I must go back a bit before I explain what the photos below are all about. For you see, I forgot to bring my iPod with me the last time I went to Manhattan for an art opening. That show was Markus Pearson @ Pop International and I enjoyed every minute I was there. I even got a chance to speak with Markus about the inspiration for his coyote character, “in love with living life” theme, that is his signature work of art.
I really appreciate his work and would like to purchase a resin sculpture of the coyote figure someday in the not too distant future but for now, I just have to settle with a memory.
After being there for roughly one hour, my artist friend Pruchon phoned to tell me there was something going on at Opera gallery just around the corner and that I should stop by because a lot of artists were there chilling at the Rostarr + Saber exhibition, sipping on free spirits, and enjoying all the eye candy.
So I left Pop International and headed to Opera to soak in the last remaining hour I had left in Manhattan before I had to return home and nurse my self-inflicted wounds for traveling in the first place.
Well the journey turned out to be another fruitful one because it was like a continuum of the last time I was there but even better because I ran into Ron English, and we tipped glasses in acknowledgement. I chatted with Pruchon (who was late on arrival) and some other cool artists. Then Marty Cooper walked into the gallery with Carlo McCormick and I approached Martha to introduce myself to her and Carlo because she had just returned her book, Street Art, (signed) to me via Henry Chalfant who also signed it before giving it to her to sign. So it was only natural that I mention that fact to break the ice as we chatted before eventually feeling uncomfortable because all the cameras started rolling and we didn’t know what it was for. None of us had signed any releases, so our meeting was short & sweet.
Now on to this latest adventure that I saved up my energy for and once again my instincts proved to be correct in selecting the right event to attend.This art exhibition was the work of Yoshitomo Nara, an artist from Japan, who once visited Princeton University a few years ago for a lecture about his life & study in Dussledorf, Germany as well as his first solo exhibition “Nobody’s Fool” at the Asian Society in New York City.
During that visit to Princeton, I had him draw one of his signature characters on a Kidrobot product that I planned to complete later in hopes of seeing him again so that he could sign his name on our inadvertent collaboration.This ultimately turned out to be an impossibility because of all the cameras in Mr. Nara’s face and the fans trying to get a good shot of him with their iPhones. I just stood off to the side and watched the mayhem. Later I did run into Pruchon and another guy that I saw earlier, so I showed them my collaboration piece and they directed me to this Chinese woman who was a Yoshitomo Nara fanatic. I showed her the customized Munny and she got so excited that she wanted to take pictures with it all over the gallery in front of the paintings. I stumbled behind her trying to keep up because she loved the piece so much I thought she was going to run out of the gallery with it.
The third phase of the evening consisted of me doing some filming and meeting this woman who was with the son of Holly Solomon, the famous art dealer who was one of the first to open a gallery in Soho. She was also one of Andy Warhol’s first photobooth models for his portrait series.We chatted about the good old eighties and the fact that Keith Haring used to take me to the bank with him on Broadway & Houston, right around the corner from the Holly Solomon gallery which is where Jeffery Deitch used to work before opening his own gallery. I thanked the two of them for speaking with me and went on my merry way because I knew it was time to head back home to Princeton.

Nichole (?) posing with Nara + KaM© collaboration @Pace Gallery.

Nichole (?) posing with Nara + KaM© collaboration @ Pace Gallery.

artist Karey Maurice @ Pace Gallery /Yoshitomo Nara opening reception.

The crowd @ Pace Gallery/Yoshitomo Nara opening reception.

I’ll start off this blog entry by saying trust your instincts and better yet; accept every invitation when humanly possible! You never know who you might meet or just who may be watching you from afar.
This past Thursday April 4th 2013 Kenny (Jet) Scharf opened his solo exhibition with a colorful explosion of paintings & large sculptures that gave you that spacey organic atmosphere feeling that only he can provide and is his signature environment. The paint was bubbling off the canvas with oozing shapes and splashes along with soft balloon like forms with eyes just inviting you into this world of cosmic [Kolor] as the title of the exhibition suggested.
The sculptures there were large in scale. One had this Ooh No type of expression with mouth wide open. Another one had more of a monster grimace with teeth and sinister eyes ready to just attack you if you didn’t behave. The third one was a totem of a mixture of expressions that towered over everybody in attendance which leads me to try to describe the crowd that showed up for the art show.
I had received a personal message via Facebook ( I personally call it Fessbook) from my new Gal Pal Drena DeNiro and that was the prime motivator for me because I was in great anticipation to finally meet her in person because we share some personal connections to the early 1980’s New York art scene and have been messaging each other about that since I sent her a friends request that she surprisingly accepted some time ago.
A lot of these people were in attendance on this night so it made things kinda personal and a warmer experience than the usual fashion show-N-tell that most openings can turn out to be. But, don’t get me wrong, that can be fun too if you’re a voyeur like myself and get excited in large crowds.
I met the one and only Fab 5 Freddy, Mark Kostabi, and ran into Rick Prol again after meeting him at the last exhibition I attended in New York; I also met Allison Goldenstein a friend of Drena’s who is connected to the fashion business and designs clothing from what I know of her personally. I saw Kenny’s beautiful youngest daughter Malia who I keep mistaking for another young beauty named Andrea Diaz who stayed in our Orbit most of the evening so she appears in a lot of shots Tasha K. captured of the audience.
The only thing about these art openings that has changed a lot since I use to attend them back in the early 80’s is that people view it as a night out on the town; a sort of entertainment and a way to escape paying for drinks. So you heard the term freeloader [even though the gallery was dry] being whispered amongst the in-crowd who back in the day brought our own party material with us and shared with whoever was in need of a quick pick me up and you made new friends that way.You could tell who was just there looking for beer or wine to drink. I have or I should say my #1 Gal Pal Tasha K. captured some awesome shots of the evening which I’m happy to share here. Check them out!

Box fade guy @ Kolors exhibition ©Tasha K. 2013

Diva people @ Kolors exhibition ©Tasha K. 2013

Fashion plate guest @ Kolors exhibition ©KaM© 2013

Fab 5 Freddy & KaM© @ Kolors exhibition ©KaM© 2013

KAM© & Drena DeNiro +Bruno Schmidt @ Kolors exhibition ©Tasha K.2013

KAM© & Mark Kostabi @ Kolors exhibition ©Tasha K.2013

Andrea Diaz @ Kolors exhibition.

Malia Scharf + guest @ Kolors exhibition ©Tasha K.2013

Tasha Kersey @ Kolors exhibition ©KaM© 2013

Totem sculpture @ Paul Kasmin Gallery ©Tasha K. 2013

Allison Goldstein @ Paul Kasmin gallery photo © Tasha K. 2013

When I say the fun outweighs the effort;I’m not kidding around at all! Last Thursday I mustered up the energy to travel to New York City for an opening I discovered published in Clutter Magazine’s online publication about this exhibition “Pop Surrealism” that featured the most prominent figures of the genre that I know of especially a few in particular namely Colin Christian & wife Sas along with Ray Caesar,Ron English,Camilla D’Errico,Lori Earley,Scott Musgrove and many more.The gallery is located in SoHo on Spring Street so I was very familiar with the area because its where I use to do most of my shopping back in the early 80’s and just simply hang out when most of the galleries were located there before moving to Chelsea about twelve years ago now or longer.
As a routine stop I had to check out an artist [Ron Jones] who has been on the corner of Broadway & Prince Street for just as long as I can remember and he has become part of the landscape as far as I am concerned so I stopped a chatted with him as I usually do and I’m glad I did because he gave me a gift just for making the effort understanding my condition.
After that it was what I thought was going to be a quick in and out visit to Kidrobot down the block to get my fix of their exclusive custom toy/sculptures & apparel before going to the opening at Opera gallery.
Well, the visit turned out to be a beautiful time well spent with the staff who showed my crazy respect and informed me of some of the rereleases that are scheduled to drop sometime soon.
Now on to the gallery after spending more time than I thought I would with the folks at KR and I turn the corner and walk one block only to run into Dylan who I met years ago standing online @ Kidrobot for Dunny creator Tristan Eaton’s then new release in 2008 so I have known him for quite some time and he recognized me right away.
We both entered the gallery together but I headed for the refreshment table right away so I could take the edge off with a glass of red wine. After that I broke out the iPod to start capturing the moment for my archeives and become a part of my work in progress film ” Chealsea Nights” which is really about my adventures visiting art galleries & special events. I only walked around part of the exhibition and found a seat at a table located in the rear of the gallery so I could relax and I was joined by this Haitian American artist named Prushion who vibed up with me emediatly and we began to connect and exchanged information so we could stay in touch. I have a short film clip I made of him to add to my documentation.

KaM© @ Opera gallery. photo ©2013 Dylan Evans

Artists Rick Prol & KaM© at Opera gallery NYC 2013

Popaganda artist Ron English & KaM© at Opera gallery 2013

Long Island Lady with KaM© on New Jersey Transit southbound.

Interview on WIMG with host Jacque Howard with guest tronix & KaMo

Mick Rock & Karey Maurice aka KaMo @ Pop International NYC.

I’m so happy that I force myself to take on physical challenges that (usually) result in postive outcomes and this month I sure did push the envolope with testing my ability to overcome my limitations. I have missed so many shows & exhibitions that I had to organize my own which I explained was quite an ordeal but, I really miss attending other artists openings in NYC the most and on one decent [meaning weather] day I decided to go to Pop International Gallery’s grand opening of their midtown location which featured an South African artist Benny Gool who took photographs of Nelson Mandela for an extended period of time during the anti-arpartied leaders life & legacy. When I arrived I was surprised that there was a guest list and I was asked of course was I invited or had R.S.V.P in advance,so; I lied and made the beautiful young lady search her list for my name and when she couldn’t find it,she just asked me for my name & email address.Then the owner Jeff Jaffe saw me standing there stalled and came over to great me. After that it was all good because people wanted to know who I was. The pictures were stunning and very affordable if you had a couple thou to drop on a print nicely framed. That’s what I like about Pop art is the fact that when its newely introduced to the public you can actually buy something.
While I was there I met some very interesting people and they seemed very warm towards me and carried on a very stimulating conversation about the artwork & photographs on display. I even got the opportunity to meet the artist Benny Gool and his biographer as well as speak with rock photographer Mick Rock [shown above] who is David Bowie’s number one guy for photo documentary of his career.
Another great moment that I mentioned in my last post(s) is that I did two Interviews one for WIMG 1300 am/WZBN Mercer County local station channel 25, the Trentonian and a short guest appearance on WTSR 91.3fm with America’s hottest lady DJ Miss Sue Miss Sue about the “Cross Your Heart” exhibition a few days before it closed on February 28th.
So Wow!! What a month it has been and I’m now in Philadelphia doing a little recouperatting so to speak but I seroiusly doubt that because I am so close to the museums that I just have to get another dose of art from one of the premier city’s for it!!
Stay Tuned…

February 2013 turned out to feel like I was being transported through a portal of emotional time and space combined with a certain escalation of my recognition as an artist but not in terms of any monitary gain; I ‘m speaking of a fantasy is reality kind of existance where there’s no distinction between the two and everything feels normal to deal with a certain dissadvantage and turn it into a positive outcome!!
One example of this directly is organizing this exhibition “Cross Your Heart” that was quite an undertaking on my behalf because I had to recruit the assistance of my friend Tobias Grace who had to sort through my storage space with me to put together a show within one half hour of the day of installing the show because I was sort of censored for the work I really wanted to exhibit and,the Trentonian contacted me the day before scheduling an Interview with me the same day while the work was being placed on the walls so there was all this kind of distorsion in the sound quality but it turned out fine because its history now.
I almost didn’t make it to the reception because of my high levels of pain I was experiencing because I was in way over my head in physical activity;and,if it wasn’t for my friend Jacquie Nicholas Nelson who offered to pick me up and bring me back home I would have just stayed home just lying on my back until the next day. She convinced me to go because she said a lot of people would be there to see me and she was right! When we arrived to the Trenton Social the place was packed there must have been one hundred people there shoulder to shoulder and I greeted as many people as I could before it would ruen my night we emediatly found a table so Jacquie and her friend Lynette could have something to eat while I worked the room and try to speak with every eye that caught mine because people are more sensitive when their at an art opening and they know the artist;they kind of get offended when you don’t greet them when they want your attention.You have to be a good social politician to navigate through all the personal perceptions folks have of you until they see you in full ragailia holding court.
The show didn’t go over without its drama but to speak on that would make the reader get the impression that I enjoy such a thing;which I don’t. I much perfer a more classier approach and keep my lack of knowledge about a particular subject under wraps and say “Oh I didn’t know that?” insted of trudging forward with my own personal opinions that become a merry-go-round type of experience. I’m happy about all the indirect opportunities that sprang up as a result of the show or something else, which is why I call this blog post the [wonderment and enchantment] because after all the effort I put out to do this exhibition; I got back so much more in terms of confidence and being able to explain myself and what I’m about while being interviewed in front of a camera without falling apart. I was radio interviewed by Jacque Howard for WIMG 1300am which aired publically on television WZBN channel 25 which again becomes a part of my historical archieves for just one month.
One thing that also seemed weird about the show is that at one point after returning to the exhibtion to see how sales were going I noticed a painting was missing off the wall. Another thing that caught me by surprise is that on the same day I witnessed two more paintings were placed on the floor so the restaurant staff could watch television (Telemundo) with the LCD projector because;I was told,it was a slow day. I couldn’t (or maybe I could) believe that nobody noticed the one painting missing until I posted the observation on facebook with a picture of the alledged missing painting.But when we did the deinstallation the day the sow closed the painting magically popped up? I’m not judging anybody, I’m just stating what really happened during this homecoming of sorts of an exhibition I survived.I know everyone enjoyed the show regardless of my experience anyway so it was a great success!!

Artist: Karey Maurice alongside his self-portrait @ Trenton Social Trenton, New Jersey.

Red Cross paintings on display @ Trenton Social February 2013.

Artist: Karey Maurice w/Jacquie & Lynette

The Tyrone Miller Show.Where do I begin with this one? I first want to say that I’m glad to be back in familiar territory exhibiting in my home town of Trenton New Jersey especially in a place where I put a lot of blood sweat and yes, plenty of tears into while dealing with the tremendous devastation of both my parents dying within one year or so of each other. Neither one of them got the chance to experience that fruitful time of my life; nor will they get the chance to see this great impromptu ( at times funny) Interview with the host Tyrone Miller who inadvertently just happen to be there in his own studio space directly across the hall from me when I lived in my studio [Red Balloon Studio] at the time;it was a great productive period. So it wasn’t always morning death there that I was doing, I was getting busy in all senses of the word in my third floor suit with roof access to add an extra outdoor patio to the whole experience. Many people who attended Friday nights opening remember those times and they represented strong in the house showing me crazy love & respect!

The opening experience was nothing short of a huge success due to the fact that there were at least 100 patrons in attendance at any given time and I was so busy greeting folks that I almost felt overwhelmed because I didn’t want to appear rude if I didn’t get a chance to speak to someone I knew so I had to “Work the Room” as we call it as professional artists.
I had so much fun at the show but,only after fearing that I wasn’t going to make it there to the opening reception because of all the time I had to spend preparing for the exhibition. I had to throw a show together in less than one hour because the work originally submitted was rejected due to its controversial subject matter.
Without boring you with the minor details of the small stuff I’ll try to post just some pictures later so you can see the results of hard work;very hard work that has left me exhausted and happy!!
Article: Former Trenton artist coming back to city for show.

Palmer Square Princeton,New Jersey

Thinking of only good will and the best of intentions I find this year 2013 quite a surprise. On New Years Day I get the news that one of my greatest supporters passed away and I had to make a long painful road trip to pay my respect so,off to Atlanta,GA which is where I am right now dropping the science.
My feeling is that things are always dark before the light can shine through and brighten things up. I also feel some sort of transition heading my way because I have invested so much time into a few projects situatuions that enevitably will come to a positive end and, hopefully, I will come through in a much better position than when the year began. I won’t get into any sort of detail about what I expect but I will say that I plan on exercising my right to the persuit of happiness which may at times cause me a little discomfort but the pleasure outweights the pain in most cases.
The really most important thing for me is that I now have full Health Insurance so I can be in good shape when this change occures and requires a little physical strenght to get my house in order so to speak. After taking this road trip I realize that I must get my Volvo back on the road so interstate [if possible] travel can be handled comfortably and in my own capacity.
As far as the artwork goes I’m preparing for my exhibition “Cross Your Heart” in my hometown of Trenton,New Jersey which I truly believe will be my last exhibition there unless I’m offered an opportunity to exhibit at the City or State Museum(s) because anything less would be a complete insult to me as a true Trentonian and secondly as an artist who has the tenure and press articles to back up his career. I welcome fresh situations this year that will lead me to an adventure and better understanding of my sense of purpose in this exsistance.

When I think about the the passage of time (in this case 365 days.) I try to think about the most significant events that literally made a difference in my life. The one that stands out the most is the fact that I have a permanent residence in a place that I could only imagine if my pockets were a lot fatter, but,somehow the universe has opened up and allowed me to settle into my new digs.I love being in Princeton, New Jersey it seems Ideal for a person like me who has limited mobility who needs the convenience of public transportation and a small hamlet of a town to do my shopping and of course,socializing in the local bars & restaurants.
The second important event(s) was working on my health at the health center and see major improvements from the time I signed up and seeing the results right before my eyes and making this regiment a permanent part of my new lifestyle.
I did however experience a few eye opening revelations while I tried to reclaim my old stomping grounds (Trenton,NJ) but the powers that be made sure that wouldn’t happen;not on their watch and, rightfully so because I’ve learned that you can’t re-step into your old footprints because you hopefully have new shoes on your feet at the moment. Coming in February I will be exhibiting my new artwork at the Trenton Social located where my second studio use to be above the now defunct Conduit NIght Club on South Broad Street across the street from the Sun Bank Arena.
I did not travel this year so there’s nothing to report from Art Basel Miami my favorite destination the first week of December I didn’t even have enough cash to visit my Family in Atlanta for Christmas but I didn’t go without being with close friends for the celebration which are illustrated below. Philadelphia has been good to me this year and I have been spending more and more time there discovering things that I may have overlooked or totally just haven’t had the time to explore until now.
I could mention a third & fourth event that may or may not be significant but I don’t want to report prematurely the results for fear of jinxing the two projects that magically fell into my lap. More on this probably next year 2013!! Stay tuned.

Christmas Eve 2012 Philadelphia,PA

Christmas Eve 2012 Philadelphia, PA

Grand Master 'VooDude' 8" Dunny

New York Comic Con 2012

New York Comic Con 2012

Princess & Mario at NYCC 2012

New York Comic Con 2012

Last weekend the New York Comic Convention was in full effect and I think this event personally trumps halloween by 1000x if you could Imagine that;there were at least one million people who attended this costumed (though optional) extravaganza for the comic book geek,to the action hero worshiper and the designer toy collector. But if I stopped there at that description of the people who attend this annual fun fantasy festival I would be not doing very well in trying to give you a visual of the attendees.

I could write at least two blog pages about my experience but I will try to just give the highlights that I feel worth talking about. When me and my friend Joe Carol entered the Javitz Center we were overwhelmed by the crowd that seemed just to be wandering around without any particular direction they wanted to go in or know where what they were really there for was located,totally unprepared just like we were. I knew that I wanted to go to the section where the custom designer toys were and Joe wanted to see if he could get an exclusive on some comic books.

We came across the first vendors who were promoting new releases Tenacious Toys,Toy Tokyo,Kidrobot,Art Whino,MyPlasticHeart and one new comer a company called Dudebox that I was aware of but didn’t have them on my list to check out.

The Art Whino section of the Con was the most exciting because they came equipped with a Dj booth and a dancing Spider Man that got the crowd going every time a popular track was being played and although I didn’t witness it personally I saw a video of a line dance with your friendly neighborhood Spider Man leading the way.

Although I was not able to capture the custom toy that I wanted for my collection I made out even better because I now have a DIY that was given to me to customize by one of the companies that I mentioned earlier and I couldn’t be any happier to have this opportunity to work with one of these companies in the future.

To sum up the experience of the Con this year I would say it was overwhelming to me because of all the people that you have to navigate through but that is just par for the course when you want to go to one of these massive trade shows.All you can do is grin and bear it and have a specific exhibit of lecture you want to attend and work your way around those schedules to see the rest of the convention after your done with those special interest your into.

Closing BBQ party at Windows of Soul on E.Hanover Street Trenton, New Jersey

To describe the scene on Friday night is easy I can do it with one word (Cool) but, I must add exciting because there were a lot of cameras in the house taking pictures of the crowd enjoying the high quality artwork that was on display in the gallery at 219 E. Hanover Street when I arrived.

I found a comfortable seat on a couch in the back gallery/project room and then was informed by Angelo Donofrio [videographer from NYC] that the interview that he produced that I did with famed photographer Jon Naar at last years JERSEY FRESH JAM was being shown on a video monitor right in front of me.

Street artwork on the windows & doors on E.Hanover St. Trenton, New Jersey

Artwork that fills the windows on one of the buildings on E.Hanover St. Trenton,NJ

I forgot all about it and although I was not able to here it at the time I found myself  mesmerized by myself standing next to Jon talking about the current street art scene which has seen a third or fourth resurrection in recent years and is the reason for this report on this particular mammoth event on one of the worst blocks in the downtown Trenton area.

I did not attend Saturdays events that were scheduled with workshops and installation of some of the IMPORTED artwork from all over the world because I thought it would be best to capture the end results on Sunday and enjoy the block party then I could see how successful the project really was in terms of beautification of a simi-abandoned city block.

I had no doubts that this event would transform the buildings and create a major example of what art can do for a city but in retrospect I wish I could have seen more diverse artwork on those boarded up windows and doors although I am not condemning the efforts that were put fourth. It looked to me that the collective organizers were trying to make sure most of the panels were covered by crew members and everything else was an afterthought.

No matter what my critique is about this event it was a huge success and it makes your wonder;if the SAGE collective can transform on entire city block in three days, just imagine that there were more artists groups dedicated to transforming the entire downtown what they could accomplish?

I highly recommend you take a walk on E.Hanover Street  (if your local) on your lunch break or during the day so you can see how visually powerful the artwork is in person and make sure you stop in the gallery to see something you actually can buy and live with forever.

I be editing some video I shot on the event to publish at a later time so be sure to check back for more on the ‘Windows of Soul’ beautification project.