Wanna go to an opening?

Tonight is the Art for Life preview and opening (6:30 to 8:30 pm) at the Toro Mata Gallery (2410 18th Street NW, Washington, DC). This is one of my favorite art auctions and a major fundraiser for the Whitman-Walker Clinic. See the work online here.

Tomorrow night is the opening for the long awaited WPA/C Options 2005 exhibition. The show and reception is at the former Staples store located at 3307 M Street, NW in Georgetown. The opening reception is Thursday, October 6, 2005, from 6:30-8:30 pm. I will have have to miss the opening to this important and long awaited show, as I have martial arts classes on Thursday nights, but I certainly plan to visit and review this show later on. Of the artists chosen by the curator (Dr. Libby Lumpkin), I am only familiar with the work of the fair Amanda Sauer, so it should be a refreshing exhibition (for me); the exhibiting artists are:

Julian Bayo Abiodun
Judy Baumann
Jorge Benitez
Anne Benolken
Sheila Blake
Chadd Caldwell
Kimberly Caputo-Heath
Tim DeVoe
Suzanna Fields
Lynn Galuzzo
Emily Hall
Lori Larusso
Ryan Mulligan
Mark Robarge
Lindsay Rogers
Amanda Sauer
Gary Thompson
George "Gia" Tkbladze
Randy Toy
Susan Noyes Vaughan

Friday is the first Friday of the month and thus the openings and extended hours for the galleries of Dupont Circle. On view through October 22 at Conner Contemporary is Julee Holcombe: "Homo Bulla (Man is a Bubble)" and Mary Coble: "Note to Self." A few steps down, Washington Printmakers Gallery has Earthprints, recent monotypes, monoprints, and linocuts by Jean Barnes Downs. At Gallery 10, I am looking forward to seeing "Fortune," an exhibition of new work by Carol Lukitsch. She is donating 30% of the proceeds from sales from the show to the Katrina Artists' Fund. Over at JET Artworks, it is the last chance to catch "Go Figure," which includes the work of the amazing Alessandra Torres. Read a review of Torres by Kriston Capps here. If I were ever to buy art solely as an investment, Alessandra Torres, is one of the artists whom I'd be stocking up on now. I predict an amazing future for this exceptionally talented and driven young artist (now living in New York).

In Bethesda, Justin Pyles will be exhibiting at the Orchard Gallery through October 14, 2005. A reception will be held on Friday, October 7, from 6-9pm. The gallery is located at 7917 Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda. Call 202/497-1912 for more information.

On Saturday, it is the Capitol Hill Art League's season opening show: "Poetry in Motion." This is a juried show, open to the League's membership and it is juried by Max-Karl Winkler, a printmaker and teacher at the Smithsonian and the Waldorf School. The opening reception is Saturday, October 8 from 5-7 pm. The gallery is located at 545 7th Street, SE, at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop.

Also on Saturday, the Gallery at Pierce School Lofts hosts the opening reception of its exhibition of photographs by Secondsight member Antonia Macedo and paintings by Bev Ryan from at 4-7PM. The exhibition runs through November 6 and the gallery is located at 1375 Maryland Ave, NE, Washington, D.C. 20002 and phone is (202) 543-3379.

If you rather hang around Alexandria, then on Saturday, Pa Dian Accents has a reception for Autumn in Color, a collection of more than 20 works by Nigerian artist Lola Akimade and Lebanese artist Jinan Jaber. The opening reception is on Saturday, October 8 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. The event will be sponsored by D Street Desserts and runs through the 14th.

If I've missed any openings, email me.

Money + Art - An Inside Look at the Art Market

The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum offers a wide range of public programs and workshops, and on Thursday, October 20, at 7PM they will present what sounds like an interesting event: an illustrated lecture with collector Barbara Guggenheim titled: Money + Art - An Inside Look at the Art Market.

According to the news release, "Barbara Guggenheim, president of Guggenheim Asher Associates, gives us an insider's look into the complex and ever-changing art market. For more than twenty years, she has advised both private collectors and corporations on how to successfully build an art collection, and she regularly contributes articles with titles such as "How to Start an Art Collection" and "Adventures on eBay" to popular magazines. She will share her insights into what to do and what not to do for beginning collectors."

For additional information, email saamprograms@si.edu or call (202) 233-0667.

Irvine Contemporary at Scope Miami

Irvine Contemporary will be participating in the Scope Miami art fair, which is held concurrently with ArtBasel/Miami, December 1-4, 2005.

Their featured artist in Miami will be Bede Murphy, a Brooklyn-based artist who will also have a solo show at Irvine this coming January. A selection of works by other gallery artists will also be on view and available at Scope Miami.

Art-O-Matic Happy Hour

There will be an Art-O-Matic next year, and tonight there is a happy hour (6-8PM) gathering at Warehouse Cafe, Theatre and Gallery Complex on 7th Street, NW.

This informal gathering is a chance to catch up with AOM friends and like-minded artists. Come hear what has happened in 2005 and what is in the hopper for 2006.

There will be an event in 2006 -- they're aiming for the Fall of 2006. Come by tonight and find out how you can be a part of the 2006 AOM.

Congrats!

To area photographer Prescott Moore Lassman, whose photograph "White Horse" received the Gold Award in Black & White Magazine's prestigious first annual Single Image Contest.

Black & White Magazine is a nationally distributed art magazine that specializes in black & white photography.

According to Scott, the magazine received over 5,000 entries from over 900 individual photographers. The winning images are reproduced in B&W's Contest Annual, which just became available in bookstores and newsstands nationwide.