My continuous fascination with this

The curious case of people taking a selfie inside a F. Lennox Campello interactive video drawing
Context Art Miami art fair, Miami Florida during Art Basel week

Happy 2018!

Here's a wish for a Happy New Year's wish to all planetary life, but especially to all my fellow veterans, and all Americans on active duty; and to all of the men and women in our Armed Forces all over the planet, and who are away from their families and their nation on New Year's Day, with a special cyber hug to all my U.S. Navy brothers and sisters at sea - we've got your back!

Confessions Of A Nasty Gallery Girl

Flirt alert: Working in a gallery obviously means looking after (male) clients, collectors and artists alike. So how do you manage to maintain a relationship that’s the perfect balance of friendly and professional, without enticing them to send flirty WhatsApp messages after having one too many at the opening?

Read the whole piece here. 

Artist Lifestyle Survey

 Art Festival Newsletter National Survey:

"Art Festival Artists: Who We Are 2017" 

You are invited to take part in the latest nationwide artists' survey conducted by Art-Linx. The subject is "Art Festival Artists: Who We Are 2017".  You need not be an Art-Linx subscriber to participate.

A revised version of the surveys conducted from 2011-2016, "Art Festival Artists: Who We Are 2017" continues to build on the information about the composition, demographics, festival practices and goals of festival exhibitors nationwide--and how our community has changed in the last, tumultuous year. 

Your responses are completely anonymous. They are automatically collated and tabulated. Neither Art-Linx, nor anyone else, knows who participates in the survey or their answers to the questions.

As always,we will prepare a report on the survey. In addition, with the goal of assisting shows in their efforts to respond to artists' needs, we will make the survey report available to over 1,500 art and craft festivals across the United States.

In just a few minutes of your valuable time, you can add your experiences, opinions and plans to those of other artists and help reach a cohesive understanding of who we are.

We sincerely hope you decide to join us in this important endeavor.

 Please click HERE to make your voice heard in the art festival industry.

Artwork censored

Artist behind giant penis mural in New York says she was CENSORED ...

Read all about it here.

Willem de Looper at Hemphill

January 18 - March 24, 2018

HEMPHILL has announce the exhibition, WILLEM DE LOOPER, opening on Thursday, January 18, with a reception from 6-8pm. The exhibition will remain on view through March 24, 2018.

 

In 1972, Willem de Looper traveled to the Western United States to see the sublime natural formations of the Grand Canyon. The rocky façade provided de Looper with a visualized storyline of millions of years of natural history. The stunning qualities of the banded strata left a lasting impression on the artist and ultimately became a subconscious obsession. Painting with rollers enabled de Looper to depict abstracted landscapes inspired by his travels. The delicate yet deliberate choice of color and layered paint presents the viewer with a vibrant representation of the craggy façade de Looper encountered at the Grand Canyon in 1972. WILLEM DE LOOPER presents paintings and works on paper from this period.

 

Willem de Looper (1932-2009) was born in The Hague, Netherlands and came to Washington DC in 1950. The artist landed his first solo exhibition at Jefferson Place Gallery in 1966. De Looper has been exhibited and collected by many established museums such as the National Gallery of Art, the Phillips Collection, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, among others.

 

HEMPHILL was founded in Washington DC in 1993. The exhibition schedule features modern & contemporary art in all media by artists ranging from emerging to mid-career to modern masters.

 

GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00am–5:00pm, and by appointment.

The "wake effect"

The "wake effect" from CONTEXT Art Fair as these two sculptures by Audrey Wilson just got acquired a couple of days ago by a major Miami art collector and now they're heading back to Miami for good!

@contextartmiami @contextartfair #contextartfair

Merry Christmas!

The Giving Season, 2007 David FeBland

A big thank you!

Doing an art fair is exhilarating and a MUST for 21st century artists and gallerists - it is also brutal work and we could not have accomplished an especially complicated Context Art Miami 2017 during the most recent Art Basel week without the hard work of Laura Beth Konopinski (or LBK as I call her) and Audrey Wilson!

That's the very talented Tim Vermeulen's work in the background...

Laura Beth Konopinski and Audrey Wilson at Context Art Miami 2017

@contextartmiami #contextartmiami #contextartfair #artbaselweek #miamiartfairs

Tim Tate

Even though one of those pics was taken on a bad hair day, I just have to share this post from a very good friend and perhaps the DMV's best known artist:

Cool end of year email from Touchstone Gallery

Very cool and comprehensive email from Touchstone Gallery:

Dear all, 

We are going to be closed between December 24 - 31 for the Holidays.
As we say goodbye to 2017, here is Touchstone Gallery's 2017 year in numbers:

• 2 years in a row named BEST OF D.C. by The Washington Post poll (2016, 2017).
• 4 cups of coffee consumed by each staff member on average per day.
• 7 member artists taught art classes at New Community ArtSpace, as part of community engagement, supported by Touchstone Foundation for the Arts (501c3) and a DCCAH grant.
• 8 months out of 12 reviewed by The Washington Post.
• 25 gallons of Benjamin Moore white paint used to touch up our walls.
• 41 years since being established in 1976.
• 50 member artists represented in downtown D.C.
• 65 spotlights on our ceiling to highlight artists artworks on the walls.
• 216 artworks sold.
• 220+ artists in The One House Project installation in November 2017, conceived by ArtWatch DC and supported by Touchstone Foundation for the Arts.
• 612 bottles of wine drunk during 2017 opening receptions.
• 750 artworks reviewed by juror Jack Rasmussen, Katzen Arts Center, for the Art of Engagement, a National Juried Show in August 2017.
• 68,754 website visits.

Many reasons to stop by to say "hi" in the New Year, follow us @touchstonewdc on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and visit our website at www.touchstonegallery.com
Happy Holidays and Happy New 2018 Year!

Bethesda Painting Awards

Deadline to Apply: Feb. 23, 2018

Best in Show will be awarded $10,000 and featured at Gallery B in June 2018

The Bethesda Painting Awards is downtown Bethesda's annual juried art competition that exclusively honors painters from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. $14,000 in prize monies are awarded to the top four painters annually. 

The 2018 competition will be juried by Sally Bowring, Laura Roulet and Bill Schmidt. 

Artists must be 18 years of age or older and permanent, full-time residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. The selected artwork will be on exhibit in June 2017 at Gallery B in downtown Bethesda, MD.

To apply, please visit http://www.bethesda.org/bethesda/painting-application

Bad videos

Interesting call - Deadline is December 31st!

We are looking for videos which are at the intersection of bad art, bad painting and bad cinema. We propose to study extreme forms of video art and single out certain video art works as bad videos or “B-videos”. Join us if you are interested in the issues of quality and boundaries of art, or just love video art. 

No Entry Fee. 

Details: http://www.badvideoart.com OR badvideoart@gmail.com

Frida & the Day of the Dead

Artists & Makers Studios Presents Frida & the Day of the Dead

with David Amoroso, Marily Mojica, and Sergio and Claudia Olivos

 

 

Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn in Rockville is proud to present one three gallery exhibit for the month of January along with artists’ open studios. “Frida & the Day of the Dead” celebrates the inextricable link in modern culture between the iconic artist Frida Kahlo and Día de Muertos (the Day of the Dead). David Amoroso and Marily Mojica bring together their explorations of the many faces of Frida, and Sergio and Claudia Olivos’ work shares the beautiful Day of the Dead tradition. Words out Loud in the Compass Atelier, from 7-8pm with Philip Wexler, Henry Crawford and Luther Jett will be followed by an open mic. Resident artists’ open studios will round out the evening for visitors at Parklawn.

Frida & the Day of the Dead Opening Reception

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Friday, January 5th, 2018

Artists & Makers Studios

11810 Parklawn Dr., Suite 210

Rockville, MD 20852

Additionally A&M is proud to present four exhibits at Artists & Makers Studios 2 at 12276 Wilkins Avenue in Rockville, just 9/10’s of a mile from the flagship location. “The Figure as Still Life” in the main gallery with Pooja Campbell, “Intuitive Painting” with Christina Hibbard, and “Genres” with Anthony R. Williams of the Montgomery County Camera Club will fill the galleries, as Arthur Harrison adds acoustic ambience with theremin music. Enjoy a FireClay Pop-Up Gallery and Holiday Market Sale on the third floor with metro-area ceramists, an exhibit in Gallery 209, and resident artists’ open studios to round out the evening.

These exhibits at both locations open Friday, January 5th, and continue through Wednesday, January 24th, 2018.  Viewing hours are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Tuesday-Friday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Saturdays, and Sundays/Mondays by chance or appointment.

 

Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn Drive in Rockville is a 13,000 sq. ft. facility with 65 resident artists. Artists & Makers Studios 2 on Wilkins Avenue in Rockville is a 23,000 sq. ft. facility with 79 resident artists. A&M Studios is dedicated to providing a supportive and vibrant environment for artists to realize their creative goals - through studio practice, collaboration, education, opportunities, networking and connecting with the community beyond our doors. 

 

An anthology of East City Art's most compelling writing of 2017

Confluence: Two Rivers, One City 

An anthology of East City Art's most compelling writing of 2017

Anticipated Publication Date: February 5, 2018

150+ pages
Including full color images
ISBN 978-0-9861529-4-8

Over 20 Articles including reviews, features and artist interviews

Founder's Wall 

We are asking our readership to help us launch the first edition of Confluence.  A $50 donation makes you a Founder!  Your name will be listed in the anthology's "Founder's Wall" page and on East City Art's Confluence page online. (Contributions are 100% tax-deductible.) 

Addison/Ripley Fine Art has generously pledged $2,000 towards publishing Confluence and your contribution as a Founder will help the East City Art Foundation reach its goal!
Payment by Check: If you would prefer to pay by check, please make the check out to: East City Art Foundation Inc. and send to 922 G Street SE, Washington, DC 20003.

DONATE - Become a Founder

General Contributions

If you would prefer not to have your name published or would prefer giving an amount other than $50 in support of the East City Art Foundation for Critical Writing and Research, you may do so by clicking the "General Donation" button below.  All contributions are 100% tax-deductible.

Payment by Check: If you would prefer to make a general contribution by check, please make the check out to: East City Art Foundation Inc. and send to 922 G Street SE, Washington, DC 20003.

General Donation 

It's all good!

Gee folks! I posted Invictus a few days ago and all of a sudden people are emailing me asking if I'm OK - it's all good, and no worries.

I learned that poem some time in my teens... around age 13 I was hit by a speeding car crossing Atlantic Avenue and Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. It made me sail from Atlantic to the middle of Eastern Parkway and it broke my left femur on impact with the ground, and my hip.

The car kept on going - hit and run.

I spent several months in a body cast at Brooklyn Hospital - not fun. 

Incredibly enough, considering my Fridamania, I had never noted this parallel with Kahlo until someone recently mentioned it to me.

Anyway, someone read that poem to me while I was in the hospital all those months (my father and mother came every single night, and my mother brought me dinner every single night, as I hated hospital food, while my father scarfed up the hospital food).

I now equate Invictus with hospital stays.

No worries.

She caught me

I literally tooks almost a thousand photos of people taking selfies in front of my artwork... in this one, one of the two girls caught me doing it! They told me that they loved the work!

@contextartmiami #contextartmiami

Invictus

Spent all this week in the hospital - not a happy experience, but certainly an eye-opening one, where I re-learned the power of words (in a sense) - what happened did not happen, but had to be accepted as happening... Invictus is the only thing that comes to mind as I rest in an empty room.

Out of the night that covers me, 

      Black as the pit from pole to pole, 

I thank whatever gods may be 

      For my unconquerable soul. 

In the fell clutch of circumstance 

      I have not winced nor cried aloud. 

Under the bludgeonings of chance 

      My head is bloody, but unbowed. 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears 

      Looms but the Horror of the shade, 

And yet the menace of the years 

      Finds and shall find me unafraid. 

It matters not how strait the gate, 

      How charged with punishments the scroll, 

I am the master of my fate, 

      I am the captain of my soul. 

And no worries, all is good - final Miami art fairs report coming soon!

Art Scam Alert!!!

Beware of this scammer:

From: Roger Cox rogercox407@gmail.com

My name is John muller  from Washington DC was looking for some artwork online and i found your contact while searching.

I will like to purchase some of your work for my wife as a surprise gift for our 20th anniversary.

Please kindly send pics and prices of some of your art which are ready for immediate sale within price range $500- $5000

I hope to hear a lot more about any available piece in your inventory ready for immediate sale.

Thanks and best regards,

John!!

More on the curious case of the artwork and the selfie

This just kept happening 100s of times a day at the Context Art Miami fair... I have 100s of these photos....

Art Scam Alert!

And yet another asswipe trying to rip off artists:

From: David Morton samdavid.morton01@gmail.com

Subject: Interested in your Artworks.

My name is David Morton from Brownsville TX was looking for some artwork online and i found your contact while searching. I will like to purchase some of your work for my wife as a surprise gift for our 20th anniversary. Please kindly send pics and prices of some of your art which are ready for immediate sale within price range $500- $5000 I hope to hear a lot more about any available piece in your inventory ready for immediate sale.

Best regards!

Holiday Starkillers Strike Back

Holiday Starkillers Strike Back continues to pay reverence at market penetration, thematic parallels, and early conceptualizations with a new exhibit of futuristic grandeur. Holiday Starkillers Strike Back celebrates the cultural phenomena of George Lucas' space saga. Featuring works by Andrew Wodzianski, Scott G. Brooks, Gregory Ferrand Artist, Chris Bishop, Jared Davis, J.D. Deardourff, and Steve Strawn. 

During his studio negotiations for the writing and directing fees of a particular science fiction film, George Lucas agreed to a lower price in lieu of licensing and merchandising rights. Those rights were exploited wisely, and Lucas has inundated our culture with licensed toys, games, accessories, and collectibles for the past forty winter holidays.

Exhibition on view December 8, 2017 - January 20, 2018.
Anacostia Arts Center
Curated by Andrew Wodzianski

Do you see what I keep seeing??

Do you see what I see (again)

ABMB Week: Thursday - Chuck Close!

Two Washington Huskies smiling for the camera as I got to meet the great Chuck Close at Context Art Miami! We both went to the same great art school at the University of Washington in Seattle...

He asked me when I attended, and when I told him, he laughed and said that he graduated 20 years before I did....

Chuck Close and Lenny Campello at Context Art Miami 2017

Art Scam Alert!!!!

Beware of this mutant trying to rip off artists!

Subject: Form Submission - New Form - ARTWORK

Reply-To: patwal816@gmail.com

Name: Patrick Walter

Email Address: patwal816@gmail.com

Subject: ARTWORK

Message: Greetings, 

My name is Patrick Walter from Ohio.. I actually observed my wife has been viewing your website on my laptop and i guess she likes your piece of work, I'm also impressed and amazed to have seen your various works too,You are doing a great job. I would like to receive further information about your piece of work and what inspires you.. Kindly confirm the availability for immediate sales..

Thanks and best regards..

ABMB Week: Thursday report

Today was the best day so far at the Context Art Miami fair for attendance and sales (at least for us)... sales by Erwin Timmers (plus a commission), Audrey Wilson, Elissa Farrow-Savos, and me!

And the curious case of people taking selfies in front of my interactive piece "Your portrait in a gallery of portraits" continues!

ABMB Week: Wednesday

One of the odd things that one notices at art fairs - mostly in Miami and seldom in New York - is the fanfare of provocative clothing, shoes, and appearance by the visitors to the fairs... and selfies with artwork.

At this Context art fair, one of my pieces, the massive 40x60 inches "Your portrait in a gallery of portraits", an interactive piece where your image becomes a temporary part of the work, has been quite a magnet for the selfie crowd, and the below photos are a small sample of some of the people taking a selfie in front of the work - essentially they are taking a photo of themselves inside the artwork, as recorded by an embedded spy camera, that puts them "inside" the work.