Yuri Schwebler Curatorial Project at AU

My good bud John Anderson passes the following:

I'm pleased to announce that the Yuri Schwebler curatorial project I have been working on the last few years is “open," and that the catalog is now available online. 

Although originally scheduled to open in June, because of the pandemic the American University Museum canceled all their summer exhibitions. As a result, I offered to create a virtual exhibition (fancy words for "slideshow") to substitute for what was no longer going to be on exhibit. You can find links to the slideshow, and the exhibition catalog, on the museum's exhibition page.

This exhibition is, in many respects, an extension of my earlier Jefferson Place Gallery research, which has expanded to included monographs of Hilda Thorpe, Mary Orwen, and Jennie Lea Knight (each at Marymount University, co-curated with Meaghan Kent and Caitlin Berry), and a catalog essay about Rockne Krebs and Sam Gilliam, for Day Eight's exhibition Built and Unbuilt.

On Thursday, at 12:30 Eastern, there is a virtual discussion between the Museum's Director, Jack Rasmussen, and myself. Registration can also be found on the exhibition page.

Opportunity: Yarn Bomb 2020!

Spanish dealer claims to find long-lost Frida Kahlo painting

A Spanish art dealer named Cristian López claims that he has located the “holy grail” of Frida Kahlo’s oeuvre, the long-lost painting La Mesa Herida (The Wounded Table) from 1940 that went missing 65 years ago. The painting is currently in a warehouse in London, according to López, and its anonymous owner is requesting around $45m for it. Meanwhile, experts question the painting's authenticity.

Read the story here. 

MEG Group Exhibition

Multiple Exposures Gallery Reopening and Group Exhibition of Photography  July 2020 Update

"MEG Group Exhibition" Exhibition Dates:  July 1 to September 1, 2020 Craig Sterling, Juror The uncertainties arising from COVID-19 outbreak continue to affect us all and have had a significant impact on the arts community throughout the Washington DC metro area.  The City of Alexandria, VA is currently in Phase 3 of the state’s Forward Virginia reopening plan and in accordance with these guidelines, the Torpedo Factor Art Center has reopened. The public may visit the Torpedo Factory Art Center from Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm.  Entrance to and exit from the Torpedo Factory are via sliding doors on the Waterfront and on Union Street only.  There is no capacity limit in the Art Center, but masks are required for admittance and social distancing should be observed for the duration of the visit. Multiple Exposures Gallery is now exhibiting our recently featured online Group show in our gallery.  MEG member photographs are now up on the walls and we think it is a beautiful exhibition.  Visitors may view and enjoy the show at our gallery in the Torpedo Factory Art Center.  Please note however that gallery access is currently by appointment only.  To schedule a visit, please send an email to: info@multipleexposuresgallery.com. About the Gallery Exhibition: Our current Group Exhibition has been juried by Craig Sterling.  Craig is an artist, photographer and educator whose works are held in numerous public, private and corporate collections in the United States and abroad. His photographs are included in the permanent collections of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (now part of The National Gallery of Art’s Archive Collection), The Oakland Museum of California and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.  Craig Sterling lives in Sarasota, Florida where he continues to photograph and teach, and is currently an instructor at The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at The Ringling College of Art and Design.  Of the images submitted by MEG artists, Craig Sterling selected 36 photographs that comprise our Group exhibition now on display at our gallery.  For those unable to visit Multiple Exposures Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, the exhibition may also be viewed online at the MEG website. To view the exhibition online please click here. Art Inquiries and Acquisition: All photographs in the exhibition are available for acquisition from the individual artist through Multiple Exposures Gallery.  Information about photograph image size, edition, pricing and framing is provided online in the exhibition.  For additional information regarding art acquisition, please send an email request to Multiple Exposures Gallery at info@multipleexposuresgallery.com.

I am not an angel

I live in a cul-de-sac.

My last four houses have been in a cul-de-sac.

There are a lot of "walkers" in our neighborhood... people who walk around, just walk and enjoy their walks.... sometimes I am one of them.

Early this morning, I went out to put something in my mailbox for the mailman to pick up. After spells of sunshine, it was Seattle-like, gray and brooding.

I heard a woman sobbing as she rounded the trees in the center of the cul-de-sac... so I delayed a little, and when she got close to me, I asked her if she was OK.

She came to me and hugged me and cried on my shoulders. She was a stranger, but the two or three generations of the women who raised me (my grandmother, my mother, and all my wives) popped through, and I hugged her back, and soothed her and said, "It will be OK."

She cried for a few seconds, then gently pulled away, sniffed... and asked me, "Are you an angel?"

She was serious - I felt the seriousness of the question.

"Fucking far from it", I thought to myself (thank God that I didn't say it out loud!)... but I just smiled and said no and asked her again if she was OK.

"Yeah", she sniffed again and started walking away slowly... then the stranger turned around and said to me, "Thank you Lenny."

Andy Warhol at auction

This 40-year-old work of mine just showed up at auction in Houston! This 1980 art school assignment is a signed and numbered litho of a portrait of Andy Warhol done for printmaking and also for portrait class - a steal at $50 opening bid!

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/86459829_f-lennox-campello-jr-andy-warhol

Art Bank call for artists!

Deadline is Friday, August 7, at 4:00 pm. 

I am pleased to announce that the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) Art Bank Program grant application is now open. 

The Art Bank Collection is the District of Columbia’s fine art collection. Acquired through an annual request for applications, Art Bank works are loaned to District Government agencies for display in public areas and offices of government buildings. The Art Bank has been a source of recognition and support for local artists since 1986. It now includes nearly 3,000 artworks - none of which is mine, as the city has always declined to acquired any of my works. 

Please view this video (and more here!) to see examples of recently acquired works, or explore the entire Art Bank Collection here - note the lack of any work from yours truly!

The request for applications is now open - including both established and emerging artists living within a 50-mile radius of Washington, DC. District art galleries and nonprofit organizations may also apply on behalf of artists.

The application deadline is Friday, August 7, at 4:00 pm. 

The Commission will be offering free workshops on Wednesday, June 24, 10:00-11:30 am, and Wednesday, July 1, 4:00-5:30 pm. These session provide information on the grant and guidance on the application process.

Good luck!