Packed to the gills

I've been told that there were nearly one thousand people at the Katzen openings in DC last weekend.

That's what you call a massive response! They must be doing something right over there at American University...

Michael Janis

In the years that I have been following the growth and development of the various DC area artists associated with the Washington Glass School, seldom have I seen an artist develop, change, grow and continue to re-open my eyes as I have noticed over the years with the work of Michael Janis.

Janis opens his new solo show “That Quadrant of Sky,” on Sept. 12 in Bethesda's Neptune Gallery. The opening reception for this talented DC artist is Saturday, September 15th, 7-9 PM.


Janis' work is now in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, and it is also featured in the new international book about the best in glass art and design, "50 Distinguished Contemporary Artists in Glass."

He is also in my "Buy Now" list.

Dodson on Jeffrey Stockberger at Gallery 222

By Brie Dodson

Work by Jeffrey Stockberger is currently on exhibition at Gallery 222 in Leesburg, Virginia. The works on exhibition include two main subject groupings: vegetables - a bunch of radishes, a head of bok choy, a Hubbard squash - and landscapes.

The landscapes at first appear to be about cows and field workers, but are really all about luscious color and a sense of composition that sneaks up on the viewer in a satisfying way.

Stockberger's handling of the vegetable paintings is masterful. Each subject appears against an "empty" background and foreground, but those "empty" spaces are filled with beautiful color and distance. The brushwork is chunky and delicious.

The paintings are much more compelling than the thumbnails on the gallery's website convey. For example, the radish painting is 28" x 26" (and the colors are extraordinary). The landscapes are on the order of around 4x5 feet. Most of the vegetables are painted slightly larger than life size, but not objectionably so.

There are also a couple of other gems out for viewing in the gallery's upstairs spaces. In there there are two very large horse paintings by Martha Cammack, perhaps 4x6 feet each. They are not about horses, at least to this viewer; they are about magnificent color, light and form. They are very fine paintings, and they do what truly good landscapes do - give that tug in the back of the throat.

Stockberger's show hangs through Sept. 29. The gallery is at 222 South King Street in Leesburg, open Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and by appointment. Informational contacts are 703-777-5498 or laaf@loudounacademy.org.

Sauna Lee Lange on the One Word Project

By Shauna Lee Lange

Kudos to J.T. Kirkland and the fine curating job he performed in his One Word Project which opened Friday night at the Arts Club of Washington. To explain the show simply, Kirkland assigned artists with a single word as a thematic launching point. The idea was to create a triangular dialogue for visual and language communication between artist, viewer, and work. Three works in the show that caught my attention were:

(a) Gregory Ferrand's "Experience." - the work was titled Judge Me Not (For I Judge Only You), acrylic on canvas, 22x28, 2006, (b) Marsha Stein's "Pride," is a drawing of St. Jerome, a haunting and technically gorgeous execution of charcoal cast drawing, 24x36, 1999, and (c) Gregg Chadwick's theme on "Responsibility," which drew the most evident enthusiasm.

Chadwick traveled from Santa Monica, CA to explain the meaning behind his Marine in a coffin surrounded by monks. Chadwick served in the Armed Forces and was deeply impressed that relatives of the deceased service member attended Friday night's opening. Chadwick said that his own father was a Marine, and as a son, he felt he had the responsibility to paint his own military experience. As a self-professed Buddhist, Chadwick eloquently spoke about how responsibility is a common thread among all people and what it meant to him to participate in the show. He is pictured here in front of his work.

Honorable mention for layered meaning in story telling has to go to the Right Reverend James W. Bailey of Reston, Virginia for his burnt photo montage/collage of a church. Bailey's original explanation of meaning and his updated revisionist explanation are fascinating reading. One really does come away understanding that in New Orleans, A.K. (after Katrina), all is not okay.

The show runs to September 29th. More than 30 artists are featured, including Andrew Krieger's sculpture on Imagination, Baltimore's Rosetta DeBerardinis' 2007 work on Fluid , Alexandra Silverthorne's print on Forgotten, Angela Kleis' Hatteras Lighthouse silver gelatin print, and James Coleman's mixed media on canvas, seno utero matriz.

The Arts Club of Washington reminds us that their third floor studio is open Tuesday through Saturday, with free arts classes open to the public every Saturday.

Katzen Openings Tonight

There are multiple openings at American University's Katzen Arts Center tonight from 6-9PM.

The new exhibits include: "Carol Goldberg: Listening to Ivy," "Keiko Hara: Topophilia Imbuing," "Song Without Words: The Photographs of Countess Sophia Tolstoy," and "All in the Family: A Juried Show of American University Alumni."

An hour before the reception, internationally known artist and master printmaker Keiko Hara will give an informal talk on the creation of her 42-foot long homage to and very personal translation of Monet's Water Lillies.

All free and open to the public.

Wanna go to a Baltimore Opening today?

With a reception full of people, good wines and their trademark sushi Light Street Gallery in Baltimore opens "Trompe L'oeil Artwork of Bernard Scholl."

The reception for this French artist is from 1-5PM. See his work online here.

Tiny Alien

Below is another tiny little drawing with a big title. It's about 1.5 inches high by one inch across or so. Charcoal on paper.

"Illegal Alien running across the border street in Brownsville, Texas, hoping that he won't be too late for his job at the Fort Brown Golf Course"
Charcoal on Paper, 1.5 inches by 1 inch.
c. 2007 by F. Lennox Campello