Isla Balsera

For TBT, this 1976 collage...

This is my earliest piece from the Cuba series... I started it in 1976 (and used it in my portfolio to get into Art school at Washington)... it's a collage... I refined it at collage class with Jacob Lawrence (he used to teach at Washington).

It's in the collection of a major Cuban-American collector in New Jersey.

I created it using the Bicentennial Edition of the San Diego Tribune, published on July 4, 1976 (I was in the US Navy stationed in San Diego at the time). 

"Isla Balsera (Raft Island)" - Happy Birthday America, Wishing We Were There!
Collage on Paper, Framed to 30x40 inches, c. 1976
Private Collection in New Jersey

On Emerging Artists

With the rise of speculative collectors cashing in on younger artists—many of them just out of school—whose work is made cheaply and en masse, and resold at a significant profit, there has also been a hyper-professionalization of the role of the emerging artist himself. (My choice of pronoun is not by default: the artist in question is almost invariably male—the gender imbalance in the art market is on full view in this trend.) He has business cards, printed on fine paper stock. His website is pristine. His CV is extensive, and correctly formatted. He may have even hired a Hollywood agent. And yet the art market has refocused his goals toward short-lived commercial success rather than a career.

Must read article by Daniel S. Palmer here.

Art Basel to buy other art fairs

Switzerland’s MCH Group, the company that owns Art Basel, announced on Friday that it will expand further into the art market with a new initiative focused on regional art fairs.

Details here.

Open Studio Weekend: A Festival of the Arts

Open Studio Weekend: A Festival of the Arts at Washington ArtWorks

Date: Saturday and Sunday, April 2nd and 3rd

Time: 12-5pm

Cost: Free and Open to the Public

Contact #: 301.654.1998

Address: 12276 Wilkins Ave. Rockville, MD 20852

Website: http://washingtonartworks.com/galleries-events/open-studio-weekend/

April 2^nd and 3^rd, 2016 Washington ArtWorks, Montgomery County’s largest visual arts facility, opens to the public for the bi-annual Open Studio Weekend: A Festival of the Arts filled with art, shopping, film screenings, food trucks, live music, and more!

Over 70 artists create work in studios at Washington ArtWorks where creativity abounds for artists working in sculpture, painting, glass, fibers, jewelry, photography, and more. Visitors are able to shop, watch demos, and network with some of Montgomery County’s finest visual artists.

At Open Studio Weekend: A Festival of the Arts, attendees can indulge in delicious sweet and savory treats from food trucks, Holy Crepes and Curley Q’s BBQ, while local bands play live music.

Films by national and international artists will be screened throughout both days while art themed activities allow visitors of all ages to get creative and be a part of the art.

“This festival has tripled in size since its founding in 2014,” says President and CEO, Missy Loewe. “We expect this spring’s festival to be our largest yet and encourage all to be a part of this amazing event”.

Open Studio Weekend: A Festival of the Arts will be held from 12:00pm – 5:00pm both Saturday and Sunday, April 2^nd and 3^rd. Conveniently located at 12276 Wilkins Ave., Rockville, MD 20852, the arts center offers free parking, handicap accessibility, and easy access from Twinbrook Metro Station.

Coming to NYC

Alida Anderson Art Projects is pleased to present the work of three outstanding artists during the Spring 2016 Affordable Art Fair NYC. In light of Women’s History Month we would like to highlight the two women in our booth, Lauren Levato Coyne and Lori Katz. The artists both employ a graphic use of space and bold color but execute their final works with very different styles and media. Levato Coyne’s drawings feature animal and human forms in various levels of realism and Katz works in ceramic to create graphically inspired 3D wall pieces. 

Lauren Levato Coyne (Chicago, IL) works almost exclusively in colored pencil using themes of poison, violence, and addiction. “My drawings are paralinguistic symbolist portraits and still lives where meaning is indicated but encrypted,” said Levato Coyne. By combining lush realism with an economy of line and negative space Levato Coyne creates a schema that differentiates the human from the flora and fauna that populate the work. This schema differentiates the division between interior and exterior, reality and non-reality. 

 

Her drawings and paintings are shown in New York, Denver, and Los Angeles among other cities and can be found in private collections from NYC to Chicago, Germany to Italy. 

Lori Katz (Washington, DC) works as a ceramic artist. Her current focus is stoneware wall work with additions to the raw surface including contrasting clays, slips, underglaze and high-temperature wire. Post firing additions include acrylic paint, oil paint, cold wax and metal leaf. "I am intrigued by contrast, the play of dark against light, the pull of empty space against the inclination to fill it up, the placement of line and shape, the use of subtle texture, balance,” said Katz. "Eight years ago, I began working almost exclusively in a palette of black and white in what was a conscious effort to simplify process and design. Lately, color is finding its way back in as my work continues to evolve. I have learned that in the end, process is never simple and good design is always balanced and strong.”

Katz's work has been selected for juried and invitational exhibitions in the US, Europe and Asia, and is included in public and private collections throughout the world.

Instagram Disables Artist's Account of Disturbing Politician Portraits

"You might find them disturbing, but you also might be unable to turn your eyes away from Houston artist Phillip Kremer's grotesque, distorted portraits of politicians like Donald J. Trump, Ben Carson, and Bernie Sanders."

Read the whole piece at https://news.artnet.com/people/artist-bizarre-portraits-donald-trump-instagram-443546

Nassikas at the Athenaeum

Congrats to our own Georgia Nassikas - Join her on March 20th from 4 - 6 pm for the opening reception of her solo show “Quietude: Works in Wax and Oil” at the Athenaeum in Alexandria, VA. 

A beautiful venue by the way! 

Ten worst art fair mistakes

Number one is the same one that I've been warning artists about for years... and still lots of artists bite this bitter pill each year...

Read it here.

Banksy has been identified

“Geographic profiling”, a technique used to catch serial criminals, has proved that the elusive artist Banksy really is Robin Gunningham, according to academic research.
 Scientists at Queen Mary University of London claim to have “tagged” Banksy, by identifying a pattern between the locations where his graffiti artworks most frequently appear and addresses with a close association to Gunningham, named as Banksy in a 2008 newspaper investigation.

Read the whole article here.

Opportunity for artists

Deadline: March 14, 2016

The Young Affiliates of the Mint Museum (Charlotte, NC) host a juried art show in The Mint Museum Uptown in commemoration of The Mint Museum's upcoming 80th anniversary.   

To submit and for guidelines, visit www.youngaffiliates.org/80x80. For any questions, email 80x80show@gmail.com

Congrats!

To AAAP artist Carla Goldberg,  who has been commissioned to create a 16 foot five panel moon and water scape on plexiglass for the Hammond Museum for their summer 2016 exhibit. 

Also, three 14 foot water images of hers will grace the outdoor solarium on the newest Royal Caribbean cruise line ship currently under construction in Norway and set to launch this summer.

Also congrats to AAAP artist and DMV resident Elissa Farrow-Savos, as last nigth was the opening of her show, "If I Were You and You Were Me", at Gallery C in Raleigh, North Carolina; a gallery by the way, that discovered her work at a recent art fair a couple of years ago!

Art Scam Alert!

Beware of this rip off:

From:  Julian Smith (juliansmith@126.com)

Hello, my name is Julian and i am from Sinara Group Co.,LTD in Russia.We are glad to know about your company from the web and we are interested in your products.Pls send us your Latest catalog and price list as soon as you can.

Ms Julian Smith, Manager Importation

Opportunity for DMV artists

Deadline: April 29, 16. 

Christopher Newport University Dept. of Fine Art and Art History is looking for artists (in VA, DC, Baltimore) who can offer a workshop to their students as well as an Art Exhibition/Gallery Talk of their work during the 2016-17 academic year. 

They will provide reasonable stipend to assist with travel/shipping depending on circumstance. May offer honorarium to cover expenses associated with a Visiting Artist Workshop on campus. Contact jodie.gordon@cnu.edu to request submission requirements. Subject line: Call for Proposals. No phone calls please.

Part II of The Prostate Surgery: Borg

Part I here.

At the time that I checked into the hospital for my surgery, I was told that I would be discharged the next day, at least 97% of the men who undergo this type of surgery, get discharged within 24 hours of the operation. However, as fluids continued to come out of my body in prodigious quantities and the wasps continued to attack, I realized that I was part of the 3%.

I was released from the hospital on that Friday, three days after the surgery and two tubes sticking out of my body and uncomfortably sending chills of discomfort and pain every time that I moved. From there we headed out to the drugstore to pick up all of the different drugs that they had assigned for my return to home, including the anti-spasm medicine for my bladder that the medical system has so miserably failed to give me when the wasps first came at the hospital.

When we got to the drugstore, after the drive, made uncomfortable by two tubes sticking out of your body while you're sitting inside a car, I decided to take a small walk to the drugstore. As soon as I stepped inside, the tube from the catheter began to pull, making me really miserable.  

I looked around to make sure no one was looking at me, reached into my pants, adjusted my penis, and of course, as soon as I did that, an elderly lady wearing a yellow turban give me a long look as she came out from one of the aisles. 

She was quite a sight actually, only in Potomac do you get to see a 70-something older lady wearing a yellow turban, large loop earrings, full make up on, Daisy Duke shorts, a black leather jacket, giant Jackie Onassis sunglasses, and black Converse sneakers. 

Daisy Dukes in February! I actually smiled at her thinking "More power to you! But I best get the heck out of here before I get arrested." I could feel her eyes on me as I zombied out of Rite Aid.

As soon as I got home I took a hot shower. This was quite an exercise in controlled motion under the shower, as not only are there two tubes sticking out of one's body, but also they're very sensitive to any tugging and pulling. It also involves switching the large urine bag for the smaller one, and tying them around your leg. But the hot shower felt good, it was the first time since Tuesday that I had taken a shower. I wonder if Borgs shower.

There's a certain fascinating horror that comes with seeing the human body in extremis. There is a perverse sense of visual pain in seeing things that are wrong with one's body reflected in a full-size mirror for the first time in front of you: The angry scars left by the robot entry points into the body, the tube sticking out of your penis with a large bag at the end of it, and the tube sticking out of your stomach with a smaller bag at its own end. Each movement could be a disaster, each step a coordinated dance to avoid or minimize the movement of the tubes. Sleeping with tubes in your body is an art form in itself, but exhaustion always wins in the end.

For the next several days, I perfected the routine of switching the bandages around the stomach tube entry point into the belly, emptying and measuring bag after bag of fluids coming out of your body, and performing the delicate dance shower in order to to avoid hurting yourself.

At some point during the week, a nice nurse from Suburban Hospital called. She wants feedback on the stay, and as I relate the events detailed in my earlier blog post, she is horrified by the fact that no one gave me a Spirometer, that no one gave me medicine for the bladder spasms, and that no one helped me to combat the wasps.

And today, more than two weeks and three visits to the doctor later, I prepared for another visit to the doctor to evaluate pulling the tubes out and returning me to the human race, like Picard did from his time amongst the Borg as Locutus..

As the doctor pulls the stomach tube out, my wife's eyes widen as he does. Later on she tells me that she could not believe how long that tube was; it must have been coiled inside me.

The process didn't hurt as much as it was rather noticeable to my alarm senses, but quick. My doctor tells me that I need to return on Monday to see about pulling off the catheter.

Will that hurt? You bet, but still I look forward to that day; Borg no more!

5 tips for setting up (or improving) your photography website

For a photographer, setting up a website comes with a lot of pressure. As artists, our websites need to reflect our style and showcase our work, but they also need to be easy to navigate, fully functional on all types of devices, and make it easy for clients to book a session or purchase prints. All of this can be overwhelming, but since there is no better forum for displaying photos and having a wide reach, every photographer should consider having a website.

Read the whole article here.

Field trip to see Holly Bass' first solo!

This Saturday there's super cool way to see something unique and important in the visual arts, see a gorgeous art space near the DMV that most city folk have never seen, and experience one of the DMV's most talented artists' first solo show.

My friend, the very talented  Holly Bass, is exploring her family roots through poetry, visuals and song at her first solo show in the beautiful Black Rock Arts Center. To make it a whole package, there is a chartered school bus going to BlackRock on Saturday! It leaves from Dupont Circle and goes to directly to the gallery with complimentary Dos Equis beer. 

Field trip!  

Saturday March 5

Root Work: Exhibition & live performance

Black Rock Arts Center
12901 Town Commons Dr.Germantown, MC 20874

This performance, video installation and photographic series explores the intersections of land, labor, and family.  Bass went down to her father’s birthplace in Georgia to share his story of growing up in a family of sharecroppers, picking cotton by hand, providing a window on the complicated roots of one aspect of our national identity. The exhibition will remain on view in the gallery through March 26.

Take a chartered bus from Dupont Circle to Black Rock on Saturday. Click here for $6 bus tickets!

Bus to BlackRock leaves at 11am.
Free performance at 1pm.
For more info: Black Rock Arts Center

Bonus:  Due to my current BORG-like state, where I am full of medical tubes, I can't go, but I would love to publish a review of the show here. If you do attend the show and want to get published, email me a review, and pending approval, I will publish it here.

Exposed DC Photography Show – 10th Anniversary Exhibition

Exposed DC Photography Show – 10th Anniversary Exhibition

– Get advance tickets now

 

An exhibit of 47 images of the Washington metro area

Opening reception: Thursday, March 10, 6 to 10 p.m., Carnegie Library, 801 K Street NW

 

Exhibit hosted by the Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

 

Local photography groups will provide entertainment and activities in the ballroom

 

Exhibition Magazine and Poster: 10th year commemorative editions available for purchase

 Best in Show awards chosen by a panel of distinguished local photographers

Beer provided by Bluejacket Brewery; Beats by DJ Neville C.

Advance tickets: Adult $35 / Under 21 $20 / 12 and Under FREE

– Door tickets: $45 / Under 21 $30 / 12 and Under FREE

– #exposeddc #xdc

 

**********************************

Exposed DC is celebrating 10 years of the Exposed DC Photography Show this year. It will be hosted by the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. from March 10 to April 1, 2016, on the second floor of the Carnegie Library.

These 47 winning photographs were chosen from a contest for their unique view of the Washington area – not as a political venue or tourist destination, but as a place where we live and work and love every day. Five of those photographs will be awarded our Best in Show prizes, each one chosen by a panel of distinguished metro-area photographers: Lucian Perkins, Susana Raab, Lauren Stockbower, Yodith Dammlash, and Carolyn Russo.

To celebrate a decade of amazing local photography, the Exposed DC opening reception will be held throughout the Carnegie Library; cocktail attire suggested. We’re showing our commitment to fostering photography for all skill levels and pursuits by partnering with local photography groups to provide entertainment and engaging activities throughout the Library: Critical Exposure, Capital Photography Center, Leica Store DC, The Exposure Group African American Photography Association, IGDC, HOIST Studio, and APA|DC. 
D.C.’s own Bluejacket Brewery will provide their original brews at an open bar; complimentary wine and snacks will also be available. DJ Neville C. will provide dance tunes in the Carnegie Library’s fantastic L'Enfant Map Room.

A full color 10th Anniversary Exhibition Magazine with the last 5 years of winning photos be available at the opening, along with the 5th Anniversary Magazine companion volume from 2006-2011.

Exhibit hours:
Tuesday-Friday: 10am-4pm
Saturday, March 12: 10am-4pm
(Exhibit closed March 17, 18, 22)
Closing day: Friday, April 1

All photographs displayed will be for sale.

Art fair fees

Just as an example of the spectacular financial burden of art fairs: Just finishing assembling all the paperwork required by my accountant to do 2015 taxes.

In 2015 we paid $66, 466 in art fair fees + $738 in art fair insurance + $3, 938 in travel/hotels to/from them + $908 in food + $1200 in shipping expenses after the fairs (we use the gallery van to drive the work to/from fairs and thus save those massive shipping expenses).

That's $73, 250 Samolians in expenses for five art fairs in 2015! About $14,650 per art fair.

And still, that's the main way to go if one wants to expose, expand and move artwork.

Scary.

At Zenith Gallery: 38 years!

Celebrating Zenith Gallery's 38th Anniversary

Show Dates: March 11 - April 16, 2016   

At 1429 Iris St., NW, Washington, DC  20012

MEET THE ARTISTS RECEPTIONS

Friday, March 11, 4:00-8:00 pm  and  Saturday, March 12, 2:00-6:00pm

Featuring Artists:

Kim Abraham, Jan Paul Acton, Doba Afolabi, Mason Archie, David Bacharach, Andrea Barnes, Bert Beirne, Harman Biddle, Francesca Britton, Lenny Campello, Peter Kephart, Katie Dell-Kaufman, Renee DuRocher, Elissa Farrow-Savos, Richard Fitzhugh, Robert Freeman, Carol Gellner-Levin, Cassandra Gillens, Julie & Ken Girardini, Margery Goldberg, Stephen Hansen, Len Harris, Chris Hayman, Philip Hazard, Tony Henson, Frank Holmes, David Hubbard, David Jackson, Hubert Jackson, Robert Jackson, Peter Kephart, Gloria Kirk, Joan Konkel, Michael Madzo, Chris Malone, Paul Martin-Wolff, Donna McCullough, Hadrian Mendoza, Davis Morton, Reuben Neugass, Carol Newmyer, Tom Noll, Katharine Owens, Patti Porter-Firestone, Alison Sigethy Gavin Sewell, Sica, Ellen Sinel, Bradley Stevens, Charles Taube, Jennifer Wagner, Marcie Wolff-Hubbard, Mary Voytek, Curtis Woody, Joyce Zipperer and many more!

For over three decades, Zenith Gallery has been a pillar in the D.C. art community. In fact, this year marks their 38th year of business. "We attribute our success to our ability to transform with the ever-changing times. We do this by combining our longstanding commitment to inspired, unique artworks with our personalized, high quality customer service," notes Margery Goldberg, Zenith's owner and director.

"Over the years, Zenith has been evolving and innovating, just as our artists have", she continues. "Some of you may recall Zenith's humble beginnings on Rhode Island Avenue" (when Goldberg formed one of the District's first artist studio complexes). "Others of you may have first known Zenith Gallery in our 7th Street location when we were one of several galleries that lined what was known as 'Gallery Row'," she adds. 

Yet still others of you may have first encountered the current manifestation of Zenith Gallery - found within Goldberg's spacious Shepherd Park home. Present-day Zenith Gallery includes both a front and a rear Sculpture Garden, European-Style salon gallery displays on the main level and upper level of the complex, and, last but not least - a contemporary-style, conventional gallery on the lower level. 

In short, today's Zenith Gallery offers much more than merely a white walled art gallery with a few dozen works of art. Instead, "you step into a world that is a veritable kaleidoscope of art mediums and genres, with works ranging from abstract expressionistic to photo realism... with pieces that range in size from monumental sculpture to intricately fabricated one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry."

  
Join Zenith for their series "Speaking of Art..." as part of this month-long celebration!

Friday, March 18, 6:30-8:30 PM

Meet and Greet with Robert Freeman

Saturday, March 19th 2-4 PM

"Getting Started Collecting Art" - Featuring Collectors and Director Margery Goldberg and Peter Kephart

Thursday, March 24th 5:30-7:30 PM 

"Innovation and the Creative Spirit" - Featuring artists Len Harris, Peter Kephart, Katharine Owens, and Joyce Zipperer

Thursday, March 31st  5:30-7:30 PM

"Portraiture and Commissions" - Featuring artists Ken and Julie Girardini, and Bradley Stevens 

Saturday, April 2nd 2-4 PM  

"African American Artists in the20th Century and Beyond" - Featuring artists Chris Malone, Hubert Jackson and Gloria Kirk

Saturday, April 9th 2-4 PM 

"Appraising, Maintaining and Cataloging Art" - Featuring ISA Accredited Appraiser, Suzanne Alessi and Collectors

Models wanted

Seeking experienced artists models to pose for drawing/painting group at Mount Rainier Artist Loft,  3311 Rhode Island Ave,  Mount Rainier MD. 

They will meet on Thursday evenings, from 7 to 9. 

Call or text 202-427-2907 to discuss details.