Nestor Hernández (1960-2006)

I am shocked to learn today that my good friend Nestor Hernández passed away after a short bout with cancer.

Hernández was a DC-based photographer of Afro-Cuban descent (Afro-Cuban father and African-American mother).

Raised in DC, he didn't speak Spanish, but that didn't stop him from understanding it from his heart, and from visiting his father's enslaved homeland and re-discovering his Cuban roots via his photography, which he exhibited in many art venues, both in the DC area, nationally, and in Cuba, throughout the years.

Nestor was introduced to photography in High School through the Urban Journalism Workshop of the D.C. Public Schools, and then he was on the staff of the Capital Children’s Museum as photographer-in-residence for many years.

Hernandez then became the chief photographer for the D.C. Public School system, even as he continued to visit Cuba, and then to start photography projects dealing with children in Ghana, and most recently Mali.

We exhibited Hernandez photographs as part of our gallery's grounbreaking De Aqui y de Alla (From Here and From There) survey of contemporary Cuban art from Cuba and from the Cuban diasphora and in several group shows after that.

His photographs have been included in many shows Washington, D.C. and various American cities, as well as in Havana, Cuba and Accra, Ghana, and his photographs are included in the permanent collections of the Casa de Africa museum and Galería de Arte René Portocarrero in Cuba, Asafo Gallery in Ghana, the Cuban Art Space in New York and the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum in Washington, D.C.

He was a member and past president of FotoCraft Camera Club, and was the 2001 recipient of the "Photographer of the Year" award, given by the Exposure Group, African American Photographers Association. In 2002 he received the "Outstanding Emerging Artist" award, and in 2003 an Artist Fellowship Grant, both from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

With Port of Harlem, he developed the "Our Children, Our World" photography exhibit featuring the works of children from Ghana, Cuba, Washington, D.C., and Gary, Indiana. After a successful run in Washington, D.C., the exhibit opens in Gary later this summer, as an official event celebrating Gary's 100th anniversary.

And this Wednesday Tuesday, Nestor's photographs will be included in the Arlington Art Center's Love, Loss and Longing: The Impact of U.S. Travel Policy on Cuban-American Families, which opens May 16 and runs through June 3, 2006. The exhibit features photos by Nestor Hernández, Jr. and Juan-Sí González and text by Drs. Jeanne Lemkau and David Strug. The opening reception is May 16, 6:30- 9pm. This exhibit will then tour nationally through the end of 2007.

As with most artists, Hernández died with little money. Burial contributions are being accepted by his father:

Nestor L. Hernández
4007 53rd Street
Bladensburg, MD 20710

We will all miss you hermano!

Weekend Report

Two things to report on: Bethesda Fine Arts Festival and Kirkland's solo opening at GRACE.

It ended with a huge downpour, but for the most part the weather stayed good and around (my guess) 30-40,000 people attended the 3rd annual Bethesda Fine Arts Festival on the streets of Bethesda last weekend. I did quite well, selling about a dozen drawings and maybe 20 prints or so. The mixed media artist from Georgia who was across from me sold over $15,000 on Sunday in a twenty minute span, and the photographer next to me was in a constant sell-mode on both days (and this was his first show). On my other side, Norfolk artist Sheila Giolitti also did gangbusters, including one major sale to Carol Trawick. See the prizewinners here in a few days as soon as the website is updated.

JT Kirkland's solo show at GRACE went well, with a couple of sales including JT's largest sale so far and a new high for the Kirklands. Congrats to JT!

Online Discussions on Criticism

Arts Journal is hosting an online debate about the changing nature of culture and cultural journalism. They've invited 15 critics, bloggers and editors to take part.

You can read it here.

What to do tomorrow

First of all, drop by the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival and check out the artwork of 130 contemporary artists from around the nation.

Then later that evening trek out to Reston and visit JT Kirkland's solo exhibition "Framed," at the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) in Reston, VA. There will be a reception for the Kirkmeister on Saturday, May 13, 2006 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. And just in time (like the NSA story in USA Today), DCist has a great studio visit by Adrian Parsons to JT's place. Read it here.

If you don't get it...

From the transcripts of the Weekend staff online session this AM (italics are mine):

Potomac, Md.: Can we get more art reviews?

"On Exhibit" usually has one large or two joined reviews, but there are usually multiple movie and multiple theatre reviews ...

So can we have more art reviews in Weekend?

Style section now only does about 24 "Galleries" column a year ... so we're really starving for something to read about our local galleries!

Please ...

Joyce Jones: Michael O'Sullivan (who will most likely join me on this answer) does an exceptional job of covering a very large art scene. Since he began covering art for the section, Weekend has done more features on galleries than ever before. But speaking as the person who has to try to come up with a representative mix of all the entertainment options out there, I have to say that we try to divvy our space based on the popularity (and thus reader interest) in different topics. I listen to reader feedback, like what you're giving me now. And I also look at research into how people in this area spend their leisure time. Movies are a big draw and our coverage reflects that. We try to give both theater/dance and art exhibits a relatively equal shake though we structure the coverage differently. The mini art reviews idea is a good one, but our space constraints make it difficult to add a lengthy feature like that. Though week to week our section varies a little in size, over the course of a year it averages to a set amount of non-ad space each week. That's all we have to work with; we can't just go as big as we want. If that were the case, we would be twice as big each week.

Michael O'Sullivan: I know it can be frustrating. I have a list on my computer of somewhere between 100 and 200 art spaces (commercial galleries, nonprofits, alternative exhibition spaces, universities, embassies). That's not even counting the museums. And don't get me started on Baltimore, which has a very lively art scene, and whose boundaries with the DC art community are very porous. We try to distribute our coverage fairly, but given a limited amount of space--and the fact that I am, despite rumors, merely human--it's going to be impossible to make everyone happy.

So Ms. Jones (the very nice Weekend section editor) clearly states that she tries to divvy our space based on the popularity (and thus reader interest) in different topics.

Translation: We believe that our readers are more interested in movies, theatre, dance, and music than in art.

She also stated that: We try to give both theater/dance and art exhibits a relatively equal shake.

Are we reading the same Weekend section?

Homework assignment for one of the DC ART NEWS readers: Go to your local library, select the last 10 Weekend sections and count the number of:

(a) Theatre reviews and mini-reviews

(b) Dance reviews and mini-reviews

(c) Visual Arts reviews

While it is true that gallery reviews have significantly improved since O'Sullivan took over the "On Exhibit" column, I think that Ms. Jones may be surprised as to how much more of (a) and (b) Weekend does than of (c).

Let the data speak! Email me your homework assignment and I will post them here.

WaPo's Weekend Staff Online

The WaPo's Weekend staffers are online at 11AM today answering questions about Weekend and its coverage.

You can email your question to them here.

Target grants

Deadline: May 31, 2006

Target Stores provide local grants ranging in value between $1,000 and $3,000. To apply, complete the application form available on their website and deliver it to the Target store in your community.

Contact information is available through the Target website.

New

Numark Gallery has a new website.

Check it out here.

Cheryl also has two new Assistant Directors: Ricardo Harris-Fuentes and Lauren Hebert.

48 Hours

Since I'm down here in Virginia Beach, I've been missing the screening of the films submitted for the 48 Hours Film project, which used Tim Tate as the element in the films.

But I've been keeping up with the exhausted filmmakers through their blog here.

The films are been screened at AFI through Friday and the schedule is here.

Peter Panse Update

Remember the case of the High School art professor suspended for the nude model issue? (Read this if you don't).

Well his disciplinary hearing has started and you can read the first newspaper report here.

An event for artists - Learning & Product Expo: Art!

Learning & Product Expo: Art! is taking place June 2-4, 2006 at the Marriott Inn & Conference Center at UMUC. It's an opportunity for fine artists to visit an exhibit hall of art material manufacturers and choose from 200 hands on workshops, lectures and demonstrations taught in all mediums and techniques.

Attendees can buy art supplies at great prices, see free demonstrations, learn more about the newest art products, meet other artists in the community and more!

For information on prices, exhibit hours, and class descriptions, please visit www.learningproductexpo.com

Beaching

I'm heading out to Virginia Beach for a few days, but will continue to post from the Tidewater area and may even do a gallery round-up from there.

Laptop coming along; keep coming back.

Tomorrow May 19 is the deadline

To get your entry in for the 2006 Tenth Annual Greater Washington, DC International Fine Arts Competition, which I am jurying this anniversary year (I juried the first one as well). Jurors over the years have included Stacey Schmidt from the Corcoran, Kristen Hileman from the Hirshhorn, painters Joe Shannon and Chawky Frenn and others.

Details here.

Bethesda Fine Arts Festival This Weekend

Downtown Bethesda celebrates a weekend of Art on May 13 & 14, 2006 as the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District announces the 3rd annual Bethesda Fine Arts Festival, a two-day event highlighting 130 contemporary artists who will sell their original fine art and fine craft at the event.

The festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 13 from 10am-6pm and Sunday, May 14, 2006 from 10am-5pm. Last year around 30,000 people attended the festival and this year (weather permitting) an increase in attendance and sales is expected.

National artists from nearly 25 states and Canada will showcase painting, drawing, furniture, jewelry, photography, ceramics and mixed media. The event will also feature live entertainment, a children’s activity area and downtown Bethesda restaurants including Hard Times Café, Mamma Lucia, Ben & Jerry’s and more. Participating artists were selected and juried by members of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District Advisory Committee.

Admission to the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival is free. The festival will be held in downtown Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle along Norfolk and Auburn Avenues, located six blocks from the Bethesda Metro Station. Free parking is available adjacent to the event in the parking garage located on Auburn Avenue.

The Bethesda Fine Arts Festival, produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District,is directed by Catriona Fraser, a fourteen year veteran of fine arts festivals, an international awards-winning photographer and co-owner of the Fraser Gallery, located in downtown Bethesda.

Comcast, MIX 107.3 FM, Whole Foods, Stonyfield Farm, The Gazette, Bethesda Magazine and Washington Woman are serving as the 2006 event sponsors.

Exhibiting Artists:
Gaurav & Anju Agarwal, Suwanee, GA
Fred Albright, Lancaster, PA
Amos Amit, Los Angeles, CA
Lisa Aronzon, Broadway, VA
Dwight Baird, Champlain, NY
Robert Barab, Hampton, VA
Dave Bazzel, Morgantown, PA
Joel Beckwith, Jamaica, VT
George Biersdorf, Cooksville, MD
Jim E. Biond, Jacksonville, FL
Eric Black, Charlottesville, VA
Edward Bordett, Fincastle, VA
Alex Brand, Corning, NY
Stephen Brehm, Leola, PA
Robert Bridenbaugh, Fair Haven, MI
Dave Bruner, Sarasota, FL
Michael Bryant, Atlanta, GA
Helen Burkett, Sarasota, FL
Marshall Burns, Woodbury, NJ
Brian Butters, Washington, D.C.
Walter Cade III, Jamaica, NY
F. Lennox Campello, Potomac, MD
Kimmy Cantrell, College Park, GA
Lisa Cimino, Baltimore, MD
Fiona Clark & Vincent DeLisle, Jefferson, ME
Karen Clark, Baltimore, MD
Bob Coleman, Montgomery Village, MD
Will Connor, Washington, D.C.
Norry Coscia, Langhorne, PA
Beth Crowder, West Union, WV
Carolyn Currie, New Milford, CT
Rick Dean, Charleston, SC
Karen Deans, Bethesda, MD
Tracy Deming, Butler, TN
Sharon Donovan, Ann Arbor, MI
Katherine Drew Dilworth, Brookeville, MD
Marsha Drummond, Devon, PA
Tony Elliott, Cockeysville, MD
Leslie Emery, Madison, WI
Joseph Craig English, Washington Grove, MD
Dede Faller, Washington, D.C.
Penny Feder, Jamaica, NY
Lynn Ferris, Berkeley Springs, WV
Matthew Fine, Norfolk, VA
Foust, Richmond, VA
Bjorn & Tatiana Fruchtman, Centreville, VA
Lou Gagnon, Gainesville, VA
Ming Gao, Philadelphia, PA
Geri Geremia, Boynton Beach, FL
Marcia Germain, Midlothian, VA
Paul Germain, Midlothian, VA
Courtney Gillen, Washington, D.C.
Sheila Giolitti, Norfolk, VA
Debra Lynn Gold, Atlanta, GA
Irwin Goldman, N. Bergen, NJ
David Gordon, Greenfield Center, NY
Judy Goskey, Burton, OH
Eve Greiner, Blue Bell, PA
Giffen Douglas Grosvenor, Stowe, VT
Anjali Gulati, Silver Spring, MD
Hilary Hachey, Baltimore, MD
Marsha Heatwole, Lexington, VA
Victoria Horner, Charlottesville, VA
Cassandra Jackson, Brooklyn, NY
Brendan Kager, Bethesda, MD
Gopal Kapoor, Greenville, NC
Flo Kemp, Setauket, NY
David Kiley, Medina, OH
Nancy Klotzle, Croton on Hudson, NY
Michelle Krespi, Oakland, CA
Kathy Lapso, N. Royalton, OH
Michele LeVett, Durham, NC
Steven Levine, Dayton, NJ
Jim Livermore, Barrington, NH
Robin Markowitz, Rockville, MD
Lee Angelo Marraccini, Charlottesville, VA
Syl Mathis, Falls Church, VA
Kerin McBride, McLean, VA
Christopher McCall, Doylestown, PA
Marti Mocahbee, Staunton, VA
Richard Moran, West Barstable, MA
Brenda Morrison, Quincy, MA
Debra Murray, Voorhees, NJ
Mary Ann Neilson, Westport, CT
Phillip Nolley, Staunton, VA
David Oleski, West Chester, PA
Carlos Page, Hoboken, NJ
Robert Patierno, Dallastown, PA
Fae Penland Gertsch, Reston, VA
Becky Peretz, Pittsburgh, PA
Diem Pham, Forest Hills, NY
Harold Pickern, Hannibal, MO
Ernest Porcelli, Brooklyn, NY
DeAnn Prosia, Monroe, CT
Ron Prybycien, Doylestown, PA
Ken Rahaim, Fairfax Station, VA
Bruce Reinfeld, Philadelphia, PA
James Gary Richmond, Titusville, FL
Evy Rogers & Joe Jacobs, Sewickley, PA
Martin Rothenberg, Shirley, NY
Jay Royal Chadwick, Malvern, PA
Gary San Pietro, Elkins Park, PA
Grant Silverstein, Mansfield, PA
Phil Skoczen, St. Petersburg, FL
Sherry Smith, Woodbridge, VA
Michael Soloman, Maplewood, NJ
David Souza, Gilbertsville, PA
Robert Stadnycki, Harrisburg, PA
Jill Stern, Frederick, MD
Nancy Strailey, Columbia, SC
Joyce Stratton, New Bern, NC
Cheryl Summers, Poland, OH
Steven Edward Summerville, Bumpass, VA
Sherry Terao, Silver Spring, MD
Richard Toft, Accomac, VA
Karen Trimble, Baltimore, MD
Allan Tuttle, Hallowell, ME
Barbara & Rick Umbel, Pawleys Island, SC
Alan Vaughn, Atlanta, GA
Joryel Vera, Altamont, NY
Susan Wertheimer David, Columbia, MD
Meg West, Crozet, VA
Judith Wrend, Morrisville, VT
Kim Young, Richmond, VA
Bernard Zalon, New York, NY
Stacy Zink, Washington, D.C.

For more information, please visit www.bethesda.org or call 301/215-6660. See ya there!

48 Hour Film Project

I just found out that the 48 Hour Film Project is doing their Washington, DC event this weekend.

And thus, this weekend local filmakers are undertaking the 48 Hour Film Project locally, and each competing team has exactly 48 hours to make a five minute film that incorporates the same character, prop and line of dialogue.

Why am I writing about this cool film project in a visual arts blog?

Because this year's DC elements are as follow:
Character: Tim or Tina Tate, Gay Glass Sculptor Extraordinaire
Prop: Fire Extinguisher
Line of Dialogue: "This is absolutely the last time."

There were 100 teams at the kick-off event, and their films will be screened May 9 through the 12th at AFI, and the schedule is listed here.

Wanna go to an opening today?

The Jackson Gallery (118 Bryant St, NW in DC, near Howard University) opens "Works on Paper" tonight with an opening reception from 1-5PM.

Works by E. J. Montgomery, Samella Lewis, Elizabeth Catlett, Leon Hicks, Valerie Fair, Varnette Honeywood, Margo Humphrey, Clarissa Sligh, Victor Ekpuk, Betty Blayton, Shirley Woodson, Gilda Snowden, Eglon Daley, Renee Stout, Floyd Coleman and Jocelyn Rainey.

A portion of the proceeds will go to the Evangeline J. Montgomery Scholarship Fund.

For more info call my good friend Caesar Jackson at 202.285.1754

Shaw-Eagle on Compelled by Content II

Joanna Shaw-Eagle, the chief art critic of the Washington Times delivers a major review of our current Compelled by Content II exhibition. Read that review here.

Shaw-Eagle (who has been writing about art since I was a kid), provides yet more evidence of how "healthy" it is to have more that one critical voice look at an artist or a show, and offer a different perspective or opinion. I also used the recent multi-reviews of the Connie Imboden show at Heineman-Myers as such an example, and now our show adds more evidence why it is important in most cases (and whenever possible) to have more than one set of eyes and more than one pen on paper to deliver an opinion.

I'm not criticizing either of the views, as art criticism should have teeth, but pointing out how two independent writers view the same artist completely different.

In his otherwise very positive review of our show, the CP's Kriston Capps describes Carmen Lozar's work as "puerile figurines [that] look as if they could have been made by Walt Disney."

Looking at the same artist, Shaw-Eagle (who disses my news release in the second paragraph of the review) writes:

Other glass works, such as those by 31-year-old newcomer Carmen Lozar, a teacher at Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University, delightfully intrigue and puzzle.

An artist with impeccable credentials -- study at Alfred University, Corning Museum of Glass and the Pilchuck Glass School -- Miss Lozar presents "Tenuous," three tiny glass sculptures named "rabbit," "lizard" and "baby with umbilical cord."

She writes that many of her charming pieces emerge from her dreams. "Sister in Butterflies," an intricate, four-piece construction of flameworked glass and mixed media, comes apart to reveal the engraved words, "I dreamt my sister has beautiful long eyebrows. I dreamt she fought off butterflies while laying beneath a dogwood tree, thinking they were threatening when really they were just searching for her smile."

Although there are still some missing images, you can see most of the exhibition online here.

An artists' talk, sponsored by the James Renwick Alliance will take place at the gallery on Saturday, May 20, 2006 at 2PM. The talk is free and open to the public and will also offer an opportunity to learn more about the Renwick Alliance.

Wanna go to an opening tonight?

Hemphill Fine Arts' opening for the new Steven Cushner show is tonight, Friday, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

Irvine

Irvine is having an informal re-opening tonight at their new gallery at the former Fusebox location at 1412 14th Street, with a continuation of Susan Jamison's and Robert Mellor's solo exhibitions, and they will be open from 11AM - 8PM today and tomorrow.

Talking about Irvine, I've heard from various sources that Heather (or maybe it was Martin?) saw the Washington Glass School's intern Evan Morgan's show at Warehouse and fell in love with Morgan's work and signed him up!

I hear from Tim Tate that Evan Morgan is immensely talented, and now that Irvine scooped him up, I am sure that we'll hear great things from this young man.

WaPo's Weekend Staff Online

The WaPo's Weekend staffers are online at 11AM today answering questions about Weekend and its coverage. You can email your question to them here.

I've sent mine in...