Found Sound

One of the coolest art projects around DC these days is Found Sound, curated by Welmoed Laanstra (just the pronounciation of his name makes a cool sound).

"By placing the sound booths on the sidewalk, the project will make this innovative art accessible to a large number of people," says Welmoed Laanstra, the exhibit's curator. "The aim is to create a public experience focused on the developing field of sound art."

Participating galleries, artists and venues are here.

If you like sounds, and think of it as art, then the amazing FreeSounds Project by Richard Humphries, is a must visit online and you can even contribute a sound.

Humphries, who works as a Sound Designer and Re-Recording Mixer for the Discovery Channel, has been collecting sounds since the early 1990's.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: November 26, 2005.

International Visions Gallery is hosting a Small Works Competition.

December 8, 2005 through January 4, 2006. The award is a Solo Exhibition. Max size 16 x 20 inches. $25 entry fee for 3 entries. Original works, 2D only in all media will be chosen from 35mm slides or CDs. 40% commission. Insurance. SASE for prospectus to:

International Visions Gallery
2629 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20008

Or call 202-234-5112 or www.inter-visions.com

Spectrum seeking new members

Spectrum Gallery, a distinguished co-op gallery located in Georgetown and which has been around for 40 years, is looking for new artists to join the gallery.

I am told that it is an exciting time for the gallery; they are restructuring and looking to bring in a crop of talented emerging artists to become member artists.

Member artists have their work shown every month in their group show and have regular solo shows about every two years.

Artists in all media are welcome to apply. For questions and other information, please call the gallery at 202-333-0954 or visit their website.

Baltimore Open Studios

On the weekend of October 22 & 23 from Noon to 5 p.m., in conjunction with Arts and Humanities month, School 33 Art Center will host the Annual Open Studio Tour, where more than 100 visual artists in and around Baltimore City will open their doors to the public.

Details here.

Scope London

Two area art dealers are participating in scope London: Bethesda art dealer Rody Douzoglou and DC's Conner Contemporary.

Rody Douzoglou will feature artist Pablo López and also works from Amalia Caputo, Magdalena Fernández and Carolina Sardi.

Conner Contemporary will be featuring new work by photographer Julee Holcombe. The gallery will also exhibit photo/conceptualist work by Joe Ovelman, new paintings by Erik Sandberg and photographs by John Kirchner.

Tape Excrement

Mark Jenkins is at it again.

Update: WOW! I didn't know that these Mark Jenkins' sculptures had been placed outside the Found Sound booths. And now Jenkins has been policed!

Update II: Mark Jenkins has now apologized for this.

Bethesda Row

Lack of posts due to my being at the Bethesda Row Arts Festival.

I'll catch up later... have a ton of stuff to post and discuss. Come back!

Friday at the WaPo

Mercy me! Two visual art reviews in the WaPo in one day!

In Style, Gopnik surprises us again by reviewing another "local" (I mean "Washington-based") artist: Sam Gilliam's retrospective at the Corcoran.

And in Weekend, Michael O'Sullivan delivers yet more evidence why he's one of the few area art critics who truly knows "Washington-based" artists in this review of Options 2005.

And Thinking About Art's comments on O'Sullivan's review.

Can't wait to see the show!

Solo3 Opens Tonight

Solo3, a solo show in three parts by artists Alexandra Silverthorne, Joseph Barbaccia, and Pat Dunning opens tonight at Warehouse. The opening reception is from 6-8pm.

Tim Tate's Pad

Tim Tate's DC pad is becoming famous once again, this time appearing in an episode of "Small Spaces, Big Style" on HGTV this Thursday night at 8:00 PM.

Tate's apartment was transformed from a dull gray into a stunning pad by the amazing team of Sean and Rania of Scenic Artists.

Heading South...

I'm heading out to the Carolinas later today, but will be back by Friday, hopefully in time to make the opening for Prof. John Winslow as he opens his second solo show with us.

The opening for Winslow is this coming Friday at Fraser Gallery Bethesda from 6-9PM and it is part of the Bethesda Art Walk.

A free guided tour is also offered. See details of the tour here. Tours will begin at 6:30pm. Attendees can meet their guide at the Bethesda Metro Center, located at the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin Avenue. Attendees do not have to participate in tours to visit Art Walk galleries.

Congratulations

To area photographer Tracy Lee, whose erotica has been included in The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Erotic Women.

Tracy Lee's work was last seen locally in Seven.

Blake again

I had been staying away from reacting to our "local" WaPo Chief Art Critic's musings lest I be recognized as a Blakemonger. But I bit the other day and now I find myself reading one of the oddest, most entertaining, off-kilter, intelligent, unexpected, "will someone please return the real Blake Gopnik" (NOT!) articles by someone claiming to be Blake Gopnik that I have ever read.

Read it here.

And then read Bailey's diss...ertation on the article here, which as usual, raises some good, interesting and valid points.

Atelier Yoyita

As a response to the tragedies of hurricanes Rita and Katrina, Atelier Yoyita in Jackson, Mississippi is creating, hosting and showcasing artists affected by the hurricanes at no cost to the artist, for 6 months to a year.

Interested and eligible artists should contact Dr. Gloria M. Norris through their website or via email at katrina@yoyita.com.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: December 1, 2005

The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus, invites proposals for exhibitions in the Margaret W. and Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery.

Exhibition Dates: 8-10 exhibitions, beginning February 2006.

Proposal Deadline: Proposals must be received by 5:00pm on Thursday, December 1, 2005.

Eligibility: Open to artists and organizations throughout the northern Virginia area. Works can be in both two and three-dimensional formats. Exhibitions may be group or solo.

Entry Procedure: Please submit the following:
* A completed application form with each entry.
* A maximum of 12 slides that represent your work. Slides should be numbered and each should include your name and the title of the piece. Slides should be submitted in a clear plastic slide sleeve.
* A resume.
* A brief description of work to be considered for exhibition attached to application form.
* If you would like your slides returned to you, please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope large enough and with enough postage to return them.

Notification: Initial selection will be based on proposals submitted. Final selection may require studio visits. Finalists will be notified by January 6, 2006.

Terms: Artists/organizations are responsible for shipping/delivery/pick-up and preparation of works, as well as any unusual installation requirements. Northern Virginia Community College will insure works while on the premises. Artists must indicate insurance values for all works exhibited.

Information: For further information, contact Leslie White, Managing Director (703-845-6229) or Andrew McPherson, Gallery Coordinator (anmcpherson@netscape.net).

Submission: Send applications to:
Schlesinger Center/NVCC
Att: Exhibitions
3001 N. Beauregard Street
Alexandria, VA, 22311

Applications received "Postage Due" will not be accepted.

OPTIONS 2005 Pics



Some early pics from the OPTIONS 2005 show and the Curator's Talk. I missed both, and will try to see the show soon. Comments and photos invited; please email them to me.

Dr. Libby Lumpkin discussing the work

And Dr. Lumpkin again

More photos here.

Artists' Market

Today is the Bethesda Artist's Market. The market runs from 10am-5:30pm inside the Bethesda Place Plaza located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue. Nearly 30 local and regional artists will display and sell their original fine art and fine craft in the plaza outside our gallery.

See ya there!

Artists: Tell Jen How You Live!

(Thanks Alexandra)...

Jennifer Dalton has an interesting survey going on. How Do Artists Live?

It takes only a couple of minutes to complete; visit How Do Artists Live? here.

Gopnik on Buster

Blake Gopnik checks in with one of his once a year area gallery reviews and has a rare review of Kendall Buster at Fusebox. It's a good review of a superb show.

Fusebox, easily one of the best galleries in our area, sort of gets "screwed" by the WaPo on a general basis, as the regular "Galleries" column has never covered them, as Jessica Dawson has recused herself from covering Fusebox shows due to private reasons.

The only one time that "Galleries" covered Fusebox was when Glenn Dixon shared the column with Jessica for a little while, before he had a dispute with the WaPo and quit.

This could easily be solved if the WaPo just honored their earlier promises to hire another freelancer and return "Galleries" to a weekly column on Thursdays.

Meanwhile Fusebox gets screwed because they're never covered in "Galleries," and Blake gets screwed because he's forced to make up for that by actually having to write about a "local artist" (his words), and the rest of the galleries get screwed because the Chief Art Critic of the world's second most influential newspaper rarely writes about them/us.

This could all easily be solved by having the WaPo simply hire another independent freelancer to cover the two weeks of the month currently without gallery reviews.

He's back

Glad to see that Jeffry Cudlin is back at the City Paper.

Cudlin reviews "Kahn & Selesnick: The Apollo Prophecies" at Irvine and also Symbioland at Curator's Office.

We were beginning to get worried that the CP was Washingtonpostdownsizing* their visual arts coverage.

More please...

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*At the present rate, by the time 2005 ends, there will have been about four times more European/NYC fashion show reviews in the WaPo than gallery reviews. If you don't get it, you don't get it.