I recently gave a lecture called "Ed Mell: A Closer Look" at the Phoenix Art Museum and I wanted to share it with all of you as an episode of my podcast.

It was an interesting experience for me for two reasons. One, I knew Ed very well as a friend. Two, I represented him for almost 30 years. So with this lecture, I got to think and speak about him how an art historian would. The friendship element was part of the lecture, no doubt, but the talk is filled with the other more analytical art world components as well.

For example, I talk about the difference between a 1980 Ed Mell and a 1981 Ed Mell. I analyze the kind of subject matter that he did and when he did it and why he did it. If you love Ed Mell you will probably find this talk that I did to be very interesting and maybe even compelling. I thought it was a really enjoyable from the speaking perspective.

The Phoenix Art Museum just has such a beautiful collection and they have an exhibit called "Ed Mell: In the Studio" in their all new James K. Ballinger Wing. The wing is going to be closed for a renovation from now until mid September 2026, but it'll be open again after Labor Day. Once it opens back up, the Ed Mell exhibition will be up through April 2027. Most of the work in the exhibit came right out of his studio, including some very early pastels and small oil studies. It's a very cool setup and it was curated by Chief Curator Olga Viso, who I interview at the end of the podcast about the show.

So if you love Ed Mell, you might want to watch this one. Keep in mind the YouTube version will have all of the images I discuss, as well as the bonus interview at the end that shows parts of "Ed Mell: In the Studio."