctioned the painting to the highest bidder
without conducting meaningful diligence of the provenance of the painting," Bienstock writes in the court papers.
In an email to artnet News, Grisebach co‐manager Micaela Kapitsky stressed that "the most important principle for
Grisebach is that our auction house will not put on offer any works of art that are even only suspected of having been
looted during the period 1933 to 1945."
"None of the Liebermann experts we had previously consulted were aware of any indications that the painting had once
been owned by David Friedmann of Breslau, and neither were we," Kapitsky added. "As was our standard practice then
and continues to be our standard practice to this day, we had every single work of art offered at that auction checked by
The Art Loss Register. The provenance 'Dr. Hildebrand Gurlitt, Düsseldorf' disclosed in the auction catalogue did not
raise any eyebrows at the time. Today, the state of research has advanced significantly, thanks also in part to the active
cooperation by auction houses."
Despite the fact that contractual obligations prevent the auction house from disclosing buyers' names, Toren has,
through independent investigation, discovered that an Israeli collector acquired Basket Weavers, Haaretz reports.
Before having filed a petition in court, Toren had attempted to find the buyer's identity through a message in the Israeli
daily: "Be fair. Return the stolen art in your possession," he pledged via Haaretz.
What's certain is that the buyer is aware of the recent developments. Villa Grisebach's Kapitsky told artnet news that
when first details of the painting's provenance emerged in March of 2014, "we immediately informed the present owner
that the task force investigating the Munich art find had obtained further data and that the pastel painting had once
been part of the collection of David Friedmann, Breslau. Obviously, we will continue to work towards a reconciliation of
the parties' interests within the scope of what is permitted under law."
There is no available information on the buyer of the Skrabina painting. artnet News: http://artnt.cm/1U2yu1X
Pandering or Populism in the Arts Are cultural institutions responding to the wants and needs of their visitors or simply trying to sell tickets?
Where are the fine arts in America headed in the 21st century? Do they
have a future? If so, what shape will it take? I recently read two superficially
unrelated news stories that, taken together, gave me what I suspect is a
glimpse into that future—and I didn’t much like what I saw there.
The first story comes from Southern Methodist University’s National Center
for Arts Research, which just released a report called “NCAR Arts Vibrancy
Index II: Hotbeds of America’s Art and Culture” that purports to measure
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April 20, 2016
the relative “arts vibrancy” of 900‐odd U.S. communities. “Vibrancy” is a fuzzy buzzword, and the NCAR does little to
clear it up. It claimed in last year’s report to have put together “a set of data‐based indices that highlight metropolitan
areas whose arts and culture scenes pulsate with vigor and activity.” Both reports, however, are purely statistical and
studiously value‐neutral: “Our assessment of arts vibrancy uses multiple measures of supply, demand and public support
for arts and culture on a per capita basis. . . . Our measures of vibrancy say nothing about the quality of the art itself.”
Fair enough—but how can you measure “vibrancy” without measuring quality? Does the NCAR believe that all art is
equal? Which brings us to the second story, published last week in the Indianapolis Business Journal. It involved the
Indianapolis Museum of Art, which recently conducted an online survey in which participants were asked to vote on
which “potential upcoming exhibitions” interested them most. The choices included “The Art of Forgery,” “Hot Cars,
High Fashion, Cool Stuff,” “Orchids” and “Rise of Robotics,” and the participants were asked to say “how likely” they
would be to visit the IMA in order to view them.
According to Stephanie Perry, the IMA’s public relations manager, “We’re on a new road trying new things. . . . this is
part of the process to better get to know our guests and incorporate guest opinions into what we do.” That’s definitely a
new road, not just for the IMA but for art museums in general. Time was when they operated on a take‐it‐or‐leave‐it
basis, proceeding on the assumption that museums are teaching institutions whose curators know more about art than
their patrons do. The same was historically true of performing‐arts organizations like symphony orchestras and theater
companies: They existed to give the public access to major works of art, and they presented those works in such a way
as to explicate and illuminate their importance.
All this used to apply to the IMA, whose 54,000‐work collection contains such indisputably major paintings as Cézanne’s
“House in Provence” and Van Gogh’s “Enclosed Field With Peasant.” But times have changed, and nothing is more
illustrative of the nature of those changes than the following press release: “The Indianapolis Museum of Art will tee off
its summer season on May 6 with a new interactive art experience—an artist‐designed putt‐putt course set within the
beauty of the IMA campus. Mini Golf at the IMA combines original art with playful competition. The course, located on
the IMA’s Alliance Sculpture Court, features 18 holes designed by local and regional artists. In honor of Indiana’s 2016
Bicentennial, each hole is inspired by Indiana history, heritage and landmarks.”
Believe me, I’m all for exposing more people to the fine arts. Yet I wonder: Exactly how will the IMA’s putt‐putt golf
course make Indianapolis a more artistically “vibrant” community? And how many people who would consider going
there to see “Hot Cars, High Fashion, Cool Stuff” are likely to linger in front of “Enclosed Field With Peasant” on the way
out and be forever changed by their chance encounter with a masterpiece?
Everything I’m asking here can be squeezed into one simple question: When does populism become pandering? I wish I
had a simple answer, but I’m sure of this much: You’re pandering when you give the people exactly what they say they
want—and nothing else. And I’m just as sure that a museum that polls its patrons to ask what they want to see, then
seeks to lure them through the front door with putt‐putt golf, is headed down a well‐intentioned road that leads straight
to artistic hell. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1WBeV1C
Art Supplies Making a Difference for Perth's Homeless
PERTH, AUSTRALIA: A new project has begun offering art supplies to homeless people in Perth's Wellington Square—
creating a distraction from alcohol and a new way to connect. Claire Nichols reports on Art in the Park.
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April 20, 2016
Wellington Square has long been a gathering place for Perth's Aboriginal homeless population, who are often awaiting
medical treatment at nearby Royal Perth Hospital. A high proportion of the park's homeless have complex medical
problems, which are often further complicated by drug and alcohol abuse.
Crossroads outreach worker Nicki Shaw is driving the new initiative and says the Art in the Park program has allowed her
to better connect with Wellington Square's residents.
'It became a great way of engaging people, especially people who
didn't initially want to engage with services [but] do come to the
park. Over time they would come and sit down and ask what we
were doing.
'It was a great harm reduction project, we would sit down with
people and provide them with food and water,' Shaw says.
According to Shaw, Art in the Park is also helping to reduce the
amount of alcohol being consumed in the park.
'A lot of people who would then start painting would stop
drinking because they wanted their painting to look really good.
'They would encourage friends and family to do painting, they would then avoid a lot of their drink.'
Vivien Richards, who has lived in Perth for five years, is taking part in the program.
'Painting makes me feel good, it’s like you are back at school, you don't have to worry about anybody around, you just
have to worry about yourself,' she says.
'It's a good thing for [the park's homeless] to do painting because it keeps them occupied in their way of life as they sit in
the park, not drinking as much because the painting keeps them off it.' ABC Online: http://ab.co/1qBSKM7
From Operating Table to Canvas, Nate Lewis Finds Intricate Art
WASHINGTON, DC: Thirty‐year‐old Nate Lewis never so much as doodled in
the margins of a notebook for the first 20 years of his life. He grew up
wanting to be a nurse like his father, so he got a nursing degree from Virginia
Commonwealth University in 2009. Art really wasn’t on his radar.
Towards the end of college, his classes started to wear him out, so he
distracted himself during lectures by sketching. His older sister Leah, 32,
peeked over his shoulder one day and complimented the work. The
following Christmas, she got him some art supplies and a book: Betty
Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
From those humble beginnings, Lewis has come a long way. He’s opening his
first solo exhibition this Friday at Morton Fine Art, a collection of 14
intricately crafted paper sculptures that present the human anatomy in a
variety of forms.
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April 20, 2016
Lewis hails from the small town of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania—population: 9000—where his main pastimes included
listening to music and playing baseball and basketball. “I was essentially a jock growing up,” he says.
Nursing appealed to him first as a venue in which he could study science and the human body. Only gradually did he
realize that being a nurse meant taking intimate care of people at their most fragile and vulnerable. That scared him at
first, but when he embraced the role, he found it fulfilling.
“When you walk into the room at 7 a.m. to take care of these patients, the families just open up with everything to you.
You become part of this critical time in their family history,” Lewis says. “You have an intimate relationship and trust
with these family members.”
After going through school, he took up work at several critical care facilities, including a surgical intensive care unit and a
stroke unit. At that time, his main artistic interests were in music. He took a violin class because his mother was using
one at the same time.
“I think that was my art more than anything, just listening to it. I wanted to play,” Lewis says. “I loved the strings, I just
loved the violin and I just loved the sound of it.”
Playing put Lewis in the right headspace to start exploring his drawing skills. At first his sister told him to “draw some
life”—buildings and other city surroundings. But Lewis quickly found that subject boring.
“Just drawing something to get better at it, I didn’t enjoy it,” Lewis says. “I wanted art to be fun.”
So he followed his muse, drawing increasingly elaborate images pairing an instrument with an organ—a trumpet with a
set of lungs coming out, a phonograph made of red blood cells, a pair of brains that doubled as headphones. He brought
his sketch pad and pencil to coffee shops near his home, then in Falls Church. It gradually dawned on him that his
unconscious mind was simply translating the experiences he was having at work in the hospital, giving shape to the
abstract concepts behind the medical procedures he witnessed.
The drawings grew into a T‐shirt line, followed by some experimentation with a black pen. Then he realized he could use
the blade as a pen to make smaller and more layered designs. By January 2014, he had started making full pieces like the
ones he’s now displaying, cranking out as many as twelve per month. The largest pieces—26 inches by 40 inches—can
take between 26 to 38 hours to create, Lewis said.
Since then, Lewis has been focused on displaying his creations and, as of October 2014, selling them. All the while, he’s
maintained a steady paycheck at various hospitals, including George Washington Hospital, where he currently works in
the recovery area of the critical care unit. That job is less emotionally taxing than some of his previous ones, he admits.
Among numerous accolades, Lewis won the regional edition of the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series contest last year and
earned grants from the D.C. Commission of the Arts & Humanities for the last two years running. He’s done shows in
Brooklyn and San Francisco, and he placed in the top ten of a contest at the Hamiltonian Gallery on U Street. Through a
friend, he sent his work to the Morton Fine Art Gallery in Adams Morgan, which quickly signed him to a contract and
supported him at the Art Basel convention in Miami.
Amy Morton, the founder of the gallery, took to Lewis’ style soon after seeing it, according to gallery assistant Julia
Bancroft. The mixture of texture and simplicity, as well as Lewis’ local placement, make him a good fit for the gallery’s
roster, Bancroft says.
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April 20, 2016
“He’s just hitting it off in the city and gaining some recognition,” Bancroft says. “We’re just really happy to support him.”
Looking ahead, Lewis hopes to slowly make a foray into photography. Eventually, he could see his artistic career
dominating his professional life full‐time. But he’s in no rush to abandon his medical career.
“It’s scary to think about going from a regular consistent paycheck to relying on selling things that people don’t need.
But you’ve got to take a leap when it’s time,” Lewis said. “I’m in no hurry.”
Art serves a meditative role for Lewis, but he’s more concerned with communicating indescribable experiences to the
widest possible audience.
“Art has done a lot for me and it’s showed me a lot of things about myself and about others,” Lewis said. “And it’s
something that I just need to continue to cultivate.” dcist: http://bit.ly/23H4a2Y
FBI and Interpol Alerted: Springfield Art Museum Official Says Warhol Prints Stolen
SPRINGFIELD, MO: Prints of Andy Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans"
were stolen from the Springfield Art Museum this week, according to
the chair of the museum's board.
"We're shocked and totally saddened," Sally Scheid said.
Someone broke into the museum and stole artwork between 5:30
p.m. Wednesday and 8:45 a.m. Thursday, police spokeswoman Lisa
Cox said. The FBI and Interpol have been notified, she said.
Scheid said she spoke with the museum's director about the theft
and was not sure how many prints were stolen or if any other
artworks were stolen.
An online database of some of the museum's permanent collection indicates Springfield Art Museum's 10 Andy Warhol
soup can color screenprints were made by the artist in 1968.
The museum acquired them in 1985 in a gift by Ronald K., Robert C. and Larry H. Greenburg.
In 2015, a similar 1968 color screenprint from Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup I” series sold for $30,660, according to the
website of London‐based art auction house Christie’s.
Cox declined to say exactly what was taken but confirmed some artwork was stolen.
The museum's developing and marketing coordinator, Josh Best, said the museum is open, although one exhibition —
The Electric Garden of Our Minds: British/American Pop — is closed because of the investigation.
According to the museum's website, the exhibit included prints of Andy Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans" and Eduardo
Paolozzi's "General Dynamic F.U.N." portfolio.
Eduardo Paolozzi's "General Dynamic F.U.N." is a portfolio of 50 photolithographs and screenprints published in 1970.
Individual prints from that set were recently listed at about $280 to $850 apiece by U.K.‐based Gerrish Fine Art.
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April 20, 2016
The museum is a department of the City of Springfield funded by property taxes, according to Cora Scott, a
spokeswoman for the city. Scott noted that many pieces of artwork are donated to the museum.
Scott said that all the works at the museum are covered by a fine arts insurance policy that has annual premium of
$14,045.
"We are still researching whether or not there has ever been a loss of artwork in the past," she wrote in an email. "There
hasn't been an incident in any recent history. We are constantly working on improving security measures and find it a
challenging balance with keeping art accessible to the community. We appreciate the outpouring of support we are
already receiving from our art patrons."
Jerry Berger was the museum's director from 1988 until his retirement in 2010. He said, as best as he could recall, during
his tenure there were never any break‐ins at the Springfield Art Museum.
Nick Nelson is the museum's current director. In a press release from the museum, he said: “The museum is working
with the proper authorities and being proactive in our security efforts as we remain open to the public. We are
confident that the measures we are taking will protect the museum’s treasures, while still making art accessible to our
community."
Scheid has been the chair of the board since June 2014 and a member of the board since 2010.
She said the theft felt like "an invasion of the trust" the museum has in the community.
As part of an accreditation process, the museum has been working on an emergency preparedness plan for the last six
months, she said. Scheid said part of that process has been to review the museum's security systems. She said that the
new emergency preparedness plan has not yet been completed. Springfied News‐Leader: http://sgfnow.co/1qBTfG6
'Cool Yoghurt Guy' Terrorising Auckland Art Supplies Store
AUKLAND, NEW ZEALAND: They call him a heartthrob, a menace, a
yoghurt‐gobbling miscreant who haunts pre‐dawn Symonds Street in
Auckland's CBD.
Cool Yoghurt Guy divides opinions, but everyone agrees on one thing:
he's a mystery.
He's a man of few words and many deeds. For the past month he's
been sticking the lids of Meadow Fresh yoghurt which he has
presumably just eaten to the window of the Gordon Harris art
supplies store on Symonds Street, central Auckland.
Do you know Cool Yoghurt Guy? Email us at [email protected]
It happens around three times a week: at around 8am branch
manager Aaron King‐Cole arrives at the store to find a yoghurt lid
stuck to the window.
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April 20, 2016
Cool Yoghurt Guy appears to lick the flimsy lids mostly clean before applying them, but there's still plenty of dairy to act
as adhesive.
By the time King‐Cole arrives, the lids have been baking in the sun for a few hours. The yoghurt is dry, crusty and hard to
remove.
"They definitely leave some yoghurty residue," he says.
Like his identity, Cool Yoghurt Guy's purpose is enigmatic. But King‐Cole is getting sick of cleaning dried yoghurt off the
shop window.
"It's mostly really annoying, yeah. I don't know, it's kind of funny, but mostly just really annoying," he says. "We're not
really sure what he's doing. At all."
Over a week ago, the shop put up a sign asking Cool Yoghurt Guy to desist.
"Hey! Cool Yoghurt Guy," it read. "Please stop sticking your Meadow Fresh lids on our windows. It is not awesome. It is
not mysterious. We can see you being a jerk on CCTV."
However, the sign seemed only to incense Cool Yoghurt Guy, who has started sticking his lids over it.
King‐Cole has captured him on CCTV, but it's 6.45am as he sticks the lid on, and it's too dark to discern his face.
"There's not really much we can do about it. We were hoping a sign might at least make him aware that we know that
he's doing it and we're having to deal with it and hopefully he'd stop. But he's just sort of started putting them on the
sign."
And Cool Yoghurt Guy now appears to have a female admirer. She stuck up a sign underneath the shop's sign that reads:
"Hey Cool Yoghurt Guy! Some gals wait all their lives for a guy like you."
She leaves him a phone number with the words: "Hit me up! I can make you a star."
What she doesn't realise is he already is one. Oddstuff: http://bit.ly/1ravBBr
Painting Found In French Attic Is $137 Million Caravaggio, Say Experts
PARIS, FRANCE: A painting found in the attic of a house in
southwest France two years ago was attributed to the Italian
master Caravaggio by private French experts who hailed its
discovery on Tuesday as a great event in the history of art.
The work, which depicts Biblical heroine Judith beheading an
Assyrian general, was found by the owners of a house near
Toulouse as they investigated a leak.
It could be worth 120 million euros ($137 million), the Eric
Turquin art expert agency said in a statement.
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April 20, 2016
The painting is thought to have been painted in Rome in 1604‐1605 by Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, and is
in exceptionally good conditions, Eric Turquin said, despite having been forgotten in the attic for probably more than
150 years.
“A painter is like us he has tics, and you have all the tics of Caravaggio in this. Not all of them, but many of them ‐
enough to be sure that this is the hand, this is the writing of this great artist,” Turquin told Reuters TV.
The owners of the painting had no idea they had it until they went to the top of the house to check a leak in the roof,
Turquin said.
“They had to go through the attic and break a door which they had never opened .. They broke the door and behind it
was that picture. It’s really incredible,” he said.
French authorities have put a bar on it leaving France, describing it in a decree as a painting of “great artistic value, that
could be identified as a lost painting by Caravaggio. The Huffington Post: http://huff.to/1Nxn3bZ
Art is Helping This Painter, Who Lives With a Brain Injury, Soothe the Wounds of Ferguson
ST. LOUIS, MO: St. Louis painter Howard Barry is among the
many creative people making work around the events of
Ferguson.
But Barry’s story has an unusual twist. It starts with his own
tragedy, 24 years ago.
When Howard Barry joined the Army in the mid‐1980s, he knew
he might end up in any number of dangerous situations. He just
didn’t think riding his bike near the base in San Francisco would
be one of them. But in 1992, he was seriously injured in a hit‐
and‐run, in which a driver knocked him down, ran him over, and fled the scene.
“After seeing the bottom of the car, the next thing I remember is the paramedics cutting my clothes, my boots and
things off me,” Barry said.
The crash broke Barry’s jaw and elbow, and damaged his wrist and two discs in his spine. For months, he couldn’t talk or
even communicate on paper. After regaining the use of his right hand, he began doodling to release some of his
frustration and despair.
“I would draw almost like you do free‐writing, like when you get writers block they tell you just write, just write words,”
he said.
A serendipitous encounter
Barry's drawing ability got better, but his short temper and shorter attention span didn’t. He took mind‐numbing
medications while he and his wife Edith pushed for more help. Finally, doctors diagnosed a traumatic brain injury — 16
years after he was hurt. An occupational therapist told Barry to keep making art, that it might help his recovery.
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April 20, 2016
“She got this bag and started filling it up with art stuff, a drawing book, a coloring book, some charcoal pencils,” Barry
said.
Barry didn’t show anyone his work. He certainly didn’t think of it as art; more of a way to express himself, and remember
things. In his community college classes, he drew pictures instead of writing notes.
One day, while talking with his school advisor about career choices, a picture he’d drawn of a basketball star fell out of
his papers and onto her desk.
“When she saw it, she was like, ‘Is this yours?’ And I said, ‘Yes,’” Barry said. “And then she said, ‘If you’ve got more than
these, then all these other things we’ve talked about are going to be a wrong fit.”
She asked him to send his work to some art schools.
“I was pretty sure they were going to say, ‘Stick to your day job,” Barry said.
Instead they encouraged him to apply, but he decided it would be more sensible to go into graphic design. Degree in
hand, he set up a home studio, becoming a near‐recluse.
Then Ferguson happened.
Pictures go where protesters can’t
Barry drew out his anger and sadness over this tragedy in portraits, including one of Michael Brown’s family, using pages
of the St. Louis American as his canvas. In one portrait, headlines with words like “justice” and “healing” float through
the faces.
“This is Mike Brown and this is the mom and this is the dad but it’s that broken‐down moment where he's cradling his
head in his hands,” he said.
As he painted, feelings poured out onto the pages of newsprint.
“That was the first body of work I did that I didn’t hold any pain back,” he said.
At first, Barry made this work in his private journals. Later, he tentatively shared a few pieces on social media that
caught the eye of the curator of an exhibition called “Hands Up Don’t Shoot.” Backed by his wife Edith’s encouragement
and planning skills, Barry finished 21 pieces for the show. Some are of people shouting. But others, similar to the Brown
family portrait, are meant to get the attention of those who’ve become numb to endless images of angry protestors.
“What they’re not ready for is for people to have that same amount of anger and that same amount of passion go
directly toward something that’s actually going to change something,” Barry said. “These pictures can go places most
protesters can’t.”
Meet Barry's 'handler'
During this surge of creativity, Edith Barry noticed her husband no longer expressed anger by lashing out or knocking
things off a desk.
“He’s in a peaceful place, he’s more calm,” she said.
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April 20, 2016
But the trade‐off was that was she wound up with a new job: his handler.
“Pretty much, that’s what I do, and I mean, I do it all,” she said.
Doing "it all" involves everything from buying his art supplies to making sure he gets his work done on time for
exhibitions and commissions. So how does he react when she prods him about meeting a deadline?
“Most times it’s a fight,” she said.
“Sometimes, it depends,” he said.
But Howard Barry says his biggest problem isn’t saying no to his wife — it’s turning down requests for work.
“I’ve said yes to so many things that I’m trying to find that balance where I have time to work on things for me,” he said.
Barry’s current group exhibition, “Visualizing Life: Social Justice in Real Time,” is on display at the Vaughn Cultural Center
through June 3. St. Louis Public Radio: http://bit.ly/1Tf7f24
Artists Mourning the Loss of Two of Edmonton's Free Graffiti Walls
EDMONTON, ALBERTA: Some local artists are mourning the loss of
two free graffiti walls and disputing claims that they increased
tagging.
Two years ago, the Open Source Street Art Pilot Project opened two
exterior walls — one behind the Tire Craft on Whyte Avenue and one
on an old building in Mill Woods — to graffiti artists in need of a
canvas.
In return, the city got a chance to see whether the free walls cut
down on vandalism in surrounding neighbourhoods.
The project ended in March and the city decided not to continue, saying tagging around the walls had actually increased,
and the cost of maintaining the walls was high.
But Kim Fjordbotten, owner of The Paint Spot, an art supply store next to one of the walls, disputes those findings.
“I’m sad that the soundbite was there was more tagging, because that wasn’t really our experience,” she said, noting the
intent of the pilot project was to closely monitor vandalism.
“With the increased scrutiny and reporting, of course, came the numbers that said it was increased, when in fact I think,
overall, it was the same or less.”
Still, Katie Hayes, a graffiti project manager with the city said the free walls “weren’t sustainable” given the funds and
labour required.
Still, she said, the city wants to continue to bring in public art.
To that end, it has replaced the wall on Whyte Ave with an “outdoor art gallery” of spray art that will be periodically
replaced.
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April 20, 2016
“[It will] bring that heightened awareness of the difference between street art and graffiti vandalism,” Hayes said.
Artist Jamie Law said the gallery is not the same as the free walls.
“Graffiti is still going to happen," he said. "The war on graffiti will always continue, but now it’s not going to be positive
because you haven’t given us a place to do it.” Edmonton Metro: http://bit.ly/1YD9RIA
Before You Go To the Top of the World...
Cory Trépanier recently posted a YouTube video of his expedition to
Aulavik National Park in the Arctic Circle. He and a couple of friends
took canoes down the Thomsen River, “the most northerly navigable
canoe route in North America.” We decided to ask him what it takes
to go on a nine‐week painting expedition across the Canadian Arctic.
The artist said there are countless things that a person needs to do
to prepare for such a challenging trip, and then he managed to
single out 13 big ones. Trépanier said that there was a lot more to it
than remembering to bring your paints. Specifically, he
recommended:
Look at the calendar and start planning far, far ahead. A year or
more is a good start.
Be prepared to spend either a lot of money or spend time cultivating
support from companies who can assist in defraying costs through
promotional value you can offer (i.e., social media stories, supplying
expedition photos, etc.) and clientele who might pre‐purchase
paintings up front in exchange for first rights to acquire them before
the public. Traveling the far north is by its nature rather pricey.
Make sure you are in the best physical shape you can be before
heading into the field. This is not optional; your life depends on it
when in the remote wilderness, many miles and days from the nearest hospital. My training included a mix of weight
resistance and cardio, to help in carrying canoes, heavy packs, and the like. Training in the winter in an unheated barn in
‐23 degree Celsius temperatures wasn’t the most fun, but necessary. A simple pulled muscle in the field can jeopardize a
huge amount of work that has gone into making the trip happen, and the trip itself. Besides, being fit allows one to focus
more on the creative act of painting when, after hours of hiking, the easel is pulled out and the real work begins.
Practice outdoor skills locally before heading into the wild, and, if you can, bring someone who knows more than you.
Hire a local guide to access regions beyond your wilderness‐travel skill levels. I often have traveled with Inuit guides in
remote corners of the Arctic as they have been able provide boat access and gun protection when in polar bear country.
Every community has a hunter’s and trapper’s committee and can usually help connect you to someone.
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April 20, 2016
Bring at least TWO sets of your painting gear — paints, brushes, and panels. You never know when you might have an
accident (i.e., dump a canoe) or lose gear at an airport. Replacing art supplies is not an option in the far north during a
trip!
Make lists and more lists for everything you are bringing on the trip, and check them over and over as you pack.
Don’t paint the first nice view you come across. Instead, take some time to get to know the land, to see the changing
effects of the light, which in the far north might be subtler. The sun may not set at all in many places during the summer.
Hike around before settling down. Often this can take hours and days, but the result will be more thought‐out
compositions that reflect this sublime landscape.
Mosquitoes can be really nasty in some places. Bug jackets are great, but I find looking through the fine mesh to be very
annoying. I heavily douse my cap and the underside of the brim with mosquito repellent, then spread it across my face
and neck, and keep the rest of my body covered up. I think the mosquitoes up north tend to be quite thirsty, as most of
the time they lick the bug dope off and bite me anyway. It’s a small price to pay for spectacular views that no one has
ever painted before.
Keep your painting gear light, and bring fewer colors into the field with you. I recommend this — but I have not been
able to pare my own paint selection to much fewer than 15‐20 colors.
LEAVE NO TRACE: Leave nothing behind from your journey but footprints.
Above all, immerse yourself into the land, take time to soak it in, feel the rhythms of life while out there. The more you
know your subject and the greater your passion for it, the more meaning your work will carry for you, and for others
that view it.
There are many challenges in this approach to painting, but the rewards are high for each hard‐earned canvas.
Connecting with wild places in this manner is humbling as the realization of just how small you are in this vast landscape
sets in. And I believe humility leads to better, more meaningful art. Outdoor Painter: http://bit.ly/1MDuEuM
