Monday, February 13, 2023

Mac Stacks

A nice preview of the work by Jennifer Kahn Barlow that Alida Anderson Art Projects will be bringing next month to the Affordable Art Fair in New York City!

Dusted in the Middle by Jennifer Kahn Barlow
Dusted in the Middle by Jennifer Kahn Barlow

Intense Mac Attack by Jennifer Kahn Barlow
Intense Mac Stack by Jennifer Kahn Barlow

Mild Mac Attack by Jennifer Kahn Barlow
Mild Mac Stack by Jennifer Kahn Barlow

Patriotic Macs by Jennifer Kahn Barlow
Patriotic Mac Stack by Jennifer Kahn Barlow

Sunday, February 12, 2023

America's Crossroads: Six Contemporary Photographers in Dialog

This has the makings of one of the top photography shows of the year!

The OAS AMA | Art Museum of the Americas announces America’s Crossroads, an exhibition opening at the OAS F Street Gallery (1889 F Street, NW, Terrace Level) featuring six artists in a visual dialog. Carlos Bautista Avila (Mexico), Rene Campos Navarro (Mexico), Luis Delgado (United States-Mexico), Gisele Martins (Brazil), Cirenaica Moreira (Cuba), and Diana Ramirez Lopez (Mexico) provoke through their work mixed responses as they reflect, manipulate, rethink, and question on a local level who we are in the Americas. The people in the Americas share a common history that is manifested in local terms, becoming a conglomerate of different cultures of an ever-dynamic changing history of native Americans, settlers, and migrants.

Cirenaica Moreira (Cuba) La Industrial, lavandería Habana de la serie Metálica, 1998-1999 Digital photograph, archival pigment print on premium luster photo paper
La Industrial, lavandería Habana de la serie Metálica, 1998-1999
Cirenaica Moreira

Exhibition Opening: Thursday, February 23 4:30-6:30pm

HOURS: By appointment only, Monday-Friday 10AM-5PM

LOCATION

OAS General Secretariat Building, Terrace Level

1889 F Street NW

Washington, DC 20006

ADMISSION: Free

Saturday, February 11, 2023

The Last Unicorn

Between 1977-1981 I sold all my art school assignments from the University of Washington School of Art in Seattle at the Pike Place Market.  In 1979 a classmate's mother was printing a private illustrated edition of Peter Beagle's "The Last Unicorn" and hired me and several other artists to do some illustrations for the lavishly illustrated book.

I did several pieces for the book, and then had prints made from the originals and sold them at the Market.  Nearly 500 pieces of the below work sold between 1979-1981.  Sometime in 1991, when I was living in Sonoma, California, where I was the Executive Officer of the Navy base at Skaggs Island, I sold the original mixed media painting.

Today I got an email from someone in the Pacific Northwest who found it in a store up there and is now the surprised owner of a 44 year-old legend!

THE LAST UNICORN by F. Lennox Campello circa 1979
THE LAST UNICORN by F. Lennox Campello circa 1979


Friday, February 10, 2023

Isla Golpeada

 

Pobre Cuba - Isla Golpeada Acrylic on hand-made paper with embedded leaf and wood branches circa 1980 by Florencio Lennox Campello
Pobre Cuba - Isla Golpeada
Acrylic on hand-made paper with embedded leaf and wood branches
circa 1980 by Florencio Lennox Campello

Thursday, February 09, 2023

A modern classic

This official US Navy photo of sailors pulling up the wreckage of the PRC spy balloon reminds me sooooo much of the classical painting "The raft of the Medusa" by Géricault.

The Raft of the Medusa - by the US Navy
 U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tyler Thompson


Wednesday, February 08, 2023

The Curious Case of the Celia Cruz American Quarter and being labeled Afro-Latina

About 24 hours ago the US Mint announced that Celia Cruz, the Cuban-born "Queen of Salsa" had been chosen to be one of the five women whose face will be in the 2024 edition of their American Women Quarters Program.

The news outlets and Al Gore's internets went crazy dubbing this as "Queen of salsa Celia Cruz will be the first Afro Latina to appear on a U.S. quarter" proclaimed NPR and all others.

And Cuban Twitter and Cuban Facebook went nuts that she's been referred to as an "Afro Latina" and not just as a "Cuban" or "Cuban-American."

It is very clear that the Cuban social media opinions were angry about the fact that in nearly every instance Celia was being identified and labeled as a "Afro-Latina" first and in the article's headlines, and Cuban in the text... and the Internets blew up!

Teresita Fernando wrote: Stop adding adjectives to her birthplace She was CUBAN She is CUBA Period

Hilda Suarez opined: She was not an Afro-Latina, get your information straight and make the quarter with another person and leave Celia's memories with her people, THE CUBANS, and maybe someday, not too far from know, we could have her picture on a Cuban coin. Thank you.

Alina Vals says: Not Afro Latina.  She is Cuban American. We do not accept those "woke" terms.  At the end of the day we all belong to the HUMAN race.

Mayra de Armas notes: Afro Latina? NO, Celia Cruz is Cuban American, her race is black but she is not Afro, She is 100% Cuban, period.

Suzanne Bruno adds: Outstanding!!! But NOT afro Latina....100% Cuban.

Raul Gomez is angry: She's Cuban, stop putting your woke bullshit labels on her!

Jorge Ravelo says: Afro-Latina?  As one who followed her for three decades and met the Queen and Pedro Knight on several occasions she would be insulted. She was as Cuban as the Royal Palms, a Cuban with African and Spanish heritage.

Mara Salis: She is NOT afro Latina she is CUBANA!!!

Tuesday, February 07, 2023

36th year of the Northern National Art Competition

 


36th

NORTHERN NATIONAL

ART COMPETITION

June 15 - July 28, 2023

Nicolet College Art Gallery

Rhinelander, Wisconsin

Call opens Monday, January 9

Three $1,000 Awards of Excellence

Awards totaling more than $8,500


It's the 36th year of the Northern National Art Competition, which is a collaboration between Nicolet College and the Northern Arts Council. This national competition will open June 15 and is open to all all US resident artists 18 years or older.

Registration deadline for entry is Friday, March 24.

The Northern National Art Competition began in 1987 with a mere 37 entries. Last year, we had 646 entries from artists all across the United States! Our entries are as diverse as the artists themselves and showcase a wide array of contemporary art in a variety of two-dimensional mediums.

We're thrilled to announce that the Juror/Judge for this year will be Florencio Lennox "Lenny" Campello. Lenny is a well-known artist, art critic, author and blogger from the Washington, DC area with a most interesting and unique resume.

Don't miss this chance to exhibit your art in one of the coolest little galleries in the Northwoods!

More than $8,500 in prize money will be awarded.

  • Monday, January 9: Registration opens
  • Friday, March 24: Registration deadline
  • Friday, April 21: Acceptance notification
  • Friday, May 12: Hand delivery by appointment
  • Monday, May 15: All shipped work due
  • Thursday, June 15: Opening Reception
  • Thursday, July 28: Show closes
  • Friday, July 29: Pick up hand delivered work by appointment
  • Monday, August 1: Shipped work will be returned this week

Register by following this link to CaFE (Call for Artist Entry): https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=11050

Monday, February 06, 2023

Wanna go to an opening on Saturday?

Then venture to the Washington Country Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD for an opening February 11th 10-4pm. 

In addition to the nice, one-day trip to Hagerstown, you'll get to see some really cool artwork, none better than the DMV's own Judith Peck, whose spectacular masterpiece titled Forager won the First Place Award in the Cumberland Valley Artists and Photographers Exhibition!

Judith Peck of Great Falls, Virginia, received the First Place Juror’s Award in the artists category in the 2023 Cumberland Valley Artists and Photographers Exhibitions
 Forager by Judith Peck

Judith Peck of Great Falls, Virginia, received the First Place Juror’s Award in the artists category in the 2023 Cumberland Valley Artists and Photographers Exhibitions

Sunday, February 05, 2023

The Incantation of Frida Kahlo

 New one for 2023 - will be at the Affordable Art Fair in Chelsea next month!

Remember Frida - 2023 charcoal on paper by Florencio Lennox Campello
Remember Frida
30x40 inches
2023 charcoal on paper by Florencio Lennox Campello


Saturday, February 04, 2023

Wanna go to a museum opening tonight?

Winter exhibitions at American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center will open Feb. 4, 2023. Exhibits include Madayin, the first major exhibition of Aboriginal Australian bark painting to tour the U.S., photojournalism from World War II, and The Trawick Prize for Contemporary Art.

The opening reception, free and open to all, takes place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight, Feb. 4. Please refer to the museum’s website for the most up-to-date information on museum events and visiting the museum. 

The Trawick Prize: 20th Anniversary Emerald Award celebrates the impact of The Trawick Prize for Contemporary Arts, a visual arts prize that honors artists from Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia in an annual juried competition. 

Now in its 20th year, the prize was established by Bethesda, Md.-based community activist and philanthropist Carol Trawick in 2002. To date, The Trawick Prize has awarded over $300,00 to local contemporary artists and has exhibited the work of more than 200 artists who reached the level of finalists in each year’s competition. 

This exhibition presents the work of artists who were awarded the “Best in Show” in the competition over the last 20 years, and features contemporary paintings, sculptures, film, mixed media, and many others. 

This year, the juried competition will result in selecting “the best of the best” over the past 20 years, awarding the artist with The Trawick Prize Emerald Award. On view through March 19. I'm also going to walk through the show and select my own "Best in Show."

The exhibition features artists working in a variety of media including sculpture, painting, mixed media, film, and more. Works from artists such as Neil Feather, Jiha Moon, Jo Smail, and many others will be displayed in the galleries. Themes span a range of concepts important to each artist from race, oppression, and genealogy to culture, humanity, and emotion to name a few.

In the words of Carol Trawick “there is no need to travel to see great art, there are numerous talented artists right in our backyard!” 

Featured artists:

Lauren Adams 

WonJung Choi 

Richard Cleaver 

Larry Cook 

Oletha Devane 

Neil Feather 

Mia Feuer 

Caroline Hatfield 

Lillian Hoover 

Gary Kachadourian 

Cecilia Kim 

Maggie Michael 

Jonathan Monaghan 

Jiha Moon 

David Page 

James Rieck 

Jo Smail 

Lomax & Wickerham

Friday, February 03, 2023

WESTPAC CT

This one for my WestPac CT peeps -- sometime around 1985 some PAC ships shifted to LANT and came up the Suez heading to Norfolk, and stopped in Rota for liberty --- And thus my cartoon! 

We're really raising some good bucks for Wounded Warriors Home, so this one will be donated to Fisher House! Most of you know the story: When I was in the Navy, I did loads of illustrations and cartoons for many newspapers (such as The Stars & Stripes and lots of base newspapers, etc.), and hundreds of sketches of my shipmates and other US Navy sailors in ports in the US and European ports. Most of these drawings, cartoons, and paintings were given away to my shipmates over the years, but I also kept many of them, and I see them often being sold at auctions online and by galleries... 

WestPac CT on liberty in Rota by CAMPELLO


This one from 1985 is being offered by the gallery on Ebay with a super low starting price and 100% of all proceeds being donated to Fisher House... let's go cheapskates!

Click here to bid on it!

Thursday, February 02, 2023

Rota CT

This one for my Rota CT peeps -- We're really raising some good bucks for Wounded Warriors Home, so this one will be donated to Fisher House! Most of you know the story: When I was in the Navy, I did loads of illustrations and cartoons for many newspapers (such as The Stars & Stripes and lots of base newspapers, etc.), and hundreds of sketches of my shipmates and other US Navy sailors in ports in the US and European ports. Most of these drawings, cartoons, and paintings were given away to my shipmates over the years, but I also kept many of them, and I see them often being sold at auctions online and by galleries... 

Bid for it here.

Rota CT on leave in CONUS by CAMPELLO


Wednesday, February 01, 2023

Wanna go to an opening this weekend?

Winter exhibitions at American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center will open Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. Exhibits include Madayin, the first major exhibition of Aboriginal Australian bark painting to tour the U.S., photojournalism from World War II, and The Trawick Prize for Contemporary Art.

The opening reception, free and open to all, takes place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Feb. 4. Please refer to the museum’s website for the most up-to-date information on museum events and visiting the museum. 

The Trawick Prize: 20th Anniversary Emerald Award celebrates the impact of The Trawick Prize for Contemporary Arts, a visual arts prize that honors artists from Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia in an annual juried competition. 

Now in its 20th year, the prize was established by Bethesda, Md.-based community activist and philanthropist Carol Trawick in 2002. To date, The Trawick Prize has awarded over $300,00 to local contemporary artists and has exhibited the work of more than 200 artists who reached the level of finalists in each year’s competition. 

This exhibition presents the work of artists who were awarded the “Best in Show” in the competition over the last 20 years, and features contemporary paintings, sculptures, film, mixed media, and many others. 

This year, the juried competition will result in selecting “the best of the best” over the past 20 years, awarding the artist with The Trawick Prize Emerald Award. On view through March 19.

The exhibition features artists working in a variety of media including sculpture, painting, mixed media, film, and more. Works from artists such as Neil Feather, Jiha Moon, Jo Smail, and many others will be displayed in the galleries. Themes span a range of concepts important to each artist from race, oppression, and genealogy to culture, humanity, and emotion to name a few.

In the words of Carol Trawick “there is no need to travel to see great art, there are numerous talented artists right in our backyard!” 

Featured artists:

Lauren Adams 

WonJung Choi 

Richard Cleaver 

Larry Cook 

Oletha Devane 

Neil Feather 

Mia Feuer 

Caroline Hatfield 

Lillian Hoover 

Gary Kachadourian 

Cecilia Kim 

Maggie Michael 

Jonathan Monaghan 

Jiha Moon 

David Page 

James Rieck 

Jo Smail 

Lomax & Wickerham

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Art Schooling At Its Best

The Compass Atelier has what I consider the best artist schooling in the DMV – better, in fact, than all of the major Universities in our area.  That’s a big statement to make, but it comes from me, and thus I am ready to back it up as needed. Notice that I wrote “art schooling.”

I choose my words carefully – what Glen Kessler and the other professionals who teach at the Compass Atelier do is to school people who want to develop and expand their artistic prowess, plus their artistic acumen, in leaps and bounds.

Read the entire article here.

Monday, January 30, 2023

Isla Desbaratada

 

Isla Desbaratda - Mixed Media painting 1980 by Florencio Lennox Campello
Cuba: Isla Desbaratada
Mixed Media painting 1980 by Florencio Lennox Campello

Sunday, January 29, 2023

The New Ensign

Another vintage 1983 US Navy cartoon that I did when I was in the Navy.  Being offered on Ebay with ALL proceeds going to charity. Bid for it here.

The New Ensign - a vintage 1980s Navy cartoon by Campello
The New Ensign
Vintage 1983 Navy cartoon by Campello



Saturday, January 28, 2023

Scared by books

The original owners of this original drawing bought from me at the Pike Place Market in Seattle back in 1981.  It was recently resold in the secondary market, and the new owner has just gifted it to the great Stephen King!

How super cool is that!

The drawing was done as as assignment at the University of Washington School of Art -  The assignment was to create a work in “response to a book or literary figure.” 

A woman scared by Stephen King's books - 1981 by Florencio Lennox Campello
A woman scared by Stephen King's books
1981 charcoal and conte on paper by Florencio Lennox Campello

Thursday, January 26, 2023

Frida from 1981

I was looking for an etching of Andy Warhol that I did in art school for portrait class... instead I found this 1981 piece on Frida Kahlo. I'll take it to NYC in March to sell it!

1981 vintage FRIDA KAHLO Portrait by Campello


Wednesday, January 25, 2023

"Looking In, Looking Out" Jacqui Crocetta & Kyujin Lee at Adah Rose

Adah Rose Gallery in Kensington is one of the hardest working independent fine arts galleries in the DMV. 

This coming Saturday they have an opening for Jacqui Crocetta and Kyujin Lee (two Solo Shows running Jan 26-Feb 28).

Vernissage with the Artists, Saturday January 28 5-7 pm