Amanda Coelho

This March, as we return to our 17th year in a row (less the year of the attack of the Covidian monster) to the Affordable Art Fair in New York City, we're bringing in a whole new group of artists from the DMV, most of whom I first met via their artwork when I juried the 2022 Paint the Town event in the pretty area of downtown Kensington, Maryland.

Jurying any art show always exposes the juror to new talent, and when I juried this show, as I often do, I selected some of my fave artists to bring to NYC for an art fair.  In my mind I wanted to "curate" a booth for the fair that showcased realist work at its best.

One of them is the superbly talented Amanda Coelho.

Coelho has only been painting since 2018, and thus in artistic developmental years, she's still a baby, but a baby with formidable crawling skills, and one who can already wield brush superpowers which emerge here and there in several of her works.

A Bear Necessity by Amanda Coelho

In "A Bear Necessity", she lets the color (green in this case) tell the entire narrative of the work. In doing so, with just the barest hint of white highlights, she not only illuminates the subject gummy bear, but creates the depth and illusion of depth in the painting.  She has accomplished what only a good painting can do: deliver a most common and trivial subject to the sublime status afforded by a good painting.

See it again on another trivial subject, a chocolate kiss, now forever immortalized as a spectacular triumph of painting skills over subject matter.

A Kiss is just a Kiss by Amanda Coelho

Coelho's works will be in booth D-10 at the Affordable Art Fair New York City, March 22-26 in Chelsea.

Call for artists

Click on the image for details!

Congrats to Meg Medina

The Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader will soon announce the appointment of Cubana author Meg Medina, who lives in Virginia, as the next National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2023-24. 

Medina, who is of Cuban ancestry  will be the first Latina to serve as the national ambassador!

Congrats Meg!!!!

Ally Morgan

The more that I look at Ally Morgan's works, the more that I like the hints of narrative in these wonderful watercolors. We will be bringing some of these works to New York for the Spring version of the Affordable Art Fair.

The ones below are from my fave series from her current work. She calls these series Concerning the Divide.

"Among the Wolves" by Ally Morgan
Watercolor on Paper, 30x22 c. 2020

"Girls" by Ally Morgan
Watercolor on Paper, 19x12, c. 2016

She writes about this work:

Is there a point where animal ends and human begins? Western philosophy suggests that the being known as “Animal” is forever positioned on the complete opposite side of the divide; a divide that reassures “Man” as superior. But, is that divide permeable? I would say yes. Nonhuman animals, especially those species that interact with us transcend that divide on a daily basis. Not human yet not animal, these species occupy a new type of existence. They are instead referred to as “Other”.

In my art, I explore the concept of the “Animal Other” as well as my relationship with them. Animals are not just beings of beauty and awe, but rather rich, complex, knowing individuals. As an artist, I feel compelled to reconstruct the human, nonhuman animal relationship as well explore our experiences with those of other species in order to examine the deep symbiotic relationship between all living creatures.

Ally Morgan's works will be in booth D-10 at the Affordable Art Fair New York City, March 22-26 in Chelsea.

Adam Bradley opening

I went to the Adam Bradley opening at the Stone Tower Gallery in Glen Echo - more on the spectcaular work by Bradley later - meanwhile that's me with Erik Sandberg and Adam Bradley... and yes, they're both pretending to be my height!

Erik Sandberg, Lenny Campello and Adam Bradley

Wanna go to an opening tonight?

Adam Bradley is without a doubt one of the most talented sculptors in the DMV, and one who seems to be under the radar for many - NOT for me! This artist is easily one of the most creative manipulators of objects to deliver images that challenge the perceptions of sculpture.

If you go to an opening this year - come with me tonight to Bradley's solo show opening at Glen Echo's Stone Tower Gallery in historic Glen Echo Park... The exhibition is titled "Furies: Within the Wilderness" and it is from 6-8PM.

Adam Bradley

Within the Wildness  |  January 14 - February 19, 2023

Stone Tower Gallery Hours: Saturdays & Sundays, 12 pm – 6 pm

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 14, 6 - 8 pm

The Stone Tower Gallery presents Within the Wildness, a solo exhibition by sculptor Adam Bradley. Bradley's current body of work deals with the isolation of anxiety and the loneliness of grief.  The characters struggle to maintain identity while trying to find reason in a world that no longer makes sense. Some cling desperately to a thread of self, while others have given in, letting go of logic to cope with a situation they cannot control.  They are at the same time vulnerable and predatory, innocent and savage.  Within the wildness, there is tender fragility, a sliver of hope so delicate it could crumble apart leaving nothing but fear and instinct.

7300 MacArthur Blvd.   

Glen Echo, MD 20812  

Phone: (301)634-2222

Closings: (301)320-2330

info@glenechopark.org

Call for Art for Global Climate Summit

Eligibility: National

State: District of Columbia

Entry Deadline: 1/27/23

Days remaining to deadline: 10

More info here

The U.S. Global Change Research Program, in collaboration with Smithsonian Institution, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, invites artists to engage in the development of the Fifth National Climate Assessment by creatively visualizing climate change in the United States: its causes, impacts, and manifestations; our shared vulnerabilities; and the strength of our collective response.

Art x Climate seeks to strengthen partnerships between science and art and demonstrate the power of art to advance the national conversation around climate change. Up to 100 selected art submissions will be featured in the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a report seen by hundreds of thousands of people across the country and around the world. Selected artworks may also be used in case studies or public events. The top finalist will receive $1000 for their submission. A second finalist will receive $600.