Venice Biennale May Start Selling Again

Most art critics and some art bloggers have this Utopian sense of writing about art exhibitions where the commerce of art is often viewed as a bad thing.

Nevermind that galleries are the second most-likely-to-fail business in the US (restaurants are the first).

The Venice Biennale, which used to sell art openly from 1942 to 1968, may be doing it again. Read the Art Newspaper article by Anna Somers Cocks here.

Opportunity for Sculptors

Deadline: Thursday, June 14, 2007

Art League Sculptors at Washington Square
August 5 – November 3, 2007

This is an opportunity for artists to exhibit large-scale three-dimensional works in a beautiful atrium exhibition space in downtown Washington, DC. Members of The Art League, Art League instructors, and Torpedo Factory artists are encouraged to submit work for jurying. Washington Square is located at 1050 Connecticut Ave, NW near the Farragut North metro (red line). A maximum of 35 pieces will be selected. Please note: large works are encouraged; there is limited space for small pieces.

2007 Calendar

• Drop off for CD with digital images, or actual work: Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 10:00 am – 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

• Jurying - Friday, June 15, 2007

• Pick-up of actual work (Artists will find out at time of pick-up if their work was accepted) Saturday, June 16, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sunday, June 17, 12:00 noon – 5:00 pm - Work not picked-up by 5:00 pm on Sunday will be assessed a $5 per day per piece storage fee.

• Digital images of accepted work due to Art League Gallery - COB, Tuesday, June 26, 2007.

• Accepted Work delivered by artist to Washington Square - Sunday August 5, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon

• Artists' reception at Washington Square - Thursday, August 9, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

• Exhibition closes - Friday, November 2, 2007

• Pick-up of work from Washington Square - Saturday, November 3, 9:30 am – 12:00 noon

Eligibility: This exhibit is open to members of The Art League, Art League instructors, or Torpedo Factory artists. Any interested artists may join The Art League at any time. If you are not currently a member and wish to submit work for this exhibition opportunity, please contact the Gallery regarding pro-rated membership rates.

Juror: John Jayson Sonnier will jury this exhibit. Sonnier, a sculpture instructor at the Corcoran School of Art and Design, specializes in garden design. Continuing the stone carving tradition, Sonnier was taught by Master Sculptor Constantine Seferlis. Sonnier’s work is currently on display at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Library; Katzen Center of Art at American University; Creative Partners Gallery, Bethesda, Maryland; Arts and Humanities Council, Silver Spring, Maryland; Art Galleries of the National Institute of Health; and at his website.

Image Specifications

• Jurying will be done from digital images submitted on CD or from the actual work.

• Digital Submissions: Artists may submit images in .tif or .jpg format on a CD. Each image can be no larger than 4” X 6”, 300 dpi, with a file size of 2 MB or less. Label each image file with the artist’s last name and the number of the image, i.e. “Smith_1”. Please write artists last name on top of CD with black marker. CDs will not be returned. *Artists who submit CDs may call the gallery as early as Saturday, June 16 to find out if their work was accepted into the exhibit.

• CDs must be accompanied by a hard copy, typed image checklist with numbers corresponding to image numbers on the CD. The list must also include: title, medium, dimensions (h” x w” x d”), sale price or if Not for Sale (NFS) the insurance value. Please also include all of your contact information (name, address, phone, and email).

• CD submissions can be mailed to The Art League Gallery to arrive no later than June 14th or brought to gallery during drop off times on June 14th.

• All accepted artists must provide the gallery with digital images of their artwork by the close of business on Tuesday, June 26, 2007. This is required by the management of Washington Square. Please have images of your artwork ready ahead of time. Images should follow the above specifications.

Fees: The entry fee is $5 per sculpture. Maximum of three entries per artist. Artists bringing in actual artwork must attach an entry form to each submission.

Accepted Works: The artist must deliver accepted works in person to Washington Square, 1050 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, on Sunday, August 6, 2007, between 10:00 am and 12:00 noon. If Washington Square management believes any works to be inappropriate for display, they retain the right to exclude or withdraw such works from the proposed exhibition. No accepted work may be withdrawn before the end of the show for any reason. Work not picked up between 9:30 am and 12:00 noon on Saturday, November 4, 2007, will be assessed an additional $25.00 per day fee. Individuals are responsible for transporting and installing their own works; the exhibit designer will determine locations for work.

Awards: Aaa awards, including cash awards, will be presented at the reception. Awards will be chosen at the discretion of the juror.

Sales: Work in this exhibit may or may not be for sale. Prices are to be determined by the artist. The Art League Gallery retains a commission of 40% from works sold from this exhibit or while the piece is being displayed at this exhibit. Payment to the artist will be mailed within 30 days after final completion of the sale. Prices should be an accurate reflection of the artist's sales history and should not be inflated.

Insurance: All reasonable care will be taken with the accepted artwork, but it is to be clearly understood by the artist that The Art League and Washington Square assume no responsibility and shall not be held responsible for any damage of any kind occurring during shipping, installation, de-installation or while on exhibit. All artists will sign a loan agreement and receipt form. Permission to photograph any work in the exhibition for publicity purposes or for documentation is considered granted.

About the Art League Gallery: The Art League Gallery is located at 105 N. Union Street in the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia. The Art League is a private non-profit membership organization, which provides continuous opportunities for artists to have their work judged by professionals in the visual arts.

Questions regarding the Art League Sculpures at Washington Square or The Art League may be directed to:

The Art League Gallery
105 N. Union Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-683-1780; or
email: gallery@theartleague.org

Cubans

Photographer Rachel Been has just completed a really good photo documentary addressing Miami's influential Cuban and Cuban-American population. See her photos here.

Cultural bragging follows: I think that one of the reasons for the spectacular success of the Miami-based art fairs is the economic and cultural power of Miami's Cuban ancestry population, which as anyone who has been to Miami knows, is the dominant ethnic group in that city.

According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, we Cuban-Americans represent only about four percent of the 45 million or so Hispanics/Latinos that are living in the US, but unlike other Latinos, your average C-A is a Republican, disproportionally represented in Congress, and C-A average annual income is higher than that of Anglos and other non-Hispanic whites and Non-Hispanic blacks, and more than 50% of the top 100 wealthiest Hispanics in the US are Cubans as are more than 50% of the top Hispanic-owned businesses in the US.

So why do Miamians with disposable income, and New Yorkers of all ancestries with disposable income buy art, but Washingtonians and Philadelphians of the same wealth level do not?

A while back I submitted my theory for DC's case here; now working on Philly's case. More later...

Wanna go to a Virginia opening tomorrow?

Habatat Galleries

Wanna go to a Philly opening tonight?

Schmidt Dean Gallery has an opening reception for Susan Fenton: "Japan Series," and Wei Jia: "Made in China." Through June 30, 2007. Starts at 7:30PM.

Wanna go to a DC opening tomorrow night?

"Industrials" opens this coming Saturday at Randall Scott Gallery in DC featuring works by Jackson Martin and Michael Sandstrom.


The opening reception is May 26th 6-9pm and the exhibition goes through June 16th, 2007.

Trawick Prize Semi-Finalists Announced

Thirty-two artists have been selected as semi-finalists for the fifth annual Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. The first place winner will be awarded $10,000, second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000. A “young artist” whose birth date is after April 10, 1977 may also be awarded a $1,000 prize sponsored by the Fraser Gallery.

Travis Childers, Fairfax, VA
Mary Coble, Washington, D.C.
Eric Dyer, Baltimore, MD
Mary Early, Washington D.C.
Susan Eder & Craig Dennis, Falls Church, VA
Suzanna Fields, Richmond, VA
Inga Frick, Washington, D.C.
Eric Garner, Bethesda, MD
Jason M. Gottlieb, Potomac, MD
Jeannine Harkleroad, Chesapeake, Va
Maren Hassinger, Baltimore, MD
Linda Hesh, Alexandria, VA
Jason Horowitz, Arlington, VA
Ian Jehle, Washington D.C.
Lisa Kellner, Hanover, VA
Nathan A. Manuel, Washington, D.C.
Baby Martinez, Washington, D.C
Robert Mellor, Chatham, VA
Steve A, Prince, Hampton, VA
Beverly Ress, Silver Spring, MD
Christopher Saah, Washington, D.C.
Michael Sandstrom, Baltimore, MD
Kathleen Shafer, Washington, D.C.
Foon Sham, Springfield, VA
Jo Smail, Baltimore, MD
Judy Stone, Riverdale Park, MD
Matthew Sutton, Washington, D.C.
Rob Tarbell, Richmond, VA
Tim Tate, Washington, D.C.
JL Stewart Watson, Baltimore, MD
Bruce Wilhelm, Richmond, VA
Nicholas F. Wisniewski, Baltimore, MD
With some "new" names excepted, that list is essentially almost a "Who's Who" in the art scene of the Greater DC area - perhaps the toughest field in the Trawick's short history.

The jurors for the Trawick Prize are Rex R. Stevens, who is the Chair of the General Fine Arts & Drawing Departments at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, Maryland; Amy G. Moorefield, who is the Assistant Director and Curator of Collections for Virginia Commonwealth University’s Anderson Gallery as well as an Assistant Professor there; and the fair Anne Ellegood, who is the Associate Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden where her focus is contemporary art.