Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: March 5, 2010

The Visual Arts Committee at the University of Minnesota organizes nine solo, group, or theme-based exhibitions per year at the St. Paul Student Center's 520 sq. foot Larson Art Gallery. It also organizes four solo exhibitions at Coffman Memorial Union's Coffman Art Gallery.

To be considered: Please make sure to include all of the following: Note which Gallery you are applying for (Coffman or Larson). 3-5 slides of your artwork or digital images in jpeg format. Artists' statement and contact information. Self-addressed stamped envelope for return of images. Send proposals to:

Visual Arts Committee
University of Minnesota
Coffman Memorial Union RM 126
300 Washington Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Miami International Art Fair

Just purchased the tickets and I'm heading back to Miami for the Miami International Art Fair, held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach.

I'll be showing (along with DC's own Tim Tate, Michael Janis and others) with Philadelphia's Projects Gallery. We'll be at booth 520 and also at NG-13.

If you are in Miami anytime from 7-10 January, let me know and I'll see if I can get you a couple of free tickets to the fair.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: January 11, 2010.

The Public Trust of Jacksonville, Florida seeks artists. All participants will electronically submit a detailed pencil drawing of one of the three Le Moyne/de Bry original works, together with 4 other examples of your past paintings so the judges can select the ten best artists to be commissioned.

Artists must also submit an entrance form which may be downloaded from their menu under "Art Contest Entrance Form." No entry fee.

If you are selected as one of the ten commissioned artists, you will complete a painting (sized 24" by 30") by June 11, 2010. At that time you will be paid your $2,500 commission and shortly afterward be featured with your fellow top ten artists in showings of all the new art work at two premier art galleries in Jacksonville.

For complete guidelines, please visit this website. Questions? Contact Andrew Miller at adm@publictrustlaw.org or call (904) 247-1972 ext. 418.

Fee free opportunity for artists

Deadline: January 17, 2010

This is the kind of opportunity that I like: absolutely no fees to submit and zero commission on sales: click here for the prospectus.

And, O yea... I'm the juror for the prizes (artists are selected for the show by a separate panel).

Feliz Navidad!

"Family Tree," oil on linen, 24x36 inches by David FeBland

Home cooking

Since tonight is Nochebuena, I've been preparing a classic Nochebuena Cuban feast for the in-laws. One of the key ingredients in the 24 hour marinade for Cuban roast pork is orange juice.

When I was looking for the orange juice (I swear we had some) and couldn't find any, my wife suggested that I substitute it with some diet Pineapple soda that we happened to have in the cupboard.

As I dug out some oranges to get the juice out of them the old-fashioned way, I thought to myself that it is no wonder that one doesn't see too many Swedish restaurants around.

The fare for tonight:

Cuban Roasted Pork
Mariquitas with Mojo Sauce for Dipping
Sweet Corn Tamales
Broiled Yucca with Garlic Mojo
Broiled Ňame with Olive Oil
Moros y Cristianos (Rice and Black Bean Soup)
Cuban Nochebuena Salad

And from our family to all: a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Terrific 2010 to all!

Cudlin on The Year in Museums

The disconnect comes when one considers the exhibitions that D.C. museums actually offered this year. These mostly reflected the artworld’s fascination with cranky homebodies, curious characters, and misunderstood geniuses—no interactive cafes or love-ins by the balloon tent to be found. 2009 was a year full of retrospectives for artists who stayed home, keeping their distance from the larger discussions that were shaping life and culture around them. These are artists who seem to suggest that art is necessarily a private experience, meant for those who are sensitive to an extraordinary degree.

Jeffry Cudlin offers a very interesting article on our area's museums. Read it in the CP here.

On the subject of the City Paper: I have been stunned to see the huge difference in visual arts coverage that happened to the CP in the three years that I was gone from the DC area.

When I left, one could count on the CP to deliver a constant flow of reviews and mini reviews every week; Cudlin and others covered museums and galleries, and Jacobson covered photography shows.

Now Cudlin does 2-3 articles a year on museums, and the rest of the visual arts coverage has been decimated to a trickle. It is sad to see this happen, because the CP once filled the huge void that is the visual arts coverage by the WaPo and the Times.

Maybe I'm being myopic, but I've noticed no less coverage of music, bars, movies and theatre in the CP, so as usual, I wonder why coverage of art galleries and museums has been reduced so much?