The
World through the Art of
Gabriel
Krekk
April 2008 E-News
My Dear Friends,
Time and distance has certainly zipped by the
past
seven months since my last connection with you and the next few
months should go by
equally as fast. Over this period of time, I
have
seen almost 23,000 miles of combined air and highway travel….wow…
and every
inch of that held a lifetime of experiences.
So now is the time to take a quick breather and use
this window of
opportunity to let you know what’s been happening and where I am
heading in the next little while.
Best wishes for a terrific spring and summer,
Always a hug,
Gabe
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Fall 2007 E-News
 This was amazing opportunity to get to know the city of
Angels
with my opening at the
Infusion Gallery on Spring Street. I was able
to get a pulse of the mega city for its taste in art. The Arts district is supported by the City with free bus rides between the
seven main galleries every second Thursday of the month. Each of these galleries has the same opening night for their exhibitions and
the draw from the LA residents is strong. The
heat in September was like…too hot…but in exploring the
Hollywood hills and the San
Bernandino mountains it made it tolerable.
“Too hot for a suit in Downtown L.A. L.A. at the end of September for the closing, I took some extra time to
explore
Arizona
in its
full wonder…Visited Tucson, Sunsites and one of the western marvels,
Tombstone
Completing a photoshoot in this historic town, it
set a new direction in my work as you will see later in this newsletter. This group exhibition ran from September 1st to the 26th
Highlight of this Exhibition: Having my baby
sister, Bobbi fly in from
Germany to share in the experience with me along with my good friend Rick
Pister, who had moved from Chicago to the L.A.
area, also joined me for the opening night. |
New York City
A childhood dream
fulfilled and every Artists dream to exhibit in the Big Apple. It was certainly an honor to represent my country
in the group exhibiton “ Beyond Borders – Fine Art from
The Agora Gallery exhibition team was the best….
led by the director and curator Angela di Bello and Exhibition Co-ordinator Susan Lora…a
lifelong friendship for sure. They possessed
an energy level that I want in my life every day…I smile every time I think of Susan
on closing day…
 Opening night was breathtaking…the aliveness
of the Arts district of …thousands of people moving…finding new art and artists…small
town artist meets the Big City…amazing. I had the honor of being introduced to Anne Malepart, our Trade Commissioner to the
Canadian Consulate in
New York City.
This group exhibition ran from September 28th to
October 18th, 2007
Highlight of this Exhibition: Taking my #1
collector of my originals, Mr. Brian Hineman on all expensed paid trip to
New York City
for the opening. A promise that I kept with him from a few years
back. We walked almost all of
Manhattan
after the opening…
New York City
is incredible. An experience of a lifetime.
Frankfort
,
Indiana
: A small Midwestern city
with the heart the size of
Texas
. The people of
Indiana
are the warmest and most
tender hearted people I have ever met. How
could you not fall in love with the people of this State. Notes of appreciation passed under my hotel room door, new found Artist
friends from all over the State and a studio visit in
Lafayette
at Sharon Owens’ Inspired Fire Glass Studio. And my personal favourite Artist, Rena Brouwer, who
remained my guide for the opening.
To spend time once again with Bill and Flo Caddell made this the
exhibition one that will stay with me as the most cherished. Bill recently retired as the Director for the Frankfort Public Library back
in May of 2007 while Flo continues to bless
the Library and
Galleries with
her presence as the Arts Director. I hope that
I will see you all again soon.
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I spent a week touring central , western and eastern
Indiana
before the opening night…and
what a fantastic time I had in downtown
Indianapolis
. I was able to spend an
afternoon at the
IMA
(
Indianapolis Museum of Art) getting lost in the works of the Masters…and how could I
not mention my time at the RCA Dome trying to get tickets for the Patriots/Colts game…
This group exhibition ran from November 9th -11th,
2007
Highlight of this Exhibition: Having “ For
Freedom” hang beside the print of the “ USS Indianapolis” on Veterans Day
at the Frankfort Public Library . |
| Belleville, Ontario, Canada: What can I say to my
Hometown and my final solo exhibition of “ From Ten Feet Away” in this region. Three months in preparation and the largest
exhibition team that I have ever had and we were able to co-ordinate an amazing opening
and even defied the worst blizzard we have had in recent history. The remarkable Susan Holland, Curator of the John
M.
Parrott
Art
Gallery
made the
treacherous drive in from Bloomfield to ensure the opening would go forward along with her complete
curatorial team. Against all odds, the people
came including Councillor Garnet Thompson and His Worship Mayor Neil Ellis…remarkable
representation to and for the city of Belleville. We even had media
coverage from Cogeco TV with John Costello filming the opening and hosting me a few days
later for a studio interview at Cogeco. There
were also several journalists from local publications at the opening and one of these
interviews is currently on-line through the Loyalist College Pioneer On-line.
I really would like to offer my special thanks to my Exhibition Team
led by Susan Webb of Kingston<
Ontario who oversaw the whole event including the Catering services, Sandy
Roy, who made a four hour drive from Barrie
Ontario
in the blizzard to help with the catering and closing of the show.
Promotions Co-ordinator Kim Mumby handled the sales of goods and memorabilia and also
provided team co-ordination. Melinda Howard was the perfect hostess in the wine
serving area dispensing four wines from Hungary, two from the
and two from local wineries here
in Canada. They were all
a big hit for the attendees. And my final
thanks goes to my other two teammembers, Tammy Papst and Caroline Cloutier for
co-ordinating the sales and promotion for the “ For Freedom Project”. |
 The
winning ticket was drawn by Curator Susan Holland for the framed “For Freedom”
print which was won by Mr. Ted Wolvers of
Belleville
. Mr. Wolvers generously
donated this work of art to the
John
M.
Parrott
Art
Gallery
for their permanent collection.
Highlight of this Exhibition: Every minute of
it.
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Upcoming
Exhibitions
May 2-4th Nappanee
Indiana
June 1st September 30th-Boston Mass.
Interesting
Experiences
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_________________________
 On
April 1st, I jurored the Student Art Exhibition at the
and returned for the opening ceremony to make a special guest appearance and presented
five of the best student artists with the Gabriel Krekk Inspiration Award. The most inspirational Artist went to an amazing 16
year old student, Keita Morimoto who totally wowed me with his acrylic on canvas entitled
“ Innocence. Keita was presented with the
Gabriel Krekk Inspiration Award trophy and a $100.00 cash award. First Runner up went to Tanya Beetge for her
graphite entitled “ Nathan” and she received a certificate and a $75.00 cash
award. Third place and a $50 cash award went
to sculpturist Colin Mason for his metal and wood sculpture entitled “Love”. Two Honorable Mentions with $25.00 cash awards went
to Jon Allison for his mixed media artwork entitled “ Blue Boots” and Kendra
Wishlon for her impressionistic acrylic “ Morning Impression”.
All cash prizes and the Gabriel Krekk Inspiration Award trophy were
funded through the “ For Freedom” Project. In
honoring the request of the School Board, I agreed not to publish any pictures of the
students. The above painting is by Keita
Morimoto “Innocence” along with the award trophy. I will be watching Keita’s career unfold.Yearbook
I received the proof from a page from the yearbook that the For
Freedom Project helped fund. The proof came
from the editor and teacher of the
Hillsboro-Deering
High School, Nancy Steen. I thought you might enjoy reading my message to the
students of the High School. A big special hug
to Nancy who worked so hard for this project and in yet another year, she has accomplished
another amazing publication.
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Magazine Articles November 2007 – profiled in the
New York City magazine
Artist Spectrum.
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New Paintings |
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"Letters to Heaven” |
“Paris on the 25th” |
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“24 Hours to Little
Bighorn” |
“To Lead a City”
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| On My Board
At the time of this newsletter, I have
just laid down a sheet of watercolor paper to begin on a commissioned painting.
Down the Road
Two
more weekends of preparation for the
Indiana
exhibition and I begin another major road trip. I have been graciously hosted by a family in
Nappanee
,
Indiana
for the duration of
my showing there. This will prove to be a unique experience for me in having the
opportunity to share my time with a family from a small town in
America
. At the conclusion, I will return to
Canada
, just long enough to
unpack the Nitro and repack for my exhibition in
Boston
. This will be the
first time that I have been inside
Boston
, so I will have lots of time to get out and do some serious
photoshoots after I drop off my originals at the
Massachusetts
Cancer
Center
. Hoping the Boston Bruins are still hanging in there.
At the end of June, I will be leaving
for a two week road trip to
Montana
to market my work across the
Midwest
and continue to
push the new releases. I will spend my time
exploring, getting to know more of this world and meeting new people. How perfect this will be…just me, my work and
my camera and an endless highway in front of me…and just to think that this is my
work.
My ultimate destination point is
Billings
,
Montana
and I swing over
and visit the three day re-enactment of
Custers Last Stand in Hardin. This event is very well known throughout the
U.S.
The return trip home should provide endless
possibilities for new paintings to compliment the new genre that my work is evolving to
and also enhance my latest work… “24 Hours to Little Bighorn”. How perfectly appropriate!
New Releases
I have moved away from limited edition
lithos and have followed the shift in the Art world to giclees. The results are absolutely amazing. I have aligned with Derek Cooper Photography in
Kingston
,
Ontario
to digitally
reproduce three of my originals. The giclees
are printed on watercolor paper and the color matching is so phenomenal that when I had
set the Artists proof beside the original painting, the naked eye could not distinguish
between the two.
The cost of producing a single giclee
is fifteen times more expensive to produce print for print compared to the lithos, but the
value to the collectors is priceless.
I
am currently negotiating with a Fine Art Distributor Company for the promotion and
distribution of the prints across North America…but I might say more about this later
when we have finalized the details. We have
agreed to my initial pricing structure for the giclee editions at levels well below
current market values and almost at the price of the limited edition lithos. Everything is
in place for the launch of the three editions of giclees in
Indiana
in the first week
of May and through the U.S. Midwest in June .
..and then the rest is up to them...
Here
are the three new releases and availability dates.
“24 Hours
to Little Bighorn” 12” x 21”
- edition size 1000 Launch price: $ 249.00 Available
April
19th, 2008
“Letters to Heaven” 16” x 24”
edition size 2500 Launch price $ 289.00 Available
April
19th, 2008
“Winds of
Montana
” 13” x 23” edition size 500 Launch price $ 269.00 Available
April 26th, 2008
The
first 50 prints from each of these editions may be ordered through Gabriel Krekk Limited
Editions or until
July 1st, 2008
and these prices will be held until the rights to these editions
has been transferred to the new company.
Just drop me an email if you are interested
in one of the three giclees below and I will hold it for you. |
Well
that’s all for now…Truly…enjoy your time this summer and make it one you
will always remember.
Until the fall….My
bestest wishes to you all…
~ Pause and
Reflect ~
A man can be as
great as he wants to be. If you believe
in yourself and have the courage,
the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive
and if you are willing to sacrifice the
little things in life and pay the price for the
things that are worthwhile, it can be done.
-Vince Lombardi
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