Goodwill

Two paintings left overnight in a Goodwill donation bin in Toronto sold at auction for over $150,000 Canadian samolians (US$136,480).

Details here.

Art town: What’s brewing in lesser-known hot spots

Land as canvas: Albuquerque offers a full palette of art al fresco

By Robin Tierney

Art devotees know the way to Santa Fe, usually bypassing Albuquerque to the south. But expect that to change as ABQ creatives hasten urban and urbane renewal in New Mexico’s biggest city.

The art community there bears resemblance to the five dormant volcanoes that flank the city’s west side: smoldering disparate vents likely to become an inextinguishable force once erupting.

Signs suggest that time is drawing near, with art-centric events now erupting within and beyond ABQ’s revitalized Downtown arts district. New trolley, bus and rail choices make it easy to speed around.

At nearly every turn, there’s some gallery or mural or piece of public art. Nary a day goes by without an exhibition opening or art talk or sighting of artists at work on an installation, particularly with the “LAND/ART” collaboration that in early June unleashed a six-month tsunami of land-based art.

LAND/ART is a sprawling mega-variety show aiming to lay siege to senses and sensibility. Among the five dozen participants is Guggenheim Fellow Michael Berman, whose photos emanated from solitary wanderings through the desert. Basia Irland’s frozen carved books sow seeds as they melt in undernourished rivers. DJ Spooky weaves an acoustic portrait from field recordings made during journeys into Antarctic icescapes. Lynne Hull builds outdoor sculptures that double as wildlife habitat rescues.

A sense-shocking, mind-boggling array of photography, sculpture and mixed media burbles from downtown galleries such as 516 ARTS as site-specific installations emerge on the sacred lands ringing Albuquerque like an aura.

I plan to catch what’s taken root in LAND/ART when returning for another Albuquerque alt. art event: the GO! Arts Festival. The free downtown event runs Sept. 25-27. Several stages of local music and dance combine with contemporary art, making for a complete sensory assault.

Go! artists include Brandon Maldonado, whose “Los Fantasticos” paintings nabbed Best of Show at last year’s fest, and Daniela and Vladimir Ovtcharov, whose modern icons and other imaginaria are absolutely arresting.

The edgier visuals and vibe distinguish Albuquerque from other New Mexico artspots, says Christopher Goblet on the arts-boosting Downtown Action Team.

Now’s a good time to visit what “The Rise of the Creative Class” author Richard Florida dubbed the "Most Creative Mid-Size City." The arts offerings are diverse: Harwood Art Center (an old school) displays art from full-timers to homeless shelter denizens; Darryl Willison’s trippy comic cowboys color the walls at Old Town’s KISS café; Working Classroom’s new downtown space mounts eye- and brain-teasers from city kids. A new film festival’s set to debut late summer. And there’s always the green and red chile.

If you must go to Santa Fe, the brand new Rail Runner stops in downtown ABQ.

LAND/ART event guide (sites, openings, talks): www.landartnm.org

Go! Festival info: www.wwwdowntownabq.com/GO

Albuquerque visitors info: www.itsatrip.org

The Bethesda Painting Awards announced

The top four prize winners were announced last Wednesday evening during the exhibition’s opening at the Fraser Gallery, but I just found out today who the winners were.

Camilo Sanin, Composicion 4
Camilo Sanin from Jessup, MD was awarded “Best in Show” with $10,000; Heidi Fowler of Reston, VA was named second place and was given $2,000; Magnolia Laurie of Baltimore, MD was awarded third place and received $1,000, and Lillian Bayley Hoover of Baltimore, MD was given the “Young Artist” award and received $1,000. Congrats to all the winners.

The eight artists selected as finalists are:

Steve Adams, McLean, VA; Heidi Fowler, Reston, VA; Lillian Bayley Hoover, Baltimore, MD; Jeff Huntington, Annapolis, MD; Magnolia Laurie, Baltimore, MD; Katherine Mann, Baltimore, MD; Greg Minah, Baltimore, MD and Camilo Sanin, Jessup, MD.

Entries were juried by Ruth Bolduan, Associate Professor of Painting and Drawing at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond; Patrice Kehoe member of the University of Maryland’s Art Department since 1977 and John Winslow, a Washington, D.C.-based painter and emeritus professor of art at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Perhaps it is just me, but it seems that the Best in Show winner is chanelling the Washington Color School painters. I do quite like Lillian Bayley Hoover's work.

Opening reception for the exhibit is this Friday, June 12th, from 6-9pm at the Fraser Gallery in Bethesda.


Lillian Bayley Hoover, War TV

Doesn't make sense to me

The Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation has been sending the below email to its 2009 interested parties:

Thank you so much for your recent inquiry to the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation regarding grant opportunities to individuals working in the arts.

The current, virtually unprecedented economic crisis has hit small nonprofit arts foundations such as ours especially hard. At this time, we cannot sustain the level of giving that we offered in years past. We have received an overwhelming number of inquiries and are not equipped at this time to process and, in all fairness, grant sufficiently in proportion to so many new potential new applicants. The Vogelstein Foundation will NOT be holding an open call for new applications this year; instead, our 2009 call for applications will be an invitational for prior grantees only.

The 2010 call for artists remains to be determined. Please reply to this e-mail if you wish to be added to the distribution list we will maintain for updated 2010 information as it becomes available. (Note: If your e-mail address changes later on, but in the interim, please contact us to let us know

Again, we thank you very much for your interest and wish you all the best in your artistic endeavors going forward.

Diana Braunschweig, Exec. Dir.

Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation
LVF@earthlink.net

Postal mailing address :
LVF, Inc.
4001 Inglewood Ave., Suite 101-309
Redondo Beach, CA 90278

While we all applaud the terrific presence and influence that foundations such as this one contribute to the art world, it doesn't make sense to me that their "2009 call for applications will be an invitational for prior grantees only."

If you ask me, that's a little backwards.

Congrats!

VMFA curator John Ravenal has been elected president of the Association of Art Museum Curators. (Photo by Travis Fullerton, © 2009 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)

The Association of Art Museum Curators today announced the election of John Ravenal of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts as its fourth president.

“John Ravenal is both a distinguished curator and a respected member of the larger museum community; we are fortunate to have him as our next president,” says Sally Block, executive director of the AAMC. Ravenal is the Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at VMFA, a position he has held since 1998.

“I’m honored to take on the leadership of the foremost professional organization for art museum curators in the United States,” says Ravenal. “I look forward to working with the AAMC board to continue promoting and supporting the role of curators. Our profession is now more important than ever as we maintain the artistic vision of the museums we serve and engage ever broadening audiences.”

Prior to joining the VMFA curatorial staff, Ravenal was associate curator of 20th-century art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Congrats!

After successfully completing their first year of artist-centric programming, Hamiltonian Artists has announced the five new, distinguished Hamiltonian Fellows for 2009 to join their existing Fellows. Congratulations to:

· Jon Bobby Benjamin (BA, Brandeis University)
· Magnolia Laurie (MFA, Mount Royal School of Art, Maryland Institute College of Art)
· Katherine Mann (MFA, Hoffberger School of Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art)
· Jonathan Monaghan (MFA Candidate, University of Maryland)
· Lina Vargas De La Hoz (MFA, Art University Linz, Austria)

On Saturday, June 20, 2009, at 7pm, Hamiltonian Gallery will open an introductory group exhibition of these five new Fellows. Each artist will be displaying the work with which they were accepted. The exhibition will run from June 20 - August 1, 2009.

The five new 2009 So-Hamiltonian Fellows were selected from a pool of over 180 applicants this year, up from 130 applicants the previous year.

Michael Janis: AOM Top 10

It has been a tradition of this blog for many years to publish various AOM Top 10 lists as they are sent in by anyone and everyone who wants to send one. In the past these Top 10 Artomatic lists have even resulted in gallery shows for the mentioned artists.

So start sending me your Top 10 Artomatic picks this year; meanwhile, below is Michael Janis' top 10:

Megan Van Wagoner Level 8 mixed media

David D'Orio Level 9 wall mounted glass sculpture

Theresa Easton Level 5 print & books

Matthew Langley Level 2 painting

James Halloren Level 9 painting

Sarah Blood Level 5 neon/ceramic

Carin Quinn Level 3 painting

Mark Tolson Level 7 painting

Drew Graham Level 2 wall sculpture

Peter Chang (the Document collaborative) Level 2 mixed media

Really selling well!

Campello Pinot Grigio is available practically everywhere, most notably at Trader Joe's in those non fascist states where supermarkets can sell wine.

Reviews and comments here. For around six or seven bucks it has been getting rave reviews!

Keep buying!

Opportunity for DC Artists

Deadline: Wednesday July 8th at 5:30pm

DC Creates! invites artists from the DC Metro area to submit works available for purchase. Selected works will be added to the Art Bank Collection.

Over 2,000 works are displayed in DC Government building corridors, conference rooms and office space and all open to the public.

Application deadline: Wednesday July 8th at 5:30pm.

To obtain a copy of the application, visit www.dcarts.dc.gov

For assistance in preparing your application DC artists can attend a workshop on Wednesday June 24 from 7-8:30pm at Artomatic - 55 M Street, SE; Washington D.C.
(By Metro - The building is located atop the Navy Yard Metro Station; Ballpark exit).

This is a terrific opportunity - don't blow it!

Dawson on Foon Sham

The WaPo's freelance gallery critic Jessica Dawson has a great review of Foon Sham's latest work.

Read Dawson here.

Barlow and O'Sullivan on AOM

Terrific article in the WaPo on Artomatic from Michael O'Sullivan, who cleverly uses Phillip Barlow's intimate knowledge of the DC area art scene to deliver some brilliant AOM tips.

Read it here.

Congrats!

To DC's own hoogrrl, who has been appointed to be a DC Arts Commissioner!

That is the perfect pick! Go get them PH!

Wanna go to a Bethesda opening tomorrow?

Artists' Websites: Susan Lamont

Susan Lamont's technical virtuosity is easily evident in her work as is the deep intellectual seed that germinates in nearly all of her work. Check it out on level two of Artomatic.

He Searched the Room For Her Auburn Hair © 2009, oil on linen, 40" x 50"
Check out her website here.

Best pizza in America

I've been searching for the best pizza in the United States since my teens, when a slice of pie was a quarter and there were a dozen pizza places along Pitkin Avenue in Brooklyn.

Best pizza that I ever tasted was in Sicily, and the worst one was in London.

Best pizza in America is at Little Anthony in Media, PA.

Anthony is a Napolitano, and his pizzas are amazing, especially the garlic white pizza. His is the best pizza that I have ever eaten in the US.

Best pizza in the South?

Andrea's Pizza, located in the Riverdale Shopping Center off West Mercury Blvd in Hampton, Virginia.

Oportunidad para artistas

Deadline: July 13, 2009

NALAC Fund For the Arts offers funding to Latino arts organizations and to Latino artists for the creation and presentation of work, as well as career development. Funding available for the following disciplines: Visual Arts, Dance, Interdisciplinary Arts, Literary Arts, Media Arts, Music, Performance Art, and Theater Arts.

Funding for the one-year grant period (runs from Nov. 1, 2009-Sept. 30, 2010) is up to $10,000. Application deadline: July 13, 2009. For more information, contact:

NALAC Fund for the Arts
Grant Program Manager
1208 Buena Vista St.
San Antonio, TX 78207

Phone: (210) 432-3982; email: grantmanager@nalac.org; or check website: www.nalac.org.

Art advice for the Obamas

Waaaaay back I gave the Obamas art advice for the White House walls. They essentially ignored me.

Maybe it is because Cuban-Americans are the only Latino/Hispanics who overwhelmingly vote Republican (in the 90s percentwise).

Kiddin'

Here's what some other folks think the Obamas should acquire for the White House walls.

I still think that my recommendation is the best; the most plebeian and the clearest and closest to the ground and what I think the new White House tenants need to bring to the White House walls.

What art or artist do you think that the Obamas should acquire? Tell me in the comments.

DC Gallery moves

DC's Long View Gallery will relocate to a currently vacant building directly across from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center at 1234 Ninth Street, NW. The gallery’s new space will undergo major renovation, more than quadrupling the gallery’s exhibition capacity, enhancing its custom framing and special event offerings, and making it one of the area’s largest art spaces.

“With many other businesses closing, we have been able to swim against the economic tide, demonstrating that art is indeed a great investment. After three successful years in Shaw, Long View Gallery simply outgrew its current location,” said gallery director Drew Porterfield. “Thanks to Douglas Development, we were able to secure a building with great potential in a location that is impossible to beat—half a block south on Ninth Street from our current location, directly across from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and closer to existing and planned fine restaurants,” Porterfield said. “Shaw has been a wonderful home, and we are thrilled to contribute to its renaissance.”

The gallery’s renovation, designed by local architect Will Couch, will maintain the raw feel of the new location's building while transforming it into a premier gallery space. The new gallery will occupy the southern portion of the building, comprised of nearly 5,000 square feet, more than quadrupling the square footage of the Long View Gallery’s current location.

Call to Artists: In the Spirit of Frida Kahlo

Deadline: June 6, 2009

Frida Kahlo remains one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, but her spectacular life experiences, her writing and her views on life and art have also influenced many artists throughout the years.

From July 1 - August 29, 2009 The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Farm Center in Washington, DC will be hosting Finding Beauty In A Broken World: In the Spirit of Frida Kahlo.

This exhibition hopes to showcase the work in all mediums of artists influenced not only by Kahlo’s art, but also by her biography, her thoughts, and her writing or any other aspect in the life and presence of this remarkable artist who can be interpreted through artwork.

This will be the third Kahlo show that I have juried in the last decade and we are seeking works of art that evoke the prolific range of expression, style and media like that which Frida Kahlo used as an outlet for her life’s experiences.

Get a copy of the prospectus by calling (202) 483-8600 or email gallery@smithfarm.com or download it at www.smithfarm.com/gallery/FINALProspectus.pdf.

Read this

Tom Wolfe, author, man-in-white, and social observer, has always had a keen and clear insight into the social undertows of contemporary society.

Wolfe's 1975 book The Painted Word, is the one that I consider the one of the most influential book on art, nepotism, networking, manipulation and 20th century art history (OK, OK art observations), that I have ever read.

If you want to understand the true historical beginnings (from someone on the scene at the time) of what we now call "contemporary art" and the seminal birth of the elitist attitudes of many intelligent members of the high art apparatnik, then read this book.

"The painter," Wolfe writes, "had to dedicate himself to the quirky god Avant-Garde. He had to keep one devout eye peeled for the new edge on the blade of the wedge of the head on the latest pick thrust of the newest exploratory probe of this fall's avant-garde Breakthrough of the Century.... At the same time he had to keep his other eye cocked to see if anyone in le monde was watching."

I read it when I first started Art School and it saved my Art Life and it cemented the foundations of what has become my opinions, judgements and attitudes towards art.

After you read the book, then and only then, you will understand why "traditional" art critics, desperately seeking approval from their colleagues, hate such an egalitarian art show such as Artomatic, when and if it takes place in our own backyard, but would love it in another location outside the US.