I *heart* To Be Happy

Getting Back on Track

Duane Gautier of Honfleur Gallery in Washington DC is in town for a few days and as is his wont, told me to make reservations at whatever restaurant I wanted. Le Chateaubriand was booked up, so we went back to Drouant in the 2nd.

Always a lot to talk about, because he is running Honfleur plus another gallery, called Vivid Solutions, which is a photo gallery and lab, plus renovating inexpensive artist housing, plus the job training program ARCH, all east of the river in Anacostia.

For me the summer meant taking a little break from having shows, except for the architecture students from Lawrence Tech showing their senior projects here comparing 'terrain vague,' or vacant lots both in Detroit where they are from, and Clichy-sous-Bois. When Professor James Stevens explained their projects to me I knew I couldn't say no.

That was mid-August. More recently, because it was the ninth anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001, I decided to get a roomful of people together to see just how we have all digested the trauma and how much more healing we have to do.  The amazing collection of 911 memorabilia of Al Herter and his recollections were at once moving and uncomfortable.


The artists Nassim al-Amin, Vincent Alran, Tom J. Byrne, Dimitri Fagbohoun, Alexis Peskine, and Antony Peskine contributed work and shared about their own experience of that fateful day. Marcus McAllister, who is in Nimes for the salon Art'Nîm brought four of his artist notebooks including the one preceding September 11th called, in eery inadvertent prediction,"Le Tour Blessé par l'Eclair." (The Tower Struck by Lightning).

The paintings and installation will be here for another week (by appointment.)

No more shows scheduled til the spring when Keith Campagna will return with his new work. Til then I plan some travel and when not travelling, hibernation on the rue des Abbesses.

http://www.honfleurgallery.com/about.html
http://www.ltu.edu/architecture_and_design/

Photo: A shop window on the rue du Quatre-Septembre that I passed on my way to the 95 bus late last night. I Love To Be Happy. Pretty much the way I was feeling.

(Many thanks to Jill D. for her comment, which made a quick edit necessary!)