New Art Prize

The West Collection in Philadelphia, is in the process of launching a new prize called the West Prize which will award $125,000 to ten different artists internationally.

Further information on the prize can be viewed at www.westcollection.org.

Not my fault...

In the last three or four weeks I have been home less that two days in a row... thus the lightness of posts.

Still on the road by the way, and heading to California soon...

FotoWeek DC Call For Entries‏

Today, FotoWeek DC issued a call for entries to the first annual FotoWeek DC Photography Competition, as part of its mission to establish itself as the "nation’s premier photography festival."

The first annual FotoWeek DC celebration will take place between November 15 and November 22, 2008. In addition to the photography competition, FotoWeek DC will feature gallery openings, lectures, educational workshops, portfolio reviews, book signings, and special offers on photographic services and merchandise from local area retailers.

The FotoWeek DC Photography Competition is open to all professional, amateur and student photographers in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia and will feature over $37,000 in cash and prizes, including a $5,000 cash award for Spirit of Washington, DC, and will culminate in a gala awards ceremony and dinner to be held at National Geographic’s Headquarters in downtown DC on Saturday, November 22. National Geographic is one of the principal sponsors of FotoWeek DC.

The FotoWeek DC Photography Competition will recognize, highlight and honor the most talented professional, student and amateur photographers across the metro DC, Virginia and Maryland area, celebrating their achievements in the community of their peers through submissions of work in six categories. Competition finalists will have their work displayed at the FotoWeek DC Gallery and Welcome Center in Georgetown.

Prominent professionals in photography will serve as jurors, including uberphotographer Joyce Tenneson (with tons of DC area roots and one of the world's leading fine arts photographers), my good friend and the Corcoran Gallery of Art's photography curator Philip Brookman, Pulitzer-prize winning photographer Deanne Fitzmaurice and many others.

For information on eligibility, entry fees, categories, entry requirements, prizes and deadlines, and the complete list of judges, please visit the FotoWeek DC website here.

This is a good thing; go forth and participate.

Read this

Washington Speaks

Campello Reviewed

No, not me, but my daughter Elise gets reviewed again in "Beauty and the Beast" - A quote:

Elise Campello plays Belle just as she should: as a strong-willed smartypants who happens to also be a stunner. Campello's rich voice is showcased in such tunes as "A Change in Me," which will produce goosebumps.

Read the Herald review here.

She's going to New York soon... stand by for waves.

Opportunity for artists

Deadline: August 4, 2008

The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, in conjunction with Sacramento County, invites artists to submit qualifications for potential inclusion in a pre-qualified artist database for upcoming public art opportunities at the Sacramento International Airport.

This project, with a budget of $5 million, is the largest public art project in the history of the County. A number of selection panels will be established to review applications for the purpose of establishing a pool of qualified artists working in a variety of media. Media appropriate to the Airport Art Program includes sculpture, ceramic, mosaics, art glass, multi-media, artist-designed lighting elements, or any other durable materials suitable for long-term exposure in an airport environment.

Information of the Airport Art Program and an application form may be found at this website.

Opportunity for Video Artists

Deadline: September 30, 2008

Current Gallery invites video artists and enthusiasts to submit videos of all genres (experimental, animation, music video, documentary, short, home video, outtakes, unfinished films, scientific studies, etc). Works selected from this call will be featured in baltimore vs. the world DVD publication due out this winter.

baltimore vs. the world will incorporate two separate DVD compilations. One DVD will feature selected works from around the world and the other DVD will focus on selected works from Baltimore, Maryland. Accompanying the DVDs will be a booklet with interviews and support materials.

How to Apply: Please visit www.currentspace.com to download application.

In case you haven't seen it...

Plein Air Easton, Part I is here... and the art market is not dead in Easton!

Art Talk Tonight

Tonight at 7PM I will be at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland giving a spirited talk on art history and collecting art.

See ya there!

No breasts allowed to be seen in Norfolk, Virginia

You may recall that a while back I curated a student show titled "Early Look" for the Longview Gallery in DC.

That show featured work by undergrad art students from schools along the Mid Atlantic, and although ignored completely by the Washington press, it did rather well and sold a few key pieces at the show.

It also sparkled the interest of a second gallery in Norfolk, Virginia, Mayer Fine Arts, which offered the students a chance to exhibit their work in Norfolk.

This is how one of the student's work (Martyrdom by Philadelphia artist Erika Risko) was displayed in DC without any issues, and how it was then also hung and displayed for a few days in Norfolk:


Soon after the opening, the gallery owner received official communications directing was directed by the building's management to cover up the offending breasts. This is what they look like now:



And yet once again: Norfolk, please take the troglodyte spot light and be embarrassed in front of all America and the world.

Update: The owner has clarified to me that the building management's request to her to move the piece was because "people had complained about the nudity," and not because the management initiated the issue.

Inn at 202 Dover

Arrived today for my working stint at Plein Air Easton.

What a gorgeous little town this place has turned out to be: essentially a town made up of art galleries, cool restaurants, mom & pop shops, a town theatre, a couple of museums, and an amazing inn.

We're staying at the Inn at 202 Dover... a gorgeous place to stay and clearly a place where the owners have placed a lot of love and effort in refurbishing this 19th century home into a beautiful inn with a classy restaurant (which just happens to have a Cuban-born chef!).

We're staying at the Asian Suite, as each room in this world class inn has a specific motiff and focus. The room is decorated with beautiful Asian furniture and original Ukiyo-e woodblocks on the walls as well as a couple of rare antique Asian puppets.

And a steam shower... and a lounge room with a hi def TV and a decanter with sherry...

So far I am most definitely impressed. Just on day one this place gets my highest endorsement.

At 5:30PM we hung around for happy hour at the inn... and it didn't disappoint, as the chef popped in with some tasty food, which included what can be best described as my first exposure of what happens when Southern cooking (let's say fritters) meet Cuban food (let's say WOW!).

Then I walked over to a local restaurant called ... ah... called Restaurant Local, where we had some good happy hour vittles on their sidewalk tables, listening to a local play the guitar, and you won't believe this: a $5 pitcher of beer in a fancy restaurant!

So far Easton gets a rave review from me, and the Inn at 202 Dover is certainly the special place to stay if you ever come by to visit this beautiful Maryland spot.

We saw quite a few artists already painting out on the streets; more tomorrow as we begin to focus on the visual arts.

New Art Law

A committee in San Francisco’s city government has introduced a bill that would allow misdemeanour or felony criminal charges to be brought against any artist or financial backer who causes “the death, abuse or suffering of an animal” when making a work of art.

Read the Art Newspaper report here.

Things that I don't understand

When the price of oil goes up, about 16.75 seconds later it is reflected in the price of gasoline.

Oil has gone down $22 a barrel in the last couple of weeks (supply and demand as we're all driving a lot less!) - but I'm still waiting for the lower price to be really reflected in a lower price of gasoline.

Tough job

I am currently reviewing work and jurying the "8th Annual American Landscape" show for the Maryland Federation of Art, and let me tell you, with over 700 entries from around the nation, this is one tough jurying job, considering that about 30 pieces will be selected by me.

There's enough good photography in there alone to have just a terrific photography show! The opening reception will be September 14, 3-6 pm at the MFA's Circle Gallery in Annapolis.

Borrowing

With the stock market volatile and housing in a slump, many wealthy individuals are looking to tap another kind of equity — the kind hanging on their walls. Specialists at banks and auction houses say that more of their clients recently are interested in borrowing against their art collections.

Read the NY Sun story here.

Master Swindler

"A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century"

Read the WaPo review here and then buy the book here for $17.79.

Man Threatens to Impale Himself on Calder Sculpture

Mike Licht has the story here.

Saint Sebastian



New St. Sebastian drawing, charcoal, colored pencils and conte on paper. Matted and framed to 24x20 inches and still one of my recurring images.

Wanna arm wrestle an actual DC roller derby girl?

The Pink Line Project and Scion bring you Barrelhouse Magazine's Roller Derby issue launch this coming Friday, July 25, 6 - 10 pm at the District's Hillyer Art Space (behind the Phillips Collection on 21st Street, NW, between Q and R Street).

Check it out; there will be:
- a night of amazing roller derby themed stories and poems
- one gigantic roller derby mural (by Cory Oberndorfer)
- food eating
- beer (provided by Flying Dog Brewery) and wine drinking
- DJ dancing (music by DJ Adrian)
- video watching (Kyle Brannon!)
- Barrelhouse magazine buying.

All for a mere $10.

And of course, a rare opportunity to arm wrestle an actual DC roller derby girl!

Wanna go to a DC opening tomorrow?

Zenith's Alternative Gallery Space at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in the nation's capital has an interesting show opening tomorrow curated by the ubercollector couple of Steve and Linda Krensky.

The show is titled "Reincarnations" as it features artworks created from found objects and recycled materials.

Meet the artists tomorrow, Wednesday, July 23, 5:30-8:30pm - the exhibition goes through September 28, 2008.

Work by Grif Bates, Chuck Baxter, Chris Bransome, Melissa Burley, Carolyn Cates, Scott Cawood, Randall Cleaver, Lee Connah, 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, Linda Krensky 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.”