Keep Mark's Vision Alive

Linda Tate is organising this fundraiser.

Donation protected

(view more at http://mwienerarts.com )

Hope all are having a wonderful summer! There has been great progress but now it is time to move forward and get serious about documenting and placing Mark's paintings, organizing archived material, and locating space to live and present all the amazing art I love so much.
Was able to vacate the unsafe living space and did receive a little compensation! (the case is still moving forward against my former neighbor for criminal and civil offenses) Have also dismantled the studio space and made some very creative and somewhat affordable arrangements for storage -- donated TONS of stuff (that’s the fun part!)

Best of all, I am recovering from the effects the living situation had on my health, writing, and able to really function again after almost a year. Business is active again but as we all know, lost time does not come back in terms of progress and connectivity, or income, and the gap will take quite a while to fill. The focus now is working to bring the market and the media to a very select group of artists, fee-free, and locating temporary and or permanent exhibition and work space. Most important, these artists are not only fantastic creators, they are wonderful human beings!

Right now, "Everything in the Garden is Rosy" by Scotto Mycklebust is on view at Jefferson Market Library through August 31, it was a blast to put the artist together with the space and curate the exhibition -- please visit!

For Mark’s work, we (several people are helping with this) truly need to finally have all of it photographed and catalogued, a costly and time-consuming proposition. His website needs to be maintained and archived as well, and there is a great deal of collateral and small material (his sketch books) stored and the moment that needs to be sorted and filed properly, again, requiring time and space. I would gladly do the work if I could support myself and the expenses without working on other projects, but that is not possible. In any case, professional photography is a must, with adequate space to mount and shoot very large works on a paper and canvas that is not stretched.

Thanks to all who already donated! I know I owe some of you prints, please email me your physical addresses and they will be sent ASAP. Ditto to any new donors who would like to receive one - THANK YOU ALL!

Original description below:

When Mark accepted his first chashama painting residency we both began an amazing journey, joining a community deeply dedicated to the creation and message of visual art. Who we met and what we saw inspired us to dedicate out lives not only to our own careers, but to all of those who love and live for art. Mark lived this vision every day, opening his studio to all, swapping insights with colleagues, and together we tirelessly explored galleries and museums and presented these worlds to readers in our labor of love, the e-zine Resolve40.com

Just over 2 years after we lost Mark, many of us feel his spirit is alive as ever. While working hard to ensure his legacy as an artist by presenting and caring for his paintings, as well as working whenever possible as an editor and writer, have also dedicated myself to working, at no cost to the artists, with many of our valued colleagues to promote their work and help them keep making art (read more here ). This is something that Mark often wished we could do and planned for the future – now, fueled by what he taught me and we learned together about the challenges that face all artists, it is growing and becoming a reality – but right now I could really use some public support to get past some short-term obstacles that have arisen this year.

As many of you know, it is difficult to maintain a studio and a residence in New York City, so at the end of last year I decided to fix up the apartment, which is not cheap but under rent stabilization, and set it up to store and present Mark’s work and eliminate the considerable expense of the studio in LIC. Unfortunately, as of renewing the lease in the winter, I began to be subjected, without going into to may details, to a series of hardships and ongoing harassment inflicted by the landlord and a tenant.

There was no way I could plan to remain in an apartment that often smells like garbage and where I literally could not sleep, so I not only had to continue paying studio rent and leave a deposit in place, I had to remain in a difficult and dangerous situation at home (I have been menaced and diagnosed with adrenal fatigue, mainly due to the sleep issue) until I could make enough money to “flip” out of it, but the financial reality was I could barely make enough to keep paying all the bills.

Still working and networking hard, I was also forced to address the situation by gathering evidence and seeking legal assistance – costly and time consuming – especially as I am not feeling 100%, and recently just have not been able to make the sales to cover all the expenses.

Fortunately, there have been some near-angelic interventions -- from expert legal assistance and people temporarily taking in our cat Beau who is not safe in the apartment (they have demonstrated their intention to barge in, legal or not, at any time), to friends who chipped in so I could take an important business trip nearly expense-free -- which allowed me to stay afloat and go to court to try to recover my damages while actively seeking replacement space, but this month’s cash flow has fallen way too short even without factoring the need for deposits and fees for a new apartment, which I why I am posting now.

Please donate if you can know that, whatever you give, I will pay it forward– as everyone who knows me and knew Mark is aware, we have always been about giving. Many people charge artists high fees for what I do, I charge them nothing – and never will. It would be easy money but it is not what I am about. Right now I am in the process of proposing 2 group exhibitions featuring other artists -- one with a timely environmental theme, another of photography documenting life and its loss – plus networking hard to get them sales and planning to re-launch Resolve40 on it’s 10th anniversary as an ad-free platform for artist-writers as well as a hub for other worthy publications online to once again bring even more vital art content to readers everywhere.

But I can’t do it without a little help at this critical time. If you wish to donate $45 or more I can offer you an 8.5 x 11 limited edition print signed be Mark Wiener (detail below) as a thank you gift. If you prefer to purchase art, please contact me directly or via LinkedIn or Facebook! And most important, please send me your email address so I can invite you to exclusive, private events featuring some of the most dynamic mid-career artists in NYC and Miami, including a TOP SECRET show at a fantastic, thematic location being planned for 2015 – that’s all, or it would not be a secret.