Baltimore Yarns

"Yarns of the Material World" opens January 20, 2007 from 6-10 pm at Cubicle 10 in Baltimore.

The exhibition features work by Ken Ashton, D.Billy, Zoe Charlton, Jeffry Cudlin, Rick Delananey, Richard Dana, Candace Keegan, Bridget Sue Lambert, Bill Johnson, J.T. Kirkland, Jefferson Pinder, Michael Platt, Stan Squirewell, Alex Schuchard and Trish Tillman.

The gallery is at 1431-1435 North Central Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21202 and can be reached at 202-247-0595.

While there swing by the new Patricia Touchet Gallery and see DC artist's Sean Hennessey's first solo, as I've been hearing good things about that show.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: February 1, 2007

The National Society of Arts and Letters 2007 Water Media Art Competition is accepting applications from younger artists, age 18-29. Deadline is February 1st, 2007. $4,000 prize with opportunity to win $10,000 prize at the national level. Works must be made with water-soluable paint or ink. Details here.

Exhibit for the competition will be at Heineman Myers in Bethesda, MD from March 18-25, 2007.

Art Party on 14th Street

By Rosetta DeBerardinis

January is usually a dead month for art, but there was a party going on opening night along DC’s newest art district - 14th Street, N.W. Bright lights were flashing, car horns blowing and art lovers spilling onto the sidewalk in front of the galleries. It was a wild night in the city.

Hemphill

As I made my way through the narrow entrance at 1515 14th Street to visit some of the best galleries in city, I rubbed past many familiar faces dodging wine-filled plastic cups.

Ah-to be pencil-thin again!

Once inside the three-story urban industrial space, two friends suggested I begin with Hemphill Fine Arts. It was filled with people who looked like hires from Central Casting. Everyone was chic, hip, urban - and young. A great place to check-out the latest fashion trends in eyewear.

The show “Colby Caldwell | small game” (a collection of mostly landscape inkjet prints on wood), gave you a sense of space and depth in a gallery that had none. It was jam-packed!

"after nature (41)" by Colby Caldwell

Some sought relief from the tuxedo-clad servers who were generously dispensing wine, beer, water or whatever would take the edge off the intense body-heat. My favorite print was “after nature (41),” or #9 according to the signage on the wall. I assume it is part of a series because there are eight paintings with the same title on the price list.

This work captures the hues of darkness and the formations of water with a very thin color-line depicting a horizon far into the distance. There lies the subtle beauty of black and white photography and its size (45 7/8” x 61 3/8”) captivates the viewer, however, the striped abstracts that open the show are not as compelling as Caldwell’s transformable landscapes.

Adamson

The hallways on my way to Adamson Editions were filled with chatter and more members of the fashion crowd. Adamson usually has a more mature, sophisticated and moneyed crowd at his openings. But, where there is free food and free alcohol there is the infamous DC moochers (as anointed by the City Paper).

"Jessie Mann: Self Possessed, Photos by Len Prince," an exhibit of black and white photography was the strongest show in the building. I overheard conversations from the locals who disagreed with me and conjured up recollections of the Mapplethorpe debacle.

First of all, the show exhibited the human figure which everyone loves and can relate to - especially in Washington. I particularly liked the nude female seated on a rickety old staircase holding an Ipod with its cord running up the staircase still connected to its charger. And, the beautiful outline of a female sitter like a relief in the round, her considerable charm form the fluid grace of her outline.

This is a show of beauty, talent, creativity and excellent technical execution.

G Fine Art

Walking sideways through another packed hallway, I wiggled into G Fine Art who was hosting "Civilian @ G," the second launching of Jamie McLellan’s new gallery without walls, the Civilian Art Projects.

The Projects is currently a roving installation of its gallery artists held at host venues. Its first exhibition was at the Warehouse in December. It is my understanding that these premier exhibits are intended to introduce Civilians' stable of artists.

It was also packed with many familiar faces in the crowd. Washington collector and curator Phillip Barlow stood towering over the crowd, and somehow “the moochers” had beaten me there.

It was a non-thematic group exhibition. And, a little signage on the walls to tell us the “who and what” about the works would have surely helped.

I found the show of edgy and innovative works uneven, but like every exhibit, there were a few outstanding pieces. The two collages with paper cut-outs of urban hipsters wearing summer outwear (eg. Birkenstocks, sleeveless t-shirts, sunglasses) strolling through the stark white aftermath of a major blizzard was the best.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints, confusion and my ignorance, I missed what I heard is a superb G Fine Art photography group show in the back gallery including works by one of my favorite photographers, Chan Chao.

Irvine

Exiting the building was as difficult as entering it. Now it is around eight-something, so I dashed to Irvine Contemporary Art, housed in the next block.

Luckily, the crowd there had thinned. It is showing two exhibits “Melissa Ichiuji: Nasty Nice” and Kahn Selesnick’s “The Apollo Prophecies: New Photographs.”

Ichujii’s doll-like sculptures leaning toward surrealism dominates the front gallery. When you enter the space “Snake-n-eggs” is a hair-less form relaxing on a white pedestal flaunting her fertile eggs that are lying atop an array of beautiful colored feathers. From this point on in the exhibit you know this is no typical doll-show.

The wall text reads: “Beauty is dangerous in narrow times, a knife in a slender neck of the rational man, and only those who live between the layers of these strange days can know its shape and name.” (From Great Jones Street, 1973).

The gallery assistant began to flicker the lights like a call for seating in a theatre. “We will re-open on Tuesday,” she announced. Flickering lights usually signal a beginning but instead it marked the end of a great night for art on 14th Street-in January!

Call for Curatorial Proposals

Deadline: January 31st, 2007

The Bronx River Art Center, a 2,000 sq. ft. storefront exhibition space consisting of two interconnected galleries, is seeking dynamic and challenging curatorial proposals from emerging and mid-career curators. Selected proposals will be included in BRAC’s 2007-2008 exhibitions program.

They welcome innovative concept-based proposals involving new media, new genres and interdisciplinary practices as well as projects that interweave site-specificity and public/community interaction, however all submissions will be reviewed and considered.

All proposals should include:

*A written statement of the proposed project (including its concept and its relevance to contemporary society, contemporary art and/or the Bronx community)

*CVs and bios for all participating artists and curator(s)

*Documentation on the artwork proposed in slide form, 8.5”x11” prints, CD or DVD

*An accompanying Image List for all of the visual materials submitted. This list can also include a short description of each of the pieces if applicable.

*A SASE for the return of materials (optional)

Proposals should be mailed to:

Bronx River Art Center
c/o Jose Ruiz – Gallery Coordinator
1087 East Tremont Avenue
Bronx, NY 10460

For additional information, please contact:
Jose Ruiz – Gallery Coordinator
(718)589-5819 (x14)
jruiz@bronxriverart.org

$7 Million Gift for the Eakins' Cause

Athena and Nicholas Karabots of Fort Washington, PA, have contributed a total of $7 million to the homegrown Philly effort to keep Thomas Eakins' "The Gross Clinic in Philadelphia."

This is the second largest gift towards the effort after after that of the Annenberg Foundation. So far $37 million has been raised.

Now... if DC could get their local Greek-American philantrophist(s) such as Ted Leonsis (go Caps!), to contribute a good chunk of greenbacks to the cause of a Washington Art Museum for Washington, DC - as every other major American city has a "local" museum, then we'd all be in sweet art heaven.

Honfleur Gallery

Today I visited the under-construction spaces for the new Honfleur Gallery in order to deliver to them three pieces which will be included in their soft-opening "No Scratchers."

Even under the construction dust, it is easy to see that this new space will be a beautiful new addition to the Greater DC area art scene, and this Anacostia neighborhood right off the MLK, Jr already seems alive and bright with new construction everywhere (the NAACP is having its new headquarters being built almost right across the street.

ARCH has done an excellent job in designing and staffing the gallery, and already they talked to me about an energetic and aggressive exhibition program that has both national and international roots.

Above the gallery are four brand new studios, and four lucky artists have already rented them out and have got a terrific deal (the studio size ranges from 100-125 square feet, and the prices from $155-$200 a month, based on square footage. Each studio has its own skylight. Spaces will be rented on 6-month or 1 year term).

The Gallery and Studios are located at 1241 Good Hope Road SE, in historic Anacostia. They are a 10 minute walk from Anacosia Metro Station and directly on the bus line. To make an appointment to view the spaces (still under construction), contact bevans@archdc.org or call (202) 889-5000, x 113.

Their first show opens Saturday January 20th, 2007, with a reception at 7pm. The show is an informal exhibition highlighting works of art created by D.C. Tattoo Artists. The exhibition is curated by Imani Brown, area artist and photographer, whose work I saw while I was there and speaking of Brown's artwork, I predict that it will be surprisingly refreshing and a welcome addition to our capital's artistic dialogue.

The grand opening is Saturday, February 24, 2007, with an opening reception at 7PM and an exhibition titled "The East of the River Group Show," and featuring work by Jonathan French, Gilbert Trent, Anne Bouie, Fred Joiner, Henry Ferrand, Prelli Williams, Bruce McNeil and more... all artists with East of the River connections.

Randall Scott's Top 10

Randall Scott opened his cool new art gallery in DC last year and very quickly has established it as one of the leading new galleries in the area. Below are his choices for the Top 10 DC area art shows:

1. Sugimoto
2. DADA
3. Keifer
4. Opening of Nat. Gallery
5. Jennifer Steinkamp at the Corcoran (should be perm.)
6. Redefined at the Corcoran
7. Teo Gonzolez at Irvine
8. Christenberry
9. Ledelle Moe’s heads at Metropolis ground floor
10. Wall Snatchers at WPA/C