Congratulations

To Roanoke, Virginia- based artist Susan Jamison, who has has joined Irvine Contemporary.

Jamison's work came to the attention of Martin Irvine through the Seven exhibition last year. Her striking and provocative egg tempera portraits of women and large panel paintings have received extraordinary acclaim. The selection of her works that Irvine featured at Scope/Miami sold out in a few hours.

Susan's new body of work, including her egg tempera panel paintings and new drawings, will be on view in a solo show at Irvine in May.

Dawson on Interface

The WaPo's Jessica Dawson reviews Interface, currenty on exhibition at our Bethesda gallery.

Typical...

One of the things that I could always count after nine years in Georgetown is the fact that I would get 2-3 parking tickets a year.

And tonight I got the farewell parking ticket from the highly efficient Ubermetermaid Storm Troopers crack squad of Georgetown parking enforcers. It brought back memories of the day that parking meters went from expiring at 6:30PM to expiring at 10PM (no notice given) and the orgy of tickets that followed; or the two or three times that a massive truck would take a spot and a half of the space on 31st Street, just before the Canal, but I would get the ticket because my van's rear end would then stick out a foot past the "no parking" sign.

But tonight, when I arrived at the gallery, I found the primo Doris Day parking spot (so named because I always noticed how in the old Doris Day movies everyone always seems to find a parking spot in New York City or wherever the movie takes place, right in front of where they are going). And so I park, and feed the meter six quarters before I notice that it is blinking "fail."

So I tape a piece of paper over the meter, explaining what the issue is, and then proceed to unload the van. In between the time that it takes to carry a few bottles of wine from 31st Street to the Canal Square, on a return trip I find a shiny new ticket from Officer Johnson, and the note gone.

A ticket for $25 samolians as a farewell gift from Georgetown to me.

Metcalfe on Hopscotch

The City Paper's John Metcalfe was present at the Interface opening last Friday and he observed the Hopscotch performance by David Page and has written an excellent report here.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: February 24, 2006

Wilson Building Public Art Program Call for Artists: The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is currently accepting applications for the John A. Wilson Building Public Art Program. The works purchased through this call for artists are specifically designated for permanent installation in the Wilson Building.

For more information and an application, please visit the Commission's website to download the Call for Artists and application, or call 202-724-5613.

And then there was one...

The final exhibit at the Fraser Gallery Georgetown opens tomorrow, Friday January 20, 2006 with an opening reception (from 6-9PM) for Bruce Erickson, winner of the 2005 Georgetown International Fine Arts Competition. The exhibition closes on February 15, 2006.

Catriona Fraser and I opened the Georgetown Fraser Gallery in 1996, and for the last ten years our gallery has been one of the key independent fine arts galleries in the Washington, DC area. A second, larger gallery, four times the size of the Georgetown gallery, opened in Bethesda, Maryland in 2002.

Since 1996 we have been working hard to deliver the best in contemporary realism, fine art photography and narrative glass sculpture in the region. Additionally, the galleries have become one of the the premier exhibit spaces for contemporary Cuban and European artists.

"The location is only one factor in the success or failure of a gallery. Our gallery is now a destination for collectors because they appreciate our knowledge of contemporary artists working in this region and most importantly: we have a realistic understanding of the art market here. The relationships that we have with both the artists that we represent and our collectors is something that can’t be developed overnight... it takes time, honesty, integrity and a lot of hard work," said Catriona Fraser.

The Fraser Gallery in Georgetown will close at the end of the February 2006 exhibition, which appropriately enough brings the Washington, DC debut of Pennsylvania artist Bruce Erikson, winner of the Eight Annual Georgetown International Fine Arts Competition, juried and selected by Jack Rassmussen, Curator and Director, Katzen Art Center at American University.

2005 has been the galleries’ best year ever for sales, as well as a record number of museum acquisitions and the highest number of published reviews about our exhibitions ever both in the U.S. and abroad.

As our region continues to grow and expand with more fine art galleries opening every year, we feel confident that both our artists and collectors will continue to benefit from our commitment to the visual arts in this region as we focus our energies into one space in Bethesda.

Catriona and Lennox

DeBerardinis

I've been hearing good things and hope to drop by soon to see "Pictures of Nothing: Abstraction," new paintings by Rosetta DeBerardinis on exhibit through Feb. 28 at Ozmosis Gallery, 7908 Woodmont Ave., in Bethesda. Gallery hours: Tues. - Sat. 12:00 - 6:00 PM and by appointment. For more information go to www.ozmosisgallery.com or call 301-664-9662