Eyes and more eyes

Below you will see a significant set of "Eye Studies." These are tiny original drawings on paper done in 2014 as studies for larger pieces (in most cases) or simply as exercises. 

Most of them are charcoal, some have added conte and/or colored pencils/watercolor. They are all very small, and they are all matted in a white, pH-balanced, acid free hand-cut beveled museum mat and then framed under glass to a 5x7 inch size in a minimalist white wood frame. 

They are all the same price ($125 each) and if you are interested in any of them, let me know and I will refer you to the gallery which has that particular drawing.

Eyes of Anderson Campello

Eyes of a Woman Looking for Peace

Eyes of a Porn Star

Eyes of a Woman at Peace

Eyes of The Morrigan

Eyes of The Lilith

Eyes of Fear

Eyes of a Smiling Woman

Eyes of The Morrigan II

Eyes of a Woman watching MSNBC

Eyes of a Woman about to sigh

Eyes of a Chocolate Lover

Eyes of a Happy Child

Eyes of The Morrigan III

Eyes of The Lilith II

Eyes of a Woman Planning Revenge

Eyes of Bettie Page

Eyes of President Barack Obama Smiling

Eyes of Bettie Page II

Eyes of Frida Kahlo

Eyes of Paul McCartney

Eyes of Diego Rivera

Eyes of Mr. Spock

Eyes of Frida Kahlo

Art Miami New York

Art Miami New York makes its debut in May during Frieze week in NYC and they have announced the new director:

It is with great enthusiasm that Art Miami LLC announces the appointment of Katelijne De Backer as Director for Art Miami New York, debuting on May 14, 2015 during Frieze Week in New York City. De Backer previously served as the Director for The Armory Show at Pier 94 for 12 years, the same location where Art Miami New York will take place this year. De Backer was instrumental in transforming the bohemian-style fair of 75 galleries to a world-renowned exhibition of more than 200 galleries.

De Backer's impressive experience includes her position as Director of Exhibitor Relations for SCOPE, who hired De Backer to raise the profile of the fair and bring her discerning eye and unparalleled professionalism to the organization. De Backer also served as Managing Director for top contemporary art gallery Lehmann Maupin, where she oversaw several teams with locations in New York's Chelsea and the Lower East Side, as well as in Hong Kong.

"Art Miami LLC is thrilled to have Katelijne as part of the team to welcome an exciting new fair into our family. Katelijne has worked with some of the worlds most respected fairs and brings tremendous experience and confidence to offer only the best support for the extraordinary galleries, collectors, curators and art professionals who attend our fairs," said Art Miami Executive Vice President & Partner Nick Korniloff.

"I am honored and excited to join the Art Miami New York team. I look forward to building on this rich tradition as we move ahead with a new edition in New York City.  To be back at Pier 94, where I have worked for so many years on The Armory Show, it feels only natural and is a welcome déjà vu!" adds De Backer.

Art Miami New York will cater to both seasoned and new art collectors commencing with an elegant invitation-only VIP Preview on Thursday, May 14 from 2-5 p.m. The VIP Preview will provide collectors, art advisors, curators, and members of the press with the first look and opportunity to acquire the finest works available in the market before the fair opens to the public that evening through Sunday, May 17.

Produced by the Art Miami LLC team, Art Miami New York's refined ambiance will be welcoming and appealing to all levels of visitors, from the seasoned collector looking to acquire new works to the budding art enthusiast looking to create a collection.  Prestigious galleries will exhibit within the intimate and modern setting of Pier 94, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Hudson River. Featuring a 133,000-square-foot exhibition hall at 55th Street and the West Side Highway, Pier 94 is located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan within close proximity to the Chelsea art district, museums and major auction houses.      

About Art Miami New York

Art Miami New York is operated and produced by a partnership consisting of art and media industry veterans Nick Korniloff, Mike Tansey and Brian Tyler. The ownership team also produces Art Miami, CONTEXT, Aqua, Art Wynwood, CONTEXT New York, Art Southampton and Art Silicon Valley/San Francisco Fairs. For more information, visit www.artmiaminewyork.com. 

SELECT 2015

Anyone near Tacoma, WA?

Then go see my daughter ELISE CAMPELLO TORRALBO, who is playing Olive Ostrovsky, the quiet only child with the absent father, and who makes her return to the Tacoma Musical Playhouse. Elise was last seen in Shout! The Mod Musical (Blue Girl) at TMP exactly a year ago!

This weekend shows include:
Friday, January 16 | 8PM - Opening Night
Saturday, January 17 | 8PM
Sunday, January 18 | 2PM

Get your tickets online http://tmp.org/index.php/mainstage-shows-or-2014-15-season/

A certain degree of cowardice

On Monday, Charlie Hebdo revealed the cover of the first issue to be published after Islamic extremists terrorists assassinated eight members of the satire magazine's staff. 

On the cover of this post-murdering attack issue, the prophet Mohammed sheds a tear while holding a “Je Suis Charlie” sign, under the words “Tout Est Pardonné” (“All Is Forgiven”).

CNN says that it  won't show the cover due to “potentially offensive images of the prophet.”

“CNN will not show you the new cover, which depicts the Prophet Muhammad, because it is our policy not to show potentially offensive images of the prophet”

NBC and MSNBC also refused to show the cover; most other national TV stations didn't lack the backbone.

CNN's claim, is (of course) full of bullshit, since they had no issue (no pun intended), as recently as 2014 in publishing Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ," which is certainly an offensive image to some Christians, none of which, as far as I know, has retaliated to CNN in any terroristic manner.  Furthermore, Muslims also consider Christ a Prophet!

The power of art reveals the double standards of these cojonesless news organizations... uh?

Cowards...

PHOTOWORKS: Presence of Place at AU

PHOTOWORKS: Presence of Place

January 24 through March 15, 2015

American University Museum

The Katzen Arts Center

4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Washington, DC

  

Opening Reception

Saturday, January 24, 2015

6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Gallery Talk

Photoworks Artists

Museum Director & Exhibition Curator Jack Rasmussen

Saturday, January 31, 2015

4:00 pm

 

Participating Artists

Elsie Hull Sprague : Brad Beukema

Joe Cameron : Tanguy de Carbonnières

Eliot Cohen : Sora DeVore

Rebecca Drobis : Saman Michael Far

Peggy Fleming : Henry Friedman

Sheila Galagan : Frank (Tico) Herrera

Michael Horsley : Karen Keating

Michael Lang : Julie Miller

David Myers : Christine Pearl

Mark Power : Molly Roberts

Gayle Rothschild : Sarah Hood Salomon

Sonia Suter : Grace Taylor

Tom Wolff : Alejandra Vallejo

Fred Zafran : Judith Walser

Exhibition Overview

Forty years ago, in a derelict building hidden among the abandoned amusement park rides of Glen Echo Park, four young photographers founded Photoworks with little more than a shared passion for the daily work of seeing, shooting, and printing images of lasting beauty and artistic integrity. Photoworks: Presence of Place features works by past and present members of the Photoworks community, faculty and students who have distinguished themselves by the quality and integrity of their work. This exhibition is in memory of Elsie Hull Sprague, an artist with a MA in Film from the School of Communication, American University.

American University Museum

The Katzen Arts Center

4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Washington, DC

11am - 4pm, Tuesday - Sunday

www.american.edu/cas/museum

Bethesda Painting Awards

Deadline: February 13

Requirements

Each artist must submit five images, application and a non-refundable entry fee of $25. 

Eligibility

Artists must be 18 years of age or older and permanent, full-time residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C.

Awards
Best in Show: $10,000
Second Place: $2,000
Third Place: $1,000
Young Artist: $1,000

Apply online or download the application for more details.

Fundraising auction

Any artist interested in submitting any pieces; there's no entry fee, W7AC retains 20% of all sales... 

Contact Jessica at jdamilleconciergeandevents@gmail.com

Art auctions

From Art Law Journal:

Paddle8 is a virtual auction house, backed by the owners and technology investors behind Uber, Pinterest and Vimeo. The company is focused on fine art, holding two types of auctions: benefit auctions, which are held through collaborations with non-profits and major museums, and biweekly themed auctions. 

In the first half of 2014, total sales reached $17.8 million, a 400 percent increase over the same period in 2013. The company has received $17 million from Investors. Not nearly as large as the major auction houses, founder Alexander Gilkes isn’t worried, claiming that his company’s “focus is on the whole middle market, . . . the $100,000 range.” although he did qualify the statement saying, “we had a Jeff Koons egg that started at $500 and went to $900,000.” 

With Paddle8’s success, the major auction houses are ramping up their online business. In 2014, Sotheby’s inked a deal with eBay to stream its auctions online and Christie’s, the world’s largest auction house, putting additional marketing efforts into its $50 million media platform. In the first six months of 2014, 27 percent of Christie’s online buyers were new to the auction house.

Opportunities for Artists

Nominate now for the 2015 Baker Artist Awards. In its seventh year, the Baker Artist Awards were established in 2008 to support Baltimore area artists and to promote their work to regional, national and international audiences. Up to three Mary Sawyers Baker prizes of up to $25,000 each are awarded annually to celebrate a dedication to art, mastery of craft, and a commitment to excellence. Nominations close January 15, 2105.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation  through its Creative Fellowships program annually supports residencies for writers, composers, and visual artists at the Millay Colony for the Arts and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts  (VCCA). Starting in 2015, the Foundation will support residencies at VCCA for artists currently residing in New York in addition to Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia. The application deadlines for VCCA are January 15, May 15, and September 15, 2015. 

The Grit Fund, administered by The Contemporary, supports unincorporated and collaborative artist-organized activity that contributes to Baltimore's arts landscape but seldom qualifies for traditional funding. The Contemporary will lead four free information sessions providing details on the application process, guidelines, eligibility, funding priorities, and more. More information is here.

SELECT 2015 opens at the end of the month

SELECT 2015 consists of a 5-week public exhibition and a ticketed auction party to support contemporary art and the local artist community. The artists invited to participate in this exhibition were selected by a group of notable curators from some of the most important institutions in our region, emerging curators, and WPA’s Board of Directors.

Location

Artisphere
1101 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201

DIRECTIONS

EXHIBITION HOURS (FREE)

Thursday, January 29 through Friday, March 6, 2015

Wednesdays through Fridays: 4–11pm

Saturdays: 12 – 11pm

Sundays: 12 – 5pm

Mondays and Tuesdays: CLOSED

The exhibition is open to the public free of charge.

EXHIBITION OPENING RECEPTION (FREE)

Thursday, January 29, 2015, 7–9pm

VIEW ARTWORKS

New DMV art space

Olly Olly Presents

Bodylore

January 24, 2015 – February 6, 2015

Opening Reception

Saturday, January 24, 2015, 7pm – 10pm

Olly Olly, a new alternative art space in Fairfax, VA, is pleased to present its inaugural pop-up art exhibition, Bodylore, an exploration of the human figure and an investigation into the body as social construct, tradition, myth, and fairytale.  On Saturday, January 24, 2015, from 7pm to 10pm, spend an evening with the artists:

Eames Armstrong
Jackie Hoysted
Carolina Seth
Robert C. Yi

Bodylore features a variety of work dealing with the body, the interaction of bodies, embodiment, the folklore of bodies, play, and the role of the body in our everyday experience, dream-life, and cultural imagination.

Olly Olly wants to nourish the body and the community as well. We will be collecting healthy non-perishable food items for the Food Bridge Program at Our Daily Bread, which provides short-term emergency food assistance to Fairfax County area residents who are in crisis. We encourage you to bring a healthy non-perishable food item to donate. The Food Bridge Program is most in need of cooking oil, brown rice, dried beans, canned fruit in its own juices, and pasta sauce.

Olly Olly, located at 10417 Main Street, 2^nd Floor in Fairfax, VA, is open Tuesdays from 6pm-9pm, Saturdays 11am-4pm, and by appointment. Bodylore will be on view at Olly Olly from January 24, 2015 through February 6, 2015.

http://www.ollyollyart.com/

https://www.facebook.com/events/1520963774853508/

Jodi Walsh at Longview

Thursday, January 15th, 6:30 - 8:00pm

RSVP at the facebook event page

 

Show Dates: January 15 - February 11

DC metro based artist Jodi Walsh uses environmentally safe and natural materials to create unique mixed media works utilizing both paint and ceramic. Many of her works feature textured backgrounds layered with hand thrown ceramics suspended by stainless steel thread on heavy metal hardware. Past, Preset & Future will seamlessly combine her wall hanging pieces with her new ceiling mounted sculptural works.
 

Moods—In the end, the work is about providing a moment of visual and mental repose in the hold of abstraction and beauty -- a reflection of the settings of life.

 

Long View Gallery

1234 Ninth St NW, Washington, DC 20001 longviewgallerydc.com info@longviewgallery.com | 202.232.4788 facebook page

Opportunities for Artists at Montgomery College

EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITY: Themed exhibition series

Interactivity: Sight and Sound

Colored hearing: sounds, music or voices seen as colors is referred to as synesthesia. Synesthetic art refers to multi-sensory experiments in the genres of visual art, music visualization, audiovisual art, abstract film and other multi-and intermedia. The concept of synesthesia has long been a source of inspiration for artists, composers and writers. The work produced by artists attempting to provoke simultaneous perception by different senses has suggested the idea of "interactivity": between sight and hearing in particular, but not necessarily excluding interactivity among the other senses. Artists are invited to consider this concept and propose an exhibit of works that might connote or express it.

The Department of Visual and Performing Arts is calling for exhibition proposals for the Open Gallery in The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center that address the theme, "Interactivity: Sight and Sound." Four exhibitions will be scheduled for the 2015–2016 academic year.

Proposals must be received by April 17, 2015.  Applicants will be notified by June 1.

For detailed information about the exhibition space and the application process please visit:

http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/arts-tpss/exhibitions/opportunities.html

ARTIST RESIDENCY OPPORTUNITY

Deadline: Postmarked by March 31, 2015

Montgomery College Artist in Residence Program

The Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus of Montgomery College offers semester-long residencies for visual artists.  Fall residencies run from mid-August through mid-December.  Spring residencies run mid-January through mid-May.  This program provides artists with a dedicated space to pursue their professional art practice within an academic environment populated by art students and faculty.  Resident artists may also be granted access to the many other studio facilities available in the Cafritz Foundation Arts Center on a case-by-case basis.  No living accommodations are provided.

Applications are being accepted for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Deadline for applications is March 31, 2015.  There are no fees for participation in this residency.

For further information and the application forms, please visit:

http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/arts-tpss/residencies/

Another oak falls

"Hoy se ha caido otro roble en la selva del amargo exilio" is how I always thought that my father's eulogy would begin once he died.

"Today another oak falls in the jungle of bitter exile," began the eulogy for the man whose bloodlines my children and I carry on.

Florencio Campello Alonso died today at age 90 in Miami, the heart of the bitter Cuban Diaspora. Like many Cubans of his generation, he was the son of European immigrants to Cuba. His Galician parents left the scraggy mountains of northern Spain's ancient Celtic kingdom and in the first decade of the 1900s migrated to the new nation of Cuba upon its liberation from Spain.

Galicians have always been uneasy subjects of the Spanish crown, stubbornly hanging on to their ancient Celtic traditions, to their own language and to their bagpipes, so it is no historical surprise that they left their mountain homelands en-masse and headed to the new tropical paradise of Cuba, free from the heavy hand of the Spanish monarchy.

And thus it was never a surprise to me that my father was both a fighter against heavy-handed rulers, a lover of freedom, and one who was never afraid to re-start a life for the better, even if it involved discarding the old.

My father could have been one of the privileged few who currently rule atop the food chain of Cuba's Workers' Paradise. But instead of accepting the benefits of oppression, this most valiant of men chose the harsh path of right over wrong.

And he paid for it dearly (he spent years in Concentration Camps), but when he died, his soul was clean.

In his youth, my dad worked the brutal hours of the son of an immigrant who was slowly building a small financial empire in eastern Cuba. My father was pulled from school as soon as he learned to read and write, and like his two other brothers and eight sisters, he was expected to work and contribute to building a familial empire.

And he did, as my mother relates the stories of my father's childhood in the fields of eastern Cuba, a blond creole in a land of jingoist natives... he trying to out-Cuban the "real Cubans"... how he organized a labor union of the exploited Haitians who worked almost as slaves at the Los Canos Sugar Mill, how he joined a group of bearded rebels in the mountains of the Sierra Maestra in the fight against a tyrant, how he ran for the leadership of the Sugar Workers' Union and beat the Communists to the post, and how he spent years in a Castro Concentration Camp, jailed for the crime of refusing to join the Party, because he believed in Democracy and not Communism.

And because of that stubbornness, in the 1960s he was offered the bitter pill of exile, and this brave man decided to choose family... and left his birth place, and thus became another immigrant within two familial generations and brought his wife and child to another new land.

And it is to him that I owe the greatest gift that a father can give a son: the opportunity to grow in freedom in the greatest nation in the history of this planet.

It is because of my father's courage that I was raised in this country and not in a land bloodied by brutality and oppression.

It is because of my father's teachings that I was raised with the conviction that freedom is not free and never to be taken for granted; after all, he fought for freedom and then Castro, the man who inspired the fight, ended up being a worse dictator, eventually destroying all notions of freedom for all of his people.

It is because of my father that I was taught that every citizen owes his nation some form of service, and that's the main reason that I signed (at age 17) to serve in the US Navy.

It is because of my father that I despise anyone who hides behind the mask of victimism to excuse failures and shortcomings.

When our family arrived in New York in the 1960s, my father began to work in a factory three days after he landed at the airport; my mother (who came from a privileged Cuban family and had never worked a day in her life) found a job as a seamstress five days later. That pattern was repeated for decades as they worked their way in a new nation.

"We thought we'd be back within a few years," was the answer given to me when I once asked the question about leaving their birthplace. When that didn't materialize, they became fierce Americans in the "United States of Americans" sense... these were the "America None Better!" set of immigrants, and in my Dad's case, you better be ready to fight if you dissed the USA.

"Americans"!

Always a fighter he was... and always for the right reasons.

Cubans are archaic immigrants... we love this great nation because we recognize its singular and unique greatness; perhaps it is because our forebears had the same chance at greatness and blew it.

And my Dad loved this nation even more than he once loved Cuba... perhaps it is the genetic disposition of the serial immigrant. After all, his father had left his own ancient Celtic lands and kin for a new land... which he learned to love dearly.

My father always wanted to make sure that I knew that I was an "Americano" and not another forced-on label.

"Labels," he'd say, "are just a way to separate people."

By labels he meant "Hispanic" or "Latino" or anything with a "-" between two ethnic words.

I also remember as a kid in New York, when he bought a huge Hi-Fi record player-color-TV console... that thing was huge. He bought it "lay-away" and he'd pay $10 a week to the store and him and I would walk all the way from our house on Sackman Street to the store on Pitkin Avenue to make the payments every Saturday - he never missed a single payment, and that taught me a lesson.

It was soon playing my Dad's favorite music, which oddly enough was Mexican music (Cuban music was a close second)... and he knew all the words to every charro song.

Guadalajara en un llano, Mejico en una laguna...
Guadalajara en un llano, Mejico en una laguna...Me he de comer esa tunaMe he de comer esa tuna.... aunque me espine la mano.

That Jorge Negrete song... being shouted often on weekends at the top of his lungs from our apartment in a mostly Italian neighborhood in East New York in Brooklyn must have raised some eyebrows.

My dad and I watched Neil Armstrong land on the moon on that TV set... we also watched loads of Mets games... and in 1969 and 1972 went to Shea Stadium to see the Mets win in '69 and lose in '72. He really loved baseball and he really loved those Mets!

When I joined the Navy at age 17, my first duty station was USS SARATOGA, which at the time was stationed in Mayport in Florida, so my Dad decided to migrate south to Florida and moved to Miami... just to be close to me.

He and my mother spent the next 40 years in the same apartment while I was stationed all over the world.

When I visited him today in Miami, he looked good and freshly shaven... this is a good thing, as my father was a freak about hygiene... and that's a common "creole" trait.

The Hospice nurse almost teared up when I told her that my parents have been married for 60 years.

I looked at this old "gallego"... his skin as white as paper, his eyes as blue as the sky, and his head (once full of blond hair) as bald and shiny as the old Cuban sing song ("Mira la Luna, mira al Sol... mira la calva de ese.....") and I saw the generations of Neanderthals, Denisovans and Gallego Homo Sapiens that led to my bloodlines... the generations of fighters, of strugglers, and of tough guys who didn't take no for an answer and who made a better place for others. 

And I felt at peace and grateful.

And as my father died tonight, after an extubation,  all that I can think to say to him is "Thank you for your courage... from me, and from my children... and soon from their children. You opened a whole new world for them."

I love you Dad... Un Abrazo Fuerte! Thank you for your gifts to me and my children and it is no coincidence that you died on El Dia de Los Reyes.

More Cubans head to jail

Emboldened by the Obama Administration's diplomatic recognition -- and its pledge of inconditionality -- the Castro regime continues to arrest political dissidents.

Yesterday it arrested Lisandra Robert, Miraida Martin and Yamile Rodriguez -- all members of the Cuban Patriotic Union (UNPACU) in Santiago de Cuba -- and Melkis Faure and Emilio Serrano in Havana.

Faure and Serrano were arrested as they inquired about Sonia de la Caridad Gonzalez Mejias, who was arrested on December 28th. Gonzalez Mejia is currently on a hunger strike protesting her unjust imprisonment.

Meanwhile, Cuban artist Danilo Maldonado ("El Sexto"), arrested on Christmas Day, was transferred to the Valle Grande prison. His crime? Intending to attend artist Tania Bruguera's performance, which never took place, as she was also arrested!

And Marcelino Abreu Bonora, arrested on December 26th, was beaten and placed in a "special" punishment cell for conducting a hunger strike.

Tragically, there are already more political prisoners in Cuba today than on December 17th.

SELECT 2015: WPA Art Auction Exhibition and Gala

SELECT 2015: WPA Art Auction Exhibition and Gala   

GALA: March 7, 2015, 7-11pm   

EXHIBITION: January 29 through March 6, 2015 

OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday, January 29, 7-9pm 

CURATOR TALKS: Thursday, February 12 and Thursday, February 19, 6:30-8pm

   

at Artisphere: 1101 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 

Free parking with validation on evenings (after 5pm) and all day on weekends 

Metro: Rosslyn 

Circulator: Georgetown - Dupont  

Exhibition, opening reception, and curator talks are free and open to the public.

For Auction ticket information, please CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE or contact
Nathalie von Veh at 202.234.7103 x5 or nvonveh@wpadc.org

  

WPA's Annual Art Auction Gala is the highlight of DC's contemporary art world season! DC's longest running and most-established contemporary art auction, SELECT is an annually anticipated event that supports WPA and the artist community.  

SELECT 2015 features works available for purchase chosen by 8 of the region's top and emerging curators as well as selections by WPA's Board of Directors. Featuring works by established and emerging artists from DC, Baltimore, Richmond, and beyond, WPA's selection of exquisite, engaging, and exciting art works offer something for collectors both seasoned and aspiring.  

    

Auction Co-Chairs: Jessica Naresh, Judy & Andrew Sherman, and Robert Shields

Auction Host Committee: Martha Blalock, Heather Davis, Ayanna Dunn, Eric Hilton, Dr. Giselle Huberman, Jessica Naresh, Jill Pearlman, Amanda Phillips, Judy Sherman, Robert Shields, Henri Siblesz, Jessica Stafford-Davis, Vikki Tobak, and Blair Wunderlich