Art Gallery of Potomac

I finally dropped by the check out The Art Gallery of Potomac (10107 River Road, Potomac, Maryland 20854), which as far as I know is the only art gallery in uberwealthy Potomac, Maryland (more on that later).

The gallery occupies a huge space next to Walgreens, on a former store space of horse riding supplies. After they tore down the stalls and assorted other horsey stuff, what remained behind, an industrial shell of a large space, is perfect for an art gallery: white walls, industrial-looking and raw.

After the horse store closed and the space remained empty and vacant for a while, I was told that a couple of years the artists from Potomac Artists in Touch (PAinT), got together and approached the landlord, and offered to run a gallery in the space until a paying tenant could be found (the "for lease" sign hangs prominently on the front window).

So far they've managed to last a couple of years and instead of an ugly, closed up space, Potomac's only local source of original art is now a mainstay in the Village and the only art gallery in one of the nation's wealthiest barrios.

Most of the work on exhibit appeared to be from PAinT members (Judith Bourzutschy, Colette Calilhanna, Karin Colton, Terri Cunningham, Cherry Dearie, Felisa Federman, Claire Howard, Anne Martinez, Yolanda Prinsloo, Bess Rodiquez Richard and Martha Lechner Spak), although I know that other artists also show there (the current featured show is by Anne Martinez, and it is titled "Portraits of Love" and is an exhibition of pet portraits as well as works by Stephen Dell'Aria, Merry Lymn, David Therriault and others), and I recall that the very talented Jessica Van Brakle also once showed there a while back.

Like any big group show, there was some saccharine work on exhibition, and artwork that ranged from raw amateur -both in display and artwork itself - to accomplished pieces breathing with talent and skill.

Of all the artists in the gallery, the only one that I was familiar with was the work of Argentinean artist Felicia Federman, who is a very dynamic artist and who is always exhibiting somewhere around the DMV throughout the year. Her mixed media works are her strongest skill set and those mixed media pieces are some of the best on exhibition now.

I also liked some of the work by South African-born artist Yolanda Prinsloo, who (if her portrait in her business card is accurate) is a dead ringer for Frida Kahlo!

Overall, my kudos to this hard working group of artists who took an empty shell of a space in Potomac Village and turned it into Potomac's only art gallery, which tells you something about art collectors in the DMV. I only hope that Potomac residents continue to support this artist-driven effort and hope that the landlord never leases this space.

Strasburg on the mound today


Stephen Strasburg will be taking the mound tonight for the Potomac Nationals in the opener of a three-game series against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans as the fireballer continues his comeback from Tommy John elbow surgery and thus allowing me to continue to create cartoons about him...

Rousseau on new shows

Dr. Claudia Rousseau, writing in The Gazette, reviews the show of the young artists mentored by Susana Raab, Tim Tate and yours truly.

Two interesting and high-quality exhibits, full of experiment and new ideas, are on view: “Fine Artists in Residence” at the Mansion at Strathmore in North Bethesda and “ARTbeat” at the Artery Plaza Gallery in Bethesda.

The Strathmore show is the culmination of FineAIR, a six-month residency program that paired local emerging artists with established professional artist mentors in related disciplines and media. The show demonstrates how successful this program has been in creating a nurturing environment for both mentors and AIRs. Included in the exhibit is new work by the four AIRs as well as work by their mentors. For its variety, its conceptual breadth and technical excellence, this is among the best exhibits I have seen in this venue. Kudos to Fine Art Program and Education Manager Holly Haliniewski who is largely responsible for managing the program and organizing the exhibit.

Read the whole review here.

Airport ditches art in favor of ads

(Via) This story is just another sad reminder of where art stands in many public organizations' list of priorities.

If you’ve been to the Indianapolis International Airport, you’ve probably admired the artwork in the main terminal. But if you want to see an Indiana artist's centerpiece project, you’d better look quickly because it's about to be taken down.

The artwork called “Chrysalis” sits at the center of one of the busiest passenger intersections in the terminal, and it was commissioned for the space where it hangs. Whether going to get your bags or just passing through, odds are you are going to see the piece.

Airport ditches art in favor of ads; artist disappointed : wishtv.com

Read the whole article and story here.

Registration for the Frederick Artomatic is now underway

Visit www.artomaticfrederick.org

Registration continues through September 9 - Sign up to reserve a space now!

Frederick Artomatic will run from September 28 - November 6.

Tomorrow: Synergy

Synergy is an exhibition of artwork by the Torpedo Factory's 2011 Visiting Artists - who were selected this year by yours truly!

Exhibition Dates: August 11 – 28

Reception: August 11, 6-9pm during Second Thursday Art Night

Location: Site 2 and Site 3 Galleries, Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union Street, Alexandria, VA

Additional information: To learn more about the Visiting Artist Program click here.

The Torpedo Factory Art Center presents this summer’s 2011 artists in the Visiting Artist Program in an exhibition entitled Synergy. The Visiting Artist Program, the Torpedo Factory Artist Association’s residency program, invites artists both emerging and experienced from around the nation to become a part of its art-making community for a summer. This year’s juror, F. Lennox Campello, international award-winning artist, author of leading art blog Daily Campello Art News, curator, art critic, and writer in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, PA, chose 11 artists for the 2011 summer program. This residency awarded these artists with the opportunity to create in a Torpedo Factory studio from June until August for one, two, or all three months.


This year’s selected artists are: Mark Thomas Anderson (Arlington, VA); M. Chava Evans (Baltimore, MD); Allison Long Hardy (Woodbridge, VA); Katie Latona (Champaign, IL); Heather McCaw (Washington, DC); Emily Moorhead (Cincinnati, OH); Linda Morrell (Castleton, NY); Liza Myers (Brandon, VT); Drew Parris (Stevensville, MD); Fierce Sonia (Alexandria, VA); Kazaan Viveiros (Alexandria, VA).

Synergy stems from the cohesive objective expressed by the visiting artists to fill their time at the Torpedo Factory Art Center (TFAC) with new audience exposure, fresh inspiration from within the TFAC and abroad, and productive studio time that, in totality, amounts to an influential and wholesome experience. Conversely, their synergy translates into quite diverse works that ranges from detritus-based installations to graphite renderings. The exhibition Synergy is centered on this aspect and displays artwork created by each artist during residency and presents interviews conducted at the start of summer on each as well. The exhibited imagery portrays each artist’s perspective and the questionnaire conveys each artist’s anticipations and aspirations for the program in a literary art form. The visiting artists’ unique creativity and individuality permeates through while collectively they comprise this summer’s 2011 Visiting Artist Program.

Join us August 11th from 6-9pm for the opening reception to Synergy held in conjunction with the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s (TFAC) Second Thursday Art Night. Come visit Site 2 and 3 Galleries on the second and third floors of the art center and view synergized art, read insightful interviews, and talk to the visiting artists!

See ya there

Trawick Opens Sept. 1

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards will feature the work of 11 artists from Sept. 1 - 30 at the Artery Plaza Gallery located at 7200 Wisconsin Avenue.

Gallery hours are Wed. - Sat., 12-6pm.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, Sept. 9 from 6-9pm. The Trawick Prize is celebrating its 9th year of honoring regional artists with $14,000 in prize monies. See the complete list of exhibiting artists here.

Five of the 11 finalists are from Baltimore, and two from the District.