Ali or Not?

The Muhammad Ali Center is suing a Michigan art donor, seeking to force the gallery to take back a gift of more than 180 pieces or allow the center to display it without any conditions set in the donation agreement.

At issue is the authenticity of Ali autographs on six pieces donated in 2009. The center says the signatures are not Ali's and are not in an online database that authenticates signed artwork.

Details here.

Susan Makara at Target

Stocking The Fridge

The notable Washington, DC art couple Dana Ellyn and Matt Sesow are keeping it local with their latest exhibition Stocking The Fridge. Known internationally for their whimsical, politically charged, and allegorically satirical paintings, Dana and Matt will "stock" the gallery with nearly 100 fresh, locally grown paintings.

Octobomb by Dana Ellyn

Stocking the Fridge will feature a selection of the best works from the couple's past 31 Days in July projects and include a painting from the first week of the 2012 edition. Matt and Dana's annual 31 Days in July began in 2003. The artists create 31 unique paintings inspired by the morning news from July. Each painting is a reflection of current events, mostly political, and showcases each artist's unique approach to painting.

Stocking The Fridge 

The Fridge

July 7 – July 29, 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 7, 7-11pm

Man swipes Dali painting from art gallery

A thief who swiped a Salvador Dali painting off the wall of a New York art gallery may have escaped, but experts say the painting will likely be recovered when it comes back onto the art market.

Police are searching for a slim man with a receding hairline who walked into a Madison Avenue art gallery on Tuesday posing as a customer and walked out with the $150,000 Dali watercolor and ink painting in a large black shopping bag.

Read more here

Gene Davis: Craigslist Art Find of the Week

$1500 via Craigslist! Check it out here - Gene Davis auction prices here.

Michael O'Sullivan's Artomatic Picks

Michael O'Sullivan is the Washington Post's art critic and certainly the one art critic who has been there the longest, thus giving him an experienced and deep eye and knowledge about the DMV art scene. Below are his AOM picks in alphabetical order followed by the floor where the artist is exhibiting:

M. Helene Baribeau (mixed media knit sculpture) 04

Stephanie Booth (photography/needlework) 09

Brash (poetry) everywhere

Peter Byer (illustration) 08

Justin Cameron (installation) 08

Valeria Caflisch (painting and mixed media sculpture) 07

David D’Orio (glass and mixed media sculpture) 08

Cavan Fleming (painting) 04

Eric Gordon/DC Creepers (drawing) 11

Kelly Guerrero (sculpture) 08

James Halloran (painting) 08

Dale Hunt (painting) 09

Rose Jaffe (drawing) 02

Glen Kessler (painting/pastel) 01

Paul Mericle (painting) 07

Greg Minah (painting) 03

Cory Oberndorfer (painting) 11

Thomas Petzwinkler (photography/video) 10

Lynn Putney (painting) 08

Henrik Sundqvist (printmaking) 08

Christian Tribastone (drawings/works on paper) 09

Edmond van der Bijl (sculpture) 02

Steve Wanna (mixed media/installation)09

Stephanie J. Williams (painting) 08

Joanna Knox Yoder (photography) 11

Unleashed at Strathmore

There is a very cool exhibition at the Mansion at Strathmore (which unfortunately ends June 23) focusing on the unlikely theme of dogs in art. It's titled Strathmore Unleashed, and of course it includes work by the ubercanine artist William Wegman, but it is Kathryn Freedman and Anna Dibble who steal the show with their intelligent, entertaining approach to the subject.

Admirer by Kathryn Freedman

Kathryn Freedman's Admirer approaches the subject by presenting us with a sexy, superbly composed painting in which the thematic subject (the dog) shares the focus of the piece with the beauty of the female body. It is also a little funny in that the canine is standing by, ready to be called and approach its human, while the feline on the right, is (of course) ignoring everyone.

Their Wolf Ancestors by Anna Dibble

Anna Dibble's immensely funny and immensely smart paintings blend two of my favorite things in art: visual art and text. The above one tells us that:

“Felix, who’d limped into the bar to try and dull the trauma of alteration surgery, realized he’d made a mistake. Buster, an office acquaintance, pontificated about how their wolf ancestors royally screwed up by allowing themselves to be domesticated. This idea irritated Felix. He was rather attached to regular kibble and the blue couch at the Chapmans’. He decided against a 2^nd glass of Pinot.”

Go see this show before it ends!