chashama Curriculum Vitae 2010

CURRICULUM VITAE 2009

2nd Annual Celebration of Harlem Arts Alliance Members (March 3, 2010)
chashama Harlem Studios Gallery, 461 West 126th Street
www.harlemaa.org

chashama 461 Studios Gallery
461 West 126th Street

(between Amsterdam & Morningside Avenues
Trains: 1/A/C/B/D to 125th Street station
Bus: #100, 101, 104, M60, Bx6 to 125th & Amsterdam)

You are cordially invited to the
Second Annual Celebration of Harlem Arts Alliance Members

DUE TO THE INCLEMENT WEATHER FORECAST THE EVENT IS BEING RESCHEDULED FOR
March 3rd, 2010, 7 - 9p

This year we inaugurate Member Recognition Awards in these three categories:

Artist Development - for the member that best demonstrates a commitment to initiatives that create new opportunities and advance the professional growth of Harlem Artists.

Community and Culture- will be awarded to the member who most exemplifies the spirit of the arts in connecting culture and the Harlem community through engagement, collaboration and education.

Arts and Social Issues- for the member most outstanding in using the arts to articulate and bring attention to important social issues.

Entertainment by The Tyrone Birkett Group

Catering by Amor Cubano

RSVP at rsvp@harlemaa.org
(include Member Celebration in the subject line)

The event is free to chashama artists-in-residence and Harlem Arts Alliance Members whose dues are current as of 02/26/2010.

www.harlemaa.org details

The Harlem Arts Alliance is a non-profit service organization committed to nurturing the artistic growth and organizational development of artists and arts organizations primarily in Harlem and surrounding communities. HAA mission statement

The Quilted Parallax (March 3 - 20, 2010)
an installation by Liz Ensz & Lea Bertucci
chashama Window Space, 266 West 37th Street
lizenszgallery.blogspot.com
lizensz@gmail.com
www.brokendiorama.com
lbertucci@gmail.com

chashama Window Space, 266 West 37th Street

between 7th and 8th Avenues, A/C/E/1/2/3 to 34th Street, N/R/Q/W/7/shuttle to Times Square; M16, M34 buses to 8th Ave, M10, M20 to 36th St.

The Quilted Parallax
an installation by Liz Ensz & Lea Bertucci

March 3 - 20, 2010

Opening Reception:
Wednesday, March 3rd, 6 - 9p

Open hours:
Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays 1p - 9p
Thursdays 3p - 7p

The Quilted Parallax merges the visual vocabulary of artists Lea Bertucci and Liz Ensz to create a shifting space that is defined by light and embellished by pattern. In Bertucci's photography and installations, light is used as an active architectural force that both describes and distorts space, while Ensz has focused on patterned imagery and transforming the textile into architecture.

This collaborative installation combines a shared interest in perception, architecture, space, and light. It is an intervention and deliberate visual contrast to the surrounding area; a contemplative space that functions as an abstract altar, a visual sanctuary from the advertising and frenetic pace of midtown Manhattan.

www.brokendiorama.com | lbertucci@gmail.com
http://lizenszgallery.blogspot.com/ | lizensz@gmail.com details

Within The Quilted Parallax, a series of uneven projection planes made of translucent mylar paper create a semi-circular space. These screens are architectural in nature with projections that are abstracted by multiple layers of cut out paper. Layered patterns of classic geometric quilting designs are cut, drawn, and collaged onto the mylar and emerge on the screens by way of additive light.

Slides and video of architectural surfaces, windows and sunlight are projected onto the screens, resulting in a constantly shifting and elusive architectural space. Moving light at once describes and obscures space to create a shifting architecture that is calm and slow yet mutable, and reveals multiple aspects of the installation. The perceived impermanence of the structure and the transparent collage of pattern and superimposed light images are ghostly and hypnotic, and allude to a supernatural realm. about The Quilted Parallax

Art/Song (February 23 - March 16, 2010)
Visual Music/Exhibition & Performances by
Jay Alan Zimmerman & Lisa Ingram
chashama Times Square Art Space, 112 West 44th Street
www.jayalanzimmerman.com
www.lisaingram.com

chashama 112 Times Square Art Space
112 West 44th Street
(between Broadway & Sixth Avenue
Subway: 1,2,3,7,B,D,F,N,Q,R,V,W to 42nd Street, shuttle to Times Square.
Bus: M104, M42 to Sixth Ave., M5, M6, M7 to 43rd St.)

Art/Song
Visual Music Exhibition & Performances by
Jay Alan Zimmerman &
Lisa Ingram

February 23 - March 16, 2010
2-7pm, Tuesday - Saturday

Performances every Wednesday & Saturday at 7p
Live painting by Lisa every Tuesday & Thursday

Broadway singers will have their voices converted into imagery during this free performance and exhibition series. Using layered video projections of real-time frequency analysis software, deaf composer Jay Alan Zimmerman will rehearse and present songs from his shows while attempting to re-train his brain to "hear" the shapes created by the voices of Ryan Allen, Raissa Katona Bennett (Phantom), Melvin Bell III (Black Nativity), Emily Cramer, Andrea Dora (Tarzan), Kelly Ellenwood (Phantom), Matt Lutz, Sierra Rein, Gabrielle Stravelli, and violinists Blair Lawhead, Bryony Straud-Watson, and Heather Vixler.

Called Art/Song, the project is a collaboration with abstract painter Lisa Ingram, who has further interpreted these vocal images of vowels and phonemes into a series of watercolor paintings and collaborated with Zimmerman on an installation of his destroyed synthesizers.

Open rehearsals will be every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon with free performances at 7p. The gallery will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 2-7p, with some artworks and multimedia installations on view 24 hours a day. details

Jay Alan Zimmerman is the composer/author of several full-length stage musicals including JAY ALAN ZIMMERMAN'S INCREDIBLY DEAF MUSICAL - selected "Pick of the Fringe" by The Washington Post, Smokin!, J@Z at the Zipper, as well as the award-winning short film musicals PAWNS and LOVE BURNS. He has been commissioned to compose works for stage, film, and dance, and wrote numerous children's songs published by Mondo Music and Warner/Chappell. about Jay Alan Zimmerman

Lisa Ingram studied painting with the art-world legends Ross Bleckner and Sean Scully and has since exhibited her work in numerous museums and galleries throughout the United States and Europe. This includes solo exhibitions at Soho Myriad Galleries, Atlanta GA; 55 Mercer Gallery, New York, NY; The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA; and many others, as well as group shows and collaborative projects at Fusion Arts Museum, New York, NY; The Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY; and Suyama Art Space, Seattle, WA. Her oils, watercolors, and limited edition prints are owned by countless private collectors and corporations around the world including Disney, Guggenheim Productions, Mandarin NYC, and Marriot Resorts. about Lisa Ingram

Charity Art Exhibit (February 18 - March 8, 2010)
featuring original works by Ecuadorian Artist Luis Salazar
presented by the Palms for Life Fund
chashama 30 West, 30 West 8th Street @MacDougal
info@palmsforlifefund.org
www.palmsforlifefund.org

chashama 30 West
30 West 8th Street, New York, NY

corner of MacDougal Street: A,B,C,D,E,F,V to West 4th station (exit at rear of station), 1 to Christopher Street station, walk down Greenwich Avenue to West 8th.

Palms for Life Fund presents a Charity Art Exhibit
featuring original works by
Ecuadorian Artist Luis Salazar

February 18 - March 8, 2010
Wine and Cheese Opening Reception: Thursday February 18th, 6 - 8p

Hours: Tuesdays - Saturdays, 12 - 8p

The paintings are framed and prices are very reasonable!

From February 18th to March 8th, The Palms for Life Fund will present the works of accomplished Ecuadorian artist, Luis Salazar at the chashama 30 West Gallery. As part of Palms for Life "Art for Life" initiative, all net proceeds from painting sales will go directly back to Ecuador to help educate poor children. This project is in collaboration with local organizations MEVA - Music Live Now - and the Brass Band of Ecuador that provide cultural education to children in poor neighborhoods.

Through Art for Life, Palms for Life achieves two goals: to share the talent of local artists and generate funds to support social investment. In this way, "Art for Life" creates new opportunities for many disadvantaged populations in Ecuador and around the world.

**All net proceeds from your purchases are donations (tax deductible) and will go directly to help feed and educate poor children in Ecuador**

www.palmsforlifefund.org | info@palmsforlifefund.org | 718-450-0123 details

Luis Salazar was born in Quito, January 31, 1966. At the age of 21, he enrolled in the Art Faculty from the Central University in Quito. While he began pursuing a career in photography, he soon became passionate about painting. He took classes with Maestro Oswaldo Viteri and traveled to Cuba to pursue his studies. He started painting soon after and was immediately recognized as a very unique talent. His most recent exhibits include: the Orbankai International Cafe in Landshut, Germany, the Meguro Art Museum in Tokyo, National Art Gallery in Malaysia, Casa de las Americas in La Havana, Jack Meier Gallery in Houston, Texas, and many other individual and collective exhibits in Ecuador. Luis teaches Art History and lives in Quito. He has produced 38 paintings for Palms for Life Fund. about Luis Salazar

"We are not an economic power, neither military nor political but we can be a cultural power." Manuel Benjamin Carrion Mora (1897–1979)

"This thought of Benjamin Carrion describes exactly our identity and our cultural wealth and geography. We are the heirs of an ancestral Cosmo vision that remains alive through our traditions and customs. That is why I allow myself to pick up in my paintings religious and urban symbols with suggestive metaphors that appear in many cases extremists and perhaps incomprehensible, however to me, this is what artistic expression is all about: the highest expression of hope and the concept of culture as an instrument of freedom allowing the permanent growth and development of the individual." artist statement

Palms for Life Fund is a not-for-profit corporation (501(c)(3)) dedicated to ending poverty by addressing its root causes. The funds we raise on behalf of very reputable local NGOs help to alleviate hunger, support food production, education, especially girls' education, adult literacy, health care for mothers and children and microfinance. With these investments Palms helps provide poor people with new opportunities to make the right choice for a better future. All net profits generated through Art for Life will help educate children in Ecuador while at the same time supporting the work of artist Luis Salazar. about Palms for Life

Qualia (February 5 & 6, 2010)
A Personal Iconography of Introspective Findings by Lisa Taliano
chashama Harlem Studios Gallery, 461 West 126th Street
Contact: lisa@taliano.com | http://taliano.com/

(between Amsterdam & Morningside Avenues
Trains: 1/A/C/B/D to 125th Street station
Bus: #100, 101, 104, M60, Bx6 to 125th & Amsterdam)

Qualia: A Personal Iconography of Introspective Findings

A solo exhibition of new oil paintings by Lisa Taliano. This work examines the content and quality of consciousness, translating and recording subjective experience into symbols, shapes, form and color.

February 5 & 6, 2010
Open Reception: Saturday, February 6, 6 - 9p
7 - 7:45p performance by Frank Oteri and Tonally Perplexed

For exhibit hours: lisa@taliano.com
http://taliano.com/ details

My work is abstract and geometric, yet personal and intuitive, decisions are based on feeling. I use symbols in these paintings to render feeling. The psychological and emotional values of the white circle and black square act as opposite poles of a personal lexicon used to generate meaning.

I see the surface of the painting as a mental dimension open to the searching mind, where the subjective and objective meet. The play of the geometric shapes on the two dimensional plane is an extension of the mind in space. The result is a configuration which represents a particular interior state, or reflection of my self.

Painting for me is a form of self reflection, a means of furthering self knowledge. In the process of painting, daily life and memories filter their way into the work, and the paintings become a record or diary of felt experience. I paint for myself, but I also paint to connect with others through our shared feelings. Through the personal I seek to understand the universal. artist statement

Tonally Perplexed is a trio devoted to exploring improvisation using microtonal scales with intervals as small as just noticeable differences. Frank J. Oteri performs on a specially designed keyboard instrument called the Tonal Plexus which is tuned to 205-tone equal temperament, a scale derived from the accumulation of just noticeable differences. Ratzo B. Harris performs as most acoustic bassists do on an instrument without frets which means that any interval is possible, but to further extend his possibilities his bass has extra strings. Jeffrey Herman, on the other hand, liberates the standardly tuned fretboard of his electric guitar by bending and frequently retuning strings as well as using a variety of processors. about Tonally Perplexed

Old and New (February 4 - 21, 2010)
an exhibit installation by Courtney Puckett
chashama Window Space, 266 West 37th Street
www.cpuckett.com
courtneygpuckett@gmail.com
Old and New is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts

chashama Window Space, 266 West 37th Street

between 7th and 8th Avenues, A/C/E/1/2/3 to 34th Street, N/R/Q/W/7/shuttle to Times Square; M16, M34 buses to 8th Ave, M10, M20 to 36th St.

Old and New
by Courtney Puckett

February 4 - 21, 2010
Viewable from the street 10 to 6p daily

Opening reception: February 5th, 6-9p
Closing reception: February 19th, 6-9p

Open to the public: Saturdays, February 6th and February 13th, 12 - 6p

http://www.cpuckett.com/ | courtneygpuckett@gmail.com

Old and New is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. details

On the Andean island in Lake Titicaca, residents weave houses and public buildings out of lake reed. This month at chashama's 266 window gallery, Courtney Puckett creates another world of public and private space weaving, stitching, wrapping, and knotting sculptures from what she finds scouring thrift stores and the closets of friends-old clothes, used towels, bed sheets-the lake reed of Brooklyn.

Bookending Fashion Week and located in the garment district among the window displays of colors, patterns, and textures, Puckett's installation speaks to a historic use of unconventional materials, craft techniques typically associated with women's work, and the more recent challenge to the definition of sculpture. Puckett's world is full of curious creatures and objects reminiscent of function but inevitably abstract relics, much like the process-oriented abstractions of Eva Hess or the whimsical objects of Claus Oldenburg. about Old and New

Courtney Puckett, born in Winter Park, Florida, received a BFA in Painting in 2002 from Maryland Institute College of Art and attended the Center for Art and Culture in Aix-en-Provence, France. After attending University of New Mexico for a year, she received a MFA from Hunter College in 2007 and attended the Glasgow School of Art. Courtney has been an Artist-In-Residence at Vermont Studio Center and at Buffalo National River in Arkansas. Recently, Her work has been included in group exhibitions at Denise Bibro's Platform Space in New York, Metaphor Contemporary Art in Brooklyn, D.U.M.B.O Art Center's Art Under the Bridge Festival in Brooklyn and at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. In 2008, She curated the exhibition Yellow in Chelsea, New York. In 2010 Courtney will have solo exhibitions at Soapbox Gallery in Brooklyn and at Valencia Community College in Florida. bio

Portraits (February 4 - 16, 2010)
by Erik Hougen
chashama Times Square Art Space, 112 West 44th Street
erikhougen@gmail.com
Portraits is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts

(between Broadway & Sixth Ave. / Subway: 1,2,3,B,D,F,N,Q,R,V,W to 42nd St., 7 & shuttle to Times Square. Bus: M104, M42 to Sixth Ave., M5, M6, M7 to 43rd St.)

Portraits
by Erik Hougen | erik hougen@gmail.com

Opening reception: Thursday 4th: 6-8p

Thursday 4th: 10a-8p | Saturday 6th: 11a-5p
Monday 8th: 6-9p | Tuesday 9th: 10a-6p
Wednesday 10th: 6-9p | Thursday 11th: 11a-9p
Saturday 13th: 11a-8p | Monday 15th: 6-9p
Tuesday 16th: 10a-6p

Portraits, presented at chashama, is a survey of watercolors from three stages, showing my technical and conceptual experimentation. The first watercolors were created from stills of my sister hiking in the Appalachian mountains. They were only black and white, but laid the foundation for creating a dialogue between the digital video and handmade painting.

In my recent body of work I have been exploring a traditional approach to the portrait. By using only frontal head shot poses in my paintings, I have been able to concentrate on the process to capture the life and personality of my subjects.

Portraits is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. details

Although the end product of my work is typically large-scale watercolors on paper, my process often begins with video stills from the films I make. I reproduce these video stills by separating them into Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK), color separation maps. I then "manually print" each separation map using very transparent washes of watercolor. Composed of loose, drippy brushwork, these large-scale works are explorations of a technical imaging process. They are intended to invite the viewer to question the method and origin of the image, as well as the relationship between manual process and photographic reproduction. artist statement

Erik Hougen was born in Bismarck, North Dakota and moved to New York City in 2006 to pursue a career as an artist. He graduated with a M.F.A. in Printmaking from Pratt Institute in 2008, and since graduation has worked for Pace Prints as a printer, and as an artist assistant for Takashi Murakami. Erik also operates a silkscreen studio where he prints editions for local artists and co-founded SHO Gallery in 2009. He lives and works in Downtown Brooklyn. bio

Arts Advocacy Day Forum (January 29, 2010)
in association with the Harlem Arts Alliance
chashama Harlem Studios Gallery, 461 West 126th Street
www.harlemaa.org

chashama Harlem Studios Gallery, 461 West 126th Street
(between Amsterdam & Morningside Aves
Trains: 1/A/C/B/D to 125th Street station
Bus: #100, 101, 104, M60, Bx6 to 125th & Amsterdam)

Arts Advocacy Day Forum

January 29, 2010, 7 - 10:30p

On February 24th, chashama, in association with Harlem Arts Alliance, will take artists & arts organization representatives to Albany as part of a state-wide day of arts advocacy at the state capitol. On January 29, chashama/HAA hosts a FREE event at chashama 461 that provides information on the trip and will serve as a forum for questions and ideas. At 8:00 there will be a screening of the humorous and insightful Michael Moore documentary, SiCKO. drinks [wine, elixirs & juices] and munchies will be on hand. details

Side-by-Side (January 20 - 30, 2010)
an installation performance by Bryon Carr
chashama Window Space, 266 West 37th Street
bryoncarrdmm.com
bryoncarrdmm@yahoo.com
bdyoutube video

chashama Window Space, 266 West 37th Street

between 7th and 8th Avenues, A/C/E/1/2/3 to 34th Street, N/R/Q/W/7 to Times Square; M16, M34 buses to 8th Ave, M10, M20 to 36th St.

Side-by-Side
an installation/performance by Bryon Carr

January 20 - 30, 2010
4 to 7p daily

Join me, walk around and use a flashlight to illuminate the space. This is an open performance, no reservations needed, flashlights will be provided.

FREE and open to the public

http://bryoncarrdmm.com/ | bryoncarrdmm@yahoo.com
details

Side-by-Side is an installation/performance that takes a multi-kinetic approach to address how we confront and adapt to our own personal barriers. With a play on reflection and transparency, the space is arranged with colorful works that are made from sparkles, plexiglass and stained glass paint. They will all be suspended from the ceiling and layered within a few inches of one another to create more depth and add spatial dimension. There is no lighting in this piece except from the viewer who will be given a flashlight to illuminate the images. The audience is invited to come inside or stand outside and peer through the front window. As the beams of light move around they will permeate the different layers and disperse the colors onto the walls, ceiling, floor and the other images. In response to the lights, a solo dance will take place by Bryon Carr that will utilize carefully crafted articulation of limbs, subtle shifts of timing from impulse to action, and delicate changes in body tension. about Side-by-Side

Bryon Carr has trained, taught and performed throughout the U.S. and Europe. In NYC he has worked with White Wave Rising, Popo and GoGo Boys, Young Soon Kim, The Graham Ensemble, Chen and Dancers and The Erick Hawkins Dance Company. In 2002 he began showing mixed-media work throughout New York City in venues such as; Dance New Amsterdam, Dixon Place, Joyce SoHo and the Wave Rising Series in DUMBO to name a few. Outside of New York, he has shown in Seattle, Boston and Berlin, Germany. "His emotional and technical range were apparent in this piece he could be a fey, juvenile Pee Wee Herman, a Stan Laurel clown, a Merce Cunningham style or a Jacques D'Amboise style dancer."-Attitude Magazine 2007 about Bryon Carr

Playground 6 (January 16, 2010)
organized by Andrei Severny
chashama 679 Window Space, 679 Third Avenue
PlayGround 6 video
www.severny.com

Playground 6
organized by Andrei Severny

chashama 679 Window Space, 679 Third Avenue
1 block east of Grand Central, corner of 43rd Street & 3rd Avenue; 4,5,6,7 and shuttle train to Grand Central | M101, M102, M103 to 42nd Street

January 16, 2010, 6p - midnight

PLAYGROUND 6 TEAM: Noriaki Kats, Concert Promoter, Julieta Talavera, Writer , Mahmoud Hamadani, Artist

ABOUT PLAYGROUND
Every month or two in the evening a group of chosen international artists gathers around the Synchronicity projector. Sharing own works evolves into informal illustrated conversation on artistic jewels of the world and occasional live performances. Get ready for an explosive concentration of talent in one room.

PARTICIPANTS
40-70 guests: filmmakers, musicians, painters, designers, architects, etc. Everybody is a friend, which provides for a cozy informal atmosphere. details

PARTICIPANTS (in the order of appearance)

Astrid Brucker, Costume Designer; Cui Fei, Artist; Jeff Ginsberg, Producer, Writer; Joe Lugara, Paintor; Pascal Perich, Photographer; Natalia Perlaza, Musician; Liron Peled, Musician; Malika Zarra, Singer-Songwriter; Brian Storm, Documentary Producer; Doug Fitch, Artist, Opera Director, Designer; Clarina Bezzola, Sculptor / Performance Artist; David Gaynes, Filmmaker; Irina Vodar, Filmmaker; Irina Kruzhilina, Artist; Dmitry Krasny, Designer, Photographer; Anya Klepikov, Stage Designer.

AMONG GUESTS

Amir Naderi, Filmmaker; Jan Staller, Artist; Sam Neave, Filmmaker; Joshua Yaffa, Journalist; Olivia Bransbourg, Producer; Fedra Fateh, Producer; Rick Brown, Filmmaker; Anil Mundra, Journalist. PARTICIPANTS and GUESTS

Andrei Severny was born in 1977 in Moscow, USSR in a family of astronomers and started to develop his vision in atmospheric urban photography projects published at the Monitor magazine in 2000-2005, shown at a number of exhibitions and on his website www.severny.com

In 2004 Andrei came to New York and emerged into filmmaking. His short films successfully played in festivals around the world. At the present he is in post-production of his first feature-length film CONDITION.

Andrei's video installation MINAMO was recently featured at the Webster Hall in New York presented on 39 plasma screens.

Since 2007 Andrei works in collaboration with Edward Tufte, a world renown guru of analytical design, on a series of films based on Edward Tufte's studies. bio

Beyond the Line (January 14 - 31, 2010)
by Alex White Mazzarella & Giuseppe Andriani
curated by Taiwanese and New York based curator NuNu Hung
chashama Times Square Art Space, 112 West 44th Street
nunuhung@gmail.com

(between Broadway & Sixth Ave. / Subway: 1,2,3,B,D,F,N,Q,R,V,W to 42nd St., 7 & shuttle to Times Square. Bus: M104, M42 to Sixth Ave., M5, M6, M7 to 43rd St.)

Beyond the Line
by Alex White Mazzarella & Giuseppe Andriani
curated by Taiwanese and New York based curator NuNu Hung

chashama 112 Times Square
112 West 44th Street

January 14 - 31, 2010
Hours: Wed – Sun, 12-6p

For more info, contact Nunu Hung:
646-520-8388 | 646-270-9828 | nunuhung@gmail.com

chashama 112 is pleased to announce the upcoming two-person exhibition that presents Brooklyn-based artist Alex White Mazzarella (Mazza) and his renowned great grandfather Italian artist Giuseppe Andriani. The show is entitled Beyond the Line and not only exhibits the art works from two different centuries but celebrates the artistic blood passed down between generations. In Beyond the Line , Mazza reveals paintings from the recent body of work Remixing Media to Remix Reality alongside a retrospective of his great grandfather Andriani.

Building upon today's street art and the neo-expressionism of the 80's, Mazza mixed media paintings are fun yet provocative commentaries and assertions on today's age and culture. They are abstract and spontaneous explosions of color and line that engage the viewer. In the 8 x 8 foot Becoming Bubble Gum , a seemingly punk baby morphed into an Alice in Wonderland type creature comes at the viewer alongside iconic language and provocative script. With mixed textures, photograph, paints and charcoal, Mazza creates imagery amidst raw and alive surfaces that look to communicate the life embedded in city walls and surfaces. details

Giuseppe Andriani, who was born in Lecce (Puglia) in 1864 and died in Florence in 1948, dedicated his entire life to art. Influenced by Antonio Piccini, a famous engraver of 1800 in Italy, his repertoire of drawings, acqueforti (etchings), punte secche (dry point etchings) oil paintings and watercolors depicted scenes of his everyday life and surroundings. His sketches of the original Florence bridges which were destroyed during WWII bring back to life Ponte alla Carraia, Ponte Scandicci, Ponte Santa Trinita and Ponte alla Vittoria. Rome's Fine Arts Academy, the Florence Society of Fine Arts and the International Black and White Expo have honored Andriani's works. about Giuseppe Andriani

Mosquitoes, Hebrew, the Deluge (January 11 - 16, 2010)
an audio-visual installation by Shalom Gorewitz
chashama Window Space, 266 West 37th Street
www.gorewitz.com
shalom@gorewitz.com

chashama Window Space, 266 West 37th Street

between 7th and 8th Avenues, A/C/E/1/2/3 to 34th Street, N/R/Q/W/7 to Times Square; M16, M34 buses to 8th Ave, M10, M20 to 36th Street

Mosquitoes, Hebrew, the Deluge
an audio-visual installation by Shalom Gorewitz

January 11 - 16, 2010
Hours TBA

This installation features the sounds of mosquitoes, flowing water, Hebrew letters and Jewish references being read aloud out of context by Jewish Ghanaians (mostly in Africa), all in sync to the 3-minute video playing in the space. Much of the material was recorded in Ghana during a field trip in October 2009. There will also be text with scientific information concerning mosquitoes and the diseases they carry. The overall narrative is one of eradication, excavation and reunion.

Designers: Fabrice Climent & Christen Clark
Biologist: Kofi Owusu-Daaku

FREE and open to the public

www.gorewitz.com | shalom@gorewitz.com
details

"I have been frustrating art historians when I ask if there are any mosquitoes in art history. African symbols are known to include mosquito-like designs. The vampire is a personification of the mosquito and has been explored in Western art, especially literature and film. This project might be the first to focus on mosquitoes as a subject for art." artist statement

Anthony Newton (January 2 - February 21, 2010)
paintings and artworks
curated by Samantha Lewis
presented by chashama and Greater Jamaica Development Corporation
chashama, 90-26 161st Street, Jamaica, Queens
www.gjdc.org

chashama Jamaica Studios, 90-26 161st Street, Jamaica, Queens

Between 90th Street and Jamaica Avenue, E to Jamaica Center, F to Parsons Boulevard

Jamaica Station on the LIRR.

By car: Take Long Island Expressway (I-495 E) to exit 22A-E to Grand Central Parkway East. Remain on Grand Central Parkway until exit 16 (164th St-Parsons Blvd.) Turn right onto Parsons Boulevard, left onto Jamaica Avenue, then left onto 161st Street. Our building is on the left side of the block.

chashama and Greater Jamaica Development Corporation present
Anthony Newton

curated by Samantha Lewis

January 2 - February 21, 2010
Opening Reception, Saturday, January 2, 7 - 10p

FREE and open to the public

Sponsored in part by the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation details

My art is a personal vision of vibrant color that seeks to capture and uplift the essence of inner city America. My work emerges from an autobiographical vantage point - drawing on personal experience and the broader hip hop culture which I am part of. Having formal training at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology, I have grounding in realist life drawing, but I infuse this tradition with other influences, such as graffiti, street art, and the commercial imagery found in popular music magazines and CD covers. I sometimes work directly from photo references, but often I file these varied influences through my imagination. I am interested in using the physicality of paint – its color and texture – to explore unseen inner worlds, as well as to confront and challenge racial stereotypes. I see a canvas as a space where I can translate my own personal experiences and struggles into stories that can address larger issues that affect us all. artist statement

Emily Dickinson's Garden of Verses (December 23, 2009 - January 6, 2010)
a visual interpretation of Emily Dickinson's nature poems in artworks by Cindy Ruskin
chashama Times Square Art Space, 112 West 44th Street
cindy@cindyruskin.com | www.cindyruskin.com
www.girlsclub.org

(between Broadway & Sixth Ave. / Subway: 1,2,3,B,D,F,N,Q,R,V,W to 42nd St., 7 & shuttle to Times Square. Bus: M104, M42 to Sixth Ave., M5, M6, M7 to 43rd St.)

Emily Dickinson's Garden of Verses
a visual interpretation of Emily Dickinson's nature poems in artworks by Cindy Ruskin and members of the Lower Eastside Girls Club

December 23, 2009 - January 6, 2010
Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri, 3-7p (except New Year's Day)

cindy@cindyruskin.com | www.cindyruskin.com | www.girlsclub.org

Ruskin created small oil paintings to reflect the intimacy of Dickinson's work, exploring the relationship between paint and the written word. Like Dickinson's poetry, the paintings use a concrete form to capture fleeting images, abstract ideas, and intangible emotions. To create Emily's poetry garden, Ruskin ran mixed media art workshops at the Lower Eastside Girls Club. The five- to ten-year-old girls made Emily and Me paper dolls, poetry posies, birdhouses, butterflies, flowers, and drawings inspired by Dickinson's poems. The teenage girls made accordion books based on poems, using pressed flowers as illustrations.

Ruskin will be working in the chashama space, cutting poems into paper that will be assembled into the kind of white dress that Dickenson wore during much of her life. Visitors are welcome to talk with the artist as she creates the dress on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (except New Year's Day) from 3PM to 7PM. On Tuesday, January 5th, at 4:30 PM, the Lower Eastside Girls Club will visit the chashama space to sing some Dickinson poems set to music, and Ruskin will host an Emily Dickinson tea party. The young artists will bring the flower dolls that they made in Ruskin's workshop.

The complete installation will celebrate Emily Dickinson as both writer and gardener, showcasing the innovative vision of the 19th century Massachusetts poet who is still inspiring Ruskin and the young girls on the Lower East Side. details

Cindy Ruskin's work has been shown since the late 1980s in California and New York. Recently she won Second Place at the Pen And Brush show, In Your Dreams, and her work was included in the East Village Invitational at Umbrella Arts Gallery. She had a solo exhibition at the Matthew Marks Gallery in 2006 to benefit the Duk Lost Boys Clinic in Sudan.

After growing up in South Africa, and getting an undergraduate degree in art history from Harvard, Ruskin studied painting at the San Francisco Art Academy and the Art Students League in New York.

Ruskin is passionate about bringing art programs to the children of low-income families in New York City. Since 1999, Ruskin has run art classes at the Andrew Glover Youth Program, an alternative-to-prison program for juvenile offenders. She is the art director of the Lower East Side Kids Art Bike Parade. As a consultant to Artworks, a Learning Leaders program, Ruskin created the curriculum for guided tours of the Brooklyn Museum -- and updated the Met tours -- for public elementary school students. Ruskin's art classes at the Lower Eastside Girls Club have culminated in several shows and installations: Cindy and the Cinderellas (2008), Biker Chicks (2008), Park(ing Day) and Parking Day redux (2008) and Phenomenal Art/Phenomenal Women (2007). about CINDY RUSKIN

The Lower Eastside Girls Club, based at 56 East 1st Street in Manhattan, is dedicated to providing a place where girls and young women 8-23 can grow, learn, have fun, and develop confidence in themselves and their ability to make a difference in the world. By delivering strong and innovative arts, athletic, cultural, life-skills and career oriented programming, the club provides girls with the vision to plan -- and the tools to build -- their future.

On December 10th, 2009, the Lower Eastside Girls Club celebrated Emily Dickinson's birthday by student readings of over 1000 Emily Dickinson poems at multiple schools throughout the Lower East Side. The event culminated in a staged reading of select Emily Dickinson poetry by youth and special guest poets, such as Bob Holman and PoezThePoet, at the Bowery Poetry Club.

All the Lower Eastside Girls Club Emily Dickinson events are part of the NEA's Big Read Initiative. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. about Lower Eastside Girls Club

"Xmas" (December 21, 2009 - January 1, 2010)
a video and sculpture installation by Donna Cheng
chashama Window Space, 266 West 37th Street
facebook.com/donna.cheng.nyc
flickr.com/photos/donnacheng/
emotra@gmail.com

chashama Window Space, 266 West 37th Street

between 7th and 8th Avenues, A/C/E/1/2/3 to 34th Street, N/R/Q/W/7 to Times Square; M16, M34 buses to 8th Ave, M10, M20 to 36th St.

"Xmas"
a video and sculpture installation by Donna Cheng

December 21, 2009 - January 1, 2010
Installation on view: Monday - Friday
12:00p to 5:00p (CLOSED Christmas Day, December 25)

The video and sculpture installation, "Xmas", pokes fun at the holiday onslaught of commercial advertising. Light and paper sculptures are cheery and cheesy with a dark twist. Traditional Christmas song lyrics are modified to reflect our recessionary reality as we ring in a new decade. The public is invited to hum along, or to stop for a little longer and learn these new classics . Providing a break from the traditional holiday window display, Donna Cheng's multi-racial Santa sculpture will inhabit chashama's storefront window surrounded by projections of anti-consumerism messages. Passerby are invited to interact with the sculpture – to let it know if they've been good this year. Fun for the entire family.

FREE and open to the public details

Parody caroling lyrics co-written with Astro Twin

Performed by Melissa Munn
Melissa@FaceArtByMelissa.com

"Have Yourself a Merry, Merry Christmas" audio recording
Arrangement by John McMahon
Sung by Melissa Munn

"Let There Be Peace On Earth" audio recording
Arranged by John McMahon
Performed by RUB
http://www.myspace.com/rubsings credits

Donna Cheng is an artist who has worked in video, sound, and interactive technologies as well as the traditional plastic arts of sculpture and painting. Her work has evolved into creating environmental installations that incorporates these media. She is intent on exploring social and historical themes in her site-specific public art pieces. Her last exhibit was a video projection inside a warehouse ruin at the Dumbo Arts Festival, 2009 about the neighborhood's history and the gentrification of the waterfront. She has a B.A. from Scripps College in Studio Arts, and recently graduated with a M.P.A. from Baruch College. She has also studied at the School of Visual Arts in computer art and at City Tech in entertainment technology for the live performance.

emotra@gmail.com | www.facebook.com/donna.cheng.nyc | www.flickr.com/photos/donnacheng/ about Donna Cheng

Seasonal Music (December 18, 2009 - January 15, 2010)
a new free music program featuring celebrated Soprano Malesha Jessie
Anita's Way at One Bryant Park (throughway between West 42nd-43rd Sts & 6th Ave/Bway)
www.maleshajessie.com | malesha@maleshajessie.com
www.durst.org

Anita's Way at One Bryant Park (throughway between Broadway & Sixth Avenue, 42nd & 43rd Streets / Subway: 1,2,3,B,D,F,N,Q,R,V,W to 42nd St., 7 & shuttle to Times Square. Bus: M104, M42 to Sixth Ave., M5, M6, M7 to 43rd St.)

Seasonal Music
a new free music program featuring celebrated Soprano Malesha Jessie

Performances:
Mondays-Wednesdays-Fridays, 3 - 6p
December 18 - 23, 2009 and January 4 - 15, 2010

The Durst Organization and chashama announce that celebrated Soprano Malesha Jessie will sing seasonal music every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3:00pm to 6:00pm from December 18th to the 23rd and from January 4th to the 14th in Anita's Way at the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park. Anita's Way is the mid-block passage that connects 42nd to 43rd Streets between 6th Avenue and Broadway and is anchored at the north end by Henry Miller's Theatre and on the south end by Aureole Restaurant. details

"One Bryant Park stands in the midst of one of the richest cultural neighborhoods in the world," said Jody Durst, Co-President of The Durst Organization. "We are proud to contribute to this cultural legacy by programming Anita's Way with free and enriching musical, dramatic and artistic exhibitions and performances. We hope our neighbors and visitors enjoy the beautiful music of Malesha Jessie and we look forward to doing more programming in the future."

"For many years, chashama operated a gallery and performance space on the site of Anita's Way," said Anita Durst, Artistic Director of chashama. "It is tremendously fulfilling to see the arts return to the midblock of 42nd Street between 6th Avenue and Broadway. chashama looks forward to more exciting artistic programming in 2010." about the space

Noted for her rich vocal color and striking dramatic presence, Malesha Jessie is a performer of both the operatic and concert stages. Her engagements include the Boston Pops Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, and Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra. Malesha has been Artist in Residence with the Los Angeles Opera with roles in Don Carlo's, Manon, Porgy and Bess and in Puccini's Suor Angelica. Ms. Jessie received her Master of Music degree in Vocal Arts from the Flora L. Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She received a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from California State University, Fullerton.

www.maleshajessie.com | malesha@maleshajessie.com about Malesha Jessie

"Semi Boneless" (December 14, 2009 - January 12, 2010)
An Interactive Art Installation by Artist Robert Stratton
chashama 141, 141 East 33rd Street @Lexington Avenue
www.madbutter.com
Interactive Technology provided by Sensacell Inc.
contact@sensacell.com | www.sensacell.com
Exhibition space generously provided by Stonehenge Partners, Inc.
www.stonehengeny.com

chashama's newest venue!
chashama 141, 141 East 33rd Street

corner of 33rd Street & Lexington Avenue: 6 train to 33rd Street
M34 bus to Lexington Ave | M98, M101, M102, M103 buses to 34th Street

"semi boneless"
An Interactive Art Installation by Artist Robert Stratton

December 14, 2009 - January 12, 2010
Viewable 24 hours a day

The artwork entitled "semi boneless" transforms the storefront window into an electronic interactive canvas that senses hand movements through the window glass, allowing the viewer to interact and influence the behavior of the piece- art that begs to be touched.

Robert Stratton's work explores algorithmically generated patterns, forms and colors influenced by the hands and gestures of passers-by. "I am fascinated by the concept of rigid, mathematically generated processes being randomly influenced by random, organic happenstance" says Stratton. "The Sensacell interactive system allows me to transcend the boundaries of the traditional art installation; this piece truly becomes part of the neighborhood."

Robert Stratton received a BA in Art and Communication from Oberlin College, and a MFA in Computer Art from School of Visual Arts. Robert was one of the founding partners of Rare Medium, a web development company started in 1995 that grew to over 1000 employees with 10 offices around the world. Robert continues to pursue ventures in art, interactive media and technology.
www.madbutter.com

Interactive Technology provided by Sensacell Inc.
Contact: contact@sensacell.com | www.sensacell.com

Exhibition space generously provided by Stonehenge Partners, Inc. | www.stonehengeny.com details

You Can't Die of a Broken Heart (December 12, 2009 - February 13, 2010)
a new gallery exhibit of artworks by Al Johnson, Jr., and other chashama artists-in-residence
chashama 30 West, 30 West 8th Street @MacDougal
Contact: xframes@gmail.com
www.aljohnsonartstudio.com
xframes Flickr set

chashama's newest venue!
chashama 30 West, 30 West 8th Street in Manhattan, NY

corner of MacDougal Street: A,B,C,D,E,F,V to West 4th station (exit at rear of station), 1 to Christopher Street station, walk down Greenwich Avenue to West 8th.

You Can't Die of a Broken Heart
a new gallery exhibit of artworks curated by Al Johnson, Jr., and featuring his works and those of chashama artists-in-residence, Lisa Ingram, Caleb Nussear, and Ademola Olugebefola.
Also featuring the art of Christian March.

December 12, 2009 - February 15, 2010
Reception: Saturday, December 19, 4 - 8p
"The Gifts of Art - Harlem Comes to the West Village" Artist Talk & Reception:
Saturday January 23, 2-4p
Saturday January 30, 2-4p
Saturday February 6, 2-4p
Exhibit is open to the public:
Tuesday - Saturday, 11a - 7p
Sunday, 1 - 6p

www.aljohnsonartstudio.com | aljohnsonartstudio@gmail.com details

John Cichon (December 2, 2009 - January 3, 2010)
photography exhibit
chashama Harlem Studios Gallery, 461 West 126th Street
Contact: jjc03@mac.com
Sponsors: Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance(NoMAA), The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone(UMEZ), and The JPMorgan Chase Foundation

(between Amsterdam & Morningside Aves
Trains: 1/A/C/B/D to 125th Street station
Bus: #100, 101, 104, M60, Bx6 to 125th & Amsterdam)

John Cichon
a photographic series of puddles captured on the streets of Chicago and New York

December 2, 2009 - January 3, 2010
Open Reception: Sunday, December 13, 2 - 5p

Hours: Wednesday - Thursday 1-6p, Saturday - Sunday 12-5p

jjc03@mac.com

Sponsors: Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance(NoMAA), The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone(UMEZ), and The JPMorgan Chase Foundation details

John Cichon was born in Hammond, Indiana in 1973. Living in Northwest Indiana, he grew up with the contrasting urban decay of the steel industry alongside the beauty of the Lake Michigan coastline. Nature, culture and the environment have always been latent or blatant concepts. His continual questioning of the environment around him is evident in much of his work.

In this series, Landscapes, he explores the surface of the urban environment through the reflected image of puddles. Approaching his subject as a work of art, he creates an image or abstraction that captures the fleeting phenomenon of accumulated water and detritus. These images are about transition and place. They capture those fleeting moments in time when thought and awareness seem to coalesce.

John graduated from Indiana University in Gary, Indiana with his Bachelors in Art and the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana with his MFA. He currently lives and works in New York, NY. bio

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