El Poll

On the issue of the National Latino Museum, how about a little poll to see what the numbers show? Go here and take this poll... just pick one of the two choices.

Trawick Prize Finalists

Fifteen artists have been selected as finalists for the The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, by far the Greater DC region's most prestigious art prize and open to DC, MD and VA artists. The work of the 15 finalists will be on display from September 3 – September 27, 2008 in downtown Bethesda at Heineman Myers Contemporary Art, located at 4728 Hampden Lane.

The prize winners will be announced and honored on Wednesday, September 3rd at a
special press event held at Heineman Myers Contemporary Art. The Best in Show 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 11, 1978 will also be awarded $1,000.

The artists selected as finalists are:

Joseph Barbaccia, Potomac Falls, VA
Ryan Browning, Mount Airy, MD
Lynn Cazabon, Baltimore, MD
Warren Craghead III, Charlottesville, VA
Dawn Gavin, Baltimore, MD
Bernhard Hildebrandt, Baltimore, MD
Kristin Holder, Washington, D.C.
Kay Hwang, Baltimore, MD
Baby Martinez, Washington, D.C.
Maggie Michael, Washington, D.C.
Youngmi S. Organ, Nokesville, VA
Tony Shore, Baltimore, MD
Molly Springfield, Washington. D.C.
Dan Steinhilber, Washington, D.C.
Heide Trepanier, Richmond, VA

Several names return to the list, and for the first time we'll see a husband and wife on the list! Several names from the Bethesda Painting Awards list also make an appearance on this list.

The entries were juried by Molly Donovan, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Art; Irene Hofmann, Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, MD and Leah Stoddard, former Director of Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, VA.

A public reception will be held on Friday, September 12, 2008 from 6-9pm in conjunction with the Bethesda Art Walk.

Por Favor... No National Latino Museum

Back in 2003 I didn't like this idea.

I still don't like it. Read about it here.

And stop trying to segregate my culture and then aggregate it under one convenient label.

Sculptors Happy Hour

Wanna meet and chat about sculpture with fellow DC area sculptors and sculpture lovers on the last Monday of every month at 6:00 PM? (next one is July 28th, etc...).

Then go to Gordon Biersch
900 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20004

Ask the Hostess where the Washington Sculptors Group is sitting. You don’t need to be a member to join them and everyone is invited.

Check out their new website here.

New at Art-Tistics

Welcoming uberblogger Joanne Mattera, who will be joining us at Art-Tistics soon as the site grows.

Note the new widget to the right - it will keep you updated on the new art posts on that blog - just click on the post of interest and it takes you there.

Congrats!

I still don't know who all the 2008 Trawick Prize finalists are, but I know that both Joe Barbaccia and Warren Craghead are on that list!

As soon as it is made public I will have it here; meanwhile, congrats to Joe and Warren!

Seeking the "Collector"

Today's Washington Post has a list of suspects for DC's almost/quasi famous "Collector" - It also has a quote from me as to why Michael Janis is not a suspect in my opinion.

Read the piece here (scroll down).

PS - Where did they get that pic of Kirk Waldroff? from his High School yearbook?

Podcasting

Just a teaser for now... we will soon be adding regular podcasts to the blog!

More later.

The Artists "Review" Artists Project

J.T. Kirkland over at Thinking About Art has just launched an interesting new project where artists' work is reviewed by other artists.

I'm always talking about important the digital footprint is for artists and this idea seems like an excellent one for that! Now I wish I had thought about it!

Check it out here.

GOGs on Derivative Composition

Stephanie Merry from the WaPo's Going Out Gurus pops in with a good quick look at the "Derivative Composition" opening at the Kennedy Center last week.

Read it here.

Art Santa Fe

Just got through driving a van full of artwork to Brooklyn to be shipped from New York to Art Santa Fe, where we'll be trying really hard to sell some artwork at the coming Art Santa Fe, being held this year from July 10-13, 2008 at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe.

The fair's 2008 Keynote Speaker will be Dean Sobel, the Director of the new Clyfford Still Museum in Denver.

If you're in beautiful Santa Fe during this time, come by booth 52 and say hola!

Reincarnations

"Reincarnations" is an exhibition of art created from found objects and recycled materials. It was curated by art collectors Linda and Steve Krensky. It opens with a reception to meet the artists on Wednesday, July 23, 5:30-8:30pm at Zenith Gallery's Alternative Space (located at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in DC); it runs through Sept. 28, 2008.

The artists chosen by the Krenkys are:

Grif Bates, Chuck Baxter, Adam Bradley, Chris Bransome, Melissa Burley, Carolyn Cates, Scott Cawood, Randall Cleaver, Lee Connah, our own Rosetta DeBerardinis, Laura Dixon, Roger Doyle, Kristin Eager, Ed Gross, Jason Higgins, Andrew Krieger, SuAnne Lasher, Ara Laughlin, Susan Makara, Forrest McCluer, Bodil Meleney, Bogdan Miscevic, Elizabeth Morisette, John Pack, Jane Petit, Caitlin Phillips, George Sakkal, Rima Schulkind, Irma Spencer, Brad Taylor, Erwin Timmers, Mariano Perez Vivanco, Jodi Walsh, and Will Winton.

Commenting on the exhibit, the Krenskys said, “For the most part, we chose the pieces based on the artists’ unusual interpretations and ability to create art from rather ordinary materials. Some of the pieces are beautiful, some amuse and others amaze.”

Mysteries in Richmond

Mysteries: New Work by Sheila Giolitti at Red Door Gallery in Richmond, VA opened this last Friday and if you are in the area you should check out Sheila's work.

In the last fair that we did in NYC earlier month, we sold about a dozen of her paintings.

Go see this show.

Artists' Websites: Emily Piccirillo

"Present Perfect" (detail) by Emily Piccirillo
Emily Piccirillo is stretching the definitions of painting, installations and sculpture. Her work is not only superbly attractive, but also presented in such a way to make it creative and new in its format alone. All about her work here.

Glass prices

"Glass art is attracting more admirers and collectors today and gaining more attention as a fine art, as artists explore more with the medium. Meanwhile, prices for pieces are on the rise."

Read this interesting article The Canadian Press.

Patsy Fleming at Foundry

I'm hearing that the Patsy Fleming show at Foundry Gallery in DC is doing something rare for a DC art show: selling like hot cakes... gangbusters... ah... selling really well with 18 paintings having found a new home on the walls of a collector.

The show closes Sunday, so if you can swing by, check out her work, and maybe buy one.

Listen

If you missed Heather and I yesterday at WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi show, you can hear it online here.

New York Comments

After you read this article by Sewell Chan in the NYT -- about the debut of “New York City Waterfalls,” Olafur Eliasson’s $15.5 million of temporary cascades around New York Harbor -- continue reading the few hundred comments about the work and price tag.

Opportunities for Photographers

Deadline: Friday, August 15, at 5:00pm.

The 2nd Annual Plein Air–Easton! Photography Contest is open to professional, amateur, and student photographers. All images must depict aspects of the 2008 Plein Air-Easton! Festival. Cash prizes will be awarded and selections will be displayed in a touring exhibit which will continue through the Plein Air–Easton! Competition and Arts Festival 2009.
Deadline for submissions is Friday, August 15, at 5:00pm.

Winners will be announced September 5, 2008, during First Friday Gallery Walk. For more information and contest guidelines click here or email dorbin@paragonlight.com or
call 410-820-7738.

2008 Talbot County Abstract Photography Contest and Exhibition

The 2008 Talbot County Abstract Photography Contest, held by Traces of Us Gallery – Fotografia de Arte and Hobby Horse Photography, is open to all photographers interested in capturing the beauty of Talbot County and downtown Easton from an abstract and contemporary viewpoint. Registration will be held on Sunday, July 20 at Traces of Us Gallery – Fotografia de Arte from 10:00am – 4:00pm and is free with a donation of nonperishable food item(s).

Participating photographers will be required to take their pictures in Talbot County on July 21 and July 22 and in downtown Easton on July 23 and July 24. Each artist must submit one image taken in each location.

An exhibition and sale of all competition photographs will run at the Traces of Us Gallery – Fotografia de Arte from July 26 through August 8. Hobby Horse Photography will exhibit and sell the 1st, 2nd, 3rd place and honorable mentions from August 9 through September 1. For details click here.

On the air tonight at WRNR

I will be on the air around 6:30PM tonight on Annapolis' WRNR 103 FM in Michael Buckley's "Voices of the Chesapeake" show where I will be discussing the coming Plein AirEaston! event in beautiful Easton, Maryland.

If you've never been to Easton, you should seriously consider planning a trip anywhere from July 21-27, and witness as this beautiful seashore town becomes a magnet for thousands of art lovers and collectors as well as the nation's top plein air painters. Check it out here.