Last Night

Last night I went with Tim Tate to the Renwick Alliance fundraising auction.

I was very pleasantly surprised at the generosity of the bidders, as I often find that most art fundraising auctions end up being give aways. Not with this crowd (a lot of whom came from as far as Los Angeles for the function). In fact, a set of Tate's reliquiaries went for over $6,000, and a piece by William Morris broke $60,000.

True Stories from the Gallery World

Setting: A group show of 25 or so artists from around the US, Europe, Latin America and the region. A casually dressed couple, having just finished dinner at the Sea Catch Restaurant in Georgetown step into the gallery.

Him: Can we come in?

Me: Yes of course, welcome to the gallery.

Him: Does it cost anything to come in?

Me: Of course not! Come on in and look around, let me know if you have any questions.

They come in, and start looking at the works on exhibit, which as with any group show, include a variety of styles, genres, and subjects.

Her: We didn't know there were any art galleries here...

Him: Are these all by the same artist?

Me: Uh... no, it's a group show by artists from all over the US, some from Europe and some area artists.

Her (pointing to a large etching): I really like this piece.

Me: It's an intaglio etching by --

Him (looking closely at the wall label with title, artist and price info): Is that the best that you can do?

Me: It is the price for the work sir, this etching is an edition of 10, and several pieces have already sold and --

Her (Looking at a small drawing): I really like this one too.

Him: Is that the same artist?

Me: No, that's a graphite drawing by --

Him: How come it is the same price as the other one (pointing to the etching)? That other one is at least twice as big.

Me: This is an original drawing; it is one of a kind, and the other piece that you liked is a limited edition print, and there are 10 of them, although there are only three left in the edition.

Him (looking incredulous): Somebody bought all the others?

Her: I really like both of these... they're much more interesting than all the stuff that you have hanging at the house.

Him: If we buy both of them, will you give us a deal?

Me: Well, they're very fairly priced as they are, but if you buy both of them, we will gladly offer you a 10% collector's discount.

Him (adding up the Math in his head): How about $1500 for both of them?

Me: Sorry sir, that's more like a 50% discount - you wouldn't want to do business with any art gallery that has a price structure where you can obtain "art" at half price.

Him: I always get at least 40% at other art stores.

Me (clearing my throat): We don't exhibit work that can be ethically discounted to those extremes, and most reputable art dealers do not either; it hurts both the artist and the collector.

Her (staring hard at him): I really like both of these; I've never seen work like this before and I really like them.

Him (beginning to get the message): How about 25% off?

Me: With a 10% collector's discount you are getting a very fair price for two framed works of real... art.

Her: Just get them...

Him: Awright... We'll get them if you deliver them to Virginia and that way it will save us the sales tax.

Me (hoping that my eyes are not rolling): Where in Virginia?

Her: Great Falls.

I swallow hard, do the paperwork, and after explaining to them that they'll have to wait until after the exhibition is over, close the sale. A couple of weeks later, I contact them to arrange the delivery.

Using our delivery service (in other words me), I drive to Great Falls, and find their home, or shall I say mansion, one of those monster houses with acres of lawn. I knock on the door.

A Filipino maid actually wearing one of those French maid outfits opens the door. I explain to her that I am delivering two pieces of artwork, and after she stares at me and the two pieces of art, she lets me in, and shouts something in Tegalog towards the upstairs. A second uniformed Filipino maid comes down, and speaking in English says that the owners are out, but left a message for me just to leave the two pieces of art.

I do so, and ask her if it is OK for me to look at the owner's art collection. She nods and leaves.

And I look at wall, after wall full of gaudily-framed decorative work... you know: Impressionistic women in Victorian dresses with umbrellas in the wind, large Parisian scenes in thick, bright oil paints, men and women in hats that cover their eyes playing pool, seductive-eyed vixens staring dreamily into the viewer, Kinkaidian landscapes, and strangely enough at least six huge photos of those dog portraits by Wegman.

I sigh, thinking of all the tens of thousands of dollars spent in "wall decor," and almost feel as if I am leaving two small hostages behind.

The English speaking maid checks up on me, as I leave.

Me: Who usually buys the... uh... artwork?

Maid: These are all Mr. ____'s.

She points to the two that I've left behind.

Maid: Those are the first two that his new wife has bought.

I drive away with a tiny bit of relief; very tiny.

Wanna go to a Gallery Opening Tonight?

Fusebox Gallery will open an exhibition titled "Freedom Works," showcasing the the artwork of Rollins and K.O.S. with an opening reception tonight from 6-8PM.

Kirkland on Probst

J.T. Kirkland reviews Barbara Probst at G Fine Art in DCist.

The Chelsea Manifesto

DC Arts Center is launching a series of Sunday Discussion Forums and tomorrow, April 17, 2005, Christopher Lee will lead "The Chelsea Manifesto," an engaging and humorous look at the contemporary artworld.

Session One: DADA TO PRADA begins at 7:30pm, it is preceeded by "The ARTROCK Social Hour"... a chance to meet old and new friends while grooving to the sounds of art rock classics from the Talking Heads, Nico, Laurie Anderson, the B52's and more - 6:30pm-7:30pm.

Please visit the DCAC website for details on the Sunday Discussion Forums.

K & Connecticut


Mark Jenkins strikes again.

WPA/C Artists' Directory

The WPA/C is beginning to gather artists' info for the new 2006 WPA\C Artist Directory. Details and info for the 2006 WPA\C Artist Directory can be obtained here.

This will be the third issue of the Directory, and it is one of the great assets and resources that area artists have. I encourage area artists to participate (I do).

OPTIONS 2005

Dr. Libby Lumpkin, curator of the OPTIONS 2005 exhibition has scheduled her second visit to the area later this month. She will be continuing her tour of graduate programs in the area, as well as reviewing remaining written submissions in the WPA/C office.

Light Up The Warehouse

On May 14th, Warehouse is hosting a "Light up the Warehouse" party to raise funds to pay for new lights and sound equipment for the theater and they need your help.

Warehouse Theater and Gallery is another one of the great jewels in the cultural tapestry of our region.

I intend to donate a piece of art and so do the following DC area artists (so far):

Jim Adams, Tommy Adams, Felix Angel, Sondra Arkin, Scott Brooks, Gabriela Bulisova, Beth Cartland, Chez Chez, Mark Clark, Kevin Cowl, Lily Cox-Richard, Richard Dana, John De Fabbio, Margaret Dowell, Michael Dumlao, Dara Friel, Christopher Goodwin, Pat Goslee, Stuart Gosswein, Carlos Graupera, Ryan Hackett, Michael Wm Hall, Eric Hammesfahr, Bing Huang, Brece Honeycutt, Joroko, Mariah Josephy, Seth Kaplan, Jenufa Kent, Karey Kessler, Richard Kightlinger, Soumiya Krishnaswamy, Bridget Lambert, Chris Lee, Marian Lemle, Heather Levy, Mike Lowrey, Tim Martin, Rosetta McPherson, Ryan Miller, Isabel Manalo, Tim Martin, Elizabeth Morisette, Dan Murray, Noonieneon, Frederick Nunley, Steven Ochs, Dino Paxenos, Gail Peck, Mark Planisek, Philip Pradier, Mary Beth Ramsey, Karie Reinertson, Jose Ruiz, Charles St Charles, Andy Scott, Jessica Shull, Alexandra Silverthorne, Stoff Smulson, Steven Stichter, Randy Stolfus, Elena Strunk, JD Talasek, Tim Tate, Ira Tattleman, Ruth Travarrow, Susanna Thornton, Trish Tillman, Anita Walsh, Justin Winokur, Peter Wood, and Ellyn Weiss.

A preview party honoring the artists will be held May 6th. Artists wishing to donate a work of art should email Molly Ruppert at ruppertm@erols.com.

Then, on May 14, the "Light Up the Warehouse" Fundraising party will take place at Warehouse. They are planning to sell 100 Sponsor tickets at $150.00 each, which will include and original work of art. Each $150.00 ticket holder may then buy a companion ticket for $50.00 entitling the companion to the dinner, drinks, music, live and silent actions. There are also general tickets available for $100.00 for dinner, drinks, music, live and silent actions. The special artist price for the same is $50.00.

Again, artists wishing to donate a work of art, or collectors who'd like to get a ticket, should email Molly Ruppert at ruppertm@erols.com or contact her at 202/257 5989 or 202/783-8263 or 202/783-3933.

The Weekend Reviews

At the WaPo, O'Sullivan reviews "On Music: Tim Rollins + K.O.S. (Kids of Survival)" at the Kreeger Museum

As I noted here, on Saturday, Fusebox Gallery will open a show of paintings called "Freedom Works," putting the art of Rollins and K.O.S. in a different, broader context. An opening reception is scheduled from 6-8PM.

O'Sullivan also has a really good review of Collaboration as a Medium: 25 Years of Pyramid Atlantic

Powerless Critics

In the popular imagination, the art critic seems a commanding figure, making and breaking careers at will, but one hard look at today’s contemporary art system reveals this notion to be delusional. "When I entered the art world, famous critics had an aura of power," recalls ArtBasel director Samuel Keller. "Now they’re more like philosophers— respected, but not as powerful as collectors, dealers or curators. Nobody fears critics any more, which is a real danger sign for the profession."

Read the Art Newspaper article (by Marc Spiegler) here.

"The role of the critic has been gradually taken over by the curator," notes Stockholm’s Power Ekroth, who writes criticism for artforum.com, edits Site magazine, and also curates exhibitions. "The curator builds up a career by becoming the new stronghold for validation of taste. The curator is also closer to the artist, because where the critic is trying to be 'objective' the curator is clearly subjective."

Here we go again...

Painting is dead, painting is hot... the never ending, boring debate....

Secret Service Visits Art Show

This story is a little scary.

Organizers of a politically charged art exhibit at Columbia College's Glass Curtain Gallery thought their show might draw controversy.

But they didn't expect two U.S. Secret Service agents would be among the show's first visitors.

Read the whole story here.

Secrets in the CP

Frank Warren's PostSecret project continues to grow.

Page 150 of the current edition of the Washington City Paper has one of Frank's cards and will run a new one each week; Very cool!

Frank is also working on a book deal for the project.

DC Collectors

We just closed our most successful photography exhibition ever, featuring 50 years of photography by Lida Moser. The exhibition received extensive press coverage (here and in New York), both in the mainstream media, online and on television.

And yet, it shows (again) the puzzling side of DC area "collectors." Most sales were made to New York (several pieces), Los Angeles (most expensive piece), Miami and Great Britain (multiples). In spite of all the press and really good numbers of people who came to see the exhibition, only three DC collectors (if we exclude Holly, our gallery attendant, who purchased a piece) acquired work. And the other two collectors told us that it was the "first time that they had actually bought photography from a DC area gallery."

This continues a trend (for us) that sees a rather sizeable number of our art sales going to New York and West Coast collectors, while the DC "collector" market remains hard to identify in the numbers that our area's wealth and numbers should support.

New BLOG

Colby Caldwell, whom I interviewed for ArtsMedia News recently, has a new BLOG called Notes from the Fieldhouse. Visit him often.

The Thursday Reviews

Nothing in the WaPo.

In the City Paper, Louis Jacobson has a superb review of André Kertész at the NGA. I am a big fan of "intimate-sized" photography, and dislike Teutonic, poster-sized photos so much in vogue in museum exhibitions these days. Jacobson writes:

These negatives were roughly 2-by-2-and-a-half inches, and the resulting works—sometimes cropped further by the artist’s steady hand virtually demand that visitors to the National Gallery put their noses up against the glass.

The constraints of these photographs’ tiny proportions demanded something of Kertész, too: a fealty to clear composition.

Jacobson also reviews Don Reichert at the Canadian Embassy’s Art Gallery and is then puzzled in his review of the Domestic Policy printmakers' group show at District Fine Arts.

The City Paper also has an excellent profile and discussion of Jonathan Blum's portrait show at Market 5 Gallery by Mike DeBonis. Elsewhere in the CP, Kara McPhillips has a tidbit on Trish Tillman and Bridget Lambert at Warehouse Gallery. Kara also reveals that someone once offered (her boyfriend) a bag of coke in exchange for her.

In the Gazette, Tracy O'Dowd reviews "H2Art" at the Carroll Arts Center, and Dr. Claudia Rousseau reviews Pyramid Atlantic's 25th anniversary exhibition, now at the District's Edison Place Gallery.

At MAN, Green discusses Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre at the NGA.

At DCist, Kirkland reviews Prescott Moore Lassman at the Fisher Gallery (and gets in somebody's "most loathsome" list in the process).

In The Washington Examiner (in page 5) there's an article about J.W. Bailey's i found your photo project.

Gallery openings this weekend

Tomorrow is the third Friday of the month (but today is not the third Thursday), and so the five Canal Square galleries will have our extended hours and new shows. The extended hours are from 6-9PM, and the openings are catered by the Sea Catch Restaurant. The five galleries are Anne C. Fisher, Alla Rogers, Fraser, MOCA and Parish.

We will have Washington's best Sangria plus the bizarre digital photographic manipulations of New York digital artist Viktor Koen, who will be making his DC debut. More work by Koen here.

Also tomorrow, Dan Steinhilber has his first solo exhibition at Numark Gallery with a reception from 6:30-8PM. Steinhilber had his DC debut a few years ago at MOCA in Georgetown, and since then has certainly become one of our best-known artists, and this should be a terrific exhibition. Steinhilber is slated for a solo exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston next year, to be curated by Valerie Cassel Oliver. He has also been invited to a residency and commissioned to create a site-specific installation for an exhibition at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh next year.

On Saturday, Brooklyn artist Sylvan Lionni returns to Fusebox which has Sylvan Lionni: Stadia in their main space and Tim Rollins + KOS: Freedom Works in their project space, opening with a reception from 6-8PM. The exhibitions runs through May 21, 2005.

Go to an opening this weekend.

Back from Aggieland... this week's DCist Arts Agenda is here.

More later... I seem to have a lot of emails on something published by former Style section editor Gene Robinson in the WaPo this week. Will look at all that later.

Airborne Today

Heading West to College Station, Texas to do some lekturin' in Y'All country.

More later...

Kirkland on Lassman

J.T. Kirkland debuts on DCist with a terrific review of Prescott Moore Lassman's current exhibition at the Fisher Gallery.

Kahlodiscovery

A two-year renovation project at the home-turned-museum of legendary Mexican painter Frida Kahlo has uncovered a vast wardrobe of previously undiscovered clothing and other valuable artifacts, Oscar Arana reports on ABC News.

Commonly known as the Blue House because of its indigo external paint job, Kahlo and her husband, famed muralist Diego Rivera, lived in the home in the Mexican capital's fashionable Coyoacan neighborhood until her death in 1954.

Rivera turned it into a museum four years after his wife's death, but it wasn't until work to restore private areas began last summer that officials found the 180 articles of clothing which included traditional Mexican dresses depicted in Kahlo's famous self-portraits, as well as shoes, shawls, and pre-Hispanic jewelry that belonged to her.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: May 2, 2005.

Downtown Frederick Partnership is looking for artists to submit their ideas about creating an interactive, temporary piece of public art to be created and/or displayed during their First Saturday Gallery Walk on June 4, 2005.

Artists must submit a completed application including photos, sketches etc. of their idea for the public art piece by May 2. The artist will receive $500 to cover the cost of materials and payment for producing the art piece.

For more information please contact Kara Norman at the Downtown Frederick Partnership Office at 301-698-8118 or email them at mainstreet@DowntownFrederick.org.

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

George Carlin

Congratulations

To area artist Laura Amussen, whose Void/Filler II recently opened at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

This site-responsive piece continued the dialogue, began in Void/Filler first shown at the old Elizabeth Roberts Gallery, of loss, emptiness, yearning and desire. Dancer Andrea Workman choreographed and performed a modern dance in response to this piece.

Wanna Go To An Opening Today?

"The Light I Saw," a black and white photography exhibit by Karen Keating at Multiple Exposures Gallery, inside the Torpedo Factory Art Center, in Old Town Alexandria, VA, Studio #312 is on exhibit until May 1, 2005 with an opening reception today, Sunday, April 10, from 2-4pm.

Multiple Exposures Gallery is open daily 11am-5pm.

The 6th annual Bethesda Literary Festival will be held Friday, April 22 through Sunday, April 24, 2005 throughout downtown Bethesda's art galleries, bookstores, restaurants, arts organizations and venues and retail businesses.

The festival will bring together novelists, poets, journalists, nonfiction writers and children's authors and illustrators who represent the rich diversity of modern literature. The Bethesda Literary Festival also features essay contests, poetry slams, kids' and youth book parties and the 2nd annual Play In A Day.

On Saturday, April 23rd from 1-2PM we will host Alexandra Robbins, author of Quarterlife Crisis and its sequel Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis and Jen Chaney, the Washington Post's DVD and movie columnist. Robbins and Chaney will join together to share their insight on modern day living.

And then, on that same day from 2:30-4PM, we will host authors Jim Grimsley (Comfort & Joy); Susan Leonardi (And Then They Were Nuns); Michael Mancilla (Love In The Time of HIV: The Gay Man's Guide to Sex, Dating, and Relationships); and Kathi Wolfe, a local poet. The authors and poet will offer a look inside gay and lesbian literature.

See ya there!

Juror

I'm jurying this art show next. Entries must be postmarked by May 31, 2005. There are $1500 in cash prizes.

Click here for details or send a SASE to:

League of Reston Artists
PO Box 2513
Reston, VA 20195

Sunday Artsilliness

Are there any editors awake at the WaPo?

Maybe I'm just too brittle by now, but does this belong in an art criticism column?

Finch is a slight 42-year-old, with a feathery crop of short blond hair that's thinning on top. His eyes are a pale, watery blue, and they tend to look away as he explains himself, rather shyly, to a stranger. He's dressed in worn khakis and Adidas (but not the trendy ones that scenesters wear). An old white T-shirt reveals surprisingly well-muscled arms: They hint at time spent at the gym, and are the only sign of an artist's narcissism in a man who might otherwise be almost any kind of junior academic.

It's All Good

Our current Lida Moser: 50 Years of Photographs at our Georgetown gallery has become (by far) our best-selling photography show ever, thanks in part to great reviews in the Washington Post, the Washington City Paper, On Tap, and soon in The Morning News, but mostly due to Lida Moser's spectacular eye over the last 65 years or so.

Even the mighty Christie's is coming by next Wednesday (last day to see the show) to look at the exhibition.

Wanna Go to an Opening Today!

Scott Lassman has an opening artist's reception today from 1-3 p.m. for his solo photography exhibition entitled "Domesticated Animals" at the Fisher Art Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia.

The Fisher Gallery is located on the upper level of the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center.

Also last night, at Warehouse Gallery, Trish Tillman and Bridget Lambert opened a collaborative show titled "Love Me Lose Me".

According to Trish, "Love Me Lose Me" consists of "solo and collaborative fabric and print installations based on themes of getting attention when it is unwanted, vs. looking for attention that isn't there. Confrontational issues are touched upon regarding anger/relationship turmoil, sexual exploration and sexual abuse, as well as the coping mechanisms that we fall into to get by."

The exhibition runs until May 8.

Another Opportunity for Artists

The Center of the Washington DC Center for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender People (GBLT) Community Center is currently seeking artist to participate in an exhibition over the month of June. The art should reflect their experiences as a member of Washington's GLBT community. The exhibit will take place in the Center.

There will be special events open to the public during the month that will draw a large number of people into the space to view the art.

Interested artists should submit proposals for participation to Scott Billings at scott@brotherhelpthyself.org.

Opportunity for Artists

The Greenbelt Community Center Art Gallery in Greenbelt, MD, part of the Greenbelt Recreation Department Arts Program is currently seeking artists for exhibitions between July, 2005 and June, 2006.

Apply before May 27 for best chances. No residency restrictions apply. The gallery hosts professional-level exhibitions of contemporary art in an educational community setting.

Proposals may be submitted by individual artists, groups, or curators. Artwork may deal with serious content but must be appropriate for a public building with an intergenerational audience. Preference will be given to artists who are interested in leading one or more paid workshops or other community-oriented program in conjunction with their exhibition.

Send a letter articulating your concept for the exhibition, identifying the contributors, and describing a related workshop or public program (if any) which you would like to produce. Also enclose: photo cd (preferred) or slides (no limit); resume for each contributor; sound or video recording if applicable; documentation of past community-oriented projects if available; and padded return envelope with postage.

Send materials to:

Nicole DeWald
Arts Coordinator
Greenbelt Community Center
15 Crescent Road
Greenbelt, MD, 20770
For more information, call 240-542-2057 or email Nicole here.

The Power of the Web (local Bloggers do good)

J.T. has a solo show coming, G.P. is on CNN, Green will be curating a gallery show, and that living word-processing machine known as J.W. Bailey, strikes again.

Congrats to all!

The Thursday Reviews

Jessica Dawson has an excellent piece about A Proud Continuum: Eight Decades of Art at Howard University, an exhibition that I was not aware was taking place, and which sounds superbly interesting.

Dawson also writes about David Adamson Gallery's move while she looks at Victor Schrager's book still lifes and four landscape prints by William Christenberry.

And in an unexpected orgy of Thursday visual arts coverage, the usually visual art-stingy WaPo also offers a magnificent profile on area photographer John Gossage, whose last book is by Bethesda-based Loosestrife Editions, which produces beautiful photography books.

This profile of Gossage is extraordinary not only in the sense that it profiles a very important (and very good) area visual artist, but in the sense that it is there (in Style) at all. I hope that it signifies a course correction change by the Style section's new editor (Deb Heard), in doing for visual artists what the section already does for local musicians, dancers and actors.

In the City Paper Louis Jacobson has a very good review of our current Lida Moser exhibition in Georgetown.

Elsewhere in the WCP, Bidisha Banerjee has an excellent review of Prof. Peter Charles at Irvine Contemporary; a show which I quite liked as well.

The CP again comes through with a superb artist profile, in this case by Adam Mazmanian about Alexandria artist Mike Lowery.

In The Gazette, Karen Schafer discusses The Baltimore Watercolor Society 2005 Mid-Atlantic Regional Watercolor Exhibition at Strathmore Mansion.

In The Georgetowner, Gary Tischler reviews Faces of the Fallen.

The Friday Openings

Tomorrow is Bethesda's time to showcase their galleries, and tomorrow is the Bethesda Art Walk, with 17 participating galleries and art venues.

Free guided tours begin at 6:30pm. Attendees can meet their guide at the Bethesda Metro Center, located at the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin Avenue. Attendees do not have to participate in tours to visit Art Walk galleries.

Ozmosis Gallery has "A Single Vision" by Deanna Schwartzberg, while Elyse over at Gallery Neptune has an exhibition of artists' made
bookmarks, Marin-Price has paintings by Roxie Munro. Many of her oils and watercolors are views from the roof of her sky-lighted loft studio in Long Island City, just across the East River from her home in mid-Manhattan. And Creative Partners has large watercolors by Valerie Watson.

We have the second solo show by Canadian photographer Andrzej Pluta, who uses a lot of darkroom tricks (like photographing the subject flowers underwater) to deliver some of the most unusual series of flower photographs in contemporary photography.

Read the review of his 2003 solo show here.

Arts Agenda

The DCist Arts Agenda Listing has the best of this week's openings.

Time of the month for the Bethesda Art Walk on Friday.

Kahloprizes

Over the last few months I've been curating a worldwide call to artists for an Homage to Frida Kahlo hosted by Art.com with the sponsorhip of the Cultural Institute of Mexico and the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City.

Like every single one of the hundreds of art shows that I've juried or curated or organized over the years, it was an extremely difficult task. Putting together a group art show, no matter what the subject or focus, is never easy.

I reviewed about 500 entries and selected sixty or so for exhibition at art.com.

Check out the prizewinners here.

National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery is scheduled to reopen in July 2006, and emulating their namesakes in England and Scotland, they are now institutionalizing and sponsoring a major new national competition for painted and sculpture portraits: The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.

One portrait completed since January 1, 2004 may be entered between June 1 and September 6, 2005. Winner will receive $25,000 commission to complete a portrait for the Gallery's collection. Smaller awards for other finalists. Entry fee is $25 for online entries and $35 for snail mail entries.

Up to 500 paper entry forms accompanied by slides of the portrait will be accepted. Submit one or two slides for a painting and up to four slides for a sculpture. A paper entry form must be requested via e-mail from portraitcompetition@npg.si.edu after May 15, 2005. The entry fee will be $35, payable by credit card, certified check, or money order.

The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2006 will be judged in two stages. First, a panel of experts will use an online jurying system to select approximately 120 semifinalist works. The Gallery will then arrange to ship these paintings and sculptures to Washington, D.C., where the panel will meet again in early March of 2006 to select the 50-60 finalists. These works will be installed in the National Portrait Gallery’s newly renovated second-floor special exhibition galleries.

Details here. I think that it is a shame that only two genres (painting and sculpture) are being admitted to the competition. That decision leaves out the potential for the NPG to explore other rich and vibrant genres like printmaking, collage, photography, even video.

Insider's Hint: I know one of these jurors quite well, and at least in that juror's perspective, he/she will be looking for portraits that really "expand" the definition of portraiture. I will be really, really surprised if a "traditional" portrait is chosen; but I could be wrong.

Don't Mess with the (Russian Orthodox) Church!

(Thanks Joseph)

"The director of the Sakharov Museum was convicted Monday of inciting religious hatred with a controversial art exhibition that was deemed "blasphemous and profane" by the Russian Orthodox Church.

A federal district court fined museum director Yuri Samodurov and curator Lyudmila Vasilovskaya $3,600 each for organizing the 2003 exhibit, which featured dozens of artists' expressions on the subject of religion."

Read the story here. Password available here.

New Website

I keep forgetting to mention it, but our galleries website has been completely redesigned and relaunched.

New website has been designed by Mark Jenkins. Check it out here.

Art Prizes

Chris from Zeke's Gallery in Canada, has an interesting posting with a listing of a variety of American and International Art Prizes, links and the most recent winners.

See it here.

Congratulations

To Janet Solinger, now Vice President, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Public Programs, and who previously directed the now-national Smithsonian Resident Associate Program from 1972–1992.

Ms. Solinger has been selected to receive DC ArtTable's "ArtSpark" award, given to women who have achieved a distinguished career and made significant contributions to art in America.

New Art BLOG

Warren Craghead has a new BLOG called Drawer. Visit often!

Trawick Prize

This coming Friday is the deadline for artists to submit slides to the Trawick Prize. This is the third annual prize competition that awards $14,000 in prize monies to four selected artists.

Deadline for slide submission is Friday, April 8, 2005 and up to fifteen artists will be invited to display their work from September 6, 2005 – September 30, 2005 in downtown Bethesda at Creative Partners Gallery.

The competition will be juried by Olga Viso, the Deputy Director at the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Andrea Pollan, an independent curator, fine arts appraiser and art consultant and Dr. Thom Collins, Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, MD.

The Trawick Prize was established by the generosity of local small business owner Carol Trawick. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 20 years in downtown Bethesda. She is the Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. and Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District.

The Trawick Prize is separate and different from the Bethesda Painting Awards (also sponsored through the generosity of Ms. Trawick; the deadline for the Bethesda Painting Awards has already passed). But Ms. Trawick now ponies up $20,000 of her own money to award to area artists (the competition is open to DC, MD and VA artists); this is especially commendable because she's a small business owner who has stepped forward and put her money where her mouth is (in her community), while other area business giants have ignored repeated requests to help add to the prize monies. By the way, we contribute $1,000 for a Young Artist's Award.

Wouldn't it be nice if our area's business giants like... Giant Supermarkets, or AOL or Lockheed Martin each threw in a measly (to them) $20,000 to this pot of money so generously started by a small local business?

That would mean a local art prize of $80,000! That would certainly change an artist's day, presence and stature, uh?

Forward this link to major area business giants and maybe we can shame them into participating in what Ms. Trawick has seeded.

The application for the prize is online here.

Sock to the Jaw

And yet another person (in this case Sarah Corteau) challenges Blake Gopnik's treatment of a historical subject. She opens with:

In his March 26 Style review of the National Gallery of Art's Gilbert Stuart exhibition, Blake Gopnik used pop psychology to interpret the artist's portraits.

Stuart's life was indeed rich with drama. Until his death, Stuart teetered on bankruptcy -- as likely an explanation for his prolific production as ego or desire for celebrity. But Mr. Gopnik never mentioned this fact, instead choosing to put Stuart on the shrink's couch.

Read the piece here.

Wanna Go to a Gallery Closing Reception Today?

Curated by Margaret Boozer and Claire Huschle, "Existing to Remain" at DCAC closes today with a gallery talk at 3PM when you can join the artists and curators for the Gallery talk and Closing Reception.

In "Existing to Remain," four artists use ceramics and other materials as a point of departure to study transformation in the artistic process. The title refers to designations on architectural drawings denoting what is to be destroyed and what will remain during renovation. Kate Hardy examines the slippery delineation between Art and Craft in public collections. Rebecca Murtaugh considers frequency, time, and permanence. Claire Sherwood looks closely at notions of the feminine in the transformation of materials like coal and cement. Dina Weston studies aggregation and biography in an installation that uses existing architecture.

DCAC is located at 2438 18th Street, NW in Washington and can be reached at 202/462-7833.

Thanks G.P.!

Click on the Van Gogh Google and prepare to die laughing!

My day has been made and soon I will head out to the Arlington Arts Center for their opening tonite.

See ya there!

DCist Review

DCist has a review of the new William Christenberry show at Hemphill by Seth Thomas Pietras; the first of what I hope are many more visual art reviews by DCist.

Faces of the Fallen

Michael O'Sullivan writes some intelligent viewpoints about the Faces of the Fallen exhibition that makes up for the unexcusable pulpit-preaching piece earlier written by Philip Kennicott.

I do find this quote puzzling:

Vivienne Lassman, a former gallery owner and freelance curator who helped to install the final works, put it as bluntly as possible: "This is not an art exhibition."

She's wrong.

This is an art exhibition.

The debate as to the quality of the portraiture could apply to any group show in the history of art; what clouds this issue is that politics got involved in the mix, and because neither the pro nor the anti-war sides were allowed to kidnap this project (the Honorary Chairs for the exhibition include Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA), Senator John McCain (AZ), Senator John Warner (VA), Congressman John Dingell (MI), and Congressman John McHugh (NY) among others), the sore losers on both extremist sides are whining. The show, as it stands right now (and as O'Sullivan points out), is is largely nonpartisan and agenda-free.

There are some really amateurish, inept portraits, and there are also some superbly well done portraits; but let's not mix words: it is an art exhibition, and a powerfully memorable one at that.

Plus, and as O'Sullivan points out:

After all, you don't go to a showing of the AIDS quilt, or "This Is New York," the open-to-all-comers traveling exhibition of photographs of 9/11 and its aftermath, and critique the sewing technique of the quilters or the tonal qualities of the mostly amateur shutterbugs' prints.

I think that it is an impressive, emotional and memorable art project and send my thanks to every participating artist and the organizers for creating such a memorable event.

I also think that the artists who were rejected by the curator for trying to inject a political mix into the project have a solid and deep set of opinions that should be expressed, and I certainly hope that they unite and find a venue to show their anti-war or pro-war or political viewpoint portraits. If and when that happens, that will be good for the dialogue created by an important art exhibition, and their exhibition will also be art.