Opening this Friday in DC

International Art & Artists, Washington Project for the Arts, and Black Artists of DC have all gotten together to put together a show titled Process: Reaffirmation (at Hillyer Art Space, 9 Hillyer Ct. NW), curated by Gina Marie Lewis, Assistant Professor of Art, Bowie State Univ.

Opening Reception: Friday, April 1, 6-9pm

Artists Talk: Saturday, April 23 at 3pm

Featuring work by Anne Bouie, Daniel Brooking, Joel D'Orazio, Victor Ekpuk, Corwin Levi, Barbara Liotta, Adrienne Mills, and Cleve Overton.

Aperture magazine

"Judy and The Boys," currently in the collection of the Library of Congress, is perhaps Lida Moser's most iconic image and a gorgeous example of her work around the streets of New York City in the 1960s.

Aperture Magazine will feature this image in their April issue as part of a piece on the Photo League.

New Latin Music Legends Stamps: A Lesson in Labeling

A new set of five forever American stamps going on sale Wednesday honors Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Carmen Miranda, Selena and Carlos Gardel. They represent a range of "Latin musical styles, including Tejano, tango, samba, Latin jazz and salsa."


Postal Service vice president Marie Therese Dominguez said the stamps are "a lasting tribute to five extraordinary performers."

I think that they may also be a lasting tribute to America's love to put labels on people.

You see, a couple of these "Latin" stars were actually born in Europe, albeit in "Latin" countries, if we accept that Portugal and France are still OK with that label.

So if the stamps are there to honor "Latin music", then I suppose it's OK to include Carmen Miranda (born in Portugal) and Carlos Gardel (born in France).

Gardel was without a doubt the king of tango, and although born in Tolouse, France of French parents, was raised in Argentina. Miranda, born in Portugal of Portuguese parents, was easily a star samba singer, a decent Broadway actress and a mega Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s, when she was according to some sources, the highest-earning woman in the United States.

Tito Puente was a NewYorkRican, Celia Cruz was born in Cuba and Selena was an American-born singer of Mexican ancestry and called the "Queen of Tejano Music."

I wonder if Celia Cruz, "the Queen of Salsa", is the first Cuban-born person on a US stamp?

I'll have to research that...

Azucar!

Update: Man! The power of the web!

Less than a few minutes into this posting, someone already emailed me to tell me that Father Felix Varela Morales was the first Cuban on a US stamp back in 1997.

Update 2: And below is the photo from which the artist who designed these stamps clearly copied for the Miranda stamp:

Update 3: Also, Desi Arnaz in 1999.

Viral: Back to work...

Secretary goes back to work after 30 years... the video is only five seconds long but makes a very clear point:

Most...

Most recognizable true blue rock chords ever?

This:

or this:

Congrats!

To the very young DMV area artist Teresa Oaxaca, who is one of the top 15 finalists in the International Portrait Competition (Portrait Society of America, 2011)!


"Father Time", 64 x 62 in. Oil on Canvas, 2011 by Teresa Oaxaca
Her portrait of "Father Time" was selected among 15 out of over 1,800 entries in the Portrait Society of America's most prestigious competition.

Galleys

A while back I received the galleys for my 100 Washington, DC Artists book. I read them several times, trying really hard to find errors, knowing that no matter how hard I try, there will be some errors and wherever that error lands, some artist will be eternally pissed off at me.

I did find one error, and I corrected it. But I know that there are more out there, waiting to bite me in the ass after the book is published.

The book goes to print next week.

Order your copy here.

PS - By the way, over at Amazon, the book had been steadily holding a position at the 600-700,000 ranking, but there was one interesting day when it cracked the top 1,000 ranking.

Body art


F. Lennox Campello's right ankle tattoo.
Tattoo on skin, c. 1992. Designed by Lenny Campello.
Tattooe'd by unknown punk-looking British tattoo guest artist working out of the tattoo shop on the street below the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington.
For the record, it hurt like hell, and yes, I was very sober.

Saturday: Gilliam at the Katzen

On Saturday, April 2, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, is the opening reception for "Close to Trees", a site specific installation by Sam Gilliam on the entire third floor of the American University Museum at the Katzen Center.

"Sam Gilliam first took his paintings off their stretchers in 1965, using the liberated canvases to transform gallery walls into three-dimensional abstractions. He has continued to experiment with the practice of painting and the line between painting and sculpture. For this exhibition, Gilliam will transform the 8,000 square foot space of the third floor of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center into an exciting and colorful work of art."

April 2 to August 14, 2011.

Gilliam also broke my heart when he declined to be included in my 100 Washington, DC Artists book (in spite of a joint press front that included several artists who tried to convince Sam to join in the project). Anyway, do not miss this opening and exhibition of work by the DMV's leading artist and a true innovator.

Product Placement

Quite possibly the king of all instant coffees and the quickest at-home way to feed your expresso monkey.

French at Mateyka

Christopher French, who used to be a DMV artist and a former Executive Director of the Washington Project for the Arts, currently has "Inventions and Recollections", an exhibition of recent paintings on Braille paper at the Marsha Mateyka Gallery in DC.

Join them for the artist's reception on Saturday, April 2, 3:00 - 5:00 pm.

Madness Selection

Last night I dropped by March Madness at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria, where I had been asked to come by and select my favorite piece from the 200 entries submitted by artists for this fundraiser.

These pieces were all done on a 10 square inch panel, and once again the DMV artists rose to the challenge with an unexpected and diverse set of work. Each piece is then sold for $100.

I really liked Novie Trump's entry (which sold immediately - someone got a hell of a good deal), as well as Danny Conant's mixed media titled "Letter from Paris."

Other favorites were Alicia Roman's mixed media titled "Confess," Randolph Santa Ana's photoshop transfer "Death & Taxes I" and Christi Andrews' most excellent acrylic painting titled "Lo! Pressure."

More favorites: Allison Nance's cyanotype titled "Its all that I'm made of...", Kathleen Kendall's "Long Ago", Berrie Ripin's gorgeous terracota titled "Becoming", Lana Stephens' brilliant graphite and conte drawing "Teapot" (which also sold right away), Roy Utley's smart and minimalist "Airport Erotica", Christine Cardellino's acrylic titled "Princess", and Kevin Mellema's three umbrella studies, each one more minimalist that the previous ones.

My selection as "my favorite in the show"?

Mike Rayburn's highly accomplished, laborious and vastly ultra modern "Health Club", which is described as mixed media, but certainly fits that category of Walmartism. It is made of small tiles, curved needle nose plies (8-9 of them) and ball bearings.

Hard to describe... I wish I had an image, but quite an interesting and nearly machine-perfect piece; a perfect wedding between imagery and technology.

Reviews

Jacobson reviews Mateyka and Fraser.
Capps reviews Conner.
Rousseau reviews Fraser

Congrats!

Congratulations to Andrew Wodzianski, who has been shortlisted for the 26th Annual Mayor's Arts Awards!

FotoDC



FLASH is a month-long event created by FotoDC and sponsored by the Crystal City BID. Between March 17th and April 17th, 2011, the penthouse (12th & 13th Floors) of 2450 Crystal Drive in Arlington, VA will be filled with exciting photography shows and events. FLASH will encompass two curated photography exhibitions, a library of photography books, and a lounge for refreshments and discussion.

March 17-April 17, 2011
Mondays and Tuesdays: closed (available for private events)
Wednesdays and Thursdays: 5 PM – 10 PM
Fridays: 5PM - 11 PM; Saturdays: Noon – 11 PM; Sundays: Noon – 7 PM

Best Art Messiah

In the WCP's Best of 2011, Mera Rubell has been selected by the CP staff as the Best Art Messiah... Yay!

Best commercial art gallery selected by the CP readers? It is one that I've never heard of and I guess must be new and already packing enough votes: Toro Mata?

But then I find them on the web and from their website:

TORO MATA features a classic selection of furnishings, decorating accessories and artwork imported directly from the master artisans of Peru. Each item is handcrafted using only natural materials and methods that have been passed down through generations. We visit Peru regularly to discover new artists and unique products. Our frequent consultations with the artisans ensures the highest quality standards and allows for superior delivery of custom order requests. TORO MATA's new home at 2410 18th Street NW in Washington, D.C., includes the first floor shop and a mezzanine gallery. We are open to the public daily, including evening hours Tuesday through Saturday. Private product viewings and order consultations are provided to qualified wholesale accounts and interiors professionals by appointment.

Heh, heh... Fail!

Photography Exhibit Opening Premieres New Show, New Gallery

Saturday, April 2nd marks the opening of the photography exhibition “Looking In, Looking Through” at the new Howard Avenue Arts Incubator gallery. A reception to celebrate the inaugural show, open to the public, will be held from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm on that date. The reception and exhibition will take place on the top floor of the Gary Rosenthal Collection studio building, in Kensington's West Howard Avenue warehouse and antique district.

Curated by noted photographer Jim Auerbach, the exhibition features 10 local photographers, each showing 10 images, from landscapes and portraits to architecture and abstracts. Unifying the show is the theme “Looking In, Looking Through”: capturing the essence of a subject by looking deeply into it and communicating the context of a subject by looking through it to the wider world. The featured photographers include George DeBuchananne, Beth Koller, Peter Manzelli, Dave Mullen, Mario Ramos, Judy Saunders, Coriolana Simon, Jerry Weinstein, and Doug Wolters, as well as curator Jim Auerbach.

The works will be on display from April 2 through April 16. Gallery hours are Wednesday to Friday from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Saturday from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm, and Sunday from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.

For more information, contact Curator Jim Auerbach at npajiim@aol.com, or 301.871.9060 and 301.807.1753; or Assistant Director Joy Parisi at joyartincubator@gmail.com, call 301.897.4152, or visit the website at www.artincubator.org

Sabbath, Classic Sabbath

Auto repairs woes

Considering that I've just dropped over $2600 for repairs to 2005 Chrysler Town & Country van, I figure that the least that I could do is tell you about some of the non monetary woes of dealing with this particular dealership (Darcars of Rockville) from the perspective of a guy bringing his van in for repair.

I made an appointment for a Monday and dropped my van on Sunday nite via their night drop off. By Monday afternoon I hadn't heard anything back from them so I called them and the service rep told me that he'd call me back. He did and shocked me by telling me that I had a small mint in repairs to be done (power steering, transmission, etc.). This is not a post of Chrysler vans, so I won't tell you how disappointed I am that I essentially had to change the power steering and most of the transmission after only 109,000 miles. Thank you Chrysler workmanship.

Later that day I received a call telling me that they wouldn't have enough time to fix my van on Monday and that they would like me to drop by and get a complimentary rental car. I showed up around 3:30PM and that's when some of the issues started.

When I got there, only one service rep was there and two customers in line. So I waited about 15 minutes or so until they were done and then explained my situation.

The service rep filled out the paper for the rental car and called a gent named Tim and assigned Tim to give me a ride to the rental car agency. Tim asked what car should he use to take me there and the service rep said for Tim to check and see if my van (which I saw on the side and not being worked on) was drivable. Tim disappeared into the shop to find out and then service rep began to take care of a new customer. At the point a second service rep showed up and he also began to take care of a separate customer. I waited.

Tim came back and stood by the side of the service reps, he told me that my van wasn't drivable and he'd need to use the dealership car. He stood patiently while my service rep ignored him and continued to assist his new client. Tim must have stood there for five minutes, at parade rest while the service rep didn't as much as look at him.

Then the other service rep grabs Tim and tells him to please drive his customer home. At that point I get alarmed... by now I've been there maybe 30 minutes.... and I start to talk to the other service rep to tell him that I was waiting first and needed Tim to take me to the auto rental place. But the service rep raises his hand, cuts me off and says: "Sir, I'll help you in a second, but I am working with this customer now."

Tim disappears with the customer and the second service rep comes back to me (my original guy was still helping his new customer - I think he was changing a bulb in his dashboard). When I explain the story to him, he apologizes and tells me not to worry, that Chris will give me a ride to the car rental company. He calls Chris, and they spend 10 minutes looking for a car to give me a ride. In one of the largest car dealerships in the US, there is none available, so the service rep tells me that he will call the car rental company and have them pick me up. He does so and tells me that it will be 15 minutes.

25 minutes later I come back out and he sees me and he calls them again. He apologizes again and tells me that they're on the way.

15 minutes later they arrive. I get in the car. The kid drives the car to the corner, makes an U turn and parks right across the street from DARCARS.

Yes, I had been waiting over 45 minutes to get a ride to a car rental company that was across the street. It was so unbelievable that no one said to me during the 45 minutes, "hey the car rental is across the street" that I didn't even get mad, but was astounded that I had wasted almost an hour waiting for nothing.

Next day it's 1PM and I haven't heard back, so I call them. The service rep asks me to wait while he asks the mechanic. It will be done at 4:15 he tells me.

I show up at 4PM, but the van is not ready... now I know that the times are just estimates, so I sigh and wait in the wait room. An hour later my van is done and by 5PM I am driving away, wondering how we waste time so easily sometimes due to lack of good communication.

On the good side, so far the van feels good again.

Anderson's opinion on this experience?

For your Friday art...

Tomorrow is March Madness at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria.

* Artwork - 200 pieces of artwork on 10" square panels – each only $100
* Prizes - many of the panels will be loaded with prizes donated from local businesses (I will be one of the jurors for the prizes)
* Music - awesome beats by DJ Stylo
* Food & Drinks – wings, pizza, beer & more, provided by local businesses
* Beer - sposored by Old Dominion Brewing Company
* Games – join in the fun with a little fun competition!

March Madness is an exhibition of approximately 200 10x10-inch works of art. Torpedo Factory and DCarea artists, as well as local high school students and college students will create the artwork. It will be on display in the Target Gallery from March 17 – March 27. All work will be for sale for $100 with 10% of all sales being donated to the March of Dimes. In addition, several of the artworks will be “loaded” with prizes donated by local businesses. The goal of this fundraiser is to raise money and awareness for the March of Dimes, a charity that helps children in need, and to raise money for the Target Gallery’s 2011 outreach programming.

They have two main events to accompany this fundraiser:

#1. Kids Art Activity: The first is a March of Dimes sponsored art activity for kids whose families benefited from the March of Dimes. This activity was held at the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s main hall on March 19th from 11am to 1pm. This was used as a tool to help raise awareness for their annual “March for Babies” walk held in May 2011.

#2. Art Party: The second event will be a March Madness Art Party, which will be held tomorrow, March 25th from 7-11pm, and will be a ticketed event. This party will be held at the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s main hall right outside of the Target Gallery. The theme of the evening will have a NCAA March Madness Tournament pub like atmosphere, to include games, pub faire, live band, prizes and more. Click Here to learn about the Torpedo Factory’s Target Gallery Community Outreach.

Dates: March 25, 7-11pm
Where: Main hall of Torpedo Factory Art Center, right outside of the Target Gallery
Cost: $15 in advance; $20 at the door

Details here.

Coming to Gallery 555

Early look

American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center will have the AU Art Department's Student Exhibitions opening soon, with first year MFA students: April 2 through May 15
and MFA theses: April 23 through May 15.

Victor Gomez opening at Cafritz

I keep hearing good things about an exhibit of gorgeous monoprints by Miami based Cuban artist Victor Gomez which are on view right now in the atrium gallery at the Cafritz Art Center.

The artist is coming in for the opening reception, which is being held on March 24th (Thursday) in coordination with another exhibit of Latin American art "El Corazon del Pueblo" which is up in the main gallery.

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 24, 5:00—7:30 PM.

The cost of art fairs

I was just talking on the phone to gallerist friend who's been doing the Scope Art Fair for the last few years, and as a result of sales at the art fairs, barely being able to keep her gallery open, as sales in her hometown are all but non-existent.

Last December she had a small booth in Miami. This basic booth (200 Sq. ft.) has a basic cost of $10, 600. That's the start.

In her case she didn't add any extra walls (additional cost), but just added some extra lights (additional cost). By the time she finished paying the additional mandatory advertising fee ($1,000 for a small booth - it grows proportionally as the booth gets larger), and the mandatory insurance, she was looking at $12,000 for a basic small booth.

Now add airfare for her and an assistant (it is physically nearly impossible to do an art fair with just one person manning the booth - believe me... I've done once and know the impossibility of this task). Then add hotels (share the room) and transportation (share the rental car) and food for her and her assistant. Now tack on the shipping price for the artwork from the Mid Atlantic to Miami, Florida (and back for unsold work). The cost is now around $15,000 for this basic booth, plus the assistant's salary (undisclosed).

She had decided to take just one artist to Scope (the fair has a pretty tough minimalist hanging policy), and had applied with just the one name. She was glad that Scope accepted this "new" artist, because this was an artist with strong representational imagery and thus good possibilities for sales.

When they hung the works - you can't overhang at Scope, so about seven paintings were displayed - she realized that she had made one major error. More on that later...

In the first two days of Scope, all of the paintings sold, and the "extra" two which had been shipped also sold later on. The artist was jubilant.

What was the gallerist's mistake?

With a $15,000 (plus the assistant's salary) expense, she needed to sell at least $30,000 worth of artwork in order just to break even (plus more to cover the assistant's salary).

With her artists' prices starting at $800 for a small oil and $3-4,000 for the other larger paintings, even though she sold out of all the work that she had shipped, she still lost about $4,000 in the event, and considered herself lucky to escape with this loss, which she attributed to failing to deduce that she had to sell at least $10,000 per wall in order to break even; a very basic mistake for an experienced gallerist.

In the old days, when an artist sold out, you raised his/her prices up a little the next time (she did this for the second hanging of the extra paintings); in these days of extreme financial austerity, that's not always a perfect formula anymore.

This is one of the many reasons why galleries go under: the enormous financial risk involved in participating in just about the only venues left where a gallery can sell art.

Art Scam

Some artists in the DMV and Baltimore area are being seduced by this scam email; make sure you ignore it:

From: Nelson Bateman
Date: March 20, 2011 8:13:24 AM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
Subject: Interested in your work

Hi
The images in your website is so fascinating and so vivacious looking at each piece of work make me know you added so much dedication in making each work come out to life but unfortunately i lost the weblink but i was able to save your email address am writing you because i need your help to get back to your website so that i can be able to see more of your work and purchase some for my apartment. I reside in Queensland Australia hope to read from you soon.
Regards
Nelson

For a link explaining how the scam works, click here.

Opportunity for Artists

Out of Order is the Maryland Art Place's Annual free-hung Benefit Exhibition, Silent Auction and Party!

Silent Auction and Gala: Friday, April 1st, 8 – 11pm. Join them for a fantastic evening of great art, music, food, and an open beer & wine bar.

Hanging Dates and Times: March 29, 7am – midnight. All Artists are invited to participate. During the One Day Only, Do‐It‐Yourself installation, March
29, 7am – midnight, each participating artist hangs one original piece in the MAP galleries. For submission guidelines, please visit MAP’s website www.mdartplace.org. Note: Artists are asked to support MAP by paying $10 to participate in Out of Order. Each participating artist receives one free ticket to the April 1 event.

Participation: There is a $10 participation fee to hang artwork in Out of Order. As a participating artist, you will be given one complimentary ticket to the gala on April 9th. ($40 value!). Proceeds will be split 50/50 between the artist and MAP.

How to Get Tickets: Purchase Tickets Online: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/156249
Current MAP Members must call to reserve their tickets. New or renewing members must join MAP by March 24 to receive complimentary ticket(s) to the event. Artist/Student/Individual members receive 1 Free Ticket; higher membership levels receive 2 Free Tickets. No tickets are mailed; names of ticket holders are held at the door.

For More Details: access their website: www.mdartplace.org or call 410-962-8565.

Patricia Tobacco Forrester (1940 - 2011)

Patricia Tobacco Forrester, one of the DMV's best-known artists, and one with a huge artistic footprint outside the DMV as well (represented by some of the top art galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, London, New Mexico, and locally by Addison/Ripley) died yesterday.

Born in 1940 in Massachusetts, Patricia Tobacco Forrester received her B.A. from Smith College (Phi Beta Kappa), where she had gone via a scholarship, in 1962 and her B.F.A. in 1963 and M.F.A. in 1965, both from Yale University. A 1967 Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, she focused her artistic eye with a love for nature that translated into gorgeous and daring watercolors of fauna from a viewpoint that transformed what she saw into grand fields of color.

She painted directly from nature, usually on very large scale sheets of up to 40 x 60inches paper. And she painted all the way until the end of her life, as she became as almost daily visitor to the The U.S. Botanic Garden, on the National Mall across from the U.S. Capitol. Even though Tobacco Forrester's last years were difficult as a result of a seizure that she suffered while visiting Costa Rica (to paint that antion's lush flowers and fauna), she nonetheless and almost daily carried her paints and paper to the Botanic Garden, set up and continued to create art all the way to the end of her immensely creative life.

Her travels, such as the trip to Costa Rica, was part of her routine to travel to exotic locales seeking the beuty of nature, though her home base has been Washington, DC, since 1982.

Prior to that (from the mid-sixties to 1981) she lived in San Francisco and she often returned to the Northern California region to paint the rocky coast of Santa Barbara or the rolling hills of Napa and Sonoma valleys.

Forrester became a member of the National Academy of Design in New York in 1992. Her work has been shown widely in hundreds of museum and gallery exhibitions across the United States and abroad for over thirty-five years.

Her work is in the collection of many major museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, British Museum, London, Brooklyn Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Library of Congress, National Academy of Design, Oakland Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and The White House, Executive Office Building in Washington, DC.

Forrester was also the recipient of a 2005 and 2009 Artist Grant from the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities and she is represented locally by Addison/Riple Fine Art in Georgetown, where she had a solo show earlier this year in January.

I've curated her work into a few exhibitions in the last decade or so, most notably at my "Survey of Washington Realists" which I organized about a decade ago and which hung, in a gorgeous salon style manner, work by over a hundred noted Washington realist artists. For that show Patricia submitted one of her gigantic watercolors, which due to its brilliant colors and size, managed to catch a lot of attention in a show full of gems from floor to ceiling.

About her life and her work, she said it best when she observed that "You cannot get closer to a landscape than sitting within it while you are painting it."

Corridor

Corridor, an unusual exhibition showcasing the work of twelve established artists, six from Baltimore and six from Washington, D.C., a show that flips the conventional artist‐curator relationship on its side with enticing results.

The exhibit was conceived by Baltimore‐based artists Bernhard Hildebrandt, Soledad Salamé and Joyce J. Scott working jointly with AMA; the premise being to challenge the artist and curator relationship, allowing for participating artists from each city to select another artist to exhibit in an “artist choose artist” format.

Once all twelve artists were in place, one curator from each city, Irene Hofmann, Director and Chief Curator at SITE, Santa Fe, and former Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore; and Laura Roulet, independent DC curator and art historian, was selected to work with the artists of the opposite city.

Corridor features the work of D.C. artists Martha Jackson Jarvis, Brandon Morse, Phil Nesmith, Michael Platt, Susana Raab, and Jeff Spaulding; and Baltimore artists Oletha DeVane, Bernhard Hildebrandt, John Ruppert, Soledad Salamé, Joyce J. Scott, and Sofia Silva. The selected artists’ work represents a wide range of media and approaches, from sculpture, installation, printmaking and photography to video. The resulting exhibition showcases exceptional examples of some recent trends in art from the region.

Thursday, March 24 at 5:30pm: Gallery talk and exhibition preview
Thursday, March 24 at 6:30pm: Opening reception

On view March 24 ‐ June 26, 2011
Art Museum of the Americas
201 18th Street, NW Washington, DC 20006
Hours: Tuesday‐Sunday 10 AM‐5 PM

Artists' Talk

Last Saturday "Material World" opened at artdc Gallery in Hyattsville. Two artists talks will be held in conjunction with the show: Michael Janis, Sherill Anne Gross and Marie Ringwald on Saturday, March 19, and Matt Langley on Saturday, April 2.

So, this Saturday from 2-3 pm there will be a gallery talk featuring three artists: Sherill Anne Gross, Marie Ringwald and Michael Janis.

The group show, curated by Stephen Boocks, deals with artistic media & how it relates to the artist's work - why does the artist choose that medium to make their artwork? Does the material support the work or does it get in the way? Do all elements work in concert with each other? And how do they achieve their own balance?

A number of familiar DMV artists are featured - from the 100 Washington, DC Artists book: Marie Ringwald & Michael Janis and from the Sondheim Prize shortlist - JT Kirkland and Hamiltonian Projects Fellow Katherine Mann.

Also featured are the very talented paper artist Sherrill Gross and painter Matthew Langley.

Material World
artdc Gallery at The Lustine Center
5710 Baltimore Avenue
Hyattsville, Maryland 20781

Click here to jump to the gallery website.

Congrats!

DMV area artist Hadieh Shafie has been shortlisted for the Victoria & Albert Museum’s prestigious Jameel Prize 2011.

The exhibition of artworks will be on view at the V&A from 21 July to 25 September, 2011 and will then travel to Paris, Riyadh, Damascus, Beiteddine, Sharjah, Istanbul and Casablanca. The winner of The Jameel Prize 2011 will be announced at the V&A on 12 September 2011.

The Jameel Prize is a £25,000 international art prize for contemporary artists and designers inspired by Islamic traditions of craft and design.

Shafie is represented locally by and her art is currently available at MFA: Morton Fine Art in DC.

Congrats!

Wanna go to a DC opening tomorrow?

Here we go again

This time in Vashon Island, Washington (the other Washington):

The owner of the building that houses Two Wall Gallery abruptly removed several works in the gallery's latest show last week, prompting an outcry from the artists, the curator and other members of the Island's arts community.

Louise Rice, who owns the property along with her husband Ray Rice and daughter Wendy Rice, paid a visit to the building with her daughter last Tuesday morning and became upset after viewing "Go Figure: Body of Work," a group show by eight artists that contains numerous nude portraits.

"It was pornography, and I won’t put up with it,” Rice said later from her Burien home. “It’s our hallway, and my husband and daughter and I don’t like it.”

But Jack Strubbe, the show's curator who has mounted exhibits off and on for the past three years in the space, said he was baffled by Rice's actions, especially since the gallery has been the site of many other exhibits with political and other controversial content.

“She has never expressed anything like this in the past, and I’ve had work that I’ve considered much riskier than this,” he said.

Read the whole story here and an excellent report by a local blog with lots of images here.

I hope that I don't have to defend my position when it comes to censorship and art, especially in this great nation, which in the last 20-30 years seems to me, has regressed enormously in that area, and, as an example, public artwork that was once considered acceptable for public display (by that I mean public art such as statues, murals, etc.), specifically nudes, are seldom if ever to be seen in a contemporary public art commission, airport, etc.

The only public art nudes around this town are all the artwork done in the 1800s and as late as the WPA. I suspect that this is pretty much the same for the rest of the nation; certainly for airportism.

But privately owned spaces are a different animals, and as much as I hate what the owners of this space have done to the curator and to the community, they do own the walls and he who owns the walls makes the rules. It is somewhat alike a restaurant owner who puts up a sign that says "no shoes, no service."

OK, OK, that may be an over simplification, but you get my drift. Bottom line: shame on the owners of this building, but as much as I hate it, they do own the building, and they do offer the two walls (for free) to local artists and curators and thus they do have a right to be troglodytes.

The response should be a boycott of the two walls: no more art.

Survival Guide for Artists and Arts Organizations

On Tuesday, March 29th @ 7pm, Adam Natale, Director of Partnerships & Business Development at Fractured Atlas, will speak about key services, programs, and resources that can help artists with the business side of their art -- the "unsexy" side that artists generally do not like thinking about, but allow them to focus more easily on the creation of their art, while also maintaining the infrastructure of their "arts business."

To start, Adam will introduce the services offered through Fractured Atlas, a national, nonprofit arts organization that provides fund raising, education/professional development, insurance, and other services to both performing and visual artists. Adam will then talk about other local, state and national organizations that offer similar resources on arts advocacy/civic engagement, fundraising, jobs in the arts and arts administration, tips on grant writing, social media/new technology, networking, emerging arts leaders, and general career and resume guidance. They are looking forward to a lively Q & A!

RSVP to jackie@hamiltoniangallery.com

Hamiltonian Gallery
1353 U Street, NW
Washington, DC 20010
202.332.1116

It's Only Rock ‘n’ Roll, But I Like It!

Del Ray Artisans will pay homage to all things rock ‘n’ roll during their April show It's Only Rock ‘n’ Roll, But I Like It!. This open, all-media juried show will celebrate the bands, instruments, lyrics, rebellious youth culture and life style dedicated to glamour and excess.

Schedule of show activities:

* Show Opening and Artist Reception: Friday April 1, 2011 7 -10 pm. Light snacks and beverages will be available. Rock attire encouraged, but please "No Smokin' in the Boys Room."

* Rock Movie Marathon: Sunday April 10, 2011 12:00 noon -9 pm. Specific itinerary to be announced. Stop by to enjoy a day of rock-themed movies. Come for one; stay as long as you please. Popcorn concessions.

* Open Mic Lyric Slam: Sunday May 1, 2011 2 -4 pm. This interactive program will honor the poetry, words and anthems of rock music. Participants will have the opportunity to read and recite their original songs or slam the lyrics of their favorite songs.

The show will be at the Del Ray Artisans gallery at the Nicholas A. Colasanto Center, 2704 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22301. Gallery hours are: Thursdays, 12 noon to 4 pm; Fridays, 12 noon to 9 pm; Saturdays, 10 am to 9 pm; and Sundays, 12 noon to 6 pm. The gallery is free, open to the public and handicap accessible.

For more information, please visit www.TheDelRayArtisans.org; or contact show curator Fierce Sonia Fiercesonia@aol.com at 703-314-9175; Jennifer Chappell at Jen.chappell@cox.net or contact dracuratorcoordinator@gmail.com

Opportunities for Artists

Deadline: April 30, 2011.

Call for Entries: The Graceful Envelope Contest - Artists everywhere are invited to participate in the 2011 Graceful Envelope Contest, conducted by the Washington (DC) Calligraphers Guild under the sponsorship of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

There is no entry fee.

This year's theme is "Time Flies," so design an envelope that explores good times, quality time, the times of our lives, time travel, or any other idea you have time to develop.

Address the envelope artistically to:
The Graceful Envelope Contest
Washington Calligraphers Guild
P.O. Box 3688
Merrifield, VA 22116.

This is the contest's 17th year. The Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum created and administered it until delegating responsibility to the Washington Calligraphers Guild in 2001. The National Association of Letter Carriers exhibits the winners, which are also exhibited online at www.calligraphersguild.org. The complete Call for Entries (including categories for children) is posted on the Washington Calligraphers Guild website or you may contact contest coordinator Lorraine Swerdloff at swerdloff@gmail.com.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: March 31, 2011

Call for Entries: Open to all artists 18 years or older working or living in Virginia, Maryland, DC, Delaware, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia.

To Enter: Each entry requires an on-line application through Juried Art Services.

Exhibition Theme: “BITE: identity and humor” asks artists to use irony, sarcasm, and wit to shed light on issues of personal struggle in mainstream society. Artists are asked to create and share work that challenges historical, societal, and cultural norms that dictate expectations of who we are supposed to be. The selected work does not have to be “funny” as much as insightful. The work will be juried by DMV artist Jefferson Pinder.

Full Prospectus: detailing Acceptable Works, Entry fees, and Special Instructions located here

GreaterRestonArtsCenter
Reston Town Center
12001 Market Street
Suite #103
Reston, VA 20190
703.471.9242
fax 703.471.0952

New gallery to open in DC

Lamont Bishop Gallery, a new art space opening up later this week, appears to be off to a good start -- its beautiful centrally located storefront space in Shaw (1314 9th St NW, a few doors down from Longview Gallery and only two blocks from the green line metro) is enviable. We spoke with gallery director Alexandra Giniger about the gallery, their upcoming inaugural show, and what is in their future.

Read the Pinkline interview here.

The WPA Auction

Last Saturday's WPA auction was packed to the gills with seemingly everyone who's anyone in the DMV art scene attending, including most of the area's top art collectors as well as some out of town familiar collectors' faces, including one good friend who also happens to be a prominent Cuban-American collector who calls Boston his home.

"What are you doing here?" I asked surprised at seeing him at the auction.

"I always fly in for this event," he replied.

Muy bien!

Anne Collins Goodyear, Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings, National Portrait Gallery and Philippa Hughes, Chief Contrarian, Pink Line Project
It appears to me that the auction itself was quite a success. I saw a lot of bids, which drawing from my memory banks, seemed to be more than usual. I am happy to report that my piece in the show, "Eve, Running Away from Eden," received so many bids that in fact it maxed out the bidding sheet and sold for 350% above the initial bidding estimate.

Eve, Running Away from Eden. 15 x 39 inches. Charcoal on paper.
Circa 2010 by F. Lennox Campello
The auction's artistic highlight was definitely when Dan Steinhilber and a small groups of helpers began assembling Steinhilber's piece for the auction, which he was going to construct right on site. The work, made up of a wood pallet and shrink wrap, began appearing before our eyes as the crew wrapped the pallet in shrink wrap of various colors.

At one point I was sure that it was finished, as Steinhilber was initially using shrink wrap of various colors, and for a brief instant the pallet almost looked like a "back to the future" version of a Morris Louis painting!

But the Steinhilber crew continued to add more shrink wrap and slowly the piece began to turn white, ending up as a handsome three dimensional white sculpture.


Read the report from Daily Art Muse here.

Wilmer Wilson IV

Last Friday, along with artists Tim Tate ( whose work just opened in the Milwaukee Art Museum's The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Contemporary Craft two days go) and Susana Raab (whose work from her "Cholita" series will be in the Corridor exhibition at the Art Museum of the Americas opening March 24), we got together with four young artists whom we're mentoring as part of Strathmore's new visual arts mentorship program.

I'll be discussing all four throughout the next few months, but let me start with the work of the very young Wilmer Wilson IV, from Chesterfield, Virginia, and currently a student at Howard University in Washington, DC. Before I start discussing his work, you start by viewing the below video of his installation titled Machine: Bad End.


Wilson is very young, but already appears to possess an artistic vision well beyond his years, and at the present his work seems to fit into that genre of contemporary art which would label him as a WalMartist; that is, artists which use common, everyday materials (such as one would find in WalMart) to create elegant and intelligent artwork.

In his installation titled "Bundles" (detail to the left, see the whole installation here), WIlson uses plastic forks and spoons to create an elegant and minimalist installation which uses the repetitive power of these two objects, together with black tape, which when attached to the wall transforms the objects into a energetic and planned modern bas relief of disposable design.

See more of these utensil installations here and check out his website here.

Keep your eye on this artist.

Trawick Prize Call for Artists

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is accepting submissions for The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. The 9th annual juried art competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to four selected artists. Deadline for submissions is Friday, April 8, 2011 and up to fifteen artists will be invited to display their work during the month of September in downtown Bethesda.

The competition will be juried by Amy Hauft, Chair of the Sculpture Department at Virginia Commonwealth University; Dr. Sarah Newman, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Corcoran in Washington, D.C.; and Sue Spaid, Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, MD.

The first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000. A “young” artist whose birth date is after April 8, 1981 may also be awarded $1,000.

Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. Original painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, fiber art, digital, mixed media and video are accepted. The maximum dimension should not exceed 96 inches in any direction. No reproductions. Selected artists must deliver artwork to exhibit site in Bethesda, MD. All works on paper must be framed to full conservation standards. Each artist must submit five slides or five images on CD, application and a non-refundable entry fee of $25.

The Trawick Prize was established by Carol Trawick, a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is the past Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. Additionally, the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation was established in 2007 and has endowed the Trawick Prize indefinitely.

For questions regarding the Trawick Prize, please visit www.bethesda.org or call
301-215-6660.

Conan The Barbarian

When I was about ten, I discovered Robert Ervin Howard's saga of Conan The Barbarian books, written in the 1930s, first published in the 1950s, and really selling well in the late 1960s after they were reprinted with spectacular new cover art by artist Frank Frazetta, perhaps the most sought-after cover artist in history and a cult art figure amongst his millions of followers.

Frazetta's covers set Howard's grim sword & sorcery (a sub-genre that Howard invented) novels on fire. One of those paintings by Frazetta recently sold for one million dollars.


Above is "Conan The Destroyer" which is perhaps Frazetta's iconic image of Howard's brooding hero. A really good analysis of this painting in The Cimmerian can be read here.

Why am I writing about this? Because I've just found out that a new Conan The Barbarian movie (in 3D) is set to be released later this summer. See the trailer below.


As a Conan fan, I'm really looking forward to this film, but I already have a complaint. In the Conan saga, Howard goes to extreme details in describing the savage hero of the series, but it was the Frazetta book covers which burned the Conan image into the minds of its readers, and in this new film, this Conan (portrayed by actor Jason Momoa) is missing the barbarian's most prominent feature: bangs.

This film's directors should have done their homework, as Conan fans, who otherwise loved the 1980s Conan movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, howled back then because their hero also lacked the iconic bangs of Cimmerian men's hair styles as invented by Frazetta, not Howard (who actually described Conan's hair as “tousled,” “matted” and “lion-like").

So who's right?

"…a man whose broad shoulders and sun-browned skin seemed out of place among those luxuriant surroundings. He seemed more a part of the sun and winds and high places of the outlands. His slightest movement spoke of steel-spring muscles knit to a keen brain with the co-ordination of a born fighting-man. There was nothing deliberate or measured about his actions. Either he was perfectly at rest–still as a bronze statue–or else he was in motion, not with the jerky quickness of over-tense nerves, but with a cat-like speed that blurred the sight which tried to follow him."
– Robert E. Howard, “The Phoenix on the Sword”

(e)merge now accepting applications

(e)merge, the new, DC-based art fair focused on emerging artists and galleries with emerging art, just announced that it is now accepting applications from galleries, nonprofits and artists without gallery representation.

The Fair will take place September 22-25, 2011, at the Rubell family's Capitol Skyline Hotel in Washington, DC.

Applications are available on (e)merge's Web site and the deadline to apply is Monday, May 2nd and acceptances will be sent out by early June.

It is clear to me that this is a prime opportunity for unrepresented DMV area artists (well... any unrepresented artist!). In fact, my advice to every single one of you who is not represented by a gallery and who thinks that their work merits to be examined and vetted, is simple: do not miss this golden opportunity.

Why?

As an experienced art fair participant, art fair visitor, art fair rejectee, and art fair observer, I know that this fair model is a new model. This is something new... the goal here, as implied by the cool fair title with the even cooler parenthesis around the (e) - I must find out whose brilliant idea that was - is to put the loupe on galleries who show emerging artists and on unrepresented artists.

What is the ultimate goal? I would guess that at least a partial goal would be to expose (maybe (e)xpose?) the huge numbers of highly talented and original artists out there whom are unrepresented and who may do well with the right gallery.

I am such a fan of this novel idea. Remember when I curated "Seven" for the WPA in 2005? That was one of my goals as well, and one that in my not so humble opinion I succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.

I selected 66 artists for "Seven" - the vast majority of whom had never (or rarely) exhibited in the DMV - I then took my then fellow gallerists in personal tours of the huge exhibitions in the seven galleries of the Warehouse complex... by my last count, about a dozen then unrepresented artists found gallery representation because of that show, including a couple which arguably have become the art star of their respective galleries.

Of course, I scored the biggest hit of them all... I found my wife and the love of my life because of that show...

See what can happen when you mix good people, good thinkers, and good ideas with art?

No one ever did this before

I've invented some new descriptors...

Spitoidal Glucosoids is what I call whatever substance seems to always clog up one of the two basin drains in my bathroom.

According to Google, that combo of words (as a descriptor) does not exist at all in Al Gore's internet.

From now on, whenever some geek types Spitoidal Glucosoids into Google (or any other search engine) it will only come here!

The Lenster just invented Google Word Searchartism....

Who'd thunk it? The Beatles were wrong!

Weekend duties

Tomorrow night: Meet the various artists selected for the Strathmore Fine Artist in Residence Program Mentorship. Those artists are:

Minna Philips (drawing/installation)

Wilmer Wilson IV (mixed media/installation)

Brittany Sims (painting)

Solomon Slyce (photography)

Saturday & Sunday: Review the work by the 43 artists from all over the USA and Scotland who have applied to the Torpedo Factory Art Center's Visiting Artists Program of one, two, or three-month residencies between June 1 and August 31, 2011 - then select about a dozen for the residencies.

Tonight: Mirror art at ARTiculate Gallery

There's a cool upcoming exhibition opening tonight at VSA's ARTiculate Gallery. The show, "Reflections" was inspired by local artist Bob Benson and his work at the American Visionary Art Museum.

Benson worked with the artists in the ARTiculate Program (which provides artistic and vocational training to youth and adults with special needs) to create "mirror art" using glass-cutting techniques in a variety of styles, and the artists have created a unique body of work.

The opening will take place tonight Thursday, March 10th between 5:30 and 7:30pm at the ARTiculate Gallery, located at 1100 16th St NW. The reception will be free, open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

WCP's last word on Fraser Gallery closing

For Catriona Fraser, the Fraser Gallery’s decade-and-a-half run in Georgetown and Bethesda ended on a simple note: “Nobody was buying any artwork from me.”

Case in point: the 10th Annual International Photography Competition, one of the gallery’s best-known feature exhibitions, which just closed at Fraser’s remaining outpost in downtown Bethesda.

The work is affordable, with most of it priced under $500. The work has been seen: The opening reception, Fraser says, was “heaving with people.” And the work is good: Washington City Paper called the exhibit “impressive.”

Yet Fraser did not make a single sale. And so on March 1, following several Bethesda galleries that have recently met the same fate, Fraser Gallery announced it is closing at the end of the month.

Read the article by Kriston Capps and Lou Jacobson here.

Update: Here's the whole text of my email to the CP in response to their request for input:

When my then wife Catriona and I opened the first Fraser Gallery in 1996 in Georgetown, our first two shows almost sold out, we got a huge article in the Washington Post, and I recall Kate and I saying, "WOW, this is gonna be easy."

It wasn't and as we learned, building an art gallery required not only an immense amount of hard work, but also realizing that it is a labor of love, and that more often than not, your finances are getting by (if you're lucky) by the skin of your teeth. Our mantra always was: "the artists get paid first, then the bills."

Catriona was 24 years old when we opened Fraser in Georgetown in 1996; perhaps the youngest ever gallery co-owner in DC history, and she applied herself to the task of co-running Fraser gallery with a ferocity and gusto that was a key ingredient to Fraser's success over the next 15 years.

In my opinion we established a very distinct gallery presence from day one. When we announced that we would focus on contemporary realism - which we described back then as "realism with a bite" - and photography, every one told us that we'd be closed within a year, and that first year, in spite of the great success of those two initial shows, was very tough and more often than not we were using our financial backers (Mr. Visa and Mr. Mastercard) to pay the artists and the gallery's bills.

But a presence we did establish, and we'd get reviewed 4-5 a year in the Post and 1-2 a year in the Times and it seems like every other month in the City Paper (ahhhh... the good ole days), and in spite of the fact that we stayed tightly focused on our gallery focus, we kept doing better and better each year, and continued to argue against the "norm" that only the almost 100-year-old genre of abstraction was "contemporary" for a cutting edge gallery. What abstraction was instead, we felt, was "safe" and perhaps even easier to sell. Try looking at a Chawky Frenn painting for a while - hard to sell, but deserving of a two-page spread review in the New York Times.

We also began to add focus and presence to a whole new set of local artists. Both Erik Sandberg and Andrew Wodzianski (now well-known DMV artists) received their first solo shows at Fraser, while both of them were still MFA students. And Tim Tate's first solo show (which sold out) was also at Fraser... where he went on to have multiple solos over the years.

We also focused a lot of time on photography, and "rediscovered" Lida Moser's wonderful archives of her amazing photography from the past 60 years. Other noted photographers such as Maxwell MacKenzie, Joyce Tenneson, etc. also had multiple solos at Fraser.

A decade ago, almost by accident we decided to put together a show focusing on Cuban artists, and as result eventually we brought to the DC area some of the best contemporary Cuban artists in the world, usually giving them their first solo shows in the US or DC and placing many of them in US museums.

Fraser was also a leading online pioneer, and to this day has the most extensive online presence of any DMV gallery, with nearly 15 years of archived shows and artwork. As I recall, when we opened in 1996, we were only one of 2-3 DC galleries with a website! A few years later we became one of the charter dealers for Sotheby's during their online ventures and by 2001 we were the second largest Sotheby's online dealer in the world. A lot of DMV artists (including myself) owe their secondary market record to that joint venture between Fraser and Sotheby's.

When the art fairs came into vogue, Fraser was also one of the first galleries to start doing them, perhaps only after the now-closed Fusebox Gallery. To this day Fraser brings its artists to fairs in New York, Boston and Miami, still one of less than 5-6 DMV galleries that take the huge financial risk of doing an art fair.

I left Fraser in 2006 and Catriona has been running the gallery alone since then. For reasons that only she knows, we haven't spoken since, even though we had remained partners until the day of my last show at Fraser in August of 2006 (which the City Paper covered in a huge article). I don't know her reasons for closing the gallery, but I wish her the best in her future endeavors.

This is a huge loss for the cultural tapestry of the DMV art scene. Fraser, for all intents and purposes, was the only remaining art star in Bethesda, as other galleries have been closing in the last few years. The opening of the Bethesda gallery in 2002 made us feel like we had accomplished what no one else had ever done successfully in DC: run two galleries at once, which we did until 2005 for three glorious years of 24 shows a year to organize, curate, hang and publicize.

With the loss of Fraser, Bethesda also loses a champion in the visual arts. It was through the hard work and influence of Fraser Gallery that the Trawick Prize and the Bethesda Painting Awards were created; still the two largest individual art awards in the region. It was through the hard work and influence of the Fraser Gallery that the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival - the highest ranked outdoor fine arts show in Maryland and one of the top 100 such shows in the nation - was created.

And with the loss of Fraser, and ins spite of critics always trying to tell a gallerist how to do his/her business, the sharpest eye in representational art with a bite and social commentary goes away.

Ten years of my life don't go away, because the memories of all the great art, all the great artists, and all the great openings (the DMV will definitely miss that famous Fraser sangria) will live with me forever.

Call me if you'd like to chat about anything else...

Cheers,

Lenny

This coming Saturday, March 12, "Material World" opens at artdc Gallery in Hyattsville

The group show, curated by Stephen Boocks, deals with artistic media & how it relates to the artist's work - why does the artist choose that medium to make their artwork? Does the material support the work or does it get in the way? Do all elements work in concert with each other? And how do they achieve their own balance?

A number of familiar DMV artists are featured - from the 100 Washington, DC Artists book: Marie Ringwald & Michael Janis and from the Sondheim Prize shortlist - JT Kirkland and Hamiltonian Projects Fellow Katherine Mann.

Also featured are the very talented paper artist Sherrill Gross and painter Matthew Langley.

Material World
artdc Gallery at The Lustine Center
5710 Baltimore Avenue
Hyattsville, Maryland 20781

Opening Reception Saturday, March 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. Two artists talks will be held: Michael Janis and Marie Ringwald on Saturday, March 19, and Matt Langley on Saturday, April 2.

Click here to jump to the gallery website.

DCist Exposed

One of the most awesome photography shows of the year, the fifth annual DCist Exposed Photography Show will be at Long View Gallery, running March 15 to 27, 2011.

Out of over 1,000 individual entries, 43 winning images were selected by a panel of judges to be included in this year's DCist Exposed exhibit.

According to the organizers, this year's opening reception "will be twice as awesome, since we’re holding twice as many: Tuesday, March 15, and Wednesday, March 16 from 6 to 10 p.m." This year’s sponsor is Yuengling (America's oldest brewery and makers of the gorgeous Black & Tan beer), and they will provide a selection of their beers, including their Lager, Light Lager, Bock spring seasonal, and the hoppy Lord Chesterfield Ale and DJ Sequoia is back to spin tunes. Wine, soft drinks and hors d’oeuvres will also be provided. Tickets are $10 in advance at Eventbrite, with limited $15 tickets at the door.

To celebrate their 5th anniversary, DCist and Ten Miles Square have produced a special edition magazine featuring the winning photographs from all five years. The issue can be purchased online at MagCloud for $27.50, which comes with a digital version, or at Long View Gallery during the receptions for $25.

Long View Gallery is located at 1234 9th St. NW, just a few blocks from the Mt. Vernon/Convention Center Metro. All photographs displayed at DCist Exposed will be for sale at prices well below traditional gallery shows to encourage new art patrons. Regular gallery hours are Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m.

Opportunities for Artists

Deadline: April 11, 2011 (4 pm)

McLean Project for the Arts has a call out for Strictly Painting 8, which will be juried this year by Civilian Art Project's Jayme McClellan.

Details and entry forms here.

The more things change...

"At the height of the Washington Color School's popularity, Washington and New York art elites inhabited the same circles. Reed recalls meeting the abstract painter Robert Motherwell at an opening. Motherwell was married to Frankenthaler but was accompanied by Lisa Fonssagrives, the world's first supermodel, who was married to iconic photographer Irving Penn. "He moved in great feminine circles," Reed says.

But financial success eluded the artists. The Jefferson Place Gallery that supported so much of the Color School's work closed in 1975. The '80s were a bitter period for Washington art dealers, but the pressures on Reed did not change much for the worse. "It was always difficult. I have to sell. It's curious. I'm just about poverty level. Here I am this famous artist," Reed says.

He doesn't say whether the spotlight would have shined on Washington longer had a collector base emerged to support its painters."

The more they stay the same... Kriston Capps has an excellent piece on Paul Reed, the last of the Washington Color School painters; read it here.

Critical mass

A critical mass is about to occur between many art organizations.

Target Gallery, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, is sponsoring an outdoor exhibition of artist-made nests created by local arts groups. The event will take place just outside of Washington, DC at the Torpedo Factory Art Center along the waterfront of the Potomac River in Old Town Alexandria from Sunday, April 10 through Sunday, May 15, 2011.

The goal is to inspire people to look more closely at their own habitat. Coinciding with Earth Day and Mother’s Day, they hope to increase environmental awareness and encourage care for the planet that we all call home. They will also highlight Habitat’s work for building decent and affordable homes.

All nests will be composed primarily of natural renewable resources like leaves, twigs and driftwood, as well as recycled or re-purposed materials. The intent is to do no harm to the natural environment or wildlife, and everything will be removed at the end of the exhibition. Nest sites will include docks, decks, tree stumps, outcroppings of rock, and selected trees.

Free maps will guide visitors on a nest spotting walking tour, along the waterfront, through a park, into the Torpedo Factory and ending at Target Gallery, where the exhibition Nest can be seen.

What Does Home Mean to You? The public will be invited to participate in the building of a large community nest installed on the main floor of the Torpedo Factory, right outside the Target Gallery. They will provide long strips of paper for the public to answer the question “What does home mean to you?”

They will then be invited to weave their paper into the nest structure. The strips of paper will be for sale for $1 with all proceeds going to benefit the Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia.

To learn more, or donate to fund this project and make it a reality, visit this link.

American Contemporary Art magazine

The current issue of the magazine is out and I have a two page spread on pages 28-29 which cover a few key DMV area shows. Read it online here.

Little Havana Drinks

They don't call it Little Havana for nothing.... the last time that I was in Miami for the MIA Art Fair in January, I dropped by a local bodega for some pastelitos and a medianoche sandwich, and when I opened the cooler to get a cold drink I was amazed by the selection being presented:


Check out the "Cuba Herbal Energy Drink" can... heee heee... only in Miami...

More on Fraser Gallery closing

Jordan Edwards in the Gazette has some more insights into the recent and shocking announcement that one of the DMV's major art galleries, Fraser Gallery will close.

Read it all here. Just as I predicted, in a smart move, the owner will continue to do art fairs as a private online dealer.

I wish her the best.

Lenny-o Video

From the recent awards ceremony at Gallery West...

Mirror art at ARTiculate Gallery

There's a cool upcoming exhibition opening at VSA's ARTiculate Gallery. The show, "Reflections" was inspired by local artist Bob Benson and his work at the American Visionary Art Museum.

Benson worked with the artists in the ARTiculate Program (which provides artistic and vocational training to youth and adults with special needs) to create "mirror art" using glass-cutting techniques in a variety of styles, and the artists have created a unique body of work.

The opening will take place on Thursday, March 10th between 5:30 and 7:30pm at the ARTiculate Gallery, located at 1100 16th St NW. The reception will be free, open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

Postconceptualism: The Malleable Object at UMD


The Opening Reception of Postconceptualism: The Malleable Object is on Thursday, Mar. 10, 2011 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. They also welcome your presence at the Panel Discussion with Artists & Curator on Thursday, Mar. 17 beginning at 6:00 pm.

The Stamp Gallery is located on the first floor of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union-Center for Campus Life, at the University of Maryland, College Park. The gallery is free and open to the public Mondays-Thursdays 10:00am – 8:00pm; Fridays 10:00am – 6:00am, and Saturdays 11:00am – 5:00pm. For more information visit the gallery’s website or call (301) 314-8493.