First Fridays in Bethesda returns next Friday!

The Bethesda Art Walk Returns

on Friday, April 12!

The iconic First Fridays are back in Bethesda in full force and that's a great thing, as several new art spaces have popped up in the area in the last few years and the First Fridays is a great way to enjoy a nice walk through Bethesda and see and support our local galleries!

First Fridays were started at the push of the Fraser Gallery in 2001, then located at the 7700 Wisconsin Avenue square where eventually several other galleries popped up! The great space once occupied by that legendary gallery is now where Gallery B is located!

Amy Kaslow Gallery is a great place to start the walk - they opened in 2020 and host a 2,400 square foot space at 7920 Norfolk Avenue in Bethesda, just a couple of minutes walk from Gallery B.

Kaslow notes:

We cover a lot of miles exploring creatives and their markets, here and abroad. Washington, DC native Amy Kaslow, who writes and photographs with a lens on at-risk societies, along with her longtime colleague, now Gallery Director Jordan Lee, lead a team to compile research, curate, design and communicate the story of each artist, and every piece on display.

Currently on exhibit through April 14, they have works by Sandra Dooley, in an exhibition titled "Layers." See those works here.

Tonight Amy Kaslow is open until 9PM, so drop by and check Dooley's works - as the gallery recommends: See some gorgeous work, then find good eats at one of the many restaurants nearby. Or stop in after drinks and dinner.

Sandra Dooley  Ojos Bien Abiertos (Eyes Wide Open)  Mixed media on canvas  47 x 47 in

Starting with the April 12 art walk you can meet the artists, view their exhibited works, and enjoy light refreshments. From 6PM - 8PM you'll be able to visit the five participating galleries and studios:

Amy Kaslow Gallery

Gallery B

Studio B

Triangle Art Studios

Waverly Street Gallery

Tephra Arts Festival coming to Reston in May!

Tephra ICA Arts Festival Takes Over Reston Town Center the Weekend of May 18-19,2024!

Now in its 33nd year, the Tephra ICA Arts Festival (formerly titled the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival) will take place that weekend at Reston Town Center. Over 200 contemporary artists and artisans will travel from across the country to present original handmade artwork to share with Festival audiences.

It's worth the visit - I shit thee not!  Free parking, lots of food vendors and great art!

Eyes of Max Scherzer

Eyes of Mad Max Scherzer

"Eyes of Mad Max Scherzer" is an original mixed media drawing/watercolor on pH-balanced, acid free watercolor paper.

Ellen Cornett at Artists & Makers Studios in Rockville

Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn Drive in Rockville will host Ellen Cornett for the month of April. 

The exhibit runs from April 3rd through April 24th at Artists & Makers Studios, with an opening reception on Friday, April 5th, 5 – 8pm. 

Artists & Makers Studios presents Once Upon a Time, Words and Pictures, illustrations from recently published books by artist, Ellen Cornett. 

Cornett re-wrote these familiar stories, illustrating them in colored pencil and carbon pencil; Hush Little Baby, The House That Jack Built, The Fisherman and the Flounder and Stone Soup. In collaboration with Cornett, professional model and muse, Harry Edgel, posed for the human characters in the drawings. With his bottomless costume trunk and a dancer’s expressiveness, Edgel was instrumental in bringing the characters in Cornett’s illustrations to life. 

Enjoy additional exhibits “Earthbound” with Resident Artists – on view in the Gallery Hall, along with nineteen Gallery 209 Member Artists exhibiting their latest work. Shop and support local working artists, makers, and professionals.

“Once Upon a Time, Words and Pictures” with Ellen Cornett

“Earthbound” with Resident Artists

The Artists of Gallery 209

Opening Reception

5:00pm – 8:00pm, Friday, April 5th, 2024

Artists & Makers Studios

11810 Parklawn Drive, Suite 210

Rockville, MD 20852

Wanna add a line to your art CV?

And also do it for a good cause!

Submission Deadline for mailed US Entries: April 8, 2024

Organization: Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, New York

Fee: FREE

Event Dates: June 1, 2024 - July 21, 2024

Eligibility: International

Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture

Juried: Nope! It's OPEN! All entries exhibited!

Each summer Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s (RoCo) 6x6 exhibition brings together thousands of original artworks, made and donated by celebrities, international & local artists, designers, youth and YOU. Each artist may enter up to four artworks of any medium (2D or 3D). Artworks must be six inches square and signed only on the back, to be exhibited anonymously. Participation is free. All artworks will be exhibited and for sale to the public for $20 each to benefit RoCo. Artists’ names will be revealed to the buyer upon purchase and all artworks remain on display through the end of the exhibition. Limit four artworks per school or school group (no limit for colleges).

Please call or email with any questions: (585) 461-2222 | info@rochestercontemporary.org - The entry form can be downloaded here.

Best new artist find at Artomatic (so far)

My personal best AOM find of all time was when I ran into Tim Tate at the second ever Artomatic in Tenleytown. The Tatenator was under the stairs on the basement, and in the now mythical story of Artomatic, his work from that show ended up in a major museum, resulted in his first solo show ever at the iconic Fraser Gallery in Georgetown and from all the sales he started, along with Erwin Timmers and Mike Janis, the Washington Glass School in the neighborhood where the Nats' stadium is now.

Back to Artomatic 2024... I was on duty on the fourth floor last Saturday,  and after two and a half hours I completed my circuit of that floor, which is a warren of amazing rooms where artists of all kinds have created some spectacular displays of creativity, zeal and hard work.

And then I walked into room 4123.

James Flowers' artwork in room 4123 at Artomatic 2024

In room 4123 I met the recent works on metal of a new-to-me artist named James Flowers.

Before I talk about the artwork, let me point out something else: the superbly professional presentation - each of Flowers' gorgeous paintings are done on meatl - a nightmarish substrate not for the faint of heart, demanding precise technical skill and patience, and Flowers easily navigates the technical pitfalls of painting on the sexy, shiny surface and achieves the desired effect of superior, professional presentation.

Like most of us at Artomatic, he suffers from the salon-hanging virus that affects nearly each room in the Brutalist building at 2100 M Street, NW - we all want to maximize our $150 half room!

Flowers' approach to the subject matter - in this case mostly beautiful and elegant Black women with a flowing sense of power and presence - is quite distinct. His composition is classical in the sense of the triangular delivery of the subject that given them added weight and presence.

It is the way in which he has captured a psychological subtle message from each subject - this is sooooo easy to write in words and sooooo hard to deliver with a brush, and this is precisely with Flowers has done and accounts for much of his visual success.

There are other clues, such as in the paintings above and below; notice how the subject interacts with something out of the plane of the image above, and interacts with the viewer below.

I predict lots of great things in the future of this artist; there are a lot of great artworks in the room right now!

Artomatic review: the 4th floor

It took me about two and a half hours to finish finish my first walk through of the 4th floor at ARTOMATIC, and then I revisited some spaces and left many comments on the artists' books.

First impressions are: 

(1) A lot of artists channeling Joseph Cornell, which is a good thing, as Cornell was a magnificent artist and his work niche has miles and miles of creativity left to explore!

(2) a lot of BLM-themed artwork, some pretty powerful, some less memorable.

(3) I'm shocked by how many people cannot spell Palestine! 

Now for my impressions, but first, the mysterious, talented and prolific poet known as BRASH has been gifting poetry to ARTOMATIC artists for many years now. And now BRASH has been outed by an artist known as Bebe in room 4043! I really hope that this was an agreed outing!

BRASH by Bebe

Wall mosaic by Peijisan at Artomatic 2024

In room 4066, the artist known as Peijisan has cleverly recycled materials to create a wall mosaic that translates really well and would be a great addition to any public art building - the best of both worlds: re-using materials and in doing so creating really good art!

My personal best ARTOMATIC find of all time was when I ran into Tim Tate  at the second ever Artomatic in Tenleytown over two decades ago. Today when I waked the 4th floor (I'm on duty on the 4th floor), in room 4123 I met the recent works on metal of a new-to-me artist named James Flowers. So far he's the Best New Artist find (for me)... I will explain more in DC Art News later.

Detail of a James Flowers painting on metal

In room 4009 I was superbly impressed by the portrait drawings of Mary Acosta. In these works the artist has easily captured - not only through her technical skill, but also through her ability to "read" the subject -- something special about each person!

Mary Acosta in room 4009 at Artomatic 2024

I am usually highly critical of weird or fancy frames - as opposed to the art word standard of plain frames that do not interfere with the work. In this room I stand corrected! Acosta uses a diverse assortment of interesting exotic frames and I'll be darned if it actually works for her!

Mary Acosta portrait

I mentioned that there are a lot of artists on this floor channeling Joseph Cornell - and below is one of my absolute favorites from Tom Noll in room 4038, which is full of wonderful artsy "upcycled" boxes!

 

Tom Noll at Artomatic 2024


Tom Noll room 4038 at Artomatic 2024

On one of the halls marked 478, I was taken by the pole dancing photographs of Larkin Jones - they are superbly presented, and deliver athletic prowess, eroticism and even humor!

Pole dancing photo by Larkin Jones at Artomatic 2024

Below is my award for possibly the scariest sculpture in Artomatic! It is the superb work of Greg Bailou in room 4013!

Greg Bailou in room 4013

I have admired the works of my good bud Osbel Susman-Peña for decades now. He's a superbly trained artist whose works draws from deep sources loaded with ages of personal meanings to him, and yet the brilliance of his works is how each individual viewer finds its own meanings in his wondrous paintings.  His work is in room 4057.

Some other masters who need no introduction are Colin Winterbottom (easily one of the best DMV photographers of the city) in room 4062, the breath-taking work of Ellen Cornett in room 4085. I am soooo jealous of her enviable technical skill in her drawings - but technical skill alone does not great art make -- and Cornett is also brilliant in her surrealist work that delivers a wondrous bestiary and images that are best reserved for wonderful dreams! She's in room 4085.

In room 4073/74 I ran into a powerful installation by the duo of Claudia Vess and Lucy Blankenstein - two DMV artists who need no introduction. Titled "Apres Moi?", the two-room install is an orgy of recycled white foam materials that somehow in one room deliver modern forms and in the other room a marriage of modern forms with classical busts!

Apres Moi

Apres Moi

More "must see" on the 4th floor: Marcie Wolf-Hubbard in room 4050, Betsy Jones miniature dioramas in room 4015, Monica Perdomo's memorable stitched canvasses in room 4104, and easily the selection for one of the most innovative and serene projects of Artomatic history: Lisa Rosenthal-Yoffe's "Nothing but Blue Skies" in room 4014 -- That's how you do a room installation!

Detail of Monica Perdomo's stitching

More masters at Artomatic: Susan Jamison in room 4099, and the collaboration of David Mordini and Barry Schmetter in 4029, with nine tracks of motion activated cicada songs is spectacularly superior on a planetary scale! May the broods of 2024 bring new sounds to your repertoire!

And of course there's another great room with Richard Schellenberg's latest. This artist - along with Tim Tate a few centuries ago - almost single-handedly invented the niche of art that took video away from DVD players and made it into fine art!  There are also some exceptional minimalist drawings, which I gotta admit, were a surprise to me - the man can also draw! He's in room 4088.

Richard Schellenberg video pieces at Artomatic 2024

Over in Facebook I've been getting my ass chewed by artists who think that no one should get constructive criticism on something that needs improvement - one even called me a jackass. They felt that it was "unneeded" and "mean" that I think that whoever this artist is below, he or she gets the second worst Artomatic installation ever. 

This is ALL that there's in the room:

Why? Because the presentation needs a lot of schooling: there is no information at all, no names, no contact information, etc. And the work is double taped to the wall, which to me does not say that the artist is trying to deliver a message via the poor installation, but that he or she just needs some basic mentoring and information on artwork presentation... Note that I'm discussing the presentation - not the artwork itself - but a lot of otherwise gentle folks over at Facebook are fuming at me for daring to express constructive criticism,

I could be wrong, and if so, I will eat my words -- you readers know that I have done so many times in the past.

Wanna talk about it? Whoever is below artist, email me and let's get together and chat about how to present your work... or you can tell me to fuck off -- either way works... Wanna see the very worst Artomatic installation ever? Click here.