Later this month!

Sunday, October 13, 2pm.

Lecture: Art with a Twist

Montpelier Art Center

9652 Muirkirk Rd

Laurel, MD 20708

Join me as I take a fun walk through art history that culminates in contemporary art where I will discuss the work of some DC area artists and our regional art scene, and answer questions.

Lecture is free and open to the public.

Wanna go to an opening this Saturday?

Akemi Maegawa, “Strong in the Rain, Strong in the Wind.”
October 5-November 1, 2019
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 5, 5-8pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, October 19, 1-2pm

MK Gallery
1952 Gallows Rd Ste 202
Vienna, Virginia 22182
(703) 734-7777

Arlington Arts Center Short Term Studio - Call for Artists

Arlington Arts Center is now accepting applications for short-term studio space! The 600 square feet studio will be available from November 2019 through May of 2020 with 24-hour access, 365 days a year. Contemporary visual artists working in all media are welcome to apply. Selection criteria will include artistic merit, potential for community engagement, and diversity of media and artistic representation. Information regarding application materials can be found at the link below. 

For additional questions please email exhibitions@arlingtonartscenter.org and submit an application via https://arlingtonartscenter.org/residents/apply

New Interim Director for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

The search for a permanent Executive Director is active and underway...

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) Board of Commissioners announces the appointment of Heran Sereke-Brhan as Interim Director for CAH. The agency's previous Executive Director, Terrie Rouse-Rosario, officially ended her incumbency on September 30, 2019. "I am appreciative of the work that Terrie has done in preparing the agency as it transitions to new independent status," said DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Chair Kay Kendall. "The Board of Commissioners and I support and look forward to working with Heran to keep the agency moving forward until a permanent Executive Director is identified." Interim Director Sereke-Brhan has been Senior Grants Officer for CAH since July 2017. Prior to joining CAH, she served as Deputy Director for the Mayor's Office on African Affairs. Over the past two decades, Interim Director Sereke-Brhan has worked at a number of cultural and educational institutions, including the Harn Museum at the University of Florida, Addis Ababa University, and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art. She holds a PhD in History with a minor in African Art History from Michigan State University. The CAH Board of Commissioners will nominate, and with the advice and consent of the Council of the District of Columbia, appoint the new Executive Director for the agency. CAH has engaged DC-based recruiting firm POLIHIRE to manage the search process for the position

Wanna help me out?

Lecture: Art with a Twist
Sunday, October 13, 2019, 2 pm
Montpelier Arts Center
9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD 20708

Join me as I take a fun walk through art history that culminates in contemporary art where I will discuss the work of some DC area artists. Lecture is free and open to the public. Please call Montpelier Arts Center at 301-377-7800 to register.

Challenge to my reader peeps: Nominate an artist for me to discuss at the lecture - some of the ones already on my list: Sam Gilliam, Tim Tate, Rik Freeman, Mark Jenkins, Shanthi Chandra-Sekar, Tim Vermeulen, Joey Manlapaz, Percy Martin, Sharon Moody, Judith Peck, and others...

Send me a note or leave a comment if you wanna bring an artist up to my attention for me to discuss at the lecture.

What is going on at the DC Arts and Humanities Commission?

From the DC Cultural Forum:

Over the past few months, the Commission has been unfairly used as a political pawn by District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser. Here are the highlights (as listed from WAMU's most recent article):

• Last fall, Mayor Bowser illegally appointed a director of the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities who slipped in an amendment to the grant agreement that recipients had to sign to receive funds. It would have banned “lewd, lascivious, vulgar, [or] overtly political” works, but it was scrapped within a week due to a backlash from the arts community.
• In April, the city introduced its long-awaited Cultural Plan, an inter-agency effort that laid out ways the city would support DC’s cultural economy. Some artists and cultural leaders said the document lacked a clear rollout plan and overemphasized loans over grants.
• Before yet another illegally appointed director resigned, she hired a number of senior positions with six-figure salaries, as the Washington City Paper reported.
• Late last month, Bowser introduced a new Creative Affairs Office to serve as an intermediary between the executive office and the Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
• At the same time, Bowser announced the return of the Mayor’s Arts Awards, which had previously been cancelled this year. In the past, the Arts Commission oversaw the awards and a panel would select the winners, but the program will now be under the purview of the Creative Affairs Office.
• In early September, the City Paper reported that Bowser’s office locked Arts Commission staff out of the agency’s vault of public art.

It's time for our community to speak up.

Here are things you can do right now to take direct action, with just one click: HERE

Lectures, boot camp, free lunch!

You are invited! These book fast! So call now!

 Lecture: Art with a Twist
 Sunday, October 13, 2019, 2 pm
 Montpelier Arts Center
 9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD 20708

Join Lenny Campello as he takes a fun walk through art history that culminates in contemporary art where he will discuss the work of some DC area artists. Lecture is free and open to the public. Please call Montpelier Arts Center at 301-377-7800 to register.    
.......

Boot Camp for Artists
Saturday, November 2, 2019, 10 am - 4 pm
Harmony Hall Arts Center, John Addison Concert Hall
10701 Livingston Road, Fort Washington, MD 20744
Harmony Hall Arts Center presents Mr. Lenny Campello’s seminar, “Boot Camp for Artists”, open to all Prince George’s County artists, 16 and up. Mr. Campello is the Greater Washington D.C. area’s pre-eminent art dealer, critic, consultant and blogger as well as artist. He designed his seminar to deliver information, data and proven tactics to artists, and to allow them to develop and sustain a career in the fine arts. Some of the topics that he will cover are, creating a resume, creating a body of work, selling your art, juried shows and news releases, just to name a few. The seminar is free and lunch is included. Seating is limited so please call 301-446-3251 or email stuart.diekmeyer@pgparks.com to register and provide lunch preference (vegetarian or non-vegetarian), by 5pm, October 25, 2019.

.......

Boot Camp for Artists
Saturday, April 18, 2020, 10 am – 4 pm
Montpelier Arts Center
9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD 20708
Montpelier Arts Center presents Mr. Lenny Campello’s seminar, “Boot Camp for Artists”, open to all Prince George’s County artists, 16 and up. Mr. Campello is the Greater Washington D.C. area’s pre-eminent art dealer, critic, consultant and blogger as well as artist. He designed his seminar to deliver information, data and proven tactics to artists, and to allow them to develop and sustain a career in the fine arts. Some of the topics that he will cover are, creating a resume, creating a body of work, selling your art, juried shows and news releases, just to name a few. The seminar is free and lunch is included. Seating is limited so please call Montpelier Arts Center at 301-377-7800 to register and provide lunch preference (vegetarian or non-vegetarian) by 5pm, April 13, 2020.

Wanna design a sock?

The competition is hosted by the Sock It to Me, a business that sells fun, funky socks. What do you draw inspiration from? Picture it on a sock! Win up to $2,000 and they'll make your sock design. 

They prefer 6 colors per design, because their socks cannot be created with more than 6 colors. 

No Entry Fee. 

Details here.

Hope Harrison's words

Adah Rose Gallery's former intern and now UVA student Hope Harrison wrote these very cool words about one of my pieces - from my Obsessive Drawings series...

“Suddenly She Wasn’t Afraid Any Longer”
F. Lennox Campello, 2016 Charcoal on Paper
In the Hope Harrison Collection

A woman leaping in a white void, with arms up, legs outstretched, and a tan line on her butt fully exposed in a moment of glory. This individual may be part dancer and part warrior, but, surely, she is fearless. Indeed, the bronzed figure in mid-leap seems to distill all freedom and courage within her, as she dynamically flies on the paper. The space around this figure is left to the imagination of the viewer; the woman may be jumping off a cliff and into a lake, or she may be plunging into the depths of space, her mind, or a vast unknown. All space and time collapse into this one figure, a form that is faceless yet ubiquitous in the sense that we may all hope to feel a similar same sense of liberation, be it from mental, physical, or extraneous challenges that may limit us.

F. Lennox Campello’s 2016 piece, “Suddenly She Wasn’t Afraid Any Longer”, is a figurative drawing made with charcoal. In the presence of larger or more colorful works, this piece in theory could hang on a wall inconspicuously; however, the contrast and surprising sense of depth that Campello creates by placing such an active and expressive figure in a nonexistent, and therefore stagnant, background is striking. The stylistic decisions made for this piece, which is relatively simplistic for Campello’s work, emphasize line and form in a singular way.

Hope Harrison

UVA 2020

Affordable Art Fair NYC

Affordable Art Fair NYC will return to the Metropolitan Pavilion in September for its Fall edition, welcoming over 70 local, national and international exhibitors, showcasing original contemporary work from over 300 contemporary artists.

Matthew Langley

We are in two separate booths on the ground floor, booths C3 and D20 - This fair showcases the work of New York City artists Macyn Bolt and Matthew Langley, Alexandria ceramicist Lori Katz, Texas artists Kathleen Hope, Seth Fairweather and Jodi Walsh.

Macyn Bolt nstallation at the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Gand-Rapids, Michigan

Opening times
Wednesday September 25 2019
Private View*
6.00pm - 9.00pm

Thursday September 26 2019
Trade Hours 11.00am - 12.00pm
Public Hours 12.00pm – 6.00pm
Art After Dark 6.00pm – 9.00pm

Friday September 27 2019
11.00am - 12.00pm
12.00pm – 6.00pm
6.00pm – 8.00pm

Saturday September 28 2019
10.00am - 11.00am
11.00am – 8.00pm

Sunday September 29 2019
10.00am - 11.00am

11.00am – 5.00pm

Review: ‘Cats’ at The Kennedy Center Opera House

I can hear it already: Lenny you're a visual art scribe, not a musical theatre critic! Don't be a Shmendrik!

Deal with it, because I went to see "Cats" at the Kennedy Center, and since this is my third viewing of this musical (I saw it in London decades ago, and in New York also decades ago), I feel like I have a different perspective on discussing this Andrew Lloyd Webber success story from your usual theater critic who always seems to start a discussion on the subject by talking about " Webber’s indefatigable anthropomorphic felines" or "the musical itself seems to be immortal."

“Cats” made its debut at the Kennedy Center Opera House last week and the family and I scored great seats up front for $59 - a lot less than I paid in London and NYC all those years ago. 

My son posing at the Kennedy Center "Cats" Background

The stage felines run through October 6, in what seems to me (in comparison to the earlier versions) to be a lot flashier and more athletic than ever in this Kennedy Center version of the 2016 Broadway revival of the musical.

The cast of this "Cats" version are not only talented singer,s but also powerful athletes and spectacular dancers, be it ballet, tap dancing, or running up and down the aisles of the KC Opera House.

At a group art show, I'd pick a Best of Show - for this "Cats" assembly of talent let me discuss who stood out to me.

One of my fave things to do when I go to the theatre, opera, musical, etc. is to pick a character who's not the focus of whatever is going on at the time and

follow him or her and see how much into the character they are when they're in the background somewhere.  Mariah Reives, who plays "Cassandra" in the production was perfect for the part.  Her sleek, almost impossible to believe cat-like figure is perfect for the sleek cat persona that she portrays; even when she's slinking away on all fours around the stage, it's a spectacle of sensuality that proves to me that this lady has some felis DNA in her family tree!

"Hey Dad", whispered my son at about minute twenty of the musical, "Are they gonna sing the whole time? Does anybody talk?"

They sing all the time, and soon Anderson was as mesmerized and hypnotized by the music, the dancing, the high-kicking, and the almost non-existent story-line as the rest of us.

When the singing itself brought up that "the Naming of Cats is a difficult matter, It isn't just one of your holiday games; You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter - When I tell you, a cat must have three different names..." he noted that "they ripped that off T.S. Eliot..." which made my jaw drop that a 10-year-old would recognize the poem (thank you to all his teachers, past and present at SFS).

Note to self: Discuss with him that Andrew Lloyd Webber's thin storyline is indeed based on Eliot's Cats poems.

Charlotte O'Dowd is one of the swings - and she also stands out for powerful stage athletism and superb character maintenance when in the background and this talented lady can jump and kick! No matter who was singing or doing pirouttes on center stage, she was always on the prowl in full character.

Alexa Racioppi and Emma Hearn also show their dancing and jazzy skills and their sinewy, strong lithe bodies are perfect for Demeter and Bombalurina, and the dancing skills associated with those parts.

Let's get to the singing.

Everybody knows the powerful and epic "Memory" and Keri Rene Fuller's revolutionary rendition of the song got her a well-deserved standing ovation, including from a very impressed 10-year-old sitting next to me, as Anderson was totally shaken by the power of Fuller's voice.

And yet - "Cats" (in my view) is more than just singing (and yes Anderson, it's all singing): it is about the projection of feline style, power... and in this version, a souped-up display of lights, effects, audience participation, and even a bit of pyrotechnics.

This new version is easily better than its ancestors - a lot has to do with technology, but a lot more has to do with the upgraded and breath taking spectacle of dance and movement. It is well-worth a visit, even if you've seen it before!

Boot camp for Artists

The Artists’ Boot Camp

Saturday, November 2nd, 10am-4pm , in the John Addison Concert Hall of Harmony Hall

Harmony Hall Arts Center presents Mr. Lenny Campello’s seminar, “The Artists’s Boot Camp”, open to all Prince George’s County artists, 16 and up.  Mr. Campello is the Greater Washington D.C. area’s pre-eminent art dealer, critic, consultant and blogger as well as artist. He designed his seminar to deliver information, data and proven tactics to artists, and to allow them to develop and sustain a career in the fine arts. Some of the topics that he will cover are, creating a resume, creating a body of work, selling your art, juried shows and news releases, just to name a few. 

The seminar is free and lunch is included. Seating is limited so please call 301.446.3251 or email stuart.diekmeyer@pgparks.com to register and provide lunch preference.

Deadline is by 5pm, October 25th, but this seminar usually books very quickly, so I'd recommend that you RSVP as soon as possible!

Harmony Hall
10701 Livingston Road 
Fort Washington, MD 20744

Monster in the light

Images from yesterday's talk

Yesterday's talk: On Identity in the Arts: What Does It Mean to be Latin(x) went really well... below a couple of images courtesy of local DMV artist Roxanna Rojas!

Campello discussing Ric Garcia's work

Campello discussing Sandra Prerez-Ramos' work

Isla Llorona

The painting is up for auction - see it here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/76104751_florencio-lennox-campello-is-an-cuban-american-artist

Come to this today!

Lecture: On Identity in the Arts: What Does It Mean to be Latinx?

Montpelier Art Center

9652 Muirkirk Rd

Laurel, MD 20708

Saturday, September 21, 2pm.

I will be delving deep into the history and evolution of the Latino ethnic label and then discussing important questions on the issue while wrapping it around the context of the fine arts in a sometimes funny, but always informative presentation. 

Lecture is free and open to the public.

Tomorrow - come to this

I guarantee that you'll be entertained, and that you'll learn something... also I will have a free signed piece of artwork given at random... This lecture is free!

Lecture: On Identity in the Arts: What Does It Mean to be Latinx?

Montpelier Art Center

9652 Muirkirk Rd

Laurel, MD 20708

Saturday, September 21, 2pm.

I will be delving deep into the history and evolution of the Latino ethnic label and then discussing important questions on the issue while wrapping it around the context of the fine arts in a sometimes funny, but always informative presentation. 

Lecture is free and open to the public.

Google Maps directions here.

This coming Saturday

Lecture: On Identity in the Arts: What Does It Mean to be Latinx?

Montpelier Art Center

9652 Muirkirk Rd

Laurel, MD 20708

Saturday, September 21, 2pm.

I will be delving deep into the history and evolution of the Latino ethnic label and then discussing important questions on the issue while wrapping it around the context of the fine arts in a sometimes funny, but always informative presentation. 

Lecture is free and open to the public.

Washington Artists Circa 1989 CLOSES October 5, 2019

This companion exhibition to the Corcoran exhibition 6.13.89 exhibits paintings, drawings, and prints from the GW Collection by artists who registered their protest of the volatile cancellation of the exhibition of photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe.  Also included are selected reminiscences of artists who were in Washington, D.C. at the time experiencing the upheaval as it occurred.  Including work by William Christenberry, Georgia Deal, Fred Folsom, Clark V. Fox, Sam Gilliam, Janis Goodman, Tom Green, Andrew Hudson, Lowell Nesbitt, William Newman, Dennis O'Neil, Eric Rudd, Ann Purcell, Joseph Shannon and Franklin White.

Luther W. Brady Art Gallery
Corcoran Flagg Building - Gallery 1 • 500 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 
P: 202-994-1525 

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 1:00 - 5:00 pm 

Wrong Celia Cruz

NPR has a really cool story and excellent music recommendations dealing with the late great Celia Cruz. The article by Stephanie Fernandez (titled The World Of Celia Cruz: A Turning The Tables Playlist) is accompanied by a photograph credited to "Tom Copi/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images" has a nice phot of Celia.

The only issue is that the photo is captioned as "Celia Cruz performs in 1950" which is incorrect to the most casual Celiz Cruz fan.  The Celia Cruz in that image is a Celia from either the late 1970s or early 1980s, not the twenty-something Celia Cruz of 1950 which made its debut with La Sonora Matancera.

Because I am a Virgo and sometimes live in a pedantic hell of perfection, I've contacted NPR to bring this error to their attention and have them use a correct image of Celia.

Hundreds of them here.