I hate to start out an article by saying: ya missed it, what a shame… but in the case of MvVO’s latest venture to support artists with unique and special opportunities they might not otherwise have, ya missed it.
For those of us who did make it to this four-day pop-up show at Sotheby’s in New York, it will be a memory we will hold dear for a very long time.
Venue
The show, which closed last Sunday, pushed MvVO’s mission into new territory by giving 90 artists a chance to exhibit their work at an exceptionally prestigious venue in one of the world’s leading art capitols, with Ad Art Show 2018. The idea to pool art makers from advertising agencies for a show that celebrates the work that they do outside their corporate offices was absolutely superb. For that, we must thank the woman behind the scenes Maria Van Vlodrop, whose advocacy for artists of all creeds (in this case for those coming from commercial industries), is unstoppable.
Isaac Aden (Curator), Maria Van Vlodrop (MvVO Founder & CEO)
©Patrick McMullan
Photo – Paul Bruinooge
Maria: The reason I do this is because I have business development skills from 15+ years advertising world, first starting as an assistant account executive for Diet Pepsi in New York City as my first job. Later, I had this idea that I could provide my business development skills in the service of artists who really want to show their work because it’s very hard to make it and business developers can get a rocket to the moon if they want to.
I can only imagine that these artists (who work full-time jobs as art directors, commercial producers, copywriters, accountants, business managers) all but fainted when their work was accepted to be a part of this show. With the little time left over from their 9-5, (often more…) these are the relentless individuals who did not let silly things like exhaustion, schedules, or million-dollar-campaigns get in the way their primary directive: produce their art.
Maria: When you’re an artist you’re an artist, if you’re a poet you’re a poet. If that’s your talent, there’s nothing else – no matter where you work.
Student Work in Gallery
The true difference between a show like this and any upscale SOHO opening, is found directly in the fact that every piece exhibited here was one that was crafted by the hands by a dual-agent; by day a commercial pawn ready to do the demanding work for big companies like Pfizer, Pepsi, and Dell; and by night, hunters of the muses and creators of passion inspired art.
Isaac Aden, the artist-curator, was being endlessly thanked by artists who were enormously grateful for his tremendous work and for including them in the show. More than four or five times he stopped the tour he was giving me to receive glowing praises from his collaborators who were all going home with stars in their eyes and a new sense of accomplishment under their belts.
The AD Art Show exhibition opening at Sotheby’s in New York, NY on February 22, 2018. (Photo by Stephen Smith/ Art Zealous)
Maria: All these artists are so happy. First of all, they’re at Sotheby’s. From never showing at all to immediately showing at Sotheby’s – that’s a big honor. And Sotheby’s has honored the industry by having us here.
Isaac takes us through the show piece by piece as though it were a standalone work of art (which it really was). As he began pointing out the juxtapositions, the flow and rhythm of each gallery space, the relationships from one piece to another, one truly got a sense of his deep dedication to every single piece in the show and the months of preparation he spent on it.
Gallery Layout
Isaac: I did a lot of studio visits and I worked with many of them on a lot of details. For instance, I helped one guy mount his art because it’s so heavy he didn’t know how to do it; another I went through critiquing his better works, giving my opinions helping him on his submission. Often it was one on one. It was fun work.
Isaac Aden takes us through his show, piece by piece.
And the “fun work” paid off. Remarkable and delightful was his virtuous achievement, which he cooly shrugs off as if it were any old Sunday afternoon… This sense of graceful ease was integral to the show. Nowhere could one find a sense of competition, of hierarchy, or any part of the normal rat race we experience at galleries across the city. The sense of an egalitarian community was real as even in the final hour, at 4:45 PM on Sunday, as Sotheby’s was closing and the show was to be brought down, many artists were still there representing their work and thrilled for the opportunity to speak with us about it.
Alan Vladusic, for instance, whose beautiful and giant foggy frames of the iconic victims of assassination (Tupac on left, Biggie on right) gives us a short yet potent glimpse into this history behind his creations:
“Immortal” by Alan Vladusic. (Photo by Stephen Smith/ Art Zealous)
Alan: I’m from Bosnia originally, a war country. I was surrounded by death. But I wanted to make a twist on it by showing something that is so disturbing and ugly and making it something beautiful and meaningful. I don’t want to promote violence, I’m just looking for an artistic way to show what is happening every day.
Or David Mark Bradley, whose work was simple yet poignant as he spread his own finger-pricked blood over four pay stubs to spell the words I LOVE MY JOB, as snarky and witty commentary on the professional world that does not keep us alive without a great sacrifice. Absolutely hilarious.
“Dichroic Susended” by Allison Harrel. (Photo by Paul Bruinooge)
And there was Allison Harrell, with her quick smile as she knows that her ultraviolet mirrors and other reflecting curiosities were bound to stupefy – and surely they did (I almost took them home myself).
Among so many others that would explode my word count here, I tip my hat and thank them again for such a memorable experience, with one minor catch: my only critique on the show was its brevity. The show encapsulated Robert Frost’s words as he describes ephemera: “nothing gold can stay.” For me gold was this show, its art, gold was the curatorial position, gold was the atmosphere, the venue, but above all that, gold was the purpose – to provide an open platform to showcase artists that have followed their passion to no end.
