Sold

The Mera Rubell effects tide continues; a major art collector just acquired both of these pieces, which I had done for the Rubell studio visit:

"Asere, Si o No?" 19"x48" Charcoal on Paper
About this piece: The appropriated image of Che Guevara from a photograph by a Commie photographer somewhere (ironic that Communists always nationalize and appropriate private stuff, so I have no issues appropriating their imagery) is to the left in a very Christ-like pose. Behind him, a slogan or graffiti on the imperfect wall asks the question in Cuban slang: "Asere, Si o No?" which means "Friend, Yes or No? in Cuban street dialect and is meaningless to all other Spanish speaking peoples. The capital letters answer the question by spelling out ASESINO or assassin.


Finalmente Denunciamos a el que traiciono al Che (Finally we denounce he who betrayed Che). 4 x 24 inches. Charcoal on paper
The Spanish words announce that "finally we denounce who betrayed Che." The capital letters answer the statement: FIDEL.

Thank you Mera.

Rule Number 8

My posting on the rules for the Post's Real Art D.C. has drawn out a large number of comments both here and in Facebook.

Dawson on Lass

Jessica Dawson reviews Berlin-based photographer Anne Lass. Read the review here.

Bravo to Dawson for asking the photographer questions about the work. In my opinion, often art critics seem to avoid this part of the critical process - the gathering of information from the source.

2010 Sondheim Artscape Prize semifinalists

There are some refreshing surprises and some of the usual suspects; an overwhelming majority of the artists are from Baltimore. The 2010 Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize semifinalists are:

Alzaruba, Baltimore, MD
Lawrence Lee, Baltimore, MD
Christine Bailey, Baltimore, MD
Kim Manfredi, Baltimore, MD
Kathryn Bell, Baltimore, MD
Ben Marcin, Baltimore, MD
Amita Bhatt, Baltimore, MD
Christina Martinelli, Baltimore, MD
Travis Childers, Fairfax, VA
Sebastian Martorana, Baltimore, MD
Leah Cooper, Baltimore, MD
Alexa Meade, Chevy Chase, MD
Brent Crothers, Bel Air, MD
Maggie Michael, Washington, DC
Oletha DeVane, Ellicott City, MD
Ledelle Moe, Baltimore, MD
Annie Farrar, Baltimore, MD
Cory Oberndorfer, Washington, DC
Shaun Flynn, Baltimore, MD
Matthew Porterfield, Baltimore, MD
Dawn Gavin, Baltimore, MD
Siobhan Rigg, Washington, DC
Breon Gilleran, Baltimore, MD
Michael Sylvan Robinson, Baltimore, MD
Amy Glengary Yang, Washington, DC
Rachel Rotenberg, Baltimore, MD
Ryan Hackett, Kensington, MD
Adam T. Rush, Baltimore, MD
Michelle Hagewood, Baltimore, MD
Christopher Saah, Washington, DC
Matthew Janson, Baltimore, MD
Hadieh Shafie, Baltimore, MD
Evan La Londe, Baltimore, MD
Dan Steinhilber, Washington, DC
Nate Larson, Baltimore, MD
Melissa Webb, Baltimore, MD
Christopher LaVoie, Baltimore, MD
Karen Yasinsky, Baltimore, MD

The award announcement and reception takes place July 10 at 7 pm at the Baltimore Museum of Art. An exhibition of the remaining semifinalists’ work will be shown during Baltimore's Artscape weekend in the Decker and Meyerhoff galleries of MICA, located at 1303 West Mount Royal Avenue.

This year’s jurors are Robert Nickas, Magdalena Sawon and Hamza Walker. Congrats to all the semifinalists!

Wanna go to a closing reception tomorrow?

The closing reception for Artists of the Gateway Arts District, an exhibition curated by yours truly, offers an impressive highlight of the art and artists who make the Gateway Arts District great and one of the highest concentration of artists' studios in the DMV. The exhibition features work by 26 artists; brand new faces as well as well-known DC Metro arts powerhouses; including: Alan Binstock, Kyan Bishop, Margaret Boozer, Laurie Breen, Ed Burck, Katie Dell Kaufman, Alison Duvall, Pete Duvall, Cheryl Edwards, Kate Hardy, Joe Hicks, Tom Hill, Michael Janis, Jonathan Kellogg, Davide Korte, J.J. McCracken, John Paradiso, Lindsay Sherman, Shahin Shikaliyev, Tim Tate, Valerie Theberge, Erwin Timmers, Sarah Wegner, and Ellyn Weiss.

The closing is from 5-8PM.

Brentwood Arts Exchange at the Gateway Arts Center
3901 Rhode Island Ave.
Brentwood, MD 20722
301-277-2863; TTY 301-446-6802

See ya there!

WaPo is seeking works by local artists

"Jessica Dawson is hitting the studios to uncover Washington talent.
It's all part of Real Art D.C., the Washington Post's exciting new platform for contemporary art in the Washington region. There's also a related competition open to all area artists.

What is Real Art D.C.? An online virtual gallery of works by local artists that will allow Post readers to discover and connect with Washington's newest talents. Artists themselves will post their own work -- and so will dealers and teachers on their behalf -- and anyone can click through and see the spectrum of local creativity."

Read all about this interesting new venture by the WaPo here.

As part of the effort, Dawson will select "a new artist-finalist every few weeks and visit the artist's studio, reporting about what she finds on the Real Art D.C. site."

I like it!

Here is where you upload your images to be considered.

Before you do that, I recommend that you read the Terms and Conditions and pay very careful attention to rule number 8 which states:

8. Submitted Entry Materials will be posted on WashingtonPost.com, and may be included in both print and online features and promotions. In addition, by entering you grant Sponsor a license to publish, reproduce, use, transfer, and otherwise display your Entry Materials in any medium and for any purpose in Sponsor's sole discretion.

I'm having a little trouble digesting that condition, which essentially all but gives the copyright of the image to the Washington Post and I am not sure why the WaPo would want to "use" the artists' entry in "any medium and for any purpose", unless they're planning to put some images on T-shirts and sell them at the next Crafty Bastards fair (not a book though, as rule 20 clarifies).

I want you readers to comment on that condition (number 8) and let me know what you think.

Wanna go to an artist talk tomorrow?

Michelle & Michael Singletary's current show at Parish Gallery in Georgetown is "Music, Dance, and Michael Jackson," showing through April 13, 2010. There's an Artist Talk on Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 4:00 to 5:30PM.

Artist get together

Join WPA staff and artist members at Jackie’s Restaurant on April 14th at 8pm for a cash bar and mingling with fellow artists in the Silver Spring area! Happy hour prices for attendees at Jackie’s new Sidebar!

Saturday: Free Art Business Seminar for Artists

On April 10, 2010 from 1-5pm, Gateway CDC in partnership with MNCPPC will be hosting my well-known “Bootcamp for Artists” seminar at no cost to the artists. Registration ends at noon tomorrow.

This seminar is suitable for all visual artists interested in taking their careers to the next level.

Ever wondered how to maximize the attention your work gets from the press, galleries, and museum curators? How to present your work in a professional manner and save money in the process? How to tap into grants, awards and residencies?

Then this is the seminar for you! This program is free, but space is limited so please email John@Gateway-cdc.org or call 301-864-3860 ext. 3 if you would like to attend. Hurry! You must register no later than noon tomorrow!

This program will be held in MNCPPC’s Brentwood Arts Exchange on the 1st Floor of the Gateway Arts Center, 3901 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, MD 20722, just over the District line on Rhode Island Avenue.

Of interest to the general public: a closing reception for the Gateway Arts District Show, which I juried a while back ,will immediately follow the “Bootcamp for Artists Seminar” from 5-8pm. All are welcome!

A free business seminar and then a closing reception with munchies and wine... life is good.

Tape Sculpture Contest Winner Announced

Scotch Brand awarded Elizabeth K. Lee from Spring Valley, Wis., a $5,000 cash prize in the The Scotch Off the Roll Tape Sculpture Contest, sponsored by 3M.

Lee took her creativity off the roll by designing and constructing "Can I Keep Him," a tape sculpture depicting a larger than life goldfish swimming in a clear bag. Her sculpture 'stuck' in the minds of the judging panel, beating out more than 135 other tape sculpture entries.

The jury panel included our own Mark Jenkins, the American artist most widely known for the street installations that he creates using Scotch Packaging Tape.

At $5,000 for a top prize, I bet they get a lot more than 135 entries next year. Check out all the award winners here.

Pecha Kucha

As part of Architecture Week 2010, the Northern Virginia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects will have a Pecha Kucha 20 x 20 (Pecha Kucha is a series of short slide presentations - approx 6 minutes each- on cool, entertaining topics held where conversation, ideas and drinks can flow - the phrase Pecha Kucha roughly translates as "chit chat").

The speakers include: Michael Janis,Glass Artist; Kevin Wyllie, Architect, Catholic University School of Architecture; Ron Anzalone, Archeologist; Tom Kamm, Theatrical Stage Designer; Chul Park, Graphic Artist, Forest Allread, Artist, Corcoran School of Art; Brian Frickie, Architect; and others.

The Pecha Kucha is a great way to meet, exchange ideas and network with other artists, architects and designers - and it is being held at the Light Horse Restaurant in the Old Town section of Alexandria.

What: NoVA's AIA PechaKucha 20 x 20 Night
When: April 13
Doors open at 6:00p with presentations beginning at 7:00p
Where: Light Horse Restaurant & Bar, 715 King Street Alexandria, VA.

Enjoy food and drink and discover a fun way to share ideas and experiences as presenters illustrate something they are passionate about with only 20 images, shown for 20 seconds each. The event is free, although attendees will be purchasing their own refreshments. Reservations are not required.

MPA Artfest

MPAartfest is a one-day juried fine art and craft show and sale featuring the work of 40 local and regional visual artists.

McLean Central Park will reverberate with the sights and sounds of art and music on Sunday, October 3rd at the 4th annual MPAartfest. Last year’s event drew 6,000 art and music devotees.

Submission deadline: June 1
Event Date: Sunday, October 3, 2010
Details: here

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: April 11, 2010

Entry deadline for the 2010 Rawls Museum Arts Juried Exhibition is April 11. The juror is Sally Bowring. Visit their website at 0 comments

Opportunity for Artists

Jurying on April 26

The jury for this show is comprised only of the submitting artists.

Each artist will be submitting one piece of work live, in front of a jury of their peers.

After each artist presents their work, the jury will be encouraged to discuss and debate before voting.

The whole process will be videotaped and hopefully even streamed live.

Artists must be available on Saturday April 24th from 6pm-whenever to both present their work and participate on the jury.

All the details are here.

Dawson on Miner

The WaPo's Jessica Dawson has a really cool review of A.B. Miner's show at G Fine Art:

Artist A.B. Miner, 32, bade farewell to his breasts forever in January 2007, electing for a double mastectomy with reconstruction, as that element of female-to-male gender reassignment surgery is called. By then he had been on hormone therapy for two years. He had changed his name. Now it was time for the next step in realizing a dream he'd had since he was a teenage girl: to be a man.

The procedure's effects must have fascinated Miner, because he photographed himself at regular intervals post-surgery. Working from those photographs, he painted a 12-panel work about the contortions of his flesh. "From There to Here" is the centerpiece of Miner's modestly sized solo show inaugurating G Fine Art's new location.

Read it here.

Ford bucks

"As part of an effort to increase the impact of its giving, the Ford Foundation is to announce a plan on Monday to dedicate $100 million to the development of arts spaces nationwide over the next decade. The plan is by far the largest commitment the foundation has ever made to the construction, maintenance and enhancement of arts facilities."

Read the NYT story here.

Tomorrow is Out of Order Hanging

Out of Order is the Maryland Art Place's Annual free-hung Benefit Exhibition, Silent Auction and Party!

Hanging Dates and Times: Beginning 9am, Tuesday, April 6th, ending 9am, Wednesday, April 7th That’s right—24 hours nonstop!

Silent Auction and Gala: 8pm, Friday, April 9, 2010. Join them for a fantastic evening of great art, music, food, and an open beer & wine bar.

Participation: There is a $10 participation fee to hang artwork in Out of Order. As a participating artist, you will be given one complimentary ticket to the gala on April 9th. ($40 value!). Proceeds will be split 50/50 between the artist and MAP.

Tickets: Tickets are free for event volunteers and current MAP members. If you wish to attend the event, simply join or renew your MAP membership and receive two complimentary tickets ($80 value), in addition to a host of incredible incentives throughout the year! Or, to buy tickets online, visit: brownpapertickets.org.

For More Details: access their website: www.mdartplace.org or call 410-962-8565.

Details for artists here.

Saint Ernesto

Just in time for Easter and Passover, my first drawing of 2010 (I know, I know, but I've been busy).

San Ernesto Guevara de la Serna Lynch, known to most of the world as 'Ché' and to many Cubans as 'El Chacal de La Cabaña'
F. Lennox Campello. Charcoal and Conte on paper. 15 x 10 inches.
In this piece I return to my iconic series on that psychopath murderer of Cubans known as Ché, the Holy Saint of the Ignorant Masses who have actually never read his hate-filled racist diaries, speeches or interviews, nor explored his abject failures as a guerrilla in Africa and South America.

If you want to buy it, contact one of the galleries that represent me.

Need studio space?

The Gateway CDC has a 418 sf Visual Art Studio for rent at the new Gateway Arts Center, located in the Gateway Arts District, 3901 Rhode Island Ave, Brentwood ,MD 20722. (1/4 mile from the DC Line on Rhode Island Ave.)

Please contact John Paradiso for an appointment to see the space and hear about all the exciting Arts activities in the Gateway Arts District! john@gateway-cdc.org

For more info on the Gateway Arts Center, click here.

For tomorrow at noon

There's a collaborative performance at the University of Maryland Art Gallery (in the Art Building) involving a chamber group (Ligeti music), Richard Klank painting, and the very talented Sebastian Rousseau dancing (Forsythe technique), on Monday, April 5th, at 12:30 PM.