Friday, March 21, 2014

Henri Matisse painting to be returned to art dealer Paul Rosenberg’s heirs

Another fascinating story in the never-ending saga of stolen artworks... I predict that when the Cuban dictatorship finally implodes, a lot of French millionaires will have to return to Cuba its arts legacy, illegally stolen from their owners in the early 1960s, and sold for cold-cash, to (mostly) French adorers of the Castro-brothers' regime.
Profil bleu devant la cheminée (Woman in Blue in Front of a Fireplace)
In June of 2012, the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (HOK) was contacted by the heirs of Paul Rosenberg. The heirs presented documentation demonstrating that Henri Matisse’s painting Profil bleu devant la cheminée (Woman in Blue in Front of a Fireplace) dated 1937, was unlawfully dispossessed as a result of Nazi persecution from the famed French gallery owner and collector. Although Mr Rosenberg was able to flee to New York with his family in 1940, artworks belonging to him were confiscated by the special Nazi looting agency known as the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR). This painting was one of 162 works looted on September 5, 1941, and was therefore subject to an active claim of restitution by the Rosenberg heirs.

In 1942, the painting was used in trade by agents for Nazi Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, and subsequently acquired by Gustav Rochlitz, an art dealer active in Paris who was convicted in 1947 before a French Tribunal for trading illicitly acquired property during the Nazi occupation.

The painting was acquired by Niels Onstad from Galerie Henri Bénézit in Paris around 1950 and it has been a part of HOK’s collection since 1961. From 1946-1960, Paul Rosenberg and his heirs made numerous declarations in search of the painting to no avail. None of these reached Mr Onstad nor HOK. Prior to including the painting in the HOK Collection in 1960, Niels Onstad requested detailed provenance information, but did not discover the Rosenberg claim. Since then, the "provenance Paul Rosenberg Collection" has followed the painting in catalogues and numerous exhibitions all over the world. The knowledge of the whereabouts of the painting did not reach the heirs of Paul Rosenberg.

Although it is HOK’s unwavering position that both Niels Onstad, and subsequently HOK, acquired the painting in good faith, HOK has chosen to adhere to international conventions and return the painting to Rosenberg’s heirs, a decision for which the heirs express their deep appreciation.

“Henie Onstad Kunstsenter’s extensive investigation of the case has led to the decision that the return is justified, and HOK’s board has decided to return the painting without further conditions” says Halvor Stenstadvold, chairman of the board of HOK.

“This painting has been in our collection since HOK was founded; it is a key work, important for both HOK and its patrons. The comprehensive investigations have been exhaustive and HOK has taken the time necessary to examine all available facts in the case. The case may serve as a precedent for similar cases in the future. Our knowledge of archives and resources regarding provenance research will be made available to the public through a variety of exhibitions, seminars and publications during 2015” says Tone Hansen, HOK’s director.

Research was conducted by the HOK and the Rosenberg heirs in French and American archives, and HOK has collaborated with a number of museums, institutions and experts in France. The investigations confirmed that the painting was stolen from Paul Rosenberg as a result of Nazi persecution.

Christopher A. Marinello, a lawyer specializing in the restitution of cultural property, who handled the negotiations for the Rosenberg family, commented:

“This case illustrates the importance of Museums and cultural institutions undertaking comprehensive reviews of their collections in accordance with the Washington Conference Principles. The HOK is to be commended for their methodological approach in reviewing the provenance documentation we presented as well as the legal issues involved. Ultimately, it was the strength of the moral claim that persuaded the HOK to restitute this painting unconditionally to the Rosenberg heirs. We are grateful to our researchers in France and the United States whose expertise and assistance in this matter were invaluable.”

The case is the first of its kind in Norway, and while all such cases must be treated individually, HOK’s resolution will most likely impact other Norwegian institutions. HOK’s evaluations have thus been methodical, exhaustive, and under the guidance of the Ministry of Culture. It has been a demanding process for a single institution to undertake, and as a result HOK has called for the formation of a national committee. This committee would be charged with examining public collections and will be modeled after similar programs undertaken in the Netherlands, Germany and France.

Norway was one of the signatories of the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi- Confiscated Art in 1998 along with 43 other countries. HOK is a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) whose Code of Ethics were considered in conjunction with the Washington Conference Principles.

This restitution signifies the resolution of one claim for the Rosenberg heirs, but as for many families affected by Nazi-era looting, the challenging search continues for numerous spoliated works yet to be recovered.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

WPA Speaks With SELECT 2014 Artists

Manon Cleary at The Arts Club

The Arts Club of Washington has announced the upcoming exhibition, Manon Cleary, Obsessive Observer: A New Perspective Through Her Photographic Studies.
The exhibition, produced by her husband, F. Steven Kijek, explores for the first time Cleary’s use of photography in creating her paintings and works on paper. Within the arc of these works one can follow Cleary’s observation and exploration of composition, shadow and light in her photographs and her final works. Cleary, who passed away in 2011, was an acclaimed artist and was heavily involved in the DC arts scene for several decades.

The exhibition runs from April 4 to April 26, with an opening reception on Friday, April 4 from 6 pm to 9 pm in the Arts Club of Washington’s galleries located at 2017 “I” Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Dr. Jack Rasmussen, director and curator of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, is the guest curator for the exhibition.

This exhibition is the first to focus on the artist’s use of photographic studies and provides fresh insight into Cleary’s creative process. The show presents works from the Estate of Manon Cleary, as well as a few private collectors, including selections from Cleary’s Mystery Series, Breathless Series, and graphite drawings, all to be displayed beside her photographic studies.

Cleary explained that she worked primarily from photographs, stating that she used “graphite or oils to produce works that are photographically convincing but not necessarily with fidelity to my photo sources. I would like the viewer to notice the unique interpretation – the “me”- I bring to my work.” Cleary wrote in the early 1980s, “abstraction of forms successfully freed me from reliance on photo images, with results being photographically convincing, but not photographically accurate.”

The Arts Club of Washington will host additional events open to the public to further explore the art of Manon Cleary. A symposium, “Between Painting and Photography: The Vision of Manon Cleary,” will be held on April 9 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Panelists will include Susan Hauptman, whose drawings are in numerous museum collections including those of the National Portrait Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Corcoran Gallery, Judy Greenberg, director of the Kreeger Museum, Jared Miller, a former student of Cleary’s, Jack Rasmussen, director and curator of the American University Museum at the Katzen Art Center, Eric Denker, senior lecturer at the National Gallery of Art, and Erich Keel, former head of education at the Kreeger Museum.

A catalog produced for this exhibition features an essay by Stephen May, a frequent contributor to Art News and other publications. In addition, F. Steven Kijek will present an illustrated lecture on Manon Cleary’s life and art on April 22 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. The Arts Club invites the academic community to use the exhibition for its fine art and art history students and plans additional opportunities for use by professors and students.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

When courts decide what is art...

Code enforcement officers in Colorado are agreeing with neighbors who say several toilets hanging from a tree in a community near Colorado Springs are not art.
Read it here.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Martin Johnson Heade

Not really sure what this is all about, but here it goes anyway (email that I received):
Hi,

I created a petition to Dr. Theodore E Stebbins, Curator American Art, which says:

"Ask Dr. Theodore E Stebbins of the Harvard Fogg Museum to allow two of America’s most important masterpieces forensically authenticated to the catalogue raisonne for Martin Johnson Heade."

Will you sign this petition? Click here:


Thanks!
 
Victor

Monday, March 17, 2014

Who owns works created by freelancers?

As a general rule, when an artistic or literary work is created, the author is the one that holds the copyright. Nobody can copy, distribute, or display the work without the author’s permission.  When an painting is sold, the buyer owns the painting itself, but does not have the right to use that image for anything else other than to hang it. But what happens if the artist was hired specifically to create that painting for the cover of an upcoming novel?  In some cases, the copyright is owned by the buyer, but only under very specific conditions.

For the hiring party to own a copyright on a the specially ordered or freelance work, there must be:
Read the whole article in the Art Law Journal here.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Pollock busted

Wanna know when a great American art myth gets busted?
"That's largely because one key element in the New York School creation myth is now officially dead. Despite claims made and repeated for decades, Pollock did not paint the epic canvas in one great, glorious burst of nonstop creative fervor.

Instead, a painting revered as a turning point, both for the artist and the history of Modern American art, evolved over many days and perhaps even several weeks."

Saturday, March 15, 2014

65% Off custom framing

AC Moore has a special running through March 22 for 65% off their custom framing prices - Get the coupon here.

Personally, I get nearly all my custom framing done at Apex.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Art Scam Alert!

Beware of this rip-off:
From:Martin George (martinhhhgeorge@yahoo.co.uk)
 Hello,
  I am Mr Martin George,a British oil Engineer. I am interested in  buying a wedding gift for my lovely daughter as a gift present on her wedding day. Kindly provide me with a catalogue and quotes of the available artworks and gift products in your art gallery at the moment,please let me know:
Your FOB Prices and FOB Port.
Your estimated delivery time.
Best Regards,
Martin George.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Transformations: from one thing to another

Deadline: April 12, 2014

Artists from the mid-Atlantic region are invited to apply to be selected for MPA’s summer exhibition Transformations: from one thing to another.   

The juror is Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator of the American University Museum at the Katzen Center in Washington, DC.  This exhibition will bring together artists whose work deals with the process of transformation, change or malleability. The journey from one thing or state to another can be explored or demonstrated through any technique, approach or medium, conceptually and/or formally.  Submissions are due by April 12 and can be submitted online only.  

For information and link to online submission, visit http://www.mpaart.org/exhibartopp.php.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

(e)merge art fair will take place October 2 – 5, 2014

The fourth edition of the (e)merge art fair will take place October 2 – 5, 2014, in Washington, DC, at the Capitol Skyline Hotel. The Washington Post also returns as the Presenting Sponsor of the fair. We have done the fair multiple times and last year we had a GREAT fair and plan to apply again in 2014.
ONLINE APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED

GALLERY PLATFORM APPLICATION (CLICK HERE)
ARTIST PLATFORM APPLICATION (CLICK HERE)
EXHIBITOR PROSPECTUS (CLICK HERE)

The (e)merge art fair connects emerging-art professionals from around the globe with collectors, curators and cultural decision makers in Washington, DC. The relaxed environment of (e)merge creates a focused, authentic art experience for a new generation of art consumers in the capital region.
“It doesn't take more than a couple of hours to stroll through compact fairs like Liste in Basel, Independent in New York, Untitled in Miami Beach or (e)merge in Washington, DC, and each has enjoyed increasing cachet in recent years.”
- Kelly Crow, “An Art-Fair Survival Guide” - The Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2014
Metropolitan Washington DC is home to one of the nation’s wealthiest, youngest and most highly educated populations according to recent reports from Forbes, The Economist and The Washington Post. (e)merge delivers inside access to this rapidly expanding cultural market.

In 2013, 80 exhibitors, including Present Company, Brooklyn, NY; NOMAD Gallery, Brussels; and Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London, [and Alida Anderson Art Projects, DMV] presented rising talent from all over the world at (e)merge. More than 5,500 art supporters engaged with painting, sculpture, digital media, performance and installation work by 150 artists from 30 countries in the fair’s Gallery and Artist Platforms. (e)merge’s exhibition program inspires a new echelon of art collectors and offers curatorial access to the latest movements in emerging art.
“Because (e)merge is committed to helping gallerists meet the challenges of today’s art market, we have expanded our Gallery Platform with new pricing and format options, offering exhibition spaces on the first three floors of the hotel, including second-floor guest rooms, main-level booths, and spaces in the garage.”
- Jamie Smith, Director, (e)merge art fair
The (e)merge Artist Platform presents a vetted selection of works by independent artists displayed throughout the hotel’s public areas. (e)merge is the only art fair that gives free exhibition space to artists without gallery representation. The 2014 (e)merge Vetting Committee members are: AI WEIWEI, artist, Beijing; MIKA YOSHITAKE, assistant curator, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; and JEFFREEN M HAYES, director, Rebuild Foundation, Chicago, St. Louis & Omaha.

The 2014 (e)merge Advisory Committee members are: Petra Leene, director, Amstel Gallery, Amsterdam; Amy Raehse, director, Goya Contemporary, Baltimore; José Ruiz, artist/curator, Present Company, Brooklyn; and Yvonne Force Villareal, co-founder, Art Production Fund, New York.

The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, will present the second annual The Phillips Collection Emerging Artist Prize at the 2014 edition of (e)merge. Museum Director Dorothy Kosinski and Curators Klaus Ottmann and Vesela Sretenović will select the winner from works on display at the (e)merge art fair. The Phillips Collection Emerging Artist Prize is made possible by the generous support of Hank and Carol Brown Goldberg.
ONLINE APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED from GALLERIES and ARTISTS. deadline: May 30, 2014.

Loads of information on the EXHIBITOR SERVICES page.

Who owns the copyright for this photo?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few days, you have probably seen the Ellen DeGeneres orchestrated selfie.  For a recap, Ellen wanted to beat the all-time record for re-tweets by gathering a gaggle of actors and actresses for a group selfie. She used a Samsung phone for the photo, which was a prop provided by Samsung, one of the sponsors at the Oscars. The camera required some distance to encompass the whole group, so Ellen handed the camera off to Bradley Cooper, who by virtue of being at the front and having with longer arms than Ellen, took the iconic photo.


But who actually owns the copyright for the photo?  There are actually four potential players: Bradley Cooper, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Samsung, and Ellen DeGeneres. The Associated Press thinks it is Ellen DeGeneres.  They asked her for permission to use the photo, which she granted.  However, traditionally, copyright ownership goes to the photo’s creator, which is usually the person that takes the photo.  In this case, that is Bradley Cooper.

Read the Art Law Journal article at http://artlawjournal.com/owns-copyright-now-famous-oscar-selfie/?utm_source=wysija&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=March+9&user_id=10652

Monday, March 10, 2014

General Grievous in CA

General Grievous in Anderson Valley, California...


Sunday, March 09, 2014

Rosemary Feit Covey at Evergreen Museum

Rosemary Feit Covey is without a doubt one of the foremost artistic minds of the region and in my opinion the top printmaker in the nation.


She currently has a retrospective at the Evergreen Museum at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore... The show opened last night and I am already getting emails about what an amazing and important show this is.

I plan to visit this show soon and hope that you do as well... It runs through May 25. 

Mayer Fine Art Relocation Show

My Virginia dealer is the very hardworking art gallery Mayer Fine Art, which also represents several other DMV artists and who is one the Commonwealth's hardest working art dealers, as Sebastian has been doing art fairs all over the nation (and soon overseas).

They are moving to a new location in Norfolk and their grand opening show for their exciting new space is March 22nd from 7-9 PM.

Mayer Fine Art
801 Boush Street 
Norfolk, VA 23510

Featured Artists:
Matthew Fine • Alexey Terenin • Judith Peck • Victoria F. Gaitán • Jose Antonio Sorolla Gallen • John R. G. Roth • Sheila Giolitti • Tanja Softic • Lenny Campello • Erin Schwinn • Blade Wynn • Mark Chatterley • Michael Fitts • Elizabeth Ryland Mears

Alchemical Vessels Opens Next Week



Opening April 4, 2014, the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery will host the return of Alchemical Vessels
Alchemical Vessels brings together 125 local artists and 20 invited curators for a community dialogue on healing and transformation through the arts. Each artist will transform a simple ceramic bowl by means of his or her own personal aesthetic and medium, drawing inspiration from the bowl as a place of holding, open community, sacred space, and even the alchemical vessel. The show is an amazing grouping of Who's Who in the DMV art scene.

The ceramic bowl was selected as the fundamental element of the exhibition to symbolize creating a space where healing can take place—an idea at the heart of Smith Center's work and mission. Metaphorically speaking, Smith Center—the space and the work we do within our walls—resembles an alchemical vessel. People bring their everyday burdens, fears, and pains to us, and in this place of holding, we help transform those toxic elements into hope, light, wisdom and strength.
The Alchemical Vessels exhibition will open at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery on April 4th and run through May 16th, 2014, with the opening reception on Friday, April 4th, 7-9pm. The Alchemical Vessels Benefit will take place on Friday, May 2nd, with doors opening at 7pm. With a $125 Benefit-Vessel Contribution, guests will be admitted to the event and will select one of the 125 works on display to add to their own collections. 

For more information about the Alchemical Vessels 2014 Benefit, please visit www.smithcenter.org/benefit.

Artists: Eames Armstrong, Sardar Aziz, Karen Baer, Beth Baldwin, Michele Banks, Joseph Barbaccia, Carolyn Becker, Jessica Beels, Joan Belmar, Lori Anne Boocks, Anne Bouie, Amy Braden, Julia Brown, Karen O. Brown, Larry Brown, Amanda Burnham, Lenny Campello, Shanthi Chandrasekar, Mei Mei Chang, Peter Charles, Asma Chaudhary, Travis Childers, Eunmee Chung, Wesley Clark, Michael Corigliano, Sheila Crider, Candy Cummings, Anna U. Davis, Rosetta DeBerardinis, Tamara De Silva, Elsabe Dixon, Joel D'Orazio, David D'Orio, Chelsea S. Dobert-Kehn, Thomas Drymon, Nekisha Durrett, Victor Ekpuk, Laura Elkins, Dana Ellyn, Erica Benay Fallin, Felisa Federman, Jeremy Flick, Suzi Fox, Barbara Frank, Nancy Frankel, Shaunté Gates, Dawn Gavin, Bita Ghavami, Aziza Claudia Gibson-Hunter, Melissa Glasser, Janis Goodman, Pat Goslee, Sherill Anne Gross, John Grunwell, Nelson Gutierrez, Kristen Hayes, Eve Hennessa, Sean Hennessey, Linda Hesh, Matt Hollis, Leslie Holt, Jessica Hopkins, Karen Hubacher, Monica Jahan Bose, Barbara Johnson, Wayson R. Jones, J'Nell Jordan, Mila Kagan, Sumita Kim, Joan Konkel, Yar Koporulin, Walter Kravitz, Kate Kretz, Randall Lear, Heather Levy, Yue Li, Nathan Loda, Armando Lopez-Bircann, Laurel Lukaszewski, James Mahoney, J.J. McCracken, Donald McCray, Jayme Mclellen, Tendani Mpulubusi El, Komelia Okim, Amie Oliver, Luis Peralta, Michael Platt, Maryanne Pollock, Lynn Putney, Maria-Lana Queen, Beverly Ress, Kim Reyes, Glenn Richardson, Marie Ringwald, Amber Robles-Gordon, Pam Rogers, Lisa Rosenstein, Nicole Salimbene, Samantha Sethi, Matt Sesow, Amy Sherald, Shahin Shikhaliyev, Ellen Sinel, Casey Snyder, Susan Stacks, Dafna Steinberg, Jennifer Strunge, Lynn Sures, Lynn Sylvester, Ira Tattelman, Christine Buckton Tilman, Erwin Timmers, Ben Tolman, Novie Trump, Shinji Turner-Yamamoto, Laurie Tylec, Michael Verdon, Jodi Walsh, Jenny Walton, Ellyn Weiss, Stephanie Williams, Audrey Wilson, Sharon Wolpoff, and Carmen C. Wong.

Curators: Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Educator, Philanthropist and Founder of D.C.'s Duke Ellington School for the Arts | Jarvis DuBois, Independent Curator and Principal at J. DuBois Arts | Monica Jahan Bose, Artist and Activist | Anne L'Ecuyer, Arts Management Faculty at American University | Camille Mosley-Pasley, Photographer and Principal at Pasley Place Photography | B.G. Muhn, Professor of Art, Georgetown University | Michael O'Sullivan, Art Critic for The Washington Post | Dr. Frederick P. Ognibene, M.D., NIH Physician, Fine Art Collector and; Past Board Chair, Washington Project for the Arts | Michael Platt, Artist and Professor at Howard University | Jennifer Riddell, Writer and Interpretive Projects Manager at the National Gallery of Art | Adah Rose, Principal at Adah Rose Gallery | Laura Roulet, Independent Curator and Writer | Molly Ruppert, Artist and Gallery Director at the Warehouse Theater | Terry Scott, Cultural Organizer and Independent Curator | Judy J. Sherman, Art Consultant and Principal at j. fine art | Thomas Stanley, Professor at George Mason University | Nuzhat Sultan, Independent Curator | Tim Tate, Artist and Co-Director of Washington Glass School | R.L. Tillman, Artist, Teacher and Curator | Dolly Vehlow, Fine Art Collector and Principal at Gallery O on H 

Planning Committee: Helen Frederick, Deborah Lesser, Wendy Miller, PhD, Kim Schelling, Timothy Schelling, and Ellyn Weiss.

Saturday, March 08, 2014

Airborne

Flying on Facebook - a cartoon by F. Lennox Campello c.2009
Airborne today and heading to the Left Coast, where I will be part of a an anonymous international panel selecting visual artists for a well-known fine arts award.

6AM flight from BWI: That sucks!

Friday, March 07, 2014

Wanna go to a super cool opening tomorrow?

Where: 1429 Iris St., NW Washington, DC 20012-1409
When: March 7-April 26, 2014
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 8, 2:00-6:30 PM, 2014 and Sunday March 9, 2:00-4:00pm
Gallery Hours: Friday and Saturday 12-6 pm any other times by appointment
36 years, where has the time gone, hundreds of art shows, 1000’s of clients, vast new technologies in the art world. The artists’ still knock my socks off and creativity is thriving. How Washington and the world have changed. The artists keep on creating and astounding us at every turn. Art is more important than ever in this media over exposed world. That the artists can come up with an original thought and execute it in an original way fascinates me and keeps me enthusiastic and dedicated to the artists, my clients, Washington and the art world. Come celebrate with us and experience art, art and more art. The entire Zenith Family thanks you all for keeping us in business for all of these years.
                                               Gallery Owner, director and artist, Margery E. Goldberg
Lists of Artists: Kim Abraham, Lenny Campello Renee DuRocher, Eric Ehlenberger, Estella
Fransbergen, Robert Freeman, Julie & Ken Girardini, Margery E. Goldberg, Stephen Hansen,
Christine Hayman, Philip Hazard, David Hubbard, Robert Jackson, Katie Dell Kaufman, Peter
Kephart, Susan Klebanoff, Joan Konkel, Chris Malone, Joey Manlapaz, Michela Mansuino, Donna
McCullough, Davis Morton, Carol Newmyer, Tom Noll, Fernando Roman, Sica, Ellen Sinel, Paula Stern, Bradley Stevens, Cassie Taggart, Tim Tate, Marci Wolf-Hubbard, Paul Martin Wolff, Joyce Zipperer and more.
Zenith Gallery est. 1978
Celebrating 36 Years in the Nation’s Capital
1429 Iris St., NW, Washington DC 20012-1409
202-783-2963 www.zenithgallery.com art@zenithgallery.com

Dr. Jane Chu nominated to be NEA head honcho

Last month President B.H. Obama nominated a new candidate to be confirmed as the Chair for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA): Dr. Jane Chu, the Chief Executive Officer of the Kauffman Center of Kansas City, MO.
 

President Obama said, “Jane’s lifelong passion for the arts and her background in philanthropy have made her a powerful advocate for artists and arts education in Kansas City.  She knows firsthand how art can open minds, transform lives and revitalize communities, and believes deeply in the importance of the arts to our national culture.  I’m proud to nominate her as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.”
 

When confirmed, Dr. Chu will fill an NEA post that has been vacant since the 2012 resignation of Rocco Landesman.

Thursday, March 06, 2014

Important tax news for Maryland artists

As a social liberal and a fiscal conservative who tries not to be seduced by either left wing nuts or the vast right wing conspiracy, it is ironic to me how in the one-party, tax-crazy Soviet Socialist Republic of Maryland, the Maryland Arts & Entertainment Districts (A&E), offers tax-related incentives that "attract and support artists, arts organizations and other creative enterprises within 22 creative places in 15 counties across the state."

So they "offer tax-related incentives" - that's Orwellian speak for tax cuts/breaks, but you can't say that, because that means something Republicanish, cough, cough. Don't get me wrong - this is a great idea and it generally works...

At a March 13 Senate Hearing, A&E District advocates will testify in support of HB-1516 (Economic Development – Arts and Entertainment Districts – Qualifying Residing Artists), a bill that would exempt qualifying artists from paying taxes on proceeds from the sale of artwork not only within the A&E District in which the artist resides and created the work, but within any of Maryland’s 22 Designated A&E Districts.

By expanding on the established definition of a “Qualified Residing Artist,” it is expected that the passage of the bill would stimulate investment, encourage revitalization of underutilized properties, increase economic impact and promote local tourism.

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

UMBC selects public art finalists

The University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) joined the MSAC in announcing the names of three finalists selected to create a public art installation outside of the new Performing Arts and Humanities Building (PAHB). A national call was issued for the $397,000 commission.
The three finalists — Barbara Grygutis, Thomas Sayre and the collaborative Mags Harries and Lajos Héder — have previously created works of large-scale public art and were selected based on the merit of past work and the proposed vision for UMBC.

“The artists have had a month to create a site-specific design concept that supports a year-round destination where people can gather, sit, reflect and engage with each other in an outdoor setting,” says Lucas Cowan, public art program director at the MSAC.
UMBC partnered with the MSAC for guidance on commissioning the public art project. The Maryland Public Art Initiative (MPAI), signed into law last year, requires state-funded construction or major renovation projects to include a public art component. 

The University invited the MSAC to add its expertise to this highly visible public art project, and expects the project to be completed by August 2014.

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Under the Influence

Opening on March 21, 2014, Under the Influence, curated by Kaitlin Filley and Ashley Wilson promises to be a very cool "back to the future" show.

Spread out between two locations, within the Catholic University community (Salve Regina Gallery, 620 Michigan Ave, NE, W, DC 20064, Victor L Selman Community Gallery, 3305 8th St, NE, W, DC 20017) , the show will serve as a catalyst for discussion and engagement with the legacy of the Washington Color School, and the effect on current artists in Washington, D.C. The show will feature the works of Jeffry Cudlin, Bill Hill, Ryan Carr Johnson, Barbara Januszkiewicz, Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann, Meg Mitchell, Robin Rose, and Samuel Scharf. 

Running through April 12, the show wil also feature a curator tour on closing day at 2:00 pm.

WHAT:  Under the Influence

RECEPTION: Friday, March 21, 2014 6:00 – 8:00 pm

SHOW DATES: March 21 – April 12, 2014

CURATOR’S TALK: April 12, 2014 2:00 pm

WHERE: Salve Regina Gallery, 620 Michigan Ave, NE, W, DC 20064

Victor L Selman Community Gallery, 3305 8th St, NE, W, DC 20017

Monday, March 03, 2014

I've seen this movie before...

Nikolai Kondratiev
One of my really deep personal interests is history... man I love history!

It's one of those things that I've always done good well in school and as a result I have incorporated that interest many, many, many times in my own artwork.

It is a nerdish thing I realize... to some anyway....  I read history as if they were novels, and of course...

You know where I'm going next: "He who does not learn from history is bound to repeat it" or something like that, goes the saying...

And is it me? ... or does the Russian invasion of the Ukraine seem a little familiar, from a historical perspective? Nikolai Kondratiev's famous "wave theory" (which is unfortunately usually just applied to economics, when it can actually be applied to almost anything such as art trends, history's cycles, etc.)... easily predicts what will happen next here... But first a little things that seems to have repeated itself rather recently...
  • We have a former European evil superpower that a handful of years ago was taken apart and embarrassed by the West. They've since re-invented themselves on a fervent nationalistic fever.
  • The Socialist dictator of that nation uses that embarrassment as a potent drive to not only stay in power (15 years so far), but also to convince the West that all is fine, while driving the flames of nationalism and craftily rearming and building its war machine.
  • He then "tests" the will of the West by annexing large chunks of its neighbor, as Russia did to Georgia in 2008. Lots of verbal threats from the West lead to nothing.
  • He then begins persecuting a segment of his nation's population... In Russia's case its gay citizens... And anyone who disagrees with Putin, and I would not be surprised if Jews are blamed next for something (or everything)... most probably the failure of the Russian economy, which will happen when the West imposes sanctions.
  • He then hosts an Olympic game... As a showcase of national pride.
  • He then invades yet another neighboring country under the pretext of protecting ethnic Russian citizens within its borders. 
Now... I expect that the West will react by trying to appease Putin, and someone will have to play the part of Neville Chamberlain in order for this unbelievable performance to reach its inevitable conclusion.

We've seen this movie and some of us know how it ends... Kondratiev must be laughing somewhere and Poland is getting a little nervous while France is probably already drafting a surrender treaty... cough, cough.. I was only serious.

Get ready to batten down the hatches!

Sunday, March 02, 2014

Craig Kraft at VisArts

Craig Kraft, owner and founder of Craig Kraft Studio in Washington, DC, will unveil his new series of work Markings: Graffiti from the Ground Zero Blues Club, at an exhibition at the VisArts Center in Rockville, Maryland from March 5 - April 20, 2014.


“The exhibition marks the culmination of over a year's work exploring a new subject matter in a new style,” says Craig Kraft, internationally known light sculptor. “The inspiration for my work is based on the excitement of discovering the unknown, or unrecognized; such as the power of the graffiti at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi.”

Curated by Claudia Rousseau, PhD, Professor of Art History, School of Art + Design at Montgomery College, Markings: Graffiti from the Ground Zero Blues Club, uses found graffiti and neon light to create an artistic expression that is truly one-of-a-kind.

Traveling last year to see the Ground Zero Blues Club firsthand, Kraft took thousands of photos of the graffiti covered walls, furnishings, ceilings and windows. From these he selected certain images—for him, “the most poignant”—and had them digitally printed on 3’ x 2’ matte enhanced paper and later mounted on wood. The artist has attached painted and scratched neon tubing to their surfaces, as he has said, "to highlight, deconstruct and reinvent the original images.”

Rousseau states, “The graffiti that Craig Kraft found at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, is heroic in its extent, density, and history. Layer upon layer of it covers every inch of its interior. It depicts a full range of human emotion in words, signs, signatures, and graphic renderings of figures and animals accomplished over decades of repetitive marking.”

“Kraft’s neon additions to photographed sections of the graffiti at Ground Zero give prominence to certain of these marks. A deliberate inversion or counter gesture, therefore, of Kraft’s neon tubes, being three- dimensional and, of course, lit, take precedence over everything beneath them,” she adds. “His intervention further brings attention to the graphic forms of the writing itself that now takes a certain priority over the significance of those messages. As works of artistic appropriation, the series transforms and transfers the ‘found graffiti’ on the walls of the Ground Zero Blues Club into new and complex juxtapositions of form and content in the changed environment of the art gallery.”

"Much like Bruce Nauman and other contemporary artists who have worked with light, Kraft treats the medium as both tangible (the glass tubes), and intangible (the light), conveying both its materiality as sculpture and its transparency in abstract form. The very flexibility of the medium has allowed the artist a range of possibilities from very minimal abstract compositions to his extremely complex Unintentional Drawings of 2010, also in this exhibit. His Ground Zero pieces are an exciting continuation in his exploratory trajectory."

Saturday, March 01, 2014

36th Years on a Creative Journey

Where: 1429 Iris St., NW Washington, DC 20012-1409
When: March 7-April 26, 2014
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 8, 2:00-6:30 PM, 2014 and Sunday March 9, 2:00-4:00pm
Gallery Hours: Friday and Saturday 12-6 pm any other times by appointment
36 years, where has the time gone, hundreds of art shows, 1000’s of clients, vast new technologies in the art world. The artists’ still knock my socks off and creativity is thriving. How Washington and the world have changed. The artists keep on creating and astounding us at every turn. Art is more important than ever in this media over exposed world. That the artists can come up with an original thought and execute it in an original way fascinates me and keeps me enthusiastic and dedicated to the artists, my clients, Washington and the art world. Come celebrate with us and experience art, art and more art. The entire Zenith Family thanks you all for keeping us in business for all of these years.

                                               Gallery Owner, director and artist, Margery E. Goldberg
Lists of Artists: Kim Abraham, Lenny Campello Renee DuRocher, Eric Ehlenberger, Estella
Fransbergen, Robert Freeman, Julie & Ken Girardini, Margery E. Goldberg, Stephen Hansen,
Christine Hayman, Philip Hazard, David Hubbard, Robert Jackson, Katie Dell Kaufman, Peter
Kephart, Susan Klebanoff, Joan Konkel, Chris Malone, Joey Manlapaz, Michela Mansuino, Donna
McCullough, Davis Morton, Carol Newmyer, Tom Noll, Fernando Roman, Sica, Ellen Sinel, Paula Stern, Bradley Stevens, Cassie Taggart, Tim Tate, Marci Wolf-Hubbard, Paul Martin Wolff, Joyce Zipperer and more.
Zenith Gallery est. 1978
Celebrating 36 Years in the Nation’s Capital
1429 Iris St., NW, Washington DC 20012-1409
202-783-2963 www.zenithgallery.com art@zenithgallery.com 

Friday, February 28, 2014

Dubya gets an art show

Good for him!
The nation's 43rd president will be showing off his new painting hobby at his presidential library in Dallas starting in April, library officials announced Tuesday.

The exhibit is called "The Art of Leadership: A President’s Personal Diplomacy," and the show sounds as if it will feature paintings other than the ones Bush made depicting himself in the bathtub and in the shower, which a hacker obtained and blasted all over the Web last year.

"The exhibit will feature more than two dozen never-before-exhibited portraits painted by President Bush," the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum said in its Tuesday announcement. "Portraits will be accompanied by artifacts, photographs, and personal reflections to help illustrate the stories of relationships formed on the world stage."
Details here.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Rousseau on the Studio Art Faculty of Montgomery College

Capitol Arts Network, the Washington area’s fastest-growing organization for professional and emerging artists, will explore the impact of “significant encounters” on artists and their work during March, with an exhibition produced by studio art faculty members at Montgomery College.
“For this exhibit, we have defined a ‘critical contact’ as an encounter that has had a significant impact on an artist,” said Claudia Rousseau, Montgomery College “Such encounters might be with a place, a book, a person, a particularly galvanizing moment. The exhibit could also be a consideration of critical encounters between or among species, cultures, technologies, economies, natural elements and many other things.”
The March show opens on March 3rd with a First Friday opening reception on Friday, March. 7, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Capitol Arts Network’s Urban By Nature Gallery at 12276 Wilkins Avenue in Rockville.  The exhibit runs through the end of the month.

 “The variety of approaches among the 22 participants in this exhibit is extensive,” Rousseau said.  “Among the most prominent subthemes are memories of certain places and the ways in which contacts with those places have had a lasting impact. This can be seen, for example, in the ceramics of Vidya Vijayasekharan, who also relates the theme to the globalization of things once limited to a small part of the world.” 

“From a very different part of the world, Megan Van Wagoner’s Standing Production recalls her childhood in the American Midwest.  Judy Stone’s installation titled Transmission also carries memory of a pivotal trip to Mexico,” she said.  “Another subtheme concerns specific contacts with a person or persons.  Perhaps most striking in this group are the works of Kate Kretz for whom the birth of her daughter had a significant impact.”  

“The often silent interaction between men in India is the point of contact for Daniel Venne.  The theme of exploration, whether physical or emotional is also the key for a group of artists including painter Wil Brunner,” she continued.

“Critical contacts between elements of nature are also a common theme, as in the photographs of Mary Staley and Grace Graham. Yet, perhaps the most compelling results of setting out this theme are the numerous interpretations of it in terms of the contact of the self with inner self or introspective examinations, as evidenced in the work of exhibit participants David Carter and Michaele Harrington.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The Capitol Arts Network’s Rockville headquarters features studio space for more than 70 working artists artists plus classrooms, work and meeting areas and gallery and exhibition space where artists can work individually or side-by-side in a collaborative community setting. The center is conveniently located near Rockville’s Twinbook Metro station, in Montgomery County’s developing “Twinbrook Arts Zone,” which also includes the home of the Washington School of Photography.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Dulce Pinzon in Rolling Stone magazine

The amazing Dulce Pinzon is not only Mexico's leading young photographer, but also a very nice and cool lady... as this current interview in Rolling Stone magazine showcases!

See her work here.



Next fair in New York

We will be at the Affordable Art Fair in New York, April 2-6 at the Metropolitan Pavillion - come visit in booth I.28.

We will once again feature the work of DMV artists Jodi Walsh, Anne Marchand and introduce the work of DMV painter Georgia Nassikas.
"Moving On" by Jodi Wash
Ceramic on Panel
30X27 inches

Monday, February 24, 2014

The power of Pause

Meredith Vieira
I know this is bad of me, but I can't help myself from taking a pic when I hit pause and some cool, weird expression is captured by the merciless power of the pause button --- 

Poor Meredith Vieira... it's your turn... cough, cough...

A little Art Wynwood mention...

Hey! I got another little line for my bibliography!

See: http://travelbig.com/2014/02/art-wynwood-festival-continues-to-thrive-in-its-third-year/

Shame the dude got me and Simon Monk a little mixed up ---- I only WISH that I could paint that well!

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Vermeulen in NYC

My good bud and uber-talented DMV area artist Tim Vermeulen has a show in New York's George Billis Gallery and the HuffPost has a cool interview...
Tim Vermeulen's recent paintings -- on view at the George Billis Gallery, New York through March 15th -- are awkwardly confessional: just as the artist intends.
Strong autobiographical, psychological and spiritual elements charge his seemingly modest paintings with considerable narrative power.
 Details here...

Friday, February 21, 2014

Frida Kahlo from Art School...

This Frida Kahlo collage was done in 1978 when I was a student at the University of Washington School of Art as part of a special collage class under the legendary Jacob Lawrence... It is the only piece of my own artwork that hangs in my house... All the collage paper (torn from an art magazine) has references to Kahlo's life in one way or another...



Thursday, February 20, 2014

President Obama apologizes to me!

Well... technically to all of us... cough, cough...
Hi Lenny,
I am pleased to share the following breaking news.
President Obama issued a personal, hand-written apology for his self-described “glib” remark that he made on January 30th, concerning the pursuit of art history degrees and jobs at a manufacturing plant in Wisconsin. The apology, which was recently made public, was addressed specifically to University of Texas at Austin Professor Ann Collins Johns after she submitted a comment through the White House website. Every day, we see the power of advocacy in making a difference. Thanks to citizen-advocates like Professor Collins Johns and the 5,300 Arts Action Fund advocates who signed our online petition to the President, our collective voices were heard.
Please know that Americans for the Arts Action Fund sent its petition to the White House with our special thanks to the President for issuing his apology. We also underscored our request for him to meet with arts and economic policy experts, representing both the nonprofit and for-profit arts industries, to brief him on the untapped potential of these industries to help improve the economic growth, jobs creation, and trade surplus of the United States.
Thank you for your involvement in the Americans for the Arts Action Fund.
Keep advocating,

Nina Ozlu Tunceli
Executive Director