Openings

"Transitions: Photographs by Robert Creamer" opens today, October 26 and runs through June 24 at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington. The opening reception will be held Nov. 4 from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Call 202-633-1000. A review of the exhibition by Glenn McNatt can be read online here. Creamer is represented by Hieneman Myers Contemporary in Bethesda, MD.

Also tonight Thursday, October 26, starting at 7 PM, visit the Arlington Arts Center in Virginia for a glass of wine, a bit of a snack, and conversations with: Suzi Fox, (sculpture), Akiko Kotani, (works on silk and paper), Mahasti YMudd, (installation and performance), Trish Tillman, (installation and video) and Candice Welsh, (works on paper) as they discuss their works in the Center's "Fall Solos 2006" in gallery talks throughout the building.

On October 27, 2006 at 6:00PM is the opening reception for "Meditative Vail Painting Exhibit" by Sirkku M. Sky Hiltunen (Dr. Sky) at Sangha Gallery, 7014 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912 (302) 891-3214. The exhibit will run through November 26, 2006.

The Gallery at Flashpoint presents A. B. Miner, Ian Jehle, Nekisha Durrett: Me, You & Those Other Folks October 26 – November 22, 2006. And the opening reception is Friday, October 27, 5-7 pm. The very talented and diminutive Lucy Hogg will be moderating the artists' talk at the gallery on Saturday Nov. 22 at 3 pm. A. B. Miner is another one of my favorite DC area painters, and I think that collectors should pick up all that's for sale at this show. Additionally, Ian Jehle is easily one of the best contemporary portrait artists around.

Numark Gallery hosts the opening reception of "The Last Show," which is Numark Gallery's final exhibition celebrating 11 years in DC. Participating artists include Shimon Attie, Chan Chao, Diana Cooper, Tony Feher, Terri Friedman, Doug Hall, Peter Halley, David Jung, Robert Lazzarini, Nikki S. Lee, Sharon Louden, Carter Potter, Robin Rose, Adam Ross, Michal Rovner, David Ryan, Jim Sanborn, David Shaprio, Dan Steinhilber and Yuriko Yamaguchi. Opening Reception is Saturday, October 28 from 6:30 - 8 pm.

That same night, one of my favorite artists on the planet, Molly Springfield opens "Gentle Reader" with an opening reception on Saturday, October 28, 7-9 pm (and then an Artist Talk on Saturday, November 11, 2 pm) at Transformer (1404 P St NW, Washington, DC / 202-483-1102).

DCAC in Adams Morgan, DC will have "Herb's Choice: Born Again Dada," an evening of live performance, spoken word and anti-art on Sunday, 30 October starting at 7:30 PM. It's all free. The exhibit itself runs through 05 November in the DCAC gallery.

With an opening reception on Thursday, November 2, 6-9pm, and running through November 30, 2006, Orchard Gallery (7917 Norfolk Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814 tel. 240/497-1912) has "A Closer Look," collages by Sophia McCrocklin. Her color-infused collages take on a new theme relating to the late work of Monet’s nympheas. Using a technique that incorporates painterly painting with collaged fabric pieces, she also pays allegiance to Matisse’s cutouts. McCrocklin’s own heritage is her native Kentucky quilt.

The superbly talented Leo Villareal returns to Conner Contemporary in DC with an opening reception on Friday, November 3: 6-8pm. The show is titled "Origin." This is Villareal's third solo with Conner.

The Wood Turning Center, which is a Philadelphia-based not-for-profit international arts institution, gallery and resource center, has "Fabulous Art," opening on November 3, 2006 and running through January 14, 2007. The opening reception takes place during First Friday, November 3 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Ranging from furniture to house wares and everything in between, this exhibit shows the wide scope of wood art available today. Tables, chairs, bowls, ladles and everything in between are part of this exhibit of functional and frequently whimsical world of everyday objects.

Nic Coviello mixes "dramatic graphic elements with quiet fleeting images" in his current body of botanical works at Nexus in Philadelphia. This exhibition opens Friday, November 3 and runs through Sunday, November 26. A reception for the artist and informal talk will be held on Wednesday November 8 from 7 to 9 pm.

Also at Nexus is "Terror Begins at Home," an installation by Anne Cecil Member where she "examines the recent failures of our government and social institutions in a series of multimedia installations." This exhibition opens Friday, November 3 and runs through Sunday, November 26. A reception for the artist and informal talk will be held on Wednesday November 8 from 7 – 9 pm. Poetry reading with CA Conrad, Frank Sherlock and Greg Fuchs, on Saturday, November 18, 7 to 9 pm

On Saturday, November 4, the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center Frederick, MD will host "9 Artists: 25 Years," a retrospect exhibit showcasing the work of nine women artists who, beginning in the early 1980s, contributed significantly to Frederick's arts community.

At Falling Cow Gallery, "Simple-ism " opens on November 4th with a reception from 6-8 pm and will run through November 25th. The artist featured identifies himself only by the name Anonymous Artist, simultaneously "removing himself while claiming the anonymous artistic achievements of the past." Simple-ism also reexamines "Color Field" painting in a digital age. And no, it's not me. The gallery, is at 732 S. 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, 215-627-4625.

On Thursday, November 9, 2006, from 7– 9 pm, the Arlington Arts Center (3550 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA) and as part of their inaugural exhibition for their new temporary outdoor site-work exhibition series, "Sculpture on the Grounds," will have curator Twylene Moyer, who will lead a forum discussion with artists Laura Amussen, Jackson Martin and Renee Rendine to speak about their works. Additional insight will be provided by Greg Zell, the Natural Resource Specialist from the Long Branch Nature Center, offering a compelling overview regarding natural resources in the Arlington area.

Bethesda's Fraser Gallery showcases the third solo exhibition by DC's best-known landscape photographer, the exceptionally talented (and highly collected) Maxwell MacKenzie. The opening reception is Friday, November 10 from 6pm - 9pm as part of the multi-gallery Bethesda Art Walk. The show runs through January 6, 2007.

A few blocks away, Bethesda's Gallery Neptune opens "Three" (Kim Bentley, Rion Hoffman,and Kirk Waldroff) with a public reception at Gallery Neptune on Friday, November 10, 6-9 PM. The artists were first "discovered" at the amazing DC area art extravaganza known as Artomatic which is easily one of the nation's best "art fairs" to discover new, emerging artistic talent.

"The Muse and the Green Fuse" are new art works by Amira Dvorah, and during the month of November, the Da Vinci Art Alliance in Philly will present the exhibition which will feature new paintings on canvas, instruments, and furniture by Dvorah. A reception for the artist will take place on Saturday, Nov. 11th from 3-6:30 pm.

Painter Jane Hahler’s solo-artist exhibit, "Color in the American Townscape," will be shown in The Art League Gallery in Old Town Alexandria, VA, November 9 – December 4, 2006. The opening reception is November 12, 2006 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm.