Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Kessler & Weiblinger at BlackRock

Up Close and Personal: Opening Reception

Main Gallery | Thursday, Nov 21, 2013 | 5:30 PM | $ Free

Up Close and Personal: Opening Reception
Artists: Glen Kessler (painter) and Richard Weiblinger (photographer)
A modern perspective through the eyes of a photographer and a painter
Exhibit: November 13 –December 20, 2013.

These two hardworking artists are great examples of DMV artists who work hard at exhibiting their work and don't waste time complaining about lack of exhibition opportunities... go check them out! 

Details here.

Ahhh...

Monday, November 11, 2013

Thank you to all veterans!

Thank you!

U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class David Danals
To all US veterans, both those who have served and those who are serving in all corners of the planet while we're home with our families. A well-deserved thank you to all the soldiers, sailors, airmen/women, Marines and Coasties.

Below is Petty Officer Third Class Lenny Campello back in 1975 while stationed aboard USS Saratoga (CV-60) in Mayport, Florida.

Lenny Campello, USN
And then Lieutenant Commander Lenny Campello back in 1992 while assigned as the Executive Officer (XO) of NSGA Skaggs Island, California.

LCDR Lenny Campello, USN

Sunday, November 10, 2013

ABMB Art Fair Guide

In less than a month, the Miami metro area will be the site of numerous contemporary art fairs and art events including Art Miami, CONTEXT, Art Basel Miami Beach, Pulse Miami, and many more.  Art-Collecting.com takes an in-depth look at all the festivities in their free 2013 Miami and Miami Beach Art Fair Guide.

We will be at CONTEXT (within Art Miami) in booth E82.

Saturday, November 09, 2013

World's tallest statue

Opposition leader Narendra Modi launched the construction of the world's tallest statue on Thursday, a $338 million project in honour of one of the country's founding fathers, that he is using to undermine the ruling Nehru-Gandhi political family.
Read the story here 

Thursday, November 07, 2013

From my collection: Mark Jenkins

Mark Jenkins, Pubic Hair, Photograph, circa 2005
Mark Jenkins is now one of the world's best known and most widely traveled street artists. This very cool photo by Jenkins was part of his 2005 solo show at Georgetown's iconic Fraser Gallery. You can see his work here.

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Spectacular sunset tonight (phone pic)

Potomac Sunset, November 6, 2013,

Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Nazi stolen art found!

Tax authorities in Munich were searching the home of Cornelius Gurlitt, a suspected tax cheat. They surely hoped to find something implicating him in chiseling the tax system. Since Gurlitt is the reclusive son of a Munich art dealer, perhaps the tax authorities thought they might find some art in addition to evidence of tax evasion.

However, they surely didn’t expect to stumble across an astounding 1,500 paintings by masters like Matisse, Picasso and Chagall. The treasure trove of priceless art vanished during the Nazi regime and is valued at $1 billion. 
Read the whole thing here.

Monday, November 04, 2013

La Rubell and Baltimore artists...

Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) has announced the names of the artists whose work was selected by Mera Rubell, Co-Founder of the Rubell Family Collection,  from the WPA  36 Studios/36 Hours marathon in Baltimore October 26 and 27.
WPA, a 38-year-old nonprofit organization presenting contemporary art and supporting artists in the Greater Washington region, invited Mrs. Rubell to serve as one of eight curators for its 33rd Annual Art Auction Exhibition, SELECT 2014. Each year, WPA invites prestigious curators from renowned institutions to select works which are exhibited for approximately one month and then auctioned to benefit the organization and artists. As an artist service organization, WPA is proud of its long history of equally sharing proceeds of the auction art sales with the artists  (a 50/50 split).

Beginning at 6am on Saturday, October 26, 2013, Mrs. Rubell set out on a 36-hour studio visit marathon throughout the city of Baltimore accompanied by Lisa Gold, WPA Executive Director, and a constantly changing entourage of reporters, photographers, collectors, gallerists, curators, and other arts professionals. From School 33 to the Creative Alliance and at many studios in between, Ms. Rubell listened to, questioned, prodded, and bonded with the 36 artists who were selected through the 36 Studios /36 Hours lottery.

The marathon ended Sunday, October 27 at 6pm and culminated in a reception for all of the artists who applied for a studio visit as well as people in the Baltimore art community. The party, held at Rubell's Lord Baltimore Hotel, was attended by over 200 people and brought together the community in a veritable "love fest" of Baltimore art.

Mrs. Rubell was initially tasked with selecting approximately 10-15 works by 10-12 artists. She ended up selecting 25 works by 19 artists. "There were so many amazing artists," exclaimed Mrs. Rubell. "People should know what's happening in Baltimore." As the visits were made in her role as a curator for WPA's Art Auction Exhibition, many considerations went into Mrs. Rubell's decision-making process, such as scale of the work and availability for exhibition. "The choices were very difficult," Rubell professed. "All of the work I saw was of high quality and the artists were extremely professional and talented."

In a surprise announcement, Mrs. Rubell has arranged for the works she selected to be previewed in New York before the WPA SELECT 2014 exhibition. From January 11 through January 18, 2014, Marianne Boesky Gallery's uptown space (118 E 64th Street) will host Baltimore Artists + WPA + Mera Rubell = LOVE, an exhibition featuring the 25 works chosen through the 36 Studios/36 Hours adventure. The New York preview is a first for WPA and the SELECT auction. "I'm thrilled to be able to offer this incredible opportunity to these talented artists, the majority of whom have no gallery representation, and to be able to bring together the Washington, Baltimore, and New York art communities through our inspired adventure and this wonderful exhibition," said Lisa Gold.
The selected artists are:

Amanda Burnham, Michelle Dickson, Dave Eassa, Alex Ebstein, Cliff Evans, Sean FitzPatrick, Ryan Hoover, Jason Hughes, Tiffany Jones, Gary Kachadourian, Magnolia Laurie, Curtis Miller, Cara Ober, Rachel Rotenberg, Ginevra Shay, Jo Smail, Ryan Syrell, Alessandra Torres, and Stewart Watson.

SELECT 2014 will be on view February 27 through March 21, 2014 at Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209. Hours are Wednesday-Friday: 4 - 11pm; Saturday: Noon - 11pm; Sunday: Noon - 5pm; Monday & Tuesday: Closed. Admission is free.

Baltimore Artists + WPA + Mera Rubell = LOVE will be hosted by Marianne Boesky Gallery, 118 E 64th Street, New York, NY 10065 from January 11 through January 18, 2014. Hours are Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 6pm. Admission is free.

From my collection: Grant Silverstein

Diana and her huntresses surprised by the sudden appearance of Actaeon by Grant Silverstein
This is Diana and her huntresses surprised by the sudden appearance of Actaeon by the immensely talented Pennsylvania self-taught printmaker Grant Silverstein. You can buy Silverstein etchings here.

Saturday, November 02, 2013

Hey! That's my moustache!

I don't know how long this will be online, but WJLA has the picture of my moustache illustrating this story.

Ahhh... thank you! I think?

Friday, November 01, 2013

The art of the fake...

Frida Kahlo, cough, cough.... click here ... then sort through some of the listings and see how many "undiscovered" Frida Kahlos you can find...

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

And the DCCAH grants go to...

This year, the DCCAH received 632 applications requesting over $18 million in funding. All eligible applications are reviewed by Advisory Review Panels, which are convened by DCCAH board members (yours truly was one of the Advisory Panel members). For FY14, the DCCAH held 20 Advisory Review Panels and enlisted the expertise of over 120 Advisory Review Panelists (I was one of them) who read, discussed, and scored each application.

The DCCAH funded a broad spectrum of innovative and exciting artists, programs, and organizations. For example, individual artists in music and visual arts, programs that teach young people, and institutions that serve residents and visitors across the city will be awarded grants this year. These grantees contribute to the District's cultural landscape that provides an economic impact of over $1.1 billion to the city.

Follow this link to see a complete list of FY14 grant recipients. Below are the key Artist Fellowship program awardees (with a lot of the usual suspects)... Congrats to all of them!

In spite of the severe financial austerity environment, DC seems to be somehow still kicking ass and taking names when it comes to sheckels and the arts...

FY14 Grant Awardees - Artist Fellowship Program

FY14 Artist Fellowship Program Awardees
Name Ward Official Amount
Abdul Ali 6 $5,000
Adam Davies 3 $10,000
Alexis Gillespie 4 $10,000
Anna Edholm Davis 4 $7,500
Anne Marchand 2 $10,000
Anu Yadav 4 $10,000
Armando Lopez-Bircann 1 $5,000
Assane Konte 5 $7,500
Ayanna Gregory 4 $10,000
Brian Settles 5 $10,000
Carmen Wong 2 $10,000
Carolyn Joyner 1 $5,000
Cecilia Cackley 6 $10,000
Christylez Bacon 1 $5,000
Dan Steinhilber 6 $10,000
Dana Burgess 3 $5,000
Dana Ellyn 2 $5,000
Daniel Flint 6 $5,000
David Keplinger 2 $10,000
Dean Kessmann 3 $10,000
Elizabeth Acevedo 6 $10,000
Ellie Walton 1 $10,000
Emiliano Ruprah 4 $5,000
Eric Gottesman 1 $5,000
Fawna Xiao 6 $5,000
Fred Joiner 6 $7,500
Gregory Ferrand 4 $10,000
Holly Bass 1 $10,000
James Byers 7 $10,000
Joey Manlapaz 6 $7,500
Jonathan Tucker 6 $10,000
Juan Gaddis 4 $5,000
Julia Bloom 3 $10,000
Karen Baker 5 $5,000
Karen Evans 5 $7,500
Karen Zacarias 1 $10,000
Kate MacDonnell 1 $10,000
Kim Roberts 1 $5,000
Krys Kornmeier 3 $5,000
Linn meyers 4 $7,500
Lisa Farrell 5 $5,000
Liz Maestri 1 $5,000
Maggie Michael 2 $7,500
Marjuan Canady 4 $5,000
Mark Parascandola 1 $10,000
Matt Sesow 1 $7,500
Matthew Mann 6 $7,500
Maureen Andary 4 $7,500
Maurice Saylor 5 $10,000
Michael Janis 5 $10,000
Michael Sirvet 2 $10,000
Michelle Herman 4 $7,500
Mickey Terry 7 $10,000
Miya Hisaka 3 $5,000
Molly Springfield 1 $5,000
Naomi Ayala 1 $10,000
Norman Allen 4 $10,000
Paul Bishow 1 $7,500
Paul Reuther 2 $7,500
Paul Thornley 6 $7,500
Rania Hassan 5 $7,500
Regie Cabico 1 $10,000
Renee Stout 5 $7,500
Rik Freeman 7 $7,500
Ruth Forman 5 $7,500
Sam McCormally 5 $5,000
Sandra Beasley 1 $10,000
Sara Curtin 1 $7,500
Sean Hennessey 5 $7,500
Siobhan Rigg 5 $7,500
Sondra Arkin 2 $10,000
Stanley Squirewell 5 $5,000
Stephon Senegal 4 $7,500
Thomas Colohan 1 $10,000
Tim Tate 2 $7,500
Trevor Young 2 $7,500
Valerie Theberge 3 $10,000
Yi Chen 3 $10,000

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

White House blues...

Redux: It all depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is...

Cough, cough...

Lisa Montag at AU


Korda at Oregon


Chicoms and fake art...

No Chinese painting had ever fetched so much at auction, and, by the end of the year, the sale appeared to have global implications, helping China surpass the United States as the world’s biggest art and auction market.

But two years after the auction, Qi Baishi’s masterpiece is still languishing in a warehouse in Beijing. The winning bidder has refused to pay for the piece since doubts were raised about its authenticity. 
 Read the NYT story here. And chances are that if you think that you own a real Wifredo Lam, you're in the same boat... cough, cough...

Monday, October 28, 2013

For Miami...

Just ordered the largest frame to date for my most ambitious electronics-embedded project yet... not my largest work of art ever - that monster is in a private NYC collection - but my largest work with embedded electronics.

It will be three feet by five feet and part of the "Contemporary Art" series, where I usually show someone overwhelmed by contemporary art... painting actually. It will start at ten grand; my most expensive piece yet and a natural growth in price over many years.

We will be at CONTEXT in Miami in December, and showcasing Dulce Pinzon, Simon Monk, Ric Garcia, Audrey Wilson and yours truly.

If you are an artist, or a gallerist, or a serious collector in 2013, then you need to go to Miami in December, but before you do that, you need to make sure that you have plenty of the most valuable commodity on the planet: information!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

La Rubell all over Baltimore

Over 150 artists entered the lottery to have the opportunity to have Mera Rubell visit their studio and these are a few of the lucky 36 selected. Ms. Rubell and Ms. Gold, Director of the WPA, were joined at points throughout their tour with notable arts professionals from local museums and galleries as well as members of the press from Baltimore and Washington, DC. After the 36 hour marathon Ms. Rubell has invited participants and all applicants to 36 Studios: Part Two to join her for an after party at the Lord Baltimore Hotel on Sunday, October 27 from 6-8:00pm.

 Cara Ober has a very cool report on Mera Rubell studio-visiting tour all over Baltimore... check it out here.