Opportunity for Artists

You still have a few days to get your entries in for this Artomatic opportunity for emerging artists. The Heliport Gallery in the vibrant Silver Spring area announces Aeromatic: Artomatic at the Heliport.

Who’s Eligible? Any Artomatic participant who has never shown in a commercial gallery.

Jurors: David Fogel, Director of the Silver Spring Gateway Project and manager of the Heliport and Nevin Kelly, owner of the Nevin Kelly Gallery on U Street in DC.

When: Entries due January 2, 2006; show will take place in February, 2006.

How: Send up to 3 jpeg images to David Fogel. Make sure to note title, size and medium and include your phone number. JPEGS are strongly preferred by the judges but if you absolutely can't manage an electronic entry, you may send up to three slides to:

David Fogel
Heliport Gallery
8001 Kennett Street, Suite 3
Silver Spring, MD 20910.

Slides must arrive by January 2, 2006.

Jacobson's Top Ten

The CP's photography critic comes up with his top ten photography shows of the year (actually nine). An abbreviated list is below, or read the full CP article here.

1. "André Kertész" at the National Gallery of Art.
2. "Burnversions" at the Reston Community Center.
3. "Gina Brocker: Photographs From the Series ‘The Donovans and Other Settled Travellers’ " at Irvine Contemporary.
4. “Shomei Tomatsu: Skin of the Nation” at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
5. “Noelle Tan: Latent” at the District of Columbia Arts Center.
6. “Lida Moser: 50 Years of Photographs” at Fraser Gallery Georgetown.
7. “Reflections of France” at the Kathleen Ewing Gallery.
8. “Lewis and Clark Revisited: A Trail in Modern Day,” at the Department of the Interior Museum.
9. “Barbara Probst: Exposures” at G Fine Art.

Airborne today and heading to La Florida to spend New Year's someplace sandy and warm... more later when I settle in...

And while I was gone, Alexandra Silverthorne had a few things to say about my current exhibition at Fraser Gallery Georgetown.

Read them here.

Barlow's Top Ten

Philip Barlow is easily one of DC's best known and more involved art collectors and an avid gallery goer who gets around to more galleries than many people who write about DC art and artists. Barlow advises that:

Below is my list of the top ten gallery shows from DC in 2005. This year seemed even more difficult than last year, I had an original list of about ten others shows. The list is in order.

Nepotista caveats: I am on the board of DCAC and I purchased work from some of these shows.

1. Barbara Probst “Exposures” – G Fine Art – (4/2/5 – 4/30/5)
2. Chip Richardson “Set” – Fusebox (11/5/5 – 12/17/5)
3. Linn Meyers “Current” – G Fine Art – (10/29/5 – 12/10/5)
4. Jiha Moon “symbioland” – Curator’s Office – (9/10/5 – 11/15/5)
5. Noelle Tan “Latent” – District of Columbia Arts Center – (4/8/5 – 5/15/5)
6. Andrea Way “New Works” – Marsha Mateyka Gallery – (2/19/5 – 3/26/5)
7. Teo Gonzales “Recent Work” – Irvine Contemporary – (4/22/5 – 5/28/5)
8. The Empire of Sighs – Numark Gallery – (9/16/5 – 10/29/5)
9. Mary Early “Sculpture” – Hemphill Fine Arts – (11/5/5 – 12/23/5)
10. Nooni Reatig “All Real, All Steel” – NNE Gallery – (4/28/5 – 6/15/5)

I also wanted to note a couple of photography exhibits that were great for letting us see some of the Washington art world's movers and shakers in their earlier years:

Mary Swift’s Washington: The Arts Scene, 1975 – 2000 – Flashpoint Gallery – (7/21/5 – 8/27/5)

Wrinkle Free – Viridian Restaurant – October 2005

Keep emailing me your Top Ten lists and I will publish them as time allows.

They're coming...


From yesterday's WaPo (and my posting a while back)

Fifty terrapin statues will soon appear on the streets of Washington and its suburbs in honor of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the University of Maryland.

The 100-pound turtles -- like the panda, elephant and donkey statues displayed on city streets in recent summers -- will be decorated by local artists and auctioned next fall. The money will go to student scholarships.

Let the ranting and raving begin!

Poconos

Lack of posting due to a quick get-a-way to the Poconos, and heading to Florida tomorrow for the New Year's!

More later before I leave and sporadic posting from Florida.

What Your End-of-the-Year Top 10 List(s) Says About You

If you include more than three shows by artists who are also bloggers... then you must be a blogger too!

If more than six of the shows on your list are museum shows, then you have been seduced by our great DC area museums and need to get around more often.

If three or more of the shows on your list are from the same gallery or museum, then you're not getting around as much as you should before making lists.

If three or more of the shows on your list are from the same commercial gallery, then you are a hidden nepotista or a nepotista wannabe.

If all ten of your shows are from the same three or four spaces, then you don't have a clue.

If your list includes more than one show from a library or restaurant, then you're definately getting around more than I do, or you have no idea where the galleries are.

If your list only includes shows that were within walking distance of a Metro stop, then you don't have a car.

If list list includes more than one show in Bethesda, Reston, Rockville, Alexandria or Arlington, then you live in one of those areas.

If your list includes more than three embassy gallery shows, then you're going there mostly for the good food.

If your list only includes photography shows, then you are Louis Jacobson (photography critic for the City Paper).

If your list is based on which shows has the best food, then you are a grub.

If your list has more than three video shows, then you must be a Hirshhorn Museum or Whitney Biennial curator.

If all the shows on your list are by non Hispanic white male artists... well, you know what you are.

If your list does not include a single DC area show, then we know who you are.

Merry Christmas & Feliz Navidad!

Christmas Art Wish List

1. For the WaPo to do as promised (I have the emails from the editors) and hire a second freelancer and return the Galleries column to its previous weekly format.

2. For most of our area's museum curators to realize that the Greater Washington, DC area is actually part of the United States of America, and for them to take a cab to a DC area art show or artist studio once in a while.

3. For the Corcoran to give Manon Cleary a retrospective.

4. For the Hirshhorn to give Joe Shannon a show.

5. For the Phillips Collection to give Lida Moser a retrospective.

6. For the WPA/C to find a permanent exhibition space somewhere in the city.

7. For Washingtonian magazine to add a regular gallery review column to its monthly format.

8. For one or two of our local TV stations to add one minute a week to their local news hour programs on the subject of area visual arts exhibitions.

9. For some of our area's huge corporations (AOL, Lockheed Martin, Giant Foods) to follow Carol Trawick's example.

10. For a lot of people to get their head out of their ass about the Christmas vs "Holiday Season" issue.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and everything else that says I wish all of you and yours a terrific good wish for everything on your life and your art. Keep creating!

O'Sullivan on PostSecret

The WaPo's Michael O'Sullivan checks in with an intelligent review of Frank Warren's PostSecret exhibition.

Read it here.

Public Art Calls

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities announces four Calls for Artists:

Deadline: February 17, 2006

14th Street Bridge Tenders' House Public Art Call for Artists: The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, in cooperation with the District Department of Transportation, is seeking an artist, or artist team, to create a permanent public artwork for the 14th Street Bridge Tenders' House. The 14th Street Bridge is the north space bridge crossing the Potomac River that brings vehicular traffic into the District of Columbia. The former drawbridge is the location of a vacant Bridge Tenders' House. Deadline: February 17, 2006. For more information and an application, please visit The Commission's website to download the Call for Artists and application, or call 202-724-5613.

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Deadline: February 17, 2006

Recreation Center Public Art Call for Artists: The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Department of Parks and Recreation are seeking artists to create a permanent public artwork for several newly or recently renovated recreation facilities in the District of Columbia. Deadline: February 17, 2006. For more information and an application, please visit their website to download their Call for Artists and application, or call 202-724-5613.

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Deadline: February 24, 2006

Art Bank Program Call for Artists: The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is purchasing artwork to be part of the District of Columbia's 2006 Art Bank Program. Works in the collection are owned by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and loaned to other District Government agencies for display in public areas. Deadline: February 24, 2006. For more information and an application, please visit their website to download the Call for Artists and application, or call 202-724-5613.

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Deadline: February 24, 2006
Wilson Building Public Art Program Call for Artists: The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is currently accepting applications for the John A.Wilson Building Public Art Program. The historic District Building at 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW now serves as the headquarters for the District of Columbia's Mayor and City Council. The works purchased through this call for artists are specifically designated for permanent installation in the Wilson Building. For more information and an application, please visit their website to download the Call for Artists and application,
or call 202-724-5613.

Nepotistas Rule

As we'll soon begin to read the top ten lists in everything, including the visual arts, from both the newsprint media and the online voices, the ever present spirit of nepotism and the "good-ole-boy/girl-network" shall once again raise its phoenixal (is that an adjective? I love the English language!) head, and some of us in the inside/outside will shake our heads knowing that A is a good friend and/or drinking buddy of B, or C's wife works at the blankety-blank newspaper, etc.

Not always, and not all... but there anyway.

But it seems to have bitten the NYT in the butt this year, at least when it comes to their 100 Notable Books of the Year list.

So listmakers: we're watching!

P.S. And you readers: Watch me too!

Bankrupt

WOW! This NYC gallery is in the hole $50 million samolians!

Read the article here (thanks AJ).

New art blog

New (new to me anyway) DC-based art blog: Matthew Langley.

Visit him often.

And Matthew has his end of year top ten list here.

Snail Art

The WaPo on Palimpsest at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Cornelius on the future of art criticism

...art blogs are the most fascinating aspect affecting the edifice of contemporary art discourse, especially in the area of future market impact...

So wrote to me the fair Kathryn Cornelius in commenting about the whole "Critic on Criticism" post.

Cornelius' thesis at Georgetown touched on this area, and it's actually quite an interesting read. The thesis is titled "Creative Entrepreneuship: The Business Art and Art Business of Contemporary Artist Collectives."

Read it here.

Mama Love

Camille Mosley-Pasley, one of Washington's most active and innovative photographers, is looking for more moms of color and babies for her Mama Love book.

If you or someone you know has a baby, please contact Camille by e-mail ASAP. She's scheduling appointments for December 23 & 30. There will be two more sessions in January. Go here for details.

PostSecret on TV

Just saw an interview and a long segment (over five minutes) on MSNBC on Frank Warren's PostSecret exhibit!

And the fair Amy Robach even hinted that she'd mail in a secret.

See the TV clip here. Scroll down to bottom of page; the link is under "The Situation" banner and it's titled Post card confessions.

JET to close in DC

JET Gallery on R Street has closed. Their news release reads in part:

This exhibition marks the final show at JET Artworks’ gallery in Washington, DC before moving to Chicago’s West Loop gallery district in the spring 2006. Owners Jamil Farshchi, Erin Houchen, and Thomas Robertello wish to thank the art audience of Washington for their enthusiastic support of JET artists. JET plans to reopen in its new location with Thomas Robertello as sole owner/director.

DC Art News wishes Thomas and the new gallery the best of luck in Chicago.

One closing - One opening

One young DC gallery has closed its doors unexpectedly (more on this later).

A brand new gallery, which I am told will be the largest gallery in the Greater Washington, DC region, will open soon (more on this later).