Jury Duty

I'm jurying the Gateway Arts Center grand opening exhibition of artists who live or work in the Gateway Arts District.

The Gateway Arts Center at Brentwood is a gorgeous new visual arts center located at 3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood, MD. There is a 2500 s/f gallery space and a 900 s/f classroom on the first floor. The remaining 1700 s/f of space on the first floor is available studio space. The second floor has 5500 s/f of studio space for rent with a 450 s/f gallery that will be managed by the Gateway CDC.

Rubells buy Randall School Building

A press release from the Corcoran College of Art and Design has announced the sale of the former Randall School (which used to be the Millennium Arts Center), which sold for $6.5 million to Telesis Corporation and CACB Holdins LLC. The Corcoran bought the school for $6.2 million in 2006.

The Corcoran had bought the space four years ago to use the 80,000 square feet of space for studio, exhibition and classroom space. Back then the Corcoran's Paul Greenhalgh said that "Part of our strategic plan is to grow the student base and make the college more competitive." And then there was this idea that:

Once the municipal reviews are completed, Greenhalgh said, the Corcoran will sell the property for $8.2 million to Monument, which will manage the building. The profit, said Gentry, will go to the city's public-school modernization fund.

I don't know what happened to that plan, but Don and Mera Rubell, owners of CACB, will apparently convert the school (located at 65 I Street, SW) into a new contemporary art museum for the DC area, a hotel and perhaps even a private residence?

More evidence of the Rubells' deep and growing interest in the DC area visual arts scene. This is more great news for DC artists and our cultural tapestry.

I'm personally glad that the Rubells have taken over this building, as I think that it may be better for the DC art scene.

400+ Underground Artists from Around the World Coming to DC area

An unprecedented gathering of underground artists convenes in the Washington, DC metro area (in Crystal City) this spring. In an artistic interpretation of the G-20 political summit, G-40:The Summit will occupy 75,000 square feet of exhibit space on four floors of an empty office building in Crystal City.

Each region-themed floor will have 10-30 featured artists who will activate the space with murals and installations. G-40: The Summit is curated by Art Whino.

The mission of G-40: The Summit is to bring the leaders of the New Brow genre of contemporary underground art together in an effort to explore, discuss and grow this movement, which features influences like comics, graffiti, skate and surf culture and punk art to push the edges of artistic expression and appreciation. Different hubs of the New Brow movement will be showcased at G-40 including DC, New York, and California, in addition to international work.

Throughout the month of the exhibit, G-40 will host musical and visual performances, lectures, and more. From live mural painting to resident DJ’s, G-40:The Summit presents a dynamic new gallery experience bringing visionary artists from across the world together.
What:

G-40: The Summit – a dynamic, contemporary, art exhibit featuring curated works from artists around the world. There will also be visual and musical performances.

Five floors of exhibition space, including a lobby lounge, New York gallery, Washington, DC gallery, California gallery and an international gallery.

Who: Over 400 contemporary artists from across the country and around the world.
Where: 223 23rd St. Arlington, VA 22202

Metro Accessible – Crystal City
Distance from Washington, DC: 2 miles
When: March 3 – 27, 2010
Wednesdays & Thursdays: 5-10 p.m.
Fridays: 5 p.m.-12 a.m.
Saturdays: 12 p.m. -12 a.m.
Sundays: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Mondays & Tuesdays: Closed

Public Preview with Live Painting: Wednesday, March 3rd 5-10 p.m.
First Friday: Friday, March 5th 5 p.m.-12 a.m.
Grand Opening: Saturday March 6th 8 p.m. - 12 a.m.
Tickets: No ticket is necessary - the event is free and open to the public

The Many Friends of Jerry Saltz

Jerry Saltz and Roberta Smith, two of the most powerful art critics in New York, spent Valentine’s Day together seeing a few art shows—nothing out of the ordinary for the couple, married 18 years, who visit dozens of museums and galleries every week in service of their respective columns—hers in The New York Times, his in New York magazine. Among their stops on Sunday afternoon was the Guggenheim, where they spent three hours wandering about before going to the museum’s new cafe. Mr. Saltz got some cinnamon-ginger cookies and sat down across from his wife.

Then he made a confession. In a moment of passion and uncontrollable excitement, he said nervously, he had posted a link to her latest article for the Sunday Times on his Facebook wall.

Cool article in the NYT by Leon Neyfakh describing the Facebook following that art critic Jerry Salz has built via Facebook.

Mr. Saltz, whose Facebook picture shows him standing next to Bill Clinton, has a lot of “friends”—4,970, to be exact—and he’d have even more if Facebook didn’t impose a limit on how many one user can have. The 58-year-old has been accumulating them steadily since November 2008, when a former student of his registered an account on his behalf, even though Mr. Saltz, a self-described technophobe, didn’t really know or care what it was.

In the year or so since, Mr. Saltz’s Facebook page has become a phenomenon, having undergone an unlikely, organic transformation that turned it from an inconsequential personal profile into a highly trafficked, widely read discussion board about the art world. Populated by dedicated and predominantly serious-minded artists, curators, gallerists and assorted art-world denizens—many of whom check the page compulsively and post their thoughts multiple times a day—the page has become home to a vibrant community and an essential extension of Mr. Saltz’s practice as an art critic.

Read the article here.

At NYC: Artist Talk this Thursday

I've been hearing good things about the Adrienne Moumin photography exhibit that opened this past Sunday in NYC. Read an excellent profile on Moumin by Amber Parcher in the Gazette here and check out some photos here.

The DC area's artist's talk will be held this Thursday, 2/18, from 6:30-8:30 pm, all details are here.

Corcoran Photography Thesis Exhibitions

All of you know that I am a big supporter of student artwork and that good photography collectors also know that a good eye is developed (pun intended) by discovering good photography at shows like these:

Reception: Thursday February 18th 6-8 pm
Feb.17-21, 2010
Fine Art Photography Thesis Exhibition I:

Carrie Greenwood
Charey Jackson
Kelly Teeling
Justine Tobiasz

Reception: Thursday February 25th 6-8 pm
Feb. 24-28, 2010
Fine Art Photography Thesis Exhibition II:

Vivienne Foster
Julie Granger
Renée Regan
Howard Solomon

All of the above at:
Gallery 31
Corcoran Gallery of Art / Corcoran College of Art + Design
500 17th St. NW
Entrance at NY Avenue
Receptions in the North Atrium

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: May 1, 2010

This is an international open call for artwork to be exhibited in the upcoming summer group show in the Adam Lister Gallery. This exhibition will run from June 4 through July 18, 2010. This open call will be juried by the gallery board of directors and gallery staff. All artists that are selected will be featured in a six week show in the gallery.

The Adam Lister Gallery is located in the center of Fairfax City, and offers a high level of visibility for artists to display their work. We've been recognized as the premier contemporary art gallery in the Northern Virginia area. Working closely with collectors and curators, our goal is to provide an art exhibition space for both established and emerging artists. For this open call we are looking for art done in any medium. Drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, photography, installation, and anything else you work with is acceptable. There are no restrictions regarding subject matter or size (though it must be able to fit through our door 70"x82"). Artists of any age and background are encouraged to submit their work. We're looking for unique and interesting approaches to the idea of art making.

Visit their website here.