Livefeed of Smithsonian Talk

Here's a link to the livestream video of my keynote talk at the Smithsonian American Art Museum for Hello Etsy on September 18th. The opening keynote earlier that day was given by Dr. John Maeda, artist and President of RISD. His talk was fascinating.

Full Mano

Fellow embroiderer and French artist Full Mano has a show opening tonight at the Krash Bar in Paris. Of course -just a week after I left. Bien que ce soit un cruise bar, j'y aurais allée bien volontiers! Bon vernissage et bisous!

Full Mano on Facebook

Previously on EAA:
Full Mano - Sur le Fil
Full Mano - Encore

Hong Chun Zhang

"Twin Spirits"#1 (2002)
4ft x 10ft (each)
charcoal on paper

This past weekend, I spoke at Hello Etsy's satellite event in Washington D.C. at The Smithsonian American Art Museum / National Portrait Gallery.

When I had a moment to slip away, I walked through the permanent collection and also checked out the current exhibition Portraiture Now: Asian American Portraits of Encounter. I was absolutely blown away by the monumental work of Hong Chung Zhang.

Vanités Sacrées

(click for large view)

My first solo show in Paris, Vanités Sacrées, opened at Galerie LJ on September 1st along with a concurrently running solo show by Korean artist, Eun-Mi Oh.

(photo via Art In The Box)
Her prints (which were all series of one) were my favorites.

I only managed to click off a few photos before the evening turned into a blur. My favorite part was having an elderly couple from Spain corner me for an impassioned discussion about Mormon hairstyles:

(click for large view)

(click for large view)

About the work (from the gallery’s website):

"Show me how you wear your hair, and I will tell you to whom you pray."

Twenty graphite and colored pencil drawings by Jenny Hart. These works depict “subjects that cover their heads or fashion their hair for religious reasons. Specifically not when only done as decoration for special religious ceremonies, but when worn as part of daily life and every day dress.” Braids, wigs, veils, chador, sheitel, curled sideburns and a non-exhaustive variety of religious stylings reflect a curiosity by the artist for the subject, without criticism or judgement. Fascinated by the different techniques of embroidery, the other principal medium of Hart’s work, she says she loves to draw embroidery stitches and is equally fascinated with their execution as they parallel the knotting, weaving and embellishment that hair can also take on.

All drawings can be seen online here. Contact Adeline Jeudy info@galerielj.com for more information. Remaining works will go on to the Drawing Now salon at the Louvre in spring 2012.

Vanités Sacrées (solo show)
@ Galerie LJ, Paris, France
opens: Sept 1 until *Oct 18 2011
*the exhibition will be closed Sept 27 - Oct 10
for private functions during Paris fashion week