Borf in the hoosegow

DCist first and then the WaPo report that Borf will be doing 30 days in a DC jail.

The teenage graffiti vandal known as Borf got tagged yesterday -- with 30 days in the D.C. jail and a dressing-down that no one in the courtroom will soon forget.

Borf, aka John Tsombikos, chose not to address the judge who was deciding his fate. But D.C. Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz had a lot to say to the young anarchist from Northern Virginia. She didn't paint a pretty picture.

"You profess to despise rich people," she said. "You profess to despise the faceless, nameless forms of government that oppress. That's what you've become. That's what you are. You're a rich kid who comes into Washington and defaces property because you feel like it. It's not fair. It's not right."

And the judge keeps on...

The 30-day jail term is just the start. If Tsombikos breaks the law again within the next three years, he could be jailed for the 17 suspended months of his sentence. Regardless, he has to complete 200 hours of community service, including 80 hours of cleaning up graffiti. And he must pay $12,000 in restitution, money that better not come out of his parents' bank accounts, the judge said.

"In other words," she said, "not the bogus jobs that your father gives you in New York . . . a real job, going to work like the people you demean, earning it with paychecks and the sweat of your own brow."

But it was the prospect of a month at the jail that most worried Madden, who had asked for probation and pleaded with the judge to at least send Tsombikos to a halfway house.

She wouldn't budge, and she made it clear why.

"I want him to see what the inside of the D.C. jail looks like," she said, "because unlike every other person you've seen in my courtroom this morning, who have a ninth-grade education, who are drug-addicted, who have had childhoods the likes of which you could not conceive, you come from privilege and opportunity and seem to think that the whole world is just like McLean and just like East 68th Street."

"Well," she said, "it's not."

The prospect of seeing what the inside of a DC jail looks like is a terrible visual to me; it will be eye-opening to see what this month will do to Mr. Tsombikos' future.

There's also a firestorm of comments going on at DCist; read them and add your comment here.

Irvine to move to Fusebox's space

According to Jonathan Padget in the WaPo, Irvine Contemporary will be moving into the space being vacated by Fusebox Gallery.

Because they were first in the area, and rightfully so, Fusebox had a sweetheart of a deal on the rent of that space. I suspect that the landlord will now want a lot more samolians for the space, and thus making Irvine's position a tougher one to negotiate.

If they can close a deal, it will be a terrific move for Irvine; fingers crossed!

Closing Interface

Tomorrow is the second Friday of the month, and thus time for the Bethesda Art Walk, with 13 participating venues and with free guided tours. Opening hours for the receptions are from 6-9PM.

And today Chawky Frenn is hard at work hanging his very heavy work (Frenn paints on a highly prepared board that weighs tons. This board process he learned under the legendary Gregory Gillespie).

And yesterday we closed the door on Interface: Art & Technology, which became one of our most popular shows ever, and I think will be remembered as the exhibition that planted Claire Watkins as a name to watch over the next few years.

Time to brag.

Not only did all of Watkins' work sell out (including the amazing "Flock of Needles" which has found a new home in Great Falls, Virginia), but we actually now have a wait list for this talented artist.

And yesterday Thomas Edwards' annoying "I Blame You" accusing robotic finger found a home in a Baltimore collection that will also house a Scott Hutchison video and the drawing from which the video was created. And earlier on the week, Kathryn Cornelius' video "Retreat" sold to perhaps DC's best known art collecting couple.

And the show was well reviewed; below is a list of those reviews that have been brought up to my attention:

Washington Post

Washington City Paper by Cudlin

Washington City Paper by Metcalfe

Washington Post Express

Solarize This

InnerBias

Nekkid with a Camera

Shift (Japanese Art Magazine; report by me)

Irish Blood

Parker Dearborn

See you tomorrow at the opening... from 6-9PM.

Student Photogs

The Corcoran College of Art and Design has a Senior Photojournalism Thesis Exhibition opening at the Corcoran Gallery of Art on February 16, 2006, with a reception from 6-8PM. It is open to the public for only four days (from 2/15 through Sunday, 2/19 from 10AM-5PM).

I am particularly looking forwards to seeing Chris Combs' work, which he titles "Inside the Spectrum: A Visual Canvas of Autism."

In Combs' work, the stories of two young men - one seven years old, the other twenty- five, both autistic - and their families, are told through photographs and text.

Update: A DC Art News reader emailed me and tells me that she's already looked at the senior thesis exhibit and adds that another body of works to see is by one photographer named Arianne. According to the email, "she has incredible vision, a great work ethic, humility and integrity. Her project centers around a home for women recovering from drug abuse. Her effort really distinguishes herself from the rest of the class. In fact, I would normally never interject, but I am really moved to help this woman who I think has a great career ahead of her."

Update II: Another DC Art News reader emails me and tells me that "Wendy Galietta's stuff in the show is also quite impressive. She's documenting modern swingers (in the wife-swapping sense, not dancers)."

Opportunity for Artists

Cummings Money for Artists (MFA) has gift certficates to purchase art materials that are being awarded to individual artists in the Washington, DC metro area. The certificates are worth between $50 to $250.

You can apply online at any time, and there are no fees involved. Awards will be made throughout the year. After you submit your application, an example of your work will be posted on the CummingsMFA web site.

Wanna go to a party tonight?

Tapedude Mark Jenkins has new installations at Club Hell on 18th Street. They're having a party tonight starting at 10PM (no cover).

Details here.

I Saw You

Gallery Neptune has an interesting group show opening this coming Sunday, Feb. 12, 2006 titled "Cupidity."

Cupidity is based in a sense on the "I Saw You Ads" in the newspapers. Each invited artist created a piece inspired by an ad and then a writer wrote a news ad involving the piece.

The Cupidity artist/writer teams are:
Albert Schweitzer / Katherine Thompson
Alexandra Silverthorne / Heidi Mordhorst
Anna Edholm Davis / Susan Leonardi
Dana Ellyn Kaufman / Charlie Barnett
David Wallace / Mary Kay Zuravleff
Ed Bisese / Levi Asher
Elaine Langerman / Caryn Thurman
Glenn Friedel / Patrick Holway
Greg Ferrand / Bob Angell
Helga Thomson / Rebecca Pope
Jean Beebe / Dennis Greza
Kim Bentley / Katie McCaskey
Kirk Waldroff / Dorian Hamilton
Matt Sesow / Doreen Peri
Mike Janis / Claudia Rousseau
Scott Brooks / Frank Warren
Warren Craghead / Roger Noyes

Wanna go to an opening tonight?

The District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC) hosts the opening for Crafts & Kisses tonight from 7-10PM.

Also this coming Sunday is the final chapter of their four part panel series "Who Do You Love?" This one will focus on installation and site-specific art. The scheduled panelists are: Mary Coble, Jayme McLellan and Ira Tattelman (and perhaps a couple of surprise guests). The event starts at 7:30 in the theater at DCAC.

Frenn Opens Friday

The Fraser Gallery of Bethesda is proud to host the third solo exhibition of acclaimed Lebanese-American painter Chawky Frenn, in conjunction with the publication of a 174 page retrospective book of the artist’s works titled Chawky Frenn: Art for Life’s Sake.

Having proved several times to be one of the the most controversial figurative artists in the United States, Frenn was born in Zahle, Lebanon and migrated to the United States in the 1980s. He is a currently a professor on the Art faculty at George Mason University in Virginia.

Art critic Donald Kuspit, one of the most visible art voices of the 21st century, has written that Frenn "constructs a spiritual space in which the contemporary public can feel emotionally at home, however troubling the emotions his imagery evoke in them."

The New York Times wrote that "Chawky Frenn is a painter who has nailed down the figurative mode, and this accomplishment gives him the license to convey anything he wants, including the grand theme: the elusive meaning of human existence."

The Washington Post wrote: "From a classical nude contemplating a human skull to his latest series of still lifes of slaughtered animal carcasses, Frenn is an artist's artist (as opposed to a critic's artist)."

For this upcoming solo show, which opens with a reception for Frenn this coming Friday, February 10, 2006 from 6-9PM, the artist has created a whole new series of paintings depicting his disturbing impressions of the current historical state of affairs of the world, as well as his continuing exploration of classical nudes.

Frenn's works are used to controversy. In 2001, his Boston gallery decided to cancel a Frenn solo show at the last minute as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks.

In 2004, his exhibition at Dartmouth caused an uproar on campus. Frenn, who was exhibiting at the same time at Damien Hirst, managed to outshock Hirst.

I will be clear to admit that this is not an easy artist to exhibit in the DC area. Every single one of his paintings that we've sold over the years has sold to New York or European collectors, althought I am sure that were his work to be exposed to local gutsy collectors (and curators), Frenn would be appreciated (on a local scale) to the same extent that he's being appreciated on a national and international scale.

The exhibition runs through March, 7 2006 and there’s an artist’s talk by Frenn, discussing his new work, on Saturday, February 25, 2006 starting at 1 PM.

Back in town

Back from Norfolk, and today had to spend all day in Crystal City and then Arlington for a couple of presentations.

Loads of reviews about the Interface show at our Bethesda gallery have popped out all over the Blogsphere in the last few days... links below.

More later!

Shift on Interface

The Japanese magazine Shift has this piece on Interface in their current issue.

Read it here.

Shea on Interface

Irish Blood, English Heart reviews Interface.

Read the review here.

Dearborn on Interface

Parker Dearborn reviews Interface.

Read the review here.

Teague on Interface

Innerbias reviews Interface at Fraser Bethesda.

Tomorrow is the last day to see Interface! Read Teague's review here.

The Fleer Gallery of Art

Brian Beutler has an interesting and original piece in the current Washington City Paper titled "The Fleer Gallery of Art: The Washington City Paper’s first set of collector collector cards. Bubble gum not included."

The first set of cards depict Fred Ognibene, Tony Podesta, Philip Barlow, Juanita & Mel Hardy, and Aaron Levine.

I guess that I am surprised by who's not in the article, as missing are perhaps two or three Ubercollectors with massive collections. One missing couple has, I would guess, around 4,000 pieces of art in their collection.

Brian Beutler: for your next set of cards, email me baby!

Heading South

I'm driving down to Norfolk today, hopefully arriving in time to be able to watch the Pacific Northwest Oceanic Warbirds from the beautiful leftwing nuts city of Seattle destroy the Blue Collar Steel Workers of Pittsburgh.

I'll be back either Monday or Tuesday.

Bailey on Kennicott

The Rev. Bailey opines on the WaPo's Phillip Kennicott's thin logic in Kennicott's Clash Over Cartoons Is a Caricature Of Civilization.

Read it here.

Cubicle Ten Opening Tonight

Tonight Cubicle Ten is hosting a festive visual experience entitled "Without Formula" at 1827 Sixth Street, NW, Washington, DC.

With this project, Cubicle Ten, has collaborated with MP Development and will turn a newly renovated four unit condo building into a 3,000 square foot art gallery.

Cubicle Ten has selected the following artists to showcase in this exhibition:

Andrew Au, Zoe Charlton, Clark, Billy Colbert, Jeffry Cudlin, Rick Delany, Chris Hoeting, Candace Keegan, David Meyer, Bridget Lambert, Michael Platt, Jefferson Pinder, Jennifer Purdum, Colin Williams, Alex Schuchard, Jonathan Sears, and Trish Tilman.

Opening Reception is tonight, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006 from 7pm-12:30am - Catering by Local 16 Restaurant. Tel: 202-247-0595.

Wanna go to an opening tomorrow?

Carl Root opens at Glenview Mansion tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006 with an opening reception from 1-4PM.

Wanna go to an opening tonight?

Robert "Rob" Redding author, nationally syndicated radio personality and editor and publisher of the Redding News Review, has a show (titled "Smeared")opening tonight at Warehouse Gallery across from the Washington Convention Center on 7th Street, NW through to Feb. 26, 2006. The artist reception is scheduled for Feb. 4, 2006 at 5 p.m.