Airborne

Heading to Sedona, Arizona for some vortexin' and red-rockin'

Tonight: Colon, and Isabel, and Judy

Judy Jashinsky's "I'll Take You There" at Civilian will be an epic exhibition - no question about it! And then, there's this very cool angle to the show:

We dreamed of having this painting, "Columbus and Isabella in the Mosque in Cordoba", in the exhibition. But sold years ago, we couldn't find it. Judy went to great lengths to locate it and even worked with a private investigator to try to track it down.

On Friday we learned that the owner had passed away and it was going up at auction in VA the very next day! What are the odds? And today, it was delivered to the gallery!!! It is 84" x 96" and, because it wouldn't fit through the doors, was stretched on site. Welcome home painting! Thanks to Margaret Rubino! For finding it. And Bill Hill and HMB for bringing it to us in almost perfect shape!

More on the show here.

On View at Caos on F: March 15 - April 19, 2016
Opening Reception: Friday, March 18, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m
Artist Talk: Saturday, April 16 at 6:00 p.m
Location: 923 F St NW, Washington, DC 20004

Early peek

Early peek at a work in progress... it will have an embedded video focusing on a 6.5 minute overview of my life - it's for a museum show of art by immigrant artists - details later. The little boy on the left is me as a four year old running around my grandfather's farm outside Guantanamo.

To date or not to date

Jason Horejs is 100% wrong on this issue, but it is nonetheless a very interesting read and an eloquent defense of an indefensible issue.

Many of you who have been following me will know that I discourage artists from including dates on their artwork. Recently, I received the following email from the curator of a museum: Dear Jason, As a Museum Director, I vehemently disagree with not putting the date created on pieces of work in a portfolio. Why do you suggest that? It appears that the artist is hiding something. Sincerely, D.R. I responded: Dear D, Thank you for the email and the question. I come at the question from a marketing and sales standpoint, and from my perspective on the front lines of helping artists sell their work, I have only seen the dating of work as a negative.

I have plenty of empirical evidence to prove the opposite; many different instances, but the bottom line is this: for your 99% of the artists on the planet, it is the artwork, not anything else, that first hooks a potential collector. After that comes the perennial: it better be signed. Seldom does the date make a difference (for most artists' artwork encounter with a potential buyer) for an artist.

But, and this is a giant but, there are collectors that - once they have begun collecting an artist - are profoundly interested in early work, vintage, early work, even art school work. The "whys" are diverse, but they exist... and a date is a key validator in this case.

Case closed... read the piece here.

MFA first year and thesis exhibitions at AU

Wanna get a peek at what the next generation of DMV artists may look like?

When: April 2-20 and April 30-May 29

Where: American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center

AU’s Department of Art presents the work of current Master of Fine Art candidates. The multidisciplinary Studio Art program showcases an exciting range of emerging artist’s works in painting, sculpture, collage and material studies, photography and new media. 

The First Year MFA exhibition will run from April 2-20 and feature the work of Mills Brown, Aaron Eckstein, Yaroslav Koporulin, Jean Jinho Kim, Sarah Ellen Norman, Sarah O’Donoghue, Jen Noone, and Zarina Zuparkhodjaeva. 

The MFA Thesis exhibition will run from April 30-May 29 featuring Sara Caporaletti, Sarah Dale, Carey Francis, Jihee Kang, Jean Kim, Zack McGhin, Calli Moore, J. Moukarim, Samantha Sethi, and Katelyn Wood.

Can an art critic fairly review an artist friend’s work?

There’s no upside for an artist to be friends with an art critic. The personal connection means the critic must pass on reviewing the artist’s work, and while the loss of critical wisdom may be negligible, the loss of exposure is a nuisance for the artist.

Read this very interesting and insightful piece by the WaPo's Philip Kennicott here.

Dr. Fred to get Alice Denney Award

I am thrilled to report and announce that my good friend and DMV ubercollector Frederick P. Ognibene (or Dr. Fred as we call him) is the recipient of the WPA's 2016 Alice Denney Award for Support of Contemporary Art. 

The award will presented by Andres Tremols at the opening reception of the WPA Auction Exhibition, March 31, 2016 at 8pm.

Frederick P. Ognibene is a Washington, DC-based collector of contemporary art who for decades has has been an avid supporter of artists and arts organizations in the District. He is respected and loved by many for his unflappable loyalty to causes he believes in, his optimism, his kindness and compassion, and his extraordinary knowledge of the history of local contemporary art.

"Fred's encyclopedic knowledge of the people and events involved in the DC contemporary arts scene is testament to his dedication to that community, for decades now."
-Jim Ritter, WPA Chair

When he stepped down from the Washington Project for the Arts' (WPA) Board of Directors last summer, Fred was its longest serving member. He first joined the Board of Directors in 1995-just prior to the organization's merger with the Corcoran Gallery of Art. He co-chaired the annual WPA/Corcoran's art auction for three consecutive years (1997-99). From 2011 to 2013, he served as the WPA's Chair. Though no longer on the Board of Directors, he remains committed to the WPA, as evidenced by his serving as a co-chair of this year's WPA Auction Gala.

"Fred is a pillar of the DC contemporary arts community and we are lucky to have had his energy, time, and commitment for the last almost twenty years."
-Kim Ward, past WPA Chair

Fred began collecting contemporary art in 1984 and is an avid supporter of emerging and mid-career artists. Today, his collection includes nearly 350 works by local, national, and international artists. He takes much pride in getting to know the artists whose work he owns.

"Do you know the simultaneous thrill and comfort of being in Fred Ognibene's presence? I do, and I am proud to be one of the many artists he has known and supported for more than a decade. May we all lead lives as visionary, vibrant, and hard fought as Fred's and Alice Denney's."

-Maggie Michael, artist, Washington, DC

In addition to his service to WPA and his collecting, Fred Ognibene has supported Washington, DC's art community in other ways. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Cultural Development Corporation of DC as well as on its Arts Incubator ("Flashpoint") Committee. He is a past member of the Hirshhorn Contemporary Acquisitions Council and its Curators' Circle. He has served on the Host Committee of (e)merge Art Fair in Washington, DC and was recently asked to become a member of the inaugural Host Committee for Untitled Art, San Francisco, in 2017. Many works in his collection have been loaned to museums and other arts organizations for their exhibitions and he has donated works to the permanent collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

"Fred's collection is both profound and critical. And he has inspired others to become more courageous in what they collect."
-Jason Gubbiotti, artist, Paris, France

Fred Ognibene resides in Washington, DC. He works at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where he is the NIH Clinical Center's Deputy Director for Educational Affairs and Strategic Partnerships. He holds a MD degree from Cornell University Medical College and a BA in Biology magna cum laude from the University of Rochester.

 "Dr. Fred rocks!"
-Lenny Campello, Jack of all trades, Master of All, Potomac, MD

ABOUT THE ALICE DENNEY AWARD

Initiated a decade ago, the Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) Alice Denney Award for Support of Contemporary Art is named for Alice Denney, the founder of the WPA, and is presented annually to honor an individual who supported the organization for many years and has made a sustained commitment to the greater DC arts community.

Past recipients*:

Molly Rupert (2012)
William Christenberry (2011)
James F. Fitzpatrick (2010)
Jack Rasmussen (2009)
William Paley (2008)
Robert Lehrman (2007)
Kevin MacDonald (2006)
Susan and Dixon Butler (2005)

*Note: The award was not given from 2013-2015