Chawky Frenn Opening
The professor opened his third solo exhibition with us to packed crowds this last Friday who came to see Frenn's latest. Below is the main gallery wall just before the opening:
Frenn is not an easy artist to sell because his work is so visceral in nature, and without an ounce of irony. In fact, in the three solo exhibitions that he has had with us, every single painting that has sold, has been acquired by either collectors from Europe or from New York. We've yet to find the Washington, DC collector with the courage to hang work so loaded with political or social commentary.
And Frenn, and his difficult work, is a perfect example of the many different parts that go into running an independent fine arts gallery with a focus and cultural dialogue that is serious and committed to developing both presence and substance.
He certainly packs the gallery with visitors, and it is obvious that his students adore him as a teacher, and the critical press has been all over him in the last few years, but it takes a special collector to hang work that is presented by a master painter who revels in delivering difficult subjects and harsh topic after harsh topic.
The New York Times once 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 that his work "is most effective, however, not when it's taking rather obvious swipes at American imperialism... but when it's making subtler hints about xenophobia, homophobia, racism, sexism and other tools of oppression."
The show runs through March 8, 2006.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Snowbound
For a long time it looked like it wasn't going to stick, but it kept falling and falling and last night it looked like this:
And this morning is pretty deep out there; this is the view from my second floor window and looking out towards the front of the house:
And now a couple of things for sure:
- Althought the Soviet Socialist Republic of Montgomery County is the highest taxed county in the United States of America, and property taxes went up 69% last year, and Kommissar Duncan's appetite for more taxes continues to be legendary, my street will probably never be cleaned. I can only recall one time that it was actually cleaned, and then it was by the third or fourth day.
- One reason for that may be because at some point today, one of my neighbors will attempt to leave the cul-de-sac where we all live, and get his or her car stuck in the slight uphill, forever blocking any exodus for the rest of us, or any entry to any snow-cleaning truck that may actually get lost and wander into our street to clean it. This has happened every single year that I have lived here. I haven't been outside yet, but I bet that there's a stalled, stuck car out there already.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Buy What You Love
Art Addict has a great tip on what art to buy; and I agree with her.
Read it here.
Reviews
Kriston Capps on Fusebox's last show.
Jeffry Cudlin on Ian Whitmore at Fusebox.
Jeffry Cudlin on Heike Baranowsky at G Fine Art.
Louis Jacobson on Vesna Pavlovic at Fusebox.
Mark Jenkins on Remembering Marc and Komei at the Katzen.
Louis Jacobson on Madame Yevonde at Kathleen Ewing Gallery.
Louis Jacobson on Jason Zimmerman at Irvine Contemporary.
Rachel Beckman on Jason Zimmerman at Irvine Contemporary.
Joe Dempsey on Maria Leontovitsch Manley at Alla Rogers Gallery.
Jessica Dawson on "What Sound Does a Color Make?" at UMBC.
Michael O'Sullivan on Appropriately: Five Artists Exploring Humor at the University of Maryland's Union Gallery.
Michael O'Sullivan on Assimilation/Dissolution at Gallery at Flashpoint.
JT Kirkland's Northern Virginia Gallery Round-Up.
JT Kirkland's 14th Street Galleries Round-Up.
Alexandra Silverthorne on Whippersnappers at Connor Contemporary.
Robin Tierney on Cupidity at Neptune Gallery.
Nigerian Art Scam
In the past I have discussed a little bit about the very convincing Internet scam that seems to address a lot of art from artists and art galleries. A few years ago (when this scam was very new) we came really close to losing a lot of money, but luckily (and only after we really pressed our bank for assistance) did we avoid it.
We still get 2-3 emails a week from the scammers.
Can You Picture That (which is a new DC Blog and has been added to the Blogroll) has a good tutorial of how the scam works.
All gallerists and artists should definately review this posting.
Visit Can You Picture That often!
Friday, February 10, 2006
WWIII
I think that the Right Reverend Bailey is trying to start World War III. Read it all here and start stashing up water and toilet paper.
He also seems to have his own wiretapping surveillance program going, as his Top Ten List of Art Bloggers indicates!
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.And the judge keeps on...
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."
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.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.
"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."
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!
Thursday, February 09, 2006
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.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
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. 
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.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Shift on Interface
The Japanese magazine Shift has this piece on Interface in their current issue.
Read it here.
Teague on Interface
Innerbias reviews Interface at Fraser Bethesda.
Tomorrow is the last day to see Interface! Read Teague's review here.
