Wanna go to an opening in Laurel this weekend?


The 41st Annual Laurel Art Guild Open Juried Exhibition at the Montpelier Arts Center was juried by my good friend Michael Janis. The reception and his talk about the artwork is on Sunday, March 7th, from 2 - 4 pm. He will also announce the various awards then.

Michael says that "the artwork (up to two submissions from each of the 160 artists that submitted work) was in all styles and media, and there were many hard decisions on what would be selected. The resulting show is a strong survey of the area's painters, sculptors, photographers and mixed media artists. Many of the artists selected are familiar names - some are faculty at some of the area universities and colleges of art."

In da book!

I've just been notified by the editor of the new soon-to-be-published coffee table art book "100 Mid Atlantic Artists," to be published by Schiffer Books, that I have been selected to be included in the book.

When it rains it pours :-)

DCist Exposed is this weekend!


This year's opening reception for this top photography show will be bigger and better than ever, and will be held on Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 6 to 10 p.m. At the bar, mixologist Scott Palmer from Dino will have a special punch, Leopold Brothers will host a liquor tasting, Downey Selections has some wine for attendees, and Pabst Blue Ribbon will hold down the fort with plenty of beer. Nage will provide hor'dourves, while DJs v:shal kanwar and Sequoia spin tunes. Reception is $5 per guest at the door.

Long View Gallery is located at 1234 9th St. NW, just a few blocks from the Mt. Vernon/Convention Center Metro.

Amateur Stripper Contest at MOCA DC

Kitty Victorian, the "quintessence of Burlesque," will perform at the opening of the annual MOCA DC Erotic Art Show in Georgetown on March 5, 2010. Miss Kitty will emcee an amateur stripper contest and will open the show with a performance of her own featuring "extravagant costumes draped in rhinestones and feathers and wrapped in sultry boas."

The annual erotic art show at MOCA DC has become one of DC’s top crowd pleasing shows with over 300 in attendance at last year’s reception. Erotic art from artists throughout the region will be on display throughout the month.

MOCA DC’s executive director, Dave Quammen said, “All ladies from throughout the Washington, DC region are welcome to fashion their best erotic costume and come on down to shake their stuff for our crowd. By crowd response, we’ll be selecting the top three performances of the evening with three cash awards of $100 for first place, $75 for second place and $25 for third place. But regardless, win or lose, everyone will be a winner! It will be an evening with the best entertainment in town. After the amateur stripper show, the ladies are welcome to serve as human-canvases for our body painters.”

The Washington Post has called Kitty Victorian a “burlesque dancer extraordinaire bringing the saucy, seductive world of burlesque dancing to D.C., one bump and grind at a time.” Now headquartered in Chicago, Miss Kitty returns to Washington, D.C. regularly. Speaking about her upcoming performance at MOCA DC, Miss Kitty said, “Darling, I am just so excited to be coming back to Washington, D.C. and I can’t think of a place I’d rather perform than at the beginning of MOCA DC’s annual erotic art show! I’m also excited about serving as emcee for the amateur stripper contest. I might even allow myself to be body-painted after the show!”

Kitty Victorian founded Washington, DC’s Burlesque University and serves as the Headmistress teaching erotic arts to everyone. At the “university’s” website (www.burlesqueuniversity.com), Miss Kitty makes an offer most ladies can’t refuse. “What I’m saying folks is that if you want to learn the art of the tease, I’d love to teach it to you.”

On March 6, Miss Kitty will be available for a two-hour photo session with area photographers from 10 a.m. until noon. She commented, “Darling, I want to do my best for your photographers, but I really must hustle on over to my university class where I’m teaching the art of burlesque that afternoon.” Dave Quammen said, “The two-hour photo session the morning of March 6 at the MOCA DC gallery will be offered at a cost of $50 per photographer. Just contact me to sign up.”

Doors will open for the March 5 event at 6 p.m. Attendees are invited to see the special erotic art on display throughout the gallery. Then, at 7:30 p.m. when the familiar sounds of “The Stripper” begin to play, the show will open. Following the show at 8:30 p.m., the gallery will be open for body painting, art viewing, and networking with your favorite artist (or stripper). MOCA DC is located at 1054 31st St. N.W. at Canal Square in Georgetown, Washington, DC. For additional information, call (202) 342-6230 or send email inquiries to mocadc01@comcast.net.

Faculty Show at the Art League

I dropped by the Torpedo Factory last weekend to check a couple of shows going on in two of the galleries inside the building. As it happened, the Art League Gallery had an exhibition showcasing their faculty's work and I also dropped by to see it.

One of the interesting "secrets" of the DMV region is how many graduates from some of our area's best known art schools also take classes at the Art League. I once asked a couple of them as to why and the answer was simple: to learn the technical part of the craft of being an artist.

"After four years at ______________ I came away with a good BFA which will help me get into a good MFA program," related Daniel (not his real name). "But I still need to learn how to mix oil paints to make the colors that I really want; that's why I am taking painting classes here," he confessed.

Some standouts include the work of Rosemary Feit Covey, in my opinion the best printmaker in the DC region. In the below example from one of her classes, we see the etching process being delivered by Rosemary. First we see the etching "Astrocytes" and then the etching "David" and then the combined piece "David with Astrocytes."






That covers printmaking.

The Art League also boasts some really good painting instructors, and the one that I hear most students praise, and whose work I've been admiring over the years is Danni Dawson. Danni Dawson received her BA and MFA degrees from George Washington University and has been a professional artist and teacher for over 25 years. That's her gorgeous nude below.

Dupes

It is a common practice for artists to return to an image of subject over and over. People like Morandi obsessed over a specific subject and you can't go into a museum in Europe without a version of El Greco's "Christ driving the Traders from the Temple."

Two years ago I did the below drawing.

"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
This tiny drawing sold in nearly record time, as a couple of hours after the posting I had an email from a collector asking to buy it, which he did.

And now I've returned to the image and the concept with two new versions of the piece, below is version two and version three:


"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 (Version II)"
Charcoal on Paper, 3 inches by 1 inch, c. 2009 by F. Lennox Campello


"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 (Version III)"
Charcoal on Paper, 1.5 inches by 2 inches, c. 2009 by F. Lennox Campello

Maryland Symposium

Online Registration is now open for the upcoming symposium co-sponsored by the David C. Driskell Center and the University of Maryland University College

Autobiography/Performance/Identity: A Symposium on African American and African Diasporan Women in the Visual Arts - March 5 and 6, 20010

Featuring a keynote address by Lorraine O'Grady, and a performance by my good friend and Boston-based Cuban-American artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and more.

See the program online here and register for the symposium online here.

For more information contact
David C. Driskell Center
1214 Cole Student Activities Building
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
TEL 301-314-2615
FAX 301-314-0679