Marchand on City Hall Art Collection

Anne Marchand has a terrific report and a ton of photos of the huge opening for the City Hall Art Collection. Read her report and see the photos here.

Katie Tuss makes her debut

Katie Tuss will be writing regularly for Mid Atlantic Art News, covering DC area galleries and museums and any other places that she travels to. Below is her review of "An Impressionist Sensibility: The Halff Collection," at The Smithsonian American Art Museum.

An Impressionist Sensibility
By Katie Tuss

Although the mention of impressionism may be considered a sure way to create record exhibition turnout, Chief Curator Eleanor Jones Harvey explained that the Smithsonian American Art Museum did not choose the title "An Impressionist Sensibility" lightly. Each one of the 26 American Impressionist paintings featured in the exhibition, however diverse, is distinctly dependent on the "modern impulses found in impressionism."

It is this sensibility that collectors Marie and Hugh Halff have focused on while creating their standout private collection of late 19th-and early 20th-century American Art, which makes up the exhibition in its entirety. All of the artists featured studied in France and Europe between the 1870s and the 1920s, providing them with the groundwork to interpret impressionism in a uniquely American way.

Childe Hassam's "Clearing Sunset (Corner of Berkeley Street and Columbus Avenue)" illustrates the emerging modernism of the time with its rising buildings, bustling passersby, and puffs of steam from a distant engine. American art was coming of age and asserting that the US could stand tall next to European progress.

It was these times that launched an "aesthetic revolt," according to Harvey, which shifted the interests of American artists away from the National Academy of Design and moved them beyond subject matter. Artists were freed to focus on the act of painting.

Color and brushstroke are celebrated in William Merritt Chase's "Shinnecock Landscape with Figures." The striking image of his daughter in red serves as the focal point amongst the immediacy of the markings that constitute the landscape.

The Halff Collection also features John Singer Sargent's much sought after "The Sulphur Match" and the rarely viewed Winslow Homer "Houses on a Hillside."

"An Impressionist Sensibility" is on view through February 4, 2007.

Day One

And so last night Washington, DC experienced what was perhaps the largest art opening in its history, and today - the first day after the event - the WaPo is silent about it (as far as I can dig into it any way).

But the WaPo's Style section has a column on George Allen's campaign, ironically someone with the last name Duke writes about Pieter Botha, and David Segal discusses the New York housing market, and there are stories and reviews on The Folger Theatre's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", the other Mark Jenkins has a music review of the Black Cat, there's a piece on the Kennedy Center Concert Hall's tribute to Mary Day, Washington's first lady of ballet, another on neighborhood bars in Baltimore, Chanticleer's performance on Monday night at the Library of Congress's Coolidge Auditorium, a few more theatre reviews by Jane Horwitz, another theatre review of the Washington Stage Guild production of "An Inspector Calls," by Cecilia Wren (note how the Style editor thinks that it is important to have multiple reviews of DC area theatre plays by different writers, but only allows one DC area gallery review by only one freelancer every two weeks), one book review, one dance review, a story about the Day of the Dead, and the usual regular fluff.

But we know that the deadlines for WaPo pieces are a few days before they are published, so perhaps by the end of the week the Style section will have a piece on the new City Hall Art Collection and the huge opening last night.

Breath being held.

Scary

I had a scary Halloween yesterday. On the way to the City Hall Art Collection opening last night, we instead had to rush to the emergency room, where we spent most of the night while emergency room doctors at Suburban Hospital did a terrific job on a suspected blood clot (not me) and decided against it.

Everyone is OK, but we missed the opening. I hear over 1,000 people attended - I'd like to hear some comments, both pro and con, about the collection - email me and I'll post them here.

Liz Spayd for WaPo.com

Liz Spayd, an assistant managing editor in charge of national news for The Washington Post, has been named editor of washingtonpost.com.

Spayd's upcoming editorialship has been called in an official WaPo statement as "another sign that our Web site is a journalistic force that will play a large part in shaping The Post's future."

Spayd joined the WaPo in 1988.

A little history:

When the washingtonpost.com first got started, one of the first things that it did was to augment the galleries and visual arts coverage by adding a group of freelance writers who would write reviews and profiles to augment the print version's scant coverage of the DC area's galleries and artists.

This is how Jessica Dawson first connected with the Washington Post bosses. Previous to that, she used to write for the Washington City Paper as a freelancer working for then WCP Arts Editor Glenn Dixon Brad McKee.

At the washingtonpost.com, under editor John Poole (who was then the site's online Arts Editor), the arts coverage by the WaPo online flourished and there were dozens and dozens of gallery reviews, which have unfortunately mostly disappeared from the WaPo's online presence, as well as many gallery profiles, most of which have also vanished, although a few still remain.

At once point, even the print version critics, such as Jessica Dawson's predecessor for the Galleries column (Ferdinand Protzman) and Michael O'Sullivan, authored online articles and reviews for washingtonpost.com which were only available online.

And for a short period of time, there was happiness in the air, as the WaPo finally appeared to be delivering gallery coverage, if just through its expanded online presence.

And then John Poole got promoted and went on to bigger and better things.

And then it took a looooong time to find a replacement online Arts editor. And by the time she was hired, she had a tight budget and no allowance for online art critics, and a bare bones coverage of the art scene.

And then the WaPo's Chief Art Critic (Paul Richard) retired, and Ferd Protzman got pissed that he didn't get promoted to that job and quit, and Jessica got hired as a freelancer to replace Protzman and back then the Galleries column was a weekly column.

And then Gopnik got hired from some Canadian newspaper where he used to write for after the Post's first choice (a New York Times critic) turned the job offer down and recommended Blake, who apparently was outside the Post's radar at that time.

And the "augmented" online visual arts coverage ended, other than the random Gopnik video here and there.

Liz Spayd, if you read this: can you bring back some other critical voices to the DC art scene and renew the online art reviews?

Position Your Artwork

Abstract Earth Gallery has a unique feature that allow the viewer to preview what a work would look like on a wall (allowing you to position the work). You can even upload pictures of your own wall to see what the work could look like in your home or office.

Just click on any of their artists' names and then click the "on the wall" option.

I bet the jury is out on just what this does to the whole "art buying process," -- and this coming from one of the world's worst art hangers, never really thinking how it looks on my wall, or if it fits a motiff or whatever - I buy artwork for many reasons, key amongst them is "do I like it?" but never "will it look good in my house."

But then more often than not, I just hang it, or if undecided, it just stays around forever waiting for a decision - such as my "decades-long waiting-to-hang" of a really nice Vija Celmins drawing that I've had for ages and it has never hung yet!

Exposing the Ripper

And nu, during my recent flying to and from New Mexico and then to and from New Hampshire, I read "Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper -- Case Closed" by Patricia Cornwell, who's not only a bestselling author, but also the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine chairman of the board.

In the book, Cornwell accumulates a spectacular amount of circumstantial evidence to prove that British painter Walter Sickert was the infamous Whitechapel serial killer, including some interesting analysis of Sickert's paintings.

Although Ms. Cornwell's detractors and Sickert's defenders are many, the tantalizing evidence of DNA is too hard to dismiss, and I for one do not believe in coincidences. Apparently, Sickert has been a suspect for many years, and Cornwell has just tied the case into a tight, if not so neat, package.

This book is a terrific read, and Cornwell has convinced me that the case is closed!

Art for Children's Healing

Alexandria's Elizabeth Stone Gallery pass info about an original Art, limited editions, and children’s books event to benefit children with Neurofibromatosis and their families and Neurofibromatosis Research

The Art exhibition, reception and book signing is Monday, November 6, 2006, 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm and you can meet Charles Santore, Award-Winning children's book author and illustrator, and Emily Arnold McCully, Caldecott Medal 1993.

Where: Bryn Mawr Hospital
130 South Bryn Mawr Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
The Rotunda - South Bryn Mawr Entrance

Visit Elizabeth Stone Gallery for details.

At GRACE

Lots of openings this week. Add to them "Arts Council @ GRACE" juried by my good friend Jack Rasmussen.

The show opens November 3 and runs through December 1, 2006. Opening Reception and Juror's Remarks, Friday, November 3, 6-8 pm at the Greater Reston Arts Center in Reston, VA. Details also at the Arts Fairfax website.

At the Czech Embassy

I've been hearing good things about the American debut of Mila Judge-Furstova at the Czech Embassy in DC. My good friend Sharon from Authentic Art went to see it and had this to say.

New DC gallery

ARCH and the Honfleur Gallery have announced the opening of the Honfleur Gallery, including four new artists studio spaces for rent. Studios will be available starting in December. Studios will be rented on a first come, first served basis. The studio size ranges from 100-125 square feet, and the prices from $155-$200 a month, based on square footage. Each studio has its own skylight. Spaces will be rented on 6-month or 1 year term.

The Gallery and Studios are located at 1241 Good Hope Road SE, in historic Anacostia. They are a 10 minute walk from Anacosia Metro Station and directly on the bus line. To make an appointment to view the spaces (still under construction), contact bevans@archdc.org or call (202) 889-5000, x 113.

Waiting to Exhale Sigh

As I mentioned before, the massive collection of artwork by DC area artists which has been assembled for the permanent collection of the District and which is on view at the Wilson Building, is the closest that the capital city of the United States has ever been to having a "DC Artists Collection," since unlike all other major American cities, Washington does not have a physical "Washington Art Museum" and most area museum curators tend to look at their buildings as "national" museums and thus generally tend to ignore DC area artists.

I say that I am waiting to exhale, because I am holding my breath to see what the local DC area art critics write about this collection. I am told that over 1,000 RSVPs have been received for the opening, which is October 31, 2006 from 5-7PM, so this is clearly a major and important art event in the capital.

The collection has already received massive press and television coverage -- for Washington, DC that is -- such as a great piece by Jessica Gould in the WCP on Oct. 19, a piece in Intowner's October issue, an article coming in the first November issue of the Current newspapers, and article coming soon in the Express, maybe an article this coming week featuring the opening in the Wash Post Metro section, and next Thursday, maybe the District Extra cover. Additionally both Channel 4 News (on Oct. 25) and Channel 8 News (also on Oct. 25 and 26) have had features on the collection.

And I can predict (and maybe breathe now), that because it is a collection of DC area artists, and because it is a very large collection, and because it is a public (and apparently already popular) collection, they'll have either nothing to write about it (and by their apathy continue to show the District's arts media anemic insight into the District's dynamic art scene), or...

I hope that they'll prove me wrong, and do write extensively about the Wilson Building Art Collection, but I predict that:

- Blake Gopnik, the intelligent and erudite Chief Art Critic of the Washington Post will (a) ignore it, or (b) write about it and dismiss it, or use it to continue to preach his dated Greenbergian agenda.

- Joanna Shaw-Eagle, the elderly and experienced Chief Art Critic of the Washington Times will cover it, and offer us a detailed description of the collection.

- Michael O'Sullivan, the savvy Washington Post's Weekend section Chief Art Critic (and the only WaPo critic in "tune" with the DC area art scene), will probably cover it and offer the only true insight into this important collection.

- Jessica Dawson, the young freelance writer who pens the "Galleries" column for the Style section of the Washington Post will either (a) ignore it, or (b) cover it in a small dismissive little mini-review.

- Jeffry Cudlin, the award-winning Chief Art Critic for the Washington City Paper, may cover it (if his packed schedule as an Associate Adjunct Professor at Maryland allows it), and offer us an intelligent review, but will probably highlight the weaknesses that exist in any massive public art endeavor.

Let's see over the next few weeks if I've nailed this.

Sigh...

Athenaeum

One of my absolutely favorite buildings in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia is the Athenaeum.

Built as a bank in 1851 in a Greek Revival style (and now a registered Virginia Landmark and a National Historic Site), this beautiful building stands out from the city's otherwise Federalist architecture with its high coved ceilings and large windows looking out onto cobblestones and 18th-century houses, and it is a splendid venue for an art exhibition, which is what the the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association uses it for.

About ten years ago I curated a massive exhibition there, titled "A Survey of Washington Area Realists" which accommodated a few hundred artists hung salon-style in this beautiful building and was a huge success.

"Peace Pieces," all new works by area artist Marta Sewall, opens on Sunday, November 5, 2006, at the Athenaeum. According to the news release, "the works abstractly depict patterns taken from the earth and various global cultures. The mixed media pieces personify the natural and manmade occurrences of global decay and rebirth. Ms. Sewall's works are inspired by fabrics, diverse world societal traditions and architecture details."

The opening reception is from 4:00 pm ­ 6:00 pm on Sunday, November 5, 2006. The show will run through December 17, 2006.

"An Impressionist Sensibility" at SAAM

The Smithsonian American Art Museum will have "An Impressionist Sensibility: The Halff Collection," on view from Nov. 3 through Feb. 4, 2007.

According to the news release, the exhibition "presents iconic works by some of America's most talented and cherished artists. These selected paintings are from Marie and Hugh Halff's collection, one of the finest private collections of late 19th- and early 20th-century American art."

This exhibition is the first time this remarkable private collection has been on display in Washington, D.C.

"An Impressionist Sensibility" features 26 paintings by William Merritt Chase, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent and John Twachtman, among other internationally known artists.

Marie and Hugh Halff (who live in San Antonio, Texas) acquired these works during the past 20 years, and on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 4 p.m., Eleanor Harvey (curator for nineteenth and early twentieth century art, landscape painting, southwestern and Texas art) will lead a discussion about collecting with the Halffs.

They will be joined by the fair Barbara Guggenheim, who not only has a cool art name, but is also a well-known consultant who advises private collectors, including the Halffs, and corporations about building art collections. Ms. Guggenheim's book "Decorating on eBay : Fast & Stylish on a Budget" was published a year ago.

This free public program will take place in the museum's new McEvoy Auditorium.

Wanna go to a DC opening tonight?

First make a beeline for The Gallery at Flashpoint, which will be showing A. B. Miner, Ian Jehle, Nekisha Durrett: Me, You & Those Other Folks and the opening reception is from 5-7 pm. Listen to me and bring your sheckels and buy Miner now, I say again: "Buy Miner Now!" Last week Capps wrote about Miner's work for the WCP here and there are lots of other earlier reviews here.

"going... #1" by A.B. Miner
Then tomorrow haul ass to say farewell to Cheryl Numark, who will be closing her gorgeous award-winning space after this show. That opening is on Saturday from 6:30 to 8PM.

Open Studios in DC area

Mid City Artists, is a prominent group of diverse Washington, DC area artists in the U St./Dupont/Logan neighborhoods (talented artists such as Anne Marchand, Robert Cole, Craig Kraft, Sondra Arkin, Colin Winterbottom and others) and they will all unveil new work during their semi-annual Open Studios events coming Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 11-12, from 12pm - 5pm.

This two-day event will feature new and varied collections of sculpture, painting, photography and other media. A detailed downloadable map is available on their website at www.midcityartists.com.

Also hosting open studios are the Reeb Hall Studio artists in Arlington, VA. Their Annual Open Studio day will be held on Saturday, November 4 from 2 to 5 p.m. The 13 visual artists currently working at the studio are: Shahla Arbabi, Carlo P. Biggio, Jr., Jane Buckman, Beverly Donnenfeld-Chello, Carol Lopatin, Phillip Loiterstein, Anne McGurk, Kebedech Tekleab, Lee Vaughan, Rick Weaver, Alice Whealin, Linn Woloshin and Cynthia Young.

Details here.

Holocaust Survivor wants her paintings removed from Auschwitz

While I was in Santa Fe I read this story in the local newspaper.

Artist Dina Babbitt was once forced to make a deal with Dr. Josef Mengele (the brutal Nazi doctor who subjected concentration-camp prisoners to ghastly medical experiments). Mengele "needed someone to illustrate his perverse racial theories with portraits of Auschwitz's Gypsy prisoners, an inferior group according to Nazi ideology. A trained artist, she agreed to do the work as the price of saving her mother, as well as herself, from the concentration camp's gas chamber."

In 1973 she discovered that seven of her paintings wound up in a museum at Auschwitz dedicated to preserving a historical record of the Holocaust.

And she wants them back. Read both sides of the story here.

Openings

"Transitions: Photographs by Robert Creamer" opens today, October 26 and runs through June 24 at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington. The opening reception will be held Nov. 4 from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Call 202-633-1000. A review of the exhibition by Glenn McNatt can be read online here. Creamer is represented by Hieneman Myers Contemporary in Bethesda, MD.

Also tonight Thursday, October 26, starting at 7 PM, visit the Arlington Arts Center in Virginia for a glass of wine, a bit of a snack, and conversations with: Suzi Fox, (sculpture), Akiko Kotani, (works on silk and paper), Mahasti YMudd, (installation and performance), Trish Tillman, (installation and video) and Candice Welsh, (works on paper) as they discuss their works in the Center's "Fall Solos 2006" in gallery talks throughout the building.

On October 27, 2006 at 6:00PM is the opening reception for "Meditative Vail Painting Exhibit" by Sirkku M. Sky Hiltunen (Dr. Sky) at Sangha Gallery, 7014 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912 (302) 891-3214. The exhibit will run through November 26, 2006.

The Gallery at Flashpoint presents A. B. Miner, Ian Jehle, Nekisha Durrett: Me, You & Those Other Folks October 26 – November 22, 2006. And the opening reception is Friday, October 27, 5-7 pm. The very talented and diminutive Lucy Hogg will be moderating the artists' talk at the gallery on Saturday Nov. 22 at 3 pm. A. B. Miner is another one of my favorite DC area painters, and I think that collectors should pick up all that's for sale at this show. Additionally, Ian Jehle is easily one of the best contemporary portrait artists around.

Numark Gallery hosts the opening reception of "The Last Show," which is Numark Gallery's final exhibition celebrating 11 years in DC. Participating artists include Shimon Attie, Chan Chao, Diana Cooper, Tony Feher, Terri Friedman, Doug Hall, Peter Halley, David Jung, Robert Lazzarini, Nikki S. Lee, Sharon Louden, Carter Potter, Robin Rose, Adam Ross, Michal Rovner, David Ryan, Jim Sanborn, David Shaprio, Dan Steinhilber and Yuriko Yamaguchi. Opening Reception is Saturday, October 28 from 6:30 - 8 pm.

That same night, one of my favorite artists on the planet, Molly Springfield opens "Gentle Reader" with an opening reception on Saturday, October 28, 7-9 pm (and then an Artist Talk on Saturday, November 11, 2 pm) at Transformer (1404 P St NW, Washington, DC / 202-483-1102).

DCAC in Adams Morgan, DC will have "Herb's Choice: Born Again Dada," an evening of live performance, spoken word and anti-art on Sunday, 30 October starting at 7:30 PM. It's all free. The exhibit itself runs through 05 November in the DCAC gallery.

With an opening reception on Thursday, November 2, 6-9pm, and running through November 30, 2006, Orchard Gallery (7917 Norfolk Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814 tel. 240/497-1912) has "A Closer Look," collages by Sophia McCrocklin. Her color-infused collages take on a new theme relating to the late work of Monet’s nympheas. Using a technique that incorporates painterly painting with collaged fabric pieces, she also pays allegiance to Matisse’s cutouts. McCrocklin’s own heritage is her native Kentucky quilt.

The superbly talented Leo Villareal returns to Conner Contemporary in DC with an opening reception on Friday, November 3: 6-8pm. The show is titled "Origin." This is Villareal's third solo with Conner.

The Wood Turning Center, which is a Philadelphia-based not-for-profit international arts institution, gallery and resource center, has "Fabulous Art," opening on November 3, 2006 and running through January 14, 2007. The opening reception takes place during First Friday, November 3 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Ranging from furniture to house wares and everything in between, this exhibit shows the wide scope of wood art available today. Tables, chairs, bowls, ladles and everything in between are part of this exhibit of functional and frequently whimsical world of everyday objects.

Nic Coviello mixes "dramatic graphic elements with quiet fleeting images" in his current body of botanical works at Nexus in Philadelphia. This exhibition opens Friday, November 3 and runs through Sunday, November 26. A reception for the artist and informal talk will be held on Wednesday November 8 from 7 to 9 pm.

Also at Nexus is "Terror Begins at Home," an installation by Anne Cecil Member where she "examines the recent failures of our government and social institutions in a series of multimedia installations." This exhibition opens Friday, November 3 and runs through Sunday, November 26. A reception for the artist and informal talk will be held on Wednesday November 8 from 7 – 9 pm. Poetry reading with CA Conrad, Frank Sherlock and Greg Fuchs, on Saturday, November 18, 7 to 9 pm

On Saturday, November 4, the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center Frederick, MD will host "9 Artists: 25 Years," a retrospect exhibit showcasing the work of nine women artists who, beginning in the early 1980s, contributed significantly to Frederick's arts community.

At Falling Cow Gallery, "Simple-ism " opens on November 4th with a reception from 6-8 pm and will run through November 25th. The artist featured identifies himself only by the name Anonymous Artist, simultaneously "removing himself while claiming the anonymous artistic achievements of the past." Simple-ism also reexamines "Color Field" painting in a digital age. And no, it's not me. The gallery, is at 732 S. 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, 215-627-4625.

On Thursday, November 9, 2006, from 7– 9 pm, the Arlington Arts Center (3550 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA) and as part of their inaugural exhibition for their new temporary outdoor site-work exhibition series, "Sculpture on the Grounds," will have curator Twylene Moyer, who will lead a forum discussion with artists Laura Amussen, Jackson Martin and Renee Rendine to speak about their works. Additional insight will be provided by Greg Zell, the Natural Resource Specialist from the Long Branch Nature Center, offering a compelling overview regarding natural resources in the Arlington area.

Bethesda's Fraser Gallery showcases the third solo exhibition by DC's best-known landscape photographer, the exceptionally talented (and highly collected) Maxwell MacKenzie. The opening reception is Friday, November 10 from 6pm - 9pm as part of the multi-gallery Bethesda Art Walk. The show runs through January 6, 2007.

A few blocks away, Bethesda's Gallery Neptune opens "Three" (Kim Bentley, Rion Hoffman,and Kirk Waldroff) with a public reception at Gallery Neptune on Friday, November 10, 6-9 PM. The artists were first "discovered" at the amazing DC area art extravaganza known as Artomatic which is easily one of the nation's best "art fairs" to discover new, emerging artistic talent.

"The Muse and the Green Fuse" are new art works by Amira Dvorah, and during the month of November, the Da Vinci Art Alliance in Philly will present the exhibition which will feature new paintings on canvas, instruments, and furniture by Dvorah. A reception for the artist will take place on Saturday, Nov. 11th from 3-6:30 pm.

Painter Jane Hahler’s solo-artist exhibit, "Color in the American Townscape," will be shown in The Art League Gallery in Old Town Alexandria, VA, November 9 – December 4, 2006. The opening reception is November 12, 2006 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm.

New

Two DC galleries add to their online presence.

Nevin Kelly Gallery has a new online blog, as far as I know the only DC area commercial gallery to have one. Visit their new blog here.

Conner Contemporary Art has just launched a new website. The new site offers the ability to view video and listen to audio excerpts from their artists. They also offer audio downloads of gallery events and lectures with artists, art historians, curators and other experts in the field. Visit the new website here.

Wanna go to an opening in DC tonight?

New ceramic pieces by Howard graduate Tricia Bishop - this will be her first show in her old neighborhood! - And new works by DC area painter Sandra Warren Gobar (who is a faculty member of both the Smithsonian Institution and the Corcoran College of Art & Design) opens tonight at the new Longview Gallery in DC. The artists' reception is on Thursday, October 26, from 5-8pm.