Six New Exhibitions on View Open Tonight at the Katzen!
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Saturday, June 11, 2022
Wanna go to six openings in one tonight?
Friday, June 10, 2022
25 Years Ago: Digital Envelope Gets Pushed!
25 years ago, the below essay about using the computer to create art was published in Dimensions magazine.
The Digital Atelier: The Computer as Fine Art
by
F. Lennox Campello
Originally published in Dimensions magazine - 1997.
When photography first attempted to enter the world of fine art, the museums and arts intelligentsia alike rudely rejected it, but it was accepted by the public. Today, the computer is attempting to enter the sterile white walls of the Washington power galleries and museums, but unlike photography, it seems to be allied with the insiders in the world of art, who seem enamored with the digital world of art.
"Exhibiting the Digital Atelier: Prints by Unique Editions and Participating Artists", is a powerful groundbreaking exhibition at George Washington University Dimock Gallery, curated by Mary Ann Kearns.
So far, digital (in Washington circles) usually means Iris prints, and owners of these pricey printers, such as Chris Foley and David Adamson, have made quite an impact upon the local art scene by the creation of huge, beautiful Iris prints from standard photographic images. Controversy, caused by lack of data on conservation standards and misinformation, heavily cloud the image (pun intended) of Iris prints, yet photographers like Amy Lamb and Susan Rubin have delivered, huge beautiful works which make us gasp at the beautiful, ethereal, marriage of photography and technology.
This exhibition attempts to push the digital envelope. It focuses on the marriage of software, hardware and creativity: the pencil neck geek meets the angst-ridden, socially conscious artist! The show's primary focus is a collaboration of five artists: Helen Golden, Bonny Lhotka, Judith Moncrieff, Dorothy Simpson Krause and Karin Schminke. They translate their printmaking, photographic and painting skills to the digital world to deliver "fine art in limited editions." In addition to these five artists, several other local artists were chosen from a digital workshop held during the summer at the National Museum of American Art. These artists are Cynthia Alderdice, Danny Conant, Andras Nagy, Linda Mott-Smith, Howard Bagley, Grace Taylor, Patrick Lichty and Lynn Putney.
And it is two photographers among this last group, Danny Conant and Grace Taylor, who steal the show! Conant's mastery of photography is as well known as are her beautiful infrared nudes or fragile Polaroid transfers - she is able to transfer her immense photographic abilities, as does Taylor, to this new media in an effective, creative way. This, unfortunately, makes many of the other images in the exhibition look like fancy web pages.
I must be honest, I had mixed feelings about the exhibition, and perhaps my opinion is clouded by my own background (I have degrees in Fine Art and also in Computer Science). Another perhaps is that I am essentially prejudiced in attempting to see creative beauty in the color of a pixel as painted by a bubble jet printer or a laser printer or an Iris printer, as compared to the beauty of a Van Gogh brushstroke, or an Escher etching or the crisp white of a cloud in an Ansel Adams print.
It is nonetheless a seminal exhibition in its field, and I recommend it! The show hangs December 11, 1997- January 30, 1998 at the Dimock Gallery of GWU, 21st and H Streets, NW in Washington (202) 994-1525.
Thursday, June 09, 2022
Bethesda Art Walk tomorrow!
The Bethesda Art Walk returns on Friday, June 10th from 6-8pm.
Participating Galleries:
Gallery B
Studio B
Triangle Art Studios
Waverly Street Gallery
The mass murderer Guevara makes an appearance in DC this Saturday
The below mixed media work depicting the mass-murdering racist psychopath known as Ernesto Guevara de La Serna Lynch will be one of the works showcase starting this Saturday at the American University Art Museum at the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, DC.
This piece will be part of Home-Land - Exploring the American Myth, an exhibition curated by Michael Quituisaca and Alexandra Schuman which will have an opening (yep! A real opening) on Saturday June 11, 2022 from 6-9PM.
The image is appropriately ripped off from a Commie photographer and reinterpreted in the context of the truth about this mass murderer. Embedded in his forehead, a small screen plays hundreds of the versions of the Korda photograph which have been used to produce millions of T-Shirts worn by clueless people all over the world.My goal is to try to change the way that people who do not know about the real Che Guevara perceive him. Would you wear a T-Shirt with this man's face on it? Only if it says "MURDERER" written across it.
The quotes are all from Guevara's own words - note what he says about black people, Mexicans and gays...
Comunista comemierda.
Comunista comemierda.
In addition to my work, the curators also selected Sobia Ahmad, Elizabeth Casqueiro, Ric Garcia, Claudia "Aziza" Gibson-Hunter, Julia Kwon, Khánh H. Lê, and Helen Zughaib for the exhibition.
There will be an opening - yep a real opening! The opening reception takes place from 6 to 9 p.m., June. 11, 2022 at the museum.
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| This is Che Charcoal, conte and embedded electronics on paper 24 x 20 inches |
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| This is Che (Detail) |
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| This is Che (Detail) |
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| This is Che (Detail) |
These other works of mine are also included in the show:
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| Desi, Lucy and Fidel 2012, Charcoal and conte drawing, electronic components Courtesy of the Steven and Sasha Pieczenik Collection |
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| Ave Marylinas 2012 Charcoal and conte drawing with electronic components Courtesy of the Krensky Collection |
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| AVE FRIDA II 2011, Charcoal and conte drawing, electronic components and video loop Courtesy of the Roberta (Birdie) Rovner Pieczenik Collection |
See ya there!
Bethesda Painting Awards prize winners announced
The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District announced the top Bethesda Painting Awards prize winners on Wednesday evening during the exhibition’s opening at Gallery B. Andrew Hladky of Kensington, MD was awarded “Best in Show” with $10,000; James Williams II of Baltimore, MD was named second place and was given $2,000 and Magnolia Laurie of Baltimore, MD received third place and was awarded $1,000. Additionally, Jeremy Jirsa of Baltimore, MD was recognized with the Young Artist Award and received $1,000.
Wednesday, June 08, 2022
New Gallery in the DMV
From my good friend Gabriella Rosso:
RoFa Projects is very happy to announce the opening of our new space in the Kentlands, Gaithersburg, MD on Friday, June 17, 2022, in partnership with Beta Gallery.
RoFa Projects (founded in 2014 in Potomac MD) focuses on consolidating art as a powerful tool for social action and as a generator of critical spaces. Working with artists that have different visions of the sociopolitical processes that we live throughout the world and who understand the importance of global thinking.
RoFa projects has three branches: RoFa Art, RoFa Projects and La Morada.
Beta Gallery (founded in 2014 in Bogotá, Colombia) has focused its search on contemporary artists in the Colombian and Latin American scene. In 2016, it incorporated Proyecto ZETA linking urban artists to the gallery space.
Both galleries have joined to work together, bringing Latin-American Art to this beautiful new space.
Their next show, In the Heart of the Beholder, brings together 10 contemporary artists that take us to the immense possibilities that the portrait offers. Painting on canvas, photography, sculpture and even stencil are placed at the mercy of creation, beauty and the heart of the beholder.
Pigments used in the Renaissance, metal printing, photo performance, oil and spray portray emotions, identity, poetic intensity and beauty from a contemporary approach.
Artists: Ana De Orbegoso (Perú); Avelino Sala (Spain); Cecilia Paredes (Perú); DJLU Juegasiempre (Colombia); ERRE (Colombia): Fabian Ugalde (México); Muriel Hasbun (El Salvador); Natalia Revilla (Perú); Salustiano (Spain) and Walterio Iraheta (El Salvador).
In the Heart of the Beholder
Where: 361 Main St, Gaithersburg, MD 20878
When: Opening date: June 17, 2022 - 4 - 9 pm
The exhibition will be open until August 6 , 2022
Wednesday - Thursday: 12:00 pm. - 6:00 pm
Friday - Saturday: 10:00 pm. - 7:00 pm
Or by appointment
Tuesday, June 07, 2022
$6.7 Million Budget for the Arts and Humanities Approved by Montgomery County Council
The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC) in Maryland just announced a $6,747,706 annual budget appropriation which includes $6,339,106 for AHCMC grants and administration and an additional $408,000 for the Public Arts Trust. The $6.7M appropriation was unanimously approved by the Montgomery County Council and represents a significant increase over the FY22 budget and flat funding for public art.
“We are especially grateful to receive a record increase in funding for FY23 from the County Executive and Montgomery County Council,” says Dana Pauley, Board Chair for the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. “Recovery remains slow for our creative economy and many other local industries; receiving this support demonstrates the county's commitment to invest in the full recovery and stability of our arts and humanities sector.”
“The decision to include the creative sector in the county’s strong economic rebound strategies substantiates the essential role of our cultural community in Montgomery County,” states Suzan Jenkins, CEO of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. “The arts and humanities buoyed our local communities in our darkest hours and continue to do so today. AHCMC is exceedingly thankful and proud to continue supporting financial recovery for the artists, scholars and arts managers that make up our incredible creative industry.”
The Arts and Humanities Council will award $5,646,737 of the FY23 appropriation in grants that support the arts and humanities sector. Grant funding is available for general operating support, creative project support, and capacity building projects. All funding will be distributed through AHCMC’s existing grant channels, which support cultural institutions and individual artists and scholars across the entire county. The FY23 budget will go into effect on July 1.
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