Author Archives: Anita Rogers

Mark Webber: Material Guy

Mark Webber: Material Guy

Making sculptural works from an array of mixed media

by Kelly Velocci

Mark Webber Anita Rogers Gallery Hamptons Cottages and Gardens
Mark Webber practices two very different kinds of work. His vocation: custom cabinetry fabricated for high-end Hamptons homes. His avocation: sculptures made with Hydrocal, a plaster-like material, and a mélange of found objects from construction sites and other sources. Although these two endeavors are vastly disparate, both are rooted in the art of fabrication. “There’s a craftsmanship aspect to cabinetmaking, whereas sculpture requires you to be more creative,” says Webber, a Connecticut native and longtime resident of Sag Harbor. “Sculpture does not have an inherent purpose, like a cabinet does. I have to think about different things when I’m making either one.”

Webber graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from SUNY Purchase in 1980, but soon shifted his focus to cabinetmaking to make a living. Around five years ago, however, he decided to “acknowledge my creativity again” and began experimenting with sculpture. He started working on wooden forms before transitioning to plaster and, more recently, Hydrocal, which he casts or shapes with hand tools, such as spatulas and knives. “All those years as a cabinetmaker gave me a solid base from which to start making sculpture,” Webber says. “It was like my springboard back into fine arts.” He has lately been pushing the boundaries of his pieces further, incorporating found objects— steel scraps, bricks, rubber—in order to bring a sense of tension and balance or create “an interesting compositional relationship.”

 

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William Scott: Abstracting and Appreciating the Everyday

William Scott: Abstracting and Appreciating the Everyday

by Chloë Ashby

 

William Scott: Abstracting and Appreciating the Everyday

Five Pears 1976
William Scott (1913–1989)
British Council Collection

 

Art UK:

To some art critics, the twentieth-century British artist William Scott’s kitchen-table still lifes are too timid – as Roberta Smith wrote in The New York Times, they can be seen as ‘abstract paintings for people who don’t like abstraction’. Others, myself included, find them enticingly reduced and for the most part easily readable, which is part of their charm.

Scott’s compositions are striking in their simplicity, and somehow both pleasurable and puritan, sensuous and serene. A few boiled eggs, a couple of ripe pears, fresh mackerel on a plate, pots and pans, a bunch of grapes: these are his humble subjects. As he once said, ‘I find beauty in plainness’.

Born in Scotland in 1913 and brought up in Northern Ireland, Scott’s surroundings were grey and barren, his upbringing strictly Presbyterian. The objects he painted in an often-sombre palette were, he said, ‘the symbols of the life I knew best’.

After his father died trying to save some folk from a burning building, the local council raised funds to send the 15-year-old to Belfast College of Art. From there, he won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, where he bunked up with the poet Dylan Thomas and two other Welshmen and married fellow student Mary Lucas. In the Second World War, he was a cartographer, and in its wake, he was a pioneer of British abstraction.

 

Read the full article on ArtUK.org

George Negroponte in Approaches to Abstraction by Greek Artists of the Diaspora

George Negroponte, Corner Painting, 1981, oil on canvas, 2 panels measuring 50″ x 35″ each
Museum of Contemporary Art in Andros of the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation, photo credits © Chris Doulgeris 
 
George Negroponte currently has a painting on view in the Museum of Contemporary Art, Andros as part of their current group exhibition “Approaches to Abstraction by Greek Artists of the Diaspora: Works from the B&E Goulandris Foundation Collection.” The exhibition features twenty Greek painters and will be on view through September 27.

Insider: Nannies who have coronavirus antibodies are in high demand

Anita Rogers quoted in Insider article:

As more parents return to work, families have to make touch choices about childcare. 

After months of balancing jobs and childcare — without school, daycare or private caregivers — parents across the US are now making tough childcare choices as cities reopen. Employed parents need childcare in order to work, but bringing a nanny into the home also means bringing in additional exposure to the coronavirus.

That’s why some parents are taking extra precautionary measures, which may mean paying a premium rate. Some families are looking to hire nannies who have already had the disease, but it’s not a guarantee of higher pay, said Anita Rogers, CEO and founder of British American Household Staffing, an agency that places caregivers in both the UK and the US. Hiring someone who tests positive is by no means a foolproof plan either, since it’s still unknown whether people who have recovered from COVID- 19 can get reinfected.

Other families are having nannies who test negative move in with them and aren’t allowing them to leave until there is a vaccine, Rogers said. For that, nannies may be able to command higher salaries.

“This kind of intense time away from home has sparked requests for a higher compensation from the nannies,” Rogers said.

Some families are requiring frequent testing to ensure that the caregiver is and remains healthy, an extra measure some caregivers can charge more for, said Katie Provinziano, managing director of Westside Nannies — a Los Angeles childcare agency. Provinziano said that nannies who are willing to get tested frequently can get about 10% more than the average rate. On average, nannies in Los Angeles make between $25 and $35 an hour, she said.

 

View full article on Insider.com

James Scott Films Streaming This Summer

James Scott Films Streaming This Summer

James Scott’s Summer Streaming continues with the following schedule:

July 6 – 12: The Great Ice Cream Robbery (1971) 40 mins
July 13 – 19: Coilin and Platonida (1976)  80 mins
July 20 – 26: Nightcleaners (1975) 90 mins
July 27 – August 2: ’36 to ’77  (1978) 85 mins
August 3 – 9: Fragments (2019) 43 mins

To view any of the films in the summer’s rotating schedule, go to https://vimeo.com/404435215/27ac239848.

In The Great Ice Cream Robbery (1971), which was proposed to the Arts Council as a two-screen film, the idea was to mirror the language and philosophy of Oldenburg towards temporality and ephemerality in the nature of the work: happenings, soft materials, impermanence. With two 16mm projectors and separate sound systems, its form of presentation would insure the potential of change every time the film was shown. Sadly, it meant that over the years, the film was rarely screened except by risk-averse and totally dedicated curators. Now for the first time in the digital age, it is actually possible to see this as a two-screen presentation as close as possible to how it was originally intended to be seen. We suggest using headphones or a stereo sound system for viewing.

As we were editing The Great Ice Cream Robbery, I also started to work with my friend Marc Karlin on a political documentary about janitors (mostly immigrant women of colour and Irish women) who worked through the night, cleaning office buildings. Little did we realize that we had embarked on a five-year project. We were joined by Humphry Trevelyan and Mary Kelly and called ourselves the Berwick Street Film Collective. Nightcleaners came out in 1975 at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

After the intensity of Nightcleaners, I wanted to move to a completely different kind of film and in 1975 began Coilin and Platonida for German television. This was to be a silent narrative film set in a remote part of Ireland at the turn of the century and based on a Russian short story by Leskov. I had come across the story in Walter Benjamin’s essay on storytelling. This essay very much influenced my filmic approach using 8mm refilmed to 16mm. I found local non-professionals to play the parts as well as using my two young children.

Upon completing Coilin and Platonida, Marc drew me back once more into the Nightcleaners story.  It had been a struggle without an end. The victory strike at the Ministry of Defense had come too late to be included in ‘Part 1’ and so the new film, ‘36 to ‘77 (1978) was to take this victory, and through the eyes of Myrtle, one of the janitors, look back on the campaign and reflect on how it had changed her life.

We end up with my last film Fragments, which in some ways connects to the first art film with David Hockney, Love’s Presentation. Fragments is a film about the painter Derek Boshier preparing for a new exhibition. Both Love’s Presentation and Fragments are films about process, but separated by over 50 years. Derek and David first met at the Royal College of Art and remain friends to this day. Both started as ‘pop’ artists and then followed very different trajectories.

Fragments was completed at the end of last year and premiered in January 2020 at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.

– James Scott

Visit james-scott.com/

Discussion Between Anita Rogers and Robert Szot

On June 4, 2020, gallery owner Anita Rogers and painter Robert Szot sat down on Instagram Live to discuss art-making during quarantine, the gallery/artist relationship and the pandemic’s effect on the art world.

The Lyman Allyn Art Museum Acquires Work by Jan Cunningham

We are pleased to announce that the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, CT has added a drawing (right) by Jan Cunningham to their permanent collection.

ABOUT LYMAN ALLYN ART MUSEUM:

The Lyman Allyn Art Museum is located in New London, Connecticut and was founded in 1926 by Lyman Allyn’s daughter Harriet Upson Allyn. The collection includes European and non-Western art as well as American fine and decorative art, 17th-century European works on paper, 19th-century American paintings, and contemporary art. The museum also conducts educational programs.

Lyman Allyn’s permanent collection consists of approximately 10,000 objects. Much of this collection was developed by the Museum’s first Director Winslow Ames, who acquired works dating from the 16th through the 19th centuries. It includes works by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, as well as works by Frederic Leighton, François Boucher, Nicholas Poussin, Gustave Courbet, Charles LeBrun, and Tiepolo. Featured artists include Rembrandt Peale, Benjamin West, Gilbert Stuart, John Trumbull, Thomas Cole, Frederick Edwin Church, and Albert Bierstadt.[

ABOUT THE WORK:

Jan Cunningham

Untitled (abstraction)
2000
Charcoal and thread on paper
7.5″ x 7.5″

Visit the museum’s website

Gordon Moore Featured in Hyperallergic

Artists Quarantine With Their Art Collections

Gordon Moore in Lauren Henkin’s Collection

BY STEPHEN MAINE

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Continuing my inquiry into the ways that artists look at the work they live with, I’ve been asking the following questions: In the context of rampant disease, do you look at your personal collection differently now, and which works in particular? Is there one that especially resonates with you at this weird, frightening moment? And does it take on new meaning?

Lauren Henkin (Rockland, Maine): I first saw Gordon Moore’s work in an exhibition at Betty Cuningham Gallery in 2014. The show included paintings and photo emulsion drawings. Both were compelling, but the drawings struck a chord. There is a lushness to the grounds — beautifully printed photographs toned in warm yellows and grays — which, combined with marks of ink and gouache, suggest a velvet canvas scorched by electricity. It was as if the artist had formed a wire sculpture and then tracked its slow progress of shadow-making across a concrete surface, his hand creating furcated markings of time passing.

Quarantine has forced on me a strange relationship to time. One moment is filled with reflection and pause; the next, a casual glint of thought tossed into the wind. Mon-day, Tues-day, Wednes-day are no more. All that remain are day and night.

One of Gordon’s drawings hangs on the wall beside my desk. I see it whenever l look up from my computer. Throughout the day, I can see how light engages the work. In the morning, the sun buoys the light areas of the drawing. At night, the dark tones recede deeper into space.

The drawing has replaced my clock. It’s a beautiful and needed reminder that time can be measured not by seconds, hours, or days but by marks, tone, and depth.

To view the full article, visit anitarogersgallery.com or Hyperallergic.

Stay Healthy with Meal Deliveries from Top Chefs

Find_a_Personal_Chef.jpg

Staying healthy and taking care of ourselves has become more important than ever. As we shelter in place, it can be difficult to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. It’s good to stay mobile and eat right, not just for your physical health, but for you and your family’s emotional health as well.

Generic Meal Delivery versus a Dedicated Private Chef

As well as keeping us healthy, food can be a great comfort during uncertain times. With more delivery options now than ever, it can be easy to access unhealthy diets or feel overwhelmed by the number of choices. Meal planning day to day can be exhausting and monotonous.

Many great meal delivery services exist, but none provide the ease and customization of employing a private chef. Whatever your family’s varied and unique needs are, a qualified chef can cook with all of this in mind from their own kitchen and deliver fresh, healthy meals to your home.

Your private chef will take the stress out of meal planning and finding new recipes. Once your chef gets to know your family’s tastes, they can ensure your favorite comfort food is always in stock, and introduce new flavors and dishes. They will work so that the pickiest of eaters will have balanced meals and healthy diets.

Normal private chef duties that can be done remotely are:

  • Keeping informed of all food and sanitation rules
  • Menu planning based on dietary needs and preferences
  • Preparing meals to be reheated by the family later
  • Preparing healthy snacks that are easily accessible to the family between meal times

See more information on what a personal or private chef can do for you.

How Private Chefs are Cooking for Families and Staying Safe

Once we are able to move about, your chef can come to your home, prepare all meals on site, and keep your pantry stocked. Until then, however, most private chefs are preparing meals at their own homes and delivering directly to clients either with their personal vehicle or through ride sharing services.

Your chef will understand best practices from the CDC for delivering food safely. There is currently no evidence to support the transmission of COVID-19 associated with food, but it is important to keep counters and utensils clean and sterile to stop the spread from surfaces. Knowing exactly who prepared and handled your food and limiting the number of hands that transport it, can reduce risks of contamination and give you peace of mind about the food your family is enjoying.

If you’d like the dedicated service of a private chef to provide meals for your family during this time, contact our office today to connect with a recruitment specialist and begin your search.

For more information, please visit bahs.com

Travel the World from Home

As the world is home now more than ever, the travel industry has swiftly adapted and is bringing the world’s best destinations to the computer screen. The team at British American Household Staffing put together a list of recommendations for when a change of scenery is much needed. Whether you’re picking a location for a future trip, educating your little one on other cultures or just daydreaming, these virtual adventures make wonderful afternoon getaways.

 

Invite an Italian Chef into your Kitchen 

There are now plenty of ways to bring a taste of Italy into your kitchen any night of the week. We love Pasta and Live Opera in the Kitchen, one of AirBnB’s most popular online experiences; the package offers a live private pasta making class (no special tools required!) via Zoom with a chef in Florence. As a bonus, she sings opera too! Nonna Live is another excellent resource; the site offers 2-3 hour online cooking intensives led by an Italian grandmother in Rome.

If you can’t commit to a scheduled time, try Massimo Bottura’s on-demand Masterclass in Italian cooking; the owner of Osteria Francescana, the three-Michelin-star restaurant based in Modena, covers everything from basic doughs to broths, fish dishes and desserts. For a free option, NYC’s Eataly offers an online course in pasta making with Nicoletta Grippo, the chef at La Scuola di Eataly.

Take a Trip Through the Swiss Countryside

The internet offers a huge variety of virtual train trips, from the mountains of Japan to a trip on Peru’s Ferrocarril Central Andino! from Matucana to San Mateo. However, our favorite is the journey from St. Moritz, Switzerland to Tirano, Italy. Expect a huge variety of stunning sites, from small villages to dazzling blue water and gorgeous mountain views. The virtual trips are great educational tools for curious children or for adults looking to unwind.
Visit the Beaches of Bermuda 

Google Earth’s Discover feature makes it easy to virtually explore a destination while learning about the culture, local customs and more. We love the tours of Bermuda, which allow virtual visitors to discover the pink sand beaches, crystal caves and historic villages.

Wildlife Encounters

Explore.org has the largest selection of wildlife live cameras on the internet. With options ranging from the Tau Waterhole in South Africa to a penguin beach to puppy playtime, there is sure to be something for every child missing the outdoors.

 

Meditate with a Buddhist Monk
A Japanese Buddhist monk from Osaka’s Shitennoji Temple is now offering an online meditation class via Zoom set among the lush forests of Japan. Prices start at $10 per session with no minimum number of sessions.

 

Family Crafts in Barcelona

Transport your family to a small village with few more than 200 inhabitants in in the middle of Spain’s Montseny Natural Park with this AirBnB experience. There you’ll be told ancient legends and led in a simple family-friendly craft project using common household supplies.

Visit Hogwarts
For Harry Potter fans of all ages, Google Earth offers tours of the real life locations used in the Harry Potter films. For young wizards in training, we recommend this Harry Potter Digital Escape Room created by Pennsylvania’s Peters Township Public Library. Finally, J.K. Rowling herself has helped launch Wizarding World, a “Harry Potter at Home Hub,” featuring free puzzles, quizzes, activities and more related to the series.
As always, we’re here to assist with all your household staffing needs during this challenging time. Both childcare and cleaning professionals are considered essential workers and we have implemented strict protocols to make sure your family is as safe as possible. Contact us today to learn more.