We were so proud and pleased to release the images above and below from legendary photographer, painter and conceptual artist William Wegman as a limited-edition print pair on 20x200 Wednesday.

Jen introduced the editions in the 20x200 newsletter:

William's work is the perfect incarnation of Bill the person...
He's so funny, affable and distracted that it's easy to underestimate him. People think of him as the dog guy and don't even know that he's an artist with a broader practice. Even if people do know about his other work, they complain about his obsessive repetition of a theme (the postcards), to which I say: who hasn't met an obsessive artist before? The dogs and the humor belie a very intense, earnest and important inquiry.

For more on Wegman, his process, and quirky sense of humor, check out this short essay on Art:21 about the photograph Cotto.

His own site, Wegman World, hosts a solid selection of video work that also informs his practice.

If nothing else, Wegman is extremely prolific. But to say he is just that is to sell him as short as to only know him for the photographs of the dogs. He's spent a lifetime looking hard at, yes, Weimaraners, but also at us humans and the way we experience humor, art and life.

This Saturday, February 6th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., join 20x200 | Jen Bekman Projects at the Brooklyn Museum for a Target First Saturday event with 1stfans. We'll be giving away 10"x8" prints by artist Valerie Hegarty to new and renewing 1stfans members and Ms. Jen Bekman herself will be speaking to an intimate group of 1stfans at a meetup. Meetups are an opportunity for 1stfans to interact exclusively with the Museum's staff, its collections, artists, and other members every month at Target First Saturdays.

Jen will be speaking about 20x200 and how all of Jen Bekman Projects, including Hey, Hot Shot!, work together to support artists.

The larger prints sizes in Valerie's edition (14"x11" and 20"x16") will be released on 20x200 the following week of Monday, February 8th. Every print in this special edition comes with a 1stfans one-year membership! To find out about the release online, make sure you're signed up for the 20x200 newsletter.

Target First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum
Saturday, February 6th, 2010 | 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Jen's talk | 8:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway, BK, NY

Rincon Artificial Island and Pipeline, Ventura, California by Ian Baguskas

Hope it's not too early to say, Happy New Year everybody! There are only eight days* in the new year to take in Mixtape at Jen Bekman Gallery, which runs through January 9th, 2010. Mixtape is a delirious, kaleidoscopic show, but one reason we're so excited about it is that nearly every photographer included, going back half a decade to our first round in 2005, has held the rank of Hot Shot.

On-screen reproduction just does not do this work justice, but for those of you who can't make it to the gallery, I've taken the liberty of linking up the following list to each photographer's piece in the show so that you can click through and get a peek at the work:

Jessica Eaton—2009 Second Edition
Mike Sinclair—2009 First Edition
Michelle Arcila—2009 First Edition
Colleen Plumb—2008 First Edition
Yijun (Pixy) Liao—2008 Second Edition
Gregory Krum—Summer 2007 Edition
Scott Eiden—Fall 2007 Edition
Kate Bingaman-Burt—Summer 2006 Edition
Ian Baguskas—Spring 2006 Edition
Joseph O. Holmes—Fall 2006 & Fall 2005
Matthew Tischler—Spring 2005 Edition

Another thing to note is that many of the prints in the show are genuine 20x200 editions. If you see something you like at the show, it may be more affordable than you think! Make sure to check the Mixtape page on 20x200 to see what's available for collecting. Stay tuned for news about out 2009 Second Edition Hey, Hot Shot! Showcase which is set to open in early March 2010.

* The gallery is closed on January 1st but will reopen from 12–6 on the 2nd

This has been a huge week at JBP HQ for Hey, Hot Shot! We announced the 2008 Ne Plus Ultras on Monday (congratulations again to Hosang + Colleen!) and the 2009 First Edition Hot Shots today.

Through it all, we've been looking at a lot of amazing work, from photographers we consider friends and family as well as from many we hadn't yet had the pleasure of knowing via their entries and websites. It was overwhelming; I can only imagine the burden felt by Ms. Jen Bee and her slew of stellar panelists to make the final calls.

The only thing possibly as exciting and rewarding as working alongside this crew as they culled the best of the best? Looking back on *all* of the Hot Shots named over the last few years and working with many of them to create some pretty excellent 20x200 editions — and knowing that there's more to come!

In celebration of this week's announcements, we pulled together all of the 20x200 editions produced by Hot Shots. Thanks to all-star intern, Kika Gilbert, you can see them right here:

Dorthe Alstrup
Ian Baguskas
Nina Berman
Kate Bingaman-Burt
Colin Blakely
Dan Boardman
Jessica Bruah
James Deavin
Scott Eiden
Juliane Eirich
Todd R. Forsgren
Alison Grippo
Shuli Hallak
Brandon Herman
Joseph O. Holmes
Karolina Karlic
Robert Knight
Jeffrey Krolick
Gregory Krum
Pixy Liao
Brad Moore
Chad Muthard
Bob O'Connor
Hosang Park
Youngna Park
Kirby Pilcher
Birthe Piontek
Colleen Plumb
James Rajotte
Justin James Reed
Kelly Shimoda
Mickey Smith
Rachel Sussman
Matthew Tischler
Carlo Van de Roer
Donald Weber
Shen Wei

I am happy to report that I have more than a few works by these photographers in my collection. Now's the time to pick up prints of your own (if you haven't already or even if you have). It's a great (um, read: affordable) way to have a little art in your home and support fellow artists. Enjoy!

Chess Game, 2008
by Rachel Hulin

Rachel Hulin was crowned a Hot Shot way back in Spring '05. Since then she has built a blossoming career for herself as a working photographer, photo editor and writer. Her blog, A Photography Blog, is a jovial mix of photo news and insights, rambling thoughts (that somehow always seem relevant), and a lovely dose of idiosyncratic humor.

Perusing her blog today I learned that another Hot Shot (Summer '05), Noah Kalina, will be shooting for I.D. Magazine's annual design issue.

Scanning a little further down, I spotted an image from one of our newest Hot Shots, John Mann.

Seems like Miss Hulin truly has her (trigger) finger on the pulse.

Bookmark A Photography Blog today, and it'll make you smile tomorrow, I promise.

Images from Karolina Karlic's series Close to Home

Forgive me if I'm a little late reporting this one, but I just happened upon a link to Spring '07 Hot Shot and 20x200 artist, Karolina Karlic (her edition print, Katarina, has only one print left!). Karolina was interviewed for the photography blog, Feature Shoot. The blog is run by photo editor (and photographer) Alison Zavos who possesses a keen eye and a smart interviewing style. You can easily lose an hour or two scrolling through them. I double dare you to read just one.
Karolina's site is well worth a visit, while you're at it.

A handful of Hot Shots will have work in X Marks the Art, an exhibition of 20x200 limited-edition prints and originals by 20x200 artists opening at Jen Bekman Gallery, tomorrow, Saturday, December 20th, 2008 from 6-8:00 p.m.

Praised among New York Magazine's Best of New York, 20x200 is curated by Jen Bekman and offers limited edition prints (and sometimes original works), from emerging and established artists, exclusively online. Enormously popular among collectors emerging and established, curators, critics, and artists alike, many 20x200 editions sell out within minutes of their release. For the first, and possibly the last time ever, 20x200 prints will be at the gallery, on view and for sale, alongside original drawings and paintings by a selection of our diverse artists.

Featured Hot Shots include: Scott Eiden, Gregory Krum, and Kelly Shimoda. Hot Shot panelist Kent Rogowski will also have work from his, um, lovely series, Love=Love. Kent's editions from Love=Love were among the fastest selling on 20x200. Untitled #9 is completely sold out and Untitled #5 is nearly disappeared as well.

The show rounds out with the following 20x200 artists:
Ky Anderson
William Crump
Kevin Cyr
Beth Dow
Don Hamerman
William Lamson
Carrie Marill
Christina Muraczewski
Amy Park
Jennifer Sanchez
Aili Schmeltz
Luke Stephenson
Todd St. John
Bert Teunissen

X Marks the Art will be on view Saturday, December 20 through Saturday, January 24, 2009 at Jen Bekman Gallery, located at 6 Spring Street, New York, NY.

Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, noon - 6 p.m. or by private appointment
For additional information and images, email press@jenbekman.com or phone 212.219.0166

Please join us tonight, for Thrilla In Manila: A Benefit by Jason Polan, Jane Mount, and Jen Bekman Projects to benefit 826NYC.

• Thrilla in Manila: Reception and Sale to Benefit 826NYC
• Jen Bekman Gallery (6 Spring Street)
• 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
• Reception and sale to benefit 826NYC
• Work will be available to take right off the wall at affordable prices from $50 to $1,000.

Are you planning to head to SXSW? Are you not going but simply super interested in all the awesome talk that will go on there? Then vote, now, for Jen Bekman's SXSW panel proposal:

Curating the Crowd-Sourced World Level: Beginner Type: Panel Category: Content Presenter: Jen Bekman, 20x200 | Jen Bekman Projects, Inc. Description: With all the stuff we weed through online, good filters are crucial. Who's best-suited to determine what's best - curators or the crowd? People have their religion about one or the other, however this panel will focus on the overlap, the grey areas and how curating and crowd-sourcing enrich each other.

With the curatorially-mediated online phenom of 20x200, Jen's a pretty good fit to head up this panel which is sure to be filled with other talents -- who can speak as both curators and "crowd" -- that she'll announce in the coming weeks.

Carrie Marill, A Dream World Glimmers In The Background Of The Soul (Detail)

Fall '07 Hot Shot Todd Forsgren has six photographs in the latest Jen Bekman show, Ornithology. The group show, which features a stellar array of artists working in various media, opens tonight, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the gallery, at 6 Spring Street.

Ornithology features bird-themed works by Echo Eggebrecht, Todd Forsgren, Laura Levine, Carrie Marill, Christina Muraczewski, Victoria Neel, Lamar Peterson, Jason Polan, Alec Soth, Amy Stein, Keith Taylor, Bert Teunissen, and Luke Stephenson. Many of these artists will debut exclusive editions on 20x200 during the course of the exhibition.

In the spirit of summer, Ornithology takes its cues from the great outdoors. With their brightly colored plumage, sweet songs, and uncanny ability to fly, birds have captivated humans for centuries, making ornithologists out of even the most casual of observers. From Aristotle to Audubon, Darwin to the binocular-clad of Central Park, our feathered friends have proven to be a source of abundant inspiration.

Of his work, Todd writes:

Ornithologists now use mist nets instead of shotguns. These nearly invisible nets are set up like fences and function as huge spider webs, catching unsuspecting birds. The researcher carefully extracts the bird from the net. Each bird is measured, aged, sexed, and banded with an individually numbered anklet. Then the bird is released.

I photographed these birds while they are caught in mist nets, moments before the ornithologist extracts them. Here, the birds inhabit a fascinating space between our framework of the bush and the hand. It is a fragile and embarrassing moment before they disappear back into the woods, and into data.

Time is almost up.

Have you entered this round of Hey, Hot Shot!? If not, then you need to do it soon. Do it now. Send us your photos and your completed application at once, for the chance to be selected and honored in the Hey, Hot Shot! competition.

Unlike previous years, we WILL NOT be extending the deadline. Not even by a day or an hour or a minute! All submissions are due TUESDAY, JUNE 17, at 8:00 P.M.

Kent Rogowski, from Love = Love

Hot Shots and would-be Hot Shots and regular people alike: go see Kent Rogowski's show, Love = Love, at Jen Bekman Gallery.

Jen Bekman Gallery is pleased to present Love = Love, an exhibition by Kent Rogowski, comprised of six large-scale photographic prints based on altered puzzles, as well as a selection of the original objects. Love = Love will be on view until Saturday, June 14, 2008.

Rogowski’s collages are created with pieces of puzzles which are cut from the same die but depict different, unrelated images. Using these photographic fragments as his palette, Rogowski creates entirely new compositions by his careful mapping of their collisions. The intermixing of these glossy idealizations of flowers, bucolic scenery, and man-made wonders results in disorienting and wholly unique fractured fantastical landscapes. In photographing his completed objects, Rogowski transforms them yet again. Shifting the scale of the photographic image modulates the grid-like uniformity produced by the borders of the puzzle pieces, diminishing or increasing the order they exert over the chaos of the constructed image.

James Danziger, of Danziger Projects, thoughtfully wrote,

"Mixing flowers, blues skies, puffy clouds, and idyllic scenery, Rogowski creates his own alternate fractured universe, one that undergoes yet another transformation when he photographs the finished object. Humorous and cheery, they are not without their own sly commentary on the commodification of happiness and idealism.

Whether they’re photography or re-photography or collage (or a combination of all three) is beside the point. Kent Rogowski’s work demonstrates yet again that although it may be increasingly hard to come up with new ideas, where there’s a will there’s a way."

It's time! We are now accepting entries for 2008's first edition of Hey, Hot Shot! We're all super excited about the great changes in store for applicants and winners. And, remember, all applicants are also potential contenders for features on this very blog.

Hey, Hot Shot! offers unrivaled opportunities for emerging photographers to have their work promoted online, reviewed by top-notch panelists and exhibited in our New York gallery. Now entering its fourth year, the international competition has been lauded by curators, critics, educators and journalists. This year we'll sharpen our focus on fewer hot shots, giving them even more exposure. Read on for the details.

Fewer hot shots + longer exhibitions = more exposure
The competition will now be bi-annual. In each competition 5 photographers will be selected to be part of a two-week showcase at Jen Bekman Gallery.

Cold hard cash
All winning photographers will be awarded a $500 honorarium.

Ultras go solo
At year's end 2 Ultras will be selected from 2008's 10 Hot Shots. The Ultras will be represented by Jen Bekman and slated for solo exhibitions at the gallery.

In it to win it
As always, we'll be selecting contenders to feature daily on the Hey, Hot Shot! blog throughout the entry period. Contenders will also be considered for 20x200, Jen Bekman's newest online endeavor which offers limited edition prints at affordable prices.

So what are you waiting for? Get your work out there: apply now!

We are only accepting submissions online, via this web site.
The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, June 17th @ 8pm(EDT).
Winners will be announced on Wednesday, July 9th @ 1pm (EDT).
There is a $60 handling fee for your entry.
Submissions are open to everyone (from anywhere in the world!).
The competition is open: APPLY NOW!

You Are Important by Spring '05 Hot Shot Stephanie Cinelli, one of this week's 20x200 editions