Art with a Twist Talk is Tonight

Nu, so it stopped snowing... and the roads are clean (I just drove from DC to Reston)... and from 7:30-9pm I will be doing a special presentation at the Greater Reston Arts Center in Reston, Virginia as part of their continuing education programs.

Space is limited and reservations are requested. Call 730.471.9242. Details here.

I will be doing a quick and fun walk through art history, all leading to contemporary art, where I will be discussing the work of some well known art superstars and also some Greater DC area artists.

Martinis are also involved. See ya there!

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: January 18th, 2008

The Writer's Center in Bethesda is currently looking for a local artist to feature on their Carousel newsletter cover. They are accepting all mediums including photography, using the themes of "MUSE - what inspires you to create".

Please submit 1-5 jpeg images to jwalton@writer.org. They should be no larger than 300 dpi and 1Mb for consideration by January 18th at 5pm. Images submitted after that deadline will not be considered. Please keep in mind that the selected image will be used in printed materials and electronically. All credit is given to the artist.

They are unable to pay an honorarium, however your work and bio will be featured in the publication with a distribution list of more than 2,000 members, institutions, and the public within the Washington metro area.

For more info about us, please visit their website.

Congrats!

To one of my favorite DC area painters who's always doing stuff and showing all over the nation: Amy Marx.

Amy Marx's "The Dark Fantastic" opens February 16, 3-5PM (work on exhibition through March 15, 2008) at OK Harris works of Art in New York City.

There Is Dark and There Is Light, 46"x 74", oil on canvas, after Hollingshead, by Amy Marx

West fires back

By now you all probably know that W. Richard West, the founding director of the National Museum of the American Indian, has been catching all kinds of flak in the WaPo and the artblogsphere for alleged abuses of his travel and expense budgets.

On a separate issue, I myself gave the museum a talking to for their disclosed failure to find a native American portrait artist to create West's departure portrait.

And now West is firing back with a response that seeks to clarify some of the accusations levied against him. West starts by writing:

During my 17 years as director of the National Museum of the American Indian, I welcomed and learned from criticism, whether gentle or harsh. But nothing prepared me for the recent gossip passing for investigative journalism at The Washington Post and editorials in Indian Country Today. Real Indian country deserves better than rumor-mongering and character assassination, and so do I.

Allegations, which are false, are that my travel was "excessive" and "lavish," as I was "eating and slumbering first-class on the federal dime." Provocative, undocumented adjectives make for good reading in tabloids, but should not be in the Post or ICT. Both should be ashamed of themselves.

Read the Indian Country Today article here.

About last night

Big crowds for the opening of "Color Invitations" at the new R Street Gallery. The show looks good, had the usual last minute hiccups with some unexpected artwork, but in the end it's all resolved and looks great from my biased perspective.

Drop by "Color Invitations," and check out what some of the Greater DC area's key artists have been working on lately. There is new work by Maggie Michael, Jeffry Cudlin, Amy Lin, Andrew Wodzianski, John Blee, Steve Lapin and myself. The show runs through February 4, 2008.

The crowd included the usual suspects, and I had a chance to say hi to Philip Barlow, Phillipa Hughes, Dan Steinhilber, Dr. Claudia Rousseau, ubercollector Steve Krensky, Kathryn Cornelius, Dr. Claudia Rousseau, Prof. Chawky Frenn, and many, many others... it felt kinda good to be back in a DC gallery opening.

Pics and videos later.