'PORTRAIT OF A LADY' - a very kind of romantic show - opened on a very romantic night - a great excuse to trudge thru a huge snowstorm !!
Feb 10, 2010

so, everybody in Canada, Minnesota and Scandinavia - this is what a snowman looks like on the Lower East Side of Manhattan !! not really enough snow to make a huge one - but just enough white sticky stuff - to make a real NYC style one - and, no it's not a duck - that's somebody's real 'baseball' cap !! - under a top layer of falling snow.
Feb 10, 2010

it wasn't super cold - just snowy and how fun to head over to the ALLEGRA LaVIOLA GALLERY - deep into the far most fringe - of the Lower East Side !!
Feb 10, 2010

wow - how fun to come in from the snowy winterland - and be greeted, right off the bat !! by a very New York City - chic dress !! who knew a winter dress - could be backless !! this turns out to be one of the artists in the show - VIRGINIA INES VERGARA - whose realist photographs and table installation were placed at the front of the gallery !!
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

table installation and photos by VIRGINIA INES VERGARA . . . it was an intriguing beginning to what was actually a very diverse, and sweet, as in beguiling !! - curatorial grouping - all centered on different takes on - the theme - 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY' !! There are 8 artists in the show - a mix of male and female. looking back - the show was like a footstep in the snow - leading up to the next shows I saw, which were CHRIS BIDDY'S cell phone portraits at ATM, and the pop icon collaged photos of MR. BRAINWASH !!
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

from left, independent curator CHRISTINA WARNER, gallerist ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, and artist/photographer VIRGINIA INES VERGARA. 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

the show runs through MARCH 20th, so there is still plenty of time to catch it !!

JORDAN BUSCHUR - stands in front of her allegorical-like paintings . . . in 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY'. ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

JORDAN BUSCHUR, from left: 'Daughter of Celia', 2009. oil on paper, 40 x 29 in. ($2,800) and 'The Invitation', 2009. oil on paper, 40 x 29 in. (also $2,800). 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

JORDAN BUSCHUR with her painting, 'The Dying Woman', 2009. oil on paper, 29 x 40 in. 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

JORDAN BUSCHUR was fun to talk to. now based in Brooklyn, since 2002, she grew up in Ohio, but was actually born and raised till she was 6 in Alaska !! She recently made a trip back to Alaska - and she is wearing a pair of native-made Eskimo folk art earrings - miniatures, in bits and pieces of fur - of a traditional toy - an Eskimo variation on a yo-yo !! 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

artist SARAH KURZ, with ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, in front of Sarah's paintings. 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

her painting on the left, is titled: 'Where's the Damn Fairy Dust'. very recent, dated 2010, it is oil on linen, 36 x 48 in. ($3,500).

SARAH KURZ, 'Stick a Needle in my Eye', 2010. oil on linen, 36 x 48 in. ($3,500). 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

just caught !! artist PAUL BRAINARD - beside the MARC SEQUIN works !! 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

MARC SEGUIN's pieces were just as fascinating as his subject - international femme fatale - MATA-HARI !! 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

MARC SEGUIN, 'Mata-Hari 1', 2009. oil and charcoal on canvas. 72 x 48 in. ($10,000).

detail, MARC SEGUIN, 'Mata-Hari 1'. Canadian born, 1970 in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada), MARC SEGUIN currently lives and works in both Montreal, and New York. 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

detail. MARC SEGUIN, 'Mata-Hari 1'. nice detailing, or what !! 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LAVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

MARC SEGUIN, 'Mata-Hari 2', 2009. oil and charcoal on canvas, 36 x 24 in. ($4,500). 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

we also caught PAUL BRAINARD intently contemplating, the completely different work of - CHRISTOPHER MILNE !! 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

on the right, that's CHRISTOPHER MILNE, 'Lorna', 2009. oil on canvas,
48 x 36 in. ($6,500)

and on the left: CHRISTOPHER MILNE, the madly wild - 'Betty in the Pit', oil on canvas, 66 x 60 in. ($8,000). 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

and then there were the very striking, realist photos - of ALIX SMITH !! 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

the corner inhabited by the intense, and very compelling, photographs of ALIX SMITH. 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LAVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

ALIX SMITH, 'Arranged Appearances 1', 2004. Digital C-Print, 30 x 40 in. Edition 1 of 5. ($3,500). in 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

detail, ALIX SMITH, 'Arranged Appearances 1'. PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

detail, ALIX SMITH, 'Arranged Appearances 1', 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

ALIX SMITH, 'Constructed Identities 12', Digital C-Print, 31 x 37 in. Edition 5 of 5. ($5,500). 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

detail, ALIX SMITH. 'Constructed Identities 12'. 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

and, then it was a very fun jump to - Danish street artist - HuskMitNavn !! 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

HuskMitNavn, (Remember My Name), 'Untitled', 2008. Drawing, acrylic, posca, tusche, colour pencil on paper, 20 x 19 in. ($1,900). 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

HuskMitNavn, 'Untitled (woman on a sofa)'. Lambda print. 17.25 x 13.25 in. ($870). 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

HuskMitNavn, 'Untitled', 2008. acrylic on canvas. 24 x 19 in. ($2,800). 'PORTRAIT OF a LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

deceptively expressive !! detail, HuskMitNavn, 'Untitled'.
'PORTAIT OF A LADY'.
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

which makes us want to look back at - SARAH KURZ !!

SARAH KURZ, 'You're Loving It', 2010. oil on linen, 16 x 20 in. ($1,600). 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

and, back to: VIRGINIA INES VERGARA !! - 'Blue Torn', 2010. C-prints transferred to watercolor paper, 16 x 20 in. Edition of 4 + 1 AP. ($875). 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

VIRGINIA INES VERGARA, 'Half-light 1', 2009. C-prints transferred to watercolor paper. 16 x 20 in. 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

and then, like a bat out of nowhere - HELLE MARDAHL !! 'The Confident Pussy', 2009. acrylic on linen, 20 x 16 in. ($900). 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

HELLE MARDAHL, 'The Dependent Woman' 2009. acrylic on linen, 76 x 27 in. ($4,100). 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

(click on the image - and check out the large screen !!)

and what's this - 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY' - rowdy and fine-tuned all at once ? ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

the perfect resting point - in the eye of the storm - HELLE MARDAHL, 'The Loaded Woman', 2009. acrylic on linen, 76 x 65 in. ($7,100.) 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', ALLEGRA LaVIOLA, Feb 10, 2010

it's a little hard to read - until you really grasp - the face !! and then what ? bag lady. monster. Japanese manga. aristocrat gone mad - or just plain ole ... opera star ?!! HELLE MARDAHL, detail, 'The Loaded Woman',
'PORTRAIT OF A LADY',
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010

. . . the strangest part of the painting - being her (elegant) feet !! what's that all about ?!! with that - we'll give - HELLE MARDAHL, detail, 'The Loaded Woman' - the last word - in a very diverse and wondrous journey, for sure !! 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY', right on.
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA,
Feb 10, 2010