Artomatic - Opening Night

Attended AOM's opening night last night - I arrived a bit early in order to walk the 5th floor and begin the process of awarding my usual Artomatic awards and eventually pick my top 10 AOM artists.

The 2100 M Street, NW building is a HUGE Brutalist maze - just the 5th floor took me over two hours and towards the end I was rushing in order to be back in my room in time for the evening crowds to arrive. In my opinion, the amount of visitors was steady and decent for a Friday night opening, but based on the 5th floor alone, a little less than my usual recollection from previous (and much smaller) AOMs, so that perception is probably somewhat flawed from both those factors.

Met loads and loads of artists friends, many of whom I had not seen in years, usually since the pre-Covidian Age and in some cases, decades! I was also told that the Washington Post's freelance galleries' art critic Mark Jenkins had been passing through - good luck trying to write a one column art review of a 1,000+ artists art event - to be fair to Jenkins, the WaPo should send him over to AOM multiple times and have him write a column for each floor!

In a preventive strike, the great Michael O'Sullivan, who used to write about the DC art scene, had a great piece on the history of AOM and also covered this iteration. Read that here.

During the opening ceremonies, I am also told that Mayor Bowser had to be rushed away to safety as:

During her speech at the kickoff for Artomatic 2024 Friday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was abruptly interrupted by a group of activists who jumped onstage, advocating for a cease-fire in Palestine. Among the protesters was local business owner Andy Shalal of Busboys and Poets, who passionately stated, “I have family members being killed in Palestine.”

What the Mayor of DC has to do with "advocating for a cease-fire in Palestine" escapes me, but you reap what you sow. On the one hand, Andy Shallal and the other protesters can go fuck themselves for using an artists' event - who never get any press attention in the District - to bring attention to themselves and their cause... may the bluebird of happiness shit all over your birthday cakes.

On the other (third hand), and a perfect example of the law of unintended consequences, because of the protest and rushing the AOM stage, this Artomatic has already received more press coverage on its opening day that probably all other Artomatics put together! So, thank you Andy Shallal and your gang! Thank you and I hope that they arrested all you fuckers!

Back to the arts... as I noted, I strolled through the 5th floor, which seems to have an unplanned concentration of some of the better-known artists of the DMV, such as Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers, Michael Janis, Alison Sigethy Patricia de Poel Wilberg, (see a glass pattern here?), Laurel Lukaszewski, Andrew Wodzianski, Shanthi Chandrasekar, Ric Garcia, Steve Wanna, J. Jordan Bruns and others.

Let us start a stroll through the 5th floor then... and from my 5th floor walk through at ARTOMATIC, it's gonna be hard and next to impossible to best Melissa Burley in the Best Steam Punk art category! She's in room 5103 and knocking it out of the ballpark with her gorgeous and entrancing sculptures!

Melissa Burley in room 5103 at Artomatic 2024

There's a 16-year-old artist in room 5045 (Evelyn Johns) whose paintings also caught my eye for the natural painting skills that she's already exhibiting (pun intended) and so far she has earned my Best Young Artist award.

Evelyn Johns in Room 5045 at Artomatic 2024

Like previous Artomatics, there's plenty of bad photography and also plenty of spectacular work!  Possibly some of the most powerful photographs that I have ever seen is in the "Scars" series being exhibited by (new to me) photographer Rahul Saha in Room 5026. See all of them here.  They are not only beautiful photographs of (mostly) beautiful bodies, but also deliver a powerful punch to the solar plexus of the mind's eye!

These were my favorites amongst many superb works:

Holly from the SCAR series by Rahul Shah at Artomatic

Lila from the SCAR series by Rahul Shah at Artomatic

And also just like all other Artomatics, this one is full of Star Wars art, and just like previous AOMs, artists love to combine porn and Star Wars, and so far, leading in the Star Wars Porn category is the artist who goes by Lucky Art Studio in room 5090. Please notice how Chewbacca got a full body shave in this treatment of the Wookie.

Lucky Art Studio in room 5090 at Artomatic 2024

Another category usually overloaded with work is food art, and so far Anna Katalkina is leading the Yummy Art award. These are delicious paintings by clearly a spectacularly skilled artist! She's in room 5087

Anna Katalkina in room 5087 at Artomatic 2024

As by my own assessment, I am the planet's leading expert on Washington area glass art, it is always exciting to me when I discover a new talent, and on the 5th floor, close by the elevators in that central area where all the artists from the Washington Glass School are located, I discovered the work of a young new glass artist named Griffon Dillon whose work was really refreshing and new.

Social Media Art Award - Michele Banks' intelligent approach to the monster inside social media - I don't need to visit the other floors! She's in room 5108.

Michele Banks in room 5108 at Artomatic 2024

Salon Hanging Style Award - Easily won by Joseph Shepperd Rogers in Room 5091.

Joseph Shepperd Rogers in Room 5091 at Artomatic 2024

Best Abstract Action Painting on the 5th floor - Marthe McGrath in room 5011... this is a pending review of other floors award - but certainly worth a visit!

Scariest Pussy Award - This is a tentative award, until I visit all floors, as in the past Andrei Trach has always won this coveted category and I do not know if his work is in this edition of Artomatic. Pending further exploration, so far the award is going to Phyllis Mayes in room 5063!

Phyllis Mayes in room 5063

Best Teddy Bear Noir Award - I'm pretty sure that she invented this new category, but the award is clearly merited by this talented photographer! Victoria Pickering in room 5065!

Victoria Pickering - Teddy Bear Noir

Open Invisible Worlds Award - Gorgeous close up photography by Stuart Diekmeyer in Room 5060. This kind of work is soooo hard to do, and even harder to present in such intelligent manner!

Stuart Diekmeyer Gallery of Photos at Artomatic 2024

Best Presentation of the Subject Matter (Ever!) - Easily won by the intelligent substrate used by J.L. Hussey in presenting the Musicians series in room 5014.

J.L. Hussey - Musicians series in room 5014

Little Walter by J.L. Hussey from the Musicians series in room 5014

Best Ever Interpretation of Picasso's Guernica - Judith Benderson in room 5012.

Best Frida Kahlo (2D) in a floor with lots of Frida Kahlos was a really tough category... on just this floor there are a LOT of art pieces about the Fridanator, including a really good one from a Lebanese artist.  But what really stood out to me was this work by fellow Cubano artist Ric Garcia. And at $75 Samolians, this is clearly one of the best - if not the best! - deal at Artomatic! Buy them now!

Young & Frida V by Ric Garcia in room  5033

Most Fantastical Glass - Alison Sigethy in room 5075 - I've said enough over the years about this amazing master... and yet every time that I see her work, it WOWs me!

Another new award category, and I am pretty sure that this artist is the final winner, as perhaps she is the ONLY artist on the entire planet, maybe even the galaxy, focusing on this subject! In any event, the Best Beaker Art Award goes to Jenn Bock in room 5073!

Beaker artwork by Jenn Bock in room 5073 at ARTOMATIC 2024

Best Poor Sport Award is awarded to Andrew Wodzianski who cheated and awarded it to himself before I could check out his brilliant work in room 5061.

Andrew Wodzianski in room 5061.

Best Mixed Media (Ever) - Another "ever" winner is J. Jordan Bruns, who is one of those fantastic artists who can created really good art is pretty much any genre, and also teach it, and also present it really well... and so on! And yet this series of works always stuns me by their unusual ability to cross around art boundaries and deliver.  The Brunsdinator is in room 5062 and you can connect with him in his great Glen Echo classroom here.

J. Jordan Bruns mixed media work at Artomatic 2024

And all of that was just one floor! Do you now understand why Mark Jenkins' task from the Washington Post is impossible!

More floors later...

DC Council to Honor Margery Goldberg

A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION

BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Council Member, Brandon Todd, with the Council of the District of Columbia honors 

Margery Goldberg with congratulations on the 40th anniversary of Zenith Gallery, 

and recognizes its success as a champion for the arts in the District.

Tuesday, April 10, 11:00 AM -1:00 PM 

Wilson Building | Council of the District of Columbia

1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Washington, D.C. 20004

Also this is the last week to see:

FEATURED ARTISTS:

F. Lennox Campello, Suzanne Codi, Chas Colburn, 

Lea Craigie-Marshall, Eric Ehlenberger, Connie Fleres, 

Margery E. Goldberg, Philip Hazard, Nancy Nesvet, 

Alison Sigethy, Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers, Mary Voytek, 

and Michael Young.

Where: 1429 Iris St. NW Washington DC 20012
Last week to see: February 14-April 14, 2018Information: Margery Goldberg, 202-783-2963,  art@zenithgallery.com 
Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 12 - 6 PM

Come to this opening next week!

Zenith Gallery

1429 Iris St. NW, Washington, DC 20012-1409

Show Dates: February 14 - March 24, 2018

Meet the Artists Reception: Wednesday, February 14, 500-8:00 pm

Artist Talk: Saturday, February 17, 2:00 -6:00 pm

More Talks to be announced

FEATURING ARTISTS: F. Lennox Campello, Suzanne Codi, Chas Colburn, Lea Craigie-Marshall, Eric Ehlenberger, Connie Fleres, Margery E. Goldberg, Philip Hazard, Nancy Nesvet, Alison Sigethy, Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers, Mary Voytek, and Michael Young.

Zenith Gallery’s 70s-90s shows often featured neon artists.  To celebrate its 40th anniversary year, Zenith brings back the work of those artists and new ones using varied forms of light technology and mixed media in their work.  New technologies added to older ones present the best in artwork featuring artificial light at Zenith’s new show, Light Up Your heArt. 

Reaching global heights, neon launched within cities especially in Times Square and Las Vegas as signage. In more recent times, there was a resurgence of neon and light art that propelled artists to incorporate or use neon as the main medium in their works. Since the enhancement of technology, this has created a new frontier within the medium, encouraged by the  development with LED lights and video. 

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Zenith Gallery and to celebrate this milestone, we are hosting a series of exhibitions at our two locations; the 1111 sculpture space in Downtown DC and the Iris Street gallery off upper 16th street in the Shepherd Park Neighborhood. Downtown will host a retrospective of the three different locations of Zenith while, Iris St will host exhibits of artists that have been represented by Zenith gallery for decades and others we have recently are thrilled to be representing now. Zenith Gallery continues to be dedicated to finding the unusual and the extremely well-done art over our 40-year history. We like our arts and crafts unique,  with our art well crafted and our craft well art’ed! 

See ya there!

This Saturday: Meet the Artists' Closing Reception!

Show Dates: March 11 - April 23, 2016 

MEET THE ARTISTS CLOSING RECEPTION: Saturday, April 16, 2:00-6:00 pm

At 1429 Iris Street NW, Washington, DC 20012

ZENITH GALLERY Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, Noon-6 PM 

Featuring: Kim Abraham, Jan Paul Acton, Doba Afolabi, Mason Archie, David Bacharach, Andrea Barnes,  Bert Beirne, Harmon Biddle, Francesca Britton,  Lenny Campello, Katie Dell-Kaufman, Renee duRocher, Elissa Farrow-Savos, Patty Porter Firestone, Richard Fitzhugh, Robert Freeman, Carol Gellner-Levin, Cassandra Gillens, Julie and 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, Keith Norval, Katharine Owens, Emily Piccirillo, Alison Sigethy, Gavin Sewell, Sica, Ellen Sinel, Bradley Stevens, Charles Taube, Jennifer Wagner, Marcie Wolf-Hubbard, Mary Voytek, Curtis Woody, Joyce Zipperer and more!

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

Tonight at Long View

I hear that about 300 people have RSVP'd to this opening tonight, so you may be a little crowded, but do not miss this show:

About the event: The Washington DC area has become internationally renowned as an emerging center of glass art. At the forefront of this charge is the Washington Glass School, where the instructors, artists and students have brought narrative and content into glass, dragging it away from decorative craft and into the rarefied atmosphere of the contemporary fine art scene. The Washington Glass School has produced artists whose art can be found in museums and collections world-wide and is advancing the Studio Glass Movement with its explorations of narrative, technology and skills. This represents the largest and most important movement in the Washington art scene since the Color School of the 70's/80's.

This May, the Washington Glass School celebrates a momentous milestone - its 10th year. DC’s Long View Gallery presents “Artists of the Washington Glass School – The First Ten Years” showcasing over 20 artists and 10 years of integrating glass into the contemporary art dialogue. While it recognizes the past and present, The First 10 Years is intended to instigate – and celebrate – the new directions contemporary glass is exploring through various artistic metaphors.

Featured artists include: Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers, Elizabeth Mears, Syl Mathis, Lea Topping, Robert Kincheloe, Alison Sigethy, Dave D'Orio, Anne Plant, Jeffery Zimmer, Teddie Hathaway, Jackie Greeves, Kirk Waldroff, Debra Ruzinsky, Tex Forrest, Diane Cabe, Robert Wiener, Nancy Donnelly, Sean Hennessey, Cheryl Derricotte, Jennifer Lindstrom, Michael Mangiafico, Allegra Marquart and m.l.duffy.

In bringing The First 10 Years to Washington, DC, Long View asks artists and audience alike to cast aside traditional notions of glass art and participate in a new form of dialogue; one that looks to the future and not the past.

The Washington Glass School Movement has focused almost entirely on the narrative content aspects of glass, breaking away from the technique-driven vessel movement of the last millennium. By focusing on cross-over sculptural work, mixed media and new media (such as interactive electronics and video), the impact this movement has had on the work of contemporary art has been felt internationally. This is the perfect chance to see a cross section of artists who have led this evolution.

Washington Glass School: The First 10 Years
LongView Gallery
1234 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC
May 19 - June 19, Opening Reception, May 19th, 6:30-8:30 PM
Closing Reception Sunday June 19, 2-5 PM
phone: 202.232.4788
email :info@longviewgallery.com

Washington Glass School: The First 10 Years

About the event: The Washington DC area has become internationally renowned as an emerging center of glass art. At the forefront of this charge is the Washington Glass School, where the instructors, artists and students have brought narrative and content into glass, dragging it away from decorative craft and into the rarefied atmosphere of the contemporary fine art scene. The Washington Glass School has produced artists whose art can be found in museums and collections world-wide and is advancing the Studio Glass Movement with its explorations of narrative, technology and skills. This represents the largest and most important movement in the Washington art scene since the Color School of the 70's/80's.

This May, the Washington Glass School celebrates a momentous milestone - its 10th year. DC’s Long View Gallery presents “Artists of the Washington Glass School – The First Ten Years” showcasing over 20 artists and 10 years of integrating glass into the contemporary art dialogue. While it recognizes the past and present, The First 10 Years is intended to instigate – and celebrate – the new directions contemporary glass is exploring through various artistic metaphors.

Featured artists include: Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers, Elizabeth Mears, Syl Mathis, Lea Topping, Robert Kincheloe, Alison Sigethy, Dave D'Orio, Anne Plant, Jeffery Zimmer, Teddie Hathaway, Jackie Greeves, Kirk Waldroff, Debra Ruzinsky, Tex Forrest, Diane Cabe, Robert Wiener, Nancy Donnelly, Sean Hennessey, Cheryl Derricotte, Jennifer Lindstrom, Michael Mangiafico, Allegra Marquart and m.l.duffy.

In bringing The First 10 Years to Washington, DC, Long View asks artists and audience alike to cast aside traditional notions of glass art and participate in a new form of dialogue; one that looks to the future and not the past.

The Washington Glass School Movement has focused almost entirely on the narrative content aspects of glass, breaking away from the technique-driven vessel movement of the last millennium. By focusing on cross-over sculptural work, mixed media and new media (such as interactive electronics and video), the impact this movement has had on the work of contemporary art has been felt internationally. This is the perfect chance to see a cross section of artists who have led this evolution.

Washington Glass School: The First 10 Years
LongView Gallery
1234 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC
May 19 - June 19, Opening Reception, May 19th, 6:30-8:30 PM
Closing Reception Sunday June 19, 2-5 PM
phone: 202.232.4788
email :info@longviewgallery.com

Alison Sigethy

DC area artist Alison Sigethy is not only a very talented artist, but also a world-class kayaker, and currently Alison is part of a team kayaking across Arctic Canada to raise awareness and create community action in response to global warming.

You can keep track of Alison's progress in her blog here or read the official expedition blog here.

Allison was not too successful in fund-raising ahead of time, so she's deeply in debt from this trip. If you'd like to help out, any amount would be sincerely appreciated. Donate here or buy some artwork here.

Artomatic 2008

The real reason that most art critics hate Artomatic is that they get visual overload very quickly. After all, how does a writer cover an arts extravaganza of the size of Artomatic once the eyes and mind become numb after the 200th artist, or the 400th or the 600th?

Artomatic has returned to the Greater Washington, DC region. It opened in May and runs through mid June.

By freeling accepting anywhere from 600 - 1,000 painters, sculptors, printmakers, actors, musicians and bartenders and then finding an empty building and filling it with artwork, stages, theatres, parties, lectures and controversy, the AOM model has managed to incite the dislike of most art critics and the love and passion of thousands of artists and art lovers.

They also create the Greater Washington DC’s uber arts event of the year – it happens irregularly every couple of years or so. About 40,000 people will visit the event.

As an art critic, I once started a review of a past AOM by complaining how much my feet hurt after my 5th or 6th visit to the show, in what at the time was a futile attempt to gather as much visual information as possible in order to write a fair review of the artwork and artists.

No one can do that.

Over the years that I have visited past Artomatics (and I have seen them all) I have discovered that it is impossible to see everything and to be fair about anyone; the sheer size and evolving nature of the show itself makes sure of the impossibility of this task. In fact, I think that I may have missed a whole floor so far.

We know that art critics tend to savage Artomatic; they demand a curatorial hand; they want order; they want “bad” art out and only “high art” in; and year after year, they all miss the point!

AOM is not just about the artwork, it is about the artistic energy that it radiates, it is about community, it is about a free for all, it is about controversy, it is above all, about art of all ranges and tastes and quality.

The current AOM is at a gorgeous location at the Capitol Plaza I building at 1200 First Street, NE in DC. There are seven, maybe eight, floors of artwork all the way up to the 11th floor, in many mini galleries with spectacular views of the city. The main impression at this year's AOM: space.

Plenty of space yields a really decent opportunity to display your work well, and one interesting maturity factor in this AOM is how well many artists are displaying their work. On the other side, all the space also yields a significant number of really bad "installations" with all sorts of furniture and stuff.

Each AOM has produced amazing artistic discoveries for art lovers, art collectors and dealers. People like Tim Tate, Frank Warren, Kathryn Cornelius, the Dumbacher Brothers, etc., all showed at AOM; some still do.

And so part of the fun is “discovering” who will be the 2008 AOM emerging art star. In that spirit I will ignore all the well-known names who are exhibiting this year at AOM and try to find artists whose work is new or little known to me. In this review I will create a sort of short list based on two trips; on my third trip I will finalize my initial picks for emerging art stardom.

On the 4th floor I quite liked the work of Amanda Engels, who is showing a series of portraits that work well in capturing a sense of time and presence about the subject. I also liked Genna Gurvich’s painterly and almost surreal work, especially her innovative and intelligent take on the often visited Campbell’s soup can. My key artist on that floor is Cristina Montejo, whose quirky and sexy drawings stand to draw attention from collectors. Keep an eye on Montejo, and buy some of this artwork now.


On the 5th floor I liked the severe abstract paintings of Matthew Langley and on the 6th floor Holly Burns’ pen and ink drawings on napkins are a treasure trove for beginning art collectors. They are fresh and young but also superbly done and I bet that we’ll hear about this artist again and again; she seems perfect for Curator's Office in DC.

I also like Michelle Chin’s over simplified bug cut-outs and Nancy Donnelly’s glass dresses. The latter are elegant, simple pieces that should attract a gallerist or two to them.

Shannon McCarty’s inventive set of burned iron marks reveal the surprising achievement of minimalism when employed smartly. Also minimalist are the hi tech (looking) works by Paul So. Also visit Keith Thomas on that floor.

The 7th floor is a treasure trove of good artists amongst the masses. Nana Bagdavadze is somewhat channeling Amy Lin to the third dimension as she takes the small circle to an illusion of three-D. Teague Clare’s small but very cool pieces are also quite good as are Juan del Alamo photographic test strips. Both these artists also know how important presentation is and have done well in maximizing their space while giving it a clean look. Also visit Damien Gill’s elegant digital works.

I know Rania Hassan’s works, but in this AOM she re-invents herself in a very elegant installation that goes from 2D to 3D right before our eyes. It is sophisticated and elegant, and a clear indication of the level of maturity that AOM has achieved over the years.

Dale Hunt’s monster art is also fresh and reflects a clear AOM trend for young, hip, simple art that is deceptively complex beneath the first visual impression. There is a lot of this "young art" in AOM this year, as well as a lot of tattoo art. Also visit Brad Taylor and see what an artist can do with those tabs in beer and soda cans.

The 8th floor brings us Michael Auger’s day glow mini paintings – like Dale Hunt, this artist fits into that young, smart art that is both attractive, simple and yet appealing to the visual senses; at $35 for an original, they’re also a helluva good deal.

The DC area is a Mecca for world class glass and its leader in bringing glass to a higher place and away from the craft world. David D’Orio’s works join that new emerging movement and are very good. I also liked the fresh skill in Todd Gardner’s portraits. This floor also brings you Matt Sesow and Alison Sigethy.

The 9th opens with the very cool mini photos by Erin Antognoli, really good work by Jeanette Herrera and Barbara Johnson-Grener.

Also Kim Reyes’ ceramic wall figures caught my eyes as a good find for sculpture lovers. On this floor you’ll also find Andrew Wodzianski and Kirk Waldroff (OK, OK… so I know them).

The 10th floor has the key find for AOM. And it is not a single artist but a highly sophisticated multi-artist exhibition titled “Coincide.” This is the AOM find of the year.

If you are a harsh critic of AOM’s free for all art approach, and don’t want to look at the work of 800 artists, just drive up to AOM, go to the 10th floor and look at the work of the 17 artists in “Coincide.”

Using Star Trek technology, we can teleport this entire massive contemporary ceramic art installation to any gallery or museum in the world and no one would blink an eye. It is a triumph of severe presentation and talented artists, and it is also a giant leap forward in the maturation process of AOM itself.

These are skilled, innovative, ordained ceramic artists, whose work is as far from “amateur” – the usual adjective applied wholesale to AOM – as Warp 9 is far from 55 MPH.

Big names like Laurel Lukaszewski, who shows locally at Project 4 Gallery (one of the best, fresh new galleries in DC) and nationally at other various venues are complemented by (new to me) artists like Leila Holtsman (whose piece I hereby select as the best single work of art in AOM and should be immediately picked up by Habatat Gallery), Novie Trump, Ani Kasten, Kate Hardy (gorgeously displayed) and others in this spectacular group.

Leila Holtsman at AOM
Also on that floor I quite liked the brilliantly yellow installation work by Bryan Rojsuontikul, who joins the tradition of artists working with common materials (in this case yellow and silver Duck tape) to deliver breathtaking minimalist works of art. Also check out Alexandra Zealand.

On the 11th floor visit Krissy Downing and Gregory Ferrand and marvel at Veronica Szalus floor sculpture of painted ball objects. Also on this floor be prepared to be quite taken by Tracy Lee’s familial installation of family memorabilia (and I just broke my rule again, since I know Lee’s work well, but this installation doesn’t fit with her previous set of photographs). Since I broke that rule, also on this floor, super sexy abstract work by Pat Goslee and representational by Candace Keegan.

If you want a quick video walkthrough AOM, check out the video below. The music has been married to this video on purpose from the perspective of AOM dealing with art critics. The art that pops up when Lennon first sings "they're going to crucify me" is bordering on being one of the art world's oddest coincidences, since I didn't time the music to video to pre-arrange for that art to pop up at that time... it is worth viewing the video just for that!



AOM is free and open to the public and runs through June 15. All the info that you need is online at www.artomatic.org.

Wanna go to a Maryland reception this Saturday?

Don’t miss this one: Erwin Timmers (DC's leading "green artist"), Jennifer Lindstrom and Alison Sigethy are featured in SiO2, a glass showcase at the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster, MD.

It’s a beautiful drive, so drive up there for the artists’ reception on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008, 2pm – 4pm.

Disclaimer: I've driven through Maryland and used to live there.

Washington Glass at Touchet Gallery

Last night we attended the opening for "Moving Beyond Craft: Artists of the Washington Glass School," at the one-year-old Patricia Touchet Gallery in Baltimore.

Tim Tate and Rosetta DeBerardinis
The gallery itself is a very nice two level space on a corner building in the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, so it has a very good location; always an important factor in a gallery's presence. The gallerist, the fair Patricia Touchet, was also very nice and I enjoyed finally meeting her.

The show itself looked really good, several sales took place, and it certainly looks like the Washington Glass School faculty made a really good debut in Baltimore.


I was most impressed by the new work of Alison Sigethy who had a gorgeous balanced piece that looked immensely fragile and yet needed to be touched to get it dancing back and forth. Also impressed by the new work of Cheryl Derricotte, whose work is certainly looking like it's joining the whole new "green art" movement.


Tim Tate and Cheryl Derricotte
The exhibition runs through Sept. 8, 2007.

A great Friday for art lovers

This is going to be a fun Friday for art lovers along the Mid Atlantic. Some tough decisions will have to be made!

In Baltimore, the new Patricia Touchet Gallery opens "Moving Beyond Craft: Artists of the Washington Glass School," one of three multi-city gallery shows which focus some attention at the movement that I have dubbed "The Washington Glass School School," and which is dragging glass away from craft and putting it firmly in the fine arts camp. Opening is 6-9PM and runs through Sept. 3, 2007. Work by Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers, Tim Tate, Deborah Conti, Cheryl Derricotte, Sean Hennessey, Syl Mathis, Betsy Mead, Evan Morgan and Alison Sigethy. By the way, last Friday WETA TV had a segment on the Washington Glass School - see it here.

In DC, there's a really strong group show opening at Gallery Myrtis, one of DC's newest galleries. Look for the work of Elsa Gebreyesus to stand out in this show. Also Washington Printmakers has its National Small Works 2007 Exhibition, Juried by Greg Jecmen, from the National Galley of Art, as some of the Dupont Circle area galleries will be open for First Fridays.

In Frederick, MD, the Artists' Gallery has a 23-artist group show opening on Friday, although the opening reception is on Saturday, August 4 as part of Frederick's First Saturday Gallery Walk. Work by Palma Allen, Janet Belich, Joy Boudreaux, Steven Dobbin, Nina Chung Dwyer, Lesa Cook, James Germaux, Christine Hahn, Linda Agar-Hendrix, Phyllis Jacobs, Regina Kaiktsian, Jan McIntyre Lamb, Craig Leonardi, Johan Lowie, Christina Lund, Nancy McLoughlin, Joanna Morison, Doug Moulden, Diane Santarella, Robert Sibbison, Irina Smulevitch, Shelley Stevens, Christine Stovall, Washington White.

In Philly it's time for First Fridays and time to wonder around Old City's 40-plus galleries, most of them open from 5 until 9 p.m.

Washington Glass School Artists' Walkthrough

This past weekend, The Washington Glass School hosted a review of affiliated artists of the Washington Glass School showing at Artomatic art fair (until May 20th in Crystal City - details at www.artomatic.org)

The artists participated in a tour, talking about their work, inspirations, and process, answering questions from an audience so large, that many could not fit into the tiny offices that make up the galleries on Level 6, and overflow spilled into the surrounding corridors. They had also invited several jurors to take a part in the walk. After the talk, the invited jurors made their selection of artists to receive a special award.

Local arts patron and collector, and founder and funder of the Trawick Prize and the Bethesda Paintings Awards, Carol Trawick, awarded Deb Conti an "Encouragement Award" for her sculptural jewelry. Carol liked the "incorporation of poetry by Deb's husband, and the creative presentation of the pieces."

Fraser Gallery's Catriona Fraser, also awarded Alison Sigethy an Encouragement Award. "The work is simple and sophisticated. I love the way that Alison has been inspired by her environment to create beautiful, organic sculpture," she said.

Habatat Gallery's Lindsey Scott selected Kirk Waldroff, as she was quite taken with his "sophisticated and professional" presentation of his cast glass prints.

The affiliated artists showing at Artomatic included: Kerri Sheehan, Jennie Lindstrom, Sean Hennessy, Rania Hassan, Kristina Bilonick, Dave Vanore, Cheryl Derricotte, Allegra Marquart, Lynette Spencer, Alison Duvall, Pete Duvall, Alison Sigethy, Deborah Conti, Elizabeth Mead, Erwin Timmers, Tim Tate, and Michael Janis.

Not that he needs it, but the Mid Atlantic Art News "encouragement award" goes to Erwin Timmers' brave exploration of green art in his work.

A view of Art-O-Matic after one visit

How does a writer cover an arts extravaganza of the size of AOM once the eyes and mind become numb after the 200th artist, or the 400th or the 600th?

As an art critic, I once started a review of a past AOM by complaining how much my feet hurt after my 5th or 6th visit to the show, in a futile attempt to gather as much visual information as possible in order to write a fair review of the artwork and artists.

Over the years I have discovered that it is impossible to see everything and to be fair about anyone; the sheer size and evolving nature of the show itself makes sure of the impossibility of this task. And often I see fellow writers who fall prey to this attempt to see everything at once and then gather thoughts about the artwork. But AOM is not just about the artwork.

I have visited the 2007 AOM once, and soon I will return for a second, longer visit.

Nonetheless, often first impressions are the most memorable, and thus some early thoughts on the artwork itself follow.

Like all previous Artomatics, this version of the open mass art show started in 1999 continues to evolve up the food chain of both art and business. AOM is now an official 503(c), and this location in Crystal City is by far the best one so far, as the dozens and dozens of small, well-lit offices make excellent art galleries.

The art itself, like any huge group art show (open or juried) falls into three categories: very good, very bad, and (the vast majority) adequate.

And yet, the least of the adequate original artwork, by its creative process itself, beats any mass-produced poster. AOM is a Mecca and a magnet for beginning collectors; if you can't find art that you like from such a vast and diverse group of artists, then perhaps you should stick to collecting action figures or pre-Columbian artifacts, or baseball cards framed as art.

As a gallerist, I also have visited AOM looking for new talent amongst the mind-numbing numbers of artists who come together under one roof. Over the years, together with my fellow DC area gallerists, we have plucked many artists from the ranks and files of AOM. Artists who since their first appearance at past AOMs have now joined the collections of museums and Biennials and have been picked up by galleries nationwide. Names like Tim Tate, the Dumbacher Brothers, Kelly Towles, Kathryn Cornelius, Richard Chartier and that amazing worldwide phenomenon and best-selling author Frank Warren of PostSecret fame. But AOM is not just about the emerging superstar artist.

More on that later; now let me give you a peek into the artists whose work stood out during my first look:

Maria Mandle was the first artist to make my list. I've never heard of this artist before, and thus she's "new" to me. I liked her strong graphite drawings.

I've seen Jesse Cohen's photographs develop (good pun uh?) and grow through the last few years, and the cynotypes and X-rays images at AOM, where Cohen struggles with his own identity through his father's X-ray imagery, are memorable and strong, and Cohen's best work so far.

Same thing for Shannon Chester, whose work often pops up in DC area art shows. This diminutive photographer has an excellent eye for capturing a suble eroticism in unusual circumstances and locales. Check out her beautiful photographs.

Alison Sigethy has won eight gold medals as a kayaker, and probably because of her outdoor nature, the environment is very important to her. And thus it is no surprise to see this talented DC area glass artist be one of the first ones to bring glass to the new, emerging "green art" movement that recycles art into new art, as Sigethy does with her beautiful new works. Another cool "green" artist, also working with glass (trust me, glass artists have a lot of work eligible for recycling, as anyone who has dumpster-dived into the Washington Glass School broken glass and trash dumpster knows!), is Erwin Timmers, whose work I mentioned yesterday.

I also liked Joe Granski's painterly, fun and exciting work. This is also a "new" artist for me, as is Joseph Merchlinsky's work, which at first I saw as attractive, abstracted super pixalated works, until I realized in horror that they were imagery from Sept. 11 of people jumping from the WTC. Once this discovery is reveled, it is amazing to see the breathtaking reel-back reaction of the viewers high atop Crystal City, with a spectacular view of the airport and the city. It is proof again of the never-ending ability of the visual arts to deliver thoughts, agendas, ideas, history and presence as no other form of the fine arts can.

Ditto for liking Ruth Trevarrow's signs, and also the no-name photographer in Gallery 6R09 on Corridor R, with a set of sensual photos of a woman's feet in the bath, turning the tap on in a series of sexy photographs that echo Frida Kahlo's "What the Water Gave Me" painting.

I also discovered some artists exploring new directions, such as Andrew Wodzianski's giant leap into a blend of his enviable figurative skills with a modernist approach to illustration as art. Note to Andrew (and fifty gazillion other artists at AOM): Put your effing prices up so that people can make an instant decision to buy when they see it or immediately know if they can afford it.

Other artists exploring or pushing new directions are Pat Goslee and Lynn Putney, both of whom share a gallery and whose work is refreshingly minimalist and (in Goslee's case) sensual in an odd way that I can never put my finger on.

Talking about separated at birth, two other artists who share a gallery and whose work really works well together is Matt Sesow and Dana Ellyn.

Oh yeah... the image that most-likely will be the most memorable and perhaps popular, is the terrific photo by Susana Raab titled "Tofu Dog, Playboy Bunny, PETA Protest, Washington, DC", or as the no-holds barred press crowd dubbed it last Friday: "Lettuce Lady." Raab has an exceptional ability for capturing the unsual in the everyday common.

The event itself is perhaps the nation’s most powerful incarnation of what it means to be a creative community of hundreds of working creative hands all aligned to not only create artwork, but also to put together a spectacular extravaganza that re-charges the regional art scene as no museum or gallery show can.

AOM is a community of artists employing the most liberal of approaches to art that there exists: the artists are in charge, and the artists make it work, and the artists charge the city with energy and zeal. And these descendants of those brave souls who challenged the academic salons of the 19th century face the same negative eye from the traditional art critics and curators of our museums, who challenge not only the artwork itself, but also the concept of an open, non-juried, most democratic of art shows: a community of artists in charge of energizing the community at large.

And it is certainly the easiest and most comprehensive way to discover contemporary art at its deepest and also at its newest roots. This is where both the savvy collector, and the beginning collector, and the aspiring curator, and the sharp-eyed gallerist can all come to one place with a sense of discovery in mind. And the ones that I missed in the past, and who were discovered by others, are ample evidence of the subjectivity of a gargantuan group art show.

Viva AOM!