I’ve recently been reading Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates and one of the first essays (about whether food can be art — do not read late at night on an empty stomach!) mentions how philosophers can discuss the ontological status of a work of art (what kind of thing it is), and in particular used Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata as an example.  The art is not the sheet music it was originally written on, nor is it a particular performance (there are many of those, they also include interpretation).  One can spend a lot of time figuring out the philosophical distinctions of what is and isn’t art (though that can be fun, too; for instance, see here).  I thought that the subject called for a painting and while the title is a mouthful, making it was mindful.

Ontological Status of a Moonlight Sonata, 24 x 18

I’m happy to announce that one of my paintings, Arising, has been accepted into the Mercer County Artists 2010 show.  The show runs from February 23 through April 1, 2010, with an opening reception on Wednesday, February 24, from 5-7:30pm (at The Gallery @ Mercer County Community College).  This year’s juror was C.J. Mugavero from The Artful Deposit gallery in Bordentown, NJ.

Arising, acrylic on panel, 30x30

I recently finished the following painting, which will be appearing in my 2-person show at Artists’ Gallery in April.

Conceptual Framework, acrylic on panel, 24x24, 2010

In a nice article in tomorrow’s (Feb 14) New York Times, Roberta Smith comments on the sameness of New York’s museum exhibitions with this suggestion:

What’s missing is art that seems made by one person out of intense personal necessity, often by hand.

Agreed! 

Charles Katzenbach and I will be hosting an opening reception for our upcoming show, Reflections, at Artists’ Gallery, on Saturday, April 10, 2010, from 6-9 pm.  The show will run from April 9 through May 2 (gallery hours are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 11am-6pm, and by appointment).  Please note that as of March 2010, Artists’ Gallery is located at 18 Bridge Street in the heart of Lambertville, NJ.

Foundations, acrylic on panel, 12x12

Most of my abstract paintings are in some way related to my interests in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science.  One of the themes that underlies this work is the notion of embodiment, that how we make sense of the world is very much tied to the physical nature of our bodies.  I became interested in this particular theory around 2004 after taking two classes while I was living in New York City:  (1) Brain Gym, which tried to link certain exercises with a kind of mental fitness (see also the book Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head); and, much more significantly, (2) a course at The New School based on the book Philosophy in the Flesh by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson.

While the number of books on embodiment in its various forms has grown in recent years, I haven’t seen much about it in the mainstream press.  Today, however, The New York Times’ Natalie Angier has written a nice primer on the subject: “Abstract Thoughts?  The Body Takes Them Literally.”  The article highlights some of the fascinating research that shows, for instance, how metaphors we use when thinking about time are so embodied within us that we actually tend to lean forward when talking about the future and lean backward when talking about the past.

Artists’ Gallery is moving to a new location in the heart of Lambertville!  Beginning with our March 2010 exhibition, we’ll be at:

Artists’ Gallery
18 Bridge Street, Lambertville, NJ 08530.

In addition to work from all of the artists at the gallery, the GRAND REOPENING exhibition will feature landscape paintings by Joe Kazimierczyk and Michael Schweigart.  Please join us for this special reception:

Saturday, March 13
From 5-8pm

Our new location is just steps from the bridge linking Lambertville to New Hope, right in the heart of the shopping, dining, and gallery row section of Lambertville.

For the last 15 months or so, I’ve been a member at Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville, NJ.  This month, the gallery is celebrating its 15 year anniversary with a show featuring all of our current members as well as some two dozen or so former members.  The exhibition is up now through February 14, 2010, with an opening reception on Saturday, January 16, from 6-9pm.  I have three small pieces in the show.  Here’s a panoramic view of the front room of the gallery:

Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville (32 Coryell St) hosts its annual holiday party this Sunday (Dec 13) from 2-5pm. Many of the artists in the gallery are hanging smaller works this month, so if you’re looking for a special gift, stop by Fri-Sat-Sun 11am-6pm. One of the eight pieces I have up this month is a panorama photograph from Mercer County park.

Mercer County Park, 13×37 inches (framed), © Andrew Werth 2009

The August 12, 2009, issue of the U.S. 1 newspaper has a very nice, detailed profile about my artwork by Susan Van Dongen.  U.S. 1 is the business and entertainment newspaper of the Princeton area Route 1 corridor.  You can read the text version on their site here or you can click on the preview below for a larger image of the newspaper, reproduced with permission of the author.  Don’t forget there’s an opening reception this Friday night (August 14) from 6-9pm for the group show, “Dreaming,” at Gallery 125 in Trenton (125 South Warren Street, Trenton, NJ).

A Former Computer Engineer Picks Up a Brush, US1, August 12, 2009