New painting term

In the CP, Capps reviews E3: Painters at Transformer and describes one of the artists' works as:

"...And Passacantando’s untitled clusterfuck of color doesn’t seem to have gained much from all the criticism—it’s static through and through, despite its technical merits."

And let me be the first one to congratulate the Texan in coining a new way to describe a painting, as Googling "clusterfuck of color" reveals that no one else on the planet has apparently ever used that art term before; and I like it!

Art history legend has it than when Greenberg came to DC in the late 50s (or was it early 60s?) to give a lecture, he stated that "painting should be thin." After that statement settled in, apparently some DC area artists actually broke out their caliphers and started measuring the thickness of their paint above the canvas. Eventually, according to Wolfe, the Washington Color School was partially borne out of that statement.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that even as I write this, someone is considering clusterfuckism in art.

Update: An alert DC Art News reader detects that although clusterfuck of color is unique, when it is Googled at "cluster fuck of color," these entries are logged by Google's ever busy robot spiders.

Wanna go to a closing and an opening tomorrow night?

Then come to Adams Morgan on Saturday night from from 7 to 10 p.m. and go to the closing reception for "Focusing On The District" at Studio One Eight gallery.

This photography show showcases scenes from various parts of the city.

Studio One Eight is located at 2452 18th St. NW. (directly above Julia's Empanadas - mmm).

If instead you wanna head down to the beach in Norfolk, then DC artist Andrew Wodzianski opens in Norfolk for a solo exhibit. Old Dominion University Gallery hosts "Coulrophobia and Other New Paintings." Twenty nine paintings on display with thirteen new ones being unveiled. Opening reception on Saturday, July 22 at 7pm and the show goes through Aug. 22, 2006.

Me in the CP

Nell Boeschenstein has a cool story about my recent changes in today's CP.

Read the article here.

She also writes about the Ariel Rios murals. More on that later...

Wall Mountables at DCAC

Around this town, anytime that you have an open show (meaning a show without a juror or curator), the critics tend to immediately savage it. This seems to be a predictable critical analysis somewhat unique to our area's visual arts and artists as viewed by most of our area critics.

Once a year, the District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC), through a show called "Wall Mountables," allows any and all artists to hang anything they want, so long as it fits within a two square foot space. It's usually one of my favorite shows and a terrific opportunity for artists to exhibit and sell their work.

DCAC will be accepting and allowing artists to hang their work Wed - Fri. July 26-28, 2006 - On Wed. from 3-8PM and on Friday from 3-6PM. Spaces are available on a first-come basis and each 2x2 ft space is $10 and current DCAC members get one space free!

Details here.

Also at DCAC

Next Sunday DCAC has their last Summer Art Forum in the DCAC theater, July 23rd at 7:30pm: "Making, Showing, and Collecting Video Art." Panelists include: Jefferson Pinder, Kathryn Cornelius, Djakarta, Philip Barlow and Brandon Morse.

For more information on the Art Forum visit this website.

Vox Populi

There are only four days left to see "Home Free," an exhibition of the Philadelphia artists collective Vox Populi at DCAC.

The WaPo's Chief Art Critic Blake Gopnik, in a rare look at an area gallery show wrote about the exhibition:

"One piece manages to take a standard contemporary trick and get it absolutely right.... A video called 'Cocked,' by Matthew Suib."

Hurry!

Update: Warren commenting in Thinking About Art writes:

This video, or one just like it, was in the Radius 250 show in Richmond last year.

3 Years ago Michael Oatman, an artist based in Troy NY, did one pulling together all the time-travel sequences in movies.

Both were cool to look at, but I think you're correct to ask why Gopnik thinks that even though it's a "contemporary trick" (I read that as "cliché"), it's worth writing about.

Its funny, I believe he thinks he's really on the cutting edge with his knee-jerk support of video. Like he's cool or something because of it, and all the taunts make him more rigid.

Flashpoint Fracass

DCist reports on a private party at Flashpoint which ended with some artwork being destroyed.

Read it here.