Check's in the mail

The grants were to have been used in the “coming year,” the foundation said when it announced them in March 2009. But the money — more than $100,000 in total — has yet to be received, and recipients who have tried to contact the foundation for information at its New York headquarters have been met by a disconnected number and returned mail.

Read the NYT story here.

Students at the Corcoran

Six Corcoran student artists have their Fine Arts Senior Thesis Exhibition opening at the Corcoran's Gallery 31 on March 25th from 6pm-8pm.

I'm hearing good things about a piece titled il·lu·so·ry, a huge 3.5 ft x 30 ft mixed media illustration by Jessika Dené Tarr.

Hors D'oeuvres and wine will be served in Corcoran's Atrium which is the room directly next to Gallery 31. Show goes through the 28th. Details and schedule here.

Generations in Glass at Glenview

"Generations in Glass" is presented by the National Capital Art Glass Guild. This juried event includes over 130 unique art glass objects, representing over 60 of the DC area's finest glass artists. Several diverse styles will be on display including blown, kilnformed, flameworked and stained art glass. This is a free exhibit and runs through April 27. See below for more details.

March 28 - April 27, 2010
Glenview Mansion Art Gallery at Rockville Civic Center Park
603 Edmonston Drive
Rockville, MD 20851

Meet the Artist Reception: Sunday, March 28 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm. It is followed by a panel discussion.

Contemporary Art Projects Grand Opening on Friday

Remember that I told you that the former award-winning (for gallery design) Numark space was about to be re-used as a gallery space?

Amy Morton of Morton Fine Art will have the grand opening for a pop-up project, a series of innovative, curated art exhibitions and events that “pop-up” at various locations throughout Washington, DC at that space this coming Friday.


The first exhibition, I Dream Awake runs from March 18 to May 28, 2010 at the former Numark Gallery space located in Penn Quarter at 625-627 E St NW.

I Dream Awake is a curated selection of works that presents original artist expressions which explore the link between awakened realities and unconscious dreams. The exhibition includes artwork in various media by New York artists, Mikel Glass, Kenichi Hoshine and Margaret Bowland; Los Angeles artists Vonn Sumner and Susan Burnstine; and local artists Rosemary Feit Covey, Laurel Hausler, Lizzie Newton and Tim Tate.

The formal opening reception with the artists in attendance will be held on Friday, March 26th from 6 - 9pm.

Happy Birthday to the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

Today is the birthday of Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, who was born in Marianao, Havana, Cuba, to José Antonio Mestre y Alvarez and his wife María Teresa Batista y Falla de Mestre.

She graduated from the University of Geneva in political sciences in 1980. It was there that Miss Mestre met Prince Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

They married in 1981.

We're everywhere...

In town...


Previous Virginia Groot Foundation First Place Award Winners were all in town to to review the submissions for the 2010 sculpture award. From left to right, Martha Jackson Jarvis, Tim Tate, Candice Groot, Stanley Shetka, and Christina Bothwell.

Rosemary Feit Covey at the Art League

I've been following the career of master printmaker Rosemary Feit Covey for years now.

And for years I have been mesmerized by not only her technical skill but also by her powerful and often shocking imagery.

Over the years I've also seen Rosemary do something that my good bud Jeffry Cudlin likes: she keeps pushing and redefining the genre of printmaking to the point that she can no longer be categorized and labeled simply as a printmaker.

In fact, since I brought Cudlin into the discussion, I submit as evidence of my point the exhibition that she had at the Arlington Arts Center (where Cudlin is curator) a while back.

By the way, the gent in that cherry picker installing that massive work of art by Rosemary Feit Covey around the Arlington Arts Center is Cudlin, the Center's curator and the City Paper's chief art critic.

Enough of Cudlin.

But even knowing the enviable artistic reserves of this artist I was not prepared for what she has done with the work currently on display at the Art League Gallery, inside the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria.

Let me tell you early in this discussion: this is the best art show that I have ever seen at the Art League Gallery; ever.

At the Art League exhibition, Rosemary has two distinct sets of artworks that once again move printmaking to a new place: one is a set of "peep boxes" and the second is a set of lighted wall installations.


The peep show boxes line up in the center of the gallery, and at first seem a bit quizzical until one realizes what they are: Feit Covey tells us that "in the 18th and 19th Centuries peep show viewing was a popular and innocent form of street entertainment, developing into toy theaters. Using lenses and mirrors, an interior world could be created by peering into the mysterious box. She adds that the "term Peep Show ultimately came be to most closely associated with viewing pornographic films and live sex shows."

In her peep show box series, Feit Covey smartly marries the disquieting secrecy of the act of peeping into the box with the moist trapped sexuality brought about by the contemporary connotation of the term “Peep Show."

She does this by offering us innocent looking Victorian-era type peep show boxes in nice oak colors.

When we bend down and peep into them, we spy a set of suggestive, rather than overtly sexual, engravings. The objectification of the women in the imagery has not reached its climax yet, to be a bit coarse on the issue here.



And yet, by simply placing the print inside a box, she forces us into the tingly role of voyeur and peeper. The height of the stands where the boxes rest also force one to bend down in order to steal a surprisingly clear and well lit glimpse of a set of 10 suggestive etchings.



On the walls Feit Covey has a series of back lit boxes that are lined with dozens and dozens of strips of etchings. The appearance is that of a photographic process in the development stage.



It is a hypnotic installation. We are attracted at first, like moths to the light, to peer close at the imagery that dangles, like negatives in a pornographer's darkroom, inside each back lit box. The engravings are printed on Japanese papers and phone book pages, and then the vertical strips are encased in an encaustic medium.

The subjects on the strips, a young woman and a much older man, play a sexual drama that is riveting and disturbing. Some people, Feit Covey relates, have been offended by what is depicted on the strips, which all through the scenes barely restrain a growl of controlled sexual violence clearly hidden under the surface of the two subjects.

The old man is using the young woman as a captive sexual toy; there's a sharp hint of restrained danger in the images. "They are a real couple," she related to me a while back when I first saw this new series of work being produced. "She is much younger than him, and they have this sexual relationship based on routines and scenarios such as these."

Throw the element of reality into the disturbing imagery and it adds a whole new element of peeping into the dark sexual melodramas of the unusual couple. "They are quite in love with each other," she adds.

I force myself not to think ordinary thoughts. The wholesome and attractive woman and the decaying, wizened old man have discovered a sexual formula that bridges their huge age gap with a slippery and dangerous rope bridge.



In narrating their story, and in bringing the narration out of the mat and frame of the two dimensionality of intaglio etchings, Feit Covey has delivered a self contained installation that reinvents the world of the photographer in terms of the tools of the trade of the printmaker.

In continuing to bring the print out of the frame, and relocating it where it is not just a geographical move but a psychological transformation, she has achieved a singularly unique new direction for this most traditional of genres.

In this Art League show, Feit Covey has also set a new standard for that gallery and a opened up a whole new road for the Torpedo Factory.

In fact, after this show, the usual labels affixed to the kind of art that most people associate with the Torpedo Factory artists no longer sticks. Not that they ever applied to this talented artist.

The exhibition runs through April 15, 2010.

Opportunity for Artists: One Hour Photo

Deadline: March 31st, 2010.

The premise of the show is simple: photographic works, projected for one hour each, after which they will never be seen again, by anyone, in any form. They therefore exist only for one hour, they are "one hour photos," a limited edition of 60 minutes.

In this way, One Hour Photo complicates the myth of photography as preservation, manifests the tension between the permanence of the medium and the impermanence of time, and subverts the profit model of the edition and the print.

Although there are no strict subject matter or stylistic guidelines, One Hour Photo is particularly interested in work that engages in dialogue with the themes that the concept naturally raises: ephemerality, memory, anti-artifact, loss, nostalgia, magic, time, disappearance, dissolution, whispers, traces, ghosts, etc.

To ensure that the works will never be seen, and to document the show, each artist will sign a "morally binding" release form stating that he or she will never reproduce, sell, or show the work to the public after its one hour "exposure." The curators will also sign the release form, and all release forms will be displayed on the One Hour Photo site as documentation of the show. The show itself will contain approximately 120 works curated by Chandi Kelley, or one per hour for the duration of the exhibition's open hours. One Hour Photo will show from May 8 – June 6, 2010 at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, Washington, D.C, as part of the Spirat exhibition.

They seek previously unpublished / undisplayed photographs or photographic-based work. Work selected will be projected for exactly one hour during the exhibition, with the understanding that it will not be shown, reproduced or sold from that moment forward.

It can all be done online and there's no fee. Check out the Call to Artists here.

Wanna go to a cool DC opening tonight?

Maria Friberg: transmission and Dean Kessmann: Art as Paper as Potential opens tonight Saturday, March 20th from 6-8pm with the artists in attendance at Conner Contemporary.

Amy Lin on TV

Click here to see the TV segment.

Buy Amy Lin now.

An Olfactory Art Lab

Have you ever pondered how the olfactory sense affects visual perception, or how a scent can evoke a dormant childhood memory? In this unconventional exhibition international curator, art critic and clinical allergist, Dr. Kóan Jeff Baysa, asks artists and fragrance researchers to explore how the physical self experiences and knows the world through the sense of smell.

An Olfactory Art Lab: Trading in Paints for Perfumes opened last week at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery and I've been hearing good things about this rather unique show. Exhibiting Artists: Peter Hopkins, Mathias Kessler, Josee Lepage, Anne McClain,
Gayil Nalls, Carrie Paterson, Tobias Wong, Jiayi Young & Shih-Wen Young.

Details here.

TV does the arts

This is one of the rarest things that ever happens in the DMV: A local TV station, attracted by the "buzz" about an art show, actually does a feature about it!

WJLA, the local ABC station in DC (Channel 7) News will air a profile of artist Amy Lin and her show at Addison/Ripley Fine Art.

The segment will be shown later today Friday, March 19 on the 5pm News.

It will be interesting to see what a little rare TV attention will do regionally to an artist of the caliber of Lin. If you've been thinking about acquiring a Lin, I'd do it before the segment airs.

Amy tells me that she will be at Addison/Ripley Fine Art from 4-6pm on Saturday, March 20, in case anyone wants to see the show while she's there and talk to her about it.

Congrats Amy!

PS - Can anyone tell me who coined the phrase "the glass teat" to describe television? I know who did, but I want to know if you know who did. And Guy Mondo... I know that you know who did!

Genetics in clothing design

Via

Gateway Arts Center at Brentwood Grand Opening Tomorrow

A former warehouse space along U.S. Route 1 has been transformed into the Gateway Arts Center at Brentwood. On March 19, 2010, starting at 3PM, the Gateway Arts Center at Brentwood (GAC@B) will be dedicated with a celebration following to mark the arrival of this new visual arts center in the Gateway Arts District.

The Gateway Arts Center at Brentwood (GAC@B) is a multi-faceted facility dedicated to the production, exhibition and programming of visual art. The GAC@B serves as a dynamic resource for artists and a vibrant, creative social experience reflecting and engaging a diverse community.

GAC@B houses:a dozen art studios; the 39th Street Gallery, a gallery operated by Gateway CDC; the visual arts programs of the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (including a gallery, a contemporary craft showcase, and classroom); and the temporary exhibition space of the Prince George's County African American Museum and Cultural Center (PGAAMCC) at North Brentwood.

Speakers at the dedication will include: Anthony Brown, Lieutenant Governor, State of Maryland; Raymond Skinner, Secretary, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development; Samuel J. Parker, Jr., AICP, Chairman Prince George's County Planning Board; Xzavier Montgomery-Wright, Mayor of Brentwood; Lillian Beverly, Chair of Prince George's County African American Museum and Cultural Center; Ani Kasten, resident artist; Brad Frome, Office of Will Campos, Prince George's County Council District 2 and Floyd Wilson, Office of the County Executive. Senator David Harrington and Delegates Jolene Ivey, Doyle Niemann and Victor Ramirez of the 47th District, State of Maryland are also slated to attend.

The GAC@B will throw open its doors to the public following a ribbon cutting ceremony, allowing the visitors to view three distinct galleries and peruse the artist studios. The 39th Street Gallery, owned and operated by Gateway CDC has an exhibition of GAC@B resident artists curated by Claire Huschle, Executive Director of Arlington Arts Center.

MNCPPC's Brentwood Arts Exchange features works curated by yours truly and quilts by African American artists are on display in Gallery 110, the exhibition space of the Prince George's County African American Museum and Cultural Center (PGAAMCC).

The Gateway Arts Center is located at 3901 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, MD 20722, just over the District line on Rhode Island Avenue.

Free Seminar for Artists

On April 10, 2010 from 1-5pm, Gateway CDC in partnership with MNCPPC will be hosting my well-known “Bootcamp for Artists” seminar at no cost to the artists.

This seminar is suitable for all visual artists interested in taking their careers to the next level.

Ever wondered how to maximize the attention your work gets from the press, galleries, and museum curators? How to present your work in a professional manner and save money in the process? How to tap into grants, awards and residencies?

Then this is the seminar for you! This program is free, but space is limited so please email John@Gateway-cdc.org or call 301-864-3860 ext. 3 if you would like to attend.

This program will be held in MNCPPC’s Brentwood Arts Exchange on the 1st Floor of the Gateway Arts Center, 3901 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, MD 20722, just over the District line on Rhode Island Avenue.

Of interest to the general public: a closing reception for the Gateway Arts District Show, which I juried a while back will immediately follow the “Bootcamp for Artists Seminar” from 5-8pm. All are welcome!

Washington Post Art Critic Honored

On Monday, March 22, the WaPo's Weekend art critic Michael O’Sullivan will receive a special Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Service to the Arts. This will take place at a press conference with Mayor Fenty at the old City Museum.

Space there will be at a premium and extremely limited, and thus very hard to attend for those who wish to congratulate Michael.

Thus, for all those artists, collectors, writers and other folks whose life and artistic careers have been influenced and or benefited from the writing of Michael O’Sullivan, there will be a special gathering right after the press conference.

This will be a very rare opportunity for the Greater DC arts community to give back a little to one of the most understanding, observant, savvy and supportive persons of the complex tapestry that is the Washington area's cultural scene.

What: Tribute Gathering For Michael O’Sullivan

Where: Rear of the Warehouse across 7th Street from the Convention Center.
Enter through The Passenger Bar
1021 7th St NW
(between N Mount Vernon Pl & N New York Ave)
Washington, DC 20001

When: Monday, March 22 , 7:30 to 8:30 pm FREE

If you want a cocktail, grab one at the Passenger on the way in.

Amy Lin at Addison Ripley

I used to have a friend who, if she found a perfect parking spot right away and right in front of wherever she was going, she'd describe it as "Doris Day parking."

"Have you noticed," she explained, "How in all the Doris Day movies she always manages to find a parking spot right in front of wherever it is that she is going?"

I knew that things had started on the right foot when last Saturday, as we drove to Addison Ripley (for the Amy Lin opening) in parking-poor Georgetown, we found a huge parking space right in front of the gallery's door.

After double checking all the parking signs to make sure that it wasn't some kind of new DC trick to give out more parking tickets (such as the trick they pulled a few years ago in G'town, when they extended the parking meters' coverage time from 6PM to 10PM without any warning, and for weeks they were in a ticket-giving orgy because people were used to the 6PM meter time and didn't realize they'd been extended to 10PM.

But I digress.

Readers of this blog know that I avoid being a detached, passionless writer and critic as much as I can. And for years now I have been very enthusiastic about the work and progress of this artist. And this opinion has been echoed by most other art critics in the region, as past Lin solo shows have both (a) received extensive and mostly positive critical attention and (b) have sold extremely well.

The one artistic danger that I once mused about in Lin's case was what I describe as the "Mondrian effect."

Picasso once said "God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant, and the ant. He has no real style. He just goes on trying other things."

As an art student and years afterwards I was always very attracted to the geometrical minimalism of Piet Mondrian. Then, a handful of years ago, I recall the massive Mondrian exhibition at the National Gallery, and what happened when I walked into gallery after gallery full of works so similar that they were almost indistinguishable from each other.

Mondrian had found a formula and stuck to it. He never went on "trying other things."

And in this current Amy Lin solo at Addison Ripley, I am happy to report that Amy Lin is not only trying "other things" from her signature minimalist works of individual groupings of small dots and small circles, but also that the new explorations are perhaps her best work to date.

Amy Lin. Cellular. 25 inch x 39 inch. Colored pencil 2010.
They explore new Lin interests that sometimes owe a lot to her training as a Chemical Engineer. They seem to trick the vision into reading formulas and charts and maps of color forms. The larger ellipses in some of the works almost assume figurative forms hidden inside deceptively complex drawings.


Amy Lin. Hydrolysis - 24 inch x 24 inch. Colored pencil.
The gallery was packed, and I am happy to report that Lin's past excellent sales record continues, as there were many red dots on the walls and several key DC area art collectors present and adding Lins to their collections.

The exhibition goes through April 24, 2010. Below are some images from the show.


Isabel Manalao, Amy Lin, Annie Adjchavanich and Dr. Fred Ognibene

Pat Goslee and Pink Line Project's Philippa P.B. Hughes

Little Junes' Mom and artist Amy Lin

Redding takes issue with Gopnik review

Robert "Rob" Redding Jr. is an artist, author, radio host and journalist and he:

...has won an Associated Press award for Internet news and has won numerous awards for his radio show. He has won an ADDY award for his nationally syndicated show. He has has also been called "one of the most respected names in the media" (Upscale magazine), "one of the most intellectual and intriguing radio talk show hosts since Tavis Smiley" (Radio Facts) and a "rising star" and one of the "100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America" (Talkers magazine).

He also has an issue with last Sunday's review by Washington Post Chief Art critic Blake Gopnik titled National Gallery exhibit challenges traditional view of Rothko's black paintings.

Redding writes that "As an artist and journalist, I was horrified when I read the recent review by Washington Post art critic Blake Gopnik. Gopnik wrote a review of Mark Rothko's rehung black-dominated artworks at the National Gallery of Art."

Later he explains that "... As a black journalist, I find it disturbing that Gopnik decides to needlessly inject race into his art review. Gopnik points out the race of the 'notably dark' guards after he says that race should be considered when viewing Rothko's works."

Read Redding's case here.

Is the review racist or insensitive? Comments welcome.

Update: Philippa P.B. Hughes has an interesting viewpoint here.

If you wear a Che Guevara T-Shirt


Unless it is like the one on the left, you are wearing the image of a man whose own racist writing and actions are full of negative, racist remarks about Mexicans and Blacks, and Native Americans.

A killing psychopath whose image has been re-invented over the decades so that now he's viewed by a large, ignorant segment of the population as some sort of positive icon.

By the way, "Comemierda" is an almost unique Cuban insult...

The Negro is indolent and lazy, and spends his money on frivolities, whereas the European is forward-looking, organized, and intelligent.
-- Che Guevara

Mexicans are a band of illiterate Indians.
-- Che Guevara

Inform yourself!

You want the image of a real Cuban hero for your T-Shirt? How about Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet?

Shocker

I'm putting all my tax stuff in order for my accountant and I was a little shocked to find out that 2009 was my best year ever as far as sales of my own work.

The art fairs really did the trick, as my work seems to really do two key things to succeed at an art fair: (a) doesn't take a lot of expensive wall space, and (b) sells really well, and (c) I'm usually one of two or three artists doing drawings at any fair.

And 2010 started really nicely already; in fact, I'm having the best year in every aspect of my life so far!

Life's good...