New Painting

Here's a small painting I finished..at least I think so. It's about 2 x 2 feet. Still need to live with it for a while. Looking forward to getting back into the groove so I can crank.

MoAD Exhibit extended

The exhibit at MoAD has been extended due to it's great response so go and see it if you haven't already. The museum is offering FREE admission for the month of February in honor of Black History Month.

Website Pain in the Ass!

Ok, I am no web master so the other day when I was trying to clean up my site, I created my first website nightmare! For about 5 days my website was down and I was trying everything that I knew how to do to get the bastard up and running again. Thank goodness I saved a previous version last year when I uploaded some new info. I trashed my site and uploaded it to find it solved the problem.

Note to self... Throw away any new updates and download a copy of what I have. Now all I need to do is add the new work that I was trying to upload in the first place!

In Progress

Was in the studio Sunday and got some work done. Feels pretty good after a couple months off. the studio is TRASHED! Here are a few paintings in progress.

MoAD Opening Reception with Museum Director and Curators

DAMN!

After the artist talk, we headed to Union Square and Heather spotted this shop called Cask. She picked up a bottle of Whiskey and I know we'll be back! Check out this bottle! Yum!

MoAD Artist Panel Discussion, Jan. 24, 2009

Yah, that's me fixin' my glasses...I'm not pickin' my nose!
I really wasn't expecting to be a part of it, but was politely talked into it.
Great discussion amongst the artists and the audience. I always leave panel discussions or lectures wondering if I said the right thing. With my short attention span, I need more time to think about an answer. I'm getting older!



Heather felt I had to represent, so she got me this hat...since she lost my hat from the Corcoran Museum in DC. Thanks babe!

MoAD Reception, January 23, 2009

I was really surprised at the number of people who came out to see the show at MoAD Friday evening and party with the artists. Met alot of great people and artists in the show, not to mention all my good friends who came out. I really appreciate your support! The exhibit was curated by Erica Agyeman and Demetri Broxton and runs till March 8th.

My painting made a nice backdrop for the DJ. I think the curators might have been a bit worried during installation. It nestled in there with just enough breathing room. I wish I had better lighting in my studio. I'm always shocked when I see my paintings in a gallery setting.


The Exec. Director of MoAD.

These paintings were on the second floor of the museum.

Getting Back to Work!

Kind of strange getting back into the studio. This painting is coming along and should be done soon. I think I'm still feeling a bit lazy from all the time off. Got a call from a good friend who invited me to show in Fresno in July. With that, it's time to ramp up.

MOAD

Stopped by MoAD (Museum of the African Diaspora) this past Saturday and picked up some announcements. While I was there I ran up to the second floor to see how my painting looked installed. I was wondering how a 10 foot tall painting would look on a 12 foot tall wall. Well, I think it looks fine and it's in a great spot. As you come up to the second floor from the stairs and turn right, there it is directly in front of you on the far wall. Here's the scoop on the exhibit.

Decoding Identity: I Do it for My People
January 23, 2009 – March 8, 2009

Forging a personal identity gives rise to a unique voice that transcends stereotypical barriers. The works of 20 diverse artists challenge cultural and ethnic prejudices and question issues of religion, sexuality, race, and gender. Ultimately, Decoding Identity heals the dynamic tension between individual and collective identities.

Includes works by: Lorraine Bonner, Ed and Linda Calhoun, Christopher Carter, Lalla Essaydi, John Yoyogi Fortes, Chaz Guest, David Huffman, Clint Imboden, Stephanie Anne Johnson, Annette Lawrence, Kelly Marshall, Wardell Milan, Ramekon O'Arwisters, Adrienne Pao, Jefferson Pinder, Dario Posada, Danny Ramirez, Manuel Rios, Blue Wade, and David Yun

Eric Kent Wine Cellars

Eric Kent Wine Cellars has my page up, but the studio and artwork shots are coming soon. Click on the photo to see the website.

Time to quit being a Couch Potato

The last time I was in the studio to paint was late November. I finally got in there this last Sunday to freeze my ass off, but managed to get some painting in before calling it quits. This one is still in progress.



Actually I quit when Heather came over to take some candid pictures of me for the Eric Kent Wine Cellars website. Here's the label. Not sure when the bottle will be out and the pictures uploaded to their site.

Happy Birthday Michele

Michele Meunnig had her 50th birthday party this past weekend and we had a great time. Lots of food and art. A great combo to say the least. Here's a shot of Coco chatting it up with Juan Carlos Quintana, Michele's husband.

CAL FIRE Video

I know this isn't about art, but I just finished shooting and editing a short piece about firefighters and firehouse kitchens. The video is a partner piece for Raley's Something Extra Magazine which has an article and recipes from various CAL FIRE Firehouse's in Northern California. This one was shot in Napa.

To see the video, click on the photo.

Happy New Year!

Just wanted to wish everyone visiting my blog a Happy New Year. Let's see what we can make of this year with a new President, new hope, new ideas and new friends.

Art ltd. Review

There's a review from the January 2009 issue of Art ltd.

John Yoyogi Fortes and Linda Raynsford at Pamela Skinner/Gwenna Howard Contemporary Art 

by David M. Roth

SACRAMENTO

Hip deep in the appropriationist methods that took hold in the 1980s and that continue to fuel lowbrow production as it inches toward highbrow respectability, John Yoyogi Fortes stands out for his ability to seamlessly integrate many different styles. His canvases, which roam from large to monumental, begin with an under girding of marks and color swatches and then build out into quasi-expressionist statements that hint at oblique political and personal conundrums.

In league with current trends in street art, Fortes practices a loose method of icon and symbol deployment that keeps viewers intrigued and suitably off-balance. His thinly painted characters, pulled from American and Asian comics and from ‘50s clip art, are united pictorially by brushed, spray-painted and stenciled graphic shapes that when combined, allude to narratives that may or may not exist. It’s a trickster’s game, and a good one at that. To wit: It’s easy to be amused by the telepathic “communion” between Superman and Jesus (Exercise in Mindfulness); the vaporization of ‘50s television characters (Christonite/Unsuspecting Impure Halo); and the apparent satirization of the Chinese pharmaceutical industry (Gift/Immaculate Misconception). Still, for all the fun, Fortes knows how to sling a broadside. His largest (120 x 96 inches) canvas, Immaculate Rendition, shows an Asian cartoon character bound in chains whose face appears to be that of Little Black Sambo. Outlined by a white shape that is equal parts Swastika and human figure, the picture makes a searing and unambiguous statement about American foreign policy.

Sculptor Linda Raynsford seems like an odd partner in this context; but she activates the room’s considerable space with works that challenge conventional notions of how steel should behave. I’m thinking in particular of Connected, a piece derived from metal doors that were cut up and “woven” into forms that dangle like seed pods from the ceiling, and of Swollen, a similarly crafted pedestal piece that looks like a big, gleaming donut. I Left My Wife, a large, floor-mounted stainless steel disk pounded into irregular surface shapes and inscribed with text, also confounds perception: the bottom is flat, like a deflated tire.

In art and life, things are rarely what they seem, and in this show, which is essentially a conjuring act, both artists succeed at upending expectations.

My kids come to see the show in Sac

This was shot when my son Willie came up from Fullerton for a visit during Thanksgiving weekend and we took him to see the show in Sacramento.

ART ltd. Video

Today is my first day back into the studio after some time off. Getting itchy to make something!!

Art ltd. Magazine put my video on their website last month. It's the same one I have posted on YouTube. I'm doing a test and will upload a Flash version to see if the quality changes since YouTube now can handle HD. Click here to check it out on ART ltd.'s website.

January 2009 Review

Was talking with Gwenna at Skinner/Howard Contemporary Art and she mentioned that the show at their gallery will be reviewed in the January issue of ART Ltd. magazine.

Midtown Monthly Article - November Issue

I met Tim, who wrote the article, the Thursday before the opening and had a nice conversation. Thanks Tim.

A few years ago I stumbled across John Yoyogi Fortes’ work in a side room at the Skinner / Howard Gallery while there to see another show. My immediate reaction was, “Why isn’t this guy’s show up right now?” I should be careful what I wish for, because Fortes has had so many shows in Sac recently that I can scarcely fit them all on my calendar. I like Fortes’ work a lot; he serves up hamfisted cartoon imagery- sort of Phil Guston meets Skip Williamson- with a street art twist, and then tops it off with a hint of Squeak Carnwath. The colors are always good and his graphic sensibilities are right on.
I’m greatly looking forward to this show if for no other reason than to see how Fortes resolves Immaculate Rendition, an immense canvas that he’s been wrestling with for thirty-five days, all meticulously documented on his blog. -TF