Contemporary Art Projects to Debut

Remember that I told you that the former Numark space was about to be re-used as a gallery space?

Amy Morton of Morton Fine Art introduces a pop-up project, a series of innovative, curated art exhibitions and events that “pop-up” at various locations throughout Washington, DC.

The concept for a pop-up project evolved from Morton’s desire to introduce strong and relevant contemporary artists to the Washington, DC area in a fresh and exciting format. The project emphasizes the development and exposure of high-quality contemporary artworks in innovative settings and locations. a pop-up project aims to develop and promote local DC talent alongside national talent.

a pop-up project will host pop-up group exhibitions, lectures and events at venues throughout the DC area. For its inaugural exhibition a pop-up project will open I Dream Awake from March 18 to May 28, 2010 in the former Numark Gallery space located in Penn Quarter at 625-627 E St NW.

I Dream Awake is a curated selection of works that presents original artist expressions which explore the link between awakened realities and unconscious dreams. The exhibition includes artwork in various media by New York artists, Mikel Glass, Kenichi Hoshine and Margaret Bowland; Los Angeles artists Vonn Sumner and Susan Burnstine; and local artists Rosemary Feit Covey, Laurel Hausler, Lizzie Newton and Tim Tate.

The formal opening reception with the artists in attendance will be held on Friday, March 26th from 6 - 9pm.

Congrats!

To the 32 finalists for the Mayor's Arts Awards! Congrats especially to the WPA, Margery Goldberg, Transformer and Andrew Wodzianski on their respective noms!

Finalists for the 25th Annual Mayor’s Arts Awards

EXCELLENCE IN AN ARTISTIC DISCIPLINE

· Cathedral Choral Society

· Ira Blount

· Lawrence Bradford

· Pan American Symphony Orchestra

· Peter Waddell

· Step Afrika!

· The Suzanne Farrell Ballet

· Theater Alliance of Washington, DC

· Transformer

EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE TO THE ARTS

· Dance/Metro DC

· Kim Roberts

· Margery E. Goldberg

· Washington Project for the Arts

INNOVATION IN THE ARTS

· Daniel Phoenix Singh

· FOTOWEEK DC

· GALA Hispanic Theatre

· Miriam’s Kitchen

· Taffety Punk Theatre Company

· The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts

· VelocityDC Dance Festival

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO ARTS EDUCATION

· CityDance Ensemble, Inc.

· Duke Ellington School of the Arts

· The Shakespeare Theatre Company

· The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts/Education Department

· The Washington Ballet

· Washington Performing Arts Society

OUTSTANDING EMERGING ARTIST

· Andrew Wodzianski

· Brian W. Grundstrom

· Sarah Elizabeth Koss

· Helanius J. Wilkins

· Luciana Stecconi

· Michelle Herman

Finalists for the Mayor’s Award for Arts Teaching

PERFORMING ARTS

· Gregory E. Lewis

· Premila Mistry

· Thomas Kingston Pierre, Jr.

· Rebecca Stump

· Benjamin Whelan-Morin

LANGUAGE ARTS

· Kathy Echave

· Mark A. Williams

VISUAL ARTS

· Stephanie Basralian

· Daniel A. Foley

· Eric Michael Ginsburg

· Bill Harris

· Charles Jean-Pierre

· Vinson Irby

· Andrea Perll

· Lindy Russell-Heymann

Cudlin on the Armory Show

My good bud Jeffry Cudlin has his take on last weekend's Armory show in NYC. Read it here.

What is it with visual art critics who are always yearning for the "new"? - that dangling carrot of the art world... I mean the "visual art world" - that doesn't seem to apply to any of the other genres and forms of art as universally speaking as to what critics want from visual artists.

I refer them all to the lyrics of The Beatles' All You Need is Love.

Got to go and find my Janson's for some ideas for some new drawings...

Wanna go to a Georgetown Opening this week

"Kinetics" is the latest solo show by the DC area's superbly talented artist Amy Lin.

The opening reception is on Saturday, March 13, 5-7pm at Addison/Ripley Fine Art, 1670 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20007. The exhibition dates: March 13-April 24, 2010.

Buy Amy Lin now.

Cream at the Katzen

Last night's Cream auction on at the Katzen Museum appeared to be a resounding success and the place was once again packed by the DMV's top notch art collectors and assorted A-listers of the art scene.

My piece in the auction did quite well, with many bids and finally going for three bids over the high estimate (I think). Check out the artwork here and check out some images below.

Pink Line Project's Philippa P.B. Hughes and Little June's Mom

Mera Rubell (in the Warhol wig) and artist m. gert barkovic

That's me and Mera Rubell

Artists Victoria F. Gaitán and Judy Byron

Artist Andrew Wodzianski, Curator's Office Andrea Pollan and artist Jeff Spaulding

Artists' Interview: Amy Lin

For a couple of years now I've been advising readers who are art collectors to buy Amy Lin. Coming from a dude who gets paid to advise three major art collectors on what to buy, that should count for something. Lin is a very talented and exceptional young artist; but there are loads of those around. So what makes this young DC area artist so special? She has received tremendous critical accolades from the press in nearly all her shows and her past exhibitions have almost all sold out. In that spirit we asked her a few of our standard questions:

DC: Who or what has been your biggest influence as an artist?

The drawings for my upcoming show "Kinetics" [at Addison/Ripley in Georgetown] have connections to scientific concepts including energy, motion, and genetics. But on another level they have a human quality and can be seen as people or societies.

DC: What are some of the challenges or mistakes that you have experienced as an artist and what did you learn from it?

One of the challenges I’ve had was that I didn’t go to art school so I didn’t have any formal training or know very many people in the art world to ask for advice. I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible along the way and am very thankful to everyone who has curated me into a show, written about my work, or come to see a show!

DC: What key event, or person, if any, has attributed the most to your success or progress as an artist so far?

My first solo show was a big milestone. I had been in several group shows before, but this was the first time I had created a cohesive body of work and concept for the drawings.

DC: What advice would you give to emerging artists?

I would tell other emerging artists to believe in their art and stay true to it regardless of whether other people like it or not. It’s normal to get lots of rejections.

DC: Who is your favorite DC area artist?

Mary Coble is one of my favorites. When I first moved to the DC area she was one of the first artists I learned about...Her work is smart and interesting.

DC: Anything coming up in the near future for you?

My next solo show “Kinetics” opens on Saturday March 13, 5-7pm at Addison/Ripley Fine Art. And I’m in a group show “On/Off the Grid” that is at Irvine Contemporary through March 20.

Amy Lin Synthesis

You can visit Amy's website here or become one of her fans on Facebook here.

Wanna go to an opening in Alexandria tomorrow?

During her tenure as a figure model for The Art League School, Fierce Sonia quietly acquired a top-notch visual arts education. Motivated by the artwork she saw, she became eager to create her own work. She cabled her camera to her TV and released the shutter with an infrared remote. Sonia used herself as her own model, learning more about composition and technique based on what she saw on the screen.

Her figurative photography has evolved to a new and exciting place. The focus is on process. In Sonia’s latest series “Paper Dolls,” the same images reoccur with confident changes to the surface. Her work is no longer straight photography. With the integration of painting and collage into her images, Sonia’s work has reached a new level.

The black and white images of herself are often printed on paper that has been painted white, which creates a rich texture. Each piece is created in a unique way. Previous prints may be collaged to create depth. Multiple runs of the same print may be made on the same piece. More painting, layering might be necessary to create the desired effect. These alterations to the surface blur the identity of the original image, and make the series of work about the medium and the process, and not about the subject matter.

Sonia’s work has been exhibited and won accolades nationally. She is a professional art model and muse for artists and photographers and has worked with nationally and internationally known artists.

“Paper Dolls” will be at The Art League Gallery in Old Town Alexandria from April 8 – May 3, 2010.

The Opening Reception and Meet the Artist function is Thursday, April 8, 6:30-8:00 pm. Joe Chiocca, Old Town’s favorite band, will play during the Opening Reception and reunite with special guest singer Kim Kenny. Free and open to the public.