Thursday, May 22, 2008

Congrats!

To my good buddy Jeffry Cudlin who once again has been nominated as a finalist for an Association of Alternative Newsweeklies award for Arts Criticism.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: July 1, 2008

VisArts - the Metropolitan Center for Visual Arts in Rockville, MD has a call for glass artists to exhibit in an upcoming show: “Glass: Evolving” Sept. 14-Nov. 16, 2008.

Open to Mid-Atlantic artists, this content-driven glass exhibit will investigate new ideas, narratives, concepts and directions in regional contemporary glass. Entry fee.

For more information, contact: Harriet Lesser, Director of Exhibitions and Programming, 301-315-8200 or gallery@visartscenter.org
Call for entries deadline: July 1, 2008.

The jurors include Lindsey Scott and Jay Scott of Habatat Gallery, VA and the directors of Washington Glass School.

Narcissuspello

Thinking of changing my "official" Internet photo from this (taken in 2004 or so):

F. Lennox Campello 2004

To this, taken a few weeks ago:

F. Lennox Campello 2008

Crooked nose courtesy of a bar fight at the Texas bar in Naples, Italy a long time ago... any comments???

Read This

DCist reports on the draconian measures of the District's closing of an art show. Read it here and the follow up here.

AOM Visit One

On the way to my AOM panel I did a whirlwind tour through the 700 artists at Artomatic and my very first impressions is that this is the best AOM ever.

I know that this comes from an AOM supporter without objectivity on the subject, but it also comes from someone who has examined and visited every single AOM in details, explored every gallery and every artist since it all started a decade ago.

The work that the ceramicists have self-curated and installed is worthy of being in a museum show, both in quality and presentation.

I will be back with a more detailed visit, my top picks from the show, my "new discoveries" and a review and videos.

Below is a photo from last night's panel, which was very well attended and could have gone for hours! There is soooooo much thirst out there for information!

Memo to Philippa: Let's do this again soon with a 2-3 hour window for questions and discussions - I'm game!

Philippa Hughes
Above: Philippa Hughes introduces the panel: Dr. Fred Ognibene, (me missing and taking photo), Martin Irvine, JW Mahoney and Sharon Burton.

Update: Ann Marchand has a great report and pics here.

Congrats

To DC area artist Dana Ellyn whose solo show in Wilmington, NC is doing really well!

Dana's show at the ERA Gallery is titled "Up For Discussion" and prior to the show, she received two write-ups in two local papers and today a review of the show was published.

Check out all the interviews, articles and review here. The show is up through June 28, 2008.
Dana Ellyn


Silly Rabbit, Myths are for Kids. 22"x28" Acrlylic on Canvas by Dana Ellyn

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Millennium Arts Salon: Scholars Speak

Against the backdrop of the Jacob Lawrence Migration Series (he's one of my former professors and now on view at The Phillips Collection through October 26), three leading scholars on African American art speak:

- Dr. Beth Turner, University Professor at the UVA and curator of two major national traveling exhibitions on Jacob Lawrence, Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence (2001-03) and The Migration Series (1993-1995) for The Philips Collection, former senior Phillips curator and vice-provost for the arts at the University of Virginia.

- Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Art History, at the Maryland Institute College of Art and Chair of the Board of The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture.

- Dr. David Driskell, an emeritus professor at the University of Maryland, College Park where the David C. Driskell Center of African American and African Diaspora Visual Arts and Culture was founded in his honor, artist, collector, and cited as one of the world's leading authorities on the subject of African American Art.

One scholar asks, the others respond. All reflect on artists of the 20th century and look ahead to artists in the new millennia.

Millennium Arts Salon and The Phillips Collection are jointly sponsoring this event, to be held in the Sant Auditorium at The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street, NW, Thursday, May 29th starting at 6:30pm. The cost is free with museum admission.

Early Look Peek

Here's another early peek at another student whose work I've selected for the "Early Look" student exhibition at the Long View Gallery in DC next month.

Her name is Deborah Shapiro and she's a student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Virginia. See more of her work here.


The show opens at Long View Gallery DC on June 7 from 5-8PM.

AOM Panel on "how to price art"

On Thursday May 22, 2008 at 7:30PM at AOM. The panel includes Arthur Mason, lawyer and art collector with his wife Jane Mason, Lee Eagle, Eagle Associates, Collector and Specialist in the DC secondary art market, Zenith Gallery owner, Margery Goldberg, Gallery Directors Amy Cavanaugh and Briony Evans from Honfluer Gallery, and artists Joyce McCarten and Matt Sesow.

They will each offer their own unique perspective on the subject of pricing art. Free and Open to the Public. For more information contact Adah Rose Bitterbaum, Studio Gallery, 202-232-8734. Sponsored by the Washington Project for the Arts.

Tonight is the "Information Overload: Finding Reliable and Useful Information About Art Collecting" panel at 7PM.

It will be moderated by DC ubercollector Dr. Fred Ognibene and will include JW Mahoney, Sharon Burton, Martin Irvine and yours truly.

See ya there!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Rik Freeman at GRACE

Last weekend when I was in Reston I had an opportunity to look at the current GRACE exhibition, the Chittlin' Circuit Review which features the gorgeous paintings of DC area artist Rik Freeman at the Greater Reston Arts Center.

They are powerfully painted, sensual imagery of dancing, singing, sweating, moving, shouting... in a sort of visual musical African American experience.

Rik Freeman
And on Wednesday May 21 from 7:30 - 9pm (Free and no reservations required) you can join artist Rik Freeman for an insightful and very personal evening of discussion about his work, the Chittlin' Circuit Review.

Participants will be taken on an imaginative journey of blues history and treated to a recitation of his original spoken-word poem The Ballad of the Grit Gal.

I like this course

The course "Gallery and Museum Resources for Contemporary Art" is being offered on both a credit and non-credit basis in the School of Art + Design at Montgomery College, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus in MD. It will be taught by Dr. Claudia Rousseau.

It will meet on Wednesdays, 7/9/08 - 8/06/08, all day. Mornings will meet in the new Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center at 930 King Street (just off Georgia Ave) for a lecture, followed by field trips to galleries in the afternoon.

Here's the course description in the non-credit tab:

Gallery and Museum Resources for Contemporary Art

Field trips to Washington DC and Montgomery County galleries, museums and art centers will provide a working laboratory for this course which will expose students to contemporary art in the area and to the extraordinary range of resources available for viewing contemporary art. The course will focus on developing a critical approach to modern and contemporary art through understanding of its recent history and current trends. The goal is to make students more confident about individual encounters with contemporary art, especially in gallery settings. Tuition waiver applies; seniors pay fee only.

Course: ART041, 5 sessions, Wed., 7/9-8/6.

For credit the course is listed under ART, School of Art + Design
AR285L Individual Workshop Art History, 3 credits.

Early Look Peek

Here's another early peek at another student whose work I've selected for the "Early Look" student exhibition at the Long View Gallery in DC next month.

His name is Aaron Miller and he's a student at George Mason University in Virginia. Below is "Banana," which will be in the show:


Banana by Aaron Miller
Banana, oil on canvas by Aaron Miller

The show opens at Long View Gallery DC on June 7 from 5-8PM.

2008 International Peace Corps Show

Deadline: May 29, 2008

A national juried exhibition of photographs created by current and former Peace Corps Volunteers. No entry fee. Submission is completed online. For more information, contact:

The Center for Fine Art Photography
400 N. College Ave.
Fort Collins, CO 80524

Phone: (970) 224-1010; or check website: www.c4fap.org.

Grants for Artists

The George Sugarman Foundation makes grants available for artists in need of financial assistance. Award amounts are open, but the artist must provide a budget for the amount requested. For information, contact:

George Sugarman Foundation
448 Ignacio Blvd.
Novato, CA 94949

Phone: 415/713-8167



Fulbright grants are available for artists for 2-6 week lecturing and research abroad. No application fee, stipends are available. Contact:

Fulbright Senior Specialist Program
Council for International Exchange of Scholars
3007 Tilden St NW, Suite 5L
Washington, DC 20008-3009

phone: 202/686-7877; email: apprequest@cies.iie.org; website: www.cies.org


The Charles A. Lindbergh Fund - Deadline: June 12, 08. Offers grants for research and educational projects in various subjects, including the arts and humanities. Grant amounts up to $10,580 awarded. Application deadline: June 12, 2008. For more information, contact:

The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation
2150 Third Ave. North, Ste. 310
Anoka, MN 55303-2200

Phone: (763) 576-1596; email: info@lindberghfoundation.org; or website:
www.lindberghfoundation.org

Artists' Websites: Ana Maria Cortesão


Three of a Kind by Ana Maria Cortesão
Three of a Kind by Ana Maria Cortesão

Ana Maria Cortesão is a Portuguese street photographer and her work captures a really cool portrait of that European nation. Visit her website here.

Jennifer Lea Hall in Alexandria

I get a trillion gallery opening postcards every week, and every once in a while one catches my eye above the rest.

So is the case with Jennifer Lea Hall's Thesis exhibition (from VCU) at the Del Ray Artisans' Nicholas A. Colosanto Center in Alexandria, VA.

The opening is Friday, May 23 from 7-10PM.

Lorton Artists

This week I will judging the Lorton Arts Foundation exhibition at the University of Phoenix, Reston, VA (11730 Plaza American Drive, Suite 200, Reston, Virginia 20190).

The opening for the show will be on Friday, May 23rd from 7 - 9pm.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Opportunity for Sculptors

Deadline: June 30, 2008

The Polk Museum of Art is now accepting submissions from North American sculptors for their annual public art exhibition, Sept 2008 - Aug 2009. Three artists will be selected to exhibit 4-5 works each (depending on size). Each artist will receive a $5,000 honorarium.

Only completed, maintenance-free works will be considered. Work must be able to be anchored to concrete. Submit slides or digital images of 5-10 available works, 1-3 views each, resume, and artist statement to:

Polk Museum of Art
Lakeland Sculpture Invitational
800 E Palmetto St
Lakeland FL 33801

Or call 863-688-7743x241 or email Tbehrens@PolkMuseumofArt.org

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: August 1, 2008

The Art Renewal Center's International 2008 ARC Salon 5th Annual Competition. Over $44,000 in cash awards with $10,000 Best in Show. Jury of Awards: Nelson Shanks, Gabriel P. Weisberg, Paul W. McCormack and Fred Ross.

Have your work seen by 5.5 million yearly visitors. Visit: www.artrenewal.org for a prospectus, or send a #10 SASE to:

Art Renewal Center
Box 837
Glenham NY 12527

Or inquiries may be addressed to Katie O'Hagan at arcprograms@artrenewal.org

Food & Friends

On Monday, June 16th Food & Friends will be hosting its 18th Annual Chef’s Best charity auction and dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC.

Throughout the evening, more than 1,500 guests will enjoy culinary tastings from local chefs, as well as participate in live and silent auctions, which help raise thousands of dollars to help support Food & Friends clients.

Please consider becoming a vital part of this year’s event through donation of an item to their auction (I will). For more information on auction donations, or to contribute to either the live or silent auction, please contact Dorota Porawska, Development Coordinator, at (202) 269-2277 or dporawska@foodandfriends.org.

Along with nutrition counseling, Food & Friends prepares, packages and delivers meals and groceries to more than 1,400 people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses throughout Washington, DC, seven counties of Maryland and seven counties and six independent cities in Virginia. Since 1988, Food & Friends has provided food and companionship to their clients, their loved ones and caregivers.

Please donate.