Identities in extremis

Last week my desktop, after many faithful years finally gave up the ghost; a new one has been ordered.

Yesterday we drove down to DC to visit Glass3 in Georgetown - a gorgeous exhibition that once again shows that Washington, DC area artists are doing and creating something new in the genre. If you don't believe or understand my words to this effect over the years, go visit the exhibition and you'll see what I mean -- It stands out to the most casual observer. DCist has reviewed the show here and Heather Goss immediately picked up on the visual revelations of a three city international exhibit; let's see if the WaPo and the WCP get it.

Then we also wanted to see, and did swing by the opening for the talented new minimalist works by Akemi Maegawa at Irvine Contemporary. Akemi used to be my wife's neighbor in Bethesda for many years, and we walked away from the Irvine show with our second Maegawa original!

We then planned to swing over to Heineman Myers in Bethesda for their 10PM-10AM art party. We did get there eventually, but around 1AM, because we had an unplanned DC incident when we returned to our car. Heineman Myers was packed to the gills at 1 Am and still packed at 2:30AM when we left; full of music and dancing and booze.

In all the old movies, when the main character drives somewhere, he or she always finds a prime parking spot close or right in front of wherever they are going. I call this curious Hollywood effect "Doris Day parking," since in all of her movies she always managed to drive right up to and park right in front of wherever she was going.

So we had found an almost Doris Day spot on our visit to Irvine Contemporary, about a block away, almost corner of P Street and Kingman Place, in a nice, quiet residential neighborhood one block away from busy 14th Street, and right under a bright street light.

When we got back to the car around 9:30 PM, the rear passenger window had been smashed in and my laptop and my wife's travel bag were gone.

And so was my remaining computer, and my back-up to the dead desktop, which now has to make a visit to the expensive PC surgeon to see if they can somehow reclaim its files from its tired innards.

DC Police Officer Negron was on the scene within ten minutes, and in my mind has given the DC police department a huge positive checkmark in my book. He was friendly, helpful, made us feel a little better and was very detailed. We were also surprised when a crime scene expert then showed up (Officer Negron had called him) and did a CSI routine on the scene, including looking for fingerprints, etc.

I am thankful and impressed by the professionality, but more than anything else I want and need that damned computer back!

"They usually pawn it," said Officer Negron.

My laptop is useless to most people. Unless you are able to defeat 128-bit double encryption, no one will be able to log on without my 16 character alphanumeric password.

But, who knows, maybe pawn shop owners have the help of seedy SysAdmin experts who can bust through anything, and I suppose that you can always wipe out the computer OS and reload a new Windows OS and start from scratch.

But if any of you see a veteran (3 years at least) dark gray Hewlett-Packard laptop with a Verizon Wireless Card sticking from the left side port, anywhere around the 14th Street corridor, in a pawn shop or anywhere else... give me a shout.

Things happen for a purpose, and one reaps what one sows, and maybe I shouldn't have busted Mr. Molinari's window when I was a kid playing basketball in our backyard in Brooklyn and my shot went really wide.

Life moves on and I will go through hell over the next few weeks with a new desktop and a new laptop and waste weeks trying to reorganize my Virgo life; and calling all the credit bureaus, and the social security administration, etc. as inside the PC bag were also 4-5 really important pieces of ID cards for various things.

That worries me more than the loss of the laptop.

"In the worst case scenario," said Officer Negron, "those can be sold and used to start bank accounts, credit card applications, etc."

Identity theft; but life moves on and so does that window-smashing thief.

Motherfucker....

Proposing a new art fair model

There is a sense of art fatigue brewing in the art world. Read on a little background below and then read a new art fair model that I am proposing.

If you're jonesying because artDC got cancelled, you should consider attending the Baltimore Fair for Contemporary Prints and New Editions, which is an interesting deviation from the most common art fair model - which is usually led by a commercial entity such as a gallerist or art dealer-- since it is a project of the Baltimore Museum of Art.

The Baltimore Fair for Contemporary Prints & New Editions is presented by the BMA's Print, Drawing & Photograph Society. Proceeds from the fair are used to acquire contemporary works on paper for the BMA’s collection.

BMA invited 12 galleries, dealers and presses for this biennial weekend fair, offering drawings and prints, photography and digital images - so it's more than just prints.

Participants:

Center Street Studio, Milton, MA
Dolphin Press & Print, Baltimore, MD
Gallery Joe, Philadelphia, PA
Gemini G.E.L. at Joni Moisant Weyl, New York, NY
Goya Contemporary & Goya-Girl Press, Baltimore, MD
Harlan & Weaver, Inc., New York, NY
Jungle Press Editions, Brooklyn, NY
Jim Kempner Fine Art, New York, NY
Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
Pyramid Atlantic, Silver Spring, MD
Solo Impression, New York, NY
Charles M. Young Fine Prints & Drawings LLC, Portland, CT

---

A new art fair model

The other important thing to remember, as I mull, chew and refine a "new" art fair model to replace the existing art fair model, which seems to work well in Miami and New York, but not so well in the West coast, and as we have seen, not at all in the capital region, is the marriage of a legitimate art entity (a museum) with an art-for-sale process as a means to raise funds.

The seeds for this model already exist in the DC region with the Smithsonian Craft Show, now in its 26th year.

Considered by many to be the finest craft fair in the world -- and from the many artists that I have spoken to over the years -- one of the best places to sell fine crafts as well, this prestigious and highly competitive juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American craft will take place from April 10 through April 13, 2008.

It takes place at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC and it includes one-of-a-kind and limited edition craft objects in 12 different media: basketry, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper, wearable art and wood.

There are 120 exhibitors in this year's show including emerging artists and master craftsmen, 39 of whom are first-time participants. Twelve of those selected were also first-time applicants to the show. All were chosen by a panel of expert jurors from a highly competitive field of close to 1,400 applicants.

So we have a model for printmaking in Baltimore and a model for crafts in DC that has been working for 26 years.

See where I'm going?

Can we envision the Smithsonian American Art Fair?

The Smithsonian American International Art Fair would dramatically expand the business model of the Smithsonian Craft Fair to a Mall-wide, or even citywide art fair anchored and guided by the Smithsonian Institution, and possibly either (a) spread throughout the various accommodating spaces at the various SI locales around the National Mall or even (b) in temporary art spaces, booth or containers on the open spaces of the National Mall itself!

The latter is not as big of a deal as it sounds. The National Mall already hosts a spectacular variety of outdoor events on the Mall spaces where complex display spaces are temporarily built, secured and just as quickly dismantled, grass re-seeded and by Monday the Mall is back to normal. For art, all we need is protection from the weather and security.

Perhaps even a combination of "free" (to the public) set of exhibitors (maybe out on the Mall) coupled with a paid admission set of exhibitors inside SI spaces -- or just make them all free to the public?

Details... details...

This new fair model would be open to both commercial art galleries and art dealers, as well as to art schools, and (and here's the key "and") to individual artists and cooperative artist-owned galleries.

Size matters.

Would 1200 galleries, dealers, schools and artists in a mega, new-model art fair raise some interests from art collectors to come to DC for a long weekend in May? It would if it attracted 60,000 visitors to the fair instead of 10,000 (like artDC attracted).

Are you aware that in May the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival in nearby Bethesda attracts 30-40,000 people to the streets of Bethesda for this artist-only street fine arts fair? or that also in May the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival attracts the same number of people to the streets of the Reston Town Center to buy art from individual artists? Both Bethesda and Reston have two of the highest median household incomes in the US.

And I am told that the Greater Washington, DC region has the second highest concentration of multi-millionaires in the world. The money is here - the key is to get the disposable income crown in touch with the art. Both Bethesda and Reston manage to accomplish this one weekend a year.

Do not, under any circumstances assume that these are "street fairs" where teddy bears, country crafts and dried flowers are sold. These are both highly competitive fine arts outdoor fairs where artists from all over the nation come to and compete for spots because artwork sells well. I have seen $80,000 worth of sculptures sell to one collector in Bethesda and a painter with a price point of $17,000 sell out in Reston. Do not let the snobby attitude of the high art world affect your preconception of what these two street art fairs are like; go visit one this coming May and open your eyes.

And because of them, and because of the success of ABMB, we know that given a certain critical mass, people will come out to an art fair.

The primary key for art dealers to have interest in an art fair is sales (and also exposure to new collectors, museum curators, etc.), but mainly sales. If you are a British gallery, by the time you get yourself and your artwork to Miami Beach, you're in the hole a whole bunch of Euros; if you don't sell anything (like it happened to a British gallery in artDC and an Israeli gallery at another fair), chances are that you won't return to that fair.

But increase the public attendance numbers exponentially, and Economics 101 tells you that sales will also increase exponentially.

And unlike the hotel-deprived artDC location at the Convention Center, I am told by DC's tourist gurus that the National Mall is already a magnet location where visitors, regardless of where they are staying around the Greater DC region, flock to during their visits to the capital.

Since two major Greater DC area street art fairs already exist in May in the Greater DC area, we can even consider aligning the weekends so that both Reston, Bethesda and the The Smithsonian American International Art Fair all take place on the same weekend! Offer free bus service between Reston and Bethesda and the National Mall for collectors to hop around during the fair weekend, and a public buzz alignment will begin to happen.

The Smithsonian American International Art Fair starts on a Thursday through Sunday and both Reston and Bethesda continue to run on Saturday and Sunday.

And the The Smithsonian American International Art Fair is focused as a major fundraiser for the cash-hungry SI. A formula of booth prices + perhaps a 5% commission on all sales (both tax deductible for American galleries) would take care of temporary Mall booth construction, reseeding of grass, and booth construction inside SI venues and still yield a nice chunk of cash for the SI.

If there's commercial success and high public attendance, soon we'd see some satellite hotel fairs popping up all over DC and its easy-to-get-to suburbs; the Corcoran will jump on the bandwagon right away. ABMB had 22 fairs all over the place last December.

I think that this "new" model could (and eventually when someone does it will) challenge Miami Beach -- and yes, I am aware that DC in May is not Miami in December -- but I also think that the District's own museums and public attractions trump Miami's anytime, so the District has something different to offer the potential collector who may be considering attending a new art fair in a city (like DC) that also offers him/her some other cultural and visual attractions besides good weather and nice beaches and sexy Cubans.

DC art commisioners... Smithsonianos... DC city fathers and mothers.... call me! Let's work this out before I offer my idea to Philly!

Update: My good friend Fernando Batista adds a new element to the above model, and an important element that only a Washington art fair weekend can add: include the Embassies! It's brilliant! In addition to all the above events taking place, the fair could also align with shows at 15-20 embassy galleries around DC. The embassies would showcase one (or a group) of their national artists, and then the fair would really have an international flavor, and the beginning seeds of a mini-Venice.

DC is a small city; it's fairly easy to set up transportation between the embassies and the Mall. In fact, some embassies could probably set that up themselves.

Artists Websites: Dana Ellyn

Winning Smile (Barack Obama), 18"x18" - acrylic on canvas by Dana Ellyn
Dana Ellyn is one of the District's hardest working and most talented artists. She is currently exhibiting in the Peace Now! show that opened tonight at the Warehouse Gallery in DC.

Artists' Websites: Richard Vosseller

"Captain Ahab Model" 1/16th scale - wood, chipboard & glue, 13.5" x 9" x 40" by Richard Vosseller
Richard Vosseller is a member of the faculty at the School of Art and Design at Montgomery College, MD where he is an assistant professor. He's having a solo show at the Black Rock Center For the Arts June 11th to July 11th, 2008. The opening is Saturday, June 21st.

Visit his website here.

Airborne again



Heading back home before the snow! More later...

The Trawick Prize Returns

Deadline: Friday, April 11, 2008

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is now accepting submissions for The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. The 6th annual juried art competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to four selected artists. Deadline for slide submission is Friday, April 10, 2008 and up to fifteen artists will be invited to display their work from September 3 – September 28, 2008 in downtown Bethesda at Heineman Myers Contemporary Art.

The Trawick Prize is without a doubt, the key fine arts competition available to DC, MD and VA artists and has already produced some spectacular results for its winners.

This year's competition will be juried by Molly Donovan, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Art; Irene Hofmann, Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, MD and Leah Stoddard, Director of Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, VA.

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. A “young” artist whose birth date is after April 10, 1978 may also be awarded $1,000.

Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. Original painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, fiber art, digital, mixed media and video are accepted. The maximum dimension should not exceed 96 inches in any direction. No reproductions. Artwork must have been completed within the last two years. Selected artists must deliver artwork to exhibit site in Bethesda, MD. All works on paper must be framed to full conservation standards.

The Trawick Prize was established by local Bethesda business owner Carol Trawick. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. Additionally, the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation was established in 2007 after the Trawicks sold their successful information technology company.

For a complete submission form, please visit www.bethesda.org or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc., c/o The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, 7700 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20814.

Hamiltonian Fellows

Congrats to the very first set of Hamiltonian fellows:

Christian Benefiel (Severna Park, MD)
Anne Chan (Baltimore, MD)
Ian Davis (Baltimore, MD)
Leah Frankel (North Wales, PA)
Alex Gutierrez (Kensington, MD)
Linda Hesh (Alexandria, VA)
Al Miner (Washington, DC)
Youngmi Organ (Nokesville, VA)
Brian Rojsuontikul (Springfield, VA)
Michael Sirvet (Washington, DC)

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: April 11, 2008

2008 Rawls Museum Arts Juried Exhibition. Only original works not previously shown at RMA will be accepted. All media, styles and techniques are eligible. Artists may submit a maximum of three (3) images of individual works. You may submit digital images on a compact disc 300 dpi resolution, jpeg format. You may submit digital images on a compact disc 300 dpi resolution, jpeg format. For more details and copy of the prospectus visit www.rawlsarts.com.

Art Talk

The WPA has a very interesting talk coming up with Marc and Sara Schiller, the founders of the Wooster Collective; details below (click on image for larger image):

Peace Now!

Peace Now! opens with a reception on Friday, Feb 22 from 6-9 pm at the Warehouse Gallery in DC. Through April 6, 2008.

In observance of the 5th anniversary of the Iraqi War and as part of the March 19, 2008 "March for Peace" in Washington and other cities around the country, the Warehouse hosts its last peace exhibition. To the left is the room-dissecting Checkpoint Installation by Sondra Arkin in collaboration with Beth Baldwin.

Includes work by 40 artists including Matt Achhammer, JS Adams, Sondra N. Arkin, Beth Baldwin, Joan Belmar, BLK w/ BEAR, M.P. Brown, Travis Childers, Michele Colburn, James L. Cypher aka Joey Daytona, Richard L. Dana, Anna U Davis, Tom Drymon, John De Fabbio, Dana Ellyn, Elissa Farrow-Savos, Elizabeth Featherstone Hoff, Dara Friel, John Carlton Hagerhorst, Matt Hollis, Jackie Hoysted, Joseph Jones, Joroko, Mariah Josephy, Jenufa H. Kent, Lauren Kotkin, Heather Levy, Elizabeth Lundberg Morisette, Isabel Manalo, Anne Marchand, Carolina Mayorga, Patricia E. Ortman, Igor Pasternak, Jane Pettit, Mark Planisek, Sajeela Ramsey, Marina Reiter, Ann Ruppert, Julie Seiwell, Matt Sesow, Alexandra Silverthorne, Ira Tattelman, Gabriel Thy, Karen Joan Topping, Ruth Trevarrow, Jessica van Brakle, Mary Walker, Ruth Ward, Ellyn Weiss, Angela White, Andrew Wodzianski, Peter Wood... and me.

Wanna go to an opening in DC tomorrow?

Glass3 has an opening reception on Thursday, February 21, 2008, 6 - 8pm at The Shops at Georgetown Park (Level 1), 3222 M Street., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007.

Glass 3, is an international studio glass exhibit featuring extraordinary glass artists from Toledo, OH (birthplace of the US Studio Glass Movement), Washington, DC and Sunderland, UK (Washington, DC Sister City). The exhibit runs through March 9, 2008.

Artists' Website: Elizabeth Wade

Deus ex Bestia. c.2006, acrylic on canvas, 92 x 60" by ELizabeth Wade
Liz Wade graduated last year from MICA and she was the Maryland recipient of the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship in 2007, and she will have a solo exhibition of her work at the Hudson D. Walker Gallery in Provincetown in 2008.

Closer Reviewed

Dr. Claudia Rousseau reviews Closer at Gallery Neptune in Bethesda. Read the review here.

Buy Michael Janis now.

Airborne again



Heading to New Hampshire! More later...

Old dictators never must die...

The Castro brothers with Sadam Hussein
Since they don't fade away either...

Cover Me

Mo Ringey was sick and tired of the dwindling arts coverage by her local Amherst, Massachusetts newspapers; so she decided to do something about besides complaining:

At first glance, Mo Ringey seems an unlikely figure to rally the Pioneer Valley arts community. She is tiny, just over 100 pounds, and has a chronic condition - five herniated discs in her neck - that forces her to hang in a traction machine for an hour a day.

But thanks to a knack for networking, Ringey finds herself the spokesperson for a group of artists unhappy with how much - or little - local newspapers write about the arts. Their frustrations have been channeled into "Cover Me," an exhibition Ringey has curated at the Hampden Gallery at the University of Massachusetts.

Read the whole story here. I think we need a Mo Ringley in most major American cities, most desperately DC.

Things that make you go ????

Is the art sky falling?

So far the only shift dealers are reporting is in the middle market. “In the past six months, clients are no longer willing to take a chance on younger artists priced at $15,000 to $20,000,” said David Maupin of the Lehmann Maupin gallery with both Chelsea and Lower East Side premises. He reported a 50% drop in sales in that category over the past six months with buyers focusing instead on higher priced works by established artists like Tracey Emin who have had museum exhibitions. “I have far more people I can call for a $75,000 to $100,000 work than the lower-priced artists,” said Mr Maupin.

Read the Art Newspaper article here.

Virtual Gallery = Real Art Party

Virtual art resource Raandesk Gallery of Art returns to Washington, DC with "Emergence 2," a two-day art party and temporary exhibition of contemporary artworks on February 21 and 22, 2008.

"Emergence 2" will feature a variety of painting, drawings, photography and art furniture by six emerging artists from the Raandesk collection in a suite at The Flats at Union Row on 14th Street, NW in Washington, DC. Both art party evenings are free and open to the public and all artwork on view will be available for purchase.

New York City-based Raandesk Gallery has established a reputation for expanding the notion of art collecting through unique art partnerships and events like "Emergence 2."

Raandesk-hosted exhibitions and events offer new collectors an opportunity to view and purchase contemporary artwork in workplaces, restaurants and lounges, in collectors' homes and in other commercial spaces for a more accessible settings. "Emergence 2" is the second such event in Washington, DC, the follow up to a similar successful event last fall.

WHEN: Thursday, February 21, 6:00-9:00PM and Friday, February 22, 6:00 – 8:00PM

WHERE: The Flats at Union Row
2125 14th St, NW, Suite 417,Washington, DC (U St metro)

Other "Emergence 2" participating artists / media include:

- Washington, DC-based Jeff Huntington, "whose oil paintings contain intensely vivid images of orchids and still life arrangements depicted with a hint of surrealism and oddity, completely removed from discernible context."

- Jennie Barrese, "a graphic artist and photographer, creates colorful abstract digital images to magnify subtle forms and lines, creating perspectives with appeal to the design-oriented collector."

- Photorealist oil painter Jason Bryant "captures cinematic visions and snapshots of life through large-scale cropped portraits of celebrity faces, clothing and movie stills where subjects are depersonalized to spotlight dramatic moments in everyday life."

- Matt Kern's work "uses an old-school Polaroid camera to create collage assemblages with many layers of images, text, drawings and other elements embedded in wax, resulting in a richly textured surface that reveals more with each inspection."

- Abstract artist Jeff Leonard "uses the unpredictable nature of liquid resin to create beautiful and rich paintings on wood. Lush pools of color and light form in organic shapes on the surfaces, the most interesting forms are in the smallest detail."

- Raandesk Gallery's newest artist, Anne Unierzyski "handcrafts highly sculptural functional art / furniture pieces with unique geometric forms with a bit of color with natural wood finishes for an interesting, contemporary look."

Artists' Websites: Freya Grand

"Connemara." Oil on canvas, 48x60, c.2007 by Freya Grand

Freya Grand is a DC-based artist working out of her Dupont Circle area studio. One of her pieces was recently selected by Kathryn Wat, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC for the upcoming WPA Gala Art Auction.

Visit Freya Grand's website here.

Washington Times Art Critic gone sick

Update: The below news tip was false. I am told that Shaw-Eagle was very sick and that someone is covering for her, but that she has not been fired. Before I published the note below, I emailed the Times to confirm, but my email was ignored.

I learned today that Joanna Shaw-Eagle, who has been the chief art critic for the Washington Times for many years, and who has been writing about art since before I was born, was let go today from the Washington Times.

This sounds like one hell of an art party

This is the event that Dr. Claudia Rousseau was talking about earlier today on the Kojo Nnamdi show.

Heineman Myers Contemporary Art in Bethesda is doing an all nighter on February 23 and 24 with an "Inside Outside All Night Art Party from 10pm to 10am."

Combine good art, food, music, booze and aural readings and you gotta be there!

For starters they are having graffiti artist Tim Conlon and crew paint on a 16 ft x 7ft surface during the party outside in the courtyard. Conlon’s work has been recently installed in two local DC art spaces: The National Portrait Gallery's “Hip Hop” and at the Arlington Arts Center's “Collectors Select.”

Mike Weber and Philippa Hughes jumping in front of Tim Conlon’s work at the National Portrait Gallery
Inside the gallery see the light installations, photography and videos of Miami-based Cuban-American artist Ivan Toth DePena in his current solo show “Synthesis,” which closes February 24th.

There's more!

Chill to groovy tunes of a guest DJ; there will be complimentary Aura readings by Hyun Martin of Be You Bi Yu Spa; and for all you alkies, personalized beverages in the evening, and as far as chow, there will be personalized omelettes in the morning from 6-10am.

Also See the latest from SCION, and meet the “Little Deviants.”

You gotta RSVP to info@heinemanmyers.com by February 20th. That means that you have to tell them ahead of time that you are coming so that they can have enough booze and food at hand...

Sounds like a load of artsy fun... maybe I'll see ya there.

Other art fairs calling it quits

Just a day after Art Cologne announced that it was doing away with its new sister fair on the Spanish island of Majorca, DC Duesseldorf Contemporary, which premiered last April, announced that it too was closing its doors, reports Blooberg.

The fairs' organizers cited low sales... read the article here.

In case you missed it...

You can hear the Kojo Nnamdi radio show that aired earlier today here.

Good discussion about the arts.

For the artist named Helen who called the show and took me to task for not putting more attention on individual artists' websites... email me yours and you'll be the first in my promise to increase my coverage of individual artists.

On the air today

I'll be on the Kojo Nnamdi Show this afternoon discussing the Greater Washington area visual arts issues and artists and art stories as I usually do several times a year.

Tune in to WAMU 88.5 FM around noon.

If you have any questions or art issues, you can call Kojo during the show at (800) 433-8850 or you can email him questions to kojo@wamu.org.

Gray area

Seattle's Jen Graves has a fascinating story on what happens when artists' works and ideas begin to look just a little too mcuh like other artists' earlier works and ideas.

Read the story about "Gray Area - Why Does Some Work by Lead Pencil Studio Look So Much Like Work by Other Artists?"

Then read this and then read this and tell me if "remarkable confluence" is not the category for all of these look-a-like works.

Artist "A" circa 1999-2000


Artist "B" circa 2005-2006

Frida Kahlo in Philly

Below is a short video walk through the massive Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I took it during the press preview last week - the show opens on Feb. 20th.

I will review it here later this week... but it is definitely worth the drive to Philly to see upclose some of the most famous Kahlo paintings in the world (many seen for the first time in the US) as well as loads of intimate photographs about her.

The video is set to the amazing music of Lila Downs.

McNatt on African American Portraits

The Baltimore Sun's chief art critic Glenn McNatt reviews Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits, the National Portrait Gallery's monumental survey of nearly 100 photographic portraits of black leaders past and present.

McNatt was also present at the Deborah Willis Salon Talk at Millennium Arts Salon in DC on February 2nd. which features ongoing exhibit of photos by Denee Barr, Barbara Blanco, Adrienne Mills, Michael Platt, Michael Parker, Henry Ferrand, and Jonathan French through February 28th.

Good to see the Sun's art critic popping into DC once in a while.

Art Collectors Talk

Pencil this in - On Saturday, March 8th, 4:30 – 5:30 pm over at the Arlington Arts Center in Arlington, VA, there's a gallery talk featuring the curators of their current exhibition, "Collectors Select" — consisting of six separate themed galleries, each designed by a notable local collector. The show continues to be on view through Saturday, March 29th.

Join them on Saturday, March 8th, from 4:30 to 5:30 pm, for a lively discussion about collecting contemporary art and have a glass of wine and tour the exhibition space with Henry L. Thaggert, Heather and Tony Podesta, Daniel Levinas, Philippa Hughes, and Philip Barlow. Hear firsthand about their favorite artworks, their thoughts on the local arts scene, and the process of assembling their own shows at the AAC.

You can see many images of the exhibition here.


Then stick around for another event immediately following the talk — from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in the Jenkins Community Gallery. The collaborative international arts organization, Take Me to the River, will have a free reception at which their limited edition print portfolio will be on view and available for sale. The portfolio features dynamic 11” X 14” prints by 18 different artists — some regional, some international. Featured local artists include David Carlson, Y. David Chung, Billy Colbert, Richard Dana, Judy Jashinsky, Maggie Michael, and Randall Packer.

Naked Roman

Did you know that some of the centurions guarding DC's Union Station are nekkid beneath their shields?

The story starts in 1907.

Apparently when the sculptor, Augustus Saint Gaudens -- who was a pretty popular public art and monument sculptor at the turn of the century -- received the commission for the centurions, he asked if he was to make the Roman soldiers historically accurate.

He was told yes.

When Saint Gaudens delivered the models for the sculptures, Washingtonians on the arts panel were a little shocked to discover that some of the centurion maquettes were fully nude in uncircumsized splendor for all to see.

And so a hundred years ago Saint Gaudens was told to cover them up. In the arguments that I am sure followed, the solution came in the form of shields (which to me look historically inaccurate by the way), which would cover the Italians' willies. They remain naked beneath them.

At the time it was built in 1908, Union Station covered more ground than any other building in the United States and was the largest train station in the world. The building itself is patterned after the Baths of Diocletian in Rome.

Interesting that a century later, we still probably can't put up a work of public art in Washington, DC showing a man's penis.

Reuben Breslar at the Athenaeum

I'm hearing good things about the current exhibition at Alexandria's Athenaeum Gallery featuring the paintings, collages and an installation by Reuben Breslar. The show runs through March 16, 2008.

There's also an upcoming gallery talk that they are having on Saturday, February 23 at 4:30PM followed by some good food and wines. A special feature of the talk is the participation of two important Washington arts presences: Mark Cameron Boyd and Dorothea Dietrich - both of whom made a strong impression on Reuben when he was at the Corcoran.

Closer

I am hearing and reading good things about "Closer" at Gallery Neptune in Bethesda, MD.

Read about it here.

Chalk4Peace

By Shauna Lee Lange

Many in the Washington DC arts community may know Dr. John Aaron, a prior award winning Director and Curator for the Museum of Modern Arf in Arlington, VA.

John's gone on out to California and is now busily spearheading a global non-profit organization called CHALK4PEACE, recently featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy (9/14/06). Since 2006, John's efforts have contributed to over 12 - 14 football fields worth of original, intergenerational, and inspirational temporary art for the sake of peace.

This year, Shauna Lee Lange Arts Advisory is honored to announce we will be working in conjunction with Dr. Aaron and Ms. Marielle Mariano of Woodlawn Elementary School to promote a concentrated Washington DC effort. Our goal is to help expand the work being conducted by CHALK4PEACE. There is simply no better time (prior to elections) and no better location (the Nation's Capital) to educate, communicate, participate, and enjoy this great activity.

Shauna Lee Lange Arts Advisory is seeking collaborative partnerships (at no cost) from metropolitan DC area arts organizations, art galleries, artists, and public/non-profit spaces. If you or your organization can offer a physical forum for chalk activities, we need to hear from you. CHALK4PEACE is an event to be held September 19 - 21, 2008 and is best described from the organization's website text (copied in its entirety below).

More information about CHALK4PEACE is at www.chalk4peace.org or www.chalk4peace.blogspot.com. Information about Dr. Aaron can be found at www.modernarf.smugmug.com and he can be reached at chalk4peace@gmail.com. Shauna Lee Lange Arts Advisory is at www.shaunaleelange.com or shaunaleelange@gmail.com.

From its beginnings in 2003 in Arlington, VA, as a Sunday sidewalk chalk project for children to its recognition by the Arlington Arts Commission, the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, the DC Mayor's Office, the Humanities Project of Arlington and Whole Foods Markets, CHALK4PEACE has grown through the efforts of hundreds of events organizers, teachers, parents, community outreach coordinators, libraries, arts centers and other peace minded individuals and organizations.

The campaign to make CHALK4PEACE worldwide began on July 16, 2005, the day after the first CHALK4PEACE event at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC. John Aaron, the Global Project Founder of CHALK4PEACE and chalk events coordinator, began a print and email campaign, sending out more than 5,000 personalized emails and 6,000 full color brochures about CHALK4PEACE for 2005-6. You may have received one or two along the way...

The global campaign spread coast to coast across the United States, to Cape Town, South Africa and in places in Europe. Last year, more than one hundred individually organized sites with authorized clearances chalked out their messages and visions for a more peaceful planet.

CHALK4PEACE is not encouraged as an anti-war demonstration; rather, it is a creative presentation for young artists of all ages utilizing the theme of Peace.

This year, we expect CHALK4PEACE to grow even larger than last year, as it is now happening on four continents and most of the sites from last year have enlisted others to join in and/or create their own sites. Mr. Aaron is a long time artist, sculptor, painter, educator and events coordinator who is internationally recognized for his contributions to his artforms and for creating the atmosphere conducive to make CHALK4PEACE a global event.

On the air on Monday

On Monday, February 18, 2008 I'll be on the Kojo Nnamdi Show discussing the Greater Washington area visual arts and artists and art stories as I usually do several times a year.

Tune in to WAMU 88.5 FM around noon.

If you have any questions or art issues, you can call Kojo during the show at (800) 433-8850 or you can email him questions to kojo@wamu.org.

After the show I will post here all the websites and information that we discuss on the air.

Images of Children at Widener University

"A Photographic Treasury: Images of Children by Master Photographers from the Reader's Digest Collection," currently at Widener University Art Gallery in Chester, PA (through March 1, 2008), is not only a very focused exhibition on the thematic subject of the title, but also an exhibition that really merits the use of the word "Master Photographers" in its title.

Disclaimer: My wife teaches at Widener, and I often eat at the school cafeteria, which makes really good cookies and has a top notch salad bar. I also own a Widener coffee mug.

Curated by Nancy Miller Batty, this 105-work survey includes many classic and familiar vintage photographs of children by major American, Latin American and European photographers from the late 19th century to the present.

The works are arranged thematically to present views about childhood that have existed over the last century or so. It begins with a romantic view of childhood, and then progresses to the relationships between children and adults.

This is definitely a Who's Who in world photography, and there are pre-WWI early works by Edward Sheriff Curtis, Alfred Stieglitz, Heinrich Kuehn and others. Post WWI photographers are also full of all the major names, such as Andre Kertesz, Imogen Cunningham, Henri Carrier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange, Aaron Siskind, Weegee, Paul Strand and many others.

The post WWI and contemporaries are equally well-represented by the likes of Sally Mann, Adam Fuss, Ilse Bing, Gary Winograd, Irving Penn, Diane Arbus, Nicholas Nixon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Carry Mae Weems, Sebastian Salgado and many others.

Adam Fuss' blank untitled photogram of a child in profile is one of the few failures in an otherwise show full of jewels in every frame. The minimalist white photogram, comes across like a collegiate art school assignment when surrounded by the works of the other masters; it just fails visually from the first glance and through the second and third opportunity for redemption.

Across from it is one of the reasons for its failure: the gorgeous "Pamela" (Plate 23) from Joel Meyerowitz's odd and highly successful series on redheads. The subject is radiant and full of color, smiles and the essence of happy childhood - it casts a bright and bold set of sunrays all over the room, essentially eclipsing Fuss' blank experiment.

It's tough to pick the brightest diamond when you are surrounded by the best photographic gems of the last 125 years, but some works stood out even among giants.

One such piece was Frederick Sommer's "Livia," a 1948 sensitive treatment of a very pretty child, where the girl's luminous blue eyes are like magnets not only to the camera but also to us. It delivers the sort of hypnotic quality that recent digitally enhanced shots sometimes offer.

I also like Robert Mapplethorpe's "Bruno Bischofberger's Daughter," a cousin photograph to Sommer's earlier work and a work that shows the occasional pornographer's talent as a portraitist of all ranges and types.

I was less interested in Tina Barney's claustrophobic "Marina's Room." Maybe there is some compositional success in delivering a photograph with fear of empty space.

But neither scale (48 x 40 inches), nor its horror vaccuii saves this piece from being a little puerile.

Marina's Room by Tina Barney

Carrie Mae Weems' untitled triptych depicting a tense mother-daughter-homework scene, whether posed or true, is powerful as a narrative piece can be - full of tension and questions. On the polar opposite of this internal spectrum is Sally Mann's "Virginia Asleep," from 1988.

On the way out I was dragged back in by Seydou Keita "Untitled (Man with Baby)" from 1949, in which a giant of a man tenderly holds a baby. The man sits massive and Earth-like like a male African version of Michelangelo's Pieta.

His enormous circumference dwarfs the world and threatens to overfill the camera's lenses. It is a photograph heavy with fatherhood, happiness and presence.

Overall this is a very strong show and definitely worth a stop for anyone traveling through the I-95 corridor, as Widener is just a couple of minutes off exit 6 on I-95.

Wanna go to a Baltimore opening tomorrow?

Eureka: Happy Accidents & Exquisite Failures; a group exhibition curated by Suzannah Gerber at Load of Fun gallery in Baltimore. Featuring works by the following artists:

Liz Albertson, Julia Arredondo, Jordan Faye Block, Tom Brown, Ryan Emge, Rachel Faller, Andrew Farkas, Karly Hansen, J. Gavin Heck, Michelle Herman, Juliet Hinely, Katherine Mann, Greg McLemore, Katherine Nammacher, Michael Northrup, Christine Ricks, Reed Sayre, Kayla Shea, Brady Starr, Daniel Stuelpnagel, Vanessa Viruet, Jessica Wang, Todd Welsh, Monica Wuedel-Lubinski and more.

Joseph Mills Interviewed by George Hemphill

Call for DC "Aerosol" Muralists

Deadline: Friday, March 21, 2008 at 7:00pm

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) in collaboration with the Executive Office of the Mayor (EOM), and DC Department of Public Works (DPW) seeks "artists, artist teams and youth organizations to design, create and install aerosol murals or aerosol inspired murals in identified locations throughout the District of Columbia for a new project entitled Murals DC."

More...

"Murals DC has been created to replace illegal graffiti with artistic works, to revitalize sites within the community and to teach young people the art of aerosol painting. The goal of this initiative is to positively engage the District's youth by teaching proper art techniques, providing supplies, and a legal means to practice and perform their skill in a way that promotes respect for public and private property and community awareness. Site selection is based on areas of the District with high incidence of illegal graffiti as identified by the DPW, Mayor's Office of Community Relations and Services (MOCRS) and other agencies. Each mural will reflect character, culture and history of the neighborhood."

Download an application here. For further questions email Deirdre Ehlen at Deirdre.Ehlen@dc.gov or call 202-724-5613.

Art Sculpture Walk throughout Downtown Wilmington, NC

Sculptor Carl Billingsley is having two simultaneous exhibitions for his work in the Wilmington, NC area -- "Sculpture: Concept to Creation" at the Art Gallery, Cultural Arts Building, UNCW and also “The Carl Billingsley Exhibition” Pedestrian Art Program in downtown Wilmington public spaces.

For the latter, on Saturday, February, 23rd, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM, the artist is leading a "Pedestrian Art Sculpture Walk" throughout Downtown Wilmington. During this event you can meet and talk to the artist about his large scale sculptures which are on exhibit throughout downtown Wilmington from January – July 2008. There will also be a trolley available to travel between the sculptures.

There's also an opening reception for "Sculpture: Concept to Creation"
an exhibition of drawings, models, and maquettes for large scale sculptures by Carl Billingsley at the Art Gallery, Cultural Arts Building, UNCW on Friday, February 22nd, 6:00 - 8:00 PM.

This is in North Carolina NOT Delaware!

Broken Art

Kriston over at the WCP polices the artDC cancellation with some words from a couple of DC dealers.

More later on just how to make an international art fair work in DC and start setting the new standard for art fairs of the future, to bring 100,000 not 10,000 visitors to the fair; and the District is the perfect setting for it!

Bailey has a problem

Bailey takes issue with this post at the SI's Eyelevel blog; read his issue here.

Hess on Sex

The WCP's Amanda Hess has a fascinating review and discussion of the Sex Workers’ Art Show, a "traveling pastiche of cabaret, spoken word, and performance art put on by prostitutes, porn stars, burlesque dancers, and drag queens."

At the Sex Workers’ Art Show, exploitation is the real fun, and I’ve snagged the best spot in the house. The sold-out crowd has pushed me flush against the stage, setting my sightline precisely at crotch level. Over the course of the night, I come face to face with Dirty Martini’s patriotic vagina; burlesque comedienne The World Famous Bob’s pink-tasseled and rhinestone-decalled vagina; ex-stripper Erin Markey’s American Apparel gold lamé-pantied vagina; and Krylon Superstar’s self-described “duct-taped, dick-back, transsexual queen” package.

Read the review here.

artDC cancelled

Just got the email that artDC, the District's only international art fair, has cancelled for 2008; email said:

artDC has made the tough decision to cancel its 2008 show due to uncertainty in the current economic climate. Although dozens of galleries had signed on to attend, this decision has been made in the best interests of exhibitors.

Update: WCP's Capps polices the cancellation with some words from a couple of DC dealers.

More later on just how to make an international art fair work in DC and start setting the new standard for art fairs of the future, to bring 100,000 not 10,000 visitors to the fair; and the District is the perfect setting for it!

HooGrrl!!!!

WOW! Well deserved congrats to HooGrrl who was recently picked as the primo blogger in Washington, DC by DC Modern Luxury Magazine.

You Won't Believe Your Eyes

The 2008 Corcoran Print Portfolio Show, You Won't Believe Your Eyes: The 23rd Annual Printmaking Portfolio opens on Friday, February 15, 2008, 7-9 pm at Civilian Arts Projects in DC.

Civilian has partnered with the Corcoran College of Art & Design's Print Department to present the works of 31 artists who have made prints for the 2008 Corcoran Print Portfolio under the theme You Won't Believe Your Eyes.

You Won't Believe Your Eyes features lithographs, etchings, screen-prints, letterpress, papermaking, relief and digital prints by: Aimee Anthony, Meaghan Busch, Patricia Correa, Dane Austin Criner, Tracey Cullen, Georgia Deal, Bridget Dwyer, Elizabeth Grusin-Howe, Melissa P. Hackmann, Bethany Hansen, Carolyn Hartmann, Hedieh Ilchi, Ema Ishii, Carolee Jakes, Elizabeth Klimek, Eric Klug, Andrew, Kozlowski, Pepa Leon, Kate Libcke, Kerry McAleer-Keeler, Pierrette Montone, Manuel Navarrete, William A. Newman, Dennis O'Neil with Alexander Djikia, Dan Payn, Tracy Pilzer, Lynn Sures, Paula Wachsstock, Ann-Cathrine Wasmuth, Randolph Williams, and Amy Zaiss.

Artist Studio Spaces Available at Glen Echo Park, Maryland

Deadline: March 28, 2008

The Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture, Inc. is seeking visual artists and non-profit visual arts organizations to join the Park’s Resident Artists and to lease studio space in the refurbished Chautauqua Tower. Two studios will be available for a 1-3 year lease starting on June 1, 2008. For further details about Glen Echo Park, its resident artists, and to download the Request for Proposals, please visit www.glenechopark.org. Responses to the Request for Proposals are due on March 28, 2008.

"Frida and Me - Common Threads," at Projects Gallery

A quick minute video walkthrough of the exhibition that I reviewed here.

Carlos Luna

Carlos Luna: El Gran Mambo opened at DC's beautiful American University's Katzen Arts Center and runs through Monday, March 17, 2008.

Luna is a Cuban-American artist who is "a storyteller and social chronicler, merging themes of fables and mysticism, eroticism and prejudice, and religiosity and anthropology, all of which are organized, disbanded, interwoven, and reorganized in the iconographic discourse he creates."

This Saturday, Feb. 16, AU Museum curator Jack Rasmussen will lead a conversation with artist Carlos Luna about his work and his exhibition beginning at 5 pm. The conversation is free and open to the public.

True Believer

True Believer, Charcoal and Conte on Paper, 11 x 7 inches.
c. 2008 by F. Lennox Campello

New Alexandria, Virginia gallery

New to me anyway, but open since June of last year is DelRay's Blueberry Gallery (gallery website coming soon I am told) in Alexandria, VA.

The gallery is having a closing reception for their current exhibit of works by Nihal Kececi on Feb. 29 from 5:30-7:30PM.

The Art League's Patrons Show


If you were crazy enough to be hanging around Old Town Alexandria about 4 AM on a cold morning last month you would have noticed people forming a long line in the brutal cold outside the Torpedo Factory. They were waiting for a chance to get original art for their collections – or perhaps some brave souls starting to collect art.

"A line for art?" you must be asking, "who is crazy enough to freeze lining up at Oh-dark-thirty just to buy artwork?"

Hundreds.

They were lining up for one of the great art deals of the year: the Annual Patrons' Show. It's very simple: artists donate original artwork to the Art League, who inspects it, selects it and often frames it. It is quality stuff, ranging from huge abstracts to delicate pencil drawings. The Art League represents nearly 1,800 artists in the area, so there's plenty of possible sources of art donated by generous artists.

It is one of the largest art events in the country, with around 600 original works of art finding a new home in one day.

Usually about 600 pieces are donated and hung salon style in the Art League’s gallery on the first floor of the Factory. Then raffle tickets go up for sale at 10 AM, and they usually disappear within an hour or two; and each ticket equals a guaranteed a work of art.

And on Sunday, February 17 at 5PM, people who have a ticket begin gathering into the main floor of the Factory and they bring chairs, tables, food and loads of booze (this is like an art pic nic) as it will be a long, loud, fun, cheery and boozy evening as the tickets are drawn at random; and as they are called, ticket-holders select a piece of art from the work on display on the walls.

Everyone with a ticket is guaranteed a work of art. The tickets cost $175 each - an amazing deal once you see the work that you can get.

The first ticket called gets the first choice and so on - you get to pick the best piece (to you) from around 600 works of art). You better pick one quickly, or the crowds begin to shout and whistle and demand a choice be made.

It is without a doubt, the most sought after art ticket in town, and often incredible acquisitions are made... and I hear that there are some tickets left!

Call the Art League at 703/683-1780.

Curatorial Fellowship in Philly

Deadline: March 28, 2008

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has announced the two-year (first year renewable) Dorothy J. del Bueno Curatorial Fellowship in the Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, beginning on July 1, 2008.

An M.A in art history or related field is required; the Fellow should have demonstrated a commitment to scholarship in art history and an ability to work collaboratively. The fellowship provides firsthand experience with curatorial work in the graphic arts. Fellows participate in all activities of a large, active curatorial department with a collection of over 160,000 works of art on paper: exhibition and loan preparation; object research and cataloguing; study room supervision and daily administrative tasks. Fellows have the opportunity to organize an exhibition from the permanent collection during the second year of the fellowship. Travel stipend and benefits.

Fellowship for Philly Artists

Deadline March 8, 2008

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists and New Courtland Elder Services (NCES) are offering Philadelphia area artists the opportunity to participate in a new community-based fellowship. Through the New Courtland Artist Fellowship, eight artists will be selected to bring innovative/engaging art-making to residents of NCES.

Artists are asked to develop an intergenerational project that brings NCES residents together with school age children/teens to create an exciting artistic project. Work created during the fellowship will be exhibited with the work of the artists in a large, well publicized exhibition. For more details contact CFEVA at 215 546-7775 x11 or email Genevieve@cfeva.org.

Grant for Artists

The Pollock-Krasner Foundation invites painters, sculptors, mixed media, installation artists, and artists who work on paper to apply for grants ranging from $1,000 to $30,000. The sole purpose of the foundation is to provide financial assistance to individual working artists of established ability. For more information, contact:

Pollock-Krasner Foundation
863 Park Ave.
New York, NY 10021

Fax (212) 288-2836; email: grants@pkf.org

Sculpture NOW 2008

DC opening reception for this key Washington Sculptors Group show is on Thursday, February 14, 2008 6:00pm to 8:30 pm and the awards presentation by David Furchgott, President of International Arts & Artists, is to take place at 7:15pm... where did you ask?

Washington Square, located at 1050 Connecticut Avenue NW (18th and L Streets)in Washington, DC.

Sculptures by Christian Benefiel, Brent Crothers, Joel D'Orazio, Pattie Porter Firestone, Frank Fishburne, Breon Gilleran, Michael A. Guadagno, Len Harris, James Kessler, Jin Lee, Carol Gellner Levin, Mitra M. Lore, Phelan Meek, Judy Sutton Moore, Bill Moore, Lincoln Mudd, Mahasti Y. Mudd, Pokey Park, Tom Rooney, Richard Schellenberg, Mike Shaffer, Craig Schaffer, Bo Simeon, Frances Sniffen, Pamela Soldwedel-Barrett, George Tkabladze, Ron van Delden, Raymonde van Santen, Sarah Wegner, Elizabeth Whiteley, and Joyce Zipperer.

Also congrats to Brent Crothers, who is also a Sondheim Prize semifinalist!

Conservation

This is one of the best art conservation articles that I have read in a long time.

Read the Washingtonian article by Harry Jaffe here.

ArtClash Fun-A-Day in Philly

What is Fun-A-Day? The event grew out of a December 2004 potluck dinner in West Philly, where artist Kara Schlindwein and three friends were searching for some mid-winter inspiration.

Drawing on an idea that had taken hold among comics creators, they dared each other to create one artwork each day during the month of January. To seal the commitment, they planned a show in mid-February. Then they started spreading the word.

"We thought we'd get maybe 14 people," Kara said. Instead, 47 people brought their creations to her friend Nick's living room, and those were just the participants. "We had about 200 people come -- not all at once, thank God."

The success of the first show spawned Artclash!, a West Philly-based artists' collective established, essentially, to keep Fun-A-Day going.

Four years later, the Fun-a-Day concept has spread beyond Philadelphia: this year, artists in Houston, Pittsburgh, and even Amsterdam will hold Fun-A-Day events. In Philly, some 70 people -- professional artists and casual funlovers alike -- signed up to participate in 2008.

"That usually means about 50 to 60 projects will make it to the show," Kara said (See some photos from 2006's Fun-a-Day 2 here).

This year's creations run the gamut from thirty-one haikus composed on SEPTA, to a daily leaf-quilt-square, to a month of different breakfast pastries. Others are entitled "neon paper cut designs," "a walk and a photo," and "flowchart-a-day."

The Fun-a-Day show has moved from a living room into Studio 34 Yoga | Healing | Art, a new 5,000-square-foot space at 4522 Baltimore Avenue in West Philly.

Named for the adjacent trolley line, Studio 34 offers yoga and Pilates classes, massage and other healing services, and community spaces for meetings, art shows, and live performances.

Its grand opening will be in March, but the Fun-a-Day show will offer a "sneak preview" of the KBAS-designed studio.

What: The 4th Annual Fun-a-Day Show, hosted by The Artclash! Collective

When: Saturday, Feb. 16, from 7 to 11 p.m.

Where: Studio 34

Neon for Obama

I guess we know who DC area neon sculptor Craig Kraft is voting for...


Don't forget to vote today if you are in the MD, DC and VA region...

Laurie Lipton Can Draw

I'm a sucker for artists that can really, really draw well. Laurie Lipton in an American artist based in London. Her work will be on view in a group show entitled Pop Surrealism at the Robert Berman Gallery, in Santa Monica, CA that opens March 28.

And Laurie Lipton can draw with the best of them...

"I had been trying to teach myself how to paint like the early Renaissance masters, but failed miserably. Then I decided to try to draw the way the masters painted, using tiny little lines to build up areas of tone. It was crazy and took ages. It was worth the effort, though. The detail and clarity of the images became luminous. I got excited. I drew and drew until I made myself ill, but I didn't care."

Visit her website here.

2008 Presidential Campaign Positions on the Arts & Sciences

I had no idea where the current Presidential candidates stand on the arts, and a while back I emailed all of them asking for some positions, but so far they have farted me off.

However, Marc Molino over at the RP Muse has done his homework and has the campaign's positions -- where there is one -- on those subjects here.

More Bad Things Artists do to Galleries

This actually happened to a gallery in Georgetown, in Washington, DC in the 1990s:

Back when there were eight galleries in Canal Square, one of the galleries had given a show to a local -- at the time "hot" artist -- who was a painter (I say "was" because I haven't heard of the dude in years).

The artist was supposed to deliver and help hang all the paintings on a Wednesday, in order to be ready for the Georgetown third Friday openings. He did show up on Wednesday with about 50% of the work, and brought some more (freshly finished) on Thursday and to the gallerist's horror, even brought some more on Friday, and even as the show was opening at 6PM, was adding the last painting touches to several of the works.

Needless to say, several of the oils were actually wet when people starting showing up. On opening night, it was crowded, and someone apparently rubbed against one of the paintings and smeared some of the oil paint.

Now the gallerist was faced with a very irate person, demanding that his suit be cleaned (it eventually had to be replaced) and with a furious artist, demanding that the gallery pay him in full for the damaged painting.

If I am to believe the gallerist, the case actually went to court, where the judge threw it out.

More Bad Things Galleries do to Artists

This has happened to artists several times in my memories, both in the US and in Europe:

Artist and gallery owner agree to do a show of the artist's work. The gallery, like many all over the world, also has a side business as a framing shop, and tells the artist that they will take care of the framing.

The artist agrees on a handshake, and never asks for a contract, or costs, assuming that the gallerist knows what he is doing.

On opening night the artist shows up and is not too keen about the framing, but it's too late for any real discussions, as people are beginning to show up. Several pieces are sold, and the artist is very happy with the opening.

At the end of the show, the artist gets a letter in the mail from the gallery. Excited to see the payment for the sold work, the artist opens the envelope and finds a framing bill.

The bill details the cost of the framing, substracts from that amount the artist's commission from the sold work, and bills the artist for the remaining amount, as framing is very expensive.

Anger follows...

More bad things that (a) galleries do to artists or (b) artists do to galleries or (c) galleries do to collectors here, and here and here.

Congrats!

To all the semi-finalists for the $25,000 Sondheim Prize:

Becky Alprin, Laura Amussen, Rachel Bone, Ryan Browning, Mandy Burrow, Linda Day Clark, Brent Crothers, Melissa Dickenson, Eric Finzi, Laurie Flannery, Shaun Flynn, Dawn Gavin, Geoff Grace, Maren Hassinger, Kay Hwang, Courtney Jordan, Bridget Sue Lambert, Youngmi Song Organ, Beverly Ress, James Rieck, Christopher Saah, Lynn Silverman, Molly Springfield, Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, Calla Thompson, Edward Winter, and Erin Womack.

DC area artist Eric Finzi is having an opening for his latest works with a show titled "My Double Life: Musings on Sarah Bernhardt" at Bethesda's Heineman-Myers Contemporay soon. The opening is March 1, 2008 from 6-9PM. See the exhibition catalog here.

Never seen this before...

Amongst the most spectacular sights that I have ever, the Northern Lights, which I saw for a couple of hours during a magical night in Scotland in the early 90s, as well as seeing snow paint the ocean white, and then coming up to the Arctic ice edge -- which I did one summer in 1988 and then again in 1989 while aboard an icebreaker somewhere North of Novaya Zemlya -- are right up there.

But last night in the Poconos I saw and heard something new and wondrous to me: Lightning and thunder in the middle of a snow storm!

Freaky and beautiful and a little scary.

Tim Tate pre-Heart Day Talk

Wednesday, February 13, 5 p.m.

Join artist Tim Tate as he discusses his work Sacred Heart of Healing and other artworks inspired by romance and commitment.

Sacred Heart of Healing by Tim Tate
At the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Luce Foundation Center for American Art in DC — Third Floor.

When galleries go bad

Check out this horror story in Atlanta's Creative Loafing.

Touchstone opening and wine tasting is tonight

Touchstone Gallery's opening for their "10th Annual All-Media National Exhibition," which also features a wine tasting courtesy of the Washington Wine Academy, is tonight from 6-8:30PM and the show goes through March 8, 2008.

"Frida and Me - Common Threads," at Projects Gallery

"Frida and Me - Common Threads," currently on display through February 23, 2008 at Projects Gallery in Philadelphia, showcases the work of four contemporary Philadelphia area artists of Latina/Hispanic heritage.

Organized by Helen Meyerick, Project's director, as a prequel and inspired by the massive Frida Kahlo exhibition which opens at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Feb. 20, this interesting exhibition gives these four local artists an opportunity to display work which although not executed in a "Kahlo style," nonetheless touch on many of the issues of culture and identity and iconic portraiture that Frida Kahlo so successfully delivered through her own work in the last century.

The exhibit features work by Doris Noguiera-Rogers, Michelle Angela Ortiz, Marilyn Rodriguez-Behrle and Marta Sanchez. All four artists work in radically different styles and media, but all four manage to find -- at least in their words -- a thread back to Kahlo as a source of inspiration.

Marilyn Rodriguez-Behrle mixed media works on found objects -- and paper bags affixed in some cases to what appears to be some form of tree bark -- at first appear to fit neatly the category of "outsider art."

That is until one starts gathering information about the artist and her environment, and we find out that there's more than that.

Sacred Haunting Images VI, Mixed Media on Paper Bag
by Marilyn Rodriguez-Behrle
The images, such as Sacred Haunting Images VI, are harsh and disturbing, and often done in the iconic portraiture composition of Kahlo's best-known works. But that's where the visual relationship ends and Rodriguez-Behrle's talented vision takes over. In this artist's works, everything matters and everything tells a story and is related to itself -- like a recursive sequence of art.

Rodriguez-Behrle works in a psychiatric medical environment, and the imagery of her works is directly influenced and stamped by her experiences with patients and co-workers. Even the substrate is related to her environment: the bags upon which she paints are the bags given to patients when they check in and out to contain their personal property.

It's a fascinating mixture of additional hints that she offers the viewers; in her work there are clear signs of religious portraiture, evidenced by the gold leaf background of several of the images. The use of bark immediately reminded me of some of the Santeria pieces of Ana Mendieta, and together the two seemed to cement the fact that perhaps Rodriguez-Behrle is subconsciously (or on purpose) elevating her subjects to a higher place in her canon.

Although the cultural backgrounds of the four women on this show are different (as I recall Puerto Rican, Colombian, Argentinean and Mexican-American), it was easy to pick the powerful influences of Mexican art upon Marta Sanchez.

La Virgin y Las Corpus Oil and enamel on metal
by Marta Sanchez
Painting on metal is a traditional Mexican media, and for many years Mexican artists painted -- and continue to do so -- religious retablos on tin, often by taking a tin can, cutting it open, hammering it flat and then painting or cutting it into a religious portrait.

Sanchez carries the retablo tradition to the 21st century, elevating it both in scale and in imagery. Raised on the Texas side of the Mexican border, her works are full of narrative imagery and powerful colors influenced both by her childhood memories and the cultural ties to a Mexican palette. In La Virgin y Las Corpus we are flooded with narrative imagery: we see the iconic Virgin as the central focus of the piece, surrounded by a swirling world of color, information and history. The train that goes back and forth between Mexico and the US is there; so is a man dancing at a wedding - or is it a young girl's "quince" celebration? Is that Diego Rivera poking his "El Sapo" face at the top of the painting?

It has been said by many that Argentina, as a nation, belongs more in Europe than in South America, and that complex and diverse nation is home not only to the largest Italian migration in the world, but also home to more Cymri people than Wales. In Doris Nogueira-Rogers' works more of an European footprint -- than a Latin American one -- emerges.

It's OK; Frida Kahlo was three quarters European and one quarter Mexican, but no one has ever worn her Mexicanity more furiously and proudly than La Kahlo.

Of Lace and Layers VII, mixed media on paper
by Doris Nogueira-Rogers
Doris Nogueira-Rogers' contributions to the exhibitions are coolly crafted and beautifully presented - they also walk a different path from an already diverse group, perhaps aiming more to an interest in pattern and color than in narrative and information.

Let me not mix words here: the stand-out in this exhibition is Michelle Angela Ortiz.


La Madre, La Hija, Esperito Buscando Acrylic on wood
by Michelle Angela Ortiz
In her large triptych La Madre, La Hija, Esperito Buscando, Ortiz flexes not only superbly honed painting skills, but also succeeds in bringing together a marriage of the already discussed religious and iconic portraiture that tie her work to both Kahlo and a Latin American culture, to a contemporary dialogue.

The generations of her family are represented: we see her mother and her grandmother and also Ortiz. The older generations offer gifts to the viewer in their hands, while Ortiz's hands, held in the same position, await her gifts or perhaps her destiny.

It's also a story of family strength and power; these are not supplicants, but strong women with strong faces, and Ortiz's face, more than the others, also show a proud footprint of native indigenous bloodlines taking over, through the generations, from the invading European genes.

She awaits her gifts, but will not beg for them; she will make her own destiny.

Bad things galleries do to artists

Unethical galleries will take in a piece of artwork by an artist, and when the price is discussed, the gallery says: "What's the price?" and the artist says: "$1000" The gallery nods OK and the artist leaves, knowing that if sold, he'll get $500 (most commercial galleries charge 50% commission -- in NYC some are as high as 70%). The gallery then sells the piece, but for $2,000, sends the artist a check for $500 and pockets the extra $1,000. That is why artists should insist on having a contract with a gallery, and the contract must specifically address that the artist will get 50% of the actual sale price.

Bad things artists to do galleries

A reputable gallery gives an artist a show, and goes through all the various expenses associated with doing so (rent, electricity, staff salaries, publicity, ads, post cards, opening reception catering, etc.) So far the gallery has put forth a considerable investment in presenting the artist's works. An interested novice collector meets the artist at the opening and expresses interest (to the artist) in buying some of his artwork. The artist, wishing to stiff the gallery for their commission says: "See me after the show and I'll sell it to you directly and save myself the gallery commission." This is not only unethical, but it's also guaranteed to ruin the artist's reputation in the city, as these things always come out in the wash, and soon no gallery will exhibit any work by this artist.

What's Your Problem?

I really, really like this new series of articles at the Washington City Paper by Amanda Hess titled What's Your Problem?

Lisa Brotman Interview

Bethesda Art Blog has a really good interview with artist Lisa Brotman.

Read it here.

Tomorrow in Bethesda

Tomorrow, Friday, February 8th, is the second Friday of the month and thus it's the Bethesda Art Walk with 13 participating art venues and with free guided tours.

Don't miss "Closer" at Gallery Neptune, and always a great photography show is the VII Annual Photography Competition at Fraser Gallery.

M. Queensberg by William Atkins at Fraser Gallery
From 6-9PM - go see some artwork!

Wanna go to a DC opening and wine tasting this Saturday Friday?

Touchstone Gallery in the District has been an artist-owned gallery since 1976, which in gallery years is several centuries.

This Friday they're hosting an opening for their "10th Annual All-Media National Exhibition," juried by well-know DC area curator and often an advisor to the DC Commission of the Arts and Humanities, Vivienne M. Lassman.

The opening also features a wine tasting courtesy of the Washington Wine Academy. The opening is from 6-8:30PM and the show goes through March 8, 2008.

Wanna go to a DC opening on Saturday?

The Capitol Hill Art League (CHAL) will open “Fascinating Rhythm,” Saturday, February 9, 2008, 5-7 PM at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 7th Street SE. The show continues through February 29th.

The juror for “Fascinating Rhythm” is David C. Levy, who was the President and Director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and its College of Art and Design from 1991 to 2005.

Wanna go to a Baltimore opening this Saturday?

Light Street Gallery in Baltimore presents "Panoramic Photography from Around the World," a group show featuring the winning photographs of The Third Annual Juried Competition of the International Association of Panoramic Photographers.

Opening reception Saturday, February 9th, 2 - 6 PM. The Competition drew entries from forty one panoramic photographers from seven countries and The United States, Australia, England, Belgium, Poland, Spain and Germany. Through March 29th, 2008.

Murder Revealed?



Did the above painting expose the murderer of Oddantonio da Montefeltro?

Read this.