Boquiñeñeñeñe

Así decía un rumbero
Allá por el malecón.
Oye, deja la palucha
Y ponte a bailar el son

Wanna go to an opening tonight?

 

Opening Reception, Friday, March 17, 7:00-9:00 pm

Benefit Reception, Friday, April 28,

7:00 - 10:00 pm

 Closing Reception, Friday, May 5, 7:00 pm

 All Benefit tickets will go on sale March 1st at

10:00 am

 Log in HERE to purchase your Benefit ticket

       This year not only marks Smith Center for Healing and the Arts' 20th anniversary, but also the 5th Alchemical Vessels exhibition and benefit. This year's concept for A-V-5 is The Night's Journey: 125 artists, chosen by 20 curators, have been asked to create or choose a vessel to tell their story about the cyclical passage from pain to healing - a journey that resonates with all of us.

       Once again we are offering the opportunity to take home one of these unique artworks and this year we've added an additional ticket option based on your feedback. Each ticket sold directly supports our mission as Washington DC's only independent integrative cancer support organization.

This years participating artists include:

        Lina Alattar, Jennifer Anderson, Kasse Andrews Weller, Sondra Arkin, Rushern Baker IV, Julia Mae Bancroft, Marilyn Banner, Joan Belmar, Michael Booker, Lenny Campello, Sally Canzoneri, Elana Casey, Mei Mei Chang, Hsin Hsi Chen, Schroeder Cherry, Vachu Chilakamarri, Travis Childers, Mara Clawson, Irene Clouthier, Ellen Cornett, Brian Dailey, Lama Dajani, Richard Dana, Delna Dastur, Ana U Davis, Rachel Debuque, Rex Delafkaran, Nehemiah Dixon III, Jim Doran, Spencer Dormitzer, Sarah Eargle, Mary Early, Cheryl Edwards, Lauren Emeritz, Heloisa Escudero, Lisa Farrell, Gregory Ferrand, Mary Freedman, Emily Fussner, Ric Garcia, Mark Garrett, Shaunté Gates, Donovan Gerald, Janis Goodman, Stefan Greene, Matthew Grimes, Adam Hager, Mia Halton, Key Han, Mansoora Hassan, Caroline Hatfield, Sean Hennessey, Jeffery Herrity, Mary Higgins, Leslie Holt, Jackie Hoysted, Aaron Hughes, Melissa Ichiuji, Sarah Irvin, Charles Jean Pierre, Wayson Jones, Jessica Kallista, Sally Kauffman, Don Kimes, JT Kirkland, Micheline Klagsbrun, Catherine Kleeman, Reagan Lake, Kyujin Lee, Liz Lescault, Yue Li, Erin Lisette, Nathan Loda, Steve Loya, Tsedaye Makonnen, Marty Ittner, Jenee Mateer, Carolina Mayorga, Freda Lee McCann, Olivia Morrow, Kristine Moss, Minna Nathanson, Nahid Navab, Nasrin Navab, Thien Nguyen, Shanti Norris, Sarah O'Donoghue, Javier Padilla, Anthony Palliparambil, John Paradiso, Nara Park, Judith Peck, Lyric Prince, Susana Raab, Carol Reed, Mojdeh Rezaeipour, Jamea Richmond Edwards, Lisa Rosenstein, Kevin Runyon, Jac Rust, Nancy Sausser, Gretchen Schermerhorn, Alma Selimovic, Samantha Sethi, Alexandra Sherman, Ellen Sinel, Anne C Smith, Michael Snowden, Susan Stacks, Hillary Steel, Dafna Steinberg, Anneliese Sullivan, Martin Swift, Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Mars Tokyo, Patricia Underwood, Andrea Uravitch, Mark Walker, Jenny Walton, Leslie Weinberger, Ellyn Weiss, Josh Whipkey, Millicent Young, Helen Zughaib

Thank you to this year's curators:

Joan Belmar, Adah Rose Bitterbaum, Jim Doran, Nekisha Durrett, Tim Fleshner, Helen Frederick, Judith Heartsong, Phil Hutinet, Jessica Kallista, Kunj Patel, Gloria Nauden, Henry Thaggert, Anne C. Smith, Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, Dolly Vehlow, Zoma Wallace, Ellyn Weiss, Nikki Brugnoli Whipkey

Here's what's new this year:

Benefit Tickets for sale:

Premium - $300  TICKETS # 1-15

Admission for one to the benefit event and a priority ticket number to choose your favorite vessel (1-15).  *Tickets  1-15 are assigned first come, first serve beginning March 10th, 10:00 am – The 1^st purchaser of a premium ticket will receive 1^st choice of a vessel, 2^nd purchaser will get the 2^nd choice and so on.

Standard - $175                     TICKETS # 16-125

Admission for one to the benefit event and a standard ticket number to choose your favorite vessel (16-125).  *Tickets 16-125 are assigned first come, first serve beginning March 10th, 10:00 am – The 1^st purchaser of a standard ticket will receive 16^th choice of a vessel, 2^nd purchaser will get the 17^th choice and so on.

Benefit only - $50

Admission for one to attend the Alchemical Vessels benefit, a lovely and lively evening of catered food, live music and complimentary wine and beer all night. This ticket does not include the purchase of a vessel.

Please contact our Alchemical Vessels coordinator Deirdre Darden for any questions or more information. Thank you!

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: March 31, 2017


VisArts invites artists working in all media to apply for 2018 Solo Exhibitions in the Gibbs Street Gallery and Common Ground Gallery. The Gibbs Street Gallery offers exhibitions that explore the breadth of contemporary art featuring emerging to mid-career artists. Exhibits reflect a wide range of media and experimental approaches that offer the viewer unexpected interactions with art. The gallery is approximately 1,100 square feet with 16 ft. ceilings. It is on the street level with floor to ceiling windows along one wall. International, national and local artists are welcome to apply. The Common Ground Gallery features exhibitions that reflect the creative pursuits of artists from our community. The gallery is located on the second floor and is approximately 300 square feet. Artists must live in the Mid-Atlantic region to apply for a solo exhibition in this gallery.


Apply here: https://visarts.submittable.com/submit/75234/call-for-solo-exhibition-2018

NYC: Here we come!

We'll be featuring the amazing work of former DMV artist (now Texas) Jodi Walsh, DMV genius Georgia Nassikas and NYC ubertalent Ned Martin!

Send me a note if you'd like a free pass to the fair!

Come meet artist Anne Marchand!

At Zenith: 39 Years: Rejuvenate with ART!

MEET THE ARTISTS RECEPTIONS:  

Friday March 17, 4-8 pm and Saturday March 18, 2-6 pm

At Zenith Gallery

1429 Iris Street NW, Washington DC 20012

 

Couple with Spirits by Hubert Jackson

Where: 1429 Iris Street NW, Washington DC 20012

Show Dates:   March 17 - April 29, 2017 Meet the Artists Receptions: Friday, March 17, 4:00-8:00 pm, and Saturday, March 18, 2:00-6:00 pm Closing Reception: Saturday, April 29, 2:00 - 5:00 pm

Information:  Margery Goldberg, 202-783-2963, margery@zenithgallery.com

Zenith Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Saturday, Noon - 6:00 pm, Any other times by Appointment

Snowcalypse 2017

Snowcalypse 2017: Bring it on... I've got food, booze, firewood, generators, water, snow blower, flashlights, batteries, coffee, 2nd Amendment instruments... running low on milk though... Feh!

Road Outside Little Keithock Farmhouse, Near Brechin, Angus, Scotland
Circa 1991. Watercolor and gesso on paper. 30x40 inches.
By F. Lennox Campello

Another call for artists to donate artwork... again

The Art Connection in the Capital Region invites all artists to participate in an exhibition and art placement project presented in conjunction with the Landon School in the greater Washington, DC area.

As part of ACCR's Art + Community series, this project will bring together artists willing to donate their artwork to qualifying nonprofit community service organizations within the greater Washington DC area.  The artwork selected by the participating nonprofits will be considered a donation to the agencies for permanent display.
  

To view the full prospectus, click here.
To download the entry form, click here.
For more information about ACCR, click here.

Jury Duty

Yesterday I had the honor and pleasure to jury The Friends of The Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery's 18th Annual High School Student Art Exhibition. This art competition is an annual event for all high school sophomores, juniors and seniors from Montgomery County, Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington DC.

To say that I was astounded by the quality of this show would be a gigantic understatement!

Let me tell you, after several decades of jurying, curating, reviewing, and looking at hundreds of art competitions, exhibitions, and fairs, it is rare for me to walk into a room full of art awaiting to be juried, and still be completely (and pleasantly) surprised by the extraordinary amount of talent, creativity and skill present in that room! 

And yet this was exactly the case with this competition: It must be clear to the most casual observer, that once you view the works that I selected for this show, that there’s an extraordinary abundance of artistic capital in these young minds.

The award winners and selected artists must be congratulated for this achievement. The level of this competition was very high and it was an exceedingly difficult process to jury.  Additionally, there were several outstanding works of art that could easily have been included for awards.

To the selected artists: I encourage each one of you to continue to press on with your artistic gifts – you are at the beginning of a lifetime of creation and I charge each and every one of you to continue to leave an artistic footprint as you mature in life.

Below are some examples of the work... prepare to be astounded! Award ceremony and judge’s comments take place Sunday, March 19th from 4:00 – 5:00pm. Exhibition is open Saturday, 12 to 5PM and Sunday, 12 to 5PM.

Angelique Nagovskaya - “Tension”

Julia Chien – “The Call”

Kern Lee - "Deep Market”

Kristina Waymore – “The Bucket and The Basement"

Rayne Layton - "Art is NOT a Crime”

Sophie Nguyen - ”Renaissance”

Using Instagram for connecting with art collector

Nothing can replace an in-person art experience, but Instagram’s newest features allow you to connect with art lovers and collectors online more authentically than ever.

Tune in as Artsy’s social media experts, Mark Rosen and Susi Kenna, share strategies for using Instagram’s newest features.

What: A LIVE discussion and Q&A about Instagram for the art world

Who: Artsy’s (@artsy) in-house social media experts—Mark Rosen (@markatthemuseum) and Susi Kenna (@susikenna)

When: Wednesday, March 15th, 2017 at 10:00 AM EST

Where: Watch from any location or device. After you RSVP, you’ll receive a confirmation email with more information. Spots are limited—register now to claim yours.

Hirshhorn Elects Two New Trustees

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden announced the election of two new trustees, Sonny Kalsi (New York) and Ellen Susman (Washington, D.C.). Now comprised of thirty active members, the board has grown to be the largest in the museum's history, having more than doubled in size under the direction of Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu.

 

These newly-elected Trustees are a reflection of the Hirshhorn's ongoing focus to engage philanthropists, entrepreneurs and luminaries from around the world. In recent years, the museum has solidified its place as the preeminent national institution for contemporary art, and its continued engagement with a diverse group of international perspectives has served to strengthen the museum's voice within the global landscape.

 

"The board has seen tremendous growth over the past two years, both in terms of numbers as well as its cultural and geographic diversity," said Board Chair Daniel H. Sallick. "This expansion is a testament to the Hirshhorn's global reach, and the important work the museum is doing to champion contemporary artists both within the city and around the world."

 

"We are so pleased to welcome Sonny and Ellen to the Hirshhorn's board," said Chiu. "Their expertise will be invaluable as we continue to expand our exhibition purview and prepare to host major shows by some of the most significant and influential artists working today."

 

About the Board Members

 

Sonny Kalsi is a Founder and Partner of GreenOak Real Estate, an independent real estate principal investing firm. Kalsi was previously the Global Co-Head of Morgan Stanley's Real Estate Investing business and President of the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds until early 2009.

He was recently named by PERE as one of the 100 most influential people in private real estate from the past decade. Kalsi is a graduate of Georgetown University with a degree in Business Administration and is a member of the Georgetown's Board of Regents. 

 

Ellen Susman served as Director of the U.S. Department of State's ART in Embassies (AIE) program, an office of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations from 2013-2016.  Before that, Susman served as a Member of President Obama's Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

She previously served on the boards of the MoMA's Latin American Fund, The Blanton Museum, The Texas Tribune, The Democracy Alliance, and the Women's Leadership Board at Harvard Kennedy School, among others. 

Currently she serves on the Yale University Art Gallery Board and is an Advisory Member to the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Aspen Art Museum and K9s4COP'S.  

Wanna go to an opening this weekend?

AMY LIN: baby thoughts

March 11 - April 15, 2017

Addison/Ripley Fine Art

Opening reception for the artist: Saturday, March 11, 5-7pm

BABY THOUGHTS: TOWARDS A VISUAL PRE-LANGUAGE

 

In this most recent exhibition at Addison/Ripley, Amy Lin focuses inward, taking the birth of her first child for a personal, pure and elemental examination that, nevertheless, remains stylistically tied to her familiar pointillist and cut paper techniques. The artist offers a view, in her words, through a baby's eyes, glimpses at first tiny and new which eventually evolve into sophisticated patterns and complex compositions. 

 

A new born child sees, at first, simply colors and shapes, makes associations with them, forms her world with them. In a very short time those same shapes and colors begin to differentiate and become associative. So too, Lin's art works, begun with basic marks and colors, are built up, layered and increasingly complex. While the artist's current work is certainly, by intent, childlike in its perusal of early human perception, it is also measured, careful, sophisticated and disciplined, presented, as in previous exhibitions, on pure, white fields of paper. Impeccably crafted and highly personal, these new works of Amy Lin seek to highlight the visual and intellectual spaces before we put words to them.

 

The artist is currently living and working in Washington, DC. She has had more than 13 solo exhibitions including ones in New York, Tokyo and Houston. She was featured in the recent book, "100 Artists of Washington, DC", by Lenny Campello.  Notably, she was the recipient of a John Anson Kittredge Grant and a Strauss Fellowship Grant. Residencies in Tokyo and Singapore have allowed the artist to interact with other art professionals and collectors in Asia and to refine and inform her work.

Pondering, Amy Lin 2016, mixed media, 14 x 14 inches

Please also come for coffee & conversation - Saturday, March 18th, 11am

 

Please join Addison/Ripley for the next in their ongoing series of artist conversations in the gallery, on Saturday, March 18th  from 11 to 1.  They are thrilled to welcome Dr. Anne Collins Goodyear, co-director of Bowdoin College Museum of Art and former Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution in conversation with artist Amy Lin.  Enjoy coffee, bagels and a guided, open ended discussion regarding work, technique and inspiration.

Please rsvp for this event: addisonrip@aol.com or 202.338.5180

 

The gallery is located in Upper Georgetown at theintersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Reservoir Road and isopen Tuesday through Saturday from 11 until 5:30 and byappointment.

18th Annual High School Student Art Exhibition

The Friends of The Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery's

18th Annual High School Student Art Exhibition

March 18 and 19, 2017

Saturday, 12 to 5PM and Sunday, 12 to 5PM

Reception Sunday, March 19 from 4:00 – 5:00pm

The Friends of the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery is sponsoring an art competition for all high school sophomores, juniors and seniors from Montgomery County, Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington DC. Click here for an application form.

The Friends of the Yellow Barn, with support from Plaza Artist Materials, will award a First Prize of $500, second prize of $250, and Third prize of $150. $25 gift certificates will also be awarded to the other 37 works selected for the exhibition. Selecting the work this year will be Lenny Campello, outstanding artist and arts promoter for the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. Award ceremony and judge’s comments take place Sunday, March 19^th from 4:00 – 5:00pm.

The Friends of the Yellow Barn is also pleased to recognize three Outstanding Teachers with a monetary prize of $250. This is our third year of enabling high school students to nominate and award their high school art teachers with a monetary prize of their own. Three outstanding art teachers will be acknowledged the night of the reception for their year round hard work in cultivating and inspiring young minds.

Snap Frida

My daughter Elise as Frida via Snapchat filter... cough, cough...

Art Scam Alert!

Beware of this mutant trying to rip off artists!

From: Kenneth Freeman <supplyshop51@gmail.com>

Subject: Mail Inquiry....

Date: March 8, 2017 at 8:30:12 AM EST

Hello,

My name Ken owner of KEN SHOP PLACE we hear about you through the internet and am very interested in some of your products. I have a shop in the Fiji Islands in this case are you authorized to ship out worldwide or accept private pick up by a freight forwarder.

Do you have a minimum order?
Do you accept credit card for prepayment on your terminal machine manually?
A price list if possible?

I await the requested information so that i can proceed with the ordering.

Respectfully,
Kenneth Freeman

KEN SHOP PLACE
768 Avon Place
Suva
Fiji Islands
679 937 3421

 This is how the scam works and how to protect yourself... 

ARTundressed 2017 Call for Entries

Deadline: March 31, 2017

ARTundressed - They are accepting entries in the following categories:

Fine Art | Photography | Digital Art | Sculpture* | Mixed Media

Art Installation | Interactive Art Presentation | Artistic Short Film and Videos | Literary Art (Poetry, Short Story)

Registration / Submission for all other International Artists is FREE!!!

NUMBER OF SUBMISSIONS ALLOWED: Each artist is allowed to submit up to 5 entries for consideration, with a possibility of 0 – 5 submission(s) to be selected by the jurors/curators of the art exhibition.

NUMBER OF SUBMISSIONS ALLOWED: Each artist is allowed to submit up to 5 entries for consideration, with a possibility of 0 – 5 submission(s) to be selected by the jurors/curators of the art exhibition.

APPLY HERE

SUPPORT OUR CAUSE:

To put and end to FGM (Female Genital Mutilation)

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is defined as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. FGM has no health benefits and is in fact very harmful to health in many ways.

Every year, over 3 million girls have their human rights and dignity violated, and their innocence brutally compromised by unwillingly being subjected to undergo a vicious and violent procedure that involves cutting their external genitalia off and stitching their womanhood. As graphic as this might sound, it is very common and real, and it's happening all over the world, including the United States where this ritual right of passage is in fact currently growing at an alarming rate.  We need to end this and protect babies and young girls from this devastating experience.

ARTundressed will be donating a portion of the event proceeds to fund organizations helping to eradicate such barbaric practices and also providing education and help to victims of FGM.

ARTundressed 2017 INCLUDES:

• Art Exhibition showcasing over 250 exceptional curated art pieces

• More than 100 artists representing many different countries

• An impressive collection of creative erogenous artworks rarely seen

• More than 80 participating artists are planning to attend this year's Exhibition

• Participation by local and international artists, performers, and Art Masters

• Live music and deejays, amazing shows and performances; Chic and Provocative Fashion

• Art Installations, Workshops, and Interactive Art Wall for audience participation

• Art contests for Body Painting; Live Drawing and Photoshoot Sessions

• Catering Services offering appetizing, delicious food, beverages, and cocktails

• The Closing Party: “the GOOD, the BAD, and the NAUGHTY” (Saturday night)

• And much more...

Jarrett Gregory is Newest Addition to Hirshhorn Curatorial Team

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden announces the appointment of Jarrett Gregory as curator as of Monday, March 6. Serving under the leadership of Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu and Chief Curator Stéphane Aquin, Gregory will be responsible for the development of the museum's contemporary international collection as well as a rotating schedule of exhibitions, commissions and special programs.

"We are very pleased to welcome Jarrett as the Hirshhorn's newest curator," said Chiu. "Jarrett has organized exhibitions of some of the most consequential international artists working today, including Pierre Huyghe and Stephen Prina, and we look forward to the experience and expertise she will bring to the Hirshhorn as the national museum of contemporary art."

"This is an exciting moment for the Hirshhorn," said Aquin. "As the fourth curator to join the museum in the past two years, Jarrett will contribute to a diverse and dynamic group of individuals, all of whom play an integral role in shaping the cultural conversation in Washington, D.C. and beyond."

Gregory most recently served as Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), where she oversaw LACMA's iteration of Pierre Hyughe's retrospective, awarded the Best Monographic Exhibition Nationally by the International Association of Art Critics (AICA). Previously, Gregory held curatorial positions at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, working on exhibitions of work by Lawrence Weiner, Urs Fisher and Dorothy Iannone. This year, Gregory curated the Focus section of the 2017 Armory show.

Gregory sits on advisory board for the Lusanga International Research Centre for Art and Economic Inequality (LIRCAEI) in Lusanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as on the advisory council for The Gogova Foundation and Artist Residency in Baku, Azerbaijan. Additionally, Gregory has guest lectured for USC and UCLA's MFA programs.

Ellyn on The Hill Rag



American Gentrifiers by Dana Ellyn
26"x30"
oil on canvas
$1000

DMV artist Dana Ellyn's painting, "American Gentrifiers", is on the March cover of the Hill Rag newspaper. The original painting is currently on exhibit (and still available!) at the HillCenter which has an opening reception this Wednesday March 8th 6-8pm.

Wanna meet the artists?

Before the show (from 4:30-6), you can find the artists at Mr. Henry's (601 Pennsylvania Ave SE) – join them for a few drinks.

United/Divided at Photoworks

UNITED/DIVIDED

A JURIED PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION

JUROR

Robert Miller

Deputy Director of Photography

The Washington Post

 

EXHIBITION DATES

March 3 - April 2, 2017

 

RECEPTION | GALLERY TALK

Saturday, March 11, 5-7PM

 

PhotoworksGallery, located in Historic Glen Echo Park, is proud to present United/Divided, a juried exhibition of photography. As an art institution showcasing photographers in the Washington Metropolitan Area, Photoworks is in a unique position to initiate a visual dialog that explores the connections and divisions that currently exist in our nation, and in our nation's capitol.

Robert Miller, Deputy Director of Photography at The Washington Post, serves as the juror for the exhibition.

Miller's journalistic focus is on the news and news images.

He is currently covering the new administration, and for the last eighteen months covered the presidential campaign, as well as national enterprise for The Washington Post.

The exhibition features 23 local photographers, who artistically and effectively document the twin themes of unity and division.

EXHIBITING ARTISTS

Richard Batch

Cristina Frey

Bob Friedman

Gina Genis

Ernesto Giron

Ari Golub

Natalie Fay Green

Susan Green

David Heagy

Michael Jourdan

Chip Kahn

Bridget Murray Law

Geoff Livingston

Josh Marks

Kathryn Mohrman

Tom Mullins

Victoria Pickering

Sarah Hood Salomon

Steven Steury

Chris Suspect

Gayle Rothschild

Ginger Werz-Petricka

John J. Young

PHOTOWORKS GALLERY

Gallery Hours: Saturdays 1-4PM and Sundays 1-8PM

(and anytime a photography class is underway)
7300 MacArthur Boulevard, Glen Echo, MD

www.glenechophotoworks.org

A collection of bad things...

Bad things galleries do to artistsUnethical galleries will take in a piece of artwork by an artist, and when the price is discussed, the gallery says: "What's the price?" and the artist says: "$1000" The gallery nods OK and the artist leaves, knowing that if sold, he'll get $500 (most commercial galleries charge 50% commission -- in NYC some are as high as 70%). The gallery then sells the piece, but for $2,000, sends the artist a check for $500 and pockets the extra $1,000. That is why artists should insist on having a contract with a gallery, and the contract must specifically address that the artist will get 50% of the actual sale price.

Bad things artists to do galleries

A reputable gallery gives an artist a show, and goes through all the various expenses associated with doing so (rent, electricity, staff salaries, publicity, ads, post cards, opening reception catering, etc.) So far the gallery has put forth a considerable investment in presenting the artist's works. An interested novice collector meets the artist at the opening and expresses interest (to the artist) in buying some of his artwork. The artist, wishing to stiff the gallery for their commission says: "See me after the show and I'll sell it to you directly and save myself the gallery commission." This is not only unethical, but it's also guaranteed to ruin the artist's reputation in the city, as these things always come out in the wash, and soon no gallery will exhibit any work by this artist.


More Bad Things Artists do to GalleriesThis actually happened to a gallery in Georgetown, in Washington, DC in the 1990s:

Back when there were eight galleries in Canal Square, one of the galleries had given a show to a local -- at the time "hot" artist -- who was a painter (I say "was" because I haven't heard of the dude in years).

The artist was supposed to deliver and help hang all the paintings on a Wednesday, in order to be ready for the Georgetown third Friday openings. He did show up on Wednesday with about 50% of the work, and brought some more (freshly finished) on Thursday and to the gallerist's horror, even brought some more on Friday, and even as the show was opening at 6PM, was adding the last painting touches to several of the works.

Needless to say, several of the oils were actually wet when people starting showing up. On opening night, it was crowded, and someone apparently rubbed against one of the paintings and smeared some of the oil paint.

Now the gallerist was faced with a very irate person, demanding that his suit be cleaned (it eventually had to be replaced) and with a furious artist, demanding that the gallery pay him in full for the damaged painting.

If I am to believe the gallerist, the case actually went to court, where the judge threw it out.

More Bad Things Galleries do to Artists

This has happened to artists several times in my memories, both in the US and in Europe:

Artist and gallery owner agree to do a show of the artist's work. The gallery, like many all over the world, also has a side business as a framing shop, and tells the artist that they will take care of the framing.

The artist agrees on a handshake, and never asks for a contract, or costs, assuming that the gallerist knows what he is doing.

On opening night the artist shows up and is not too keen about the framing, but it's too late for any real discussions, as people are beginning to show up. Several pieces are sold, and the artist is very happy with the opening.

At the end of the show, the artist gets a letter in the mail from the gallery. Excited to see the payment for the sold work, the artist opens the envelope and finds a framing bill.

The bill details the cost of the framing, substracts from that amount the artist's commission from the sold work, and bills the artist for the remaining amount, as framing is very expensive.

Anger follows...

More bad things that (a) galleries do to artists or (b) artists do to galleries or (c) galleries do to collectors here, and here and here.


Bad things galleries do to art collectors...

Our area, like most major metropolitan areas, is peppered with stores that have the word "gallery" in their business name, but are very much far removed from what one would consider a true art gallery.

You will always find them in high traffic areas; main thoroughfare streets where "real" galleries could never afford the rent. You also often find them in malls.

I am speaking of the places that sell mass produced decorative works, either by Kinkade wannabes, Spanish-surnamed painters and worse still, the following scam:

Some of Picasso's children inherited many of the plates used by Picasso to create his etchings. Since them, some of those plates have been printed ad nauseam by the current owners, and are sold around the world as Picasso prints.

And then, to make matters worse, some of the plates are signed "Picasso" by his offspring owner, who is (of course) technically also surnamed Picasso.

The sales pitch, which is not technically illegal, but certainly unethical, goes something like this:

"This is a real Picasso etching, printed from the original plate and it is signed."

Note that they never state who signed the print.

Hapless buyer purchases the print for a pretty good chunk of change, takes it home and brags to his friends about his signed Picasso.

This will be a hell of a mess for the Antiques Road Show experts to detangle in a couple of hundred years.

And don't even get me started on the great Dali art fraud.