Thrift Shop Art

It's no secret that Mr. Larry and I haunt thrift shops, estate and yard sales quite a bit. We both have our preferred items to shop for. I always look for items related to knitting and crochet; costume jewelry; handbags; scarves and hankies; etc. Larry looks for all items related to photography; records; books on UFO's; old L.A. postcards; painted portraits and paint-by-numbers. We've amassed quite a collection of paintings. Often called Found Art or Trashed Treasures, these are works discovered by the people, for the people. This is a very popular form of collection in the postmodernist art world. Today, art lovers seek out found-art masterpieces for their primitive honesty, poetic forgottenness -- and low price.

Part of Larry's collection is onview in my office this month. I'm the curator of the HBO Art Gallery. We change the exhibits monthly. Since February is a short month, I decided to sneak in this fun show. The artwork on view this month is quite a departure from our regular exhibits. Past artists have included Joan Tucker, Kate Moriarty, Toby Corbett, Kathryn Jacobi, Paul Garvey and more. I've helped put a puzzled look on many of my co-worker's faces by hanging these paintings. Hey! Art is art! Have you collected any thrift-shop art?

Paint-By-Numbers Landscapes