Google fun

This is what you get when you search Google Images for "Washington DC artists."

Cough, cough...

Art Miami acquires its own New York art fair

"The ownership group of Art Miami today confirmed that it has acquired the Downtown Fair for an undisclosed price. The previous fair organizer will not have any involvement or interest in the new fair."

That last bit about the previous fair organizer, etc. was a key signal to let art-fair-going galleries know that this fair will start getting serious and heading in the right direction starting right now.

The inaugural Downtown Fair will take place May 8-11th during Frieze Week in New York.  The Fair will be held at the historic 69th Regiment Armory, a 30,000 square foot venue at Lexington Avenue and 25th Street, in the heart of the Flatiron District. Approximately 50 international high caliber contemporary art dealers from around the world will exhibit. The Fair will open with an invitation only VIP Private Preview on May 8th to benefit a charity to be announced in the coming weeks.

Art Miami Partner and Director Nick Korniloff will direct the first edition along with a seasoned Marketing, Exhibitor Services and Operation staff that will manage The Downtown Fair.

"The Art Miami ownership team recognized the overwhelming requests from its collectors and exhibitors for us to produce another quality show in New York during Frieze Week and the Spring Auction previews," said Nick Korniloff, Fair Director and Partner of The Downtown Fair. "We are an extremely experienced and connected organization that knows what it takes to launch and manage an art fair."

Having just done Context Art Miami and now getting ready to do Art Wynwood (both run by Nick and his crew), I can testify that these guys know what they are doing when it comes to pulling all the stops to make an art fair click and move forward.
 
Since acquiring Art Miami in 2009, the Art Miami ownership group has "launched four new fairs, acquired one and always had a vision for New York." This crew also produces Art Miami, CONTEXT, Aqua, Art Wynwood, Art Southampton and Art Silicon Valley / San Francisco Fairs.

"We will deliver a well-vetted show that features a quality roster of artists that are represented by important international galleries. The advisory committee of dealers will insure that galleries are making every effort to show quality works that are fresh to the market," said Korniloff.

STITCH at GRACE

I've been hearing great things about this show...

Bethesda Magazine and Bethesda Art

As I noted a few days ago, I thumbed through the Jan/Feb issue of the annual Best of Bethesda issue from  Bethesda magazine.

As usual, this in an ad-filled, beautiful, glossy, magazine! It featured the editors' and readers' picks in 86 categories... and it really painted and offered a deep insight into the social, culinary, educational, etc. take of Bethesda, Maryland, with an under laying current that as usual seeks to offer a view of the town's cultural tapestry.

There are a couple of huge holes in that tapestry, and since the holes keep coming back year after year, I've written an open letter to Bethesda magazine and I'm also publishing it here and also intend to mail it to them. I wrote a very similar letter almost a decade ago on this exact subject, and since that letter was ignored, I suspect the same fate awaits this one:

Steve Hull
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
Bethesda Magazine
7768 Woodmont Avenue #204
Bethesda, MD 20814

Dear Mr. Hull,

I've just finished reading the 2014 Best of Bethesda issue, and once again, I am immensely disappointed to see zero coverage or attention for the once thriving Bethesda visual art scene.

Unless one considers "Children's Photographer" or "Food Art Contest at Walter Johnson High School" to be what your editors see as the best of the Bethesda visual art scene, this huge cultural hole in your otherwise gorgeous magazine is unfortunately a trend that I've noticed with the magazine's apathy towards its art galleries, art spaces, art festivals and visual artists.

Not that your readers do much better; in fact, they ignore (or are not aware) of the city's rich visual art scene. But it is a vicious loop: if the magazine ignores the visual art scene, then it is natural for the readers to be mostly unaware of it.

Unfortunately, this is a trend with Bethesda Magazine. In 2013 the closest that your Best of Bethesda issue came to the visual arts was "Best Plating as Art" under the "Food & Restaurants" category.

That's a real stretch on my part, but, hey! food as visual art seems to be a topic of interest to your editors... if only one of them took a peek at "art as art..."

In 2012, not even food made it as visual art.

It was zip for visual art again in 2011.

And also in 2010.

Here's a small slice of what your editors, and because of their apathy towards the visual arts, what your readers are missing:

- The Bethesda Fine Arts Festival is one of the highest ranked outdoor arts festivals in the nation and it is the highest ranked outdoor fine art show in all of Maryland. There are other significant outdoor art festivals in Bethesda Row and in Rockville.

- The Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards (also known as The Trawick Prize in honor of Ms. Carol Trawick, a Bethesda supporter of the arts who sponsors the prize) is a visual art prize produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District that honors artists from Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. The annual juried competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to selected artists and features the work of the finalists in a group exhibition. It has been going on for over a decade and it produces an exhibition that is usually one of the highlights of the Greater DC area visual art calendar.


- The Bethesda Painting Awards is downtown Bethesda's annual juried art competition that exclusively honors painters from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. $14,000 in prize monies are awarded to the top four painters annually. It also produces an exhibition that is again one of the highlights of the Greater DC area visual art calendar.

I wish that I could still also tell you about the thriving Bethesda art gallery scene, but in the last few years most Bethesda art galleries have closed their doors due to lack of sales or local interest. Closed are the physical spaces for Fraser Gallery, once the DC area's largest commercial art gallery. Gone are Orchard Gallery, Neptune Gallery, Discovery Gallery, Orchard Gallery, Heineman-Myers Contemporary and several other galleries. Nonetheless, Waverly Gallery, Strathmore, VisArts and others continue to offer monthly visual art shows that are routinely ignored.

What can Bethesda Magazine do to help to kindle awareness (and thus develop support) for the Bethesda visual art scene and Bethesda artists?

- Two or three visual art stories and/or reviews a year

- Two or three small highlights a year on Bethesda artists (like you do routinely for authors, and doctors, and chefs, etc.).

- In each issue, highlight one piece of art that is being displayed somewhere in Bethesda.

- And for the love of art, include something dealing with the visual arts in your Best of Bethesda issues!

Truly,

F. Lennox Campello

24 + 24

The Waverly Street Gallery members have invited 24 friends to join them in this fifth annual exhibition which is certain to brighten any wintry day for our visitors. As part of the gallery's celebration of its 20th anniversary, there will be an abundance of paintings, sculpture, prints, ceramics, fiber art, blown glass, mixed media, photographs and jewelry by new artists as well as new work by our members.

This is a show we delight in presenting because it always fills the gallery with new energy and new ideas in art. Please come and see what surprises are waiting for you this year. 

The guest artists included are: B.J. Adams, Carol Barsha, Cinda Berry, Cindy Brandt, Greg Braun, Jane Callen, Frances Card, Elissa Farrow-Savos, Judy Goodman, Glen Kessler, Paul Klasset, François Lampietti, Julia Leonard, Carol Marburger, Greta Matus, Ruth Meixner-Bird, Komelia Okim, Jaclin Pliskin, Pam Rogers, Andy Seferlis, Alan Simmons, Sherry Terao and Angela White.

 24 + 24 

Work by 48 Artists, 

24 Members and 24 Guests

February 11 - March 8, 2014 

Gallery Hours:  

Tuesday - Saturday,12 - 6PM 

Reception:  

Friday, February 14, 6-9PM

Waverly Street Gallery | 4600 East-West Highway | Bethesda | MD | 20814

Super Bowl bound

Makes me wonder once again: is there another professional (or any other athletic team for that matter) that actually has a "real" piece of art as a logo, such as the Seattle Seahawks have in the above Pacific Northwest art piece?

Holy rainy city Batman! The Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl!!!!

Heiner closes in DC and re-opens virtually in CT

After three terrific years in Georgetown, Heiner Contemporary has moved to Farmington, CT. While there will not be another bricks and mortar space for some time, the gallery will maintain an active online presence and continue to offer comprehensive art advisory services. 

In Connecticut, Heiner Contemporary will showcase work through pop-up exhibitions, participation in art fairs, and via Artsy.net.