Spectrum Exhibition...Again!

Not new news, but I'm just getting around to mentioning it here:

I am happy to announce that a second Spectrum exhibition will be held at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in September 2009. That may seem like a long way off but, trust me, I'm already shaking in my Berkenstocks.

The exhibit will include selected works from Spectrums 12 through 15, representing each of it's categories -- Advertising, Book, Editorial, Institutional, Dimensional, Uncommissioned, and the newly added Concept Art.

We held the first Spectrum exhibition a year ago September. It was curated by Cathy and Arnie Fenner, Greg Manchess, and myself. It featured 190 works selected from Spectrums 1 through 11 covering 155 artists. The opening had over 300 attendees, including almost all of the exhibiting artists, and lasted late into the night. Everyone said that they were having the time of their lives -- extremely gratifying after two years of work putting it together, bit by bit. Unfortunately, while playing host I spent the entire night saying hello to everyone and not getting to actually talk to anyone. Too bad, 'cause a lot of really cool people were there -- J.J. Palencar, Robert McGinnis, Kinuko Craft, Raymond Swanland, James Gurney, Thomas Blackshear, Leo and Diane Dillon(!), Thomas Kuebler, Tim Holter Bruckner, Justin Sweet, Bob Eggleton, Charles Vess, Brom, Scott Gustafson, Stephan Martiniere, and so many others I regret not mentioning by name. Quite a number of collectors, editors, and art directors were also in attendance.

The exhibition was very well attended throughout it's run . Again, very gratifying. I was hanging around the place quite a bit, as you can imagine, and I often ran into groups having made the trek from various far off states. I was even more touched that people who had little or no connection to the genre said it was one of the best shows they had seen.

I've said it everywhere I could but it's worth repeating: It would not have happened without co-curators and tireless collaborators Cathy and Arnie Fenner and Greg Manchess, and for a tremendous amount of help from Arkady Roytman, Bridget McGovern, Dan Dos Santos, and Donato Giancola. And, of course, it really would not have happened without the mountains of hard work that Cathy and Arnie put into Spectrum each and every year.

It was loads of work, but it was also loads of fun , so....September, 2009, we'll do it all again!

FURTHER READING: Here is an interview that Sequential Tart did with me about the show. Spectrum's site has a quick article and more pictures here.

TOP: Banner. MIDDLE: A few views of the exhibition. BOTTOM, LEFT SIDE: Crowds in the exhibition. Crowds at the after party in the dinning hall. Leo and Diane Dillon. Kinuko Craft. BOTTOM, RIGHT SIDE: Michael Whelan, Stephan Martinere, Donato Giancola, Joe De Vito. Sandra Lyra. Michael Kaluta and Scott Gustafson. Cathy & Arnie Fenner, me, Greg Manchess.