A huge thank you is due to Firelei Baez who hosted a tremendously successful Open Artist's Studio during the Affordable Art Fair last weekend. Firelei's onsite project, the Paper Bag Test, involved her sitting down with fair visitors to make an individual portrait of sorts, of each person based on their skin color. She would match the skin tone of each participant in paint and then put the paint sample onto a small square of paper which she would then afix to a faux "certificate" that compared the person's skin color to a paper bag. This comparison references the troubling history of how whiteness used to be determined in America where a person's race was assessed by whether or not their skin matched or was lighter than a paper bag. the wall of "Paper Bag Tests" that Baez subsequently assembled further established a group portrait of everyone at the fair and will befome part of a larger project, in time.

Our thanks again to Firelei for participating, and for more information on Firelei's work, chech out her website here.

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Just like last year, ArtStar will be mounting a booth at this Spring's Affordable Art Fair in NYC from April 18th-22nd. However, this year's booth will be a little different in that we'll be featuring, for the first time, all original works on paper and photographs.

Featured Artists: Firelei Baez, Darlene Charneco, Dolly Faibyshev, John Grande, Langdon Graves, Katherine Newbegin & Mark Mann (above: Son of Solar, by Mark Mann)

Come by and see us at AAF!

We're also hosting a number of exclusive talks on Art & Design and we would love to see you there.

All programs are free with admission.  Unless otherwise noted, all programming will take place in the Programming Lounge presented by The Conran Shop, Booth A-G.

Susanna Salk, author of Room for Children, Talk and Book Signing
Author and interior designer, Susanna Salk, discusses ways to integrate styling principles of art and design in kid's rooms.  A signed copy of Room for Children will be given to one lucky attendee!
Thu, Apr 19, 7pm

Maria Brito: the Art of "Living with Art"

Mario Brito, of interior design company, LifeStyling, discusses how she changes places you "live in" to places that you "can't live without."
Fri, Apr 20, 7pm

Utilizing Online Art Platforms to Help Build Your Collection

Discover expanding your collection through online resources with panelists, Tze Chun, founder of Uprise Art, Chrissy Crawford, founder/director of ArtStar and LittleCollector, Thomas Galbraith, director of analytics at Artnet, Osman Khan of Paddle8, and Sebastian Cwilich of Art.sy.
Sat, Apr 21, 3pm

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We're getting ready for the spring edition of the Affordable Art Fair in April and we're very excited that the fair will be featuring ArtStar's own Firelei Baez! Firelei has a major solo show coming up in April in Los Angeles and then will be working in the live artist studio at the Affordable Art Fair from April 18-22nd during which visitors will be able to meet Firelei and observe her working process. We stopped by Firelei's studio today to get a peek at her new work and pick out some pieces from the fair (including the originals from the Natural Grooming Series which are among our favorites!). We also talked Bower birds, found paper and textiles, of course! Stay tuned for more info about Firelei at AAF and spoiler: there are going to be some stunning pieces!

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Tomorrow, ArtStar founder Chrissy Crawford will be participating in the mentoring sessions in NYC as part of the White House Urban Economic Forum at Barnard College. We are so proud of Chrissy for participating in this initiative which mentors low-income women about starting their own businesses and entrepreneurship! The event will also be streaming live at, www.whitehouse.gov/live, and The White House has also opened up an online forum at www.whitehouse.uservoice.com to encourage additional dialogue. We're so happy to be part of this great initiative!

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L'Avenir, by Guenter Knop. NEW in the ArtStar booth

Trey Speegle, He-Man (Battles Skeletor)

JOIN US! ArtStar will be at the Affordable Art Fair at 7 East 34th Street from September 21st-25th. Come by and snag your favorite piece off the wall, catch an artist talk, check out our new MakerBot sculpture from Micah Ganske, attend a tour, sip a cocktail, and get arty with us!

Special Programing Hosted by ArtStar (booth A2):

September 22, 6 pm & September 24th, 2 pm: Trey Speegle Artist Talk on his recent work and installation at AAF. Cocktail reception to follow Thursday's talk. Saturday's talk will be followed by a private tour of the fair.

September 24, 1 pm: Micah Ganske Artist Talk on art, science and his collaboration with Makerbot. Plus check out the bots in action in the lobby.

September 24 & 25, 3 pm: Larry Moss family balloon art workshop in the LittleCollector Children's Lounge.

September 25th, 2 pm: Panel Discussion, "Experts Advise How to Collect, Purchase and Care for Your Growing Collection." Join Chrissy Crawford, Director/Founder, ArtStar.com with a panel hosted by Thomas Galbraith. Members include Andrew Gristina from the Fine Art Department of Travelers Insurance; Liz Dimmitt, Curator of Gawkers Artists and owner of Etta Place; and Nick Lamina, Director of Von Lintel Gallery and fine artist as they guide you through the process of starting and maintaining an art collection.  Get the experts' advice on how to select, purchase and care for your growing collection so that you can buy with confidence!

Plus read about ArtStar at AAF in the Wall Street Journal.

Click here for fair hours and directions.

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ArtStar Founder Chrissy Crawford on a shoot for Gotham Magazine on the Lower East Side. Styled by Dagny + Barstow and shot by Elk Studios.

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While the last minute venue change was a bit of a let down, we still had a great time on Saturday at the Courthouse. Thanks to all who came out for pics and ping pong!

Catch all of Mark's Graflex photos on our flickr. Plus more on our facebook page! And see more from Mark's website here. Sorry you missed it? Mark will also be photographing at PS1's next Warm Up party! Don't miss it!

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Check out this wonderful article by Charlie Finch in Artnet about ArtStar's "What Works" pop-up show. We're blushing!

Responding to the Art Newspaper article we posted a few days ago (see below) that argued that the traditional gallery format was being outpaced by art fairs and online ventures, Finch holds up ArtStar as an example of the new kind of gallery that signals "the latest testament to the strength of galleries among the true believers who continue to start them up: pop-up galleries."

Writes Finch:

"On this past July 14, I attended the opening on one of these phenomena [popup galleries] and was astounded. The show was called "What Works,” a one-night exhibition at ArtStar's Space on Chrystie Street followed by three days of opening hours "by appointment only." Situated on the eighth floor of an office building near Sara Delano Park downtown, this popup effort was more professional than some of the shows I see at (I don't know) Winkleman Gallery.

The theme was collaborative work between artist couples, emphasizing their influence on each other. The work was highly stylized and accompanied by erudite wall texts and rivers of mediocre wine. The opening was jammed. As an example, one piece by Katherine Newbegin, Hotel Slavjia, Belgrade, Serbia,was a seductive C-print of a bathroom decked out in geometric blue patterns, while her partner, Todd Knopke, responded with a fabric piece called Chapel,a miniature done in the same blue patterns, and full of tiny religious clutter."

Read the rest of the article here.  Finch goes on to commend David Levinthal and Kate Sullivan as well! We're absolutely indebted to all of the wonderful artists who participated in "What Works," the guests who make the evening such a resounding success, and a very special thank-you to Creative Director Rich Hendricks to conceived of and executed the show to such a high standard. Thanks everyone!!

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Colette Robbins, The Head Exchange: Eve, 2001. Graphite painting on paper

ArtStar's first pop-up show What Works opens tonight in our gallery space.

Opening Reception: 6-9pm. July 14th

By Appointment: July 15-17

195 Chrsytie Street, 801B, New York NY 1002.

Featuring the work of 6 artist couples exploring the influence they have on each other:

Kate Sullivan & David Levinthal

Langdon Graves & Nick Van Woert

Erin Kornfled & Charlie Schultz

Ginger Schulick & Don Porcella

Katherine Newbegin & Todd Knopke

Colette Robbins & Micah Ganske

We can't wait to see you all there! - xo, the ArtStar team

What does a a Belgrade bathroom have to do with ArtStar's first pop-up show What Works? You'll have to be there to find out!

Thursday July 14th, 6-9pm

195 Chrsytie St, 801B, New York NY 100002