New Drawings

I've always been fascinated by the New Testament story of The Christ in Gethsemane, and His passion amongst the olives, and His doubt and fear.

That theme has been explored by me through many drawings over the years. Below are three very minimalist intepretations from 2009. There are all very small... about 3 inches wide by six or seven inches tall.

The Christ in Gethsemane, charcoal on paper. Circa 2009
By F. Lennox Campello


The Christ in Gethsemane II, charcoal on paper. Circa 2009
By F. Lennox Campello


The Christ in Gethsemane III, charcoal on paper. Circa 2009
By F. Lennox Campello

At the next art fair cycles in New York, I plan to have a wall full of these tiny drawings... most of them are under a few inches in size (framed). I think that it would be interesting to see 30-40 tiny drawings all crammed in one wall.

I also need to find a gallery interested in showing this small (and more affordable) work, rather than my usual, larger sized, "normal" work.

Wanna go to a DC opening this Friday?

Christian Platt, Paintings, has an Opening Reception Friday, March 27, 6-8:30 pm at Susan Calloway Fine Arts

"Young and new to the art world, Christian Platt focuses on large-scale oil landscapes, often inspired by his time as a wrangler in the Montana and Wyoming wilderness and the countryside surrounding his Virginia home, as well as large-scale still lifes."

Images here.

VFMA acquires new Cecilia Beaux

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts board of trustees have approved the acquisition of an 1888 oil on canvas portrait by American artist Cecilia Beaux, who was hailed at the turn of the 20th century as the “best woman painter in history.”

She is certainly one of my favorite painters, period.

The painting by Beaux (1855-1942) is a portrait of her fellow Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni Alexander Harrison and measures 26 by 19-3/4 inches. An important transitional work, the portrait dates from Beaux’s formative period of study in Concarneau, an artist’s colony in Brittany, where she first began to lighten her palette and to paint outdoors.

According to Dr. Sylvia Yount, VMFA’s Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane Curator of American Art and an expert on Beaux’s work, the Philadelphia native was an internationally acclaimed figure painter and portraitist “who also happened to be the most successful woman artist working in turn-of-the-century America.”

Curators and dealers

As used as we all are to hear the whine from the negative perspective of the art dealer and museum curator symbiotic relationship, it is very refreshing to hear an excellent opinion married to a couple of good examples, but discussing when curators rely on art dealers and then give them zip credit.

Read Regina Hackett here.

Mel Chin lecture at Arlington Arts Center

On Tuesday, March 24 at 7pm the place to be in the Greater DC area is the Arlington Arts Center, which is "honored to welcome internationally-recognized artist Mel Chin to the Arlington Arts Center on Tuesday, March 24. Mr. Chin, whose work is socially and ecologically conscious, will be presenting a free lecture about his current public art project, Operation Paydirt."

The lecture will begin at 7pm.

To ensure adequate seating, please let them know if you will attend by calling 703.248.6800 or emailing information@arlingtonartscenter.org.

Is it me?, or has the Arlington Arts Center made giant strides forward since Claire Huschle took over as Executive Director and Jeffry Cudlin as Curator? You bet they have.

Wanna have a boatload of fun in DC tonight?

Join Mayor Fenty as award recipients are selected from among the finalists and announced live from the stage at the Mayor’s Arts Awards Ceremony tonight Monday, March 23, 2009 at 6:00 PM at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the Concert Hall.

Admission is free and having been to many of them, it is a boatload of fun, with great live music and entertainment and loads of good food and drinks.

This is a huge event, and every year that I've been to them, I always look around and say to myself, as I see hundreds and hundreds of people in the audience having fun: "where are the usual suspects from the DC visual art world?"

Go for me this year and have fun!

Rousseau on Fiber

My good friend Dr. Claudia Rousseau reviews "BookEnds: The Book as Art" at Pyramid Atlantic in Silver Spring and "A Tribute to Fiber Art" in the Art Gallery at the BlackRock Center in Germantown. Read her Gazette review here.