June Linowitz and Planet in Peril

June Linowitz is one of those "can do" artists who has been engaged with art her whole life.  In addition to being a very prolific artist, she has also been at one point ot another: an art teacher, a gallery director, an exhibition curator, and an art consultant with her own business, ArtSeen Inc. 

For the Women of the DMV exhibition, I chose one of her key pieces from her "Planet in Peril" series. She writes about this series:

The work in the Planet In Peril series reflects my concern about climate change. From ancient times, The Four Elements have been a way to structure and understand our environment. When The Four Elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water, are in balance, our world is in balance. This is clearly not the case nowadays. The Planet in Peril series depicts what are now everyday occurrences: fire, flood, drought, hurricanes and tornadoes. I decided to make my portrayals of these catastrophes as beautiful as I could, and to also to use unusual materials and techniques, so the viewer would be enticed into interacting with the work. I want the viewer to respond to the beauty and then recognize the destruction. In its own way, this series is a call to action.

Each mixed media work starts with a full scale drawing. A forty year old copy machine is then used to transfer the drawing onto handmade abaca paper that has been painted with encaustic. The transferred drawing is further enhanced with pan pastels and crochet thread. Finally, a “frame” is fashioned from dyed and shaped canvas.

Behold Planet in Peril: AIR by June Linowitz, Mixed Media, 39 x 52 x 2 inches, c. 2022.

Planet in Peril: AIR by June Linowitz
Mixed Media, 39 x 52 x 2 inches, c. 2022

The incredible presence of Margaret Dowell

I once wrote:

“Margaret Dowell is one of the most talented, exquisitely gifted, and technically proficient painters that I know”, and through the years Dowell has proven me right time after time. 

Dowell, who grew up working with her family on the tobacco farm where she now paints, has flexed her enviable painting skills for several decades now – and yet still manages to amaze with each new work via her intelligent representational style, often loaded with social commentary.

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She is also a hard-working artist, with paintings that show not only her extraordinary technical skills, but also deliver an omnipresent sense of mental desire and an intelligent understanding of her subjects. 

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As you enter her art world, be prepared to be amazed, entertained, shocked, and educated in a way that only a sublime work can deliver!"

As great as a writer and commentator and observer and critic as I am, I am not sure that I can top that - I love, admire, and envy Dowell's artwork and I am pretty sure that in some past life we've met because of art.

Behold Self-Portrait with Concerned Bunny, Oil on Canvas, 36" X 48".

Self-Portrait with Concerned Bunny by Margaret Dowell
Oil on Canvas, c. 1998, 36" X 48" 

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Two new venues added to the Women Artists of the DMV survey show!

In case this is the first time you're hearing about the upcoming Women Artists of the DMV survey show coming in September to several DMV art spaces, and curated by yours truly: 

Originally the proposal started keyed to the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center in DC as part of their wonderful Alper Initiative.  Once my proposal was approved a few weeks ago, then The Athenaeum in Old Town Alexandria in Virginia, and Judith Heartsong's Artists and Makers Gallery in Rockville,  Maryland became the other two venues.

To say that I was deluged and shocked to receive about 1,000 inquiries and entries within a few days after the announcement of the show may be the understatement of the still young 2025.

I realized that I needed more walls to show more artists, and I approached the amazing Lesley Morris at the beautiful Strathmore Mansion in Rockville, and she and her staff moved mountains to fit the show in their beautiful first floor galleries at the Mansion. 

And still, entries kept pouring in... nearly 3,000 by now.

I then spread out my considerable social media reach and immediately received immense input and help from many of you: thank you!

As a result of that...

Wait for it... wait for it....

I am adding not one, but two more art venues to the exhibition line-up! And not just "any ole venue", but two of the more established and respected art centers in the DMV!

Women Artists of the DMV will be now also exhibited at the McLean Project for the Arts in McLean,  Virginia and at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville, Maryland!

Wooooooo!!!

With those two highly respected venues added, I believe that I can pick another 50-75 artists for the show!

This is huge... so as my daughter would say: BOOM CHOKOLATA!

Cianne Fragione for the Women Artists of the DMV show

Cianne Fragione is known for her mixed-media works that often incorporate found objects and textiles into her oil paintings and collages. Over many years of developing and refining her artwork, Fragione has established herself as one of the key DMV artists and was one of the earliest artists that I selected for the Women Artists of the DMV show.

In the selection process for this one, one of the landmines that I am hoping to avoid - and will probably be unable to avoid - is to "skip" an artist that by all logic of the focus of the show, should be included.  In order to minimize the damage of that landmine, as part of the selection process I've "crowdsourced" the nomination process and asked about two dozen or so DMV area art illuminati to help me develop the show by nominating 10 or so artists.

Fragione is one of those names who keeps coming up on multiple lists; evidence of this talented painter's deep footprint in the DMV art scene.

Her work can be found in the permanent collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art, Cecil H. Green Library at Stanford University, and Georgetown College.

Behold Workers Wearing Toe Shoes, 2021- 2022, oil base paint, conté crayon, chalk pastel, recyle paint tube metal, collage, on paper.

Workers Wearing Toe Shoes
2021- 2022 by Cianne Fragionne
oil base paint, conté crayon, chalk pastel, recyle paint tube metal, collage, on paper
44 x 31.25 in (111.76 x 79.38 cm) 48 x 34 in (121.92 x 86.36 cm) Framed

First encaustic selected for Women Artists of the DMV

Marcy Wolf-Hubbard is a very hard working and talented artist - and I say that as a lesson for young artists - not young in age necessarily, but also in "artistness." A quick visit to her website will immediately tell you that this artist busts her tuchis in showing her work, teaching art classes, doing workshops, and essentially making most of us look like lazy whiners.

And she's really, really, really good.

She describes herself as a "Visual Artist - Paintings in Encaustic & Mixed Media." And then we discover her sculptures here, and are awed by how really good and different and powerful they are! 

For years I've been a big fan of her figurative work (see that here), and yet for this show I've selected a memorable encaustic work of birds.

I picked that work because it is a lesson not only in the arcane and almost magical genre of encaustic artwork, but also in composition, form factor, texture and psychological punch.

Look at it, study it, and learn from it.

Behold Birdfeeders, 9" x 12" x 1" - Charcoal, encaustic on cradled board. c. 2022.

Marcy Wolf-Hubbard - Birdfeeders
9"H x 12"W x 1"D Charcoal, encaustic on cradled board. c. 2022

Erin Antognoli reinventing all the rules

There are some artists who, once they discover a niche in the creation of art, often get trapped inside that sliver of artistic creativity. 

Erin Antognoli is not such an artist, in fact, she's essentially the antithesis of those artists.

Erin Antognoli likes to push, and blend, and experiment, and reinvent, and redesign forms and genres until she carves, or melts, or welds, or photographs, or writes something so striking and new to the visual senses that the solar plexus of our minds gets punched as we discover her final production!

Behold "A Glimpse Of That Fire", (20.5" H x 19" W x 3" D), glass and steel.

"A Glimpse Of That Fire" by Erin Antognoli
(20.5" H x 19" W x 3" D), glass and steel

The fine arts power force of Carol Brown Goldberg

There are a handful of visual artists in the DMV who permeate all layers of the tapestry of the fine arts not only in the Greater DC area, but also nearly everywhere that fine art is showcased.

One such power force is Carol Brown Goldberg. Painting, sculpture, films, drawing; all the squares in that cultural tapestry are touched and made better by this cyclonic artist! She is akin to the elegant butterfly whose wings flapping lead to a tornado developing somewhere in the art world; feel that fine arts wind picking up?

For the Women Artists of the DMV show I selected a painting by Carol Brown Goldberg that I think speaks volumes about how this immensely talented and prolific artist uses the forces of the Universe to shape her art. When I asked her about my selection, she noted...

About 2007, I began a large series of 'CIRCLE' paintings that travelled across Spain as well as Mexico. 

Eldest son Andy Chase, married Dominique Durand, and both are the BAND IVY (Adam Schlesinger was the third member; sadly he was one of the first celebrity victims of the Pandemic)... Middle son Bennett is also quite musical - started with cello, then drums, and then marimba! Youngest son, Jon, grew up playing violin and piano by ear...  So music has been integral part of our household and art practice.

So many of the paintings had titles about 'music' 'the band IVY,' and other personal references.  TESS, STEFAN, AND LUCAS LOVE EACH OTHER became the title as it referred to my two daughter-in-laws that became pregant almost at the same time in 2007 or 2008.

As I began that canvas, I felt I needed to express the softness of pastel-like tones, which is out of my usual color chart... I wanted colors, not to shock or stir... rather I was looking for soothing hues and by the time I finished the 8' x 9' canvas... 3 babies were born!

Dominique and Andy gave birth to adorable Tess in 2008, and a few months later, in February 2009... amazing twins Lucas and Stefan were born to Jon and Lisa.

Believing in the power of language as a positive force in the universe, the title refers to my wish or perhaps prayer, that the 3 cousins, close in age become close, and bond in friendship and most importantly... love each other!  That had to be the title... and they are all 3 best friends!

Behold TESS, STEFAN, AND LUCAS LOVE EACH OTHER, c. 2009, Acrylic on Canvas With Pulverized Glass, 84 x 96 inches.

TESS, STEFAN, AND LUCAS LOVE EACH OTHER by Carol Goldberg

c. 2009, Acrylic on Canvas With Pulverized Glass, 84 X 96