Superfine! DC Preview

Superfine! DC opened on Halloween night and will go through the weekend - I plan to visit tomorrow and (as I usually do to any art fair that I visit) I will give you my opinions and selection of the best works that I saw there. Here's a blurb from the fair itself:

On Halloween night, more than 600 DC art lovers braved the autumn chill and came out in full force to experience the opening night of the capital's foremost art fair. We're thrilled to be DC's art fair, and can't wait for what the weekend has in store. From a Young Collectors' Ice Cream Social with cookie sundaes (!!!) by Trickling Springs Creamery to our OUTshine Film Festival-curated series of LGBTQ+ art shorts, Superfine! DC has a lot to offer - not to mention hundreds of incredible works of art ready to discover their new homes

Check out an opening night photo recap here.

I've been visiting the fair's online presence regularly, and as the planet's greatest living art fair critic, here are the works which caught my eye (so far...):

Nate by Marin Swift
9 x 9 inches framed. Oil on Panel

Martin Swift oil portraits at Monochrome Collective are spectacular artistic muscle-flexing portraits that showcase this artist's command of the classical chiaroscuro technique while concurrently revitalizing it to a modern context! Each portrait is not only a likeness of some individual, but also a psychological narrative of that individual!

The DMV's longest running gallery, Zenith Gallery (disclaimer: I am represented by them at the fair) is full of DC area blue chip artists such as Anne Marchand, Elissa Farrow-Savos (who will probably sell out), Emily Piccirillo, Margery Goldberg, and many others, but it is Stephen Hansen who (as usual) steals the show with his humorous works, which are in reality superb works of art disguised as the rare "humor in art" genre.

Potomac's RoFa Projects, a key and hardworking DMV area art dealer who does art fairs all over the planet has elegant works by Fabian Ugalde, Jose Margulis and Raymond Romero which not only work wll together, but also should satisfy the appetite of collectors of minimalist art.

They’ll Work It Out by Gregory Ferrand
24 x 12 inches. Acrylic on Canvas, c.2017

Kensington's Adah Rose Gallery, another hardworking DMV area art dealer which travels to art fairs all over the country is also well-represented in the fair, with many DMV/Baltimore blue chip artists such as Gregory Ferrand, who just keeps on getting impossibly better and better as a painter and storyteller, Joan Belmar, Jessica Drank and others.

A Long Way to Go by Susan LaMont
18 x 40 inches. Oil on Canvas

The locals continue to be well-represented by the District's Susan Calloway Fine Arts, where one of my favorite DMV artists of all time, Susan LaMont displays her hyper-realistic paintings, which after all these years continue to amaze me as much as the first time that I saw them decades ago! Art fair pro and my good bud Matthew Langley also stands out with his elegant abstract works, as he always does...

I also liked the sexy and intelligent photographs by Lori Cuisinier, whose sensual wok stands out simply buy the sheer eroticism of the human figure when coupled with compositional elements and props that makes the viewer ask questions.

Superfine! is one of the few art fairs which allow individual artists' booths, and the DC online version is full of talent such as the interesting works by the District's Noel Kassewitz, which I suspect I'll have to examine in person to see get the full impact of their art, but which online look superb nonetheless.

Her Echo Her Shadow by Scott Hutchison
16 x 20 inches. Oil on Linen, c.2017

Another artist whose work I've known and admired for decades is Scott Hutchison. Like LaMont, Hutchison is a master of the realistic brush, but Sott has always veered towards works which stretch the visual senses and modernize some of the ideas of the surrealists of ages ago. Hutchison is one of those artists that in any other city, where local museum curators pay attention to their city artists (as they do not in the DMV), would have been, and should be in the radar of a Hirshhorn Museum curator for a ground-breaking solo.

Susan Jamison and Colleen Garibaldi also caught my eye and will be inspected in person tomorrow!

See ya there! Tickets and info here.

Through Friday till 7:00 PM and Sunday, Nov 4, 2018, to 8:00 PM EDT.

LOCATION
Union Market
1309 5th Street Northeast
Dock 5 Event Space
Washington, DC 20002

Our booth in SOFA

Our booth in SOFA Chicago, where we're showcasing the works of Lori Katz, Christine Kaiser and Laura Beth Konopinski! 

We're in Booth A39.

#sofaartfair #sofachicago #alidaandersonartprojects

Lou Stovall to speak at Sidwell Friends School

My good friend and legendary DMV artist Lou Stovall will speak at Sidwell Friends School next Wednesday Nov 7, 6-8:30pm, as part of the exhibition of his artwork which will be on display in the Daryl Reich Rubenstein Gallery ••• Sidwell Friends School, 3825 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20016.

Click here to register for the lecture.

Lou Stovall was born in Athens, Georgia in 1937 and grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and at Howard University (B.F.A.). Since 1962, he has lived and worked in Washington, DC. His drawings and silkscreen prints have earned him grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Stern Family Fund.

Stovall's own prints and drawings are part of numerous public and private collections throughout the world. Though his craft is that of a printmaker, Stovall's passion for art extends beyond a single medium. He gives the same care and attention to his archival framing and furniture construction as he does to his intricate prints and drawings. Please visit his website for more information.

SOFA Chicago opens tonight!

If you're in the windy city, come see us at the iconic SOFA Chicago art fair! Details here.

Work by Lori Katz, Christine Kaiser and Laura Beth Konopinski!

Hang Purge, c. 2018 by Laura Beth Konopinski
Blown glass, sculpted and re-purposed glass, enamel image transfer, mixed media
17 × 8 × 8 in;

Superfine! DC Launches Tonight

Superfine! DC opens tonight at Union Market with a spooktacular Masquerade Vernissage on Halloween night. 

All the details of the fair here! My work is with DC's own Zenith Gallery - see that work here.

LOCATION
Union Market
1309 5th Street Northeast
Dock 5 Event Space
Washington, DC 20002    MAP

DATE & TIME  
Masquerade Opening Event: Wednesday Oct 31~ 7 pm-11 pm
Thursday Nov 1  11 am - 10 pm
Friday Nov 2       11 am - 10 pm
Saturday Nov 3  11 am - 10 pm
Sunday Nov 4    11 am -  8 pm

Call for Solo Exhibition Proposals

Deadline: December 31, 2018. 

Arts & 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.

Opportunity for Artists

The Visual Arts Department at Montgomery College, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus has a great opportunity for emerging and established artists. The King Street Gallery is their main exhibition space in the beautiful Cafritz Foundation Arts Center, located just outside of DC at 930 King Street, Silver Spring MD, and features two person and small group shows, as well as curated exhibitions. This light filled, 1050 square foot gallery is in the main atrium of the building. Its prominent location, open design, and extremely high ceilings (30 feet+) make it a great venue for major exhibitions.

The deadline for King Street Gallery proposals is November 25, 2018 at 11:59 p.m.

Application prospectus and JotForm link can be viewed here.

Superfine opens this Wednesday

The DMV's latest attempt to enter the circuit of world cities with a major international art fair opens this Wednesday!

See ya there!

Getting closer...

“You’re right,” the Turk agreed, staring back. “He isn’t gaining on us. He’s just getting closer, that’s all.” 
― William Goldman, The Princess Bride

Art Scam Alert!

Beware of this mutant trying to rip off artists!

From:  bisolayowon@gmail.com joycecris998@gmail.com

Hello 

Am sarah engler want to order some of your product which willbe resold,will be making payment by credit card details over Phone conversation for security Purpose.can i forward you the items Interested in Ordering for Quotation.

Thank You 

sarah  

Mark Jenkins on Superfine

The WaPo pops through the DMV MSM apathy wall towards the local visual arts!

Yeah Mark!

Like its more grown-up-oriented competitors, Superfine is a lively, glamorous bazaar that exists to sell art offered by galleries, dealers and artists. Mitow says he brought the fair to Washington because of its large population of young, high-income residents, as well as its booming real estate market and location between Miami and New York, the first two Superfine cities. 

“There’s a rift in the art market. It’s the only industry that has historically tried to keep customers out,” Mitow says over coffee at Union Market on a scouting trip to Washington. “I want people to be able to see themselves as collectors.”

Read his article here.

Rubenstein Guest Artist Lecture

Rubenstein Guest Artist Lecture featuring the work of

LOU STOVALL

master printmaker and renowned DC artist

  

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2018

Special Reception
6:00 p.m.
Daryl Reich Rubenstein Gallery

Guest Artist Lecture
7:30 p.m.
Robert L. Smith Meeting Room

Kindly RSVP by Friday, Nov. 2nd 

Three vintage illustrations from the 70s

These three vintage pieces from the late 70s - which I did as illustrations for a privately printed book and which were sold at the Pike Place Market in Seattle while I was an art student at the University of Washington School of Art in Seattle (1977-1981) -- are being sold directly by the owner.

Anyone interested? Send me a note and I will put you in direct touch with her...

MoCo Awards

County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett will present nine community leaders with awards in recognition of significant contributions to Montgomery County’s arts and cultural community during a special award ceremony held at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus. Take a look at this year's honorees. 

SOFA Chicago

We're at SOFA Chicago again - our fourth or fifth year participating! This year we're showcasing the work of DMV artists Lori Katz and Laura Beth Konopinski, as well as the work of artist Christine Kaiser!

November 1-4!

Come see us in booth A39 at SOFA - November 1-4

            600 East Grand Avenue
            Festival Hall at the Navy Pier
            Chicago, IL 60611

Send me a note for a free admission pass!

SOFA Chicago coming...

Great Moments in Art, III

Zenith Gallery continues its 40th Anniversary celebration with a new exhibit from Stephen Hansen, who has been with the gallery all 40 years! In this, his third Great Moments in Art show at Zenith, Hansen has meticulously recreated selections from two centuries of painting, and then added small sculpted painters on scaffolds who appear to be doing the actual painting. Their interactions with the paintings are witty and surprising. In each charming parody, from Trumbull’s iconic portrait of Alexander Hamilton, to Lichtenstein’s Pop Art Nurse, Hansen’s survey of great paintings is sure to please.

“This series started with a Rothko, and the notion that one's life work might have been accomplished one brilliant weekend with a roller. What if art work really was, well...work? And paintings were done by, well… painters? It had never occurred to me, until I became involved in this project, to pretend to be someone else for a few days. It is a bit like a holiday, though I would recommend Gauguin over van Gogh.”

Hansen has had one-man shows in galleries and museums in Detroit, Chicago, Santa Fe, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Scottsdale, Palm Springs, and New York. His unique paper mache sculptures are included in museum, corporate, private, and government collections including the New Mexico Capitol Art Collection in Santa Fe, The Federal Reserve and Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and United States Embassies in Naples, Italy and Caracas, Venezuela.

Great Moments in Art III

Works by Stephen Hansen

Show Dates:  November 9 - December 1, 2018

MEET THE ARTIST RECEPTIONS: 

Friday, November 9, 5:00-8:00 PM

Saturday, November 10, 2:00-6:00 PM 

1429 Iris Street, NW, Washington DC 20012-1409

Bad glass juju?

I ask the question because I got some bad juju going on today...

My day started at 0545 with my Blackberry (yes, I still use a Blackberry, and I believe that President Obama and I are the last two users left on the planet) vibrating in its alarm mode to wake me up gently without waking up the other sleeping members of the Campello household.

I reached over rather quickly, as I always do, in order to attenuate the device, as the vibrations eventually shift into a rapidly escalating "Sunrise" music if the person being woken does not pick it up and turns the alarm off.

As I did, I accidentally hit the glass of water that I always have by my bedside, and which is usually a plastic glass, in case I knock it off in my groggy state, and it falls on the floor. The problem is or was, that last night I had a glass made out of real glass.

The fall from the night table to the wood floor usually wouldn't break a tempered glass like this solid one was, but the laws of Murphy took over and the glass, full of water to the brim, took a trajectory between the night table and the bed itself, and its edge managed to hit the metal edge of the undercarriage of the bed itself.

Luckily, it a good tempered glass, and it only broke into 347 pieces instead of a million shards, while at the same time, and in defiance of nearly every physics laws of any planet with significant gravitational pull, soaked the side of the mattress.

It also made a lot of noise.

"Mom?", came Anderson's concerned voice from his nearby room, now awoken by the noise and slightly alarmed. He has been well trained, and only calls on Mom if there are any issues during lights out operations in the Campello household.

"It's OK honey," responds my wife's fully awake voice, not the usual early morning, vocal-fry voice, "Daddy dropped his glass of water... go back to sleep."

"Good luck with that," I say softly (very softly) to myself softly as I wander into the bathroom to grab a towel to soak up the water off the wooden floors and scoop up the broken glass before anyone steps on that. Ten minutes later the floor has been taken care of, and in somewhat of a miracle, not a single shard of glass has made its way to my hands.

A quick shower and I'm ready to head out. 

As today is the day that I pick up Anderson from school, and take him to his swim practice. Since while I'm there I usually spend that hour surfing the net on my iPad, I grab my iPad, my WiFi device, my Blackberry, a bag of nuts, his giant-assed backpack full of his swimming gear, three slices of cheese, a little plastic container with some leftover chicken, my water bottle and my car keys.

Should have made two or three trips, because as soon as I get to the van and start unloading, I drop not the WiFi device, nor the Blackberry, or bag of nuts, or his giant-assed backpack full of his swimming gear, or any of the three slices of cheese, or the little plastic container with some leftover chicken, or the water bottle, or the car keys.

Nope, I dropped the iPad, which of course, and as designed by Apple, does a perfect corner landing which results in multiple cracks across the surface of the device.

Hey! I'm still not mad - but now I'm aware that shit like this comes in threes... so Lenny is gonna be super alert this morning while driving on the beltway as I head north towards a Maryland fort named after a Union general, but I'm not naming names in case NBC alleges that I'm heading to someplace named after a Confederate general, if any of those still remain.

I get to my destination safely, and once in the nice office, I log into my computer, get distracted by something on TV about some lady with a lot of names who's been busted as a leaker at the Treasury Department, and my screen saver times out. Now fully distracted and not as wary as I was just 30 minutes earlier, I absent-mindedly, and for the first time that I can recall, ever... ever... type the wrong password into my system, which immediately locks me out, as I have it designed to allow only two tries, beacuse the Lenster never fucks up his password.

Until today, that is.

Now I need to go to the IT gods to get help, and thus I start that trek, now slightly wary once again of the way events are turning out this morning - it's not even 9 o'clock yet, but I'm back in DEFCON 3, just in case.

I get my computer unlocked rather easily by a nice IT guy who looks to be about 12, and breathe a sigh of relief - crap like this comes in threes, and in my mind the three bad things had already occurred and the kid is home free.

Not so fast - you see, there were two "glass" things (the glass of water and the iPad glass screen), so in reconstructing what happened next, it is clear that another "glass" thing was in storage.

Ready?

There is some kind of code in Montgomery County that dictates that floor levels between doors have to be even and have some sort of ramp if the floor descends on the side of the door that opens. This is clearly not the case (or it is not enforced) in Anne Arundel county. How do I know that? Because as I was leaving this building on a side door, on the other side of the exit door, there was a lower floor which descended a full human step.

As if that was not bad enough, as I stumbled upon the unexpected drop, there was a well-worn furniture dolly on the floor... right in front of where my foot, or anyone's fucking feet coming from the other side of the blind door, as it opened towards the lower level floor, would land.

 Notice that I described it as "well-worn", as this is important to the series of events which took place next. The dolly's protective carpet edging around the corners were all but gone after many years of service... nothing at all like the image to the left - but nothing but sharp wooden corners at the edges.

Someone was either moving in and out, and (I think) the dolly was being used to help carry some loads from the edge of the door to the sixteen milimiters to the double glass doors leading to the steps which descended to the street in front of this building's side entrance. And someone had left it right in front of a door that opens towards that area, with a blind drop of eight inches or so.

I accidentally stepped onto the empty dolly, which lurched forward as my momemtum was progressive (cough, cough), and I lost my balance. I managed to grab the door push-bar and did not fall, but the dolly shot forward towards the double glass doors.

Normally, those doors would have been closed, and normally, a carpet-edge-protected dolly would have just bounced off the thick glass doors, and normally - even if well worn and sharp as these dolly's corners apparently were -- chances are that the dolly would have struck the door on one of its sides, rather than a sharp corner - a 50% chance to be exact.

Even if a dolly's sharp corner struck the glass dors while the doors were closed, the incidence angle would most likely just cause the dolly to bounce off the doors... the double glass doors.

However, in this case, whoever was the Einstein who was moving in or out -- and whom had left the fucking dolly on the other side of a blind-opening door which descends onto a blind step -- was in the process of coming back into the building. And he had just pulled one of the glass doors towards him, so when the dolly (now at a perfect 45 degree angle of incidence), struck the glass door (also at a perfect and no longer perpendicular or horizontal angle, but perfectly angled to receive the sharp corner in the most destructive manner angle posible) was hit, it shattered into a perfect cobweb of fisures threatening to explode into a burst of broken glass.

I know it was him, because he was carring a medium sized box - certainly not dolly-worthy, but maybe he had more boxes coming, although it seemed to me (in retrospect) that this Einstein should have placed the dolly (if he was moving in) on the other side of the door and thus the higher step level!

And thus, in the precise timing sequence that I step on the dolly, and it goes flying forward, and Einstein opens the glass door, and the dolly smacks the glass door and shatters it, a third actor enters the stage, as another twenty-something gent is coming up the steps, absorbed in something important going on in his phone, and not looking at the Keystonian (reference to Keystone Cops for you Millenials - look it up) comedy developing in front of him.

And he was coming up the steps and the dolly was flying down the steps, having bounced off the glass door, and now looking for more victims.

And phone boy, of course, now steps on the descending dolly and goes lurching slightly forward -- and his phone goes flying south and lands (on its corner of course), not on the soft grass that cover 75% of the area in front of this entrance, but on the 25% cement sidewalk, which - as we'll find out soon - shatters the phone's glass screen... cough, cough.

Did you notice that I wrote that phone boy went "forward"? This is important to the story, because some part of phone boy - not sure which - then hits the shattered glass door, which, up to this point has valiantly been holding all the shattered glass within the frame of the door, as a good, well-tempered glass was designed do.

But upon being hit a second time, the glass door lost its temper and exploded into a trillion pieces, covering both Einstein and phone boy in glass shards.

"Are you guys OK?", I ask, truly concerned about these two young guys, and somewhat impressed that Einstein didn't drop the box that he was carrying during this whole sequence.

"My phone!!!!", screams phone boy in horror looking at his empty hand, apparently not caring that he's covered in glass. He looks around, sees the phone on the sidewalk and runs towards it.

"What happened?", asks Einstein slightly dazed, and certainly confused. "The door just exploded...", he adds.

"Somebody left a dolly on the other side of that door", I point out to him, and stop there. I can see that he's reconstructing the incident in his mind. "Are you OK?", I ask him. He nods - not offering any more contributions to the conversation.

I walk over to phone boy, and ask him the same question. "My phone!!!", he responds in agony.

Later on, it dawns on me that - technically, if you count his phone - four "glass" incidents have happened today.

I hope that the bad juju is over for the day... although my lower back is feeling a little tender after that "funny" step onto the dolly.

And it's still morning...

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: January 15, 2019. 

The Peninsula School of Art is currently accepting exhibition proposals for 2020 and 2021 in their Guenzel Gallery. 

Exhibitions of all media will be considered. Exhibitions will be chosen by the Director of Public Programs with support from PenArt’s Gallery Committee. Exhibitions are awarded based on criteria including, relevance to the our educational mission and overall artistic quality. 

Artists, curators, groups, and/or organizers are welcome to apply and will be notified approximately one month after the deadline. No submission materials will be returned. 

Exhibition Proposals should include: Cover letter including description of proposed exhibition Digital portfolio of 15-20 images, or a single link to a maximum five minute video of current artwork, representative of work proposed for the exhibition. Include artwork title, medium, size, and year. Resume Artist statement and biography 

Contact information including: telephone, address, and email. 

Please email question and all submissions to Kendra Bulgrin: exhibit@PeninsulaSchoolofArt.org and http://www.peninsulaschoolofart.org/

Monster Drawing Rally at GRACE

SAVE THE DATE: SECOND ANNUAL  

MONSTER DRAWING RALLY 

DECEMBER 1, 1--- 5PM

With artists selected by Jessica Stafford Davis, STABLE, and GRACE 

Join the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) and artists from across Virginia, Maryland, and DC for a live drawing event and fundraiser! The Monster Drawing Rally turns the GRACE gallery into a public performance space as over 50 artists create unique artworks on-site using their preferred media. As the works are completed, they will be hung on the wall and available for purchase at $75 each. If more than one person wants to purchase the same artwork there will be a DRAW of cards to determine the winner. NEW THIS YEAR: Our friends Jessica Stafford Davis and the team at STABLE helped us select and invite participating artists! All proceeds benefit the exhibition program at GRACE.

12001 Market Street, Suite 103 | Reston, VA 20190

703.471.9242 | info@restonarts.org | restonarts.org

Calling all DMV Printmakers for AU Alper show!

During the summer of 2019, the Alper will present a group show of DMV artists organized by local curator and printmaker, Matthew McLaughlin. In order to be considered, you must submit a short bio, artist statement, and up to 10 images to the Alper Initiative’s online database. The exhibition will focus on works utilizing printmaking techniques; such as, but not limited to, relief, intaglio, lithography, screenprint, and monotype. Strictly photographic or digital work will not be accepted, but works that utilize a printmaking process as a process step will be considered. Apply here.

Superfine DC coming!

Art fairs in cities across the world continue to remain as one of the key components of the planet's cultural tapestry, with Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB) still holding the title of the "big dance of the art world" each December in the Greater Miami area.

Other cities around the world, London, Toronto, Madrid, Capetown, Frankfurt, Basel, Buenos Aires, etc., all host and have really good art fairs as well, and many American cities - besides Miami - also host excellent fairs, most notably New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, etc.

And yet, in spite of several attempts by art fair world giants such as the Art Miami group, and by ubercollectors such as Mera Rubell, the DMV's attempts to enter the art fair circuit have failed. Here's my review of the 2008 attempt by Art Miami to start a fair in DC.


It's a paradoxically confounding issue! After all, according to a recent poll, the DMV has the planet's second highest concentration of multi-millionaires, so the disposable income is present in the Greater DC area and surrounding counties (six of the top 10 richest counties in the United States are in the DMV). 

Thus it is a fact that although the money is here, as anyone who's ever tried to sell a piece of art in the area knows, the collectors themselves are far and few in between, and a significant number of the 125,000 millionaires who (according to Census figures) live in the DMV region do not generally buy artwork with the same zest and zeal that they obtain giant mansions in Potomac, and ride around in huge SUVs, or expensive weekend motorcycles.

Why? Because to a certain extent, many of them lack the "formation" (as a Communist would say) to really understand, appreciate and know the difference between a "picture" and a work of art.

It's not that they are stupid or uncultured - after all, most of them are first generation, self made "progressive" men and women, often from blue collar backgrounds, and who worked their way up the capitalism food chain and made themselves what they are today.


Savvy businessmen, too many sharp lawyers, brilliant computer geeks, enviable technocrats - and all with little, if any, exposure to the arts in their upbringing, and more importantly, exposure to the availability of the arts. The last due to the exceptional apathy that our local DMV media has towards the visual arts.

We also have a really good art scene, mostly centered around the many museums which we're lucky to have in the area - mostly all "national" museums, which sucks for DMV artists, since they seldom pay attention to their own backyard, but a lot of museums nonetheless. We also have a lot of great art programs, since we're surrounded by dozens of world class Universities and colleges in the area with terrific art programs. 

We also have highly attended and highly ranked outdoor art festivals - most notably in Bethesda and Reston, and the Artomatic open show draws as many as 1,000 artists and 75,000 visitors!

Our area also has the lowest unemployment rate in the Universe.

All of those things are ingredients which would lead one to think that an art fair would do well around the DMV.

No one has cracked that nut yet, and if you are a constant reader of this blog, then you know that (since I have been participating in art fairs for well over a decade now), I have often offered advice via this blog on how to stage a potentially successful art fair in the DMV. You can read some of that advice, given 10 years ago here.

Art fairs are a huge financial risk to art galleries - You drop $10,000 to $15,000 bucks on an art fair, and if you come home with little or no sales, and an empty bank account... that often means that it is lights out for the gallery. I've seen and heard this happen multiple times in the decade plus that I've been doing art fairs.

What are the art fair costs? There are direct costs and associated costs.

Direct costs are:
(a) Cost of the basic booth
(b) Cost of additional booth stuff (extra walls, extra lights, storage)
(c) Some fairs have a "shared" advertising cost

Associated Costs are:
(a) Cost of required insurance
(b) Cost of transportation of the art. If using own vehicle, then also cost of parking it and gas
(c) Cost of people transportation to the fair, food and hotel, etc.

Bottom Line: Commercial galleries take huge chances at art fairs. My very first art fair all-around cost was about $8,000 over a decade ago in New York - all that was charged on the gallery's credit card and we held our breath while at the fair. We sold about $30,000 worth of art, and thus after commissions to the artists we cleared $15,000 and paid off the credit card, and then had $6,000 to put towards the next art fair fee. 

I can count on one hand the number of times that we have ever sold that much art in any gallery art show in the DMV; and as a reference, I've had a physical brick-and-mortar gallery here of one sort or another since 1996 and through 2009. 

Since those galleries closed - the last one in 2009, three years after I left it, and we went virtual, we've focused on art fairs and done OK - and art fair prices kept going up, and up.  The last art fair that we did in Miami last summer cost over $60,000! It was a giant booth... too big!

But, in the 21st century, doing art fairs is a "must do" not only for independently owned commercial fine art galleries, but also for any and all other genres of visual art spaces (non profits, artists cooperatives, art leagues, art schools, etc.).

What's in an art fair for the artists?

Usually a lot more than for the gallery. I will repeat this: just as often, an artist reaps more good things out of an art fair than the gallery does.

These things include:

(a) Exposure to more art collectors, curators, press, etc. in a few days than in years of exhibiting art around the DMV. You will see more people in 4-5 days than in five ten years at a gallery in the DMV.

(b) Exposure to other galleries who may be interested in your work. I have multiple examples of this - Just ask DMV area artist Judith Peck what has happened to her career once she started showing at art fairs.

(c) A significantly higher chance of getting critical press, as art fair openings are a magnet for nor only the usual press, but also for every other scribe who has anything to do with writing about art.

(d) A significantly higher chance of getting your work noticed by both freelance and museum curators. The chance of getting your work noticed by a DMV museum curator is probably worse than the chance of winning the lottery. Most DMV area museum curators (AU's Jack Rasmussen being the brilliant exception) would rather take a cab to Dulles to fly to Miami to see emerging artists' works at Miami fairs than taking a cab to see a gallery show in Georgetown.

(e) Being part of the art fair "wake effect" --- Read about that here.

(f) A much better chance to getting invited to participate in other shows such as university shows, themed-shows, group shows, etc. Ask Virginia artist Sheila Giolitti about that, or (now) Ohio artist Audrey Wilson.

Twice in the last five or six years I've been retained as an advisor to two giant international art fair conglomerates which were exploring the DMV as a potential site for expansion.

I was pretty brutal with them on the negatives (which I'll gladly expand on upon demand, but most of which have been documented here in the nearly two decades that this blog has been documenting the DMV art scene), and the many great positives, as well as what I thought was the secret code to break the art fair losing streak of the DMV.

Enter SuperfineDC! In their own words:

The Art Fair DC Deserves Arrives This Month

Fun, approachable, and chock full of art by local and global emerging artists, Superfine! DC descends on the capital from October 31st to November 4th for a fall art spectacular the likes of which the District has never before seen. The art fair that's built its chops in New York and Miami by serving up a clear, transparent, new art market friendly to both long time collectors and people interested in art who've never purchased a piece before is bringing its unique formula to DC's Union Market, and you'll never experience art the same way again.

Over 300 visual artists from DC and beyond will present new contemporary artwork throughout 74 curated booths, and with price points beginning below $100 and 75% of works available below $5,000, you're certain to discover the perfect piece for your castle or cottage. Join us for a chic sneak peek Masquerade Vernissage opening on Halloween night, or indulge your inner child with artisan scoops by Trickling Springs Creamery at our Young Collectors' Ice Cream Social on Friday 11/2. From panel discussions with local art luminaries to art movie nights and VR experiences, Superfine! DC has Washingtonians covered as your own local, global art fair.

2018 EXHIBITORS

HEARTLANDIA

Cindy Lisica Gallery | Houston, TX
Monochrome Collective | Washington, DC
Most Wanted Fine Art | Pittsburgh, PA
BoxHeart Gallery | Pittsburgh, PA
Antieau Gallery | New Orleans, LA
ArtShape Mammoth | Burlington, VT
Pure Artistry Works | Philadelphia, PA
Walton Gallery | Petersburg, VA
Sean Christopher Ward | Wichita, KS
Gallery O on H | Washington, DC

CENTER STAGE

Zenith Gallery | Washington, DC
Touchstone Gallery | Washington, DC
Vox Populi Print Collective | Madison, WI
European Design & Art LLC | Miami, FL
Art Village Gallery | Memphis, TN
XOL Gallery | Baltimore, MD
glave kocen gallery | Richmond, VA
YNOBE DNA Gallery | Miami, FL
Gallery Orange | New Orleans, LA
RoFa Projects | Potomac, MD
Foundry Gallery | Washington, DC
Adah Rose Gallery | Kensington, MD
Susan Calloway Fine Arts | Washington, DC

FOTO KAIP-SOOL

Jeremiah Morris | Mount Crawford, VA
Lori Cuisinier | New York, NY
Alexandra Aroyo | New York, NY
The 36-24-36 Project | Brooklyn, NY
James Miille | Brooklyn, NY

ARTIST PAVILION

Brooke Rogers | Ocean City, MD
Julio Valdez | New York, NY
Svetlana Nelson | Madison, AL
Daniel Stuelpnagel | Baltimore, MD
Rogelio Maxwell | Washington, DC
Virago | New York, NY
Bruce McGowan | Montreal, Quebec, CA
JJ Galloway | Annapolis, MD
Deming King Harriman | Brooklyn, NY
Noel Kassewitz | Washington, DC
Kelly Moeykens | Washington, DC
Olan Quattro | Washington, DC
Fei Alexeli | Thessaloniki, Greece
Mary Westphal & Armand Fogels | Alexandria, VA
Susan Hostetler | Washington, DC
ALIGUORI | Fort Lauderdale, FL
Jaclyn Mottola | New York, NY
Emma Repp | Seattle, WA
Sheila Cahill | Washington, DC
Hannah Sarfraz | Gaithersburg, MD
Diana Contreras | Miami, FL
Brianne Lanigan | Arlington, VA
Brendon Palmer-Angell | New Orleans, LA
Dennis Crayon | Washington, DC
Julie Christenberry | Washington, DC
Joseph Meloy | New York, NY
Sarah Magida | Baltimore, MD
Scott Hutchison | Arlington, VA
Chaney Trotter | New York, NY
Joseph Shetler | Washington, DC
Aaron Patton | Wichita, KS
Stephen Perrone | Sylvan Beach, NY
Christine Ruksenas-Burton | Stone Ridge, VA
Sonja Rohde | New York, NY
Wayson R. Jones | Brentwood, MD
Michael Heilman | Alexandria, VA
Helen Robinson | Brooklyn, NY
Sarah Jamison | Washington, DC
Colleen Garibaldi | Washington, DC
Adam Chamy | Washington, DC
Steve Wanna | Mount Rainier, MD
Rod Webber | Boston, MA
Kathryn Jane Leung | Manassas Park, VA
D'Arcy Simpson | Hudson, NY

Will Superfine DC succeed? I hope so!

October 31 - November 4, 2018
1309 5th St NE
Washington, DC 20002

All the details that you need are here. Disclaimer: My own spectacular work will be exhibited at this coming fair by Zenith Gallery.