Rosemary Feit Covey at the Art League

I've been following the career of master printmaker Rosemary Feit Covey for years now.

And for years I have been mesmerized by not only her technical skill but also by her powerful and often shocking imagery.

Over the years I've also seen Rosemary do something that my good bud Jeffry Cudlin likes: she keeps pushing and redefining the genre of printmaking to the point that she can no longer be categorized and labeled simply as a printmaker.

In fact, since I brought Cudlin into the discussion, I submit as evidence of my point the exhibition that she had at the Arlington Arts Center (where Cudlin is curator) a while back.

By the way, the gent in that cherry picker installing that massive work of art by Rosemary Feit Covey around the Arlington Arts Center is Cudlin, the Center's curator and the City Paper's chief art critic.

Enough of Cudlin.

But even knowing the enviable artistic reserves of this artist I was not prepared for what she has done with the work currently on display at the Art League Gallery, inside the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria.

Let me tell you early in this discussion: this is the best art show that I have ever seen at the Art League Gallery; ever.

At the Art League exhibition, Rosemary has two distinct sets of artworks that once again move printmaking to a new place: one is a set of "peep boxes" and the second is a set of lighted wall installations.


The peep show boxes line up in the center of the gallery, and at first seem a bit quizzical until one realizes what they are: Feit Covey tells us that "in the 18th and 19th Centuries peep show viewing was a popular and innocent form of street entertainment, developing into toy theaters. Using lenses and mirrors, an interior world could be created by peering into the mysterious box. She adds that the "term Peep Show ultimately came be to most closely associated with viewing pornographic films and live sex shows."

In her peep show box series, Feit Covey smartly marries the disquieting secrecy of the act of peeping into the box with the moist trapped sexuality brought about by the contemporary connotation of the term “Peep Show."

She does this by offering us innocent looking Victorian-era type peep show boxes in nice oak colors.

When we bend down and peep into them, we spy a set of suggestive, rather than overtly sexual, engravings. The objectification of the women in the imagery has not reached its climax yet, to be a bit coarse on the issue here.



And yet, by simply placing the print inside a box, she forces us into the tingly role of voyeur and peeper. The height of the stands where the boxes rest also force one to bend down in order to steal a surprisingly clear and well lit glimpse of a set of 10 suggestive etchings.



On the walls Feit Covey has a series of back lit boxes that are lined with dozens and dozens of strips of etchings. The appearance is that of a photographic process in the development stage.



It is a hypnotic installation. We are attracted at first, like moths to the light, to peer close at the imagery that dangles, like negatives in a pornographer's darkroom, inside each back lit box. The engravings are printed on Japanese papers and phone book pages, and then the vertical strips are encased in an encaustic medium.

The subjects on the strips, a young woman and a much older man, play a sexual drama that is riveting and disturbing. Some people, Feit Covey relates, have been offended by what is depicted on the strips, which all through the scenes barely restrain a growl of controlled sexual violence clearly hidden under the surface of the two subjects.

The old man is using the young woman as a captive sexual toy; there's a sharp hint of restrained danger in the images. "They are a real couple," she related to me a while back when I first saw this new series of work being produced. "She is much younger than him, and they have this sexual relationship based on routines and scenarios such as these."

Throw the element of reality into the disturbing imagery and it adds a whole new element of peeping into the dark sexual melodramas of the unusual couple. "They are quite in love with each other," she adds.

I force myself not to think ordinary thoughts. The wholesome and attractive woman and the decaying, wizened old man have discovered a sexual formula that bridges their huge age gap with a slippery and dangerous rope bridge.



In narrating their story, and in bringing the narration out of the mat and frame of the two dimensionality of intaglio etchings, Feit Covey has delivered a self contained installation that reinvents the world of the photographer in terms of the tools of the trade of the printmaker.

In continuing to bring the print out of the frame, and relocating it where it is not just a geographical move but a psychological transformation, she has achieved a singularly unique new direction for this most traditional of genres.

In this Art League show, Feit Covey has also set a new standard for that gallery and a opened up a whole new road for the Torpedo Factory.

In fact, after this show, the usual labels affixed to the kind of art that most people associate with the Torpedo Factory artists no longer sticks. Not that they ever applied to this talented artist.

The exhibition runs through April 15, 2010.

Opportunity for Artists: One Hour Photo

Deadline: March 31st, 2010.

The premise of the show is simple: photographic works, projected for one hour each, after which they will never be seen again, by anyone, in any form. They therefore exist only for one hour, they are "one hour photos," a limited edition of 60 minutes.

In this way, One Hour Photo complicates the myth of photography as preservation, manifests the tension between the permanence of the medium and the impermanence of time, and subverts the profit model of the edition and the print.

Although there are no strict subject matter or stylistic guidelines, One Hour Photo is particularly interested in work that engages in dialogue with the themes that the concept naturally raises: ephemerality, memory, anti-artifact, loss, nostalgia, magic, time, disappearance, dissolution, whispers, traces, ghosts, etc.

To ensure that the works will never be seen, and to document the show, each artist will sign a "morally binding" release form stating that he or she will never reproduce, sell, or show the work to the public after its one hour "exposure." The curators will also sign the release form, and all release forms will be displayed on the One Hour Photo site as documentation of the show. The show itself will contain approximately 120 works curated by Chandi Kelley, or one per hour for the duration of the exhibition's open hours. One Hour Photo will show from May 8 – June 6, 2010 at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, Washington, D.C, as part of the Spirat exhibition.

They seek previously unpublished / undisplayed photographs or photographic-based work. Work selected will be projected for exactly one hour during the exhibition, with the understanding that it will not be shown, reproduced or sold from that moment forward.

It can all be done online and there's no fee. Check out the Call to Artists here.

Wanna go to a cool DC opening tonight?

Maria Friberg: transmission and Dean Kessmann: Art as Paper as Potential opens tonight Saturday, March 20th from 6-8pm with the artists in attendance at Conner Contemporary.

Amy Lin on TV

Click here to see the TV segment.

Buy Amy Lin now.

An Olfactory Art Lab

Have you ever pondered how the olfactory sense affects visual perception, or how a scent can evoke a dormant childhood memory? In this unconventional exhibition international curator, art critic and clinical allergist, Dr. Kóan Jeff Baysa, asks artists and fragrance researchers to explore how the physical self experiences and knows the world through the sense of smell.

An Olfactory Art Lab: Trading in Paints for Perfumes opened last week at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery and I've been hearing good things about this rather unique show. Exhibiting Artists: Peter Hopkins, Mathias Kessler, Josee Lepage, Anne McClain,
Gayil Nalls, Carrie Paterson, Tobias Wong, Jiayi Young & Shih-Wen Young.

Details here.

TV does the arts

This is one of the rarest things that ever happens in the DMV: A local TV station, attracted by the "buzz" about an art show, actually does a feature about it!

WJLA, the local ABC station in DC (Channel 7) News will air a profile of artist Amy Lin and her show at Addison/Ripley Fine Art.

The segment will be shown later today Friday, March 19 on the 5pm News.

It will be interesting to see what a little rare TV attention will do regionally to an artist of the caliber of Lin. If you've been thinking about acquiring a Lin, I'd do it before the segment airs.

Amy tells me that she will be at Addison/Ripley Fine Art from 4-6pm on Saturday, March 20, in case anyone wants to see the show while she's there and talk to her about it.

Congrats Amy!

PS - Can anyone tell me who coined the phrase "the glass teat" to describe television? I know who did, but I want to know if you know who did. And Guy Mondo... I know that you know who did!

Genetics in clothing design

Via

Gateway Arts Center at Brentwood Grand Opening Tomorrow

A former warehouse space along U.S. Route 1 has been transformed into the Gateway Arts Center at Brentwood. On March 19, 2010, starting at 3PM, the Gateway Arts Center at Brentwood (GAC@B) will be dedicated with a celebration following to mark the arrival of this new visual arts center in the Gateway Arts District.

The Gateway Arts Center at Brentwood (GAC@B) is a multi-faceted facility dedicated to the production, exhibition and programming of visual art. The GAC@B serves as a dynamic resource for artists and a vibrant, creative social experience reflecting and engaging a diverse community.

GAC@B houses:a dozen art studios; the 39th Street Gallery, a gallery operated by Gateway CDC; the visual arts programs of the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (including a gallery, a contemporary craft showcase, and classroom); and the temporary exhibition space of the Prince George's County African American Museum and Cultural Center (PGAAMCC) at North Brentwood.

Speakers at the dedication will include: Anthony Brown, Lieutenant Governor, State of Maryland; Raymond Skinner, Secretary, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development; Samuel J. Parker, Jr., AICP, Chairman Prince George's County Planning Board; Xzavier Montgomery-Wright, Mayor of Brentwood; Lillian Beverly, Chair of Prince George's County African American Museum and Cultural Center; Ani Kasten, resident artist; Brad Frome, Office of Will Campos, Prince George's County Council District 2 and Floyd Wilson, Office of the County Executive. Senator David Harrington and Delegates Jolene Ivey, Doyle Niemann and Victor Ramirez of the 47th District, State of Maryland are also slated to attend.

The GAC@B will throw open its doors to the public following a ribbon cutting ceremony, allowing the visitors to view three distinct galleries and peruse the artist studios. The 39th Street Gallery, owned and operated by Gateway CDC has an exhibition of GAC@B resident artists curated by Claire Huschle, Executive Director of Arlington Arts Center.

MNCPPC's Brentwood Arts Exchange features works curated by yours truly and quilts by African American artists are on display in Gallery 110, the exhibition space of the Prince George's County African American Museum and Cultural Center (PGAAMCC).

The Gateway Arts Center is located at 3901 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, MD 20722, just over the District line on Rhode Island Avenue.

Free Seminar for Artists

On April 10, 2010 from 1-5pm, Gateway CDC in partnership with MNCPPC will be hosting my well-known “Bootcamp for Artists” seminar at no cost to the artists.

This seminar is suitable for all visual artists interested in taking their careers to the next level.

Ever wondered how to maximize the attention your work gets from the press, galleries, and museum curators? How to present your work in a professional manner and save money in the process? How to tap into grants, awards and residencies?

Then this is the seminar for you! This program is free, but space is limited so please email John@Gateway-cdc.org or call 301-864-3860 ext. 3 if you would like to attend.

This program will be held in MNCPPC’s Brentwood Arts Exchange on the 1st Floor of the Gateway Arts Center, 3901 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, MD 20722, just over the District line on Rhode Island Avenue.

Of interest to the general public: a closing reception for the Gateway Arts District Show, which I juried a while back will immediately follow the “Bootcamp for Artists Seminar” from 5-8pm. All are welcome!

Washington Post Art Critic Honored

On Monday, March 22, the WaPo's Weekend art critic Michael O’Sullivan will receive a special Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Service to the Arts. This will take place at a press conference with Mayor Fenty at the old City Museum.

Space there will be at a premium and extremely limited, and thus very hard to attend for those who wish to congratulate Michael.

Thus, for all those artists, collectors, writers and other folks whose life and artistic careers have been influenced and or benefited from the writing of Michael O’Sullivan, there will be a special gathering right after the press conference.

This will be a very rare opportunity for the Greater DC arts community to give back a little to one of the most understanding, observant, savvy and supportive persons of the complex tapestry that is the Washington area's cultural scene.

What: Tribute Gathering For Michael O’Sullivan

Where: Rear of the Warehouse across 7th Street from the Convention Center.
Enter through The Passenger Bar
1021 7th St NW
(between N Mount Vernon Pl & N New York Ave)
Washington, DC 20001

When: Monday, March 22 , 7:30 to 8:30 pm FREE

If you want a cocktail, grab one at the Passenger on the way in.

Amy Lin at Addison Ripley

I used to have a friend who, if she found a perfect parking spot right away and right in front of wherever she was going, she'd describe it as "Doris Day parking."

"Have you noticed," she explained, "How in all the Doris Day movies she always manages to find a parking spot right in front of wherever it is that she is going?"

I knew that things had started on the right foot when last Saturday, as we drove to Addison Ripley (for the Amy Lin opening) in parking-poor Georgetown, we found a huge parking space right in front of the gallery's door.

After double checking all the parking signs to make sure that it wasn't some kind of new DC trick to give out more parking tickets (such as the trick they pulled a few years ago in G'town, when they extended the parking meters' coverage time from 6PM to 10PM without any warning, and for weeks they were in a ticket-giving orgy because people were used to the 6PM meter time and didn't realize they'd been extended to 10PM.

But I digress.

Readers of this blog know that I avoid being a detached, passionless writer and critic as much as I can. And for years now I have been very enthusiastic about the work and progress of this artist. And this opinion has been echoed by most other art critics in the region, as past Lin solo shows have both (a) received extensive and mostly positive critical attention and (b) have sold extremely well.

The one artistic danger that I once mused about in Lin's case was what I describe as the "Mondrian effect."

Picasso once said "God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant, and the ant. He has no real style. He just goes on trying other things."

As an art student and years afterwards I was always very attracted to the geometrical minimalism of Piet Mondrian. Then, a handful of years ago, I recall the massive Mondrian exhibition at the National Gallery, and what happened when I walked into gallery after gallery full of works so similar that they were almost indistinguishable from each other.

Mondrian had found a formula and stuck to it. He never went on "trying other things."

And in this current Amy Lin solo at Addison Ripley, I am happy to report that Amy Lin is not only trying "other things" from her signature minimalist works of individual groupings of small dots and small circles, but also that the new explorations are perhaps her best work to date.

Amy Lin. Cellular. 25 inch x 39 inch. Colored pencil 2010.
They explore new Lin interests that sometimes owe a lot to her training as a Chemical Engineer. They seem to trick the vision into reading formulas and charts and maps of color forms. The larger ellipses in some of the works almost assume figurative forms hidden inside deceptively complex drawings.


Amy Lin. Hydrolysis - 24 inch x 24 inch. Colored pencil.
The gallery was packed, and I am happy to report that Lin's past excellent sales record continues, as there were many red dots on the walls and several key DC area art collectors present and adding Lins to their collections.

The exhibition goes through April 24, 2010. Below are some images from the show.


Isabel Manalao, Amy Lin, Annie Adjchavanich and Dr. Fred Ognibene

Pat Goslee and Pink Line Project's Philippa P.B. Hughes

Little Junes' Mom and artist Amy Lin

Redding takes issue with Gopnik review

Robert "Rob" Redding Jr. is an artist, author, radio host and journalist and he:

...has won an Associated Press award for Internet news and has won numerous awards for his radio show. He has won an ADDY award for his nationally syndicated show. He has has also been called "one of the most respected names in the media" (Upscale magazine), "one of the most intellectual and intriguing radio talk show hosts since Tavis Smiley" (Radio Facts) and a "rising star" and one of the "100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America" (Talkers magazine).

He also has an issue with last Sunday's review by Washington Post Chief Art critic Blake Gopnik titled National Gallery exhibit challenges traditional view of Rothko's black paintings.

Redding writes that "As an artist and journalist, I was horrified when I read the recent review by Washington Post art critic Blake Gopnik. Gopnik wrote a review of Mark Rothko's rehung black-dominated artworks at the National Gallery of Art."

Later he explains that "... As a black journalist, I find it disturbing that Gopnik decides to needlessly inject race into his art review. Gopnik points out the race of the 'notably dark' guards after he says that race should be considered when viewing Rothko's works."

Read Redding's case here.

Is the review racist or insensitive? Comments welcome.

Update: Philippa P.B. Hughes has an interesting viewpoint here.

If you wear a Che Guevara T-Shirt


Unless it is like the one on the left, you are wearing the image of a man whose own racist writing and actions are full of negative, racist remarks about Mexicans and Blacks, and Native Americans.

A killing psychopath whose image has been re-invented over the decades so that now he's viewed by a large, ignorant segment of the population as some sort of positive icon.

By the way, "Comemierda" is an almost unique Cuban insult...

The Negro is indolent and lazy, and spends his money on frivolities, whereas the European is forward-looking, organized, and intelligent.
-- Che Guevara

Mexicans are a band of illiterate Indians.
-- Che Guevara

Inform yourself!

You want the image of a real Cuban hero for your T-Shirt? How about Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet?

Shocker

I'm putting all my tax stuff in order for my accountant and I was a little shocked to find out that 2009 was my best year ever as far as sales of my own work.

The art fairs really did the trick, as my work seems to really do two key things to succeed at an art fair: (a) doesn't take a lot of expensive wall space, and (b) sells really well, and (c) I'm usually one of two or three artists doing drawings at any fair.

And 2010 started really nicely already; in fact, I'm having the best year in every aspect of my life so far!

Life's good...

Fierce Sonia at The Art League Gallery

During her tenure as a figure model for The Art League School, Fierce Sonia quietly acquired a top-notch visual arts education. Motivated by the artwork she saw, she became eager to create her own work. She cabled her camera to her TV and released the shutter with an infrared remote. Sonia used herself as her own model, learning more about composition and technique based on what she saw on the screen.

Her figurative photography has evolved to a new and exciting place. The focus is on process. In Sonia’s latest series “Paper Dolls,” the same images reoccur with confident changes to the surface. Her work is no longer straight photography. With the integration of painting and collage into her images, Sonia’s work has reached a new level.

The black and white images of herself are often printed on paper that has been painted white, which creates a rich texture. Each piece is created in a unique way. Previous prints may be collaged to create depth. Multiple runs of the same print may be made on the same piece. More painting, layering might be necessary to create the desired effect. These alterations to the surface blur the identity of the original image, and make the series of work about the medium and the process, and not about the subject matter.

Sonia’s work has been exhibited and won accolades nationally. She is a professional art model and muse for artists and photographers and has worked with nationally and internationally known artists.

“Paper Dolls” will be at The Art League Gallery in Old Town Alexandria from April 8 – May 3, 2010. The Opening Reception and Meet the Artist function is Thursday, April 8, 6:30-8:00 pm. Joe Chiocca, Old Town’s favorite band, will play during the Opening Reception and reunite with special guest singer Kim Kenny. Free and open to the public.

Wanna go to an opening tonight?

Come see Sidney Lawrence’s art at Baked & Wired coffeehouse (1052 Thomas Jefferson St., Georgetown (at the canal, below Barnes & Noble)).

Opening Party: Monday, March 15, 6 – 8 p.m. Exhibition continues through April 30.

Wanna go to an opening this week?

"Coming Home: A Collection of Works by Rosetta DeBerardinis" opens at The Corner Store, 900 South Carolina Avenue, S.E. @ 9th Street near the Eastern Market.

Reception: Friday, March 19th from 6 to 8 pm.

"Coming Home: A Collection of Works by Rosetta DeBerardinis" marks the artist's return to the D.C. market upon the completion of a three-year artistic residency at School 33 Art Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The work demonstrates her expansion from color field painting to abstract expressionism to urbanscapes, monoprints, sculpture and to drawings while retaining her signature energy and strong use of color.

DeBerardinis has exhibited at commercial galleries and art venues throughout the Washington metro area, Richmond, Dallas, New York City, Houston, New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan and internationally in Croatia, Madrid, Beijing, India and France. She has shown at the Dallas Women's Museum, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Woman's National Democratic Club, The African-American Museum in Dallas, the City Museum of Varazdin in Croatia and the Yaroslavl Art Museum in Russia. Her work and words have been published in Washington Spaces magazine, the Virginia-Pilot Ledger Star, SoBo Voice, Radar Redux magazine and u-tube, Thinking About Art:The One Word Project, the Hill Rag, Voice of the Hill and in catalogues with comments by art aficionados like Doreen Bolger, Director of the Baltimore Museum of Art. A recent work is part of the Art on Call public art project in the Trinidad neighborhood in the District of Columbia.

During the residency, DeBardinis began to meld her ceramics with objects found on the streets of Baltimore and drove the finished sculptures back to DC for exhibition at Zenith Gallery last year. Her responses to Charm City's rawness and grit are reflected in much of her studio work. While there, she temporarily abandoned painting 9 ft. canvases to create work suitable for tiny Baltimore row houses. After downsizing in response to the architectual limits of the city, she began to exhibit surfaces as small as 2 1/2 inches, or the size of trading cards. She found compressing her energy into tiny space took practice and amazing focus and welcomed the challenge.

The former Washington, D.C. and Bethesda art tour guide, Liquitex Artist of the Month and frequent contributor to DC Art News is busy reinventing herself. An artist with academic credits and/or degrees from the following institutions: Vassar College, The University of Baltimore School of Law, Rice University, London School for Social Research and the Fashion Institute of Technology. It is appropriate that Rosetta DeBerardinis begin her artistic revival on Capitol Hill where she resided for more than a decade and maintains close ties with former neighbors and friends.

Don't miss this show!

“Birds in the Park” coming to DC

“Birds in the Park” is a touring public project, which involves the one-day installation of thirty to sixty porcelain birdlike forms on the ground.

Central Park, New York
At first, people usually take them for oddly still pigeons. They are, in a sense, carrier pigeons, as the forms carry images, text, and other documents, which have been printed with cobalt blue and fired into the surface. The message they bear is an exploration of the beautiful and the horrible side by side. The creator, artist Christy Heng explains:

Originating with the shock and dismay I felt as the US government began the war with Iraq, and expanding to consider the phenomenon of war in general, the questions posed by the birds are about the humanness of us all. How we are connected, and also the unthinkable ways in which that bond is disregarded.

More specifically, I’m layering, and in some cases placing side by side, silk-screened images of children playing, love letters, poetry, recipes and prose… with silk-screened newspaper articles and photographs of the lead-up to and beginning of the current Iraq war, as well as other war-related documents, that tend to bring up the question, How can people do that to each other?! Among other things, I'm looking at how the initiation of a war is “sold” to regular people. Also, how discussions about the cold facts of war, weapons capabilities etc. can become detached from the human reality on the other end, creeping into everyday life as something normal, like birds in the park.

This work draws on years of experimentation with silk-screen printing onto clay. I create the silk screens from photographs and documents, and use them to apply the image and text onto wet porcelain. While the clay is still flexible, I form the birds -- each one is different -- and eventually fire them at a very high temperature.

The forms themselves are about a foot and a half each in length. Low to the ground, some are involved in their own search, while many appear to be in conversation with each other.

Although they are made from porcelain, the pieces are actually quite sturdy. They are positioned in such a way that people can wander among them, taking time to look and read.

I set them up in the morning and take them down at night. It’s out of the blue and somewhat fleeting, the better to catch the unsuspecting passerby’s curiosity. An important part of the project is the actual interaction with people, and I as the artist am always present during an installation, to answer questions, listen and converse.

The project began in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where in the spring of 2009 the birds landed in about thirty locations; places like the farmer's market, City Hall, various parks, cafes and libraries. Later, the birds began to fly farther afield, landing along the coast of California, in Central Park, NY, in a sculpture garden in New Orleans, at a University Plaza in Germany, in front of Chartres Cathedral in France, and even migrating so far as the Galapagos islands.

New birds continue to be born, often in response to the places that the birds have been or will be visiting. In addition to personal photography and images and text borrowed from public media, I am collaborating with writer and Vietnam War veteran Tim Origer, English poet Henry Shukman, Venezuelan photographer Maria de Las Casas, and my father Werner Hengst for some of the material that appears on the birds. One landing scheduled for July, 2010 is in Peenemünde, Germany, the site of the V-1 and V-2 rocket development during WWII; my grandfather was working there as a scientist then, and photographs of the lab town before and after its bombing, as well as quotes from Germans during that time, are making their way into some of the silkscreened images on the birds now.

The flight pattern continues to develop, and the project is expected to continue through fall 2010.

Now the birds are coming to DC! the schedule is:
Thursday, March 18th, on the center of the Mall at 9th street.
Friday, March 19th, Dupont Circle.
Sunday, March 21st, Upper Senate Park, by the Capitol.

Besthoff Sculpture Garden, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana
For pictures and location information, visit her website here. Past updates about the birds' travels can be found at www.birdsinthepark.blogspot.com.

Wanna go to a Georgetown opening tonite?

"Kinetics" is the latest solo show by the DC area's superbly talented artist Amy Lin. Seldom has an artist received the critical accolades and collector support that Lin has in the past.

The opening reception is tonite, Saturday, March 13, 5-7pm at Addison/Ripley Fine Art, 1670 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20007. The exhibition dates: March 13-April 24, 2010.

See ya there!

Wanna go to an opening tonite in Bethesda?

Head out to Gallery Neptune, where works by Freya Grand are hanging and the gallery has a reception for the artist tonite, Saturday, March 13th, starting at 7 PM.

Kennicott on New Brow art exhibit 'G40: The Summit'

WaPo staff writer Philip Kennicott, who is not a visual arts critic, reviews 'G40: The Summit' in Crystal City.

He writes:

Critics generally organize their lives to avoid mediocrity, in part because there is so much of it, but mainly because it forces them to write with a negativity that alienates readers.

What am I missing here then?

It is clear that Kennicott, who doesn't generally write about the visual arts, finds the work in G40 mediocre, and perhaps even the concept or idea of "underground art" itself is mediocre?

And yet, it seems like he went out of his way to organize his life to take a specific negative aim at this show, in direct contradiction to the above quote.

And I don't really have a problem with that. My issue here is that Style editor after Style editor in the revolving Style editor door that has been the WaPo in the last few years, has told me that the reason that there isn't more visual arts coverage in the WaPo is due mostly to lack of newsprint space.

And I have this friend at the WaPo who is an administrative assistant type person (a secretary), who recently told me about how the Style section and the Weekend section were being directed to coordinate coverage to avoid duplication of coverage of the same stories, shows, movies, exhibitions, etc.

And just yesterday Michael O'Sullivan reviewed the G40 show in the Weekend section.

Thus my issue.

Seem like Kennicott went out of his way, in direct contradiction to his own words, and in direct conflict with the WaPo's policy to avoid duplication of coverage, to write a negative review about a show and an art movement that he considers mediocre.

Why? What am I missing here?

And where's the Style editor telling him: "Sorry Phil, but the Weekend section already wrote about this show."

Unless Kennicott replied: "Sorry Scott Vogel (or whoever is his editor), but I really hate this kind of art and really want to explain why."

But then, I've also got this nagging feeling about how Kennicott is so out of touch with what this genre of art is all about, what it encompasses, how it has reached the megastars of his high brow art world (think Takashi Murakami), that he is looking at this show and this genre of art through opera glasses from the expensive seats, and with his nose somewhere in the upper stratosphere.

Sort of like the old guys from the old Salons looked at the refuses, and we know how that turned out.

On the other hand, a bad review is better than no review at all, and two reviews in a art-review-poor newspaper such as the WaPo is, is quite a score for G40. So, in a Warholian sense, Kennicott is helping out the cause that he is attempting to diminish.

Asi es la vida!

O'Sullivan on G40

The WaPo's art critic Michael O'Sullivan reviews "G40: The Summit"

Some 2,000 art works by more than 500 artists are on view in a partially empty office building in Crystal City.

And no, it isn't Artomatic. Next question.

How is it different from that regular, open-to-all art show? For one thing, "G40: The Summit" is curated. That means that, with the exception of a handful of installation artists, one man -- Shane Pomajambo of the Art Whino Gallery -- has handpicked each artist for the 75,000-square-foot exhibition. It takes up four floors and part of the lobby level. (The rest of the first floor is used for a stage and bar.)

Read it here.

I love this quote: "These days, almost nobody draws like Ben Tolman, whose intricate pen drawings -- at once classical and subversive -- are a stand-out here. Nobody, that is, except half the artists in the West Wing of the National Gallery of Art."

Ben Tolman is amazing... see his stuff here.

Dawson reviews

The WaPo's Jessica Dawson with two very cool reviews on Jason Horowitz at Curator's Office and Titouan Lamazou at Adamson.

Wanna go to a Georgetown Opening tomorrow?

"Kinetics" is the latest solo show by the DC area's superbly talented artist Amy Lin. Seldom has an artist received the critical accolades and collector support that Lin has in the past.

The opening reception is tomorrow, Saturday, March 13, 5-7pm at Addison/Ripley Fine Art, 1670 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20007. The exhibition dates: March 13-April 24, 2010.

Buy Amy Lin now.

Opportunity for Artists

Out of Order is the Maryland Art Place's Annual free-hung Benefit Exhibition, Silent Auction and Party!

Hanging Dates and Times: Beginning 9am, Tuesday, April 6th, ending 9am, Wednesday, April 7th That’s right—24 hours nonstop!

Silent Auction and Gala: 8pm, Friday, April 9, 2010. Join them for a fantastic evening of great art, music, food, and an open beer & wine bar.

Participation: There is a $10 participation fee to hang artwork in Out of Order. As a participating artist, you will be given one complimentary ticket to the gala on April 9th. ($40 value!). Proceeds will be split 50/50 between the artist and MAP.

Tickets: Tickets are free for event volunteers and current MAP members. If you wish to attend the event, simply join or renew your MAP membership and receive two complimentary tickets ($80 value), in addition to a host of incredible incentives throughout the year! Or, to buy tickets online, visit: brownpapertickets.org.

For More Details: access their website: www.mdartplace.org or call 410-962-8565.

Details for artists here.

Alexa Meade’s Living Still Lifes

I stumbled upon Alexa Meade’s installations a few weeks ago and it’s still sticking with me. This 23 year-old DC area native is doing something in art that I have never seen before in delivering a skilled marriage of painting, video and interactive installations and all I can say is, WOW!

When you look at this picture, what do you see? (Hint: You are not looking at an ordinary painting.)


Alexa created this piece by body painting a live model as if he were an oil painting.

Further blurring the lines between reality and illusion, she projected a live video feed of her painted model into a picture frame on the wall. Gallery patrons interacted with both the painted man sitting in the chair and the living painting next to him on the wall.


You have to see more of her living still lifes/portraits to believe it; visit her website here.

On April 2nd, Alexa is taking the project all the way to Postmasters Gallery in New York City. Congrats!

Keep an eye on this young new talent!

Sparkplug Artist Collective Seeks New Members

Sparkplug, a collective of emerging artists and curators sponsored by DC Arts Center, is currently seeking new members interested in participating as curators or artists.

Currently composed of nine DC area artists and curators, the Sparkplug collective meets regularly to discuss their work, explore common concerns, grow their community and dream up creative engagements both in DC and around the world.

Through its support of Sparkplug, DC Arts Center provides meeting space, legal and technical resources and exhibition opportunities to emerging artists and curators without current gallery representation or institutional employ. Via a continuing dialogue encompassing the theoretical and the practical, the group’s members share experiences, perspectives, preoccupations, challenges, and topics informing their ongoing artistic practice.

New members chosen during the Spring of 2010 should be prepared to participate in an exhibition this June and remain active members of the group for the next two years.

Members are expected to attend monthly meetings and participate in studio visits. Applicants should be 21 years of age, live in the DC metropolitan area and not currently have gallery representation or institutional employ as curators or art writers. The deadline for applications is April 5, 2010. Invitations for formal interviews will be extended on or before April 19. 2010. F

Go to the DCAC website for more information about Sparkplug and to view the full call and application requirements.

Photographs at Fraser

"Flying the Potomac" by George Borden, Potomac, Maryland
The 9th Annual International Photography Competition, hosted by the Fraser Gallery in Bethesda is having its opening reception and awards ceremony this Friday March 12, 6pm – 9pm.

This is always one of the best photography shows of the year.

Wanna go to a DC opening this week?

Project 4 has THE FANTASTICAL. Work by Justin Gibbens, Julie Hughes, Mel Kadel, Jordan Kasey and Sophie Ruspoli. Opening reception: Saturday, March 13, 2010 - 6:30 - 8:30PM.

"Project 4 presents a group exhibition of works that express scenes, realities and spaces peculiarly situated away from our familiar, everyday visual experience. Artists participating in The Fantastical exhibition present works where, either by revealing idiosyncrasies of the artist’s mind or by altering commonplace appearances to create new perspectives, fantastical realms arise in conjunction with existing curiosities and tension.

While each of these artists takes inspiration from natural, experiential reality, their imagination and emotional self bends the linearity of this reality. Northwest-based draftsman Justin Gibbens takes inspiration from thickets, undergrowth and odd fauna to create brilliantly imaginative Audubon reminiscent watercolors and collages. His treatment of the paper causes these pieces to appear as if they themselves come from a distant and strange domain. Also working on paper, Los Angeles based artist Mel Kadel’s enigmatic characters traverse transcendent and cerebral spaces while encountering curious challenges of the mind and body.

Expanding on the genre of landscape, Baltimore artist Jordan Kasey and Washington DC based photographer Sophie Ruspoli both create stages where mystifying phenomena can occur. Kasey’s immersive painting, “Sunrise” depicts a serene and extraordinary land, where existence seems eerily suspended. Ruspoli, using the factual medium of the camera lens, manipulates the architectural functions of a 4 x 5 camera to capture surreal views of nature, different from what the human eye is capable of naturally perceiving. A second floor sculptural installation by Los Angeles based artist Julie Hughes physically represents an other-worldly environment inspired by such terrestrial and complex structures such as human bone and mold, adding further dimension to this exhibit’s exploration of the fantastical space that exists just beyond rational thought."

Congrats!

To Washington Post art critic Michael O'Sullivan, who will get a very well-deserved Special Recognition Award as part of the 25th Annual Mayor’s Arts Awards on Monday, March 22, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at the Historical Society of Washington. 

The Washington Project for the Arts will host Vjera Brozan, the third visiting curator in Information Exchange, a professional development program for artists organized by WPA with the International Studio and Curatorial Program in Brooklyn, NY.

In this ongoing series, WPA brings international curators to Washington to discuss ideas and projects in a public forum, followed by a day of one-on-one critiques or portfolio reviews with WPA member artists. The goal of the program is to expose artists and curators to each other's work, spurring new and continuing conversations, ideas, relationships, and projects which will carry on long after the initial exchange.

Vjera Brozan (Prague, Czech Republic) is a curator and art historian. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Charles University, Prague, and fellow at tranzit, a network of autonomous initiatives in contemporary art in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Brozan was a curator at The National Gallery Prague (2003-2004) and was a research fellow at The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (2000-2002). She taught at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno (2003-2007) and now is teaching Contemporary Art at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague.

As an independent curator she has curated exhibitions and artist projects in Prague and elsewhere. Recent exhibitions include : Harun Farocki at tranzitdisplay, Prague (2009); Metaphysical - Ontological - Supertemporal- Absolut - Transcendence at JS Studio Gallery, Prague, (2008); and Invisible Thingsat Trafó gallery, Budapest (2007).

Please join the WPA for a presentation of past and current projects given by Vjera Brozan, followed by an open discussion on March 18, 2010 at 6:00pm at WPA (free and open to the public). Continue the discussion and mix and mingle with the other attendees at the post-talk reception at Darlington House, 1610 20th St. NW (appetizers and cash bar).

RSVP is required for the talk and reception. email to: kbilonick@wpadc.org

Trawick Prize Artists' Call

Deadline: Friday, April 9, 2010

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is accepting submissions for The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. The annual juried contemporary art competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to four selected artists. Deadline for submissions is Friday, April 9, 2010 and up to 12 artists will be selected for a group exhibition during the month of September.

The competition will be juried by Harry Cooper, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; Robert Haywood, Deputy Director at the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, MD and Emily Smith, Curatorial Fellow in Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, 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. Selected artists must deliver artwork to exhibit site in Bethesda, MD. All works on paper must be framed to full conservation standards. Each artist must submit five slides or five images on CD, application and a non-refundable entry fee of $25.

The Human Rights Art Festival

The first ever Amnesty International Human Rights Art Festival, a multi-media event that fuses the passion of artists with the values of Amnesty International, will take place April 23-25, 2010 in Silver Spring, MD.

Details here.

And my own particular interest in the area of human rights; Click on the image for more details...

Peep & Strip Show - This Thursday

Join Rosemary Feit Covey
this Thursday for the opening reception of Peep and Strip Show at The Art League Gallery (in Old Town Alexandria) on March 11th at 6:30pm and enjoy a Cabaret Dance performance.

Feit Covey is easily one of the most talented print makers in our region, although the term prin tmaker is beginning to not be enough when discussing this artist, as her amazing installation a while back at the Arlington Arts Center proved; and this show will debut some "light boxes" that I'm really stoked to go and see.

From the press release:

When peering through a keyhole, we consciously know we’re viewing something that wasn’t meant for our eyes, and therefore it becomes exciting and forbidden. Rosemary Feit Covey’s provocative images forces the viewer into the role of voyeur, either by demanding the viewer to observe her engravings through a peep show box, or on a photographer’s light box. Suggestive rather than overtly explicit, her wood engravings subtly deal with obsession on many levels. Peep and Strip Show will be featured at The Art League Gallery at the Torpedo Factory March 11–April 5, 2010.

The “Strip” series focuses on obsession. The images Covey created are based on the relationship between an actual couple. Tantalizing and a little naughty, the viewer is left wondering what the story is behind these characters. The engravings are printed on Japanese papers and phone book pages, and then the vertical strips are encased in encaustic medium. The strips are presented on a light box like a photographer would use to dry negatives and prints and to view his/her work. When displayed in groups horizontally, the effect is akin to a dark comic book or graphic novel.

In Covey’s “Peep Show” series, she combines the secret, sexual world associated with the modern definition of “Peep Show” with the innocent world of Victorian-era peep show boxes. In order to view the engravings, the viewer must bend uncomfortably to glimpse through the peephole, which forces them into the role of voyeur. The prints in this series are evocative and suggestive rather than blatantly sexual. The boxes themselves are custom designed and beautifully handcrafted by a master cabinetmaker. These peep boxes are replicated and inspired by the elegant peep show boxes circa 1820.

Peep Show boxes date back as far as 500 years ago, designed by artists and scientists to portray a variety of subject matter. During the 18th and 19th Centuries, peep show viewing was a popular and innocent form of street entertainment. By using lenses and mirrors, a private, interior world was created by peering into a mysterious box. The term Peep Show ultimately came to be most closely associated with viewing pornographic films and live sex shows.

Casablanca

Claude Rains (Louis): What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?

Humphrey Bogart (Rick): My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.

Claude Rains (Louis): The waters? What waters? We're in the desert.

Humphrey Bogart (Rick): I was misinformed.

Campello reviewed

Not me but my daughter Elise in The Wedding Singer:

The uber stand out was Elise Campello as Julia Sullivan. She is such a full package of talent. She brings everything to the show and makes it a tour-de-force every time the lights come on the stage.

Read the review here.

Contemporary Art Projects to Debut

Remember that I told you that the former Numark space was about to be re-used as a gallery space?

Amy Morton of Morton Fine Art introduces a pop-up project, a series of innovative, curated art exhibitions and events that “pop-up” at various locations throughout Washington, DC.

The concept for a pop-up project evolved from Morton’s desire to introduce strong and relevant contemporary artists to the Washington, DC area in a fresh and exciting format. The project emphasizes the development and exposure of high-quality contemporary artworks in innovative settings and locations. a pop-up project aims to develop and promote local DC talent alongside national talent.

a pop-up project will host pop-up group exhibitions, lectures and events at venues throughout the DC area. For its inaugural exhibition a pop-up project will open I Dream Awake from March 18 to May 28, 2010 in the former Numark Gallery space located in Penn Quarter at 625-627 E St NW.

I Dream Awake is a curated selection of works that presents original artist expressions which explore the link between awakened realities and unconscious dreams. The exhibition includes artwork in various media by New York artists, Mikel Glass, Kenichi Hoshine and Margaret Bowland; Los Angeles artists Vonn Sumner and Susan Burnstine; and local artists Rosemary Feit Covey, Laurel Hausler, Lizzie Newton and Tim Tate.

The formal opening reception with the artists in attendance will be held on Friday, March 26th from 6 - 9pm.

Congrats!

To the 32 finalists for the Mayor's Arts Awards! Congrats especially to the WPA, Margery Goldberg, Transformer and Andrew Wodzianski on their respective noms!

Finalists for the 25th Annual Mayor’s Arts Awards

EXCELLENCE IN AN ARTISTIC DISCIPLINE

· Cathedral Choral Society

· Ira Blount

· Lawrence Bradford

· Pan American Symphony Orchestra

· Peter Waddell

· Step Afrika!

· The Suzanne Farrell Ballet

· Theater Alliance of Washington, DC

· Transformer

EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE TO THE ARTS

· Dance/Metro DC

· Kim Roberts

· Margery E. Goldberg

· Washington Project for the Arts

INNOVATION IN THE ARTS

· Daniel Phoenix Singh

· FOTOWEEK DC

· GALA Hispanic Theatre

· Miriam’s Kitchen

· Taffety Punk Theatre Company

· The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts

· VelocityDC Dance Festival

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO ARTS EDUCATION

· CityDance Ensemble, Inc.

· Duke Ellington School of the Arts

· The Shakespeare Theatre Company

· The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts/Education Department

· The Washington Ballet

· Washington Performing Arts Society

OUTSTANDING EMERGING ARTIST

· Andrew Wodzianski

· Brian W. Grundstrom

· Sarah Elizabeth Koss

· Helanius J. Wilkins

· Luciana Stecconi

· Michelle Herman

Finalists for the Mayor’s Award for Arts Teaching

PERFORMING ARTS

· Gregory E. Lewis

· Premila Mistry

· Thomas Kingston Pierre, Jr.

· Rebecca Stump

· Benjamin Whelan-Morin

LANGUAGE ARTS

· Kathy Echave

· Mark A. Williams

VISUAL ARTS

· Stephanie Basralian

· Daniel A. Foley

· Eric Michael Ginsburg

· Bill Harris

· Charles Jean-Pierre

· Vinson Irby

· Andrea Perll

· Lindy Russell-Heymann

Cudlin on the Armory Show

My good bud Jeffry Cudlin has his take on last weekend's Armory show in NYC. Read it here.

What is it with visual art critics who are always yearning for the "new"? - that dangling carrot of the art world... I mean the "visual art world" - that doesn't seem to apply to any of the other genres and forms of art as universally speaking as to what critics want from visual artists.

I refer them all to the lyrics of The Beatles' All You Need is Love.

Got to go and find my Janson's for some ideas for some new drawings...

Wanna go to a Georgetown Opening this week

"Kinetics" is the latest solo show by the DC area's superbly talented artist Amy Lin.

The opening reception is on Saturday, March 13, 5-7pm at Addison/Ripley Fine Art, 1670 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20007. The exhibition dates: March 13-April 24, 2010.

Buy Amy Lin now.

Cream at the Katzen

Last night's Cream auction on at the Katzen Museum appeared to be a resounding success and the place was once again packed by the DMV's top notch art collectors and assorted A-listers of the art scene.

My piece in the auction did quite well, with many bids and finally going for three bids over the high estimate (I think). Check out the artwork here and check out some images below.

Pink Line Project's Philippa P.B. Hughes and Little June's Mom

Mera Rubell (in the Warhol wig) and artist m. gert barkovic

That's me and Mera Rubell

Artists Victoria F. Gaitán and Judy Byron

Artist Andrew Wodzianski, Curator's Office Andrea Pollan and artist Jeff Spaulding

Artists' Interview: Amy Lin

For a couple of years now I've been advising readers who are art collectors to buy Amy Lin. Coming from a dude who gets paid to advise three major art collectors on what to buy, that should count for something. Lin is a very talented and exceptional young artist; but there are loads of those around. So what makes this young DC area artist so special? She has received tremendous critical accolades from the press in nearly all her shows and her past exhibitions have almost all sold out. In that spirit we asked her a few of our standard questions:

DC: Who or what has been your biggest influence as an artist?

The drawings for my upcoming show "Kinetics" [at Addison/Ripley in Georgetown] have connections to scientific concepts including energy, motion, and genetics. But on another level they have a human quality and can be seen as people or societies.

DC: What are some of the challenges or mistakes that you have experienced as an artist and what did you learn from it?

One of the challenges I’ve had was that I didn’t go to art school so I didn’t have any formal training or know very many people in the art world to ask for advice. I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible along the way and am very thankful to everyone who has curated me into a show, written about my work, or come to see a show!

DC: What key event, or person, if any, has attributed the most to your success or progress as an artist so far?

My first solo show was a big milestone. I had been in several group shows before, but this was the first time I had created a cohesive body of work and concept for the drawings.

DC: What advice would you give to emerging artists?

I would tell other emerging artists to believe in their art and stay true to it regardless of whether other people like it or not. It’s normal to get lots of rejections.

DC: Who is your favorite DC area artist?

Mary Coble is one of my favorites. When I first moved to the DC area she was one of the first artists I learned about...Her work is smart and interesting.

DC: Anything coming up in the near future for you?

My next solo show “Kinetics” opens on Saturday March 13, 5-7pm at Addison/Ripley Fine Art. And I’m in a group show “On/Off the Grid” that is at Irvine Contemporary through March 20.

Amy Lin Synthesis

You can visit Amy's website here or become one of her fans on Facebook here.

Wanna go to an opening in Alexandria tomorrow?

During her tenure as a figure model for The Art League School, Fierce Sonia quietly acquired a top-notch visual arts education. Motivated by the artwork she saw, she became eager to create her own work. She cabled her camera to her TV and released the shutter with an infrared remote. Sonia used herself as her own model, learning more about composition and technique based on what she saw on the screen.

Her figurative photography has evolved to a new and exciting place. The focus is on process. In Sonia’s latest series “Paper Dolls,” the same images reoccur with confident changes to the surface. Her work is no longer straight photography. With the integration of painting and collage into her images, Sonia’s work has reached a new level.

The black and white images of herself are often printed on paper that has been painted white, which creates a rich texture. Each piece is created in a unique way. Previous prints may be collaged to create depth. Multiple runs of the same print may be made on the same piece. More painting, layering might be necessary to create the desired effect. These alterations to the surface blur the identity of the original image, and make the series of work about the medium and the process, and not about the subject matter.

Sonia’s work has been exhibited and won accolades nationally. She is a professional art model and muse for artists and photographers and has worked with nationally and internationally known artists.

“Paper Dolls” will be at The Art League Gallery in Old Town Alexandria from April 8 – May 3, 2010.

The Opening Reception and Meet the Artist function is Thursday, April 8, 6:30-8:00 pm. Joe Chiocca, Old Town’s favorite band, will play during the Opening Reception and reunite with special guest singer Kim Kenny. Free and open to the public.

The Irascible 18

A few days ago, when discussing the Mera Rubell talk at the Katzen, and her selection of 16 DC area artists being dubbed by the Washington Post as the "Sweet 16", I suggested that it would be a good idea for a DC glossy, like DC Modern Luxury for example, to hire a sharp photographer to assemble us 16 and re-do a modern version of the pose in Life Magazine's famous "Irascibles" photograph.


The photograph was taken by Nina Leen (January 15, 1951), and appeared in Life magazine. This very famous photo, known as the photo of "The Irascibles " shows 15 of the 18 Abstract Expressionist painters:

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)
Barnett Newman (1905-1970)
Willem De Kooning (1904-1997)
Clyfford Still ( 1904-1980)
Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974)
Ad Reinhardt (1913-1967)
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991)
Mark Rothko ( 1903-1970)
William Baziotes (1912-1963)
James Brooks (1906-1992)
Jimmy Ernst (1920-1984)
Theodoros Stamos (1922-1997)
Bradley Walker Tomlin (1899-1953)
Richard Poussette-Dart (1916-1992)
Hedda Sterne (1910)

The photograph caption reads:

IRASCIBLE GROUP OF ADVANCED ARTISTS LED FIGHT AGAINST SHOW

The solemn people above, along with three others, made up the group of “irascible” artists who raised the biggest fuss about the Metropolitan’s competition (following pages). All representatives of advanced art, they paint in styles which vary from the dribblings of Pollock (LIFE, Aug. 8, 1949) to the Cyclopean phantoms of Baziotes, and all have distrusted the museum since its director likened them to “flat-chested” pelicans “strutting upon the intellectual wastelands.” From left, rear, they are: Willem de Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Ad Reinhardt, Hedda Sterne; (next row) Richard Pousette-Dart, William Baziotes, Jimmy Ernst (with bow tie), Jackson Pollock (in striped jacket), James Brooks, Clyfford Still (leaning on knee), Robert Motherwell, Bradley Walker Tomlin; (in foreground) Theodoros Stamos (on bench), Barnett Newman (on stool), Mark Rothko (with glasses). Their revolt and subsequent boycott of the show was in keeping with an old tradition among avant-garde artists. French painters in 1874 rebelled against their official juries and held the first impressionist exhibition. U.S. artists in 1908 broke with the National Academy jury to launch the famous Ashcan School. The effect of the revolt of the “irascible” remains to be seen, but it did appear to have needled the Metropolitan’s juries into turning more than half the show into a free-for-all of modern art.

Someone once told me that originally there were only men in the group, and the photographer (I think) insisted on having a woman as well, and Hedda Sterne, who throughout her career maintained a stubborn independence from styles and trends, was brought in for the photo shoot, even though she wasn't one of the signers of the letter to the Met.

Thus my brilliant marketing idea of the "Sweet 16" recreating the above photo for a DC magazine. I got dibs on Richard Pousette-Dart's cool pose on the second row from the back.

Gopnik on the Whitney Biennial

"I see hints, at least, that we're a country that just spent something like a trillion dollars and more than 3,000 lives so that a foreign nation's sects can once again be free to bash each other. And I see a country that is still hemorrhaging blood and funds in the fond hope that another foreign nation, dysfunctional and misogynist, can be kept from fully imploding.

Here at home, I see the richest nation in history being so obsessed with getting back to still more growth -- so that the rich among us can have a yet bigger house or plasma screen -- that it won't spend money to rescue a neighbor's health, a crumbling bridge or our children's planet. Most important -- if not in the details of this biennial, then in the overriding spirit of so much of its art -- I also see a country that recognizes that all this is some kind of a problem but feels as though it's powerless to do anything about it -- except take solace in that bigger home or screen."

Not all of it sounds like a Keith Olberman rant; read the rest of the review by the Washington Post's Chief Art Critic here.

DCist Exposed is tonight!


This year's opening reception for this top photography show will be bigger and better than ever, and will be held on Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 6 to 10 p.m. At the bar, mixologist Scott Palmer from Dino will have a special punch, Leopold Brothers will host a liquor tasting, Downey Selections has some wine for attendees, and Pabst Blue Ribbon will hold down the fort with plenty of beer. Nage will provide hor'dourves, while DJs v:shal kanwar and Sequoia spin tunes. Reception is $5 per guest at the door.

Long View Gallery is located at 1234 9th St. NW, just a few blocks from the Mt. Vernon/Convention Center Metro.

At the Lee Arts Center

I've been hearing some good things about the Kevin Mellema solo show, consisting of eight of his large scale figure drawings, at the Lee Arts Center on Lee Highway in Arlington.

They will have a closing reception from 6:30 to 8:30 pm on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. I will try to check it out.

Lee Arts Center
5722 Lee Highway Arlington, VA 22207
Phone: 703-228-0560
Fax: 703-228-0559
email: leearts@arlingtonva.us

Lee Center Hours:
Monday & Friday: 9:30 am - 6 pm
Tuesday - Thursday: 9:30 am - 9 pm
Saturday: 9:30 am - 5 pm
Sunday: Closed

Opportunity for Photographers

Deadline: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 7PM



Click here for details, and if you've shot pics of DC, then you've got no excuse not to enter this!

Like the Census, they seek portraits representing people of all ages, all four races, and the many ethnic groups in each quadrant of the city.

Fifty-one portraits will be selected and exhibited.

A couple of openings tonight...

Foundry Gallery and the Kurdistan Regional Government Office in the District of Columbia will be sponsoring a show of the work of Kurdish artists. Exhibit Dates: March 3 - 28 and the Opening Reception is tonight, Friday, March 5, 6 to 8PM. Foundry is also welcoming applications for new members. For information on membership and how to apply, please click here.

Up and coming artist Elena Patiño is one of the artists showing at the Hillyer Art Space show which opens tonight. Keep an eye on this refreshing new artist. First Friday Reception: Friday, March 5th, 2010, 6-9PM.

Congrats!

To DC area artist Terry Ward for recently having had the honor to hang with the famous Arnaldo Pomodoro (the maker of those bronze spheres in cities and museums worldwide).

Ward's 2009 mixed-media Begotten, Forgotten panels (pics here and an essayhere) were on the "Rothko stripe" wall behind Pomodoro's 1962 bronze Traveler's Column (on loan from the Hirshhorn Museum) at the new gallery building at Smithsonian-affiliated Annmarie Garden and Sculpture Park until March.