Jim Brossy debuts at Projects Gallery in Philly

This Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts M.F.A. graduate delivers highly textured, mixed media assemblage paintings using art materials, construction and found objects. Tar, latex, cement, wax, string and steel all make appearances in his paintings, in addition to the more traditional acrylic, pastel, pencil and oil. Found objects such as newspaper and old clothes augment the richness and narrative of the work.

His debut show “Unentitled” opens Friday June 1st, with a First Friday artist reception from 5 to 9 p.m. at Projects Gallery in Philly. The exhibition continues through July 29th.

Broken

Yesterday I had a crew over to trim some trees in my front yard, and I was a little concerned because the front of my house has a huge stained glass piece next to the main door. According to our neighbors and postal lady, it was custom made in 1961 by a famed Pennsylvania glass artist who used to live in the house when it was built that year.

So they parked their truck right in front of it in order to block it from any flying debris.

As I once described in Tentacles, there are some instances on this planet, when the laws of gravity seem to take a couple of nanoseconds off. Like when one is walking down a path, and a rock, as if by magic, jumps from the ground and lands inside your shoe. How does that happen? Is it evidence of magic? Time travel? Even if one considers a viable explanation, the most common of which is that the other shoe kicks the rock into the partner shoe, it takes some extraordinary physics and flight acrobatics to imagine a rock being kicked by one shoe, flying sideways through the air as you walk on and sliding into the other shoe. I prefer to believe that the rocks jump straight up and floats into the shoe.

And yesterday a large tree branch was cut, fell about twenty feet to the center of the yard, and a small piece of wood broke off as it hit the ground, and defying the laws and vectors of physics, it somehow managed to teleport itself to the other side of the parked truck, and travel about 25 feet and smash a hole in the only stained glass window in the whole damned house.

The Licht idea for art for the Nats

Recap: Last week I told you about a call for art for the new Nats stadium.

Then yesterday I told you that Michael Neibauer in The Examiner revealed that "plans to decorate the new Washington Nationals’ new stadium with crafts, sculpture and bronze figures are in limbo after the D.C. Council eliminated money in next year’s budget for a public arts project."

Now D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission CEO Allen Lew says in this Nats' fan blog that he will go to bat for "some sort of Washington Baseball Hall of Fame in the Stadium."


But the best idea comes from Mike Licht in this comment:

When Allen Lew worked on the DC Convention Center, $4 Million was included in the basic agreement for sculpture, paintings, and other artwork to enhance the facility. On the baseball stadium project, art was an afterthought, and now the DC Commission of the Arts and Humanities has been asked to fund it, with corresponding opportunity costs for art in our residential communities.

The DC Arts Commission has tried various ways to sneak the money under the stadium budget cap (borrowing the money rather than granting it, for example), and by claiming that the custom-made, site-specific art would just be "loaned" to the stadium but still owned by the commission. That is like saying your dental work is on loan from someone else.

Public art projects like this are normally funded by the developer or tenant, and the public arts agency gives technical assistance in the art project's execution. The Commission's "exhibition game" is a "shell-game" and exhibits poor public policy, poor judgment, and questionable ethics.

It is too late to include art in the basic agreement. Here's a solution: the Lerners establish a nonprofit corporation for stadium art, throw in some bucks, get their pals to do the same, and ask the DC Arts Commission to provide technical assistance in the art project's execution.

I'll be damned if that's not a great idea that may in the end deliver both more money and better artwork to the Nats' stadium.

If done right we may end up with the best art stadium in the nation.

Let me be the first one to endorse the Licht Plan, and the second one to call for the Lerners to establish a nonprofit corporation for stadium art, for our area's deep pocketed baseball fans cum art lovers to contribute some money to it and for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities to provide technical assistance in executing the project itself.

On the latter aspect, personally I would hope that the Commission follows the model of how the highly successful City Art Collection was curated: hire a hard-working curator with deep knowledge of the DC art scene (Sondra Arkin are you reading this?), give her a budget, maybe let her hire an assistant or two, and let them loose on the Greater DC area's artists' studios, homes and slide repositories.

That way you have a good chance of ending up with a really good art collection in the stadium, rather than "airportism."

The 2007 Sondheim Prize finalists

The 2007 Sondheim Prize finalists are listed below. To me the surprises are some of the artists who didn't make this finalists' list:

Richard Cleaver (Baltimore MD)

Frank Hallam Day (Washington DC)

Eric Dyer (Baltimore MD)

Geoff Grace (Baltimore MD)

Gabriel Martinez (Washington DC)

Tony Shore (Baltimore MD)

Karen Yasinsky (Baltimore MD)

You may recall that Tony Shore also won last year's Bethesda Painting Award.

Opportunity for Artists and Curators

Deadline: June 15, 2007 (Postmark)

The Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) is requesting proposals for exhibitions for its main gallery space for periods of approximately 4-6 weeks. Proposals will be accepted from artists, independent curators, or arts organizations.

Visit this website for more details.

Talking About Drawing

Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 30th, 2007, from 6-9 pm, DC's Civilian Art Projects will host "Draw In."

This open to all community drawing event is organized by artist and musician Reuben Breslar. About the project, Breslar says:

"The Draw-In project, as I have come to name it, is a community awareness happening composed loosely around art environments and the act of drawing.

It is in continuum and will occur as often as possible. It combines issues of personal sincerity and interaction in the public scenario. The idea has evolved from the crossroads of two major influences in my life. The first being the joy of drawing amongst friends over drinks, and the conversation and serendipitous moments that come about from social engagement based around drawing. The second stems from issues of cultural awareness and identity- subjects that need to be addressed in the artworld as well as the public sphere amongst the contemporary artmarket and other pressing insularly 'conversations.'

My end goal is to have the event serve as a reminder as to the potential of art and the need for wholesome human relations."

When: Wednesday, May 30th, 2007, 6-9 pm

Where: Civilian Art Projects (406 7th St., NW, Floor 3 WDC 20004, 202-347-0022)

The event itself is an after work affair, an evening of drawing, drinking, eating and having a good time. Some drinks will be provided, all you have to do is show up. Please come with your materials of choice.

Art for DC baseball stadium struck out of budget

Last week I told you about a call for art for the new Nats stadium.

Now Michael Neibauer in The Examiner tells us that "plans to decorate the new Washington Nationals’ new stadium with crafts, sculpture and bronze figures are in limbo after the D.C. Council eliminated money in next year’s budget for a public arts project."

Read the article here.

Drawing!

Because drawing is my preferred genre of art, "Three Part Harmony: Definition, Delicacy and Detail in Drawing," an exhibition co-curated by Dr. Fred Ognibene and Andrea Pollan, and opening this coming Saturday, June 2, 2007 from 6 - 8 pm at Curator's Office in DC, is one show that I am really looking forward to.

The show has a powerhouse of a list of artists from the USA, Canada, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Iran, Germany, Japan, Iceland, and England, including:

Gary Batty
Sandra Cinto
Marcel Dzama
Peter Feiler
Adam Fowler
Mary Judge
Avish Khebrehzadeh
Takehito Koganezawa
Ricardo Lanzarini
Kristofer Lee
Amy Lin
A.B. Miner
Beverly Ress
Frances Richardson
Eduardo Santiere
Chris Scarborough
James Siena
Sigga Björg Siggurdardóttir
Zach Storm
Daniel Zeller
Not that they need my help, but to this list I would have added Ben Tolman, whose drawings have to be seen to be believed. Read the 2005 City Paper profile on Tolman here.

New DC gallery

A while back I told you about a new DC area gallery that would be opening next year. The WaPo's Amy Joyce has a profile on the idea for this new space and the man behind it.

Read it here.

Lawrence on artDC

Writing for Artnet, Sidney Lawrence delivers a superb discussion and review of artDC, the District's first contemporary international art fair.

Read it here.

Bin Diving

In the past we've discussed the merits of bin diving, or the art of ahh... finding art in art schools' and artists' trash bins.

My own particular practice started in art school, where anytime that I needed some stretched canvas for a new assignment I would visit the large trash bins behind the art school and always come up with a few discarded canvasses. After that I would remove the canvas, turn it around to the unpainted side, re-stretch it and bingo! a new surface to paint on.

Anyway, this Guardian story describes the recent auction of the trash from artist Francis Bacon's studio in west London, which just made £965,490 (close to two million dollars) for the garbageman who bindived for it over the years.

Venice Biennale May Start Selling Again

Most art critics and some art bloggers have this Utopian sense of writing about art exhibitions where the commerce of art is often viewed as a bad thing.

Nevermind that galleries are the second most-likely-to-fail business in the US (restaurants are the first).

The Venice Biennale, which used to sell art openly from 1942 to 1968, may be doing it again. Read the Art Newspaper article by Anna Somers Cocks here.

Opportunity for Sculptors

Deadline: Thursday, June 14, 2007

Art League Sculptors at Washington Square
August 5 – November 3, 2007

This is an opportunity for artists to exhibit large-scale three-dimensional works in a beautiful atrium exhibition space in downtown Washington, DC. Members of The Art League, Art League instructors, and Torpedo Factory artists are encouraged to submit work for jurying. Washington Square is located at 1050 Connecticut Ave, NW near the Farragut North metro (red line). A maximum of 35 pieces will be selected. Please note: large works are encouraged; there is limited space for small pieces.

2007 Calendar

• Drop off for CD with digital images, or actual work: Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 10:00 am – 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

• Jurying - Friday, June 15, 2007

• Pick-up of actual work (Artists will find out at time of pick-up if their work was accepted) Saturday, June 16, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sunday, June 17, 12:00 noon – 5:00 pm - Work not picked-up by 5:00 pm on Sunday will be assessed a $5 per day per piece storage fee.

• Digital images of accepted work due to Art League Gallery - COB, Tuesday, June 26, 2007.

• Accepted Work delivered by artist to Washington Square - Sunday August 5, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon

• Artists' reception at Washington Square - Thursday, August 9, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

• Exhibition closes - Friday, November 2, 2007

• Pick-up of work from Washington Square - Saturday, November 3, 9:30 am – 12:00 noon

Eligibility: This exhibit is open to members of The Art League, Art League instructors, or Torpedo Factory artists. Any interested artists may join The Art League at any time. If you are not currently a member and wish to submit work for this exhibition opportunity, please contact the Gallery regarding pro-rated membership rates.

Juror: John Jayson Sonnier will jury this exhibit. Sonnier, a sculpture instructor at the Corcoran School of Art and Design, specializes in garden design. Continuing the stone carving tradition, Sonnier was taught by Master Sculptor Constantine Seferlis. Sonnier’s work is currently on display at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Library; Katzen Center of Art at American University; Creative Partners Gallery, Bethesda, Maryland; Arts and Humanities Council, Silver Spring, Maryland; Art Galleries of the National Institute of Health; and at his website.

Image Specifications

• Jurying will be done from digital images submitted on CD or from the actual work.

• Digital Submissions: Artists may submit images in .tif or .jpg format on a CD. Each image can be no larger than 4” X 6”, 300 dpi, with a file size of 2 MB or less. Label each image file with the artist’s last name and the number of the image, i.e. “Smith_1”. Please write artists last name on top of CD with black marker. CDs will not be returned. *Artists who submit CDs may call the gallery as early as Saturday, June 16 to find out if their work was accepted into the exhibit.

• CDs must be accompanied by a hard copy, typed image checklist with numbers corresponding to image numbers on the CD. The list must also include: title, medium, dimensions (h” x w” x d”), sale price or if Not for Sale (NFS) the insurance value. Please also include all of your contact information (name, address, phone, and email).

• CD submissions can be mailed to The Art League Gallery to arrive no later than June 14th or brought to gallery during drop off times on June 14th.

• All accepted artists must provide the gallery with digital images of their artwork by the close of business on Tuesday, June 26, 2007. This is required by the management of Washington Square. Please have images of your artwork ready ahead of time. Images should follow the above specifications.

Fees: The entry fee is $5 per sculpture. Maximum of three entries per artist. Artists bringing in actual artwork must attach an entry form to each submission.

Accepted Works: The artist must deliver accepted works in person to Washington Square, 1050 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, on Sunday, August 6, 2007, between 10:00 am and 12:00 noon. If Washington Square management believes any works to be inappropriate for display, they retain the right to exclude or withdraw such works from the proposed exhibition. No accepted work may be withdrawn before the end of the show for any reason. Work not picked up between 9:30 am and 12:00 noon on Saturday, November 4, 2007, will be assessed an additional $25.00 per day fee. Individuals are responsible for transporting and installing their own works; the exhibit designer will determine locations for work.

Awards: Aaa awards, including cash awards, will be presented at the reception. Awards will be chosen at the discretion of the juror.

Sales: Work in this exhibit may or may not be for sale. Prices are to be determined by the artist. The Art League Gallery retains a commission of 40% from works sold from this exhibit or while the piece is being displayed at this exhibit. Payment to the artist will be mailed within 30 days after final completion of the sale. Prices should be an accurate reflection of the artist's sales history and should not be inflated.

Insurance: All reasonable care will be taken with the accepted artwork, but it is to be clearly understood by the artist that The Art League and Washington Square assume no responsibility and shall not be held responsible for any damage of any kind occurring during shipping, installation, de-installation or while on exhibit. All artists will sign a loan agreement and receipt form. Permission to photograph any work in the exhibition for publicity purposes or for documentation is considered granted.

About the Art League Gallery: The Art League Gallery is located at 105 N. Union Street in the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia. The Art League is a private non-profit membership organization, which provides continuous opportunities for artists to have their work judged by professionals in the visual arts.

Questions regarding the Art League Sculpures at Washington Square or The Art League may be directed to:

The Art League Gallery
105 N. Union Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-683-1780; or
email: gallery@theartleague.org

Cubans

Photographer Rachel Been has just completed a really good photo documentary addressing Miami's influential Cuban and Cuban-American population. See her photos here.

Cultural bragging follows: I think that one of the reasons for the spectacular success of the Miami-based art fairs is the economic and cultural power of Miami's Cuban ancestry population, which as anyone who has been to Miami knows, is the dominant ethnic group in that city.

According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, we Cuban-Americans represent only about four percent of the 45 million or so Hispanics/Latinos that are living in the US, but unlike other Latinos, your average C-A is a Republican, disproportionally represented in Congress, and C-A average annual income is higher than that of Anglos and other non-Hispanic whites and Non-Hispanic blacks, and more than 50% of the top 100 wealthiest Hispanics in the US are Cubans as are more than 50% of the top Hispanic-owned businesses in the US.

So why do Miamians with disposable income, and New Yorkers of all ancestries with disposable income buy art, but Washingtonians and Philadelphians of the same wealth level do not?

A while back I submitted my theory for DC's case here; now working on Philly's case. More later...

Wanna go to a Virginia opening tomorrow?

Habatat Galleries

Wanna go to a Philly opening tonight?

Schmidt Dean Gallery has an opening reception for Susan Fenton: "Japan Series," and Wei Jia: "Made in China." Through June 30, 2007. Starts at 7:30PM.

Wanna go to a DC opening tomorrow night?

"Industrials" opens this coming Saturday at Randall Scott Gallery in DC featuring works by Jackson Martin and Michael Sandstrom.


The opening reception is May 26th 6-9pm and the exhibition goes through June 16th, 2007.

Trawick Prize Semi-Finalists Announced

Thirty-two artists have been selected as semi-finalists for the fifth annual Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. 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, 1977 may also be awarded a $1,000 prize sponsored by the Fraser Gallery.

Travis Childers, Fairfax, VA
Mary Coble, Washington, D.C.
Eric Dyer, Baltimore, MD
Mary Early, Washington D.C.
Susan Eder & Craig Dennis, Falls Church, VA
Suzanna Fields, Richmond, VA
Inga Frick, Washington, D.C.
Eric Garner, Bethesda, MD
Jason M. Gottlieb, Potomac, MD
Jeannine Harkleroad, Chesapeake, Va
Maren Hassinger, Baltimore, MD
Linda Hesh, Alexandria, VA
Jason Horowitz, Arlington, VA
Ian Jehle, Washington D.C.
Lisa Kellner, Hanover, VA
Nathan A. Manuel, Washington, D.C.
Baby Martinez, Washington, D.C
Robert Mellor, Chatham, VA
Steve A, Prince, Hampton, VA
Beverly Ress, Silver Spring, MD
Christopher Saah, Washington, D.C.
Michael Sandstrom, Baltimore, MD
Kathleen Shafer, Washington, D.C.
Foon Sham, Springfield, VA
Jo Smail, Baltimore, MD
Judy Stone, Riverdale Park, MD
Matthew Sutton, Washington, D.C.
Rob Tarbell, Richmond, VA
Tim Tate, Washington, D.C.
JL Stewart Watson, Baltimore, MD
Bruce Wilhelm, Richmond, VA
Nicholas F. Wisniewski, Baltimore, MD
With some "new" names excepted, that list is essentially almost a "Who's Who" in the art scene of the Greater DC area - perhaps the toughest field in the Trawick's short history.

The jurors for the Trawick Prize are Rex R. Stevens, who is the Chair of the General Fine Arts & Drawing Departments at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, Maryland; Amy G. Moorefield, who is the Assistant Director and Curator of Collections for Virginia Commonwealth University’s Anderson Gallery as well as an Assistant Professor there; and the fair Anne Ellegood, who is the Associate Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden where her focus is contemporary art.

Opportunities for Artists

Call to Artists working on Women's Issues - Honfleur Gallery in DC is seeking artists working in two or more of the following themes for an upcoming project/exhibition; womens issues, feminism, nutrition, self/body image and race. Visual artists working in any media may apply. The chosen artist/team of artists will participate in programming including workshops and artist talks as a part of this project.

$4,000 of support is available to the artist or team of artists chosen. Further
inquiries should be addressed to Briony Evans, Creative Director, Honfleur Gallery, via email at bevans@archdc.org or telephone at 301-536-8994. Applications due June 4th, 2007 should include 10 slides, an artist's statement and a resume.

MICA Student Art Sale

We at Middie-A are big fans of student art sales and events.

Two annual, much-anticipated art sales take place at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) bringing together past and present students and their art. A longstanding tradition and one of Baltimore’s favorite sales exhibitions, 15x15: An Alumni Benefit Exhibition & Sale runs Saturday, June 2–Sunday, June 24 in Fox Building’s Meyerhoff Gallery at 1303 Mount Royal Avenue. A reception is held on Sunday, June 3 from 1–4 p.m. Coinciding with 15x15, the annual Graduate Art Sale takes place Saturday, June 2 and Sunday, June 3 from noon–4 p.m. in MICA’s recently rededicated Mount Royal Station (1400 Cathedral Street); Studio Center, fourth floor (113-131 W. North Avenue); and the Fox Building.

15x15: An Alumni Benefit Exhibition & Sale features small artwork not exceeding 15 inches in any dimension (including framing, matting, and/or boxes) by more than 200 MICA alumni from across the United States and around the world. This exhibition and sale benefits the exhibiting artists, as well as current MICA students with 40% commission on the sale of any work going towards the College’s Alumni Scholarship Fund. Gallery hours for 15x15 are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday from noon–5 p.m.

MICA’s annual Graduate Art Sale provides an opportunity to see and buy outstanding contemporary art by the accomplished artists of the Hoffberger School of Painting, Mount Royal School of Art, Rinehart School of Sculpture, as well as the graduate photography and digital imaging and post-baccalaureate certificate programs. All proceeds raised benefit the artists.

"15x15: An Alumni Benefit Exhibition & Sale” runs Saturday, June 2 – Sunday, June 24, with a Reception on Sunday, June 3, 1–4 p.m.

“Graduate Art Sale” takes place Saturday, June 2 and Sunday, June 3 from noon–4 p.m.

For more information, visit www.mica.edu or call 410-225-2300.