Maryland artist featured at Smithsonian

Sebastian Martorana, a sculptor and illustrator living and working in Baltimore, is featured in 40 under 40: Craft Futures, an exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery that investigates evolving notions of craft within traditional media such as ceramics and metalwork, as well as in fields as varied as installation art, fashion design and mathematics.

A 2012 Individual Artist Award recipient and alumnus of the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Rinehart School of Sculpture, Martorana’s current studio is part of the stone shop at Hilgartner Natural Stone Company in Baltimore. 

“Impressions” (pictured)—a marble piece depicting a pillow showing the indentation left by a sleeping head—is made from reclaimed Baltimore marble. The piece was acquired by the Smithsonian and can be viewed on the first floor of the Renwick Gallery as part of the 40 Under 40: Craft Features exhibit through February 3, 2013.

Arkin at Long View

Long View Gallery presents “Pattern Transformation”, by Sondra N. Arkin

 

August 23 – September 23, 2012
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 23, 6:30 – 8:00pm

Washington DC – Long View Gallery is pleased to announce Pattern Transformation, an exhibition by local artist Sondra N. Arkin on Thursday, August 23, 2012, with a public reception from 6:30-8:00pm. The exhibit will remain on view through September 23, 2012.

Sondra N. Arkin has spent years perfecting her encaustic techniques through countless art experiments. Her process-driven work requires bursts of concentration, hours of labor, and an unmatched focus on repetitive tasks. The failures and successes of her experiments provide invaluable data that have influenced the direction her work has taken in Pattern Transformation.

In Pattern Transformation, Arkin builds upon her mastery of wax to include the results of her experiments with both shellac and walnut ink. The transparency of the wax and shellac combined with the opaque walnut ink allows Arkin to build up layers of interest through mark making. Her mark making techniques with the walnut ink are traditional, but she has found inspiration in a less conventional mark making tool – fire. Torching away portions of the shellac, or drawing with fire, help to build depth through every layer.

The central works of Pattern Transformation (Permutations Toward Infinity 1-50) offer a Mandelbrot fractal-like beauty. Each group of nine images presents a virtually infinite potential of visual patterns. Each grid, not just interchangeable but rotatable to all four orientations, can be rearranged into a vast number of aesthetically viable patterns—with the absolute permutations from any single grid being over 95 billion.

Arkin has not strayed from the shapes and patterns of which we have become accustomed, lines and circles still make up the bulk of her markings. The patterns feel familiar yet the work is transformed. Her experiments with shellac and walnut ink, and her ability to recreate their successes, have taken her encaustic paintings to new heights. Arkin’s new mark making techniques, the often-innumerable layers of abstract patterns and the growth of her color palette each contribute to the work’s transformation. Pattern Transformation establishes a new period in the encaustic work of Sondra N. Arkin.

Pattern Transformation is the first solo show for Sondra N. Arkin since Long View Gallery’s re-opening in October of 2009. Her work is included in public and private collections including Bloomingdales, Washington, DC, the Copenhagen Residence through the Art in Embassies Program, Copenhagen, Denmark and the Donatelli Corporation, Bethesda, MD. Arkin received her MA from Florida Atlantic in 1984 and currently lives and works in Washington, DC.

Almost immortal pita bread

New public art for Connecticut Ave

The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) and the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) have selected a permanent light art concept to be installed along Connecticut Avenue between K Street and Dupont Circle.  The display, designed by local artist Alexander Cooper, incorporates programmable, low energy LED lights which will enliven the iconic boulevard with bright colors, patterns and movement throughout the year.

The art will be showcased on a four block raised median, scheduled to be completed this fall, from K Street to Dupont Circle. The art will light the lush landscaping and seasonal plantings of the medians to create a dynamic nighttime element along this highly travelled downtown corridor.

The light art project is part of a major streetscape enhancement project on Connecticut Avenue, which includes a beautifully landscaped median, sidewalk improvements featuring 20 foot tree gardens and other sidewalk amenities. The first section of the median, from K to L Streets, was completed in the fall of 2011 and transformed 3,000 square feet of asphalt into green space with thousands of flowers, plants and trees rotated seasonally. Construction for the remaining portion of the median will begin this fall.

Artist Alexander Cooper is a lighting and scenic designer with more than 10 years of experience in the Washington D.C. area. He has created the lighting design for more than 60 exhibitions and permanent collection installations. He recently installed the lighting for “Farragut Spheres,” an art project funded by DCCAH and the BID, which was donated to WMATA.

“We are proud to partner once again with the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and look forward to working with Mr. Cooper on this spectacular project,” said Leona Agouridis, Executive Director of the Golden Triangle BID. “The light art display will create an abstract and stunning architectural landscape along Connecticut Avenue and will enhance the Golden Triangle neighborhood for the many workers, residents and visitors.”

“It has been a pleasure working with the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District, and we look forward to the installation of this dynamic artwork,” said Lionell Thomas, Executive Director of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. “Mr. Cooper’s light display is an excellent example of how public art and urban planning can come together to create a beautiful environment for our residents.”

“Designing and creating the art display for Connecticut Avenue is a tremendous opportunity to add dynamic lighting element to the heart of the city,” said Alexander Cooper. “I am very excited and honored to be a part of this project.”

BlackRock has a new boss

BlackRock Center for the Arts is pleased to announce that Krista Rimple Bradley joins the not-for-profit arts organization as its new Executive Director on August 6.  She replaces Charlotte Sommers, who leaves the Washington area after a successful four-year stint at BlackRock.  As Executive Director, Bradley is responsible for developing, guiding and implementing the strategies, programming and operations of the arts center, as well as overseeing the day-to-day execution of BlackRock’s fundraising, marketing, arts programming and operations. BlackRock Board President, Jean Casey, says that “Krista brings more than 20 years of experience as a seasoned arts administrator, funder, consultant and leader in the performing arts presenting field, having worked with a variety of local, regional, and national arts organizations and foundations. The Search Committee was impressed with Krista’s intelligence, extensive experience in all aspects of arts administration, and leadership in the performing arts field.  She also brings a wide network of relationships from the performing arts and funding communities, which she will leverage in her work leading BlackRock in its next phase of growth.”

 Bradley states that she is “thrilled to be joining BlackRock at this exciting time in its 10-year history and I look forward to building on its past success.  BlackRock is poised to be a model multidisciplinary arts center, offering local residents affordable and convenient opportunities to participate in, learn about, and explore a wide range of performing, visual and creative arts --be it through classes, workshops, or performances of high quality regional, national and international artists.  I’m excited about broadening and diversifying our programming and increasing opportunities for residents of all ages to explore and engage with the arts more fully.”

Most recently, Bradley has been Program Officer for Performing Arts at Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, where she managed performing arts touring and funding programs for presenters and artists in the Foundation’s nine states and jurisdictions and curated annual rosters of regional, national and international performing artists for touring across the mid-Atlantic region. She has served as a consultant, funder and arts administrator with a variety of performing arts and philanthropic organizations to commission and develop new work, support artists, facilitate presenting, producing, and touring collaborations and engage diverse communities in meaningful ways.

Prior to joining Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Bradley worked with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Washington Performing Arts Society, the Walker Arts Center and Harlem Stage on programming and audience and community engagement initiatives. She has directed national and regional arts programs for OPERA America and the Wallace Reader’s Digest Fund and held management positions with both Houston Grand Opera and Virginia Opera. Bradley is a frequent grants panelist and reviewer for national and regional funders, including the National Endowment for the Arts, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, New England Foundation for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts. She holds a B.A. degree in Literature and Society from Brown University.

Bradley is delighted to take on this leadership position at BlackRock and concludes: “I believe the arts are central to a vibrant community life and help create an enriched sense of place.  I look forward to working with our board, staff and community leaders to realize BlackRock’s potential to be that vital hub and catalyst in Upper Montgomery County.“

Fake Painting

Viktor Vekselberg, one of the world’s richest men, paid £1.7 million for Odalisque, a nude said to be the work of Russian artist Boris Kustodiev.

The price was 10 times the pre-sale estimate and represented the “pure absurdity” of the art market, the court heard.

Soon after the purchase in 2005, experts working for Mr Vekselberg’s arts fund, Aurora, began to cast doubt on the picture’s authenticity. They claimed that Kustodiev’s signature, dated 1919, was done in an aluminium-based pigment not available until after the artist’s death in 1927.

Read the whole story here.

Callanish Stone Circle

Callanish Stone Circle (Clachan Chalanais), Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

My favorite stone circle on the planet - even more spectacular than Stonehenge and a lot harder to get to... I took a million photos from all angles and have done about 100 drawings as well, like the one below... sort of.

"Cross Stitch" or "Claire Beauchamp at the stone circle"
 c. 1991, charcoal and conte on paper 

The above 1991 drawing was done after I read a book titled "Cross Stitch" by Diana Gabaldon,  which is about time travel and stone circles.  At the time those were (and still are) two of my fave subjects! The circle is made up of a couple if real stone circles in Scotland,  heavily influenced by Callanish.

Olympic Update: The Koreas battle!

You'll never see this sort of Olympic coverage in the mainstream media:

Good news for the weirdo who runs the starving Communist Workers' Paradise of North Korea: You guys have won 4 medals as of today - including 3 golds! Those winners have it "made for life now" (or DPRK's life expectancy of 68 years)...

Bad News: The Democratic economic powerhouse to your South has won six! And their life expectancy is 80 years! And they don't threaten their athletes if they don't win... Go ROK!

Oh No!

Heads will roll!

PS - Japan has 11 the hard way... China doesn't count because we all know they cheat with junk they inject into their athletes' bodies (like East Germany and the old USSR did for decades) but we won't figure out how they do it for another two decades...

Art Scam Ripoff Alert

This email address and this email is a rip off seeking to part artists from their artwork:

From: Vincent Kube <vincentkube@yahoo.dk>
Date: Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 7:03 PM
Subject: Art purchase inquiry
To:
Good Afternoon,

           I hope you having a wonderful day?,i was able to see your work of art from your website and i must say that your work is fascinating and vivacious,it shows that you took your time to perfect its creation. I am a resident of Copenhagen, Denmark and am interested in owning some of your work to decorate my living room and office to elevate my lifestyle, unfortunately ilost the link to your website. I will be pleased if you can  send me the link to your website so that i can select the one's had like to purchasefrom you. i await your response.

Regards

Vincent

More Scottish watercolors

You can probably tell that I've got a new gizmo that scans slides (remember slides) as digital files at the push of a button. Subsequently, I've begun the process to scan the thousands of slides that I have accumulated over the years.

The story so far: I lived in Scotland from 1989-1992 and while I was there, I was seduced by that ancient land and produced a lot of artwork focused on all the Scottish visual offerings around me.

Below are some watercolors (and one charcoal drawing) of some the birds which seemed to be constantly flying in formation all year round (especially the Canada geese). Most of these watercolors were rather large (30 x 40 inches) and all of them are in Scottish or American private collections, and a few have even shown up in British auction houses since they were done over 20 years ago.

Canada Geese, Brechin Skies, Angus, Scotland

Flight Formation, Edzell Skies, Angus, Scotland

Flight Formation, Fettercairn Skies, Angus, Scotland

When the farmers plowed the field, 100s of seagulls would fly from the North Sea and hover over the fields looking for insects to eat; as soon as the farmer was out of the way, they would land and start the buffet

Canada Geese, Montrose, Scotland, Charcoal and Conte, c. 1991

Elvis and Buster

"Elvis Presley and Buster Keaton Dressed as Nuns" Charcoal and Conte on Paper, c. 1995 by F. Lennox Campello

Edzell Arch

Queen Victoria, on her way to the Highlands, used to travel through the tiny Scottish village of Edzell, in the Angus region of Scotland. Thus, the locals built an arch to honor their English queen.

From 1989-1992, I lived a few minutes from the village of Edzell, and the arch was a much visited subject of my drawings back then. Below are some examples of those works from those years. These are all in multiple collections in Scotland and the US.

Edzell Arch, Edzell, Angus, Scotland - as seen from the village - c. 1989

Edzell Arch, Edzell, Angus, Scotland - as seen from the village - c. 1990

Edzell Arch, Edzell, Angus, Scotland - as seen from the Edzell to Fettercairn Road - c. 1991

Scottish road

This watercolor shows a winter snowfall on the road from the Scottish farmhouse (where I lived from 1989-1992 (Little Keithock Farmhouse)) that lead from the farmhouse to the the B966 (I think it was also called the Trinity Road) paved road. It was about a quarter of a mile from the farmhouse to the road, but at night in the winter you could not see your hand in front of your face because it was so dark out in brooding Angus.

Winter Road, near Brechin, Angus, Scotland, c. 1990

Olympic Games Opening

What the hell was that opening all about? Was I the only one who thought it was rather unintelligible? And that opinion is coming from someone who lived in the UK for a few years...

What were those guys (dressed like the Monopoly guy) in the top hats supposed to be?

Jitterbugging nurses and doctors?And the scary huge puppets being taken down by the dozens of Mary Poppins (who looked like giant flies coming down)... and what about that giant creepy baby!

Interesting that the Scottish kids sang an anti-English song (Flower of Scotland)... the ahh... National Anthem of England's pesky Celtic Northern neighbor...

Cool part: When the Olympic rings lit up and rained fire... did anyone notice that one of the rings was sort of "leaking" fire for a bit while all the others had stopped?

Awright... the Queen's entrance was cool too...and that bit with 007 eclipsed the robotic Chinese opening four years ago. And Mr. Bean (Blackadder!!!!) was really funny in that subtle English way

I am a big McCartney fan, but... has Sir Paul become the duty "closer" for anything British (or big name musical)? Didn't we just see him doing the same skit for the Queen's 1000th Jubilee?

And after Kobe and LeBron made the comments about this team being better than the dream team, they better not get surprised by Spain, or Argentina, or some Eastern European country...

I'm just saying... cough, cough...

Gallery B call for proposals

  

The Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District and Bethesda Urban Partnership are accepting applications for Gallery B in downtown Bethesda!

This beautiful gallery space (the former Fraser Gallery), located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E in downtown Bethesda, is available to interested artists and arts organizations for one-month rentals. All media including, but not limited to, painting, photography and sculpture is eligible to use the space. Gallery B does not take a commission on any artwork sold during the exhibition.  

They are seeking applications from local artists and arts organizations for month-long exhibitions in 2013.  There is approximately 1,500 sq. feet of available exhibition space.  The deadline for submission is August 10, 2012.

To be considered for a solo or group exhibition, and to review the gallery requirements, please complete this application.

Questions?  Please send them an email to artist@bethesda.org.

Opportunity for Artists

	629 N 2nd St Philadelphia, PA 19123			267.303.9652			info@projectsgallery.com
	About	Artists	Contact	Current	New	Past	Press	Upcoming

CALL TO ARTISTS: “Fresh Impressions” Juried Exhibition
Deadline:  August 20, 2012
Exhibition Dates:  October 5-27, 2012
Nationally known Projects Gallery announces a call to artists for an exhibition.  Occasionally, this prestigious gallery creates opportunities in its exhibition schedule to showcase quality artists in a respected exhibition venue.  The gallery seeks to serve the wider artist community through a variety of thematic group shows, opening new avenues for artists to present their work to a broader audience.  In the past, these types of venues have occasionally resulted in Projects Gallery discovering unique talent, which have resulted in long-term relationships.

The Brandywine Workshop, which is celebrating its fortieth anniversary in 2012, has been a presenting partner with Projects Gallery in the past.  The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is hosting Full Spectrum: Prints from the Brandywine Workshop, from September 7-November 25th this fall.  Projects Gallery is joining with The Print Center, Taller Puertorriqueño and other art groups to extend the impact of Full Spectrum by providing related programming outside the PMA.  In this particular case, Projects Gallery will partner with the Brandywine Workshop to present Fresh Impressions, which will draw attention to the breadth and depth of printmaking talent and innovative, new approaches. The combined efforts of local institutions and artists will demonstrate the prominence of Philadelphia in the global field of printmaking.

Theme:  Artists are invited to submit examples of contemporary printmaking for review by an expert jury.  Today’s technologies and mixed media approaches challenge age-old forms of printmaking, creating new genres and new forms.  It is a goal of Fresh Impressions to help introduce young artists or those new to the area with a sincere interest in printmaking or print media as a creative process.

Anticipated Jurors: Raphael Damast, Exhibitions Director, Taller Puertorriqueño; Shelley Langdale, Associate Curator of Prints, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Elizabeth F. Spungen, Executive Director, The Print Center

Eligibility:  Open to all non-student artists.  Works for consideration may be of any print media. There is no size limitation but weight may not exceed 50 lbs.  All works must be original, for sale and available for the duration of the exhibition.  Gallery commission on sales is 50%.  An artist statement and resume will be required for all accepted artists.  Artist is responsible for transportation of work to and from gallery.  Projects Gallery will not be responsible for loss or damage of any work while on the premises or during transit to or from the gallery. All works must be exhibition ready, including wire, hooks, etc.  Accepted video artists must supply viewing equipment. Selected artists must permit use of their work images for publicity purposes, including but not limited to print and web. 

To Enter:  Artists may submit via email or snail mail up to three artwork entries.  Three additional detail images are permitted. Entry materials will not be returned. Do not send original artwork.  No slides.   All documents should be in .doc or .pdf format.  All entries for this exhibition must be received no later than Monday, August 20th.  If any of these requirements are not met, the submission will be deemed ineligible. 

Documents required:

1. Artist contact information: including name as it should appear in print, email address, phone number(s) and mailing address
2. List of entries: including the following information – artist name, titles of images, media, date and retail price of work submitted (Smith, Joe / Image 1 – Untitled / mixed media / 24”H x 36”W x 6”D / 2011 / $xxx)
3. Short resume or bio
4. Artist statement

Image submissions: Must be digital 300 dpi and at least 600 pixels but no greater than 1200 pixels in either direction.  Jpg, gif or tiff format. Each image file should be labeled as follows: (LastName_FirstName_TheEntryNumber.jpg (Smith_Joe_1.jpg). 
Email entries to:  info@projectsgallery.com  Please indicate on the subject line “Fresh Impressions”
Snail mail all materials to:
Projects Gallery
Attn:  Fresh Impressions
629 N. 2nd St.
Philadelphia, PA  19123
Calendar for Fresh Impressions

• Entry deadline:  Monday, August 20, 2012
• Final notification via email:  Monday, September 3, 2012
• Selected work(s) to Philadelphia gallery:  Friday, September 28, – no works accepted after September 30th
• Exhibition opens:  Friday, October 5, 2012
• Exhibition closes:  Saturday, October 27, 2012
• Reception:  First Friday, October 5, 2012 6-9 pm
• Work pick up or return shipping:  October 31 – November 3, 2012

All shipped works must arrive in reusable packaging (with complete installation instructions where applicable) and include a prepaid, return-shipping label.  An appointment must be made for hand-delivered works.  Any works not picked up by November 3, 2012 will be charged a $5 per day storage fee.
In addition to the exhibition, press releases and images will be sent out; and the exhibition will be highlighted on the gallery’s website. 
Questions?  Contact info@projectsgallery.com.         

Wanna go to an opening tomorrow?

IN BLACKROCK’S MAIN GALLERY JULY 25-AUGUST 18:

WORKS BY ROBERT STUART COHEN, ELISSA FARROW-SAVOS, FIERCE SONIA

WHO:         BlackRock Center for the Arts

WHAT        An exhibit with works by Robert Stuart Cohen, Elissa Farrow-Savos and Fierce Sonia

WHERE:    Main Gallery at BlackRock, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown, MD

RECEPTION:  Saturday, July 28 5:30 -7:30 pm

WHEN:      Wednesday, July 25-Saturday, August 18, Mon-Fri 10:00-5:00; Closed Sat & Sun

PRICE:        Admission is free

CONTACT: Gallery phone is 301-528-2260, website is www.blackrockcenter.org

Take a cool and inspiring break this summer at BlackRock’s Main Gallery where work by Robert Stuart Cohen, Elissa Farrow-Savos, and Fierce Sonia is on exhibit July 25-August 18, 2012.  Pieces on display include mixed media, sculpture, photographs and acrylics. Hours are Monday-Friday 10:00-5:00. There is an Artist Reception on Saturday, July 28 from 5:30-7:30, which, like the exhibit, is free and open to the public.

About the Artists and Their Work

Robert Stuart Cohen finds painting to be “a process of discovery, in which working with change, matters of perception and color is essential.”  He likes to combine multiple canvases and a variety of techniques, believing “differences working together are beautiful...a new energy emerges and relationships continue to surprise and overlap.”  Cohen taught for more than 30 years at Montgomery College in Rockville and is now a full-time artist. View his gallery online at Robertstuartcohen.com.

Elissa Farrow-Savos tells stories through her sculpture, “each a narrative of some woman somewhere, and every woman everywhere.” She uses common themes, such as physical, emotional, and spiritual burdens, connections lost and found, love and anger, dignity and strength. She incorporates rusty chains, weathered wood, decaying bones, abandoned objects, and scraps of fabric – the debris of life, lived. Says Farrow-Savos, “My women are the same, they show their scars and wear them proudly because after all, they make a good story, if nothing else.”

                                                                                          

Fierce Sonia explores digital and traditional photographic processes in her “Paper Dolls” works. “Paper Dolls” is a series of narrative figurative self-portraits. Sonia combines her photography with collage and painting mediums to construct “an outward expression of an inner fantasy world.”

Little Keithock Farmhouse

Little Keithock Farmhouse, Near Brechin, Angus, Scotland

One of the most influential times of my life were the years that I lived in Scotland (1989-1992). Above is a drawing that I did in 1990 of the farmhouse where I used the live. This haunting (and haunted) place was built in  1681 and there was even an older dovecot right next to it. Its farm fields were adjacent to the Brechin Golf Club, which I think is the second or third oldest golf playing ground in the world.
 
In fact, the dovecot next to it was so much older (built in 1534), that it merited an entry in the Scottish Ordnance Map as an "antiquity," not an easy thing in Europe's most ancient nation.

Anyway, the farmhouse had a beautiful garden, which was surrounded by a tall stone wall. One day, one of the trucks that used the dirt road that ran in front of the house, and led to the nearby potato and turnip fields, lost control, and slammed into the wall, destroying a couple of feet of wall.

A couple of days later, another truck dumped a small pile of new rocks, and soon afterwards an elderly gent showed up, and using nothing but a small hammer, began to rebuild the wall. He re-used the old rocks that had been disturbed by the accident, as well as some of the new ones.

Slowly but surely, over a few days, the wall was rebuilt before my eyes. When it was done, other than the fact that the moss on the stones had been re-arranged, it was impossible to tell that an accident had happened. A year later, the moss was back everywhere and no visual evidence that a chunk of the wall was "new" existed.

Opportunity for Artists

Holy Cross Hospital: Call for Entries

The Community Art Gallery at Holy Cross Hospital seeks local artists to exhibit work-specifically art with strong ties to the Holy Cross mission and community.

The application deadline is August 10, and exhibition period is from September 2012 through August 2013. Four to eight exhibitors will be selected. For additional entry info and specifications, contact Christian Payne at 301-754-7920 or paynec@holycrosshealth.org.

Simon Bolivar's reconstructed 3-D face

 Here's the face of the man named Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Blanco (July 24, 1783 – December 17, 1830), known to most of the world as Simón Bolívar, and also as the man who kicked the Spaniards out of most of the Americas and led Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia to independence.

Brutish thug Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez recently commissioned and just released this 3D portrait of the Bolivar face.