Women Artists of the DMV: Updates

Since the major survey show Women Artists of the DMV was announced here, I have received nearly 3,000 inquiries, and many, many, many questions... so here are some common clarifications:

• There are NO fees
• Agreements will be between the chosen venue and the artist
• Artists will be responsible for delivering artwork to the chosen venue
• Artists will be responsible for picking up artwork at the end of the exhibition(s)
• Artwork CAN be for sale except for those chosen to hang at the Katzen 
• One work per artist
• There are (so far) 4 6 venues
• Katzen Art Museum at American University
• The Athenaeum in Alexandria
• Artists & Makers Galleries in Rockville
• The Galleries at Strathmore in Rockville
• The McLean Project for the Arts in McLean
• The Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville
• I will decide which exhibiting/selected artist hangs at which venue
• I am working to attempt to document ALL artists who submit in this way:
• About 200 or so of the 3,000 (so far) submissions will be selected to exhibit physically at one of the four venues - if I can add another space, then more artists will be chosen.
• The rest of the set of ALL other artists will be documented and (providing the Smithsonian accepts my proposal) archived as a snapshot in time for DMV women artists at the Smithsonian Archives.
• ALL the artists will have their name and one piece of art projected onto the wall of the Katzen Museum at American University during the period of the exhibition.

When a drawing takes your breath away over the years

Decades ago I was the juror for a group show at the Art League in Alexandria, and a gorgeous drawing titled "Olivia" stood out in a group show that, like most Art League's shows, is always packed with talent and great art, and I awarded it The Shayna Heisman Simkin Award.

The artist was Wendy Donahoe, who is easily one of the best realist artists on the planet, and has that most difficult of all abilities in her work: capturing not only the likeness of the subject, but also a psychiological signature of the same subject.

Donahoe received a University of Delaware BFA in Drawing in1978 and did graduate work at George Washington University from 1980 - 81. Both those universities owe her a solo show in the future and I intend to bring that to their attention.

Behold “Olivia” by Wendy Donahoe, 20.5” x 15.5” Colored Pencil on sanded gray tone paper, c. 2010. (30” x 25.5” framed).

“Olivia”  by Wendy Donahoe
20.5” x 15.5” Colored Pencil on sanded gray tone paper
c. 2010. (30” x 25.5” framed)

Molly Springfield has a world-class and unique talent

I've been in awe and writing about Molly Springfield since 2005, which (considering that I have a degree in Math) is about 20 years - see those mentions here.

Springfield is one of those artists whose talent, vision and technical ability are so distinct and unique, that if we were to plot artists on a bell curve of talent, she'd be one of those waaaay at the right end of the bell curve and the subject of a chapter in Malcolm Gladwell's next book.

Her breath-taking work titled is spun between the sun and  will be one of the highlights of the 2025 Women ARtists of the DMV show.

Behold is spun between the sun and, Graphite on paper by Molly Springfield, c. 2016.

is spun between the sun and
Graphite on paper
by Molly Springfield
34 x 25.5 inches (2 panels, 16.5 x 25.5 inches each) 2016

I like unusual and this work for the 2025 Women Artists of the DMV is that...

I've curated over 200 group art shows in the DC area since the mid 90s, and my formula for group shows is essentially nearly always the same, and a proven, successful, and bordering on brilliant technique: 

• the group show is a pyramid of artists at various points in their artistic career and development - blue chip, well-known artists; 
• a large set of well-known, mid career artists; 
• and the pyramid's wide and powerful base: a set of young (not simply in age, but perhaps also in artistic age - think of a 95 year-old artist who just started painting five years ago) artists who need the exposure and push that a well-attended, widely publicized, and wildly successful art show offers their young careers.

I was first seduced by Jenny Kanzler's work when I came across it at last year's Artomatic.  It stood out as different from the thousands and thousands of paintings at that fabulous show, which is a very unique accomplishment.  She will be one of the big hits of the 2025 Women Artists of the DMV survey show.

Prepare to be seduced and behold "Goat Girls - Sunday Afternoon," c. 2024, Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches.

Goat Girls - Sunday Afternoon
by Jenny Kanzler
c. 2024 Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

New updated list for Women Artists of the DMV show

Here's hoping for a great 2025 and hope that as the first quarter of the 21st century comes to an end, another updated list of the DMV area female artists who have agreed to participate so far in the 2025 "Women Artists of the DMV" survey show! is a great start to the year before Antifa starts to burn the city down in 20 days... cough... cough...

Still having trouble reaching some artists that I'd like to invite to the show... so far my emails have either been suffering from spam folderitis or just being ghosted... Why is it so hard to establish contact? if anyone knows the following artists, please tell them to email me: 

Marian Van Landingham -- why can't I get the Art League or someone to tell someone who can reach her, to tell her to call me, text me, send a postcard, a telegram, a drone with a message... something - anything?

Iona Rozeal Brown (now known as Rozeal) - where are you? People keep giving me ways to contact you and so far nothing works!

Danni Dawson: For God's sakes - she teaches at the Art League! Is it possible that none of you can tell her: "Hey Danni... send Lenny a fucking email!"

Lillian Burwell, Zoë Charlton, Sylvia Snowden, Margo Humphrey, Hadieh Shafie: where are you?

Before I forget: If I've invited you to the show and you've agreed to participate, but you're not listed below, please email me (lennycampello@hotmail.com) and let me know... or if I've misspelled your name :-) 

And the "in the show" list so far...

Shiri Achu 

Maremi Andreozzi 

Erin Antognoli

Sondra N. Arkin

Michele Banks 

Marilyn Banner 

Suzi Balamaci 

Kate Barfield 

Jennifer Barlow 

Denée Barr 

Holly Bass

Jennifer Lynn Beaudet 

Judith Benderson  

Karin Birch

Julia Bloom 

Lori Boocks 

Margaret Boozer  

Vian Borchert  

Claire Brandt

Laurie Breen

Lisa Brotman  

Amy Bruce

Dianne Bugash 

Shante Bullock

Melissa Burley 

Judy Byron 

Denise Calisti

Rachel Carren 

Elizabeth Casqueiro 

Mei Mei Chang 

Anne Cherubim

Shanthi Chandrasekar 

Hsin-Hsi Chen 

Irene Clouthier 

Amanda Coelho

Ellen Cornett 

Kathy Cornwell

Rosemary Feit Covey  

Lea Craigie-Marshall

Sheila Crider 

Jacqui Crocetta

Andrea Cybyk  

Andrea Cullins 

Joan Danziger 

Anna U. Davis 

Jenny Davis 

Tanya Davis 

Patricia de Poel Wilberg

Wendy Donahoe

Margaret Dowell  

Jen Droblyen

Mary Early 

Bria Edwards

Cheryl Edwards

Dana Ellyn 

Hyunsuk Erickson 

Cynthia Farrell Johnson 

Felisa Federman Cogut 

Cianne Fragione

Helen Frederick   

Jenny Freestone

Marie Gauthiez-Charpentier

Genie Ghim 

Susan Goldman

Carol Brown Goldberg 

Margery Goldberg

Janis Goodman  

Pat Goslee  

Freya Grand 

Graciela Granek 

Josephine Haden 

Debra Halprin 

Elyse Harrison

Muriel Hasbun 

Rania Hassan 

Jennifer Hayes

Mira Hecht 

Francie Hester 

Ellen Hill 

Leslie Holt

Michal Hunter 

Melissa Ichiuji 

Selena Jackson 

Martha Jackson Jarvis  

Barbara Januszkiewicz 

M. Jane Johnson 

Jessica Kallista 

Jenny Kanzler

Maria Karametou

Lori Katz 

Sally Kauffman  

Trish Kent

Zofie King 

Kate Kretz 

Bridget Sue Lambert

Susan LaMont 

Linda Lawler 

Ngoc Le 

Jun Lee

Kyujin Lee 

Harriet Lesser 

Shelley Lowenstein 

Carol Levin 

Kirsty Little

Taina Litwak 

Dalya Luttwak 

Kara Lin 

June Linowitz 

Shelley Lowenstein

Laurel Lukaszewski 

Caroline MacKinnon

Akemi Maegawa 

Susan Makara

Joey Mánlapaz 

Katherine Mann

Isabel Manalo  

Sheryl Massaro

Anne Marchand  

Lucinda Marshall

Isabella Martire 

Lucinda Marshall 

Amy Marx  

Sheryl Massaro

J.J. McCracken

Donna McCullough 

Anne Meagher-Cook  

Maggie Michael 

Marily Mojica 

Michele Montalbano 

E.J. Montgomery

Sharon Moody 

Ally Morgan  

Meredith Morris

Camille Mosley-Pasley 

Jody Mussoff

Georgia Nassikas 

Leslie Nolan

Teresa Oaxaca 

Claudia Olivos 

Helena Gallegos O'Neill 

Erica Orgen 

Marian Osher 

Betsy Packard 

Dora Patin

Judith Peck 

Monica Perdomo

Sandra Pérez-Ramos 

Patricia Edwine Poku-Speight

Susana Raab  

Marie Riccio

Marie Ringwald 

Amber Robles-Gordon 

Alla Rogers 

Roxana Rojas 

Lisa K Rosenstein

Christine Ryan 

Nancy Sausser 

Karen Schmitz

Deanna Schwartzberg

Lian Sever 

Susan Shalowitz 

Janathel Shaw 

Gail Shaw-Clemons 

April Shelford

Elzbieta Sikorska 

Alexandra Silverthorne  

Veronica Szalus 

Judy Southerland 

Molly Springfield 

Pritha Srinivasan

Renee Stout 

Zsudayka Nzinga Terrel  

Kat Thompson

Patricia Underwood 

Gloria Vasquez  

Rosa Inés Vera

Andrea Way 

Ellyn Weiss 

Joyce Wellman 

Marcie Wolf-Hubbard

Sharon Wolpoff 

Sue Wrbican 

Shawn Yancy

Suzanne Yurdin  

Barbara Ziselberger 

Helen Zughaib

 

First drawing chosen for the Women Artists of the DMV show

Because for the last few decades I have mostly focused on drawing, that genre of the fine arts is dear and near to my heart and very special to me.

Jody Mussoff is one of the legends of the DMV's art scene and there's nothing much that I can add to her spectacular career over the last few decades other than to honor her work ethic, her artwork, and her deep footprint on the DMV art scene.

Her artwork is in the collection of many major museums, including the National Gallery of Art's Corcoran Collection, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Princeton University Art Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, University of Maryland, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Yale University Art Gallery, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Delaware Art Museum, the Kunsthalle Nürnberg, and the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts.

Behold One girl, two cats, c. 2021, colored pencils on paper, 17x14 inches.

One girl, two cats by Jody Mussoff

The first sculpture chosen for the Women Artists of the DMV is...

The first sculpture chosen for the 2025 Women Artists of the DMV survey show comes from the talented hands and mind of a terrific artist whose work I've written about extensively, admired and seen spread and cross boundaries for years since this epic performance decades ago!

Melissa Ichiuji is one of our most innovative artistic minds in an area that flourishes with an over abundance of geniuses. At first look, one could attempt to categorize her as one of the leading textile artists on the planet - and you would both be (a) not wrong in doing so, and also (b) wrong in just assuming that her talents are confined to that genre of the fine arts.

Why? Because she's also a remarkably gifted painter, installation artist, performance artist, and clearly an acolyte and follower of Picasso's directive on how to be a great artist: God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant, and the cat. He has no real style. He just goes on trying other things.

With one important adaptation: In Ichiuji's case, at least in my superbly fine tuned senses, she has clearly developed an unique sense of style that manages to cross all the borders of her artistic explorations into genres, media, subject matter, materials and recondite art niches.  It is hard to express in words how she manages to deliver an eloquent imprimatura into all her artworks - like an imprimatura in painting, her initial layer of Ichiujiness applied to a artwork's ground/start/base ends up saying "Melissa Ichiuji was here", no matter what the media or subject matter.

Behold Goddess of the Burning House,  2016, 12 x 7 x 3 ft, Steel, acrylic, and electrical wiring.

 Goddess of the Burning House
by Melissa Ichiuji
2016, 12 x 7 x 3 ft, Steel, acrylic, and electrical wiring