Jane's Walk

The Center for the Living City is hosting Jane's Walk SLC this Saturday from 1 - 3pm.

The walk celebrates the legacy and ideas of urban activist and writer Jane Jacobs who championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building.

Jane’s Walk is accessible, fun and free – it’s about getting out and walking, observing your city, meeting your neighbours and discovering new areas. Just consult our ‘Jane’s Walk city pages’ to find out more about the scheduled tours.

This is a tour of SLC's focus on the evolution of mixed-use development in Salt Lake, including award-winning affordable housing, and historic places and spaces for the arts in the city’s warehouse district.

Art Space's Bridge Building (500 We. 200 So.) will be included with the tour as well as Iao Gallery which will be featuring the work of Angela Woods City in Motion Exhibition.

Can't wait to see you there!

Whatever Happened to... Gregory Bae???

An update of a former Iao Gallery participant Gregory Bae shows that Mr. Bae who exhibited last year at Iao is doing rather well in Brooklyn and working at an artist's residence called The Space. Apparently he had a group show there called "Colorful First Friday".

His Luc Tuymans style with muted, impressionistic slashes and heavy impasto make his work full of personal signatures. Feel free to contact him at:

Gregory Bae 23 Locust St. Brooklyn, NY 11206 grgryb@gmail.com 801.953.9473

Art Boxing Match: Holly Mae Pandergast vs.Jeffrey Hale

Today I will be focusing on comparing two similar artists: Holly Mae Pandergast and Jeffrey Hale from our own Iao stable of artists. What is interesting is the similarities in their signature element which is influenced most heavily by Modigliani and his use of elongated figures and stretched necks in figurative work.

However, the mood is different. Ms. Pandergast uses a rather pastel and muted array of tones within her painting example above whereas Mr. Hale uses a strongly bright set of colors instead. There is a more decorative background in Hale's work which adds an oriental element to the figure and complements whereas the "lack" of background in Pandergast's figure work tends to allow the viewer to focus more of the painful grimace of the model and the facial expression.

Hale's Katya with her indifferent look and her crossed arms suggests that the model does not want to communicate with the viewer directly. The expression is "borrowed" from a more commercial vein such as a Guess ad. Pandergast's model has a more religious expression, that of suffering and painful ecstacy. One could argue that her view of the figure is more profound but honestly, I tend towards the stylized and more commercial and subtly postmodern so Hale's painting has a certain appeal which makes me feel like I'm involved rather than the traditional pieta-like motif which has overtones throughout Western history.

Round one: Hale I believe? Time to let the reader decide...

Miresi, fascinating artist to watch

Lately I've been relishing the architectural works on paper by the brilliant Italian/German artist Miresi (lives in Berlin). Her website is located by Clicking Here and she has a monograph available through Charta. Initially her "traditional" approach may be startling in an era where postmodern installations seem to be the norm but she examines history, particularly through the "aura" of historical buildings in a large scale is rather impressive.

Her work reminds me of Luc Tuymans particularly in the use broad sweeping lines and reserved, muted colors. However, Tuymans tends to focus on the idea of history in relation to personal history whereas Miresi is more interested in the broad shapes and motion of lines in a Futurism sense of the word. Her version of history is dominant in terms of looking at how it is hidden in the use of the buildings by humans, particularly in her rendition of the Reichstag and Jewish memorials.

-qi peng

News Article for Dealers!

The New York Time's recently printed an article on the business of art fairs. For your convenience we are posting it here for download as a PDF.

Enjoy!

Download Here

Book Review: Abstraction Gesture Ecriture

Hi folks,

I would like to introduce myself as qi peng, one of the artists on the Iao Gallery roster. Lately I've been pursuing a really awesome book called "Abstraction Gesture Ecriture" by various writers who analyze paintings from the Daros Collection in Switzerland. This tome looks how even though paintings can be abstract, they can take up various forms of gestures placed upon the canvas or support.

This is a solid introduction to abstract art during the 20th century and begins with examples from Klee's calligraphy and ends with the postmodern quotations from various oriental motifs by Phillip Taaffe. Each essay is enlightening with a touch of humor especially about the oxidation paintings executed by Warhol's "assistants" (I will let you guys read about it from the book just so you can know what's the method used for them!)

I recommend this book wholeheartedly. I find it a lovely introduction to the controversial Cy Twombly's graffiti-style work (way before Basquiat) before the viewer embarks on the more difficult monographs.

A short introduction to myself:

qi peng was born in Queens, New York in 1976. He received his masters degree at Yale University. He is a conceptual artist and documentary photographer who works with various approaches ranging from traditional drawing to mixed media philosophical paintings to conceptual documentary photography. The artist currently lives and works near downtown Salt Lake City and New York City for special projects.

Fun Exhibition at the UMFA!

March 21, 2008 - April 24, 2008
Be a part of art, a 14,000 cubic feet art installation to be exact. This art installation will a participatory experience, aspiring artists, knitters- anyone with a desire to be a part of something big will be needed to complete this sculpture, drawing, and installation hybrid. The installation will be a two-part, layered collaborative project of sorts. The initial collaboration is between artists Sheila Pepe and Colby Brewer. Both artists create site-responsive installations, which redefine an empty gallery space as both a walk-in environment and psychological playground.

The final layer of the collaboration belongs to anyone who would like to be a part of this intriguing, one of kind installation. Begining on March 22nd, a variety materials will be provided on-site for participants who may tie, knot, or crochet their own additions to the piece.

We welcome anyone from the general public who wants to participate including children, adults, and families. This is limited, time sensitive installation. This piece will only be up for short time. The UMFA is currently repainting its galleries in preparation for the upcoming Monet to Picasso exhibition.

The UMFA is located at the University of Utah. Click Here for Directions!

A Beautiful Story for the Family from MetMuseum.org

Peach Blossom Spring is a story originally told seventeen hundred years ago by the poet Tao Qian. Here is the file from MetMuseum.org that you and your children can listen to. It's very entertaining and a story that everyone can enjoy.

Download the audio file here!

New Pieces by Sydney Bowman!

Artist Sydney Bowman has released four new works for her 2008 collection; Fuscia Feast, Communion, Pomagranates, and Amber Offering. These pieces are available to view on Sydney's page at iao-gallery.com/bowman.html.

These are truely amazing pieces that you are certain to enjoy. Here is a preview of "Amber Offering":