A first report on this week's Boardwalk Arts Festival in Virginia Beach.

Kristen Hileman, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden's Assistant Curator for Contemporary Art has just finished jurying the 2004 Georgetown International Art Competition and has selected these artists to exhibit in the show.

Eight of the 21 artists selected are from the area. The rest are from various other states and Europe.

Blake Gopnik reviews the Gabriel Orozco photography show at the Hirshhorn in today's Post.

Unfortunately, this Gopnik review only occasionally lives up to the usual high standards of his writing and lectures. Many of his observations take a much more standard, hackneyed tack. In many of his descriptions and comments on the show, Gopnik prowls the newsprint page and gives us built-in, unaltered moments of epiphany, just as common art scribes have done for about a century.

(Above paragraph has a mirror cousin in Gopnik's review).... fun with Blake and Lenny.

Here's another interesting insight into the mind of this brilliant critic in describing why some of Orozco's photos are not good:

"All of them are striking images, and that's what makes them fail."

So a striking image (and they are striking according to Blake because "these pictures are striking because they point back at well-established notions of what now constitutes an arty picture") is a failure as a good photograph?

Am I the only one who is confused here?

The Sandra Ramos exhibition that just ended yesterday (and her US solo debut) was our most successful exhibition ever.

We had visitors who came to see the show from as far as Europe and South America, and nearly all purchases were made by out-of-towners, although a couple of DC-based collectors did acquire a few major pieces and somewhat restored my faith in Washington art collectors.

We're also working on three separate museum acquisitions. More to come as soon as they are announced.

The show was also a three-peat as far as local reviews, as Jessica Dawson reviewed in the Post, Joanna Shaw-Eagle reviewed it for the Times, and Lou Jacobson reviewed it for the City Paper. Other reviews/articles included a review in Art Cuba, a small review in Cuba Now Magazine, and also reviewed in CubaSi Cultura magazine, and this bit in Art & Antiques.

A New York art forgery story always makes for interesting reading.

Gallery Slye has a Spring Gallery Party & Silent Auction this coming Saturday, June 26th from 6:00 - 9:00 pm.

For those three hours only they will be auctioning off works by Washington, DC artists: Allison Aboud, Eileen Corrigan, Dale Hunt, Joren Lindholm, Isabel Manalo, Marc Pekala, Wayne Peterson and Hilary Stewart.

More details here and RSVP to Catherine Slye at 202/306-0122

Job Opportunity

McLean Project for the Arts seeks Exhibitions Director to curate and implement exhibitions of contemporary art from the mid-Atlantic region and develop adult educational programming. Five years experience, masters degree in the arts or equivalent experience, excellent oral and written communications skills, self-starter, team player, working knowledge of word processing, email, digital media files (MAC desktop).

Start Sept. 1, 2004. Submit cover letter, resume and portfolio of past exhibitions by June 30:

Nancy Perry, Executive Director
McLean Project for the Arts
1234 Ingleside Avenue, McLean, VA 22101
703-790-1953, nperry@mpaart.org
Hours: 28-32 hours a week
Salary range: $28,000-32,000 based on experience

Market 5 Gallery is hosting its 30th Anniversary Exhibition and this is an exhibition of artists selected by Market 5 Gallery's patrons.

In September of 2003, Market 5 Gallery celebrated its 30th Anniversary with an "all hung" exhibition. Guests at the opening reception were invited to select three artists for a group exhibition in 2004.

By popular demand, Elisa McKay, Marguerite Beck-Rex, and Joseph Harrison Snyder were awarded the exhibition.

Market 5 Gallery is located at 7th & North Carolina Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20003, in the North Hall of Historic Eastern Market.

Contact: Camille Mosley-Pasley at 202/581-4114 or here.

In addition to dozens of great art galleries in our area, we are also lucky to have many alternative spaces that still put up terrific art exhibitions. Here are some new shows going up in some of these places:

May-July 31, 2004: Group Show
Common Grounds' Art Exhibit Highlights Work of GMU Artists in CROSS+POLLINATION: art from a shared space

The selection and arrangement of paintings and digital work by five artists from George Mason University explores the intentional and subliminal exchange, adaptation and transmutation of ideas by individuals creating art in a shared environment.
Featuring Natalie Guerrieri, Lisa McCarty, Susan Noyes, Lara Oliveira, and Jennifer Sarkilahti.

At The Common Grounds Coffee and Tea House 3211 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201 703.312.0427

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June 19th- July 19th, 2004: Group Show
FOCUS: Jesse Cohen, Frederic Neumann, Denise Odell, Justin Orndorff, and Andrea Paipa.

This is a group exhibition investigating colors and forms through the use of photography creating new views of everyday objects, still life compositions and urban landscapes.
Opening Reception: Friday, June 18th, 10-11:30pm

Exhibition Hours: Monday - Saturday 10am - 9pm, Sunday 11am - 7pm
Location: 3019 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007

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June 21-25, 2004: Group Show
Redmont Associates present Two Artists: Judy Hintz Cox and Norman A. Krasnegor.

Hours: 10AM - 5PM, at the Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009.

Reception with the artists - Monday, June 21, 5 -8PM. Proportion of sales donated to AED. For information contact Redmont Associates at Redmontart@comcast.net or 703 620-2647.

Tomorrow is the third Thursday of the month, so the 7th Street area art galleries have their extended hours.

And on Friday, the Canal Square Galleries in Georgetown have their new shows and openings from 6-9 PM.

We will have a two person show by John Jacobsmeyer and Margaret McCann.

Jacobsmeyer, who lives and has a studio in Brooklyn, and teaches in Manhattan, has exhibited twice with us. His first show was reviewed by Ferdinand Protzman in the Washington Post and his second show was also reviewed by Jessica Dawson in the Post a couple of years later.

This will be McCann's debut in the DC area.

See you there!

A delayed but well-deserved good bye to Washington area artist Noche Crist, who passed away a few days ago.

Tomorrow and until Sunday is the Boardwalk Art Festival in Virginia Beach.

This show is one of the oldest (now in its 49th year) and most competitive outdoor art festivals in the nation. Over 800,000 people from all over the country and overseas will visit the show, which has around 500 artists displaying their art on the new Virginia Beach Boardwalk.

The show also has around $30,000 in prizes and the jurors for this year's show are Dr. Jonathan Binstock from the Corcoran, Michael O'Sullivan from the Washington Post and Chawky Frenn from George Mason University's art faculty.

The Alexandria Commission for the Arts has issued a call for artists to design a new image for the upcoming Alexandria Festival of the Arts to be held September 11 & 12, 2004.

The winning image will be featured on posters and collateral materials publicizing the event. It will also emblazon t-shirts which will be sold at the Festival with proceeds to benefit the Alexandria Commission for the Arts.

Compensation to the winning artist will be $500 and entries must be received by July 12, 2004. Entries may be submitted by mail to the Commission’s offices or by e-mail to AlexandriaCommissisonfortheArts@verizon.net.

The image should be presented in 8 1/2 x 11” format. Concept statements and examples of multiple image applications are encouraged. Individuals may submit up to three unique designs. Name and contact information should be attached to every entry. Entries will be judged on quality and sophistication of expression, conceptual development, typography (if and where applicable) and flexibility of application.

The Alexandria Commission for the Arts reserves the right to alter or excerpt all entries, and design may be reproduced for multiple uses.

Where's Waldo?..... Mix in Green, Dawson, Nikki Lee, Numark, Fusebox, Whitmore, Wilson.... Oy Vey! A bit like Trump wanting to copyright "You're fired!" Or.... "painting is dead."

Just saw The Chronicles of Riddick - Very entertaining! Vin Diesel is really good in it... Does anybody know if Diesel's first name is actually Vehicle Identification Number Diesel? Cough... cough...

Opportunities for artists...

Deadline: July 31, 2004.

The Ruth Chenven Foundation awards up to $1,500 to U.S. crafts artists engaged in or planning a project. For more information, send a SASE to: Ruth Chenven Foundation, 7505 Jackson Ave., Tacoma Park, MD 20912.

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Deadline: July 2, 2004.

Maryland Federation of Art 4th Annual National Landscape Exhibition.

Exhibition scheduled Sept. 10-Oct. 10. Entry fee: $25 for up to 2 slides; $5 for each additional. To request a prospectus, send a SASE to: Dept. 1 MFA Circle Gallery, Box 1866, Annapolis, MD 21404.

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Deadline: September 1, 2004.
Now Accepting Applications for Professional Art Exhibits for Dumbarton Concert Gallery's 2004-2005 Season. The Dumbarton Concert Series, located in historic Dumbarton Church in Georgetown, is accepting applications from DC, MD, and VA artists for the 2004-2005 season.

The Concert Gallery has shown the work of hundreds of outstanding Washington-area artists since its inception in 1981. The artist's opening occurs in conjunction with a one-night concert performance. The exhibit stays up for an average of one week, during which time the gallery is open by appointment. Artists are invited to submit slides either independently or as part of a group. Decisions are made by a jury. Eight shows are installed, October through April. The gallery administration may scedule interviews with finalists prior to final decisions on submissions.

Submission Requirements: Ten to twenty slides in plastic sleeves to include:
1. Name address, phone, email, and curriculum vitae.
2. Dimensions, price, and medium of each piece (if slides aren't the actual pieces that will be hung, they must be an accurate representation thereof).
3. SASE for return of materials.

Mail to: Eric Westbrook, 2325 42nd Street, NW #419, Washington DC 20007.

Additional questions? Call Eric Westbrook at 202 965-0281. The Concert Gallery takes a 25 percent commission. Exhibits are up for an average of one week, with most attendance taking place the night of the concert.

In case you missed it, there was a beautiful review of the Sally Mann show at the Corcoran in the Post last Sunday.

It was written by Henry Allen, the Post's Pulitzer-winning art critic.

The exhibit "Sally Mann: What Remains," featuring more than 150 photographs, will be at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, New York Avenue and 17th Street NW, through Sept. 6. It is beautifully curated by Philip Brookman. The gallery is open every day except Tuesday; hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sally Mann will be discussing her work next June 24 at the Corcoran. In this very special evening, Ms. Mann speaks, with slides, about her work, including At Twelve and Immediate Family, and her latest exhibition, What Remains. Philip Brookman, Corcoran Senior Curator, Photography and Media Arts, and curator of the show, introduces the artist. The event is sold out!

Blake Gopnik's piece in the Post about the Panda Public Art Project has created an interesting debate. Tony Gittens, Executive Director of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, responds to Gopnik's piece here.

Letters to the Editor from other readers, blasting or praising Blake, can be read here.

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The Washington Post gives our "Contemporary Photography" exhibition in Bethesda a Hot Pick in today's paper. The show features photography by Hugh Shurley, Viktor Koen, Nate Larson, Heidi Marston, Prescott Lassman, Elena Volkov, Joyce Tenneson, Cirenaica Moreira, Marta Maria Perez Bravo, Grace Weston, Rachel Scheron, Elsa Mora, Deborah Nofret Marrero, John DeFabbio, Jan Saudek and others.

You read it here first:

Dr. Carolyn Carr, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the National Portrait Gallery told me last night that the National Portrait Gallery will soon announce a national portrait competition, held yearly and open to American artists. Unlike the annual BP Portrait Prize Award in Britain, this Portrait Prize will be open to US artists of all ages.

A Dupont Circle gallerist tells me that the former building where Gallery K was located will soon become a high end furniture store. Too bad; we were all hoping that somehow a "new" Gallery K will emerge from the death of its owners.

Another Dupont Circle gallerist tells me that rents around the renovated 14th Street neighborhood have skyrocketed and some gallery moves there have been cancelled as a result.

And yet a third gallerist passes that longtime dealer Sally Troyer will be closing her gallery after this current show.

Washington Post art critic Michael O'Sullivan returns to the Post's Weekend section to review galleries and museums. O'Sullivan had been reviewing movies for a few months.

Heard in the offices of the WCP: Former WCP Arts Editor and critic Glenn Dixon will no longer be writing art reviews for the WCP. Apparently Dixon is busy with other commitments. Hopefully the WCP will find someone to replace Dixon and who will go beyond the two or three museums and four galleries that he usually covered. The WCP's arts coverage, under the guidance of Leonard Roberge, has been doing a consistently outstanding job of covering the arts around town. Interested art critic freelancers should read the guidelines here and then start writing about art!

A viewpoint of the unlikely (and definately surprising) Reagan legacy to the arts can be read here. He brought the NEA funding to an all-time high.

Lou Jacobson comes through with a great review of the Sandra Ramos show in the Washington City Paper.