"You have to be almost gifted to do what I do" Saturday, May 27 – Saturday, July 28, 2006 132 Tenth Avenue • Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm EXHIBITION: "You have to be almost gifted to do what I do" DATES: May 27 – July 28, 2006 LOCATION: 132 Tenth Avenue between 18th and 19th Streets HOURS: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am to 6pm An exhibition of work by twelve new artists, curated by Oliver Newton and Steven Stewart, will be shown on the 3rd floor of Alexander and Bonin beginning May 27th. Referencing a quotation attributed to Fred Smith, a lumberjack turned sculptor who crafted over 200 statues made of concrete and broken beer bottles along a Wisconsin highway in the mid-20th Century, “You have to be almost gifted to do what I do” includes the work of Brian Belott, Michelle Cortez, Eddie Martinez, Joseph Hart, Karen Heagle, Elizabeth Huey, Larry Krone, Wes Lang, Ernest Loesser, Ilse Murdock, Kristine Robinson, and Tamara Zahaykevich. Their preferred techniques and materials reveal a shared allegiance to the handmade and an affinity for appropriation. Drawing from the visual language of outsider art, they incorporate paper, embroidery, paint, cast objects and sound to create works that achieve personal vernaculars. Amongst the shown works are three elements conceived especially for the exhibition: Larry Krone’s site-specific wall drawing from his ongoing series “Love Is In the Air” in which lyrics from the Dolly Parton song “I Will Always Love You” are repeatedly scrawled high on the gallery walls and then cascade down the staircase and onto the first floor; a re-creation of Eddie Martinez’s studio wall features works both finished and incomplete, functioning as an elaboration on his stream-of-consciousness process; and a “store” of editions produced as companions to the works on display. Oliver Newton and Steven Stewart are friends, curators, artists and enthusiasts based in New York City. This is their first co-curated exhibition. Thanks to CANADA, Feigen Contemporary, I-20 and ZieherSmith. For photographs or further information, please contact Amy Levin at 212/367-7474 or al@alexanderandbonin.com.