Performing the Border at AU

The borders that separate people and things are constantly changing, and quite often completely arbitrary, yet the importance placed on them would seem to suggest otherwise. Featuring Washington artists Clay Dunklin, Amy Lin, Susana Raab, Jenny Wu, and the artist collective Street Light Circus, the works in Performing the Border explore the concept of borders and boundaries, both the ways we perform within them, and the way those borders are often themselves a performance.

At AU and curated by Megan Parker.

Opening ReceptionJune 17, 6-9 pm

Remembering an elegant tree

A year ago my courageous mother died... this is my eulogy from that day:

When my father died last year, I began his eulogy by noting that another oak had fallen.

This morning, around 1:25AM, Ana Olivia Cruzata Marrero de Campello, his wife of over 60 years, and my beloved mother, passed on on the day of her 97th birthday.

If my father was an oak, then my mother was an equally strong, but also very pliable, and elegant tree.  When hurricanes attack the mainlands of the world, the strong tall trees often fall, but the pliable ones, like plantain trees, always give with the wind, and survive the storms, and thrive in the drenching rains.

My mother was like a an aged plantain tree, not only immensely strong and pliable, but also giving and nurturing.

Like many Cuban women of her generation and her social-economic background, she had never worked for a living in Cuba, and yet within a few days of our arrival in New York in the 1960s, she was working long hours in a sewing factory, putting her formidable seamstress skills, honed in the social sewing and embroidery gathering of young Cuban girls, to use in the "piece work" process of the New York sewing factories.

As soon as we saved the money, one of the first things that my mother bought was an electric sewing machine - a novelty to her, as she had always used one of the those ancient Singer machines with a foot pedal.

I remember as a child in Brooklyn, that women used to bring her fabric and a page from a magazine with a woman wearing a dress. Without the benefit of a sewing pattern, my mother would whip up a copy of the dress that was more often than not probably better made than the original. As the word of her skills spread, so did her customers and soon she was making more money working at home than at the factory - but she kept both jobs.

I once noted to her that I admired the courage that it must have taken her to leave her family and immigrate to the United States. "We didn't come here as immigrants," she corrected me. "We came as political refugees, and I initially thought that we'd be back in Cuba within a few years at the most."

When the brutal Castro dictatorship refused to loosen its stranglehold on her birth place, she became an immigrant, and from there on an American citizen from her white-streaked hair down to her heel bone (that's a Cuban saying). Like my father, she loved her adopted country with a ferocity, that I sometimes feel that only people who have been bloodied by Communism can feel for a new, free homeland.

As as I've noted before, 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.

I remember as a teenager, once I started going out to parties and things at night on my own (around age 16 or so), that my mother would wait up for me, sitting by the third floor window of our Brooklyn apartment, where she could survey the whole neighborhood and see as far as the elevated LL subway station a few blocks away, to watch me descend the station stairs and trace my way home.

My mother was always fit and, as once described by my father, "flaca como un fusil" (as slim as a rifle). She was strong and fast. She was also quiet, but never silenced, and when needed, could and would command attention.

My mother was always well dressed and superbly coiffed. When we'd go to parties and events, women would always ask her where she'd gotten that dress! The answer was always the same: she'd made it!

At least once a week, to my father's dismay, and in spite of his demands that my mother stop it, she'd get her hair done at the nearby peluqueria (hair dresser).

My dad knew, and respected his limits with my mother. 

I remember one time that my father and I were returning from shopping at the supermarket, dragging one of those wheeled folding carts that could carry four full paper grocery bags. It had been snowing, so the Brooklyn streets were wet and muddy.

When we got to our apartment my father opened the door. He then stood there.

"Go in!" I demanded.

"We'll have to wait," he said gloomily, "Your mother mopped the floor and it's still wet." This giant, tough, street-brawling Galician then looked at me sheepishly, "I'd rather walk through a mine field than step on your mother's wet floor."

I learned a lesson there.

She used to delight in telling stories how, as a child, she would often win the horse races that kids staged around the small country towns where she was raised in Oriente province, where her father was a Mayoral.

"I almost always won," she'd say, and then would add: "Even though I was a skinny girl."

Once, in her seventies, back in the days where you could actually accompany people to the departing gates at airports, we were escorting my oldest daughter Vanessa, who had come to visit, and we were running late. As we got to the airport, we ran to the gate, and to everyone's surprise, Abuela got there first. I still remember how delighted my daughter was that her grandmother could still run like a gazelle.

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, and thus my parents decided to migrate south to Florida and moved to Miami... just to be close to me.

They spent the next 40 years in the same apartment while I was stationed all over the world.

The mostly Cuban-American families that lived over the years in that apartment loved my mother, and would always tell me stories about my mother, ever the nurturer, bringing them food when she knew that they were going over tough times, or riding the buses with them, just to show them the routes.

This week, when I arrived in Miami, already somewhat knowing that this was approaching the end, I saw her with tubes coming out of her mouth and her eyes closed. When I spoke to her she opened her eyes, and in spite of the visuals that my eyes were seeing she somehow still managed to look strong. 

I showed her photos and movies of her grand children, and talked to her for a long time.

I thanked her for having the courage to leave her motherland and afford me the opportunity to grow as an American.

When she was being extubated, a young woman came into the room with a guitar and played and sang the haunting free prose of Guajira Guantanamera (The peasant girl from Guantanamo); a most fitting song, since my mother was from Guantanamo, and she came from strong Cuban peasant stock.

"Guajira pero fina (A peasant, but a very refined woman)", noted a neighbor and loving caretaker. 

The song, which can start with just about any prose, started with the Jose Marti poem:

 Yo quiero, cuando me muera, sin patria, pero sin amo, tener en mi tumba un ramo de flores y una bandera

I want to, when I die, without my motherland, but without a master, to have on my tomb a bunch of flowers and a flag.

She died without a master, a strong and pliable woman who not only gave me the gift of life, but also the gift of freedom.

And as my mother died in her sleep in the early hours of the morning, in the capital city of the bitter Cuban Diaspora, all that I could gather to say to her was mostly the same that I said to my father when he passed last year: "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 Mami... Un Abrazo Fuerte! Thank you for your gifts to me and my children, and happy birthday in Heaven!

Call For Original Art for VCU CMH Hospital

Deadline: July 1, 2017


The call is open to all artists 18 and older living in Virginia and North Carolina. The art selection panel will consider diversity as one factor in the selection process.


TYPES OF ARTWORK

1. Drawings, paintings, collage, prints, digital art and wall mounted sculpture
2. All work should be “hospital friendly,”
3. Nature, natural elements and health are the underlying themes of the building.
4. Cultural diversity in subject and content.
5. Contemporary art that stands on its own, and with a theme that unifies.
6. Proposals for commissions will be accepted

All the details here!

The Business of the Arts - You're Invited!

From the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities:

Topic: Marketing Techniques for Streamlining and Optimizing Your Social Media Outreach
Join us for an interactive workshop with Sarah Massey of Massey Media. Get tips on building your online brand, creating an ongoing online engagement plan, and selecting the right software to streamline your outreach. 

 

Monday, June 12, 2017
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm 

Location: 441 4th Street NW, Ste. 1117, Washington, DC 20001

Metro: Judiciary Square (Red Line)

RSVP via Eventbrite

 Facilitator: Sarah Massey, Principal & Owner of Massey Media 

 For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Kali Wasenko at Kali.Wasenko@dc.gov or (202) 724-1445 by Monday, June 5, 2017.

Call for Artists

Deadline: Friday, June 16, 6:00 P.M.

From Zenith Gallery:

RESIST
Re-Invigorate and Express Your Views, Thoughts and Concerns

This summer we present an exhibit titled RESIST in honor of the latest resist movements captivating the globe. We invite professional artists to submit works that interpret and reflect on the state of our world today. What has surfaced in your work, what do you need to express and protest? Have you traveled to join marches, made new connections? Whether inspiration or actual scenes – be it the Women’s March, the March for Science, Climate Change, No DAPL, Education, Air Quality, GMOs – How are these times making you feel? What is happening to our democracy and our government and the people in our city, nation and world?

Submissions Deadline: Friday, June 16, 6:00 P.M.

To Submit:
· Professional artists: send 1-5 images of each work at 72dpi resolution, but please have 300 DPI available. Each artist may submit up to 5 works total.
· CV, Artist Statement.
· Maximum height for wall art: 48” x 48” x 3”, free standing sculpture: 50lbs
· All work submitted must be gallery ready to install (hardware on back, all artwork must be signed, dated, and labeled)
· Artist is responsible for all shipping and insurance expenses (all shipped works must contain a return shipping label) or dropping off/retrieving work within announced timeframe.
· Fee: $35 for up to 5 artworks to the Zenith Community Arts Foundation. 501 C-# Non Profit, 1429 Iris St., NW WDC 20012

· Apply online at zenithgallery.com

First Prize winner will receive $450, Second Prize, $350, and Third Prize winner will receive $250. All submitted artists will also be judged for possible permanent representation with Zenith Gallery.

Zenith Gallery: Zenith has established deep roots in the nation’s capital and with artists and collectors across America. Throughout our history, we’ve pushed boundaries and broken ground with an ever-changing selection of paintings, sculpture, neon, photographs, tapestries and mixed-media pieces that stimulate, engage and have profoundly enhanced our clients’ residential, corporate and public-space environments. Long at the forefront of the Washington arts scene, we seek out and feature exceptional artists at varying stages of their careers. Many have been with us for 30 years and are now well-known and established, while others are young bright lights on the horizon. We help our clients articulate their needs based on budget, aesthetic preferences, and space ramifications of all sizes. Our main goal is to provide a service that works with the client to find art that fits the look and image they would like to convey.

The Obsessions of F. Lennox Campello

Here a short video documentation of my current show at Artists and Makers Studio II in Rockville, MD. The show runs through June 29.

The Opening is tonight!

Thank you to the Washington Post's Going Out Guide gang for mentioning the opening(s) taking place today at Artists and Makers Studios! See it here.


Artists & Makers Studios II
Main Gallery (room 217)
12276 Wilkins Ave
Rockville, MD 20852
(240) 437-9573

Some early press here: https://oldtowncrier.com/2017/04/27/6186/amp/


Note: The Sangria once dubbed "The best Sangria in the DMV" back in the days when I used to be the co-owner of the Fraser Galleries will make a return comeback at the opening!

Transformer turns 15!

In gallery years, 15 is like a 100! Congrats to Transformer!

Dear Friends of Transformer, 

This summer marks Transformer's 15th year as a unique conduit for emerging visual artists and contemporary art audiences!  

As announced recently in The Washington City Paper, we are celebrating the 'quinceañera' of our artist-driven mission to connect & promote emerging visual artists and experimental ideas with the introduction of several exciting projects, and the expansion of our innovative programming.  We are thrilled to share further details of these new initiatives with you here.

We invite you to celebrate these happenings and our 15 year anniversary with us this summer - at our 1404 P Street, NW project space, at the Hirshhorn, and at the beach in Asbury Park, NJ - and to further your support for Transformer as we continue to build distinctive partnerships and opportunities that propel emerging visual artists in their creative and professional development.

Transformer knows we could not do our important work advancing contemporary culture without YOU: our growing community of artists, collectors, donors, arts organizers, emerging contemporary art enthusiasts and friends.  THANK YOU for your continued support!  

We look forward to seeing you this summer!

Victoria Reis

Co-Founder, Executive & Artistic Director

victoria@transformerdc.org

Opportunity for Artists and Curators

Deadline: June 3, 2017


The New Art Center's Curatorial Opportunity Program (COP) supports independent curators of contemporary art by making diverse visions possible in a non-profit and alternative exhibition space. The program investigates contemporary culture through the visual arts, exhibits strong curatorial voices, and encourages the timely examination of new ideas and perspectives.

The New Art Center (NAC) are currently accepting curatorial proposals for 5- to 6-week group exhibitions from September 2018 – May 2019 at the New Art Center in Newton. We will only accept electronic submissions received before June 3, 2017.

Details here.

This Friday in Rockville: Start planning for this opening

Big Announcement!

I will be having my first solo show in the DMV in over 8 years! Mostly because lack of (a) time (new father again) and (b) creating work for the art fairs and (c) selling it there.

And it will be at an amazing space!!!!

The opening will be June 2nd from 6-9pm, and the exhibition runs through June 29th, and will be at the very hardworking Judith Heartsong's Artists and Makers Studios 2's main gallery (Room 217)!

Artists and Makers Studios 2
Main Gallery
12276 Wilkins Avenue
Rockville, MD 20852

Here are some the works that will be on display - See ya there Friday - RSVP here!

Frida Kahlo in a Cross of Clouds (Version II)
Charcoal, conte, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
9x7x3, circa 1980-2017

Frida Kahlo in a Cross of Clouds (Version I)
Charcoal, conte, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
7x7x3, circa 1980-2017

Mermaid (The Deep)
Charcoal, conte, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
7x4x3, circa 1997-2017
Pre-Sold - Soon in a private collection in Santee, CA

An Unmarried Woman
Charcoal, conte, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
9x4x3 inches, c.2017

Dancin Always Did the Trick
Charcoal, conte, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
3 x 2.5 inches, circa 2017

A Woman Falling from the Sky
Charcoal, conte, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
4.25 x 2 x 2 inches, circa 2017

Supergirl Flyng Naked
Charcoal, conte, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
1.75x 4.5 x 2 inches, circa 2017

Life was always a balancing act
Charcoal, conte, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
3 inches round x 1 inch,, circa 2017

Castrum Canis (Ernesto Guevara de La Serna Lynch)
Charcoal, conte,on Unfired Bisque
2.5x4x0.75 inches, 2017

La Frida
Charcoal, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
3.5 round x 4 inches, circa 1997-2017

Gym Rat
Charcoal and conte on Unfired Bisque
4.5 x 2,5 x 1 inches, circa 2017

Che Guevara (Castrum Canis)
Charcoal, conte, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
4.5x3.25 inches, circa 2017

Obama Laughing
Charcoal, conte, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
5x3 inches, circa 2017

Next Year in Jerusalem
Charcoal and conte on Unfired Bisque
5.5x4.5x3 inches, circa 2017

Obama The Day After
Charcoal, conte, mixed media on Unfired Bisque
1.25 x 2 inches, circa 2017

A Man Begging
Charcoal, conte,on Unfired Bisque
 3x3.5x2 inches, circa 2017

Suddenly, She Figured Out How to Break Her Chains
Charcoal, conte on Unfired Bisque
4x4.75x1 inches,  circa 2017

The Devil... After he came back from Georgia
Charcoal, conte on Unfired Bisque
5x6x2 inches,  circa 2017

Your Portrait in a Gallery of Portraits
Charcoal, conte, live video, still digital images
 12x36 inches, circa 2017

Channeling Jackson Pollock (A Campello Within a Pollock)
Oil on Gessoed Paper and Embedded Looped Video
 circa 2013

The Batman Brooding
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Appropriated Looped Video
 circa 2013

Fallen Angels
Charcoal, Conte on Paper
 36x12 inches, circa 2014

Cuban by Ancestry, but American by the Grace of God
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Video
18x24 inches, circa 2017

Woman Falling from the Sky
Charcoal, Conte on Paper
12x5 inches, circa 2014

T-Shirt God (The True Che)
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Still Imagery
 circa 2012

Judith with the Head of Halofernes
Charcoal, Conte and Embedded Digital Imagery
 circa 2012

The Batman Brooding (Version II)
c. 2015, Charcoal on Paper, 12x36 inches

"Obama as Atlas"
Charcoal, circa 2006-2014 Framed to 20x16 inches (Updated Yearly)

"Spiderman Naked"
Charcoal on Paper
30x8, circa 2013

"Woman Bowing Down to Life"
Charcoal on Paper
16x5, circa 2013

And here are some installation shots:

The Planet is a Delicate Thing

The Planet is a Delicate Thing

Experimental Printmaking by ROSEMARY FEIT COVEY

 

Friday, June 16th - July 5th, 2017

 

OPENING DAY RECEPTION

Friday June 16th, 6pm-8pm

The artist will be in attendance.

ARTIST TALK
Saturday, June 24th, 2pm

ROSEMARY FEIT COVEY, Fish, 2017, 72"x60"
wood engraving & painting on canvas

EXHIBITION LOCATION

Morton Fine Art (MFA)

1781 Florida Ave NW (at 18th & U Streets)

Washington, DC 20009

HOURS

Tuesday - Saturday 11am - 6pm

Sunday 12pm-5pm

Wanna go to my solo show?

RSVP here!

Hanging day for my solo

Today was a typical hanging day.

I was hanging for my solo at Artists & Makers Studio 2 in Rockville: I broke a large piece of glass in one of the main pieces, dropped another frame and glass didn't break! But the frame did! Then a third piece, which been pre-sold, fell off the wall... it actually looks more interesting now.

This is the amazing space below:

Call for Proposals

Deadline: June 5, 2017.

1708 Gallery invites US-based and international artists and curators to submit proposals for the 2018 and 2019 exhibition seasons. Applying students must have graduated before their proposed exhibition dates. 1708 Gallery strongly encourages proposals for new or developing projects and bodies of work. In addition to proposals for exhibitions in the 1708 Gallery space, public works and other non-gallery based projects will be considered. Selected proposals will be given an exhibition period of approximately six weeks, a $1000 honorarium, and shipping, travel, installation and exhibition support. 1708 Gallery is committed to providing opportunity and space for experimentation, freedom and artistic growth, while promoting understanding and appreciation of contemporary art. We also support artists’ professional development through creation and facilitation of public or educational programming; interaction with collectors; and engagement with diverse audiences.

Application Fee: $20.

Please contact 1708 Gallery Coordinator Erin Willett with any questions at ewillett@1708gallery.org or 804.643.1708. For more information visit www.1708gallery.org.

To submit a proposal visit https://fs2.formsite.com/1708gallery/form18/index.html

Call for artists

Deadline: June 7, 2017.


Create/Change is an all-media, juried exhibition that will feature work that examines the idea of artist/s as citizens. Artists who, through their work, reimagine the traditional notions of art-making, and who contribute to society either through the transformative power of their artistic abilities, or through proactive social engagement with the arts, advancing equity, empathy, sustainability, and social justice through art and culture. This exhibition is open to all artists living and working in the United States.


To apply visit, https://hillyerartspace.submittable.com/submit/85510/create-change

Art Scam Alert!

Ignore this asswipe mutant Anthony Handy (sgthandybarbara515@gmail.com)... just the old art rip off scheme...

Washington Women's Art Center

Were you a member of the Washington Women's Art Center or know someone that was?

In the summer of 2018, the Alper Initiative will have two juried exhibits that will honor the Washington Women’s Arts Center, the feminist arts organization in the DC metropolitan area in the 1970s - 80s.

They are soliciting work from former members and exhibitors of the WWAC!

 

1)      The first exhibition in the Alper Initiative space will feature work made between 1975 and 1985 to provide a historic context for the WWAC. It will be accompanied by a catalogue.

2)     The second exhibition will feature current work by artists who were former members and exhibitors of the WWAC between 1975 and 1985.

Please visit this website for more information on the exhibitions and the submission process.

 
Because not all submissions will be selected by the juror for physical display at the museum, the museum plans to include a slide show identifying all former members.  Therefore, all former members are encouraged to send a high resolution headshot and image of their work (300 DPI), as well as a short quote about what the WWAC meant to them for inclusion in the slideshow to aiwa@american.edu.

So, please begin gathering your materials and share this information!


Remember to join their WWAC Facebook page, Memories of the Washington Women’s Arts Center.
 

Contact Judith Benderson, former WWAC board member and Managing Director (1983-1985) at judypainter@comcast.net, or aiwa@american.edu with any questions.

How Collectors Use Instagram to Buy Art

According to a recent survey of collectors on Instagram, an incredible 51.5% have purchased works from artists they originally discovered through Instagram. More importantly, this discovery led to an average of 5 purchased works by artists originally found on the app! Although respondents are all active on Instagram, and nearly half have collections of 100+ works, these are significant findings. Collector and social media expert Karen Robinovitz (@karenrobinovitz) commented, “Collecting art is an addiction and Instagram is the dealer and pusher that enables it.” 

Is Facebook’s image sharing platform (valued at $35 billion) the next big sales channel for fine art?

Read the fascinating article by Elena Soboleva here.

He bet his fiddle of gold...

"The Devil... after he came back from Georgia"
Charcoal, conte on unfired Bisque
5x6x3 inches, c. 2017

This piece will be at my forthcoming show "The Obsessions of F. Lennox Campello" which opens June 2nd at Artists and Makers Studios in Rockville and located at 12276 Wilkins Avenue in Rockville - reception is from 6-9PM.


It is inspired by Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

The Devil went down to Georgia,
He was looking for a soul to steal
He was in a bind, 'cause he was way behind,
He was willing to make a deal
When he came across this young man
Sawing on a fiddle and playing it hot
And the Devil jumped up on a hickory stump and said,
"Boy let me tell you what:
I guess you didn´t know it, but I'm a fiddle player too,
And if you'd care to take a dare,
I'll make a bet with you
Now you play a pretty good fiddle,
Boy, but give the Devil his due
I bet a fiddle of gold against your soul
'Cause I think I'm better than you"
The boy said, "My name's Johnny and it might be a sin,
But I'll take your bet, you're gonna regret,
'Cause I'm the best there's ever been"
Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard,
'Cause hell's broke loose in Georgia and the Devil deals the cards
And if you win you'll get this shiny fiddle made of gold,
But if you lose, the Devil gets your soul!
The Devil opened up his case and he said, "I'll start this show"
And fire blew from his fingertips as he rosined up his bow
And he pulled the bow across the strings and it made an evil hiss
Then a band of demons joined in,
And it sounded something like this
When the Devil finished, Johnny said,
"Well you're pretty good old son
But sit down in that chair right there
And let me show you how it's done!"
Fire on the Mountain, run, boys, run
The Devil´s in the house of the rising sun
Chicken in the bread pan a picking out dough,
Granny does your dog bite, "No, child, no"
The Devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat
And he laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny´s feet
Johnny said, "Devil, just come on back
If you ever want to try again,
I done told you once, you son of a bitch,
I'm the best there´s ever been"
He played,
Fire on the Mountain, run, boys, run
The Devil's in the house of the rising sun
Chicken in the breadpan a picking out dough,
Granny will your dog bite, "No, child, no"

Gallery B call for applications

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and Bethesda Urban Partnership are accepting applications for a Gallery B November 2017 exhibition! The exhibition will run from November 8 - December 2.

Gallery B, located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda, is a non-profit art space managed by the Bethesda Urban Partnership and the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District.

We heavily market Gallery B through press releases to local media, weekly emails to our listserv of 10,000 contacts, listings in our bi-monthly Events Calendar to 30,000 households, numerous social media posts, advertisements, postcards, and more. Although we ask for a rental fee ($300-$400 per person, depending on how many artists are in the group), the gallery does not take a commission on any work that is sold. 

To be considered for the group exhibition, please email five images of work to artist@bethesda.org by June 1.

 

Questions?  Please send an email to artist@bethesda.org.