Saturday: Gilliam at the Katzen

On Saturday, April 2, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, is the opening reception for "Close to Trees", a site specific installation by Sam Gilliam on the entire third floor of the American University Museum at the Katzen Center.

"Sam Gilliam first took his paintings off their stretchers in 1965, using the liberated canvases to transform gallery walls into three-dimensional abstractions. He has continued to experiment with the practice of painting and the line between painting and sculpture. For this exhibition, Gilliam will transform the 8,000 square foot space of the third floor of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center into an exciting and colorful work of art."

April 2 to August 14, 2011.

Gilliam also broke my heart when he declined to be included in my 100 Washington, DC Artists book (in spite of a joint press front that included several artists who tried to convince Sam to join in the project). Anyway, do not miss this opening and exhibition of work by the DMV's leading artist and a true innovator.

Product Placement

Quite possibly the king of all instant coffees and the quickest at-home way to feed your expresso monkey.

French at Mateyka

Christopher French, who used to be a DMV artist and a former Executive Director of the Washington Project for the Arts, currently has "Inventions and Recollections", an exhibition of recent paintings on Braille paper at the Marsha Mateyka Gallery in DC.

Join them for the artist's reception on Saturday, April 2, 3:00 - 5:00 pm.

Madness Selection

Last night I dropped by March Madness at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria, where I had been asked to come by and select my favorite piece from the 200 entries submitted by artists for this fundraiser.

These pieces were all done on a 10 square inch panel, and once again the DMV artists rose to the challenge with an unexpected and diverse set of work. Each piece is then sold for $100.

I really liked Novie Trump's entry (which sold immediately - someone got a hell of a good deal), as well as Danny Conant's mixed media titled "Letter from Paris."

Other favorites were Alicia Roman's mixed media titled "Confess," Randolph Santa Ana's photoshop transfer "Death & Taxes I" and Christi Andrews' most excellent acrylic painting titled "Lo! Pressure."

More favorites: Allison Nance's cyanotype titled "Its all that I'm made of...", Kathleen Kendall's "Long Ago", Berrie Ripin's gorgeous terracota titled "Becoming", Lana Stephens' brilliant graphite and conte drawing "Teapot" (which also sold right away), Roy Utley's smart and minimalist "Airport Erotica", Christine Cardellino's acrylic titled "Princess", and Kevin Mellema's three umbrella studies, each one more minimalist that the previous ones.

My selection as "my favorite in the show"?

Mike Rayburn's highly accomplished, laborious and vastly ultra modern "Health Club", which is described as mixed media, but certainly fits that category of Walmartism. It is made of small tiles, curved needle nose plies (8-9 of them) and ball bearings.

Hard to describe... I wish I had an image, but quite an interesting and nearly machine-perfect piece; a perfect wedding between imagery and technology.

Reviews

Jacobson reviews Mateyka and Fraser.
Capps reviews Conner.
Rousseau reviews Fraser

Congrats!

Congratulations to Andrew Wodzianski, who has been shortlisted for the 26th Annual Mayor's Arts Awards!

FotoDC



FLASH is a month-long event created by FotoDC and sponsored by the Crystal City BID. Between March 17th and April 17th, 2011, the penthouse (12th & 13th Floors) of 2450 Crystal Drive in Arlington, VA will be filled with exciting photography shows and events. FLASH will encompass two curated photography exhibitions, a library of photography books, and a lounge for refreshments and discussion.

March 17-April 17, 2011
Mondays and Tuesdays: closed (available for private events)
Wednesdays and Thursdays: 5 PM – 10 PM
Fridays: 5PM - 11 PM; Saturdays: Noon – 11 PM; Sundays: Noon – 7 PM