Friday, May 7, 2010

China redux

Is it possible to tell the difference between Fugitive Vision silence because of my laziness and silence because of internet control? I hope so, because I'm about to leave a period of the former and re-enter a period of the latter. I hope this next 2 week period of silence will not be tallied in the laziness column.

I've just spent the last 2 weeks in Germany and have much to report. I started off at the Berlin Gallery Weekend where, in addition to dozens of gallery openings, I had the pleasure to visit a number of public collections including the inauguration of the Olbricht Collection, the Sammlung Hoffmann, the Düsseldorf School focused de Ganay Collection, Daimler-Chrysler Collection, and Sammlung Roosen-Trinks. All of this will be reported on at a later date.

The reason for the enforced silence is that I am returning to China. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I will be a judge in the Shanghai International Photo Competition starting next week. If my trip last December is any guide, I will not have access to this blog while I'm on mainland China. I have no doubt there will be much to tell once I return from radio silence.

This trip was supposed to be: Berlin, Bratislava, Vienna, Frankfurt, and Shanghai. However, I did a VERY stupid thing. I forgot to get my Chinese visa before I left for Germany. Stupid, right? How could I forget this? The fact has really trashed my last week. I just got my passport back today from the visa expediter I use in NYC. I was without it for a week. Hence I didn't go to Bratislava to do the studio visits I had planned, and I didn't go to Vienna to participate in Vienna Fair with my gallery friends. Bummed. But I have the passport and the visa now, so at least the China portion of the trip has been salvaged. Sigh. It all cost me a bundle plus I really lost out by not going to Vienna and Slovakia.I ended up spending the week in Frankfurt with a day trip to Köln. Köln was especially satisfying including a visit to Schaden Books, Priska Pasquer Gallery, and Kolumba Museum. Reports on all of this and more when I get back. There are even some artist discoveries to make up for the lost Slovakian opportunities (Bratislava artist reviews WILL come at a later date). 

Stay tuned and be patient with me. Mid May will see a volcano of blog postings. Flights may have to be canceled..........