2012 Plein Air-Easton names winner

Hiu Lai Chong of Gaithersburg, MD is the grand prize winner of 2012 Plein Air-Easton, the Avalon Foundation announced on July 22. Chong’s nocturnal painting of the Hooper Strait Lighthouse (pictured) also won the Artists’ Choice Award.

Plein Air-Easton is a top plein air festival nationally, and among Easton’s largest annual events. Ninety-six paintings totaling $121,780 were sold at this year’s Collector’s Preview Party at the Academy Art Museum.

A few years ago I had the honor of being the keynote speaker at the Museum's artists gala and I was pleasantly astounded at both the quality of the work and the sales frenzy that takes place!

Wanna buy a cheap Frida Kahlo?

Then this Peruvian art dealer has the line on all the undiscovered Frida Kahlo originals on the planet... and some other masters... I'm just saying... cough, cough...

See this one here

And then this one...

They have some more undiscovered masters (including more Kahlos) here...

Cough... cough...

You gotta see this...

Trust me... this is very cool...

Maryland artist featured at Smithsonian

Sebastian Martorana, a sculptor and illustrator living and working in Baltimore, is featured in 40 under 40: Craft Futures, an exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery that investigates evolving notions of craft within traditional media such as ceramics and metalwork, as well as in fields as varied as installation art, fashion design and mathematics.

A 2012 Individual Artist Award recipient and alumnus of the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Rinehart School of Sculpture, Martorana’s current studio is part of the stone shop at Hilgartner Natural Stone Company in Baltimore. 

“Impressions” (pictured)—a marble piece depicting a pillow showing the indentation left by a sleeping head—is made from reclaimed Baltimore marble. The piece was acquired by the Smithsonian and can be viewed on the first floor of the Renwick Gallery as part of the 40 Under 40: Craft Features exhibit through February 3, 2013.

Arkin at Long View

Long View Gallery presents “Pattern Transformation”, by Sondra N. Arkin

 

August 23 – September 23, 2012
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 23, 6:30 – 8:00pm

Washington DC – Long View Gallery is pleased to announce Pattern Transformation, an exhibition by local artist Sondra N. Arkin on Thursday, August 23, 2012, with a public reception from 6:30-8:00pm. The exhibit will remain on view through September 23, 2012.

Sondra N. Arkin has spent years perfecting her encaustic techniques through countless art experiments. Her process-driven work requires bursts of concentration, hours of labor, and an unmatched focus on repetitive tasks. The failures and successes of her experiments provide invaluable data that have influenced the direction her work has taken in Pattern Transformation.

In Pattern Transformation, Arkin builds upon her mastery of wax to include the results of her experiments with both shellac and walnut ink. The transparency of the wax and shellac combined with the opaque walnut ink allows Arkin to build up layers of interest through mark making. Her mark making techniques with the walnut ink are traditional, but she has found inspiration in a less conventional mark making tool – fire. Torching away portions of the shellac, or drawing with fire, help to build depth through every layer.

The central works of Pattern Transformation (Permutations Toward Infinity 1-50) offer a Mandelbrot fractal-like beauty. Each group of nine images presents a virtually infinite potential of visual patterns. Each grid, not just interchangeable but rotatable to all four orientations, can be rearranged into a vast number of aesthetically viable patterns—with the absolute permutations from any single grid being over 95 billion.

Arkin has not strayed from the shapes and patterns of which we have become accustomed, lines and circles still make up the bulk of her markings. The patterns feel familiar yet the work is transformed. Her experiments with shellac and walnut ink, and her ability to recreate their successes, have taken her encaustic paintings to new heights. Arkin’s new mark making techniques, the often-innumerable layers of abstract patterns and the growth of her color palette each contribute to the work’s transformation. Pattern Transformation establishes a new period in the encaustic work of Sondra N. Arkin.

Pattern Transformation is the first solo show for Sondra N. Arkin since Long View Gallery’s re-opening in October of 2009. Her work is included in public and private collections including Bloomingdales, Washington, DC, the Copenhagen Residence through the Art in Embassies Program, Copenhagen, Denmark and the Donatelli Corporation, Bethesda, MD. Arkin received her MA from Florida Atlantic in 1984 and currently lives and works in Washington, DC.

Almost immortal pita bread

New public art for Connecticut Ave

The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) and the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) have selected a permanent light art concept to be installed along Connecticut Avenue between K Street and Dupont Circle.  The display, designed by local artist Alexander Cooper, incorporates programmable, low energy LED lights which will enliven the iconic boulevard with bright colors, patterns and movement throughout the year.

The art will be showcased on a four block raised median, scheduled to be completed this fall, from K Street to Dupont Circle. The art will light the lush landscaping and seasonal plantings of the medians to create a dynamic nighttime element along this highly travelled downtown corridor.

The light art project is part of a major streetscape enhancement project on Connecticut Avenue, which includes a beautifully landscaped median, sidewalk improvements featuring 20 foot tree gardens and other sidewalk amenities. The first section of the median, from K to L Streets, was completed in the fall of 2011 and transformed 3,000 square feet of asphalt into green space with thousands of flowers, plants and trees rotated seasonally. Construction for the remaining portion of the median will begin this fall.

Artist Alexander Cooper is a lighting and scenic designer with more than 10 years of experience in the Washington D.C. area. He has created the lighting design for more than 60 exhibitions and permanent collection installations. He recently installed the lighting for “Farragut Spheres,” an art project funded by DCCAH and the BID, which was donated to WMATA.

“We are proud to partner once again with the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and look forward to working with Mr. Cooper on this spectacular project,” said Leona Agouridis, Executive Director of the Golden Triangle BID. “The light art display will create an abstract and stunning architectural landscape along Connecticut Avenue and will enhance the Golden Triangle neighborhood for the many workers, residents and visitors.”

“It has been a pleasure working with the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District, and we look forward to the installation of this dynamic artwork,” said Lionell Thomas, Executive Director of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. “Mr. Cooper’s light display is an excellent example of how public art and urban planning can come together to create a beautiful environment for our residents.”

“Designing and creating the art display for Connecticut Avenue is a tremendous opportunity to add dynamic lighting element to the heart of the city,” said Alexander Cooper. “I am very excited and honored to be a part of this project.”