Review of Bryce Hammond Art at Millenia Fine Art

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 I am forwarding this to my blog page. Hopefully, it gets there in tact.
Hope all is well with all of you. Thank you for reading

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Date: Mon, 11 May 2009 14:26:46 -0400
To: guests@milleniagallery.com
From: guests@guests.milleniagallery.com
Subject: [Millenia Gallery Guests] Review of Bryce Hammond Art at Millenia Fine Art

Friends and Colleagues,   Enclosed please find the review of our current exhibit at Millenia Fine Art as printed this week
in the Orlando Weekly.   Should you wish to view the exhibit, we are open from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday.
No reservations are needed.  For further information, please call 407 304 8100. 

Art: Urban Romance

 

By Rex Thomas

Urban romance
Bryce Hammond … all new works
Through July 11 at Millenia Fine Art
555 S. Lake Destiny Drive 407-304-8100
www.milleniafineart.com

Bryce Hammond's solo exhibition at Millenia Gallery opened May 1, featuring new works by the New Smyrna Beach artist. Hammond is an urban romantic painter, creating shimmering, colorful, crisp perspective paintings that elevate the overlooked, the ordinary and the forgotten parts of contemporary urban life. Populated with spray-paint tags, faded billboards and layers of signage, peeling paint, rust and grime, his images create depth and are filled with stunning bright light. The strong colors and full light overshadow the dirt and the rust, which are rendered lovingly and beautifully as well.

The romantic aspect of this work is its tie to Hammond's past, for the spray-paint art and references to himself and his children all come through as clues in his work. The one-point perspective renderings provide a series of receding planes on which these symbols are overlaid, and they seem to stand in the foreground, with the darker, brooding superego of the city often looming in the background, as in "School Lunch/King Beer." By contrast, his tabletop series evokes the populuxe era of the 1950s, and shadowy representations of happy American couples play upon the Formica tabletops and surrounding surfaces.

By choosing these empty stage sets into which to project his vision, Hammond plays tricks on the viewer; the paintings are often packed with notes in the corners, spray-painted fragments and other items that negate the tough urban images, as well as throwing a sense of flatness into the depth that he's created. While these paintings are retinally delicious, their emptiness is psychologically haunting, and after viewing this show, one feels that the city has a sense of vulnerability, a too-bright showiness, perhaps a forced smile about it.

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crazy e bay sale

Like I said. Someone is trying to sell my ad from Art in America on Ebay. Isn't
that funny? Maybe I should buy it for my Mom as a Mother's Day Gift. Maybe NOT!
 
Here is the link. It is pretty funny.
cgi.ebay.com/Bryce-Hammond-2006-Atlanta-Art-Exhibition-Ad-Trinity_

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I'm a Google Suggestion!!

Never thought it would happen. But if you type my name into google, I come up on the list as a suggestion
as Bryce Hammond Artist.
So what, I googled myself. You know you do it. I am just one who can admit it.
 
Someone is selling my Magazine Ad from 2006 Art in America on ebay. Are they allowed to do that?
Isn't that wierd? Who would buy that.
 
Take care all, much love and thank you for reading my blog, all 6 of you.

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What you didn't read in the Orlando Weekly

Orlando Weekly gave me the front page of their April 30th paper.
Here is part of the interview that didn't make the cut. Just a quick q&a with Laura Stewart.
 
go to orlandoweekly.com to see what DID go in. Peace to all of you.
 
Here is what did not go in as promised:
 

What are you reading right now?

Just finished Grapes of Wrath, now I am reading Mel Blanc's bio That's Not All Folks

Where does subject matter come from?

Places I lived, visited or just messed up stuff that needs painting like sardine cans

Why a little town in Fla?

I grew up here and it's just as good as any place, but there are waves and free babysitting,

(all the grandparents live here). Plus UPS and DHL come here to ship paintings.

What do you see as your future in the art world?

Taxable income.

When working, what do you listen to?

Music from Basie and Ellington to Ben Folds, Death Cab, Twilight Singers, Decemberists

Favorite Radio shows?

For Music, The Final Hours on Sat night, SNV on Sunday night and while driving

My daughter to dance, Phillips Phile

What is your favorite Nightclub of all time?

Save the Robots in New York, closed now.

Favorite bar?

KGB in the East Village, NY

Favorite Visual Artists?

Jean Michel Basquiat and Richard Diebenkorn, me on a good day

Do you collect art?

A little. Looks like a lot in our small house.

Do you display your own art in your house?

A few retired paintings, but most art just stacked around waiting to be shipped.

Who is your ideal collector?

Anyone that pays on time. No, really, the ones that have been with me for years,

Some have up to 20 paintings and we become very close.

What is your favorite Movie(s)?

Comedy: Swingers, Drama: Cool Hand Luke, Suspense/horror: the original Psycho,

Musical: Singin in the Rain, Psychedelic: A Clockwork Orange, Cartoon: Lady and the Tramp, Nostalgia: The Breakfast Club

If you were a comic book character, who would you be?

Nightcrawler from Xmen and Excalibur or Snoopy

Who are/were your most influential mentors for your painting career?

Dr. Carolyn Watson, Art History Professor at Furman and Bob Cogan, an Atlanta

Painter who died of Aids in 1995, and SCAT a prodigy in graffiti and dear friend who was shot and killed in 2000

What is your favorite restaurant?

Gramercy Tavern in New York, Spanish River Grill in NSB, Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles in LA

If you could get away right now and go anywhere, where would you go?

I would gather up the fam and fly out to Vegas with all our camping gear and

Camp the Canyon loop in a rental car again.

Favorite hobby?

My wife Jana and I love to Swing Dance, (Lindy Hop) and I like to surf.

Ideally, we would dance at Joe's Bar in Burbank all night and then hit the surf

The next morning, then sleep all afternoon at the Standard in Hollywood

Dream for the Future?

Whitney Biennial, stay out of jail, visit my kids at college where they are getting straight

A's and NOT becoming artists.

 

 

 

 

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More Thank Yous

Thank you so much also to Joe Conte. You are an amazing collector and supporter and a great friend.
Thank you for making this all happen by going to Josh on my behalf.
 
Also, Sean McNeil for the killer photo session that went straight to the cover of the Orlando Weekly. You rock
bro.
 

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Tonight's opening

I don't even know what to say. Tonight was an amazing opening in Orlando.
Thank you to everyone that came out to see the show and say hi. It was so nice to
see you all. My friends and supporters, collectors and art writers.
 
Special thanks to Cliff and Paulette Wharin who made the stretchers possible, you are amazing
friends. Tom and Jimmy for all your support over the years. Jimmy, thank you for your email support.
Tom and Sandi Torrence for being such great collectors and friends. Anthony, Eveline and Quinn
for going for it an making the trip. Ed and Jeanie Harris, we love you. Thanks to my Mom and Dad for
coming out before driving to Talahassee. All my friends who came over from NSB, Phil, Julie, Joey, Cody,
Rich, Cory, Nancy, Greg, Donna, Steve. There are so many to thank, if I missed you please let me know and
I will post again.
 
A super thank you to the fine people at Millenia, especially Josh Garrick, who made this thing happen. Thank you
to Laura Stewart who rocked the article in the Weekly and to Lindy Shepherd who put got it on the FRONT PAGE!!
It was so nice to see you both. Thank you.
 
I want to say thank you to all of the artists who came out and made it a point to come over and talk to me.
I have had shows in LA, New York, Birmingham, Atlanta, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Michigan and Nashville, And
Never Never have I received the love from the artists that I received tonight. Here's to all of the artists that
came to talk to me tonight. You are an amazing community, and I have never been so blessed. Thank you
to all of you. Just unbelievable.
 
Most of all, thank you to my wife Jana who stands with me through low sales and big sales, through front
pages and back pages and no pages of press. You work an opening like slicing butter. I Love you girl.
I look forward to working on the book with you!! Thank you to my lovely children Alex and Eden who put
up with modelling for paintings without a paycheck.
 
I don't deserve the kind of reception I get all over the country. I am just trying to provide and express..
 
Love to all and if you read my blog, wow!!
 
One more shout to my old bro's from the spray can revolution, much love to Claw crew on the LES, FX crew,
CFX, DelRivs and Rest in Peace all my brothers that died out there, that is 11 of the 17 of you. Hey SCAT,
you were the super rock dog, RIP my brother.
 
Bryce

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