Threads of Life is another of my favorite places in Bali because it is a fair trade business that uses culture and conservation to alleviate poverty in rural Indonesia. The heirloom-quality textiles they commission are made with local materials and natural dyes and are absolutely beautiful works of art. With the proceeds from the Threads of Life gallery, they help weavers to form independent cooperatives and to manage their resources sustainably. In every market and from every beach vendor these days you can get cheap machine made Ikat but here you can get the real thing and support the artisans who made it.

The next FOOLSGOLD show will be on Valentines day at RH Gallery! My original Bear 18 will be on auction (starting bid is $100!).

FOOLSGOLD ARTS AND SASHA NOE PRESENTS JOIN FORCES TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CATSKILL ANIMAL SANCTUARY
Exhibition and Silent Auction to be Held December, 13th 2011, 6-9pm

BROOKLYN, NY – December 2011 – FOOLSGOLD ARTS, an organization that helps raise much needed funds for the natural environment and its inhabitants through silent art auctions, has teamed up with Sasha Noe Presents in SoHo, NY to host their fifth fundraising exhibition titled FOOLSGOLD SANCTUARY NYC. After a very successful show at One Mile Gallery in Kingston, NY, which raised almost five thousand dollars for the Catskill Animal Sanctuary, Foolsgold arts has decided to hold an auxiliary show in NYC. Over 50 artists were invited to make work based on John Berger’s Why Look at Animals about the complex relationships between man and animal. On December 13, 2011, a cocktail reception and silent auction will be held and the proceeds from the sale of each piece will go directly to CAS.

“We are very excited to help support such an amazing animal rescue organization once again and help extend awareness about it to our city friends,” said Shanan Campanaro and Maria Kozak, founders of FOOLSGOLD. “The generosity of the artists and support of the patrons, is a testament to how artistic talent can be used to help the environment and its inhabitants.” Located on 80-acres in the Hudson Valley, CAS is home to horses and twelve species of farm animals rescued from abuse and neglect. In addition to emergency rescue, CAS also educates the public through innovative programs about the sentience and suffering of farm animals and how institutionalized cruelty impacts all of us. “We are so grateful to FOOLSGOLD, Sasha Noe Presents, and all the artists who use their creativity, vision, and passion to benefit needy animals,” said CAS Director Kathy Stevens.

Artists in the exhibition include Academy Award winning filmmaker and photographer Zana Briski, who shot CAS residents; Peter Max, known for all of his Beatles artwork, will sign and dedicate a print; Richard Saja, a contemporary embroiderer who recently did a collaboration with Opening Ceremony, has created a special sculpture for the exhibition; John Gordon Gauld, responsible for the window displays at Bergdorf Goodman, is doing a new watercolor; as well as many other noteworthy artists including Steven Assael, Panni Malekzadeh, Eric White, and Vanity Fair photographer Patrick Fraser.

The benefit is graciously sponsored by Fanelli Café, Eskayel, One Mile gallery, and Heineken.

About FOOLSGOLD ARTS
Founded by Brooklyn-based artists Shanan Campanaro and Maria Kozak, FOOLSGOLD curates and produces exhibitions that celebrate the natural environment and its inhabitants. The artwork is sold through silent auction and raises funds to support various charitable organizations committed to protecting the natural environment and wildlife. Previous exhibits have taken place in New York City and Reykjavik, Iceland and have benefited Farm Sanctuary and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust respectively.
For more information, please visit www.foolsgoldarts.org

All Foolsgold exhibitions are sponsored by NY based design studio Eskayel which was established by FOOLSGOLD co-founder Shanan Campanaro. Utilizing imagery from many of the paintings included in FOOLSGOLD shows, Campanaro creates fantastically patterned bespoke wall coverings, textiles, pillows, and ceramics. Her collections have been featured in New York Magazine, the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, and Daily Candy to name a few.

Maria Kozak is a painter and performance artist who recently completed her MFA at the New York Academy of Art. She is known for her frenetic large-scale oil paintings of birds and beauty queens. Her work is in numerous collections nationally and abroad. The Maypole, her last performance, was written up in The Art Newspaper and Paper Magazine.

About Catskill Animal Sanctuary
Located in New York’s Hudson Valley, Catskill Animal Sanctuary is a haven for horses and farm animals rescued from abuse and neglect. In addition to emergency rescue, CAS educates the public about the impacts of factory farming and institutionalized cruelty on animals, people, and the planet we share. Founder/Director Kathy Stevens is the author of Where the Blind Horse Sings: Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary and Animal Camp: Lessons in Love and Hope From Rescued Farm Animals, and blogs for The Huffington Post. To learn more, go to www.casanctuary.org or contact Michelle Alvarez, Director of Outreach & Communications at 917-414-9428, and michelle@casanctuary.org

About Sasha Noe Presents
Sasha Noe Presents is a new contemporary art venture from sculptor and restauranteur Sasha Noe. The gallery is located in the heart of SoHo, in a loft above the historic cultural institution Fanelli Café. Sasha Noe Presents is committed to providing a platform for innovative curatorial projects and showcasing emerging talent whilst trying to revive a once thriving artistic community in Soho. The gallery is located at 94 Prince Street, New York, NY on the corner of Prince and Mercer.

I was at the Whitney the other night for a talk between legendary music mogul, Danny Goldberg and Title TK a band consisting of artist/musicians Cory Arcangel, Howie Chen, and Alan Licht and behind them during the talk this Cy Twombly painting was hanging. I admit I was never a huge fan of his work until now, since his recent passing his work has been everywhere, and the Whitney has many of his works from their collection hanging around the building in memorandum. The painting above is Untitled, 1969 and I think its genius. To me it is like a description of reality and how everyone is experiencing different levels of reality in the same moment.

Fashion illustrator Meagan Morrison created these luscious ice cream illustrations. It’s has been so hot outside that I had to post these.

If you’re going upstate this weekend and will be in the Catskills or Hudson Valley area you should definitely come to our Foolsgold Sanctuary exhibition and benefit from 6-9 PM at 1 Mile Gallery. We will have cocktails, snacks, and amazing artwork on auction at recession prices (all opening bids are below $600). Proceeds will benefit the nearby Catskills Animal Sanctuary. I would really love to see you there.

If you are planning to be upstate the weekend of July 23rd you must stop by our Foolsgold Sanctuary exhibition and benefit for Catskills Animal Sanctuary at 1 Mile Gallery in Kingston, NY. Its going to be a really fun event with raffle items that are a serious steal, cocktails, and beautiful art from artists in the area and some heavy weights from the city. If you need to get away this is the weekend to do it, and we would love to see you! Click here for places to stay in the area.

You might already have heard me mention (many times:) the organization I co-founded in 2008 Foolsgold arts and in recent posts our newest show Foolsgold Sanctuary which is now showing at 1 Mile Gallery in Kingston, NY. The show will be auctioned off at our benefit event on July 23rd and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Catskills Animal Sanctuary. A couple weekends ago we had a chance to visit the gallery and the sanctuary for the first time and here are the pictures. It was sublime to see these animals who have all been rescued, many from terrible neglect, so happy and free from worry. At the end of the post is a picture of Rambo, one of the oldest sanctuary residents, and the painting I made of him which is also in the show.