The Lenster in the news

His piece in the exhibit is made from a newspaper dated July 4, 1976, and has as its central focus the island of Cuba. 

Campello told CNS that if he had stayed in Cuba, his art would be controlled by the government there because it dictates everything, including what constitutes art work. "It would have been my work with an approval stamp by some bureaucrat in the communist dictatorship," he said. The artwork was his proposal for admission to the University of Washington School of Art in Seattle, where he studied.  

A newer piece by Campello in the exhibit is titled "Running Towards Freedom (Heading to the New American Embassy)," showing a young Cuban girl running away from her country to freedom. 

"She has left everything behind, naked, and there is nothing but light in front of her and she is leaving all the darkness behind," he said.

Read the whole article by Ana Franco-Guzman in the Boston Pilot about the Looking Glass: Artists Immigrant to Washington exhibit at the Katzen Museum here. By the way, that collage (see below), which was part of The Andres Fernandez Collection in New Jersey, has been gifted to American University!

Isla Balsera (Happy Bicentennial America - Wishing We Were There)
1976 by F. Lennox Campello
Collage. 26x34 inches
Courtesy of Alida Anderson Art Projects

At the Altar

Here's my newest work... it will soon be heading to New York (unless you intercept it and buy it from the gallery now). The latest in my marriage of drawing and technology (in this case still digital photography from Google Images with some specific search parameters).  

Send me an email if you'd like to add it to your collection and I will put you in touch with the gallery.

Young Photographer, Overwhelmed by the Diversity of Photography
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Electronic Components
F. Lennox Campello. 19x38 inches, c. 2016

Young Photographer, Overwhelmed by the Diversity of Photography
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Electronic Components
F. Lennox Campello. 19x38 inches, c. 2016

Young Photographer, Overwhelmed by the Diversity of Photography
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Electronic Components
F. Lennox Campello. 19x38 inches, c. 2016

Young Photographer, Overwhelmed by the Diversity of Photography
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Electronic Components
F. Lennox Campello. 19x38 inches, c. 2016

Young Photographer, Overwhelmed by the Diversity of Photography
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Electronic Components
F. Lennox Campello. 19x38 inches, c. 2016

Young Photographer, Overwhelmed by the Diversity of Photography
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Electronic Components
F. Lennox Campello. 19x38 inches, c. 2016

Young Photographer, Overwhelmed by the Diversity of Photography
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Electronic Components
F. Lennox Campello. 19x38 inches, c. 2016

Young Photographer, Overwhelmed by the Diversity of Photography
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Electronic Components
F. Lennox Campello. 19x38 inches, c. 2016

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline August 1, 2016.


The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is accepting proposals in all media for solo and group exhibitions for 2017-2018. A community art center on the Great Miami River in arts-driven downtown Hamilton, Ohio, the Fitton Center provides experiences in the arts through exhibitions, classes, performances and other events. Four galleries provide 2,600 square feet of space. Solo artists generally are asked to exhibit 10 – 30 works, depending on scale, media and available space. We also offer group shows of existing guilds or organizations and for individuals willing to be selected into a curated group.


For full requirements, please contact Cathy Mayhugh, mailto:cathy@fittoncenter.org or visit http://www.fittoncenter.org, click on Exhibitions and download the Exhibition Proposal Form. 101 S. Monument Ave., Hamilton OH 45011, (513) 863-8873 ext. 122.

Trawick Prize announces 2016 finalists

Award Winners to be Named during September Exhibit

 

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and the Bethesda Urban Partnership will showcase the work of The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards eight finalists in a group exhibition. The exhibit will be on display August 31 – September 24, 2016, at Gallery B, located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E.

2016 Trawick Prize Finalists

Lauren Frances Adams, Baltimore, MD

Cindy Cheng, Baltimore, MD

Leah Cooper, Baltimore, MD

Sarah Irvin, Springfield, VA

Dean Kessmann, Washington, D.C.

Ben Marcin, Baltimore, MD

Tony Shore, Baltimore, MD

William Wylie, Charlottesville, VA

 

The award winners will be announced on Wednesday, August 31, 2016. The first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000.

The public opening reception will be held Friday, September 9 from 6-8pm. Gallery hours for the duration of the exhibit are Wednesday through Saturday, 12 – 6pm.

 

The 2016 Trawick Prize jury includes Stéphane Aquin, Chief Curator, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Hasan Elahi, Associate Professor, Department of Art at University of Maryland and Rebecca Schoenthal, Curator of Exhibitions at The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia.

 

The Trawick Prize was established in 2003 by Carol Trawick, a longtime community activist in downtown Bethesda. She is the past Chair of both the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and Bethesda Urban Partnership, and also the Founder of the Bethesda Painting Awards. In 2007, Ms. Trawick founded the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation to assist health and human services and arts non-profits in Montgomery County.

The Trawick Prize is one of the first regional competitions and largest prizes to annually honor visual artists. To date, The Trawick Prize has awarded $192,000 in prize monies and has exhibited the work of more than 130 regional artists. Previous Best in Show recipients include Richard Clever, 2003; David Page, 2004; Jiha Moon, 2005; James Rieck, 2006; Jo Smail, 2007; Maggie Michael, 2008; Rene Trevino, 2009; Sara Pomerance, 2010; Mia Feuer, 2011; Lillian Bayley Hoover, 2012; Gary Kachadourian, 2013; Neil Feather, 2014 and Jonathan Monaghan, 2015. 

For more information, please visit www.bethesda.org or call 301-215-6660.

Del Ray Artisans Indoor Art Supplies Yard Sale

Dates: June 27 - July 15, 2016 

 

Paints, crayons, papers...a real potpourri!  Gently used art supplies for you and for me!  Artists et al, take a look through your closets and art bins!  Gather those things you’ve been meaning to use but never do and donate them to Del Ray Artisans’ Indoor Art Supplies Yard Sale!

 

Please drop off your donations at Del Ray Artisans gallery on June 23 from 12-6pm, June 24 & 25 from 12-9pm, and June 26 from 12-6pm. Donations will also be accepted June 27 through July 9 a half-hour before (and immediately after) each Grown Ups Art Camp (GUAC) workshop. You can view the schedule of GUAC workshops (and sign up for a few!) at www.TheDelRayArtisans.org/GUAC

 

Come to shop the art supplies sale a half-hour before or immediately after a GUAC workshop. They will also host a “last chance” sale on Friday, July 15 from 12-3pm.  All proceeds support Del Ray Artisans, a non-profit, 501(c) (3) organization.

 

The gallery is handicap accessible. For questions on the art supplies sale, please contact Betsy Mead at egmead@gmail.com. For more information on Del Ray Artisans, please visit www.TheDelRayArtisans.org

Come to this opening tonight and get free artwork

You gotta come to this group show at American University’s Katzen Art Museum, since I am honored to be part of it... and there's free art involved... buah, ah, ah!


By the way, that gorgeous museum was built thanks to a major gift from Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen, he a brilliant collector of art who could teach lessons on how to collect; and she is a very talented artist with a refined eye for great artwork. 

The Katzen’s head honcho, Jack Rasmussen, continues to shame all other DMV museum directors and curators when it comes to them tending their own artistic back garden.

At the risk of repeating myself: most DMV museum curators would rather take a cab to Dulles Airport to fly to Berlin in order to visit an emerging artist’s studio than to take a cab to the Gateway Artists’ Studios, or to any area artists’ studios, to look at local artists.

Are you hearing me Stéphane Aquin? Taína Caragol? E. Carmen Ramos? Eleanor Jones Harvey?, etc. Learn to tend your own artistic back garden.


The show is titled The Looking Glass:  Artist Immigrants of Washington and it runs June 18–August 14, 2016. It is part of the amazing Alper Initiative for Washington Artists (if you don’t know what that it, and you are a DMV artist, you should! – contact the Katzen).

The opening is June 18 from 6-8PM. There will be plenty of adult beverages and munchies, and the artists will be there to talk about their work. And in a shameless act of free artwork distribution, I will be giving a free limited edition lithograph from a set of various lithos (you get to pick one) that I did in art school in the 1980s if you say: "Hi Lenny, where's my print?"

They are all signed and numbered in tiny editions... all circa 1977-1981.

The exhibition celebrates ten artists who left Latin America for many different reasons over the last sixty years – primarily for safety, freedom, and opportunity – and made their homes, and their artistic careers and contributions, in the Washington region. 

Ric Garcia, Los Santos, 2012.
Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30.
Photo by Pete Duvall, Anything Photographic.

They include Joan Belmar and Juan Downey from Chile, Carolina Mayorga from Colombia, Ric Garcia, Jose Ygnacio Bermudez, and yours truly from Cuba, Muriel Hasbun from El Salvador, Frida Larios from El Salvador/Honduras, Irene Clouthier from Mexico, and Naul Ojeda from Uruguay. They brought with them artistic traditions that took root and bore fruit here in the United States.

See ya there! Don't forget to ask me for your free artwork!

Artapedia.com: Launch of new DC Arts writing website

Day Eight is preparing to launch an ambitious new arts blog, Artapedia.com, focused on the D.C. area. Kay Kendall, Chair of the DC Commission on the Arts, and Michael Kaiser, past-president of the Kennedy Center, will be honorary hosts for a free celebration and launch event (rsvp required) Tuesday June 21 5:30-7:00.

The site is launching as part of the DC Arts Writing Fellowship. 2016 D.C. Arts Writing Fellows Jonelle Walker and Michelle Goldchain will cover anything and everything local and artistic. The project was developed to increase coverage of the local arts community and is produced through support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Humanities DC, Brink Media, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, and DCRE Residential.

In addition to writing coverage of arts and humanities activities the Fellows will facilitate a series of community events and receive structured and unstructured mentorship from journalists including Sarah Kaufman (Pulitzer 2010, chief dance critic Washington Post), Jeanette Catsoulis (Film critic, New York Times), and Maura Judkis (culture journalist, Washington Post.) 

Project Director Robert Bettmann said, “For centuries arts journalism has played a critical role in the practice and participation of the arts. With declines in quality coverage from the major news institutions publishers like Day Eight are trying to find new models.”

In celebration of launch of the Fellowship and website Day Eight will host a launch party Tuesday June 21 at BRINK (1516 U Street NW) from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public; rsvp is required – space is limited.

For RSVP visit: http://www.evite.com/event/00FEL7XSSPRKDYBOYEPGF4KS4PJXKQ?gid=

About Arts Writing Fellow Jonelle Walker

Jonelle Walker is a 2016 DC Arts Writing Fellow with Day Eight. She is also a Theatre History and Performance Studies masters student at the University of Maryland, a freelance theatre writer, and the Artist-in-Residence and Literary Manager for Blind Pug Arts Collective. She earned her undergraduate degrees in Literature and Theatre Arts from American University in 2013.

About Arts Writing Fellow Michelle Goldchain

Michelle Goldchain is a Washington, D.C.-based writer and photographer who covers local news. She is currently one of the DC Arts Writing fellows with Day Eight. She is also Editor of Curbed DC, a real estate and development blog owned by Vox Media. Her works have been seen in Street Sense, Quill Magazine, Whurk Magazine, and Prince William Living Magazine.

About Arts Writing Fellowship Director Robert Bettmann

Robert Bettmann is an arts writer and editor based in Washington, D.C. He's founder of the arts magazine Bourgeon and the non-profit Day Eight. In the last year he's completed projects with funding from the DC Arts Commission and DC Humanities Council and National Endowment for the Arts. Robert is an artist himself, having transitioned into writing after a decade-long career as a performing artist. He trained on scholarship at the Washington Ballet and Alvin Ailey schools and performed modern dance and ballet. His book Somatic Ecology was published in 2009, and he is the editor of an arts anthology, Bourgeon: Fifty Artists Write About Their Work, published recently.

About Day Eight

The mission of Day Eight is to empower participation in the arts through the production, publication, and promotion of creative projects. The organization’s publication program includes the arts magazine Bourgeon, an annual arts writing competition for undergraduates, and the DC Arts Writing Fellowship. http://dayeight.org/

For additional information contact:

Robert Bettmann Robert@dayeight.org (202)210-2181 

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Annual Meeting/Party

Monday, June 27, 2016 at 7:00 PM 

Celebrating a year of Arts and Humanities in the District of Columbia.

Featuring performances and presentations by FY15 grant award recipients

Historic Lincoln Theatre

1215 U Street NW

Washington, DC 20009

Presentations and Performances by:Free Minds Book Club
Chloe Arnold and Maud Arnold
Sweater Set
Dana Flor
Spit Dat DC
CityDance
Washington Improv Theater
Levine Music
Story District
dog & pony dc
Hunt Laudi Studio

Admission is free, RSVPs are encouraged. RSVP here.

The Annual Meeting highlights the progress of the arts in 2015. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities staff and grantees present an overview of the previous year's work and an outline for the future to the general public.

Join us for our rooftop networking social immediately
following the annual meeting at

Lost Society
2001 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
8:00 pm -10:00 pm (RSVP here)

Beware of Sally Riding

From artist Carmen Tyrrell:

Last week I received a message at my gallery from Sally Riding offer to buy 2 of my art works but she can not pay PayPal and offered to send me a cheque. This is her message:

Sally Riding
To Carmen tyrrell
Jun 13 at 6:39 AM

Good Morning ,i just got an update from my Accountant that payment has been issued out to your name and address information you gave to me and you will surely received it this week Tuesday Wednesday.

Unfortunately my Accountant erroneously sent the wrong amount which is meant to be paid to another company,But never mind when you received the payment (CHEQUE) don't tear or return it,kindly deposit the Cheque into your bank account and it take 1-2 days to cleared in your bank account and will give you further instruction for the next step.

I can place additional order to complete it or ask for refund into our bank account details.

Please; Kindly read and understand the message and reply me immediately if you receive this message now.

Regards.
Rise.

Carmen notes that she didn't answer the message, as she knew that it was a scam... she then received a second email:

Sally Riding
To Carmen Tyrrell Today at 9:56
Hello,
I sent you a mail and concerning my finance manager erroneously sent the wrong amount to your name and address that you will surely received the payment in your mailbox or letterbox and you refused to reply back,because i have already contacted my bank manager concerning the payment and it take 1-5 days to cleared in your bank account and i will be glad if you can get back to me now,so that i can know the status of the payment,because it already sent out and you will surely received it by this week. 

Thanks for your understanding and co-operation,so Kindly look into your letter box or mail box starting from this week and get back to me immediately you received it and deposit the check in your bank account, also get back to me when you received the check and deposit the Bank Check.

Please; Kindly reply me immediately if you receive this message now
Regards.
Rise

The curious case of Western Union

Today I went to Western Union to send one of my daughters some moolah.


As I don't do this very often, I was somewhat taken back by the complexity of the process, once it involves a significant amount of money.


After, and only after, I handed off the clerk a few thousand bucks (not over or even close to $10K in case you are wondering - as I know that this has to be "reported"), she asks me for my Social Security number.


She then asks if my SSN was "issued in the United States?"


I'm not even sure what that question means, but I tell her yes...


She then asks me where was I born.


And then she asks what I do for a living.


She processes all of this into her computer and then tells me that I need to call a number and answer a few questions before my money is "released."


I call the number, and oddly enough for someone working telephonic Customer Service, the lady assisting me had one of the most atrocious accents that I've ever heard on the telephone.


This meant that I had to constantly ask her to repeat the multiple questions, which were rather personal and somewhat surprising.


Q: What did my daughter need the money for?


A: She's moving and I'm helping with the rent and deposit, etc.


Q: Will all of this money be used for the rent and deposit? How much is the rent?

Q: When was the last time that I saw my daughter?


I shit thee not!


After multiple repetitions because I could not understand the English from the nice Western Union phone lady with the "she sounds like she's speaking Finnish underwater" accent, I'm put on hold for 5-6 minutes.


After that I am told that the funds would be released once she shows up with two forms of ID. I guess that my name didn't pop up on any nefarious lists, which is a good thing because I am one solid US citizen with zip to hide.


Now, I understand that this is all probably related to suspicions of drug money, or related to the IRS wanting to know everything about cash transactions, etc., but it truly felt somewhat scary, which sucks, because all that I'm doing is sending my fucking daughter some money to help her move.

X-rated medieval doodles

X-rated medieval doodles reveal our ancestors had a sense of humor... read the CNN story here.

Carte Blanche at Adah Rose

June 10-August 31, 2016

Change is in the air. Summer is a time to embrace the new, spend time outdoors and shake things up a little bit. At Adah Rose Gallery we will be rotating our exhibits every three weeks and invite guest artists to participate as well as gallery artists.  One week we may feature large scale painting, one week works with an emphasis on color and the next...works with TEXT. Shows will be curated by former interns and patrons. We want to keep it exciting, dynamic and challenge the way we view art in our space.

 

Guest artists will be added continually all summer long and so far include Sarah Purvey, Sheila Giolitti, Christina Tenaglia, Dave Rothschild, Gregory Ferrand, Joy Garnett, Kyujin Lee, Tim Makepeace, McCain McMurray, and Gabe Brown. 

Adah Rose Gallery

3766 Howard Ave

Kensington MD 20895

www.adahrosegallery.com

301-922-0162

Hours Thurs-Sunday 12-5:30 and always by appointment

The Looking Glass: Artist Immigrants of Washington

Let me plug an upcoming group show at American University’s Katzen Art Museum, since I am honored to be part of it. 



By the way, that gorgeous museum was built thanks to a major gift from Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen, he a brilliant collector of art who could teach lessons on how to collect; she a very talented artist with a refined eye for great artwork. The Katzen’s head honcho, Jack Rasmussen, continues to shame all other DMV museum directors and curators when it comes to them tending their own artistic back garden.


At the risk of repeating myself: most DMV museum curators would rather take a cab to Dulles Airport to fly to Berlin in order to visit an emerging artist’s studio than to take a cab to the Gateway Artists’ Studios, or to any area artists’ studios, to look at local artists.


Are you hearing me Stéphane Aquin? Taína Caragol? E. Carmen Ramos? Eleanor Jones Harvey?, etc. Learn to tend your own artistic back garden.




The show is titled The Looking Glass:  Artist Immigrants of Washington and it runs June 18–August 14, 2016. It is part of the amazing Alper Initiative for Washington Artists (if you don’t know what that it, and you are a DMV artist, you should! – contact the Katzen).



The opening is June 18 from 6-8PM. There will be plenty of adult beverages and munchies, and the artists will be there to talk about their work.




The exhibition celebrates ten artists who left Latin America for many different reasons over the last sixty years – primarily for safety, freedom, and opportunity – and made their homes, and their artistic careers and contributions, in the Washington region.




Ric Garcia, Los Santos, 2012.
Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30.
Photo by Pete Duvall, Anything Photographic.

They include Joan Belmar and Juan Downey from Chile, Carolina Mayorga from Colombia, Ric Garcia, Jose Ygnacio Bermudez, and yours truly from Cuba, Muriel Hasbun from El Salvador, Frida Larios from El Salvador/Honduras, Irene Clouthier from Mexico, and Naul Ojeda from Uruguay. They brought with them artistic traditions that took root and bore fruit here in the United States.


See ya there!

Spokane Arts Commission call for submissions for the Chase Gallery

Deadline:  September, 16 2016  - 5 PM PST     
    
The Chase Gallery submissions are open for the 2017 season and they are seeking artists of color for the Winter and Fall Exhibition schedules.



Winter: Spokane Arts Commission is seeking work from Artists of Color for the Winter exhibition schedule (January through March.) The reception will take place on the February Visual Arts Tour.


Identities of race and culture are fluid, ancient, or new. Whether your work directly addresses your cultural experience or not we are interested in sharing it with a wide audience.


The artwork will be selected by a diverse panel of jurors.


Apply here.

New Pop Up Art Space

The DMV has a new rental pop up art space available... details below from the news release:

Bridging the gap between artists and collectors  

As an artist, I have found myself struggling to find the right place to showcase my artwork.  I know firsthand how truly frustrating it can be to not have any gallery representation and only have the opportunity to show in restaurants, coffee shops, and other venues that are not designed for the ambiance that pieces of art need to be fully appreciated. 

For that reason, I created White Cloud Pop-Up Art Space. In this space, walls, ceiling and floors are united in harmony by the purest white color. Combined with a generous amount of natural light, there is a clean, simple background to truly let your work stand out.

White Cloud is conveniently located in the heart of the U Street corridor, only 2 blocks from the U Street metro and within walking distance to some of DC’s most popular restaurants and coffee shops. All day and night, potential clients are just footsteps from the gallery.

In addition, White Cloud provides this amenities: 

•        Over 400 sq ft of art space
•        Heavy railing hanging picture system to easily hang and remove art
•        Track lighting to spotlight your pieces
•         Modern desk that can also be used as a service area
•         Nicely renovated bathroom
•         Fully functional HVAC unit
•         Large refrigerator and microwave 

Below is information on our Pricing and Frequently Asked Questions about the gallery. We look forward to working with you! 

Pricing:
Weekdays: (Monday through Thursday) $300 for two hour public show.  

This price also includes two hours for set-up and one hour after closing to clean and    remove pieces. Set-up can begin at 10 AM on the day of the show. All exhibitions must  end by 11 PM. 

Weekends: (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) $500 for two hour public show. This price   also includes two hours for set-up and one hour after closing to clean and remove  pieces.   Set-up can begin at 10 AM on any day of the show. All exhibitions must end by
11:00 PM 

Two-day weekend show: (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) $800.  Set-up can begin at 10 AM  on the first and second days of the show. Set-up can begin at 10 AM on any day of the   show. All exhibitions must end by 11 PM.  

Full weekend show: (Friday through Sunday) $1000.  Set-up can begin at 10 AM on    any day of the show. All exhibitions must end by 11 PM. 

FAQS 

WHERE IS THE GALLERY LOCATED?
Our address is at  1843 14th street NW 2nd floor, Washington DC, at the corner of 14th
and T St NW. 

WHAT ARE THE GALLERY HOURS?
White Cloud opens at 11 AM. Until 7pm, but better to make an appointment first. 

CAN I TOUR THE STUDIO BEFORE RENTING IT?
Of course!  White Cloud Gallery can occasionally accommodate walk-in tours, but it’s  always best to schedule an appointment. Give Miguel a call . 

WHAT IF I NEED MORE TIME TO SET UP OR REMOVE MY ART?
No problem. I’m happy to work with you. This is negotiable. 

IS THERE A SERVICE ELEVATOR?
White Cloud Gallery is on the second floor of the building and we do not have a service  elevator - please come prepared to carry any equipment/props up a flight of stairs.

WHERE CAN I PARK?
A new public parking lot just opened across the street from White Cloud Gallery at 14th
St NW and Swann St. NW). There is street parking on 14th Street and the surrounding  neighborhood blocks.  

INSURANCE
Artists are responsible for insurance that covers damage to their artwork.  We do  require a $300 deposit in cash for all exhibitions to cover any incidentals and clean/up.
This deposit will be returned at the end of the exhibition 

DO YOU CHARGE A COMMISSION?  Nope!            

HOW DO I RESERVE THE GALLERY?
Gallery reservations are on a first come first serve basis. A non-refundable deposit of  50% of the total cost is required to hold the space. The remaining 50% of the balance is  due seven days before the exhibition.

1843 14th street NW, Washington D.C. 20009
(202) 288 1391 whitecloudgallery@gmail.com
Artist Director Miguel Perez Lem 

Opportunity for artists

Deadline: July 11, 2016


National and international artists are invited to submit qualifications for the Oregon Art in Public Places Roster. The Oregon Arts Commission and the Regional Arts & Culture Council manage the percent for art programs for the State of Oregon, Multnomah County, and City of Portland. The Roster is a resource for public art selection panels to identify artists most suitable for their community and specific project needs.


Enter here.

Airborne

Airborne today and heading to the Miami tonight for a luncheon in honor of my amazing mother.

The Usefulness of Art in the Community

 

The WPA is pleased to invite you to a useful talk by Kemi Ilesanmi, Executive Director of The Laundromat Project.

Thursday, June 16, 2016, 6:30pm

The Laundromat Project has been producing art in and with communities for more than a decade. Their mission is to unleash the creative potential already in neighborhoods. Kemi Ilesanmi will discuss the LP's work from a use-value perspective and within the context of the larger, ongoing evolution of community arts organizations nation-wide. 

How do I start collecting art?

I am often asked, usually by friends outside the art cabal, and by people who become interested in collecting art, but have never collected artwork, what they should “collect.” 

"What should I buy Lenster?" "How do I start?"

Many years ago, I formed an opinion based on empirical observations, that there are really only two basic rules to start an art collection:

1. Collect what you like, and
2. Whenever possible, buy the original. 

That’s clear, right?

Buy and collect only what you like, what attracts your eyes, and what interests you personally, and is within your economic means. If you like the work of a particular artist, or a specific kind of prints (like Japanese woodcuts), or drawings (such as figurative drawings), then focus your collection in those areas.  This also comes with a caveat, as a lot of excessive attention is often placed on a "focused" collection. A diverse collection may make less sense to some than a focused one, but it only has to make sense to you! After all, it is your collection.

It has also been my experience, that the more affluent a “beginning collector” is, the higher the probability that he/she will get swindled into spending a lot of money for wall décor and fancy frames. Since most of us are not affluent, the high end of the commodified art market is not where I’m focusing this post.

For those affluent folks: if the "gallery" has large realistic paintings of cigars resting on wine glasses, or the artwork comes with an "option" for a rococo frame, run for your lives!

The DMV offers an immense variety, and multiple, loads of, tons, mucho, a lot, beaucoup, diverse sources to begin an art collection.

The key to most of that statement is the number of art schools, art leagues, art centers, and reputable commercial art galleries that exist in our area. Add to that the number of independent artists’ studios, and you have the perfect mix for starting an art collection.

Let start with the schools; nearly all art schools and universities put together student shows. Usually these are Master of Fine Arts (MFA) shows – the graduation show for MFA program students.  American, Catholic, George Mason, George Washington, Maryland, Montgomery Community College, Northern Virginia, and others are but a sampling of some excellent places to troll for student artwork.

Buying student artwork generally equals buying an artist early on his/her career.

Buying an artist early in his/her career is the “golden nugget” of most art collectors’ hopes.  That puppy crossed my road a few times in my life.

In 1989 I stood in front of an original oil painting by Scottish painter Jack Vettriano at the Royal Scottish Academy in Glasgow... I loved it! 


I think that it was Vettriano’s first ever show (it was a group show; actually a painting competition or was it the Royal Scottish Academy annual show?), and there were two of his early paintings (all done as I recall, at his first - and only - art class).

It was on sale for 300 British pounds, which at the time for me might as well have been 300 million pounds, since my US Navy Lieutenant’s salary barely covered expenses in Scotland, which is where I was stationed at the time.  That painting sold for 300 pounds. .. 300 pounds at the time was around $500 dollars.

Today, although he is despised by the art critics and the British arts establishment, he is adored by the public and by some very important collectors, and his works, if you are lucky enough to get on the waiting list for one, ranges in the hundreds of thousands of pounds.

And that early one that I passed on? Sold at Sotheby’s a few years ago for a lot more... a LOT more pounds. Beginning art collectors can find their own early Vettrianos at art competitions, MFA shows, outdoor art festivals, open studios, etc.

I will discuss open studios in our region later on.

Who owns the copyright to your tattoo?

Did you design your own tattoo?

Then read this.