I’m honored to have two of my pieces included in the Salmagundi Club 46th Annual Open Photography Exhibit.
Reflections – Photograph – $1,850
I took this photograph facing east. The Hudson River, New Jersey, and a pre-sunset sky were behind me, reflected in this glass-fronted building.
Watertower Moon – Photograph – $850
I took this photograph on the night of the first Black Lives Matter protest march in NYC, in May 2020. There’s turmoil in the streets below, but all is tranquil on the rooftop.
Here is footage I took in the aftermath of the protest:
Note: SUN | Jun 9 – TUE | Jun 18 Main entrance closed – please use alternate entrance (hopefully there will be good signage to find it!)
About the Club
Salmagundi [pronounced: sal-muh-guhn-dee] is a not-for-profit professional and social club, created in 1871 by artists and patrons to support one another. It is one of America’s oldest arts organizations with more than 1,100 current members throughout the United States and abroad. Winston Churchill was one of its founders.
I’ve previously exhibited my work at the Salmagundi in four other group exhibitions. I am very relieved to have my work included again after my past shenanigans there!
Liberty. 24″ x 16″ archival print. $800. Photograph by Philip Maier in collaboration with Karen Rempel.
This photograph is one of my absolute favorites from my first 50 photoshoots for Karen’s Quirky Style.
Phil captured this using the natural light in the room, which had a green “romantic effect.” He overcame difficult lighting conditions to achieve contrast and clarity as the green light was actually quite dim.
The End of an Era
Filmed at the Liberty Inn in the Meatpacking District, I think this photograph truly captures the feeling of a time and place in New York history. As I described in my February 2023 Karen’s Quirky Style column, when I learned that the Liberty Inn was closing, I was devastated that this last remnant of the New York of the seedy ’70s would be gone soon. And in fact, it closed less than a month later.
Why I Think This Is a Work of Art
This image is arresting. It immediately captures the viewer’s attention. The lines of the work lead naturally from lower left to upper right, drawing attention to the woman’s face. She’s kissing money and there’s money on the bed. This is provocative and tells a story even though there is only one character in the frame. The seediness of the open bathroom door with the edge of the toilet shown in the lower left, the plastic bag on the garbage can, the paper cup—all of these details suggest the temporary nature of the assignation. The woman’s come hither attitude, from her finger tips to her knowing look, promise the seduction will be worth the price. This is definitely a picture that tells more than a thousand words, and it’s also fun and playful to look at. The green light was a happy accident of that particular room’s decor, but the tie-in with the color of money is part of the fun.
The Salmagundi Club Does Not Agree
I recently submitted this piece to the Salmagundi Club’s open exhibition, called “Figurative.” I listed both Phil and myself as co-artists of the piece, as it was a collaboration that we created together, and he agreed I could submit it under both our names.
The prospectus stated:
The purpose of this exhibition is to showcase today’s exceptional contemporary figurative art. Situated in the heart of New York City’s vibrant art world, Salmagundi will present an overview of representational art that focuses on the human figure and face, as seen in the context of New York City and contemporary life. Works in all mediums including painting, photography, drawing, and sculpture are eligible for submission, if they explore themes of portraiture, nudes, clothed figures, and narratives that center on the human form. This exhibition will represent the current state of figurative art in New York City.
It seems to me that the work meets all of the criteria. There couldn’t be a stronger narrative centered on the human form. Of course, the decision of what is “exceptional” is up to the panel of judges who curate the exhibit.
This will no doubt sound biased, but I always attend the exhibitions at the Salmagundi, whether or not my work has been accepted, so that I can get a feel for what the judges are looking for. I am not infrequently astonished at the work they select, as the quality of some of the pieces is not always evident to my eye. By the same token, my friends, who are admittedly also biased, have said that some of my work is among the best in the group exhibits where I have been fortunate to have my art shown.
But There’s More
Not only was “Liberty” turned down, but my work has been turned down the last three times I have submitted it to an open exhibition at the Salmagundi Club.
I recently applied for artist membership to the Salmagundi Club, as I enthusiastically said I would do in an earlier entry on this site. Even though my work has already been displayed at the Salmagundi Club FOUR TIMES!! and I am an exhibiting artist member at the National Arts Club (which also has a juried application process) and I was enthusiastically endorsed by three members of the Salmagundi Club (two of whom are artists who viewed my work), my application was turned down.
Their letter stated: “The artwork submitted did not meet the particular club standards for artist membership.”
This seems odd when they have not once but four times deemed my work worthy to include in their group exhibitions.
I can only conclude that the artists on the Salmagundi jury lack an appreciation for a fresh artistic vision, and perhaps they lack a sense of humor as well. (Regarding the Salmagundi Art Heist.) Ah well, I have made some lovely new friends at the Salma who enjoyed my art caper—and in fact said it should be de rigueur for membership!—and they have issued an open invitation for Friday cocktail hour. Friendship and cocktails—now that’s the point of belonging to a club!
My friend Jeff gave me the darlingest gift for my birthday this year:
Barbie Bowie! She looks just like me! The attention to detail of this doll is incredible, from the striped and polka-dotted tie to the platform brogues. The Barbie company made an exact replica of David Bowie as filmed by Mick Rock for his “Life on Mars” music video.
This was my singing debut, at the National Arts Club, where I also did my best to replicate Bowie’s “Life on Mars” look and sound.
It was one of the most thrilling moments of my life to meet Mick Rock at a photo exhibit of pictures he and other photographers had taken of David Bowie. I brought along a giant book of Mick’s photographs of Bowie, which he signed for me, and we hung out a bit. He did think I was gauche though. I was as eager as a puppy, and didn’t act as reserved as a cool New Yorker.
Me and Mick Rock, the photographer who did the “Life on Mars” video and many of the iconic Bowie photos in the early 70s.
I was really sad when Mick Rock died last year. His enormous book with a really cool holographic cover is behind Barbie in the top photo.
I was also honored to meet Carol Spencer at her Dressing Barbie book talk at the National Arts Club in 2020. She was a Barbie fashion designer for more than 35 years (early 60s to late 90s), and her book was published for Barbie’s 60th anniversary. I enjoyed many of her clothes, with no idea of the amazing woman behind them.
When I was a girl I loved playing with my Barbie, and it was hard to give her up when I reached the end of the elementary school years and other girls at school deemed Barbie too childish for us. I collected every color of the high-heeled loafers that went with the Barbie outfits in the late 60s and early 70s. I loved dressing Barbie in different outfits and imagining her going out on exciting dates. Little did I know I was in training for my Karen’s Quirky Style column!
The Collector by Karen Rempel. 26″ x 20″ aluminum print.
I exhibited this piece at the National Arts Club in 2023. Gallery price was $3,000. Web direct from artist, $800.
I was also honored to display this piece at the Salmagundi Club. This work was in their 2022 Annual Photography Exhibition. I experimented with printing onto aluminum, and hoped the results would do justice to the subject, my friend Arthur and his collection of Richard Gallo art glass.
Photo of the work hanging at the Salmagundi Club, taken by my wonderful photographer friend Brigitte Stelzer.
It was a pretty dark exposure to begin with, and I think the final result was equally as luminous as viewing it on a light-emitting monitor, the way you view the original photo at the top. Many thanks to Tribeca Printworks for really bringing out the light in the photo. Other artists in the exhibit—who took better photos to begin with—achieved much more spectacular results with their aluminum prints. I have much to learn!
Stunning works by other artists. The photo to the left of mine, of the Vessel at Hudson Yards, is also printed onto aluminum.
The exhibit ran from July 18 to August 5. I want to thank my friends who came to see the exhibit, and especially my friend Brigitte, a wonderful photographer, who took this picture of me with my art:
As I mentioned in my February post, I have been honored to have my work included in the current Exhibiting Members Exhibition at the National Arts Club. (Open to the public Monday – Sunday, 9 to 5, until June 15.) Please stop by!
I never dreamed of this incredible honor on that sunny day in Vancouver when I was goofing off watching Netflix and saw a captivating shadow on the living room wall.
I met some encouraging friends who liked the series and encouraged me to submit the work to galleries. So I did!
I wound up having a solo exhibition of this work at the Havana Gallery in Vancouver in 2015, but felt I needed something more visually arresting to add to the 14 images, which were each 1-3/4″ by 1-3/4″. So I created a giant 8’x10′ version of the image!
As an icebreaker, I took pictures of all my friends and relatives at the opening, with their favorite works of art. I turned these images into a video, which was another spontaneous project that still delights my heart when I watch it.
One of the outtakes was this picture of my friend Bruce, holding my sparkly handbag for me. I just love this picture of him!
Flash forward to 2020, when I was preparing for my first New York solo exhibition. I wanted to show the Shadow Play series again, but the Revelation Gallery is bigger and there was a large empty space on the wall.
So I decided to do something with my picture of Bruce, and voilà, “Bruce’s Handbag” became a focal point of the exhibit. I printed the digitally enhanced photo onto canvas, and then embellished the piece with glitter to bring out the light and sparkle on the details.
I also decided to have a synesthesia component to the opening reception, and thanks to the curator Graeme Napier’s brainstorm and my friend Hannah’s and some other musicians’ creative generosity, a sound component was born. We had a minute-long impromptu musical performance for each of the 14 pieces. I projected the images on the wall behind the musicians so that the audience could see the image that was being played.
Everything in New York shut down soon after the opening reception on March 3, so the recordings and photos from that evening languished on my hard drive. I had intended to do a video of the event, but life went sideways.
So here, for the first time, is a video of the musical segment that goes with the blue piece, entitled “Nostalgia.”
The taste pairing with this piece was blueberry port. Just relish what Hannah Reimann and Steve Sandberg did on their spontaneous collaboration! (The Aeon Ensemble was amazing as well. Stay tuned for the complete series showing all of the musicians.)
Now “Bruce’s Handbag” is hanging on the walls of the National Arts Club. What a difference from the fate of “Summer Piano in Washington Square Park”!
Kicked to the curb. My doorman promised it would end up on someone’s living room wall! It was gone in minutes.
Life is a mysterious dynamic unfolding that continues upwelling like a fountain. I love the adventure of seeing where it takes me.
With Bruce at the National Arts Club opening reception. Five of the original series of 14 are on the wall behind Bruce.
My friend, the fantastic New York photographer Philip Maier, has just released a fascinating book about Union Square.
Phil’s photos capture the past 20 years of New York history in this focal point of Greenwich Village. His artistic vision will touch you with humor, joy, grief, sadness, and his tremendous love of the city and the resilient, creative people who live here.
Scroll down Phil’s webpage to a link to download the book for free. Phil also gives you an option to donate to a charity if you wish.
If you want to purchase a photo from the book, don’t be shy about reaching out to Phil. He’d love to hear from you.
Do you love cats or dogs the most? I think it depends on whether you want to adore (cats) or be adored (dogs). Some lovebugs need both.
Here are a few reasons why we love the warm furry creatures of both species.
Let’s Start with Cats!
Andrea’s Bruce in Santa DisguiseAndrea’s Dickie got into the Christmas punch
Tess’s Joan is a classic beauty, aloof and mysterious
On the other hand…
Tess’s Benny (named after Benny Hill) lets it all hang out!
Bruce’s Bengal, Punky, is a gorgeous woodsy cat.My dearly departed Donald (named after Donald Duck) was a city cat—he liked going out on the town in my high heels.
Everyone knows that country cats earn their keep.
Kat’s Lincoln guarding the harvest.
Lincoln’s sister, Princess Peaches, is equally alert.
Dogs Have Their Own Appeal
For example, they can keep you company when you’re working on a jobsite.
Toby the Terror takes a moment to model while Kat transits a site to make sure it’s level.
And then they come home with you and help you chill after work.
Kat’s Rocco after a long day.
Dogs are more likely to have cute friends come to visit.
Rocco’s friend Toby the Terror. He just finished ripping apart the living room.
Some dogs have amazing fashion sense.
Dorothy’s Luther sporting ostrich feathers at a photo shoot.
Then Again
Some people prefer wild cats to domestic.
Val and Garry’s bobcat.
Or they prefer to dress as animals themselves.
After Leopard night at the National Arts Club. That Zebra is toast!
It’s hard to choose, but I think cats are smarter…
I learned this tip from my building’s porter. I had some artwork that was taking up space in my closet, and I wanted to give it away to free up both space and energy.
I couldn’t find a buyer, so I was getting ready to bring the artwork to a donation site, but couldn’t get a cab. Jose was putting trash by the curb, and said that if I put the artwork with the trash, someone would take it and put it up in their living room. He had seen this happen with couches, wood furniture, art, and all kinds of household items.
So I stacked one piece on either side of the pile of black trash bags. It was a freeing act, to give up control and let the universe take over. Both pieces had been displayed on the hallowed walls of the Salmagundi Club, and now they were just material objects devoid of the “art” status, broken down into the component parts of wood and glass and paper.
Spank Me, taken at the NYC Pride Parade 2019.
I went to my piano lesson with a lightness in my step. When I came back an hour later, both pieces were gone. Jose thought the man in the white van that was parked by the curb had taken them. He is clearly a discerning art collector!
I wonder where they are now. I hope their new owner is enjoying them. And I like not knowing their fate.
This is the piece that the Salmagundi Club selected to include in their most recent open exhibition.
It was a great honor to have my work on display at this venerable institution, which happens to be a mere long block from home on Fifth Avenue. This exhibit on Cityscapes was mostly a love affair to New York, although there were also a few caresses of Venice and Paris. It was a passionate show, illustrating why we all love New York so much.
In addition to the physical exhibit, the Salmagundi Club lists my work on Artsy. Of course, if you are interested in purchasing this picture, you can also reach out to me directly.
I am so excited to have my artwork exhibited again at the Salmagundi Club. The theme of the exhibit is Cityscapes.
Stop by the exhibit from June 6 to June 24, 1 to 6 PM (5 PM on the weekend). The Club is at 47 Fifth Avenue at West 12th Street.
Bikes on MacDougal Street by Karen Rempel.
I submitted four pieces, and one was chosen for the Cityscapes exhibition. Here are the other three. I want to save the chosen entry as a surprise for you to see when you visit the gallery, so I’ll put the selected artwork up after the exhibit closes.
