Artist Margaret Withers

lovers and lunatics lost in the stratagem

Margaret Withers — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:10:27 +0000

When I wrote my first artist’s statement over fifteen years ago, it wasn’t so much a statement about my art as it was a love letter to my muse, completely and unabashedly from the heart, but perhaps best kept in a shoebox. If like me, you have no mastery of words, instead of a letter, imagine giving a work of art to yourself or someone you love. Art is long-lasting, metaphorically rich, keeps you company, speaks meaningfully in wordless language, and enriches your life. To paraphrase Shakespeare, the art’s the thing.

I would like to invite you to a group show I’m in called “WannA Piece?” curated by Francesci Arcilesi Fine Art. The opening party is Wednesday, February, 8th from 6-9 at 122 W. 26th street (btw 6th and 7th Ave), on the 5th floor at Contra Studios, NYC.

Below is the artwork that I’ll have in the show. 40″x60″; 2012; Watercolor, ink & enamel on transparency film mounted on archival paper.

lovers and lunatics lost in the stratagem

remembering landslips and houseboys in dustcart storybooks

Box art. Outside: Watercolor, ink and enamel. Inside: Poured enamel with tiny people caught in daily life.

Filed under: artist, free event, gallery shows, on the street Tagged: box art, brooklyn artist, can art make you happy, Contra Studios, Dr Stephen Deuchar, dustcart, enamel, FAFA NYC, landslips, love letters, lovers, lunatics, Margaret Withers artwork, new york valentine events, Professor Zeki, shakepeare, sign paint, storybooks, stratagem, tiny people art, transparency paintings, valentine gifts, wanna piece, watercolor and ink, what to give for valentines day, whats the best valentine gift to give, works on paper

Studio Visit Magazine volume 16

Margaret Withers — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:11:51 +0000

My artwork was selected by Tang Museum curator Ian Berry to be in the just released Volume 16 of Studio Visit Magazine. The two paintings, spindletop boomtown and oompop are available for purchase at Cohn Drennan Contemporary in Dallas.

Studio Visit volume16

Filed under: books, Uncategorized Tagged: american art, cohn drennan contemporary, contemporary art, figurative abstraction, Ian Berry, landscape, Margaret Withers, new york artist, oompop, spindletop boomtown, Tang Museum, watercolor

Aqua11 and Fountain Miami Art Fairs

Margaret Withers — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:45:34 +0000

Art fairs – you either love them or hate them, or like facebook you love to hate it but use them anyway. After doing two art fairs this year on my own (AAF in Brussels and Berliner-Liste in Berlin) I see the value of art fairs -the sheer number of people who get to see your artwork on one long weekend, the chance you get (over and over again) to talk about your artwork to strangers, the lessons in commodification of art and the hype cycle experience, all, good and bad, but worthwhile as an artist to experience.

For galleries, it seems the advantages are pretty identical, kind of a repeatable black friday for the art world.

I’m excited to be represented by both William Baczek Fine Arts at Aqua 11 Art Fair and by Francesca Arcilesi Fine Art at the Fountain Art Fair in Miami, FL Dec. 1st-3rd. My artwork will be in great company at the William Baczek Gallery since WB will also be showing artwork by Kurt Vonnegut. Below is some of my artwork that will be available.

'Juriks trembling hands moved toward Euler's piece of cherry pie' at WB

from 'chautauqua zoo' series at FAFA

'staring down the hole' at WB

2505 N. Miami Ave (at the corner of 25th St)

1530 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139

Filed under: art fair, Uncategorized Tagged: accessible art fair, Aqua 11, Aqua Art Fair, art basel, art Miami, artist at Miami fairs, berliner-liste, chautauqua, contemporary art, cool art at miami art fairs, down the hole, Euler, FAFA, Fountain Art Fair, Fountain Miami, Francesca Arcilesi Fine Art, hype cycle, Jurik, Kurt Vonnegut artwork, Margaret Withers, Miami 2011, Miami art fairs, Miami artist, new artist at miami art fairs, nplusone, up and coming artist at miami art fairs, whats new at miami art fairs, who to watch for at miami, William Baczek Fine Arts

it’s an ugly scene inside of me

Margaret Withers — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:00:18 +0000

I recently posted the below comment on an e-blast that I sent out regarding an upcoming show in NYC. A gallery owner in NC thought the language in my e-blast was “very unladylike”. Was he offended at my use/visual of the word ‘butt’ or was he more offended by my political leanings? Or was he simply being patronizing? I’ve never liked being called a lady. Growing up in the south the word ‘lady’ has the taint of misogyny attached to it. I much prefer woman or simply artist will do.

“There are times when I pull my head out of the butt of my existence and I look around at what is going on in the world and I blink … and I blink again … and I rub my eyes … and I think- who are WE?
And I vacillate between wanting anarchy and sympathizing with the powerful and monied, and with that, I put my head back in the sand, knowing that I’m an impotent, small and effectual citizen. Warmed and coddled by the same society that I can’t bear to watch because it feels like a train wreck, like we’ve collectively gone off our meds and think we’re acting normal.

And then like some OCD disorder take-over I’m hit again with my constant to-do list:
1. remind people that I’m still inexplicably creating art
2. pretend, pretend and pretend again
Yet, here it is all the same. My struggle between feeling compassion,impotence, selfishness, powerlessness and ambitious; coupled with the constant pull I feel to create beauty/symmetry.

It’s an ugly scene inside of me… am I the only one to feel this cognitive dissonance?

Francesca Arcilesi Fine Art will be presenting a group show I’m in called ‘Sorry 4 the wait’ at 122 w. 26th St. btwn 6th and 7th Ave., NY, NY. The reception is Thursday, Nov. 17th 6-9pm.”

Filed under: gallery shows, on the street, Uncategorized Tagged: FAFA, its an ugly scene inside of me, ladylike, Margaret Withers, misogyny, new york art events, NYC Art, occupy wall st, patronize, sexuality, south, the nation, unladylike, women artist, zuccotti park

“my pockets are full of you” solo pop up show courtesy of FAFA and Bond in TriBeCa NYC; Wed – 9/7@6:30

Margaret Withers — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:53:21 +0000

FAFA PR sheet – my pockets are full of you

my pockets are full of you

handling the myths of Hadean

back 40

Filed under: free event, gallery shows, new artwork Tagged: 1st wednesday, Bond art events, Bond group, BOND TriBeCa, FAFA, Francesca Arcilesi Fine Art, Margaret Withers, my pockets are full of you, NYC art event, nyc free event, TriBeCa free event, TriBeCA nyc

Berliner-Liste Art Fair

Margaret Withers — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:53:05 +0000

I’ll have several pieces up at this years Berliner-Liste Art fair in Berlin, Germany – Sept. 9th – Sept 11th, at TRAFO, Köpenicker Straße 70 Berlin-Mitte. Below are the pieces I intend to bring to this show. These works are from my migration project where I continue to obsess on trying to find the internal and external intersections of my past, and the texture and stories created from that landscape. As Wallace Steven once said, “The greatest povery is to not live in a physical world, to feel that one’s desire is too difficult to tell from despair”.

Filed under: art fair, Uncategorized Tagged: Berlin Art happenings, Berliner-Liste 2011, brooklyn artist, chaos theory, FAFA NYC, figurative abstraction landscapes, greatest poverty is to not live in a physical world, international art, Margaret Withers, relativity of being wrong, stellar wind, sun itself is solitary, TRAFO Berlin, up and coming artist, Wallace Stevens, watercolor art, William Baczek Contemporary Art

“Glimpses Beyond” Group Show FAFA in TriBeCA 8/3/11

Margaret Withers — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:04:30 +0000

'Glimpses Beyond' Group show-Francesca Arcilesi Fine Art  
Opening Reception 6:30-8:30 pm Aug. 3rd 2011
TriBeCa Group @ Bond, 25 Hudson St. btwn Duane and Reed, Manhattan
Below are the two paintings I'll have up.

the nuisance of a single thought

entwining arms, the star shaped ocean animals did a polka

Filed under: free event, gallery shows, museum shows, new artwork Tagged: FAFA, figurative abstraction watercolor drawings, free NYC event, Free things to do NYC, Margaret Withers, New York Art Event, ocean art, polka, starfish, thoughts, TriBeCa art events

Cohn Drennan Contemporary Art – Dallas

Margaret Withers — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 23:41:18 +0000

I will have three works on paper from my Migration series up for the summer show 110 Degrees at the Cohn Drennan Gallery in Dallas. If your around Dallas on July 9th please swing by the Gallery for the reception 6-8pm (1107 Dragon St., 75207). Below is one of the pieces that will be in the show.

Spindletop Boomtown

Below is the Press Release.

Cohn Drennan Contemporary Art-110 Degrees Summer Group Show

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 110 degrees, art in dallas, Bonny Leibowitz, cohn drennan, cohn drennan contemporary, dallas art, free dallas event, Heidi Lingamfelter, koelsch gallery, Manuel Miranda, Margaret Withers, migration, migration and identity, spindletop boomtown, summer shows, tim harding

Identity Shift – a show about Migration, Identity & Belonging

Margaret Withers — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:06:52 +0000

I’m very excited that my Migration project was picked up by Francesca Arcilesi Fine Art and morphed into a group show. If your in New York on May 13th I would love to meet you at the reception from 6-9pm.

Oompop

Filed under: artist, free event, gallery shows, new artwork, Uncategorized Tagged: art reception, Brooklyn art, FAFA, free event, free event NYC, Gallery show, Gowanus, Gowanus Print Lab, Margaret Withers, migration, oompop

Studio Visit Fall2011 – which image should I use: Spindletop Boomtown or Oompop?

Margaret Withers — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:29:47 +0000

Spindletop boomtown

Oompop

Filed under: Uncategorized