Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

Small in Scale, Huge in Impact

Brooklyn, NY – They say great things come in small packages. As 440 Gallery presents its Ninth Annual Small Works Show this December, this adage may just prove true. The 80 pieces of artwork in the gallery, each piece no larger than 12″, represents a strong Brooklyn artistic presence, but also showcases artists from all over the country. The show includes a variety of media– painting, photography, sculpture– chosen by this year’s juror, Jessica Porter, art consultant and director of Porter Contemporary, a gallery in the Chelsea arts district of New York City. (See below for more on our juror.)

This much anticipated exhibition regularly opens with an overflow crowd spilling onto Sixth Avenue. There are three awards given each year: the Curators Award, the 440 Award, and the popular People’s Choice Award which is determined by the number of “likes” received by the works in the show posted on 440 Gallery’s Facebook page. Installed through the holiday season, the show attracts tourists, visitors in the neighborhood, as well as the many stalwart supporters of the local art scene. The show runs from December 12 through January 12, with an opening reception on Thursday, December 12, 6:00 – 9:00 pm.

The eighty artists accepted into this year’s show are: Torey Akers, Diane Allison, Kiley Ames, Audrey Anastasi, Efrat Baler, Beatrice Bardin, Nicole Brauch, Zel Brook, Melitte Buchman, Lloyd Campbell, Arthur Celedonia, Jana Charl, Erin Cross, Corinna D’Schoto, Steve Davis, Andrea DeFelice, Christine Dengel, Phil DeSantis, Anthony DiMaggio, Monica Emmons, Brian Everett Miller, Michelle Farkouh, Chloë Feldman Emison, Benjamin Ferguson, Donna Festa, Jane Foley Ferraro, Gail Ghezzi, Peter Goldwater, Johanna Goodman, Carlo Grassini, Leslie Green Guilbault, K. Gretchen Greene, Susan Greenstein, Anna Haczkiewicz, Tighe Hanson, Eric Hartley, Micòl Hernández, Aimee Hertog, Jen Hillman, Martha Ives, Dana James, Elizabeth Keithline, Richard Kessler, Bernice Sokol Kramer, Lisa Kurt, Susan La Mont, Kerry Lange, Matthew Langland, Garam Lee, Kristie Lee, Yu-Chun Ma, Tali Margolin, David Marion, Hildy Maze, Lee Meltzer, Steve Messenger, Kate Missett, Laura Murray, Michael Nelson, Raisa Nosova, Ronald Peters, Julia Ponzek, Barbara Rubensohn, Kathryn Shriver, Rebecca Simon, Frances Sniffen, Pamela Stein, Carlton Sturgill, Wonil Suh, Ilona Szekely, Lois Teicher, Yeachin Tsai, David Vega, Yuki White, Dale Williams, Divine Williams, Meghan Willis, Sangeun Yu, Hope Zaccagni, Abby Zonies.

Jessica L. Porter is the founder and director of Porter Contemporary Gallery, based in New York City’s Chelsea district. Her stated mission is two-fold: to showcase emerging and established artists from around the world whose work embodies both skill and risk taking, and to open contemporary art collecting to a broader audience. Porter began her career with a dual degree in Art History and Foreign Languages (French and Japanese). This led her to the curatorial department of the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum. After a short stint through sales and marketing in the art shipping industry, Porter became consumed with the research and investigation of issues surrounding stolen art, primarily during World War II. She soon entered law school focusing on art law and intellectual property issues at the University of Maryland School of Law. After obtaining her Juris Doctor, she moved to New York and began practicing law. Her passion remained in the art industry and she continued to be involved in the art market by working in galleries on weekends, assisting friends and colleagues purchase art and volunteering in museums. The seeds for opening an art gallery were soon planted and officially launched in 2006. Currently, in addition to running Porter Contemporary, she runs a consulting business utilizing her art and law background that focuses on assisting foreign galleries navigate the U.S.art market, she teaches courses on the basics of art collecting and launched an online art business in October 2008.

The 440 Gallery is located at 440 Sixth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, between 9th and 10th Streets, and is convenient to the F, G, and R subways. The gallery is open on Thursday and Friday, 4-7 pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 11 am – 7 pm, or by appointment.