Wanna go to a VA opening this afternoon?
You better hurry, because the DC area's newest art gallery, Habatat Gallery, which is located in Tyson's Corner is having an opening for ceramic artist Bennett Bean this afternoon from 12-3PM. The exhibition runs through May 22, 2007.
Bean's work can be found in many museum collections including the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Shannon Chester
Last Wednesday I posted my thoughts on my initial visit to Artomatic and one of the artists that I highlighted was the photography of Shannon Chester.
And now Bailey has an interesting story to tell about Chester and her work. Read it here.
Center City Gallery Night
Tonight is Center City Gallery Night in Philly from 5-8PM. The Philly City Paper will be hosting an after-party at Loie Brasserie from 8-10PM (RSVP here).
Maps, participating galleries and other associated events here.
New DC working studio
Studio 4903 is a recently-opened working studio dedicated to creating art and community, with a focus on cutting-edge contemporary jewelry and design. The Studio is located at 4903 Wisconsin Avenue, between Tenleytown and Friendship Heights, and consists of 5 jewelry artists, an architect and a clothing designer. The light-filled, open space facilitates regular shows and events.
The Studio is proud to present the first in a series of slide shows and lectures featuring contemporary jewelry artists. Anya Pinchuk and Natalya Pinchuk will discuss and present images of their work on Thursday, May 10, at 7:00pm. This free lecture is presented in conjunction with their two-person show at Jewelerswerk Galerie, opening May 11, 2007.
Katie Tuss' AOM Top 10
The fair Katie Tuss discovers what an exhausting task it is to walk through Artomatic attempting to see the whole show and at the same time pick her Top 10 choices:
1. Michael Janis -- Smart, investigative glass and found object assemblage.
2. Ming-Yi Zaleski -- I love Zaleski's yarn creations. At AOM, we see a wall-sized blond bombshell.
3. Laurel Lukaszewski -- Her stoneware and porcelain extensions are elegant on the wall and on the floor.
4. Andrew Wodzianski -- Wodzianski brings us more blonds with his illustrations of stylish female androids set against decorative backgrounds.
5. Sondra Arkin -- I love the color and texture of Arkin's encaustic paintings.
6. Dana Ellyn -- Her pint-sized graphite portraits on recycled catalogue cards work as a type of blueprint for the menagerie of people depicted in the larger, colorful character studies that fill her wall space.
7. Daniel Lobo -- A year's collection of photographs taken while following DC commuters.
8. Jenny Walton -- This AU MFA student's renderings of scars are delicate in graphite; fleshy and tactile when painted.
9. Erwin Timmer -- Timmer's thick, recycled glass protrudes, grows, morphs and even shows up as a lamp.
10. Gregory Ferrand -- Everyone is in distress in Ferrand's acrylic narratives, except that woman holding the sloth.
Wanna go to a Baltimore Opening tomorrow night?
With a reception full of artists, good wines and sushi on Saturday, April 21, 2007 from 5-9 PM, Light Street Gallery in Baltimore opens their "American Icons" exhibit, which includes images of Americana by the artists Mark Schiff, Robert McClintock, Rob Rudick, Barbara Simpson, Mark Lovett, Anna Kuczynski, Diane Knaus, Nicole Wittelsberger, Ed Towles, Irene Sylvester, Jerry Prettyman, Robert Cadwalader, R.A. Propper, Gwen Lewis, Nancy Nesvet, Dave Montgomery, Jim Condron, Stephen Hay, Patrick O'Brien, and Chip Cecil.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Wanna go to a DC opening tonight?
The very talented DC painter Sondra Arkin opens tonight at Nevin Kelly Gallery with an opening reception from 6-9pm. You best hurry, as I hear the show is already selling well even before the opening!
DC area studio space
Several folks from ArtDC.org would like to band together to start another studio. And they've found a location: 4500 square feet, exposed brick walls, big windows, heat, electric, a bathroom and more.
They envison first finding 10 founding members. They're talking about 250 square feet for each artist dividing up the room with an open atmosphere; no walls.
Then each of these 10 artists get a storage closet designed specifically for storing art materials. They will call these artists their charter members or artists in residence. They will have 24 hr access.
There are two stair wells and possible access to an industrial elevator 17 feet deep, and there's a standard ceiling height of just over 8 ft. A cost of $275 per artist plus a small fee of around $25 a month for utilities and liability insurance for the space as a whole is envisioned.
There will then be a group area with items like a press, a framing area, possibly a dark room, and a work area.
For more details contact Jesse at admin@jessecohen.com.
Wanna go to a Univ. of MD Opening tonight?
The University of Maryland’s Union Gallery has "Midpoint: Second Year MFA Candidates" at the Union Gallery opening tonight and on display through May 21, 2007.
"The exhibition presents installation, sculpture, drawing, painting and video pieces by six artists – Christian Benefiel, Mahwish Chishty, Sarada Conaway, Ellington, Aniko Makranczy and Meg Mitchell – all halfway through the University’s three-year Master of Fine Arts program.
Opening recption is Thursday, April 19, 5-7 pm. Fear the turtle.
MFA Thesis Exhibition at Katzen
You all know that I am a big fan of collecting student art (I started selling my own artwork regularly at Seattle's Pike Place Market while I was a freshman at the University of Washington School of Art), and starting on Saturday, April 21, and running through Sunday, May 27, 2007, the Katzen Arts Center has an exhibition of AU’s two-year Master of Fine Arts degree students, featuring abstract and representational painting and sculpture as well as installation art (some directly on gallery walls) by Graham Childs, Tom Debari, Ellen Ann Gallup, Rebecca Johnson, Max Kuller, Kelly Ulcak, David Waddell, Jenny Walton and Marty Weishaar.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Multimediale Opens tomorrow in DC
Multimediale is a four-day multimedia DC area arts festival that brings together artists from the Washington, DC region centered around the theme: Capturing the Capital!
This festival of Art, Politics, and New Media runs from April 19 - April 22, 2007.
Multimediale seeks to energize the DC arts community with new ideas about art, society and politics. Visit their Web site at www.multimedialedc.org for news and dialogue and info on city-wide events. Multimediale is organized by Randall Packer and curator Niels Van Tomme. All events are free and open to the public.
And check out the video shot by John James Anderson:
Tim Tate sculpture - uh oh. Where'd it go?
This Artomatic photo from Tracy Lee says it all...
Read Tracy Lee's thoughts on Artomatic here and also see her great images of some of the AOM artwork here.
Artomatic Rumor Department
The CP's Jessica Gould discusses the Artomatic rumor that I alluded to last week.
Informal research on the part of the Mid Atlantic Art News investigative department has failed to nail potential ubercollectors willing to admit that it is their dastardly plan to bring blue chip artists to AOM under unknown artists' names in order to see if the blue chip art gets a positive response from the public when juxtoposed with the more other-colored chip artists' work.
Our blue chip artist identification department has swept AOM attempting to identify any possibility of a super famous artist(s) being present at AOM, and although so far we have found at least one artist channeling Alexander Calder's work, the closest that we can come is two wild guesses which we will reserve until a later time.
The idea itself is quite brilliant! Start a fun rumor that even as it is blatantly nearly impossible to accomplish, it nonetheless brings home an interesting point.
artDC benefit
The opening night of the District's first major art fair, artDC, will benefit the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Washington Convention Center , Hall E
800 Mount Vernon Place, NW, Washington DC
5:30-7:30, Drinks and Hors d' Oeuvres - Tickets are $100
7:30-9:30, Cash Bar - Tickets are $30
For tickets call 312-587-8124 or email jrabion@dc-artfair.com
A view of Art-O-Matic after one visit
How does a writer cover an arts extravaganza of the size of AOM once the eyes and mind become numb after the 200th artist, or the 400th or the 600th?
As an art critic, I once started a review of a past AOM by complaining how much my feet hurt after my 5th or 6th visit to the show, in a futile attempt to gather as much visual information as possible in order to write a fair review of the artwork and artists.
Over the years I have discovered that it is impossible to see everything and to be fair about anyone; the sheer size and evolving nature of the show itself makes sure of the impossibility of this task. And often I see fellow writers who fall prey to this attempt to see everything at once and then gather thoughts about the artwork. But AOM is not just about the artwork.
I have visited the 2007 AOM once, and soon I will return for a second, longer visit.
Nonetheless, often first impressions are the most memorable, and thus some early thoughts on the artwork itself follow.
Like all previous Artomatics, this version of the open mass art show started in 1999 continues to evolve up the food chain of both art and business. AOM is now an official 503(c), and this location in Crystal City is by far the best one so far, as the dozens and dozens of small, well-lit offices make excellent art galleries.
The art itself, like any huge group art show (open or juried) falls into three categories: very good, very bad, and (the vast majority) adequate.
And yet, the least of the adequate original artwork, by its creative process itself, beats any mass-produced poster. AOM is a Mecca and a magnet for beginning collectors; if you can't find art that you like from such a vast and diverse group of artists, then perhaps you should stick to collecting action figures or pre-Columbian artifacts, or baseball cards framed as art.
As a gallerist, I also have visited AOM looking for new talent amongst the mind-numbing numbers of artists who come together under one roof. Over the years, together with my fellow DC area gallerists, we have plucked many artists from the ranks and files of AOM. Artists who since their first appearance at past AOMs have now joined the collections of museums and Biennials and have been picked up by galleries nationwide. Names like Tim Tate, the Dumbacher Brothers, Kelly Towles, Kathryn Cornelius, Richard Chartier and that amazing worldwide phenomenon and best-selling author Frank Warren of PostSecret fame. But AOM is not just about the emerging superstar artist.
More on that later; now let me give you a peek into the artists whose work stood out during my first look:
Maria Mandle was the first artist to make my list. I've never heard of this artist before, and thus she's "new" to me. I liked her strong graphite drawings.
I've seen Jesse Cohen's photographs develop (good pun uh?) and grow through the last few years, and the cynotypes and X-rays images at AOM, where Cohen struggles with his own identity through his father's X-ray imagery, are memorable and strong, and Cohen's best work so far.
Same thing for Shannon Chester, whose work often pops up in DC area art shows. This diminutive photographer has an excellent eye for capturing a suble eroticism in unusual circumstances and locales. Check out her beautiful photographs.
Alison Sigethy has won eight gold medals as a kayaker, and probably because of her outdoor nature, the environment is very important to her. And thus it is no surprise to see this talented DC area glass artist be one of the first ones to bring glass to the new, emerging "green art" movement that recycles art into new art, as Sigethy does with her beautiful new works. Another cool "green" artist, also working with glass (trust me, glass artists have a lot of work eligible for recycling, as anyone who has dumpster-dived into the Washington Glass School broken glass and trash dumpster knows!), is Erwin Timmers, whose work I mentioned yesterday.
I also liked Joe Granski's painterly, fun and exciting work. This is also a "new" artist for me, as is Joseph Merchlinsky's work, which at first I saw as attractive, abstracted super pixalated works, until I realized in horror that they were imagery from Sept. 11 of people jumping from the WTC. Once this discovery is reveled, it is amazing to see the breathtaking reel-back reaction of the viewers high atop Crystal City, with a spectacular view of the airport and the city. It is proof again of the never-ending ability of the visual arts to deliver thoughts, agendas, ideas, history and presence as no other form of the fine arts can.
Ditto for liking Ruth Trevarrow's signs, and also the no-name photographer in Gallery 6R09 on Corridor R, with a set of sensual photos of a woman's feet in the bath, turning the tap on in a series of sexy photographs that echo Frida Kahlo's "What the Water Gave Me" painting.
I also discovered some artists exploring new directions, such as Andrew Wodzianski's giant leap into a blend of his enviable figurative skills with a modernist approach to illustration as art. Note to Andrew (and fifty gazillion other artists at AOM): Put your effing prices up so that people can make an instant decision to buy when they see it or immediately know if they can afford it.
Other artists exploring or pushing new directions are Pat Goslee and Lynn Putney, both of whom share a gallery and whose work is refreshingly minimalist and (in Goslee's case) sensual in an odd way that I can never put my finger on.
Talking about separated at birth, two other artists who share a gallery and whose work really works well together is Matt Sesow and Dana Ellyn.
Oh yeah... the image that most-likely will be the most memorable and perhaps popular, is the terrific photo by Susana Raab titled "Tofu Dog, Playboy Bunny, PETA Protest, Washington, DC", or as the no-holds barred press crowd dubbed it last Friday: "Lettuce Lady." Raab has an exceptional ability for capturing the unsual in the everyday common.
The event itself is perhaps the nation’s most powerful incarnation of what it means to be a creative community of hundreds of working creative hands all aligned to not only create artwork, but also to put together a spectacular extravaganza that re-charges the regional art scene as no museum or gallery show can.
AOM is a community of artists employing the most liberal of approaches to art that there exists: the artists are in charge, and the artists make it work, and the artists charge the city with energy and zeal. And these descendants of those brave souls who challenged the academic salons of the 19th century face the same negative eye from the traditional art critics and curators of our museums, who challenge not only the artwork itself, but also the concept of an open, non-juried, most democratic of art shows: a community of artists in charge of energizing the community at large.
And it is certainly the easiest and most comprehensive way to discover contemporary art at its deepest and also at its newest roots. This is where both the savvy collector, and the beginning collector, and the aspiring curator, and the sharp-eyed gallerist can all come to one place with a sense of discovery in mind. And the ones that I missed in the past, and who were discovered by others, are ample evidence of the subjectivity of a gargantuan group art show.
Viva AOM!
On Saturday April 21, 2007, School 33 in Baltimore will host its annual Lotta Art Benefit.
This is the school's largest and most popular fundraising event. You are invited to attend an evening of art, food, and fun! More than 100 local artists generously donate works in all mediums and styles to benefit School 33 Art Center's exhibition and education programs.
At the event, a lottery-style drawing is held and each ticket holder brings home a work of art. Attended by more than 250 persons, Lotta Art is considered by many to be one of the most exciting and unique special events in town!
Get your tickets here or call 410.396.4641.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Opportunity for Artists
Deadline: June 8, 2007
Does Gender Still Matter? Purdue University Galleries (West Lafayette, Indiana) invite entries for a national exhibition examining the role of gender in contemporary society, including constructs of masculinity, femininity, androgyny, etc. The exhibition will be presented in the Robert L. Ringel Gallery from October 22 through December 2, 2007. Elizabeth K. Mix, contemporary art historian at Butler University, Indianapolis, the Gallery director and advisory panel will select artwork. There is no entry fee, but exhibiting artists will be responsible for shipping. All media eligible, including new and emerging technologies. Interested artists should send examples of current work (up to 10 slides or jpegs on CD; DVD for time-based media), resume, artist statement, and SASE to:
Craig Martin, Director
Purdue University Galleries
Physics Building Room 205
525 Northwestern Avenue
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2036
More info: Email cdmartin@purdue.edu, or call (765) 494-3061. Show prospectus is available for download here or by e-mail request.
Green Art
There's a new movement emerging around the nation that recycles art into new art (and it has also apparently absorbed artists who recycle materials into art) and it's been dubbed "green art." They are sartist concerned with environmental and social issues in their themes or in the techniques that they use. It's not just the finished product, but also the process to create the art.
Erwin Timmers, is one of the DC area's leading 'green' artists (His work in sustainable design are seen in some of the large public art projects he has just completed, including this project for the EPA.
Many EPA Potomac Yards staff will be joining the tour that Erwin has organized of other artists at Artomatic that also use recycled materials and are part of the region's growing number of "green" artists.
Date/Time: Wednesday April 17 at 2.30pm
Location: Starts on Level 6 of Artomatic
2121 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA
Metro stop: Crystal City
Free admission
Also, Erwin has a solo show at Studio Gallery in DC opening May 23rd, where his works on Environmental concerns are the central focus. Put that on your calendar!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Tim Tate's AOM Top 10
DC uberartist Tim Tate with his Top 10nish AOM List:
1). Laurel Lukaszewski - beautiful Japanese inspired ceramic installation pieces
2). Katie McKelvie - how can you not love art made from Tic-Tacs?
3). Alison Sigethy - her recycled glass bowls and great new direction for her.
4). Allegra Marquart and Cheryl Derricotte - Both artists have stretched their limits and produced their best work ever.
5). Alison Duval - I love the photo emulsion tranfer collages.
6). Novie Trump - I actually want to own one of her incredible ceramic sculptures... trade?
7). Pat Goslee and Lynn Putney - Not only is the work great in this room, but its been sparingly hung, which makes it one of my favorite room for actually being able to see art.
8). Ruth Trevarrow - Her "Chicks Dig Me" road sign made me smile all day. I dig her too!
9). Sean Hennessey, Rania Hassan and Kirk Waldroff - This is my favorite group room... they have truly pulled together a great gallery effect... plus I love the work.
10). Sondra Arkin and Ellyn Weiss - Please visit the "Weiss/Arkin" Gallery as they call their room. Its a great start to the Washington Color School Remix tour!
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