The Franz and Virginia Bader Fund

Deadline: September 15, 2007

The Franz and Virginia Bader Fund welcomes applications from visual artists aged 40 years or older, who live within 150 miles of Washington, D.C. and can demonstrate that they have the potential to benefit as artists from a grant.

The Franz and Virginia Bader Fund does not, however, accept applications from filmmakers, video artists, and performance artists. In 2006 the Franz and Virginia Bader Fund awarded three grants totalling $60,000.

The deadline for applications is September 15, 2007. Application forms may be downloaded from the fund's web site: www.baderfund.org or may be requested by sending an email to grants@baderfund.org or by sending a request to:

Bader Fund
5505 Connecticut Avenue, NW #268
Washington, D.C. 20015

Opportunity for artists

Deadline: ASAP!

Light Street Gallery in Baltimore has two upcoming group shows scheduled and they are inviting any artists interested in submitting artwork for these shows to first email images and/or ideas to gallery director Linda Krensky.

The first opportunity is an Open Call for Artwork for their "Box Show." All artists are welcome to submit any size Two or Three Dimensional creative artwork that includes a box of some kind. That exhibit will take place from August 18th thru October 6th, 2007.

The second opportunity is for their small works show. Two Dimensional Work: Maximum image size to be 144 square inches, (i.e. 12” x 12”) or less, xxcluding matting and framing. Three Dimensional Work: Maximum sculpture size to be 1728 Cubic Inches, (i.e. 12” x 12” x 12”), excluding Display or Pedestal. That exhibition is from From November 17th thru January 12th, 2008.

Questions? Call Ms. Krensky at the gallery, 410-234-0047 or email her at info@lightstreetgallery.com.

Go to this opening

One of my favorite DC area painters is and has been for many years the hugely talented A.B. Miner.

A.B. Miner's solo exhibition, titled Chimera opens on Thursday, July 5 at H&F Fine Arts in Mount Rainier, MD just outside of DC. The opening reception will be on Friday, July 6 from 6-9pm.

Seduction

Below is "Seduction," charcoal on paper, circa 2001, about 20 x 40 inches, sold at my 2002 solo show in DC.

As I'm rather fond of doing, there are several "hidden" drawings within the body shadows, but they're nearly impossible to detect in this digital image.

America's Most Wanted Painting

At least according to the decade old Dia project undertaken by the zany art team of Russian artists Komar and Melamid (who hung around DC for a while in the 90s, although I can't recall where they exhibited).

In the project (which also covers "Least Wanted Painting" and it is specific to various countries), a professional survey team questioned people with questions such as "what is your favorite color?" (blue was the overwhelming US favorite by 44% with green coming in at a 12% second; both the Chinese and the Russians also went blue, green but not in such huge numbers, and even the usually difficult French went blue at 39%).

The survey was conducted in 14 countries, and some remarkable similarities in taste are clearly evident once you see the various favorites and least favorites. It appears that with the exception of the Italians and the Dutch, nearly everyone else aligned behind a somewhat pastoral scene a-la-Hudson River School.

Least wanted paintings in all nations, with the same two exceptions of Holland and Italy, were generally geometric abstractions in nature.

This is the least wanted kind of painting in the USA. And below is the most wanted painting in the US... yep that's George Washington in the middle.

Before you roll your eyes, here's the Chinese equivalent, and yep that a portrait of Mao on the right of the painting. And the Russians seem to have put some sort of a Christ figure in their favorite painting.

However, this "painting by survey," like anything done by committee, rarely actually yields a final product that anyone actually likes, and I suspect that few people (in any nation) would actually hang the finished banal painting(s) in their homes.

Bethesda Painting Awards

Next week is the last week to see the Bethesda Painting Awards finalists and prizewinners at the Fraser Gallery in Bethesda. The show closes July 7.

This year's exhibition stirred quite a bit of controversy, which is always good for any art competition.

The Washington Post's Michael O'Sullivan was surprised at the award choices and raised a controversy about three sumi-ink drawings on Japanese paper by Richmond artist Fiona Ross. Read his review here.

The Gazette's Claudia Rousseau really liked the Best in Show prizewinner, but disliked the work of the other two award-winners. Read her review here.

DCist's Lynne Venart at first didn't like the Best in Show prizewinner, but when she looked a little closer, she discovered interesting nuances in Matthew Klos' works. Read her review here.

G.P. and Thinking About Art both jumped on the O'Sullivan controversy bandwagon and opined on the issue. Read Kriston here and J.T. here.

Go see the show before it closes.

Art in Heat



Art in Heat opens Saturday, June 30, 2007 from 7pm–11pm at the Warehouse Gallery and Theatre complex in DC. Lobsterboy will be on hand at 8pm and 11pm with his “Tiki Party from Hell.” DJ Adam will be keeping the party going in the upstairs gallery.

The exhibiting artists represent the best of DC’s Outsider, Lowbrow, and Pop Surrealist artists. They’re notable for creating work that’s fun, twisted, sexy, and just plain wrong. Featuring: Ed Bisese, Chris Bishop, Scott G. Brooks, Lisa Brotman, Anna U. Davis, Jared Davis, Alan Defibaugh, Margaret Dowell, Dana Ellyn, Gregory Ferrand, Linas Garsys, Laurel Hausler, Candace Keegan, John Lancaster, Emily Greene Liddle, Albert Schweitzer, Matt Sesow, and Ben Tolman.

Buy Ben Tolman now, as he's soon to leave DC and head out onto the graduate program at the Art Institute of Chicago.