Numerically Singular

According to someone's Cray supercomputer, on Wednesday of this week, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 am, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06 and that number sequence will never, ever happen again happens every hundred years.

Trawick Prize Deadline Coming Soon!

Deadline: April 10, 2006

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is accepting submissions for The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. The 4th annual juried art competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to four selected artists. Deadline for slide submission is Monday, April 10, 2006 and up to fifteen artists will be invited to display their work from September 5 – September 29, 2006 in downtown Bethesda at Creative Partners Gallery, located at 4600 East-West Highway.

The competition will be juried by Ashley Kistler, Curator at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond; Jack Rasmussen, Director of the Katzen Arts Center at American University in Washington, D.C. and Gerald Ross, Director of Exhibitions at Maryland Institute College of Art.

The first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000. A "young" artist whose birth date is after April 10, 1976 will also be awarded $1,000.

Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. Original painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, fiber art, digital, mixed media and video are accepted. The maximum dimension should not exceed 96 inches in any direction. No reproductions. Artwork must have been completed within the last two years. Selected artists must deliver artwork to exhibit site in Bethesda, MD. All works on paper must be framed to full conservation standards. Each artist must submit five slides, application and a non-refundable entry fee of $25.

The Trawick Prize was established by local business owner Carol Trawick. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. Ms. Trawick is the owner of an Information Technology company in Bethesda, Trawick & Associates.

Jiha Moon from Annandale, VA, was awarded the 2005 "Best in Show" with $10,000; Dean Kessman of Washington, D.C. was named second place and was given $2,000; Denise Tassin of Baltimore, MD was bestowed third place and received $1,000 and the 2005 "Young Artist" award of $1,000 was given to Michele Kong of Baltimore, MD.

For a complete submission form, please visit www.bethesda.org or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc.
c/o The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards
7700 Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, MD 20814

Good Arts Related Job

Individual Gifts Officer: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

Closing date: April 14, 2006.

Reporting to the Director of Development, the Individual Gifts Officer is responsible for creating and implementing strategies and programs which generate ongoing unrestricted and designated funding from individual donors.

He/she will be responsible for developing and managing patron affinity programs and managing a portfolio of individual 4 figure gifts and higher. A Bachelor's degree is required with a minimum of three years of demonstrated success in fund raising, including cultivation and solicitation of donors.

Knowledge of art and or cultural organizations and contemporary art are a plus.

Salary: $54,272-$84,559. Please see Announcement Number 06JW-6072 at www.sihr.si.edu for a full description of the position and for application instructions.

Tim Tate Opens at Arlington Arts Center on Friday

What : Solo Show By Tim Tate - "Windows into the Past and Future"
Where : Arlington Arts Center
When : April 4 thru June 3, 2006
Opening Night Reception : Friday, April 7 from 6pm to 8pm

This solo show will feature 22 new pieces from Tim Tate... one of his largest openings ever. This show focuses heavily on redemption as a theme and showcases some of the exciting new work that Tate has been creating over the last few months.

This is an excellent opportunity to catch up on the constantly evolving work of one of Washington's most visible artists, who will be also having his first major exhibition outside of the DC area later this year at Vanderbilt.

Art Deal of the Week

My fourth pick is this sensual photograph by American photographer David Myers.

It is titled "Nude Number One" and this pigment photograph measures 11x10 inches and then it is matted in a white pH-balanced acid free white museum mat and framed in a black matte moulding under glass to a framed size of 24x17 inches. Photo is signed and numbered from an edition of 25 by the photographer in pencil recto on the lower margin. The price (including frame): $200. That's an amazing deal for this sexy and professionally framed photo.


To buy it call 301/718-9651 or email the gallery.

Therman Statom Workshop

The Washington Glass School will be hosting the Renwick Alliance's upcoming workshop with Therman Statom on Saturday, May 6th, 2006, from 10am to 3pm.

Raised in Washington, DC, Therman studied at the Pilchuk Glass School, Rhode Island School of Design, and the Pratt Institute, where he studied sculpture.

He has become known and revered worldwide for his innovative use of materials, processes, and forms, and particularly for his unusual uses of glass that do not require extensive equipment, hot shops or teams. Much of his signature work is done with glass plate, and includes a diverse array of forms.

The workshop costs $20 and it is mostly filled, but there is still gallery space left. Its a great affordable way to see Therman Statom and get to hear his unusual approach to sculpture.

Reserve your space at 202-744-8222 or email the school at WashGlassSchool@aol.com.

Heineman Myers Contemporary Art to Open

Heineman Myers Contemporary Art is set to celebrate its grand opening at 4728 Hampden Lane in Bethesda on Saturday, April 8th with a reception open to the public from 5-8pm for Baltimore photographer Connie Imboden.

According to Zoe Myers (the new gallery's director), "a mix of international and local artists working in all media will be shown in this newly designed art space, including large-scale works by such artists as sculptor Rick Cleaver, Grand Prize Winner of the 2003 Trawick Prize, and sculptor Javier Marin, Mexico’s participant in the 2003 Venice Biennale."

"Heineman Myers Contemporary Art will engage the D.C. area’s local, national and international community of artists, business leaders, collectors, curators, educators, public officials and students by providing a program of events and exhibitions for everyone who is interested in art," also said Zoe Myers.

"We are thrilled to have Heineman Myers Contemporary Art opening in downtown Bethesda. Our goal of making Bethesda a regional destination for the arts is further achieved by attracting fine art galleries such as the Heineman Myers," said Carol Trawick, Chair of the Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District.

Zoe spent over two years went into the search for space around the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

For the new gallery, the award-winning project team of HOK Architects and AR Contracting created a state-of-the-art exhibition space. In 2005 the team of HOK and AR Contracting won both the Gold Award from the International Interior Design Association for Retail Category in the Mid-Atlantic, and the Award of Excellence for Best First Floor Use from the D.C./Maryland chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks for the Numark Gallery project in downtown Washington.

I have no doubt that this new gallery will be a powerful new presence in our area and I am looking forward to its exhibitions and wish Zoe the best of luck.

The Power of the Web

Photographer Scott Lassman writes:

"I've got another power of the web story for you. I have a pretty pathetic website -- it's on my list to fix this year -- but at least I have a web presence. And it worked.

I received an email two days ago from a collector in Beverly Hills, California who found my website while surfing the net and loved my work. She asked about purchasing some of it, we arranged payment through Paypal, and completed the sale yesterday.

I'll drop the print in mail on Monday. And she's already got the print listed on her own website as part of her growing collection (along with prints by Sally Mann and Will Van Overbeek). Pretty cool!"

I agree with Scott: pretty weak website with great photos!

Text Opening

TEXT opened last tonight at the Greater Reston Arts Center.


Left to right are Denise Wolff, Kriston Capps, Michael Janis and Molly Springfield. Behind them is the great artwork of Victor Ekpuk. More pics later... meanwhile, the Right Reverend Bailey (who is a Restonian by location) has an early look at the show here.

New Blog

DC area artist John James Anderson has a new art blog.

Visit him here.

WaPo looking for Style Section Arts Editorial Aide

Received the following from the WaPo:

Full-Time Editorial Aide
March 28, 2006

We are pleased to announce that Jonathan Padget, Style's arts editorial aide for the last three years, is moving to the Style copy desk, as a two-year intern. While filling in on the copy desk for the past two months, Jon has clearly demonstrated his talent for editing. We're very happy to welcome him to the corps of copy editors.

The editorial arts aide job is pivotal to our arts coverage, and our aim is to find a replacement quickly.

We seek someone with infinite patience and civility, as well as broad knowledge and interest in the arts and literature. The job involves many hours on the phone tracking down photos and talking to publicity agents, museums and publishers' reps. Strong organization skills are a must as the position serves as information central and provides support for all arts beats, visual arts as well as the movies. The job also involves occasional writing and reporting.

I suppose that interested parties should call the WaPo and ask for the Arts Editor or the Human Resources Office.

On a related note, Ben Forgey, who has been the WaPo's architecture critic since August 1981, will retire on June 2, 2006, so I suspect that the WaPo will be looking for a new architecture critic or more likely, promote someone from within.

Art Fair in DC?

It's too early to announce formally, but one of the major art fair outfits, who puts up art fairs at all the US cities where people actually buy art regularly (NYC, Chicago, LA and Miami) has been sniffing around the DC region to see if they have the groundwork, interest and reputable dealers aligned to do a major DC art fair at the new Convention Center.

If they are serious, I hope that:

(a) they are prepared to lose a ton of money for the first few years while the fair takes a solid footing in the region, which I think (if done right) it will. And this will be good for DC in the long run, because if the fair takes hold and makes money for the galleries, eventually it will grow and make money for the organizers and for DC galleries.

(b) they have a business model that allows soem flexibility and scaling and even haggling in pricing, so that local galleries can be attracted to participate, and also so that national and international galleries are given breaks to accommodate travel and expenses for a new market trial, and that non-profits are given some sort of price break as well - maybe scaled to the size and budget of the non-profit.

(c) they have some way to attract collectors from the region - rather than just DC.

More later as this solidifies.

Text Opens Tonight at GRACE

TEXT opens tonight from 6-8PM in the beautiful new spaces of the Greater Reston Arts Center.

The exhibition brings back all but one of the original Text artists from Seven.

It's super easy to get there off the Dulles Toll Road - See ya there!

Opportunity for Photographers (Under 25 that is)

Deadline: April 28, 2006

Duke University has an excellent competition for photographers under 25 years of age.

Every five years, the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University publishes a collection of work showcasing the talent of twenty-five of America’s most promising photographers, twenty-five years old and younger. The second book in the series, 25 Under 25: Up-and-Coming American Photographers, was selected a Best Book of 2003 by Photo District News.

Submission guidelines and all other info is available online here.

Richards on Color

The WaPo's former Chief Art Critic checks in with an interesting article on colors, reproductions and what happens to colors over time.

Read the article here.

Bad at Sports

Bad at Sports is a podcast about surviving as an artist. It's a professionally produced art show that has quickly gained popularity among artists, hipsters and the top curators of the arts.

Bad at Sports shows a ground-level view of the visual arts from the perspective of practicing mid-career artists. It's anti-intellectual, but streetwise, and it combines to create a show that is very lively and funny.

The conversations and interviews often begin with the meaning behind the art, or the logistics of the project, but the discussion will eventually veer in the direction of the person's career path, their opinions of art scene, and their own personal goals, aspirations and frustrations.

They've had correspondents from London, New York, L.A. and San Francisco, and would now love to hear some art voices from DC.

They ask that interested people check out an episode first, because there's a very specific tone to the show, and if you don't get a sense of what the show is like, someone could easily make an audio file that's not a match for them.

Check them out here.

Wanna go to an opening tonite?

"From Sea to Shining Sea" at DCAC - Opening Reception is tonight,Friday, March 31 from 7-9 pm.

Curated by Ori Z. Soltes and assisted by Cara Ober. Featured artwork includes that of DC artists Craig Cahoon and Steve Cushner.

CP Blog

Hey! The Washington City Paper has a new online blog!

It's titled City Desk and can be read here.

Hopefully some of their art writers will emulate what some of their theatre critics have already done with area plays and start pushing some visual art shows... go Jeffry, go Lou!

Jacobson on Photography

Louis Jacobson reviews our current photography show in the City Paper. Read the review here.

Micro-Monumental

Can a sculpture the size of a kitchen matchbox have monumental impact? Kristen Hileman, Assistant Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, who a couple of years ago juried one of our best art competitions in years, has chosen 47 tiny sculptures from a field of 90 entries submitted by artists from Baltimore and Washington, Philadelphia and New England for a coming exhibition at Flashpoint.

This unusual collaboration of four regional sculpture groups (Washington Sculptors Group, Baltimore’s Sculptor’s Inc., in collaboration with the Philadelphia Sculptors Group and New England Sculptors Association.) is a "microcosm of the world of sculpture in 2006, exemplifying the diversity of artists, their materials and themes in the Northeastern United States."

Micro-Monumental is at Flashpoint Gallery April 6 to May 27, then travels to Xavier University Art Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio for the International Sculptors Conference: June 20 through July 22, 2006. The Artists' reception at Flashpoint is April 20, 6-8pm and the Juror’s talk is that same night at 7pm.