Free After-Hours Fall Celebration at Torpedo Factory Art Center this Friday

Folklore and Fall Celebrations at Torpedo Factory Art Center

Live Mural Painting, Artist Receptions, Hands-On Art Making and More

The Late Shift: Folklore

Friday, October 12
7 – 10 pm

October 4, 2018 – Alexandria, Va. – The Torpedo Factory Art Center stays open late on Friday, October 12, for the next Late Shift event. Folklore is an early-fall celebration of stories, traditions, and fall. Festivities run 7 – 10 pm.

Artist Receptions

·         In Target Gallery, there will be a special reception for Juxtaposed. The exhibition focuses on the contradictory and conflicting. Artist talks begin at 8 pm.

·         There is also an artists’ reception in the New Project Studio for Connecting the Dots 2. 

·         Fall post-grad resident Kelly Johnston welcomes visitors as she moves into Studio 319.

Paint Jam on the Waterfront

·         Curated by New Project Studio artists Shani Shih and Michelle Chen, regional artists come together to create original murals that will be donated to a number of Alexandria-based nonprofits and social-service organizations.

o    MasPaz

o    Monolith

o    Jah-One

o    Jamilla Okubo

o    Gean Martinez

o    FAME

o    Michelle Chen

o    Shani Shih

Interactive Projects

·         The Omi Collective transforms the North Hall of the Art Center into a lounge featuring two participatory art projects. Nicole Wandera leads kids from the Dunbar Alexandria-Olympic Boys & Girls Club on a work that will be donated to the club at the end of the night.

·         Healing the Body leads a project with visitor that is dedicated to promoting painting as a mental wellness tool.

·         Pop-up performances with Through the 4^th Wall give visitors a peek at their new musical, 19, a story about women gaining the right to vote.  

Find new art throughout the building. Torpedo Row features artists from across the DMV. Resident artists on all three floors keep their doors open into the evening.

Ms. Marvel

Next: Texas Contemporary Art Fair

Come see us at the Texas Contemporary Art Fair in Houston!

George R. Brown Convention Center - Hall A3
1001 Avenida De Las Americas in Houston, Texas  77010 - we are booth 819 and featuring the works of Jodi Walsh, Georgia Nassikas, Kathleen Hope, Michelle Matthews, and yours truly!

October 4-7, 2018

Details here.

A photographer is suing Netflix

A storm could be brewing for Netflix, as a Montana photographer Sean R. Heavey has filed suit against the streaming giant, alleging that it stole his image of a cloud formation without payment or permission.  

Read all about it here. 

Jeff Koons was accused of plagiarizing

The creative director behind a 1985 advertising campaign for French fashion brand Naf Naf is suing Jeff Koons for allegedly plagiarizing one of the ads to make his sculpture Fait D’Hiver (1988

Read about it here. 

Award!

Inigo and the man in black meet

“You seem a decent fellow," Inigo said. "I hate to kill you."
"You seem a decent fellow," answered the man in black. "I hate to die.” 

― William Goldman, The Princess Bride

Andy Thomas at the White House?

I hear from my gofer bud at the White House that President Donald Trump liked a painting of him (by artist Andy Thomas) and which shows the President having drinks with several Republican Presidents - such as Ike, Ronaldus Magnus, Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon, Bush I and II, and Teddy Roosevelt - so much that he has a print of it in the White House.

Wonder where the original is?

Andy?

Grants for Sculptors

Deadline: October 1, 2018

The National Sculpture Society has calls for three grants for figurative/realist sculptors - $5,000 each. No Entry Fee. 

Details: 212-764-5645 OR click here.

Opportunity for artists

Deadline: December 31, 2018. 

Arts and Education at the Hoyt is currently seeking artists to fill its 2020 - 2021 Exhibition Schedule. Solo, duo, collectives and curatorial proposals are welcome. 

Artists living in the Mid-Atlantic region (PA, OH, NY, NJ, MD, VA, W.VA, DE and Washington DC) are invited to apply. 

Please submit a proposal that includes; exhibition description, 10-20 jpeg images, image list with titles, media and dimensions, resume or curriculum vitae, and a $25.00 review fee. 

For more information or to apply online visit this link.

Ave Frida Es Regina

AVE FRIDA ES REGINA, 2012
Original Charcoal and Conte Drawing with Embedded Video Player -Continuous Loop
31 × 26 in; 78.7 × 66 cm

This work of mine from 2012 is currently available for a steal at this wonderful charity auction for a great cause - read about the auction below and bid here.

Call for Artists

Deadline: 10/26/18 

Public Art Reston, in partnership with Reston Association and Atlantic Realty Companies, seeks an artist or artist-led team to develop a site-specific artwork in a permanent medium to enhance the exterior and interior walls of the Colts Neck Road underpass in Reston, VA. The project will promote active use of the underpass that links residential areas, Hunters Woods Village Center, two schools, two senior facilities, and two community centers. At the Colts Neck Road underpass, public art will have the opportunity to enhance the community’s relationship to their infrastructure and encourage active transportation options such as walking and cycling. The artist or artist team will actively engage with community stakeholders to develop the concept of the artwork and will give workshops to students.  This project is an opportunity for infrastructure beautification, education, engagement, and inspiration. 

VIEW MORE INFO
APPLY TO THIS CALL

Museum Day: Celebrate women at AU today!

Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day represents a nationwide commitment to access, equity, and inclusion. Stop by the AU Museum from 11-4PM to view their Fall exhibitions, and join them for a special Saturday docent-led tour at 1PM.

The theme of this year's Museum Day is "Women Making History," honoring women in society who are trailblazers in the arts, sciences, innovation, and culture. Today, they are spotlighting Emilie Brzezinski and Dalya Luttwak's exhibition "Finding a Path", a collaboration in wood and steel in the museum and sculpture garden.

Here in the DMV we are lucky in that most museums (including AU) are free; however, for those few ones that require an entry fee (such as the amazing Spy Museum), they're free today!

Bruce McKaig at Gormley Gallery

Bruce McKaig: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Workers, on view October 22 through November 30.

Artist's Reception

Saturday, October 27, from 4:00 to 6:00

Gormley Gallery

Parlor Games in the Library

Saturday, November 10, from 4:00 to 6:00

Fourier Hall 103

Bruce McKaig's practice explores the power of images to reshape realities, sometimes juxtaposing antiquated techniques or objects with contemporary themes and issues. This exhibition, organized around three series -- the cowboy, the wrestler, and the dictator -- combines McKaig's own artworks with curated images and materials that explore some of the historical and current cultural and socio-economic relationships between photography and those themes.

Gormley Gallery-Notre Dame of Maryland University, 4701 N. Charles St., Fourier Hall, 2nd floor, Baltimore, MD 21210

17th Annual County Awards

Daphne is ready to ship

Daphne
Charcoal on paper, 28x22 inches, c.2018

Just finished this piece. It is titled "Daphe", and it is a charcoal on paper, 28x22 inches. It will soon either be at the Superfine Art Fair in Washington, DC or at Context Art Miami in Miami.

Daphne (meaning Laurel) was a nymph who was the daughter of the river god Peneus. Apollo fell in lust with her and chased her - as he was about to ravish her, either the Earth goddess Gaea or her father, reached from under the Earth and turned Daphne into a Laurel tree to save her from Apollo. 

Erwin Timmers named Montgomery County "Outstanding Artist"

The Washington Glass School's own Erwin Timmers has been given a Montgomery County Executive's Awards for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities!

These awards are the most prestigious honors conferred by Montgomery County on individual artists, scholars, organizations and cultural patrons. 

This year, WGS Co-Director Erwin Timmers has been named Montgomery County's "Outstanding Artist" .

Details here.

Roulet curating!

My good friend and DMV uber curator Laura Roulet has been busy as ususal!

She has openings of two exhibitions, both on Saturday, November 10 which she worked. 

She organized Ian Jehle: Dynamical Systems for the Katzen Center, American University Museum, here in Washington. It features Jehle's portraits of luminaries from the D.C. art community combined with site-specific, mathematical wall drawings.  

She also curated Brian Michael Reed: In the Crosscurrent as a dialogue between West Virginia artist Reed's assemblage sculpture and the Huntington Museum of Art's outstanding Haitian art collection.

Scholarship for college students

Deadline: October 15, 2018

Pretty Photoshop Actions recognizes the importance of higher education and the role it plays in our personal and professional fulfillment. That's why they are so excited to continue their Pretty Photoshop Actions $500 bi-annual scholarship. 

This ongoing scholarship provides college and university students an opportunity to earn money to further their education and achieve their goals! 

No Entry Fee. Details: http://bitly.com/2LZ7XkU

Call for show proposals for 2019

Deadline: October 15, 2018

Valdosta State University (VSU) Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery (Valdosta, Georgia) is reviewing solo and small group exhibition proposals for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Application fee: $15, Artists 18+, All media, Artwork is insured while in the gallery. 

No sales commission. Application Fee. 

Details: 229-333-5835 OR http://bit.ly/2Q9oGFo OR jabowlan@valdosta.edu

Glenstone Museum opens to the public on Oct. 4!

Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland, will begin welcoming the public on October 4, 2018, revealing the results of a five-year expansion that has at last fully realized its founders’ vision of art, architecture, and landscape merged into a seamless experience.

Established by Emily Wei Rales and Mitchell P. Rales, Glenstone opened in 2006 and now includes a new 204,000-square-foot museum building called the Pavilions, designed by Thomas Phifer of Thomas Phifer and Partners; an additional 130 acres of rolling meadows, woodlands, and streams, designed by Adam Greenspan and Peter Walker of PWP Landscape Architecture; an Arrival Hall and bookstore; and two cafés. The original 30,000-square-foot museum building, called the Gallery, was designed by Charles Gwathmey of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, and opened in a 100-acre setting. With the addition of its new facilities, Glenstone now offers the public a total of 59,000 square feet of indoor exhibition space in two buildings, with all works drawn from its own renowned collection of modern and contemporary art, and 230 acres of serene, unspoiled landscape incorporating installations of major works of outdoor sculpture.

“Mitch and I have been dreaming for years about the day when we’d be able to pull back the curtain and reveal the new Glenstone,” said Emily Rales, director and co-founder of Glenstone. “Now, at last, the art installations and buildings and landscape are complete, and people can finally encounter Glenstone as a whole, as we’ve always meant for it to be seen. We’re excited by Glenstone, and we hope our visitors will share that feeling, now and for many years to come.”

“We’re deeply grateful to everyone who has worked with us to create Glenstone: the great artists who have given us their trust and collaboration, the magnificently talented architects and landscape architects who have been our partners, and the wonderfully dedicated professional staff who have lived this journey with us every step of the way,” said Mitchell P. Rales, co-founder. “Now we’re thrilled to welcome the people who are really the most important collaborators of all: the visitors for whom we’ve built the new Glenstone.”

Admission to Glenstone is always free, with visits scheduled on the website (www.glenstone.org) to ensure an unhurried and uncrowded experience for all.

The integration of architecture with landscape, and both with art, is key to the experience of Glenstone. “We considered the landscape as the inspiration,” Thomas Phifer explains. “The visitor’s arrival is choreographed through the trees and open fields, heightening your experience with the land and revealing the subtle qualities of the site. From your first moments at Glenstone you experience a place with few distractions, the bustle of ordinary daily activities drops away, and your mind and soul prepare for an intimate encounter with art.”

Inaugural Presentations in the Pavilions

The Pavilions, constructed of stacked blocks of concrete inset with broad expanses of glass, is embedded into the landscape of Glenstone like a natural feature. From the outside, the building appears to comprise a group of eleven separate masonry structures, reminiscent perhaps of an Italian hill town. Inside, visitors discover eleven distinct rooms—each with a size, proportion, and treatment of light specially suited to its purpose—connected by a glass-walled Passage ringing a lushly planted, 18,000-square-foot Water Court.

Works selected for the inaugural installation of the Pavilions exemplify the philosophy of Glenstone’s collection, representing key moments in the development of art since World War II, a period when our understanding of the nature of art has been continually challenged and redefined. At the time of the opening, nine rooms of the Pavilions house single-artist installations of major works or bodies of work.

The single-artist installations, many realized with the collaboration of the artists, are:
•  two large-scale sculptures by Martin Puryear: Big Phrygian, 2010-2014, and The Load, 2012, monumental examples of the artist’s evocations of history, identity, and struggle (Room 1)
•  the Moon Landing triptych by On Kawara, 1969, three large-scale canvases commemorating the Apollo 11lunar landing mission of July 1969, comprising one of the very rare groups of the artist’s Date Paintings designated as a set, installed in a skylit room (Room 3)
•  Untitled, 1992, by Robert Gober, a major three-section installation work first presented at Dia Center for the Arts, shown for the first time on long-term view (Room 4)
•  Collapse, 1967/2016, by Michael Heizer, a sculpture of 15 steel beams placed in a seemingly chance arrangement within the constructed negative space of a rectangular pit (Room 5), with Heizer’s 1968/2016Compression Line constructed in the landscape outside the building
•  Ever is Over All, 1997, by Pipilotti Rist, an immersive, two-channel video and sound installation featuring the artist in a staged on-the-street performance (Room 6)
•  four sculptures by Charles Ray—Table, 1990, Fall ’91, 1992, The New Beetle, 2005, and Baled Truck, 2014—presented with Ray’s collaboration as the first in an ongoing series (Room 8)
•  Livro do Tempo I, 1961, by Lygia Pape, an assemblage of 365 unique wooden geometric reliefs, each representing one day of the year (Room 9)
•  Moss Sutra with the Seasons, 2010-2015, by Brice Marden, a magisterial five-panel painting that is the artist’s only commissioned work, bathed in a natural light that comes through clerestory windows (Room 10)
•  and five sculptures, 1951-1991, by Cy Twombly, selected in consultation with the artist (Room 11)

The largest room in the Pavilions (Room 2), with 9,000 square feet of column-free space, houses an inaugural installation of 65 artworks by 52 artists, dating from 1943 to 1989. Showing the depth and breadth of Glenstone’s collection, these iconic examples of movements including Abstract Expressionism, Gutai, Brazilian modernism, Arte Povera, Minimalism, and post-Minimalism are by Arman, Ruth Asawa, Jo Baer, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lynda Benglis, Joseph Beuys, Alighiero e Boetti, Lee Bontecou, Marcel Broodthaers, Alexander Calder, Sergio Camargo, Lygia Clark, Willem de Kooning, Marcel Duchamp, Dan Flavin, Alberto Giacometti, Arshile Gorky, David Hammons, Keith Haring, Eva Hesse, Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Akira Kanayama, Martin Kippenberger, Yves Klein, Franz Kline, Barbara Kruger, Yayoi Kusama, Sol LeWitt, Agnes Martin, Marisa Merz, Sadamasa Motonaga, Bruce Nauman, Hélio Oiticica, Sigmar Polke, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Faith Ringgold, Dieter Roth, Mark Rothko, Mira Schendel, Richard Serra, Shozo Shimamoto, Kazuo Shiraga, Frank Stella, Clyfford Still, Atsuko Tanaka, Jean Tinguely, Rosemarie Trockel, Anne Truitt, Andy Warhol, and Toshio Yoshida.

On view at the entry to the Pavilions is a language work by Lawrence Weiner, MATTER SO SHAKEN TO ITS CORE TO LEAD TO A CHANGE IN INHERENT FORM TO THE EXTENT OF BRINGING ABOUT A CHANGE IN THE DESTINY OF THE MATERIAL PRIMARY, SECONDARY, TERTIARY, 2002, commissioned by Glenstone. Shown in the Passage along the Water Court are Water Double, v. 3, 2013-2015, by Roni Horn, two of the largest solid cast-glass cylinders the artist has created. In the Viewing Gallery (Room 7), the sole fixed object is a bench designed by Martin Puryear and furniture maker Michael Hurwitz, on which visitors may relax, enjoy a framed view of nature, and browse through a selection of art books recommended by artists featured in the Pavilions. Puryear and Hurwitz also designed a bench that is installed on a platform overlooking the Water Court, a bench in the Entry Pavilion, and benches throughout the Passage.

In the Gallery: Louise Bourgeois: To Unravel a Torment
Since its opening in 2006, Glenstone has used its Gallery building for thematic group exhibitions and monographic surveys, the latter of which have featured the works of Roni Horn, Fred Sandback, and Peter Fischli David Weiss. When the new Glenstone opens on October 4, the Gallery will be installed with the temporary exhibition Louise Bourgeois: To Unravel a Torment. This five-decade survey of Bourgeois’s achievement, drawn entirely from Glenstone’s collection, features nearly thirty works, from the artist’s early wooden “Personage” sculptures (1947-1954) through the room-like installations she called “Cells” (1990-1993) and includes a recently acquired masterpiece, The Destruction of the Father, 1974, that was a turning point in her career. The exhibition, which opened in May 2018, will remain on view through January 2020.
Outdoor Sculpture at Glenstone
Outdoor sculptures integrated into the landscape at Glenstone include major works by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, FOREST (for a thousand years…), 2012; Robert Gober, Two Partially Buried Sinks, 1986-1987; Andy Goldsworthy, Clay Houses (Boulder-Room-Holes), 2007; Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled, 1992-1995, realized posthumously by Glenstone in 2007; Ellsworth Kelly, Untitled, 2005; Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker, 2000, the only permanent installation of this monumental floral sculpture; Richard Serra,Sylvester, 2001, and the commissioned Contour 290, 2004; and Tony Smith, Smug, 1973/2005, realized by Glenstone in its intended painted aluminum version after the artist’s death, in close collaboration with his family.

The Architecture and Landscape of Glenstone
Visitors arriving at Glenstone do not immediately enter the museum building, but instead leave their cars in a parking grove and go to a freestanding Arrival Hall, clad with cedar on the exterior and finished inside with white maple. After being greeted and getting their bearings, the visitors proceed on a short journey, passing over a stream on a timber bridge, crossing an expansive meadow with an outdoor sculpture visible in the distance, and then beginning to glimpse the Pavilions on the contoured path through low, rolling hills, wooded with honey locusts, oaks, and tulip trees.

As the path curves up a rise in the land, visitors at last get their first full view of the Pavilions, which at this point appears to be a cluster of simple masonry forms, varying in size and embedded in the top of a knoll. It is only when they go into the Entry Pavilion and then descend to gallery level that they discern that the apparently separate structures of the Pavilions are in fact a ring of rooms, connected by the glass-walled Passage that lines the Water Court.

Natural light is fundamental to the design of the Pavilions. Most rooms have large clerestories or laylights to provide balanced daylight from above. The play of light and shadow varies throughout the day, and as the seasons change the light fluctuates, revealing subtle qualities in the artworks and providing a more natural and nuanced viewing experience.

To punctuate their encounters with the art, visitors may step outside to the Water Court for a quiet, contemplative moment with the open air, the sky, and the plantings of water lilies, rushes, and irises that change through the seasons. From within the Water Court, it is also possible to appreciate how the primary materials of the Pavilions evoke a direct, timeless, and elemental dialogue with the natural surroundings. The exteriors are made of stacked blocks of cast concrete, individually poured to measure six feet long, a foot high, and a foot deep. Although no color-altering pigment was used, the pouring method and mixture of cement and sand result in slight variations in the light gray color and in the texture. This finish contrasts with the smooth precision of the windows, which have been specially engineered using glass panels as large as nine feet by thirty feet and are set flush into stainless steel mullions. The glass surfaces and concrete blocks form a seamless skin that bridges the building’s indoor and outdoor spaces.

Much as Thomas Phifer designed the architecture as part of the experience of landscape and art, PWP Landscape Architecture has designed the landscape to be integrated with the art and architecture. “Instead of focusing the landscape design around the buildings and making them singular destinations,” Adam Greenspan explains, “we proposed from the start to unify the property as a destination in its entirety, outside the city. Our goal is to slow people down in their experience of the setting, changing their daily tempo and expectations of ornamental suburban plantings. Visitors will come to an integrated and relaxed way of focusing on the art and architecture, within an almost rural landscape that foregrounds the dynamic qualities of nature.”

The landscape design integrates walking paths, bridges, and restored streams, meadows, and woodlands. Glenstone has planted over 8,000 trees on the site since opening in 2006 and has developed approximately 33 acres of mown pasture land into sustainable meadows with a range of indigenous flora. The visitor entrance is framed by dry-stack stone walls constructed by a master craftsman with stone sourced from a nearby quarry.

Glenstone manages its landscape through exclusively organic methods, supporting a wide range of local ecosystems and maintaining a balance between native flora and fauna and the museum’s human-made structures. As part of its commitment to sustainability, the new Glenstone incorporates a freestanding Environmental Center, a multiuse maintenance and education facility where, in 2019, visitors may learn about techniques practiced by the museum, including on-site composting, compost tea-brewing, natural landscape management, waste reduction, materials recycling, and water conservation.

Publications
On the occasion of the re-opening, Glenstone has published a series of books about the work of artists represented in the collection, available at the museum or through Artbook | D.A.P. (www.artbook.com). Edited by Emily Wei Rales in collaboration with Glenstone’s curatorial staff and featuring original texts by a range of scholars, the amply illustrated, full-color publications include a catalogue accompanying the exhibition Louise Bourgeois: To Unravel a Torment and monographs about some of the artists shown in the Pavilions. In addition, Glenstone has published a visitor-friendly, 64-page Field Guide, featuring alphabetized entries by 56 contributors about the museum’s art, architecture, and landscape and light-hearted illustrations by Jordan Awan.

About Glenstone Museum
Glenstone, a museum of modern and contemporary art, is integrated into more than 230 acres of gently rolling pasture and unspoiled woodland in Montgomery County, Maryland, less than 15 miles from the heart of Washington, DC. Established by the not-for-profit Glenstone Foundation, the museum opened in 2006 and provides a contemplative, intimate setting for experiencing iconic works of art and architecture within a natural environment.

Glenstone is open Thursdays through Sundays, 10 am to 5 pm. Visitors are invited to explore the grounds on their own or join one of several outdoor sculpture tours offered throughout the day. Admission to Glenstone and parking are free and visits can be scheduled online at: www.glenstone.org. Same-day visits can be scheduled using the website or a smartphone. Please note: Glenstone is closed to the public until the grand re-opening on October 4.

Soon at an art fair in the USA

"Sonnets to the Portuguese (Homage to Elizabeth Barrett Browning)"
Detail -- Charcoal, conte and watercolor. 12x19 inches. 2018

SAVE THE DATE: Mayor's Arts Awards!

The Mayor's Arts Awards are the most prestigious honors conferred by the city on individual artists, teachers, nonprofit organizations and patrons of the arts. This year, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities will present the 33rd Annual Mayor's Arts Awards. Artists and Organizations will be recognized in six categories: Excellence in Visual Arts, Excellence in Performance Arts, Excellence in Creative Industries, Excellence in Arts Education, Excellence in the Humanities and The Larry Neal Writers' Award.

The Demon of Lust

"Fallen Angels: Asmodeus, Demon of Lust."
(Detail) 19x12 inches, c. 2018. Charcoal, conte and watercolor.
Soon at an art fair in the USA. 

In the Malleus Maleficarum, Asmodeus was considered te demon of lust.  He has also been recorded as the result of the coupling between Adam and the angel of prostitution, Naamah, conceived while Adam was married to The Lilith.

Lest we forget




"Studio View, 9/11"
Oil on Canvas c. 9/11/2001 by David FeBland

Prices soar for Washington Color School artists

From Jean Efron Art Consultants:

A group of loosely affiliated artists working in Washington, DC in the 1960s and 1970s, known as The Washington Color School primarily because of their use of pure color as the subject matter of their paintings, has received heightened attention in the art market, both nationally and internationally.

A major characteristic of Color School paintings is the use of unprimed canvas on which diluted pigment was applied, sometimes by pouring, permitting the pigment to do strange and wonderful things as it soaked into the canvas and spread into adjoining colors or the bare canvas. Perhaps one of the most creative applications of this technique was adopted by Sam Gilliam in his early paintings by folding the canvas after pigment had been applied and while it was still wet. By folding and unfolding the pigment stained canvas Gilliam created a group of stunningly beautiful paintings having unexpected forms of deep and shimmering colors.

Recently, one of these stained and folded paintings sold at Sotheby's in London for over $1.2 million, setting a world-wide auction record for the artist. Washington, DC art consultant, Jean Efron, who consigned the painting to Sotheby's on behalf of the sellers, said, “We are seeing very strong demand for Sam Gilliam's early work. The stained and folded canvases, in particular, have attracted a lot of attention because they are recognized as representing a singular original development in the history of American art. I think it is very appropriate that a Sam Gilliam painting that achieved a record auction price was owned by a Washington, DC collector.” Jean Efron Art Consultants recently facilitated the private sale of another important early Sam Gilliam artwork that had been in an owner’s collection for more than four decades.

Gilliam’s early work (1967 through 1973) is the subject of a major exhibition at the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland. According to Efron, "Sam has always been recognized as a major creative force in American Art. I have always considered him one of the most creative artists I have known. The Basel exhibition is the most recent demonstration of that recognition. However, only recently, has that recognition migrated into the art market pushing up prices for his work, in some cases dramatically.                           

Efron's firm, Jean Efron Art Consultants, has recently represented a number of clients selling paintings by Sam Gilliam. However, she says, "Sam Gilliam is not the only artist identified with the Washington Color School whose paintings are attracting a lot of attention in the art market. We are seeing strong demand for paintings by Alma Thomas, whose work has dramatically increased in value in the past two or three years as has some of the work of Anne Truitt. And, of course, the work of Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland always have enthusiastic buyers.” Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Thomas Downing and Gene Davis are perhaps most closely associated with the Color School. Sam Gilliam’s early work, and some of the work of Alma Thomas and Paul Reed, as well as the work of Leon Berkowitz, Thomas Mehring and Anne Truitt are also considered by some to be included with The Washington Color School designation. According to Efron, “It is not unusual to see exceptional examples of works by Gilliam, Alma Thomas, Louis, and Noland being offered and sold for seven figure prices.”

About Jean Efron Art Consultants LLC: Jean Efron Art Consultants LLC is a Washington, DC, based art advisory firm that provides comprehensive fine art services. Since 1973, the firm has provided collection development and management services to both private and public clients including many of Washington, DC’s most discerning law firms, developers, associations and corporations.

Soon at an art fair near you... somewhere

"Suddenly, She Wasn't Afraid Any Longer"
(The Lilith)
18x12, Charcoal and Watercolor, c. 2018

Liberty Call

"Two American Sailors on Liberty Call, Plage de la Bocca, Cannes."
9x12 inches, charcoal and conte on paper, circa 2018.

Ahead of its reopening, the Glenstone Museum is being sued

The Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland—a private institution near Washington, D.C. housing the collection of Mitchell and Emily Wei Rales—is being sued for $24 million by the contracting firm that oversaw its recently completed $200 million expansion.

Read the whole story here. 

Trawick Prize Winners Announced - $10,000 Best in Show Prize Awarded

Artist Caroline Hatfield Awarded $10,000; Exhibit Open Through Sept. 29

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, a juried art competition produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, announced the 2018 prize winners during last night’s exhibit opening reception. Caroline Hatfield from Baltimore, MD was awarded “Best in Show” and received the $10,000 top prize; Nicole Salimbene from Takoma Park, MD was named second place and given $2,000; and Timothy Makepeace from Washington, D.C. was bestowed third place and received $1,000.

Caroline Hatfield explores concepts of utopia and science fiction through her interdisciplinary practice. Her studio practice utilizes methods of sculpture, installation, photography and drawing to investigate landscape. Hatfield’s sculptural landscapes are composed of industrial relics, geological formations and mutable material which obscure boundaries and accumulate into form. She has had solo exhibits at Towson University in Towson, MD, Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD, La Bodega Gallery in Baltimore, MD and Small Hall Gallery, Knoxville, TN. Most recently she had a solo exhibit at The Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. Now based in Baltimore, Hatfield earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Tennessee and her Master of Fine Arts in interdisciplinary studio art from Towson University. 

2018 Trawick Prize Finalists

Lori Anne Boocks, Germantown, MD

Clay Dunklin, Laurel, MD

Mary Early, Washington, D.C.

Jay Gould, Baltimore, MD

Caroline Hatfield, Baltimore, MD

Phaan Howng, Baltimore, MD

Timothy Makepeace, Washington, D.C.

Nicole Salimbene, Takoma Park, MD

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, established by Carol Trawick in 2003, is one of the first regional competitions and largest prizes to annually honor visual artists. A longtime community activist in downtown Bethesda, Ms. Trawick has served as the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Strathmore and the Maryland State Arts Council. The Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation was established in 2007 after the Trawicks sold their successful information technology company. A former teacher and entrepreneur, Ms. Trawick remains engaged in a range of philanthropic causes through the Foundation, which was established to assist health and human services and arts non-profits in Montgomery County. The Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation has awarded grants to more than 90 nonprofits.

The work of the finalists will be on exhibit at Gallery B, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, until September 29. The public opening reception will be Friday, September 14 from 6-8pm. Gallery hours for the duration of the exhibit are Wednesday through Saturday, 12 – 6pm.

Entries were juried by Christopher Bedford, Director of The Baltimore Museum of Art; Sukjin Choi, Head of Ceramics and Associate Professor of Art at James Madison University; and Valerie Fletcher, Independent Art Historian and Senior Curator Emerita at the Hirshhorn Museum.

To date, The Trawick Prize has awarded $220,000 in prize monies and has exhibited the work of more than 135 regional artists. Previous Best in Show recipients include Richard Cleaver, 2003; David Page, 2004; Jiha Moon, 2005; James Rieck, 2006; Jo Smail, 2007; Maggie Michael, 2008; Rene Trevino, 2009; Sara Pomerance, 2010; Mia Feuer, 2011; Lillian Bayley Hoover, 2012; Gary Kachadourian, 2013; Neil Feather, 2014; Jonathan Monaghan, 2015; Lauren Adams, 2016 and Larry Cook, 2017.

Call for Maryland Artists!

Seeking Artwork for Upcoming Fall Exhibition

Deadline Friday, September 21, 2018

Maryland has a rich and diverse tradition of capturing and expressing the physical and cultural fabric of our state and its people. The range of expression from plein air painting, to urban photography, to writing and poetry, reveals and communicates the environments of the present influenced by the past.

The Maryland State Arts Council is especially looking for work from plein air festivals throughout the state as well as photography and other mixed media work. Two-dimensional work of any media, representational or abstract, that is framed and ready to hang and no larger than 8’ w x 5’ h.  

The exhibition is part of the Art on the Fly exhibition space at the Maryland State Arts Council office, 175 W. Ostend Street, Baltimore, MD 21230. Deadline for submissions is Friday, September 21, 2018.

Artists submit an application on Submittable and may include up to four (4) slides of documentation of the artwork proposed to be included in the exhibition. If work is accepted into the exhibition, the artwork must be framed (including writing and/or poetry works) with the artist’s contact information printed on the back, and if the artwork is for sale (via the artist).

Artwork must be dropped-off or delivered to the Maryland State Arts Council office between October 15-19, 2018.

The Exhibition Opening Reception is scheduled October 25, 6:00-8:00 PM.

Work will be de-installed the week of January 14, 2019, and must be picked up by January 18, 2019.

 If you have any question regarding the art submission, please email Rosa Chang at Rosa.Chang@Maryland.gov  

Call to Female Artists: The Bennett Prize

Deadline: September 28, 2018

The Pittsburgh Foundation & The Muskegon Museum of Art (MMA) in Muskegon, MI announce a call to artists for The Bennett Prize. 

Ten (10) finalists will each receive $1,000 to participate in a traveling exhibition. One woman receives $50,000 and a solo exhibition. 

Jurors: Steven Alan Bennett (The Bennett Prize), Art Martin (The Muskegon Museum of Art), Andrea Kowch (Artist), Maria Tomasula (University of Notre Dame). 

Open only to living women artists who: 

• Are eighteen (18) years or older, 
• Reside in the United States (at least part of the year), 
• Will submit work (and work for any exhibition) that does not have to cross an international border to reach MMA, 
• Have primary practice as the creation of original paintings in the genre of figurative realism, 
• Are currently pursuing, or intend to pursue, a career as a full-time painter and 
• Will not be a student during The Prize residency. 

Artists must have works available for exhibition and travel from Feb. 1, 2019 through at least the end of 2021. All entries must be traditional paintings, which is defined as paint upon a two-dimensional surface. Mixed media pieces will be considered, as long as paint is the primary material. Paintings must depict representational images of one or more figures. Paintings rendered over photographic images are not eligible. Only original works completed in the past 5 years are eligible. 

$50 entry fee. For more information, visit this site, Contact: amartin@mpsk12.net or call Muskegon Museum of Art at 231-720-2582. Website here.

Wanna go to an opening this Friday?

MICRO-MONUMENTS II: UNDERGROUND
Presented by IA&A at Hillyer in partnership with the Washington Sculptors Group

September 7 – October 28, 2018
Opening Reception: Friday, September 7, 6-9pm

MICRO-MONUMENTS II brings together 15 Washington, DC and 8 German artists to focus a contemporary lens on topics such as the cosmos, nature, deep time, and more, to serve as a catalyst for exploration into enduring questions about our history and place in the world.

Participating Artists: Ursula Achternkamp, Alan Binstock, Janet Brome, Marc Fromm, Judith Goodman, Caroline Hatfield, Linda Hesh, Simon Horn, Margit Jäschke, Michael Krenz, Esther Eunjin Lee, Jacqueline Maggi, Georg Mann, Joan Mayfield, Nina Viktoria Naussed, Sara Parent-Ramos, Alim Pasht-Han, Kristina Penhoet, Judith Pratt, Diane Szczepaniak, Marilyn and Gil Ugiansky, Steve Wanna, and Janet Wittenberg. Juried by Laura Roulet

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
9/20/18 Curator/Juror/Artist Talk: Thursday, September 20, 7pm
9/29/18 Art All Night at Hillyer: Citywide Festival, Saturday, September 29, 7pm-midnight
10/10/18 Panel Discussion: Wednesday, October 10, 7pm at Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies, House-A. The Center for Hellenic Studies is located at 3100 Whitehaven St NW, Washington, DC.

IA&A at Hillyer
9 Hillyer Court NW
Washington, DC 20008
www.athillyer.org
Tel. (202) 338-0325

Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Friday 12-6 pm, Saturday-Monday 12-5 pm, and by appointment.

Superfine Art Fair coming to DC

ARTISTS:
LENNOX F. CAMPELLO
DARLENE DAVIS (PATERA KORI STUDIOS)
ELISA FARROW-SAVOS
MARGERY GOLDBERG
STEPHEN HANSEN
LEN HARRIS
CHRIS HAYMAN
PHIL HAZARD
BERNIE HOUSTON
HUBERT JACKSON
JOAN KONKEL
ANITA KUNZ
ANNE MARCHAND
KRISTINE MAYS
CAROL NEWMYER
KEITH NORVAL
LARRY RINGGOLD
SUZY SCARBOROUGH
GAVIN SEWELL
BRADLEY STEVENS
CURTIS WOODY

Museum Call for Artists

Deadline: November 26, 2018. 

The Ormond Memorial Art Museum is accepting submissions from artists in a variety of styles and media for exhibitions in late 2018 and 2019. Individual and small group submissions are welcome.  The museum is not able to cover shipping costs of work.   

Details for submitting can be found at www.ormondartmuseum.org.  Follow the “get involved” tab on the top right to the Call for Artist link. Submissions are needed by mail by Nov. 26, 2018 and are nonreturnable.  You will be notified of outcome.