Review of Aqui Estamos

Aqui Estamos, the group show of Cuban art that I curated for Projects Gallery in Philadelphia and which is currently on display at that Northern Liberties' gallery gets a cool review in Fallon & Rosof's Artblog.

Juego de Roles (Role Game). Oil on canvas by Aimee Garcia Marrero
Read the review here.

TAKI 183

Graffiti artists all around the world know the name that started it all: TAKI 183.

As a High School student who lived in Brooklyn but went to High School in Queens, I had about a 90 minute subway ride each morning and each evening going and coming from my High School in Long Island City. It all started in the LL line and finished in the number 7 Flushing Line. All along those trains I was very familiar with TAKI 183's tag, which seemed to be all over and everywhere at once. In fact, I even developed my own little tag back then. I would draw (with a magic marker) a little tombstone and write UNDERTAKER ASH underneath it. I have no idea how I came up with it and what it meant, or even if I had seen it somewhere, but back then any train or subway station that I used to ride had both TAKI 183 and UNDERTAKER ASH all over them.

TAKI 183 was then a kid from 183rd Street in upper Manhattan, TAKI 183’s simple signature (he said it was a diminutive of his Greek name Demetrius) captured the attention of a reporter and, on July 21, 1971, the article “TAKI 183 Spawns Pen Pals” appeared in The New York Times.

Just like that, TAKI 183 became a graffiti legend, but TAKI 183 remained silent. Now, almost four decades later, TAKI 183 has emerged to tell his story.

This new website includes photos of TAKI 183’s work, images of his friends and contemporaries, his true story and, for the first time, official TAKI 183 limited-edition screenprints.

Check the first graffitti superstar here.

Congrats!

The Association for Alternative Newsweeklies announced finalists for its annual prizes today, selecting the Washington City Paper as a top contender in four categories: Photography, Arts Criticism, Media Reporting/Criticism, and Innovation/Format Buster.

My good bud and theory knucklehead and superb painter Jeffry Cudlin, who won the top prize for arts criticism last year, was again named a finalist for 2009. Yay Jeffry!

The great photographer Darrow Montgomery, who’s been shooting for City Paper for 23 years is also a nominee! This is the fourth time Montgomery has been a finalist.

Janis at Duane Reed


That shot above is a partial view of DC's own Michael Janis, whose solo show opened in St. Louis' Duane Reed Gallery's brand new space last Friday.

I hear that Reed's new space in SL is perhaps the most attractive new gallery space in the city. Reed is a powerhouse in the art glass world, but with Janis they have acquired an artist who will help their gallery make the jump from a glass gallery to a fine arts gallery, period.

Buy Michael Janis now.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: Saturday May 31, 2009.

Introductions5 at Irvine Contemporary. An exhibition of works by recent art school graduates in August 2009.

Notification: No later than June 21, 2009.

Eligibility: Artists who have graduated in 2008 or 2009 and are available for gallery exhibition. Application must include:

- Artist’s statement.
- Artist’s resume.
- A CD-ROM of up to ten images. For New Media and Time Based Media (Sound, Film/Video, etc) please submit only ten minutes worth of work.
- Self-addressed stamped envelope – required to have submitted materials returned.

Submitted materials will be handled with care, but Irvine Contemporary cannot assume responsibility for lost or damaged materials.

Send to:
Lauren Gentile
Director of Sales
Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005

Call for Presenters for VSA arts International Conference

Submission Deadline: May 29, 2009

VSA arts is seeking presentation proposals from policy-makers, artists, school and program administrators, art organizations, researchers, and educators around the world for its international conference, to be held in Washington, D.C., June 10-12, 2010.

The conference will discuss “Advancing Inclusive Education and 21st-Century Learning Skills Through the Arts”. It will also provide a “Career Development: forum to assist artists with disabilities as they pursue their careers.

Keynote speakers include Kenneth Eklindh, the head of the UNESCO EFA flagship program “The Right to Education for Persons with Disabilities: Towards Inclusion,” Dame Evelyn Glennie, an internationally acclaimed soloist, and Sir Ken Robinson, a renowned expert in the field of creativity.

The conference is part of the 2010 International VSA arts Festival, an international and multicultural event celebrating the accomplishments of artists with disabilities.

Proposed presentations for the conference should reflect the following themes/thematic tracks: the arts and 21st-Century learning skills; inclusive arts curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and career development for artists with disabilities. They should share the presenter’s experience and include evidence-based knowledge of effective research methodology and innovative practices.

Education proposals may include successful arts-education programs within the regular school day, arts-integrated curriculum across the general curriculum, and extracurricular arts activities beyond the regular school day. Topics of discussion for the career development forum will include encouraging business skills and portfolio development, benefits planning, and increasing cultural access and funding. Each session will be in lecture, roundtable, panel, or workshop format. A review committee will select proposals based on their learning objectives and outcomes, expertise on the topic, level of participant involvement, and relevance to the conference’s theme and target audience.

To submit an application, go to vsarts.org for instructions. For questions regarding the conference, please contact Géraldine Simonnet at 1-800-933-8721 or 1-202-628-2800 (voice), 1-202-737-0645 (TTY), or via e-mail at conference@vsarts.org.

The Collector

Will "The Collector" return to Artomatic?

Amy Argetsinger thought I was the Collector by Andrew Wodzianski
One of the capital region's most innovative and creative voices is the very tall Andrew Wodzianski, whose intelligent works seem to be in nearly every important collection around the District's ubercollectors and whose coming show at Flashpoint will set a new standard for that very cool space.

Andrew was one of the suspects for being the "Collector", but because he is like nine foot tall and weighs about sixteen ounces, I (and most others) don't think that he fits any of the descriptions of the District's most elusive art character given in various (and very popular) WaPo columns (WaPo readers apparently love reading about "the collector").

But I do like Andrew's piece on the whole "collector" thing. And if you are a smart early picker of such things, then you'd be contacting Andrew trying to buy the above piece (or any of his latest works) before Amy Argetsinger buys it!

Drumroll!!!!! A new name is about to be added to the "Buy" list!

Buy Andrew Wodzianski now.... he is really, really affordable, but not for long.

I know people.

Artomatic 2009: Opens May 29!

Time for DC area art critics to roll their eyes: Artomatic is back and grander than ever!

The tenth version of the massive art shows that artists, collectors, gallerists and the public loves and most DC art critics hate (but would love if it took place in NYC, or Berlin or London) will deliver over five weeks of art, music, theatre, workshops and more this year in Washington, DC's Capitol Riverfront neighborhood from May 29 - July 5.

The 2009 Artomatic will be held at the new building at 55 M Street, S.E. - essentially on top the Navy Yard Metro - celebrating its tenth anniversary in a newly built 275,000 square foot "LEED Silver Class A building", whatever that means.

Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic transforms an unfinished building space into an exciting arts event that is free and open to the public. In addition to displays by hundreds of artists, the event features free films, educational presentations and children's activities, as well as music, dance, poetry, theater and other performances.

Artomatic 2008 attracted a record-breaking 52,500 visitors and 1,540 participating artists. Visit their Flickr site to see over 4,000 photos captured at Artomatic 2008 or check out the below video.

Who will be the emerging art star of this AOM?

Who will be the artist who cracks us up?

Will "The Collector" make a comeback?

Who will be the prima donna?

Congrats!


Congratulations to the District of Columbia Arts Center, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary with an evening of dance, poetry, performance art, sound installation and live music in Georgetown's gorgeous Halcyon House.

Born in 1989 with the mission of providing the “missing link” between emerging artists and the broader community, DCAC has maintained its place in DC as an organization that operates with the needs of artists in mind, rather than focusing on commercial demands. DCAC also recognizes the need to support ongoing projects, including our Curatorial Initiative, which nurtures upcoming curators and enriches audience engagement with our exhibits, and SPARKPLUG, a collective of local artists and curators who exhibit at DCAC each year.

In 1987, a group of artists, arts advocates and administrators came together to address their frustration with DC’s cultural climate. In order to bring local artists closer to the community, arts advocates Aaron Levine, Alice Denney, and Herb White, with the support of councilman William Lightfoot, established a center where local artists would become more visible to the community and receive the support that was largely unavailable. DCAC’s founding board includes artists Jack Rasmussen, Lynn McCary, Sam Gilliam, Greg Hannan, Kathy Keler, Rockne Krebs, Evangeline Montgomery, June Shadoan, and Paula Schumann, critic and curator Annie Gawlak, and arts activist Eden Rafshoon.

The gala will take place on May 29, 2009, from 6:30 to 10:30pm. The happenings get underway at 6:30 with cocktails and light fare in the gardens and ballroom of the Halcyon House Mansion. There will also be a special VIP reception from 6:30 to 7:30 for the founders, our board of directors, the invitation committee and special level donors. At 8:00, the Studio opens for dancing to the sultry and swining Jenn and the Tonics along with desserts and more cocktails. Throughout the evening there will be performances, exhibited art, video projectors, sound installation, dance and more.

Artists featured at the event include performance artists Katherine Cornelius and Quique Aviles, poets Silvana Straw and Buck Downs, Alberto Gaitán with sound installation and visual artists Gretchen Schemmerhorn, Jefferson Pinder, Jose Ruiz and David Hartwell.

Details here.

Congrats!

To DC's own Michael Janis, whose solo show opened in St. Louis' Duane Reed Gallery last Friday.

And the DC Commission on the Arts has awarded Janis a 2009 Artist Fellowship. They are awarded to individual artists who make significant contributions to the arts and who promote the arts in the District of Columbia through artistic excellence. The Fellowship is funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Oldest figurative art

"The 40,000-year-old carved figure of a voluptuous woman was excavated in Germany. It 'radically changes our views of the context and meaning of the earliest Paleolithic art,' its discoverer says."

Read the LA Times story here.

For your weekend art needs

It is time for the 18th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival this weekend on the streets of the Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia, right off 267 (exit 12).

The Festival is produced by the Greater Reston Arts Center, and it is a top-rated annual juried outdoor street fine arts and fine crafts festival held in the heart of the elegant and bustling Reston Town Center. This two-day event attracts over 50,000 patrons and provides an interactive experience to view, purchase, and experience art directly from the unique and talented artists who have created it.

The 2009 festival is today and tomorrow and will feature more than 220 artists from around the nation as well as outstanding music and entertainment, activities for families, (all free) and delicious food.

See ya there! Swing by booth 835!

Rocco for NEA

President Obama has nominated Rocco Landesman, an "entrepreneur and commercial theater producer," to be the next head of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Rocco Landesman is the President of Jujamcyn Theaters, as well as the owner of five Broadway houses, and in that Broadway capacity was the key for such Broadway mega hits as "Angels in America," "The Producers," "Jelly's Last Jam" and "Big River."

Heard in New York

A major art fair is about to declare bankruptcy and besides that, they are being sued by a group of art dealers.

Bethesda Painting Awards

I would have told you earlier, but for some reason I no longer get any news releases from Bethesda.org, but the Bethesda Painting Awards finalists were announced last Friday.

There are some interesting surprises in the list, as well as a couple of artists channeling old art movements or other artists, but at this early stage my picks for the award are Lillian Bayley Hoover, from Baltimore, MD (she has twice been a Sondheim Award finalist and a 2008 Bethesda Painting Award finalist), or Reston's Heidi Fowler, which was also a finalist two years ago.

Darkhorses are newcomers Katherine Mann and Greg Minah. Five of the eight finalists are from Baltimore/Annapolis area, which is interesting, since none of the jurors are from that area.

The selected nine finalists will display their work from June 3 - July 4, 2009 in downtown Bethesda at the Fraser Gallery located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E. The Fraser Gallery is located two blocks from the Bethesda Metro station.

Wrong Time

I understand that the landlord of several key DC galleries is in the process of doubling their rent.

Wrong thing to do in this, ah... austere fiscal and real estate environment.

This weekend at Reston

It is time for the 18th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival this weekend on the streets of the Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia, right off 267 (exit 12).

The Festival is produced by the Greater Reston Arts Center, and it is a top-rated annual juried outdoor street fine arts and fine crafts festival held in the heart of the elegant and bustling Reston Town Center. This two-day event attracts over 50,000 patrons and provides an interactive experience to view, purchase, and experience art directly from the unique and talented artists who have created it.

The 2009 festival is this weekend (May 16-17) and will feature more than 220 artists from around the nation as well as outstanding music and entertainment, activities for families, (all free) and delicious food.

See ya there! Swing by booth 835!

Gals' Birthdays: The place to be in DC this Friday

Join a couple of DC's uberartchicks (am I gonna catch hell for that or what?) on Friday, May 15th for an art and dance night to celebrate a couple of arty gals' birthdays.

My good buds Heather Goss from Ten Miles Square and Jayme McLellan from Civilian Art Projects flip over another year this May and want you to come party at Critical Mass, a one-night only art show featuring 20+ talented D.C. artists, followed by a straight-up dance party with DJ KC from Fatback and DJ Nite Krawler from Moneytown.

In addition to Civilian Art Project's ongoing solo exhibitions featuring Erick Jackson and Ken D. Ashton in the gallery, Ten Miles Square will host a salon show in the office space gallery, including well-known artists like Michael Janis, Tim Tate, Cory Oberndorfer and Billy Colbert, along with TMS regulars (and soon-to-be well-known names!) John Ulaszek, Cesar Lujan, Kyle Gustafson, and many more.

Every piece in the office will be available for under $150 that night - a downright steal that is our artists' gift to us and all our guests. And much of the work in the Jackson & Ashton exhibitions is priced at below $300 to boot!

Arrive between 9 and 10 p.m. for some mingling and art viewing. At 10 p.m. their arty birthday party will reach Critical Mass as DJs KC and Nite Krawler take over for a gallery dance party.

And who knows, the Lenster might be there as well...

Wanna go to a DC opening this week?

Artists' Websites: Henryk Fantazos

Blood for Toys by Henryk Fantazos
Henryk Fantazos is an artist with a very acute insight into what makes us all move and what makes a society tick and tock under a layer of sanity barely covering the rage of a humanity barely a breath away from barbarity. He writes:

In one of his poems Salvatore Quasimodo called the night I was born – the eighteenth of January 1944 – the darkest night of the war. The little town where I was born was in the Nazis bloody hands, then the Russians’. The homicidal scowl of Stalin declared that our town was never to be part of Poland again. Providence agreed with Stalin, and we had to move to settle in Upper Silesia, an agglomerate of coalmines, steel works and other heavy industries that produced unrestricted clouds of acrid, fetid smoke. Greasy soot covered every blade of grass. My father was a watchmaker and a jeweler. My mother took care of three children.

I escaped trice from two kindergartens and solidified an indestructible sense of being special. I painted and drew from the time I was a small child.

I am really taken by this artist's works and I think that his work is a prime candidate by DC or Philly galleries looking for a little danger in their exhibition schedule.