Showing posts sorted by relevance for query dc. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query dc. Sort by date Show all posts

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

(e)merge announces its exhibitors

The (e)merge art fair has announced its exhibiting galleries and invited unrepresented artists. Check them out here.

Also check out Maura Judkis' take on the issue in the WaPo here and GOG's Lavanya Ramanathan, also in the WaPo, here and Benjamin Freed in the WCP here.

The participants are:
GALLERY PLATFORM > galleries and non-profit art spaces
AUSTRIA: Brot Kunsthalle, Vienna. | BELGIUM: Nomad Gallery, Brussels. | CANADA: Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain, Montréal. | FRANCE: Galerie E.G.P., Paris. | GERMANY: Galerie Anita Beckers, Frankfurt. | ITALY: Jerome Zodo Contemporary, Milan. / Teverina Fine Art, Cortona. | THE NETHERLANDS: Amstel Gallery, Amsterdam. | U.K.: Vane, Newcastle upon Tyne. | U.S.A: ADA Gallery, Richmond, VA. / Art Whino Gallery, National Harbor, MD. / Aureus Contemporary, Providence, RI. / Conner Contemporary Art, Washington, DC. / Corcoran College of Art + Design, Washington, DC. / Curator’s Office, Washington, DC. / Flashpoint Gallery, Washington, DC. / G Fine Art, Washington, DC. / Ghostprint Gallery, Richmond, VA. / Goya Contemporary, Baltimore. MD / Hamiltonian Artists, Washington, DC. / Heiner Contemporary, Washington, DC. / Hemphill Fine Arts, Washington, DC. / Honfleur Gallery, Washington, DC. / Irvine Contemporary, Washington, DC. / Jordan Faye Contemporary, Baltimore, MD. / Josée Bienvenu Gallery, New York, NY. / Lu Magnus Gallery, New York, NY. / Mayer Fine Art, Norfolk, VA. / McLean Project for the Arts, McLean, VA. / Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD. / Mindy Solomon Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL. / monique meloche, Chicgo, IL / Solas Nua, Washington, DC. / The Studio Visit, Washington, DC. / Transformer, Washington, DC. / Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC. / White Columns, New York, NY.

ARTIST PLATFORM > unrepresented artists
CANADA: Tammi Campbell, Saskatoon / Jennifer Mawby, Vancouver. | GERMANY: Christina Kruse, Berlin (+ New York). U.S.A: Chukwuma Agubokwu, Upper Marlboro, MD. / Becky Alprin, Chicago, IL. / Nico Antoniadis + Alexi Stone, Boston, MA. / Holly Bass, Washington, DC. / Kristina Bilonick, Washington, DC. / Calder Brannock, College Park, MD. / Bradley Chriss, Bethesda, MD / Matias Cuevas, Washington, DC. / Double A Projects, Brooklyn, NY. / Jeremy Flick, Tacoma Park, MD. / Free Space Collective, Washington, DC. / Jeremy Haik, Brooklyn, NY. / Terence Hannum, Chicago, IL. / Syed Sibtul Hasnain, Leesburg, VA. / Evan Hume, Washington, DC. / Steven Jones, Baltimore, MD. / Craig Kraft, Washington, DC. / Jacqueline Levine, Washington, DC. / Adam Lister, Arlington, VA. / Katherine Mann, Alexandria, VA. / Nathan Manuel + D. Billy, Brooklyn, NY. / J.J. McCracken, Mt. Ranier, MD, / Patrick McDonough, Washington, DC. / Jonathan, Monaghan, Oceanside, NY. / Kendall Nordin, Washington, DC. / Sean Noyce, Brooklyn, NY. / Peacock, Queens, NY. / Beverly Ress, Washington, DC. / Siobhan Rigg, Washington, DC. / Zach Rockhill, Brooklyn. / Sam Scharf, Washington, DC. / David B. Smith, New York,NY. / Dan Solberg, Washington, DC. / Emma Spertus, Oakland, CA. / James J. Williams III, Brooklyn, NY. / Wilmer Wilson IV, Richmond, VA.

Wednesday, September 04, 2013

(e)merge art fair announces galleries and artists

The (e)merge art fair returns for a third year with the 2013 edition featuring an international roster of 80 exhibitors presenting works by 150 artists from 30 countries. 

Exhibitors will show new works in painting, sculpture, video, performance, installation, and other media.

For four days, the public is welcome to view a carefully curated selection of emerging art at the Capitol Skyline Hotel, exhibited on three levels inside the hotel and throughout the hotel's grounds and public spaces.

GALLERY PLATFORM > galleries and non-profit art spaces:


AUSTRIA: Bäckerstrasse 4 , Vienna | BELGIUM: NOMAD, Brussels | FRANCE: galerie bruno massa, Paris | GERMANY: Blink Media Art, Frankfurt / ROCKELMANN&, Berlin | ITALY: metroquadro, Rivoli | THE NETHERLANDS: Amstel Gallery, Amsterdam | SWITZERLAND: Aureus Contemporary, Basel | U.K.: Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London / Vane, Newcastle upon Tyne | U.S.A.: Alida Anderson Art Projects, Washington, DMV / Animals + Fire, Washington, DC / C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD / Charles Krauss/Reporting Fine Art, Washington, DC / CONNERSMITH., Washington, DC / DCCAH, Washington, DC / Flashpoint Gallery, Washington, DC / Gallery A, Richmond, VA / Gallery C, Raleigh, NC / Goya Contemporary, Baltimore, MD / Hamiltonian Gallery, Washington, DC / Julian Navarro Projects, Long Island City, NY / Pleasant Plains Workshop, Washington, DC / Present Company, Brooklyn, NY / Print/Collect, Baltimore, MD / Segal Projects, Los Angeles, CA / slow, Chicago, IL / sophiajacob, Baltimore, MD / Transformer, Washington, DC / Victori Contemporary, New York, NY / Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC


ARTIST PLATFORM > independent artists:


Joey Alzamora, Washington, DC | Benjamin Andrew, Baltimore, MD | Selin Balci, Istanbul, Turkey / Annapolis, MD | Holly Bass, Washington, DC | Tiffaney Bishop, Ferny Creek, Australia | Catherine Borg, Baltimore, MD | Alex Braden, Arlington, VA | Mandy Cano Villalobos, Grand Rapids, MI | Karla Caprali, Belem, Brazil / Miami, FL | Maya Ciarrocchi, New York, NY | Julie Combal, Brooklyn, NY | Nancy Daly, Baltimore, MD | Brian Davis, Woodbridge, VA | Imani Dennison, Washington, DC | Patrick Donovan, San Francisco, CA | Double A Projects, Brooklyn, NY | Dave Eassa, Baltimore, MD | free[space]collective, Washington, DC | Max Gomes, São Paulo, Brazil | Tristan Hamel, Helsinki, Finland | Jesse Harrod, Toronto, Canada / Harrisonburg, VA | Linda Hesh, Alexandria, VA | Markus Hofer, Vienna, Austria | Jihyun Hong, Seoul, Korea / Baltimore, MD | Monica Jahan Bose, Bangladesh / Washington, DC | Benjamin Jones, Northampton, PA | Magnolia Laurie, Baltimore, MD | Kirsty Little, Chevy Chase, MD | Raewyn Martyn, Oamaru, New Zealand / Richmond, VA | Lavar Munroe, Nassau, The Bahamas / Montgomery Village, MD | Nara Park, Seoul, South Korea / Baltimore, MD | Dan Perkins, Washington, DC | Thomas Petzwinkler, Washington, DC | Camden Place, Washington, DC | Flore de Preneuf, Louveciennes, France / Washington, DC | Nick Primo, Baltimore, MD | Sean Naropa Robinson, Washington, DC | Christto Sanz + Andrew Weir, Doha, Qatar | Danielle Scruggs, Washington, DC | Judith Seligson, Alexandria, VA | Paul Shortt, Washington, DC | Alette Simmons-Jimenez, Miami, FL | Sophia Sobers, Budd Lake, NJ | Eduardo Terranova, Cali, Colombia / New York, NY | Borjana Ventzislavova, Sofia, Bulgaria / Vienna, Austria | Adam Void + Chelsea Ragan, Asheville, NC | Daniel Wilson, Nova Scotia, Canada / Brooklyn, NY | Andrew Wodzianski, Washington, DC


FAIR HOURS AND ADMISSION
Thursday, October 3
5pm – 7pm / (e)merge VIP & Press Preview. By invitation only.
7pm – 9pm / OPENING NIGHT PREVIEW
9pm - 11pm / Concert by the Pool with MIAMOUNA YOUSSEF (live set) and John Thornley of U.S. Royalty (DJ set)
Admission is $35 advance purchase, $50 at the door.

To purchase tickets: CLICK HERE.

Friday, October 4: 12pm – 7pm
Students with valid ID free: 12pm – 3pm
Saturday, October 5: 12pm – 7pm
Sunday, October 6: 12pm – 5pm


Daily admission is $15; $10 for Seniors and Students with valid ID.


www.emergeartfair.com

Location:
Capitol Skyline Hotel
10 “I” Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024

Thursday, August 21, 2014

(e)merge art fair announces exhibition roster

The (e)merge art fair returns for a fourth year with the 2014 edition featuring an international roster of 85 exhibitors presenting works by 150 artists from 30 countries. Exhibitors will show new works in painting, sculpture, video, performance, installation, and other media. For four days, the public is welcome to view a carefully curated selection of emerging art at the Capitol Skyline Hotel, exhibited on three levels inside the hotel and throughout the hotel's grounds and public spaces.

GALLERY PLATFORM > galleries and art spaces:

ARGENTINA: Acuarell Contemporary Art, Buenos Aires / C-Arte, Buenos Aires / Centro de Edición, Buenos Aires / Deseado Arroyo, Buenos Aires | BELGIUM: NOMAD, Brussels / GKV/Magenta Projects, Ostend | BOLIVIA: Salar Galería de Arte, La Paz | FRANCE: galerie bruno massa, Paris | GERMANY: polarraum, Hamburg | JAMAICA: ARC & NLS, Kingston | THE NETHERLANDS: Amstel Gallery, Amsterdam | SAUDI ARABIA: Naila Art Gallery, Riyadh | U.S.A.: Adamson Gallery, Washington, DC / Alida Anderson Art Projects, Potomac, MD / All We Art, Washington, DC / Atanda Gallery, Washington, DC / Aureus Contemporary, Providence, RI / Blind Whino, Washington, DC / Bodega de la Haba Presents, New York, NY / Causey Contemporary, New York, NY / CONNERSMITH., Washington, DC / DCCAH, Washington, DC / Flashpoint Gallery, Washington, DC / Hamiltonian, Washington, DC / I.B.Clark Gallery, New Hope, PA / KiloWatt Gallery, Newark, NJ / Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, FL / Pleasant Plains Workshop, Washington, DC / Present Company, Brooklyn, NY / Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Philadelphia, PA / Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC / Transformer, Washington, DC / Victori Contemporary, New York, NY / Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC

ARTIST PLATFORM > independent artists:

Adam Hager, Washington, DC | Amy Finkelstein, Takoma Park, MD | Ana Schmidt, Getxo, Spain | Andrey Ustinov, Cologne, Germany | Anne Bouie, Washington, DC | Annie Albagli, Richmond, VA | Apollonia Vanova, Toronto, Canada | Becky Borlan, Takoma Park, MD | Ben Schonberger, Alexandria, VA | Ben Tolman, Washington, DC | Christopher Capriotti, Philadelphia, PA | Cici Wu, Beijing, China / Baltimore, MD | Dan Hildt, Alexandria, VA | Edel Gregan, Waterford, Ireland / McLean, VA | Eduardo Terranova, Cali, Colombia / New York, NY | Elizabeth Brown, Manassas, VA | Evan Hume, Washington, DC | Fawna Xiao, Washington, DC | Fiorella Gonzales Vigil, Lima, Peru / New York, NY | Galen Odell-Smedley, Mt. Rainier, MD | Heloisa Escudero, São Paulo, Brazil / Arlington, VA | Holly Bass, Washington, DC | Jake Singer, Johannesburg, South Africa | James Bernard Cole, Washington, DC | Jarri Hasnain, Leesburg, VA | Jeffrey Hensley, Ellicott City, MD | Joana Fischer, Ahlen, Germany / Miami, FL | John Franzen, Aachen, Germany / Maastricht, Netherlands | Joshua Bennett, Richmond, VA | Justin Wood, Miami, FL | Karine Falleni, Tucson, AZ | Madeleine Cutrona, Baltimore, MD | Magali Hébert-Huot, Jim Leach + Zack Ingram, Quebec City, Canada / Baltimore, MD | Mercedes Teixido, Claremont, CA | Nara Park, Seoul, South Korea / Washington, DC | Nicole Salimbene, Takoma Park, MD | Rachel Schmidt + André Singleton, Arlington, VA / Brooklyn, NY | Rebecca Ruige Xu, Beijing, China / Syracuse, NY | Sebastian Martorana, Baltimore, MD | Sha Sha Feng + Tami Gold, Brooklyn, NY | Sheldon Scott, Washington, DC | Stephen Hendee, Baltimore, MD | Sui Park, Seoul, South Korea / Brooklyn, NY | Tatiana Gulenkina, Washington, DC | Terence Hannum, Parkville, MD | Travis Beauchene, Fargo, ND | Trisha Kanellopoulos, Munich, Germany

FAIR HOURS + ADMISSION:

> Thursday, October 2
5pm – 7pm / (e)merge VIP & Press Preview. By invitation only.
7pm – 9pm / OPENING NIGHT PREVIEW
9pm - 11pm / Concert by the Pool with Furniteur, Pleasure Curses, and Chris Burns (dj set)
> Friday, October 3: 12pm – 7pm
Students with valid ID free: 12pm – 3pm
> Saturday, October 4: 12pm – 7pm
> Sunday, October 5: 12pm – 5pm

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

FotoWeek DC

So now I've got the press release and all the details on FotoWeek DC:

FotoWeek DC is one of the largest international photography festivals in the world, and it returns to Washington, DC with The FotoWeek DC Awards competition exhibition November 7 – 14, 2009 and an unprecedented roster of events and participating organizations.

Established in 2008, FotoWeek DC "celebrates the profession, the art and the sweeping influence of photography, embracing local, national and international communities of photographers, students, amateurs and the general public during its week long festivities in Washington, DC and the surrounding region."

"FotoWeek DC, in just two years, has evolved from a city wide photography festival to one of international scope,” said Theo Adamstein, Founder of FotoWeek DC. “Through our partnership with world-renowned photographers, we are thrilled to present numerous exhibitions, lectures and programs that encompass a broad spectrum of photography from editorial photojournalism to experimental fine art--and everything in between. This inspiring week-long festival celebrates what photography means to people today, from both a local and a global perspective.”

Highlights include:

• The 2009 FotoWeek DC Awards competition, which has received more than 3,500 images from photographers in 39 states and 28 countries. Photojournalism, editorial, commercial and fine art imagery from twenty-eight countries has been submitted both in single and series form, as well as in multimedia pieces that combine the strength of still images with video, sound and graphics. Open to professionals, amateurs and students with $21,500 in cash awards, including the $5,000 prestigious Spirit of Washington Award, the FotoWeek DC 2009 Awards are judged by a panel that includes many of the industry's most elite editors, photographers and executives. Awards in 12 categories will be presented at the National Geographic Society’s Headquarters on Thursday, November 5, 2009, and the finalists’ work will be featured in the Awards exhibition at FotoWeek Central 1, located at 3338 M Street NW.

• FotoWeek DC and curator Lucian Perkins, himself a Pulitzer-Prize winning photojournalist, will present special exhibitions of work never before seen in Washington, DC, including new images from Iraq, Russia, and Cuba. Also on view will be “Thy Brother's Keeper,” a powerful exhibition of work by twenty-five esteemed photojournalists who “chronicle the complex multidimensional issues related to global justice and human rights transgressions.”

• The FotoWeek DC Lecture Series, featuring renowned photographers including Tim Hetherington, Lincoln Schatz, Deborah Willis, Matthew Niederhauser, and Ernesto Bazan at American University’s Katzen Arts Center and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

• NightVisions, the first-ever, all night FotoWeek DC live photo shoot in which area photographers are encouraged to participate by shooting and delivering their images to FotoWeek Central 1 (3338 M Street NW) for immediate downloading, printing and displaying.

• NightGallery DC, where visitors will experience the ephemeral magic that comes when light meets surface during a dazzling display of multi-story, large scale projections on the façade of FotoWeek Central 1(3338 M Street NW) of finalists’ work from the FotoWeek DC Awards competition and of selected images from FotoWeek DC special exhibitions. Select buildings in Rosslyn (November 6-8) and Crystal City (November 8-10) will also feature projections, all beginning at dusk.

•FotoWeek DC's 2nd ANNUAL PORTFOLIO REVIEW DAY, Sunday, November 8, 2009 organized by The American Society of Picture Professionals and the Corcoran College of Art + Design, brings 20 nationally acclaimed photography professionals to review the work of participating photographers who sign up in advance.

• Multiple embassies sponsoring FotoWeek DC exhibitions and events, including the official opening reception on November 7, 2009 at the House of Sweden, co-hosted by the American Film Institute featuring “What Lies Beneath: Nature & Urban Landscape in EU Photography,” curated by Judith Turner Yamamoto.

• From DC to Maryland to Virginia, galleries and arts organizations throughout the area are presenting exhibitions, lectures, book signings and more. Whether displaying the work of local photographers or photography of national renown, the gallery community will be united by its focus during FotoWeek DC.

Please visit www.fotoweekdc.org for a full itinerary of events, registration for portfolio reviews, and donation opportunities.

Monday, January 24, 2022

Betty White Unites! Show at Zenith hauling in the press coverage!

I have never seen a DC art exhibition get as much press as Zenith Gallery's Betty White Unites! art exhibition has been gathering!

Here's a partial list of the coverage and see the exhibition online here.

Monday, December 11, 2006

This is how it is supposed to work - Part I

Those of you who are regular visitors to this site know that one of my constant concerns is the poor relationship between DC museum area curators and DC area artists, and the rarity of interest by most DC area museum professionals in their own city's art scene and artists.

Like anything, there are notable, but rare, exceptions.

And one of the unexpected benefits of the Trawick Prize and the Bethesda Painting Awards has been that they have "forced" the hired DC, VA and MD museum professionals and curators to look at the work of artists from the region; some amazing success stories have spawned from that exposure. Area artists should be very grateful to Ms. Trawick for all that she has done and continues to do for the fine arts around the capital region.

But getting back on subject and generally speaking, most of the DC area museum curators and directors still find it easier to catch a flight to another city to look at an emerging artist's work from that city, than to take a cab to a DC area artist's studio or visit a local gallery.

I think part of this is because, again with an exception here and there, most of these curators came from other parts of the nation and overseas, and they tend to bring their regional familiarities with them, rather than discover new ones (it takes a lot of work). They are also part of a curatorial scene where little risk is taken, and the herd mentality reigns supreme.

As a result, one can count in one hand the number of artists (local or otherwise) who have had their first ever museum show (or any museum show) in a DC area museum. And yet, even major museums (such as the Whitney in New York) have given artists their first museum solos, although this is becoming rarer and rarer.

Example: I know that I wasn't the only one amazed to find out that the Corcoran's Sam Gilliam retro was the first solo museum show (at the tail end of his career) by arguably DC's best-known painter.

And I am sure that the fact that Jonathan Binstock's PhD work was on Gilliam had a lot to do with the Corcoran's decision to focus a solo on a DC area legend. Bravo to Binstock and Bravo to the Corcoran; more please.

The rarity of local focus is also caused partially because of the fact that DC area museums generally tend to think of themselves as "national museums," rather than as "city museums," like all other major cities in the world have.

We have no Washington Museum of Art, although the Corcoran, because of its position as a museum and a school, and since the arrival of Binstock, has focused a bit more attention on the Greater DC art scene.

Furthermore, because of the sad lack of coverage by the DC local media of the DC local art scene and events, museum professionals have to spend more personal time (which they often lack) to "learn" about DC area artists and galleries, rather than learning from reading, as they do about what's going on in NYC and LA and Miami and Seattle from the national magazines, or perhaps the coverage that those cities' newsmedia gives to their local arts, and even from reading the Washington Post's chief art critic coverage of other cities' galleries and museums, while he is allowed to avoid writing about Washington galleries and artists.

And so it takes an "extra" effort on the part of a DC museum curator to get his or her interest aroused on any event in the local scene. Some of it is networking (a big name museum donor requests a visit to a gallery or a studio), some of it is financial (they are paid to jury a show), some of it is media-driven (such as the rare positive review in the even rarer newsmedia coverage) and some of it is accidental (such as a curator admiring the work of a "new" artist in a LA gallery only to be told that the artist is a DC artist).

All of these have happened in my experience.

Here's a little test.

Next Wednesday, December 13 at 7:00 PM, Ned Rifkin has a lecture at the Corcoran on "Modern and Contemporary Art".

I've met Mr. Rifkin many times and he's a really nice, likeable, intelligent and well-traveled person. He has been the Smithsonian Under Secretary for Art since January 2004. In the DC area he also has been the Curator of Contemporary Art at the Corcoran from 1984­-1986, Chief Curator of the Hirshhorn from 1986-­1991 and then Director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden from 2003­-2005. So he has spent nearly ten years of his exceptional career as an arts professional in the nation's capital.

I'd like someone to ask Mr. Rifkin the following question:

"Mr. Rifkin, can you quickly name for us about five contemporary artists from anywhere and five contemporary DC area artists whose work you admire and why?"

If anyone does ask, please email me his response.

Tomorrow I will tell you a happy tale of a DC area museum curator who has shown interest in the work of a very talented and hardworking DC area artist and how it happened, which is how this process is supposed to work.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Superfine DC Opens Tonight!

Superfine! DC opens tonight at Dock 5 at Union Market on Halloween night. 

All the details of the fair here

LOCATION
Union Market
1309 5th Street Northeast
Dock 5 Event Space
Washington, DC 20002    MAP

I asked Alex Mitow, Director of Superfine! a few questions about the fair, DC and the DMV art scene:

What were your "lessons learned" from the inaugural DC art fair?

To be frank, I think the biggest lesson learned was a really positive one. We always had high hopes and expectations for DC as a market for the kind of art collecting experience we provide, but we were blown away by how excited and supportive the overall DC community was. We and our exhibitors learned not to pre-judge a city's taste in art and to really challenge the local market in terms of content, since a lot of works that veered towards risqué and very, very contemporary sold extremely well at last year's fair. DC's taste in art is as diverse as the city itself.

How many returning galleries and artists do you have in the second iteration of the DC art fair?

Around 40% of 2018 galleries and artists returned for 2019 and based on early renewal rates we're expecting 60-80% renewal for 2020. We expect booths at the 2020 fair to be nearly sold out by the end of 2019's fair. There are a lot of our favorites from 2018 who couldn't participate this year due to travel or other obligations, but will be returning in 2020. 

The Greater Washington DC area (known locally as "the DMV - for District, Maryland, Virginia") has one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the world, and a vibrant local art scene complimented by a terrific museum presence, and yet commercial art galleries and artists struggle to survive. As you acquire lessons and experiences in various cities doing the art fairs, what is your take on what's the "missing" part in the DMV art scene?

Honestly, we agree 100% with you on DC as a city that has the wealth, income, and interest to support a vibrant art scene. DC is a very viable market that's been overlooked by the big fairs. As I mentioned, our educated bet on DC last year paid off and we've doubled down on our investment into the city and the fair, which is our top-producing fair in the United States, by not only adding to the number of exhibitors but also bulking up our programming for this year's fair to include Superfine! X - an installation program featuring DC artist District Dodger, along with curated experiential works by artists selected by Philadelphia's Paradigm Gallery, and an interactive WunderCube co-designed by Sean Christopher Ward, one of our most frequent exhibiting artists (he hails from Wichita.) Hearkening back to my earlier point, I really think a key is not underestimating the diversity of potential collectors and their tastes in a city as vibrant as DC. We are also huge proponents of a transparent and inclusive art market which is something that I believe all of our exhibitors share with us, and even from what I've seen over the past year there have been a ton of amazing things going on in DC that share and promote our values -- with results that follow.

Can you highlight three exhibitors at the 2019 fair?


I'm always thrilled to work with Nina O'Neill at Monochrome Collective. She's done some amazing projects of her own in DC this year and is a fierce artist advocate (with great fashion sense to boot!) and I'm looking forward to her booth this year, which is focused on sculpture -- primarily by DMV artists including Gary Kret, Stefanie Lifshutz, Monroe Isenberg, and Michael West. 


Reach Beyond by Scott Hutchison
17.5 x 29"
Scott Hutchison is another returning DMV artist, and I'm unabashedly in love with his surreal compositions. Lastly, New York artists Chloe Cockburn and her husband Marc Scheff are presenting a duo booth in DC's fair. They're a valued part of the Superfine! family and Marc also created a unique archival print that'll be gifted to our early bird Master Pass buyers. It's really neat how Superfine! has begun to turn into a family affair - we also have a mother and daughter sharing a booth (Phoebe and Caralena Paterson) and I'm excited to see how their unique styles play off of each other.

Monday, October 15, 2018

Superfine DC coming!

Art fairs in cities across the world continue to remain as one of the key components of the planet's cultural tapestry, with Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB) still holding the title of the "big dance of the art world" each December in the Greater Miami area.

Other cities around the world, London, Toronto, Madrid, Capetown, Frankfurt, Basel, Buenos Aires, etc., all host and have really good art fairs as well, and many American cities - besides Miami - also host excellent fairs, most notably New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, etc.

And yet, in spite of several attempts by art fair world giants such as the Art Miami group, and by ubercollectors such as Mera Rubell, the DMV's attempts to enter the art fair circuit have failed. Here's my review of the 2008 attempt by Art Miami to start a fair in DC.


It's a paradoxically confounding issue! After all, according to a recent poll, the DMV has the planet's second highest concentration of multi-millionaires, so the disposable income is present in the Greater DC area and surrounding counties (six of the top 10 richest counties in the United States are in the DMV). 

Thus it is a fact that although the money is here, as anyone who's ever tried to sell a piece of art in the area knows, the collectors themselves are far and few in between, and a significant number of the 125,000 millionaires who (according to Census figures) live in the DMV region do not generally buy artwork with the same zest and zeal that they obtain giant mansions in Potomac, and ride around in huge SUVs, or expensive weekend motorcycles.

Why? Because to a certain extent, many of them lack the "formation" (as a Communist would say) to really understand, appreciate and know the difference between a "picture" and a work of art.

It's not that they are stupid or uncultured - after all, most of them are first generation, self made "progressive" men and women, often from blue collar backgrounds, and who worked their way up the capitalism food chain and made themselves what they are today.


Savvy businessmen, too many sharp lawyers, brilliant computer geeks, enviable technocrats - and all with little, if any, exposure to the arts in their upbringing, and more importantly, exposure to the availability of the arts. The last due to the exceptional apathy that our local DMV media has towards the visual arts.

We also have a really good art scene, mostly centered around the many museums which we're lucky to have in the area - mostly all "national" museums, which sucks for DMV artists, since they seldom pay attention to their own backyard, but a lot of museums nonetheless. We also have a lot of great art programs, since we're surrounded by dozens of world class Universities and colleges in the area with terrific art programs. 

We also have highly attended and highly ranked outdoor art festivals - most notably in Bethesda and Reston, and the Artomatic open show draws as many as 1,000 artists and 75,000 visitors!

Our area also has the lowest unemployment rate in the Universe.

All of those things are ingredients which would lead one to think that an art fair would do well around the DMV.

No one has cracked that nut yet, and if you are a constant reader of this blog, then you know that (since I have been participating in art fairs for well over a decade now), I have often offered advice via this blog on how to stage a potentially successful art fair in the DMV. You can read some of that advice, given 10 years ago here.

Art fairs are a huge financial risk to art galleries - You drop $10,000 to $15,000 bucks on an art fair, and if you come home with little or no sales, and an empty bank account... that often means that it is lights out for the gallery. I've seen and heard this happen multiple times in the decade plus that I've been doing art fairs.



What are the art fair costs? There are direct costs and associated costs.

Direct costs are:
(a) Cost of the basic booth
(b) Cost of additional booth stuff (extra walls, extra lights, storage)
(c) Some fairs have a "shared" advertising cost

Associated Costs are:
(a) Cost of required insurance
(b) Cost of transportation of the art. If using own vehicle, then also cost of parking it and gas
(c) Cost of people transportation to the fair, food and hotel, etc.

Bottom Line: Commercial galleries take huge chances at art fairs. My very first art fair all-around cost was about $8,000 over a decade ago in New York - all that was charged on the gallery's credit card and we held our breath while at the fair. We sold about $30,000 worth of art, and thus after commissions to the artists we cleared $15,000 and paid off the credit card, and then had $6,000 to put towards the next art fair fee. 

I can count on one hand the number of times that we have ever sold that much art in any gallery art show in the DMV; and as a reference, I've had a physical brick-and-mortar gallery here of one sort or another since 1996 and through 2009. 

Since those galleries closed - the last one in 2009, three years after I left it, and we went virtual, we've focused on art fairs and done OK - and art fair prices kept going up, and up.  The last art fair that we did in Miami last summer cost over $60,000! It was a giant booth... too big!


But, in the 21st century, doing art fairs is a "must do" not only for independently owned commercial fine art galleries, but also for any and all other genres of visual art spaces (non profits, artists cooperatives, art leagues, art schools, etc.).

What's in an art fair for the artists?



Usually a lot more than for the gallery. I will repeat this: just as often, an artist reaps more good things out of an art fair than the gallery does.

These things include:

(a) Exposure to more art collectors, curators, press, etc. in a few days than in years of exhibiting art around the DMV. You will see more people in 4-5 days than in five ten years at a gallery in the DMV.

(b) Exposure to other galleries who may be interested in your work. I have multiple examples of this - Just ask DMV area artist Judith Peck what has happened to her career once she started showing at art fairs.

(c) A significantly higher chance of getting critical press, as art fair openings are a magnet for nor only the usual press, but also for every other scribe who has anything to do with writing about art.

(d) A significantly higher chance of getting your work noticed by both freelance and museum curators. The chance of getting your work noticed by a DMV museum curator is probably worse than the chance of winning the lottery. Most DMV area museum curators (AU's Jack Rasmussen being the brilliant exception) would rather take a cab to Dulles to fly to Miami to see emerging artists' works at Miami fairs than taking a cab to see a gallery show in Georgetown.

(e) Being part of the art fair "wake effect" --- Read about that here.

(f) A much better chance to getting invited to participate in other shows such as university shows, themed-shows, group shows, etc. Ask Virginia artist Sheila Giolitti about that, or (now) Ohio artist Audrey Wilson.

Twice in the last five or six years I've been retained as an advisor to two giant international art fair conglomerates which were exploring the DMV as a potential site for expansion.

I was pretty brutal with them on the negatives (which I'll gladly expand on upon demand, but most of which have been documented here in the nearly two decades that this blog has been documenting the DMV art scene), and the many great positives, as well as what I thought was the secret code to break the art fair losing streak of the DMV.



Enter SuperfineDC! In their own words:

The Art Fair DC Deserves Arrives This Month

Fun, approachable, and chock full of art by local and global emerging artists, Superfine! DC descends on the capital from October 31st to November 4th for a fall art spectacular the likes of which the District has never before seen. The art fair that's built its chops in New York and Miami by serving up a clear, transparent, new art market friendly to both long time collectors and people interested in art who've never purchased a piece before is bringing its unique formula to DC's Union Market, and you'll never experience art the same way again.
Over 300 visual artists from DC and beyond will present new contemporary artwork throughout 74 curated booths, and with price points beginning below $100 and 75% of works available below $5,000, you're certain to discover the perfect piece for your castle or cottage. Join us for a chic sneak peek Masquerade Vernissage opening on Halloween night, or indulge your inner child with artisan scoops by Trickling Springs Creamery at our Young Collectors' Ice Cream Social on Friday 11/2. From panel discussions with local art luminaries to art movie nights and VR experiences, Superfine! DC has Washingtonians covered as your own local, global art fair.

2018 EXHIBITORS

HEARTLANDIA

Cindy Lisica Gallery | Houston, TX
Monochrome Collective | Washington, DC
Most Wanted Fine Art | Pittsburgh, PA
BoxHeart Gallery | Pittsburgh, PA
Antieau Gallery | New Orleans, LA
ArtShape Mammoth | Burlington, VT
Pure Artistry Works | Philadelphia, PA
Walton Gallery | Petersburg, VA
Sean Christopher Ward | Wichita, KS
Gallery O on H | Washington, DC

CENTER STAGE

Zenith Gallery | Washington, DC
Touchstone Gallery | Washington, DC
Vox Populi Print Collective | Madison, WI
European Design & Art LLC | Miami, FL
Art Village Gallery | Memphis, TN
XOL Gallery | Baltimore, MD
glave kocen gallery | Richmond, VA
YNOBE DNA Gallery | Miami, FL
Gallery Orange | New Orleans, LA
RoFa Projects | Potomac, MD
Foundry Gallery | Washington, DC
Adah Rose Gallery | Kensington, MD
Susan Calloway Fine Arts | Washington, DC

FOTO KAIP-SOOL

Jeremiah Morris | Mount Crawford, VA
Lori Cuisinier | New York, NY
Alexandra Aroyo | New York, NY
The 36-24-36 Project | Brooklyn, NY
James Miille | Brooklyn, NY

ARTIST PAVILION

Brooke Rogers | Ocean City, MD
Julio Valdez | New York, NY
Svetlana Nelson | Madison, AL
Daniel Stuelpnagel | Baltimore, MD
Rogelio Maxwell | Washington, DC
Virago | New York, NY
Bruce McGowan | Montreal, Quebec, CA
JJ Galloway | Annapolis, MD
Deming King Harriman | Brooklyn, NY
Noel Kassewitz | Washington, DC
Kelly Moeykens | Washington, DC
Olan Quattro | Washington, DC
Fei Alexeli | Thessaloniki, Greece
Mary Westphal & Armand Fogels | Alexandria, VA
Susan Hostetler | Washington, DC
ALIGUORI | Fort Lauderdale, FL
Jaclyn Mottola | New York, NY
Emma Repp | Seattle, WA
Sheila Cahill | Washington, DC
Hannah Sarfraz | Gaithersburg, MD
Diana Contreras | Miami, FL
Brianne Lanigan | Arlington, VA
Brendon Palmer-Angell | New Orleans, LA
Dennis Crayon | Washington, DC
Julie Christenberry | Washington, DC
Joseph Meloy | New York, NY
Sarah Magida | Baltimore, MD
Scott Hutchison | Arlington, VA
Chaney Trotter | New York, NY
Joseph Shetler | Washington, DC
Aaron Patton | Wichita, KS
Stephen Perrone | Sylvan Beach, NY
Christine Ruksenas-Burton | Stone Ridge, VA
Sonja Rohde | New York, NY
Wayson R. Jones | Brentwood, MD
Michael Heilman | Alexandria, VA
Helen Robinson | Brooklyn, NY
Sarah Jamison | Washington, DC
Colleen Garibaldi | Washington, DC
Adam Chamy | Washington, DC
Steve Wanna | Mount Rainier, MD
Rod Webber | Boston, MA
Kathryn Jane Leung | Manassas Park, VA
D'Arcy Simpson | Hudson, NY
Will Superfine DC succeed? I hope so!

October 31 - November 4, 2018
1309 5th St NE
Washington, DC 20002

All the details that you need are here. Disclaimer: My own spectacular work will be exhibited at this coming fair by Zenith Gallery.