Supple at Warehouse

Perhaps one of the biggest voids between art critics and the other side of the fine arts equation (artists, gallerists and curators), is that most art critics seem to be fond of always giving the other side advice.

This advice is generally not only wrong, but often naive to the extreme of being laughable. Such as the art blogger who once wondered online why most galleries didn't publish nice fancy catalogs with each exhibition, and recommended that gallerists did this in order to be taken seriously by art critics.

Gallerists who read this advice immediately filed it in the round file while at the same time they try to balance the gallery books using magic in order to pay all their bills on time.

So I think that it is a good thing when an art critic, or an artist tries his hand at organizing an art show from idea to exhibition, including dealing with other fellow artists and/or art critics.

And so we come to the exhibition titled "Supple" and organized by fellow DC area blogger J.T. Kirkland, who for the past few years has developed before a worldwide online audience into an artist, a writer, an opinion voice of other artists' works, a critic of exhibitions and now a first-time curator.

Currently on exhibit through May 12 at the Warehouse Gallery complex on 7th street, NW in DC, "Supple" is an interesting example not only of the curatorial process itself, but also of the evolving nature of what it takes to be a good curator.

"Supple" is an excellent exhibition, packed to the rafters with an enviable "Who's Who in DC" of a particular nuance and sense and genre of art that has a direct link back to the curator's own work in the way it looks and feels.

The fact that a first-time curator, with no previous curatorial experience under his belt, or even that deep of an exhibition record as an artist, was able to put together a really good exhibition of several of the DC area blue chip artists speaks volumes both about the curator himself, and his work ethic, and also about the power of the web.

I know that Kirkland worked his virtual and real ass off in working to put this show together. Kirkland smartly aligned the exhibition to coincide with DC's first major international art fair, and I would bet that as artDC returns in 2008, we'll see a "Supple II" return, becoming the defacto first "satellite" show to artDC. I also know that Kirkland was able to extend his online connectivity (as a well-known blogger) to reach both artists, gallerists and writers to make "Supple" take place.

As we all know, a near disaster almost took place when Supple's original landlords somehow pulled out at the last minute and caused a show cancellation almost immediately followed by an offer from the good folks at Warehouse and a new home for the show.

By the time the exhibition opened, I am sure that young Mr. Kirkland had both a few few gray hairs and also a tremendous amount of valuable new experience and insight under his belt that 90% of art critics and writers lack.

My original plan was to attend Supple's opening last week, but as I walked out of ArtDC, I was absolutely exhausted from being on my feet all day since 4AM, and thus I headed home while I waved goodbye to Tim Tate, who was heading to the opening.

The next morning at artDC, the whole place was buzzing about Adrian Parsons' circumcision at the opening. That's his foreskin in the image below, so get it out of your system and let's move on.


Later that day I visited both Supple and the No Representation show at Warehouse (review on No Representation coming soon), and got a tour of the exhibition by Adrian Parsons.

I wanted to return on my own, and paid a second visit, a little more quiet and away from the whole sensationalist issue of Parson's penis art event, and because I wanted to give the other artists the perspective, time and effort that they deserved.

As I have noted, Kirkland did something really smart in putting his first curatorial effort together; he showcased some really talented folks who need little introduction.

People like Robin Rose, Colby Caldwell and Graham Caldwell.


He put them together with proven talent from the likes of Linn Meyers, Adam Fowler and James Huckenpahler.

And then he added some new, emerging talent such as Laurel Lukaszewski (who is emerging as the new star of Artomatic) and the forementioned Adrian Parsons.

And on a quiet visit to the show, in my opinion, the newcomer, Laurel Lukaszewski steals the show.

Her piece "Cascade" (image to the left) was created to be exhibited in this show.

It is as perfect for this earthy gallery space as a work of art can be.

Lukaszewski's piece has a hard-to-define sense of organic sensuality that seems to more often than not, find a place in porcelain in the hands of a master.

It is so fragile and so delicate that we want to blow on it to see if it moves, while at the same time being afraid that it will come crashing down.

Graham Caldwell's untitled piece is another one of my favorites in this exhibition. Every time that I see a new Caldwell I glow in the knowledge that the DC area is so lucky to have not one but two of the best of the new breed of glass artists who is dragging glass away from craft and firmly planting it into the fine arts.

When the history of glass in the 21st century is written, historians will discuss the profound effect on the new directions in glass, so different from each other, that the two DC glass geniuses, Tim Tate and Graham Caldwell, cast for the genre while working in the same city.

For "Supple" Caldwell has presented a piece that, much like Lukaszewski's, has a subtle sense of being organic and fragile, but unlike that porcelain work, Caldwell's glass and steel sculpture is also (and paradoxically) strong and almost moving.

I say moving in the sense that the piece reminds me of a powerful arterial work, with life giving power coursing through the delicate glass, married to the powerful steel. It is this paradox, glass and steel, fragility and strenght, life and death (part of the artery is detached from itself) that makes this an "Oh WOW" work of art and a key element of "Supple."

I am a big fan of both Linn Meyers and Adam Fowler, but for both these two talented and hard working artists I have one piece of advice: Mondrianism.


Both Fowler and Meyer's works in Supple are superb examples of their current artistic presence; in Meyer's case another one of her delicate ink and colored pencils on Mylar, and in Fowler's case another one of his amazing (hard to find another word to describe his process) hand-cut graphite, multi-layered works on paper.

In both cases, the process to create their work is so unique, and their individual styles so singular to the artists, that a Fowler is immediately recognized as a Fowler, and so is a Meyers.

And thus the potential trap of Mondrianism, or I defined it many years ago, the danger of an artist getting stuck on a very successful process to deliver and create work, and failing to explore alternative venues once that process and its associated imagery has been exhausted.

Having said that, it's far from that point (yet) for both these artists, and their contributions to Supple also add to make Kirkland's first venture into the gray-hair-making process of curating an art show a very successful debut, making us looking forward to "Supple II."

Wanna go to a Manassas, VA opening tomorrow?

Area artist Lou Gagnon, together with Susie Slabaugh White and Brook Forrest White from the Flame Run Glass Studio from Louisville, Kentucky open at the Center for the Arts' Caton Merchant Family Gallery (9419 Battle Street, Manassas, Virginia 20110, 703.330.2787).

The Opening Reception is May 5th, 6-8 pm and there's also a Spring Gallery Walk today, May 4th, 6-9:30 pm.

Gould on the DC tax hike pinch

The CP's Jessica Gould delivers a really good report on the effect of the DC property tax hike on the Warehouse Gallery and Theatre complex and other arts establishments in the neighborhood.

Looks bleak.

Supple issues

The WCP's Kriston Capps reviews the "Supple" exhibition at Warehouse Gallery in the current issue of the CP. The curator, J.T. Kirkland has some issues with "three inaccuracies in the review, each of which could be damaging to my [Kirkland's] repututation as a curator."

Read Capps' review here.

Read Kirkland's Letter to the WCP Editor here.

Comments on this later...

Artomatic Party Tonight

If you've been putting off going to AOM, tonight all of the exhibiting artists are setting up a second opening party with munchies and drinks. In addition to a full cadre of artists, May 4th promises to be as energetic as Opening Night, which saw over 3,500 people attend. In addition to the artists, there are over 15 events on the schedule.

The party starts at 6PM and goes to 1AM. Parking is free after 4PM and the entire multi-floor party is free and open to the public.

It's not my chob, man

The American Association of Museums has selected Ford Watson Bell as its new president.

Bell then stated that the troubled Smithsonian remains "a great institution," which is not too debatable. But he then added, "I have no advice for them."

Good start.

Here's Bailey's take on the subject.

O'Sullivan on Artomatic

Washington Post art critic Michael O'Sullivan has been writing about art for the WaPo longer than the other two active critics at the Post (Blake Gopnik and freelancer Jessica Dawson). Like Gopnik, O'Sullivan is married to a DC area artist, but unlike Gopnik, O'Sullivan knows the DC area art scene probably better than Gopnik and Dawson combined.

As such, when O'Sullivan goes to review the so widely maligned Artomatic, I feel that he does so from the perspective of someone with a long history of knowing some of the artists there; someone who has been to every Artomatic and to almost every museum show in the DC region in the last 15 years or so, and to a ton more DC area art galleries than Gopnik has ever set foot in.

So O'Sullivan comes prepared with a set of critical eyes and mind that do not visit an open show like AOM with a predisposed mind like nearly every other DC area art critic does. And tomorrow's WaPo will have O'Sullivan's review of AOM which includes this piece:

So let me say this before I get in too deep: I come to praise "Artomatic," not to bury it.

To anyone familiar with "Artomatics" past, it will come as no surprise that there's more to loathe than to love. But you know what? The ratio is no worse than at an off-price store like Syms, where you have to pick through racks and racks of stuff you'd never wear before -- maybe -- stumbling across that one amazing find. The long odds haven't stopped anyone from shopping there, and they won't keep me away from "Artomatic."

Read the review here.

There's also a lesson in this review to all the young Turks who in their 20s or early 30s already think that they can spew out constant words of critical dismissal in tuto for nearly everything they see, ignoring all the lessons that they are yet to learn from what they have not seen.

It's a very transparent mistake of young pens and combative minds seeking to always try lift the scab rather than deliver constructive criticism that has both teeth and substance. I have done it myself, and learned from it.

Bravo O'Sullivan!

Cinco de Mayo

This Saturday people will be drinking tequila and Mexican beer on a planetary scale, celebrating the fabled "Cinco de Mayo" date.

I always have fun asking people what "Cinco de Mayo," celebrates, and some of the answers that I have gathered over the years have been hilarious. Here's a quiz in fun:

Cinco de Mayo celebrates:

- May 5, 1810 - Mexico declares independence from the Kingdon of Spain. Eleven years later the Spanish soldiers get the memo and leave Mexico forever.

- May 5, 1848 - With the fearsome Spaniards gone, the United States goes to war with Mexico and grabs a huge chunk of land from the former Spanish colony. The Mexicans invent the term "gringo" to refer to the Americans.

- May 5, 1862 - The pissed off Mexican Army, under the command of Texas-born General Zaragosa whips the French Army at the Battle of Puebla. The shamed French Army never ever gets any respect on any other battlefield and becomes the practice runs for the German Army.

- May 5, 1900 - Tijuana bartender Jose Cuervo is horrified to discover that somehow an agave worm has been bottled accidentally in a tequila bottle that he was about to open. Disgusted he throws the bottle in the garbage. It is picked up by six drunk US Navy sailors on liberty, who drink the whole bottle and then get into a fist fight as to who gets to eat the worm. Cuervo notes this bizarre event and takes notes.

- May 5, 1938 - Mexican actress Margarita Carmen Cansino changes her name to Rita Hayworth and becomes an instant Anglo sensation in Hollywood.

- May 5, 1969 - Mexican-Americans decide that from now on they are be called "Chicanos."

- May 5, 1972 - The Nixon administration decides that Mexican-Americans are to be called Hispanic from now on. Other Americans of Latin American ancestry are also rounded up under this cultural name.

- May 5, 2000 - Hispanics decide that from now on they are to be called "Latinos" because Europeans from Spain and Portugal have joined the gravy train and have been declared "Hispanics" as well.

- May 5, 2025 - At 12 noon, with a majority population of Mexican-American ancestry, the state of California secedes from the United States of America and re-joins the Estados Unidos de Mexico.

- May 5, 2025 - At 12:45 PM Mexico declares its intentions to begin drilling for oil off the coast of California and begins moving the Mexican Army to round-up the Hollywood crowd.

- May 5, 2025 - At 1:00 PM California secedes from the Estados Unidos de Mexico. The Mexican Army promptly deserts and become instant residents of California. At 1:30PM, California asks to be re-admitted into the Union. The United States declines to take them back and begins building a wall along the California state line.

All in fun!

Be safe drinking and celebrating out there and Viva Mexico!

Loads of gallery openings tomorrow

Tomorrow is not only "Cuatro de Mayo," but also the first Friday of the month, and thus tons of galleries in DC and Philadelphia will have extended hours and new shows openings.

Details on Philly openings here.

Details on DC openings here.

The Personal Picture Plane

The Personal Picture Plane is an exhibition by Philadelphia and New Jersey based artists Ellen Abraham, Jim Brossy, Aurora Deshauteurs, Richard Elzo Dunn, Jessica Makin, Louise DeSalvor Masi, and Carol Taylor-Kearney. The exhibition is curated by Carol Taylor-Kearney and it was recently exhibited at the Gloucester County College's College Hall Gallery and is currently on exhibition at StrataSphere Exhibition Space in Philadelphia through May 27th.

Wanna go to another DC opening today?

The Independent Artists Forum presented by the Art Group of the Staff Association of the Organization of American States has an exhibition by The Independent Artists Forum: Ethel Bustamante, Haydeh Rastin, Marjolein van Milligen, Marion van Ruiten and Wendy Plotkin-Mates. The Opening Reception is today Thursday, May 3, 2007 from 5:45 to 8:00 p.m. At the General Secretariat Building (1889 F St., NW Terrace Level, Washington, DC 20006).

Wanna go to a DC opening tomorrow?

"Roman Vishniac’s Berlin" opens May 3 at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue (600 I Street NW in DC) with a reception at 6:30 pm. Opening remarks by special guests Mara Vishniac Kohn (daughter of Roman Vishniac), Klaus Scharioth (Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany), and Aubrey Pomerance (curator of the exhibition and archivist of the Leo Baeck Archives at the Jewish Museum Berlin). RSVP to 202-408-3100 or info@sixthandi.org.

New DC gallery

A new gallery will open at 1353 U Street, NW in Washington, DC next year. More later...

Mega Art Show Ideas

The WaPo's former Chief Art Critic (and now mostly a resident of soggy Scotland) Paul Richard, writes about the disappointing numbers of visitors attending the Corcoran's mega exhibit "Modernism."

It's not easy predicting or creating museum exhibitions that will attract huge numbers and put some money in a museum's coffers, especially at $14 a pop, as the Corcoran's entry fee is. I've heard nothing but good things about the Corcoran's new director (Paul Greenhalgh) and at least he's trying to get the Corcoran back on track and also out of the red.

And museum directors are caught between a rock and a hard place when selecting exhibitions that have a good chance of being popular. In the elitist world of most art critics and the art world cabal, any exhibition that is popular with the masses is immediately suspect of being low brow.

The American art world generally does not trust the American public's sense of taste when it comes to visiting an art exhibition. If they line up around the corner, then the exhibit is too popular and thus... ah... "popular."

Nonetheless the Mid Atlantic Art News Mega Exhibition Ideas Department has been hard at work with some suggestions almost guaranteed to bring huge masses to the Corcoran, or any other museum in the nation for that matter.

Lines like the ones we experienced in DC with the Vermeer exhibition, or the Van Gogh exhibition, or the WPA/C PostSecret exhibition, or in Philly with the Dali exhibition.

Frida Kahlo - In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907–1954), the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, in association with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), will present a major exhibition of the artist’s paintings spanning her career. Curated by art historian and Kahlo biographer Hayden Herrera and Walker Associate Curator Elizabeth Carpenter, Frida Kahlo will open at the Walker October 27, 2007 – January 20, 2008, before traveling to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and SFMOMA. Why Kahlo is not coming to any DC museum is a mystery to me, and I can already hear the k'ching of cash registers in those museums selling posters, books, etc.

The Art of Comic Books - Hollywood gets it, so when will the artworld get it? Comic book characters generate big bucks for la la land, and I suspect that a massive survey of original artwork by both the vintage artists of the early to mid 20th century, as well as the cult icons like Frank Frazetta, Berni Wrightson and others, coupled with the young new hard guys and gals is sure to (a) expose the brilliant genre of art that is comic book art, and (b) get huge lines to see the original boards for Superman, or Batman, or Spidey, or Frazetta's spectacular series of Conan, The Barbarian illustrations.

PostSecret - Why someone hasn't done this on a massive scale is beyond me. Imagine a museum lined up with 100,000 postcards of Frank Warren's secrets. If they stood in lines around the block when the WPA/C did it in hard-to-get-to and hard-to-park Georgetown, imagine what it would do in a highly visible museum setting and to that scale.

The Ivy League and Seven Sisters Nude Photographs - It was an apparently long-established and bizarre custom at most Ivy League and Seven Sisters schools for incoming freshmen to pose nude for a series of photographs. In some cases, pins were attached with adhesive to their backbones at regular intervals from the neck down. These "posture photos" were in some of these schools a routine feature of freshman orientation week, and designed to "discover" those students with an erratic postural curve, and those were then required to attend remedial "posture classes." I kid thee not. Both George Bush presidents, Bob Woodward and many other now famous folks were required to do it at Yale. At Vassar, Meryl Streep did it, and at Wellesley, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Diane Sawyer also did it. Can you imagine the lines of people waiting to peek at a naked Dubya?

Ansel Adams Revealed - There are some fill-in-the-blank American art icons whose name alone guarantees a mega show because their art has become part of the American identity. In addition to Adams, other such artists include Georgia O'Keefe, Norman Rockwell, Andrew Wyeth, Andy Warhol and maybe Hopper. Because the Library of Congress owns thousands of Ansel Adams negatives created while Adams worked for the Dept. of the Interior, I suspect that a hard-working curator could dig and put together an exhibition of seldom seen Adamses.

Sports Art - People are always yapping about political art (yawn), which is simply another genre or subject that artists look at once in a while. And if we simply consider focusing an art exhibition on a particular subject matter, just to get a general survey as to what artists are doing on that particular subject, then a potential idea would be a survey of sports-related art. What has happened in this genre since the great George Bellows paintings? Some photos have become an iconic part of Americana, such as the great Ali - Liston photos. What else is out there?

Other interesting ideas (not guaranteed to be mega exhibits):

Ebay Artists - At any given time there are around 150,000 lots classified as art on Ebay and around 12,000 by self-representing artists. Ebay is generally where bottom-feeders dwell (for the most part) in the world of art. But we also know that it's not that unusual anymore for museum curators to occasionally troll through Ebay looking for specific stuff. Can a decent exhibition be curated from the massive numbers of artwork being exposed through Ebay? Just an exhibition of copy cats may be fun.

Blank Canvas - Imagine that a local museum sets up 100 4 ft. x 4 ft. blank canvasses on easels and sets up an online and snail mail lottery where artists from all over the world submit their details and at a certain point 100 of them are picked at random via a lottery style (or a curated process I guess) and selected to come to the museum for a specific period of time and create a painting live and in situ.

Googlart - A variation of the above, but a more contemporary approach, where the museum sets up 25 big LCD screens in a cool minimalist way, and each screen in hooked up online and connected to a wireless keyboard somewhere else in the museum, where visitors can type in some sort of search parameter and using some new dorky CGI script of whatever, in conjunction with Google Image Search, be constantly presenting images on the screen, say 10 seconds each? Because this is the USA, some sort of safety net to try to avoid porn would be needed, so perhaps a hidden human in the loop to prevent porn from going to the screens may be a good idea. Get Google to sponsor the exhibition, pay for the screens and for the minimal software development and you're set!

Any more ideas? Email me.

Tyler School of Art Seeks Exhibition Coordinator

Deadline: May 21, 2007

The Department of Exhibitions & Public Programs at Tyler School of Art, Temple University, is seeking an Exhibitions Coordinator to administer an ambitious contemporary art programs at Temple Gallery in Old City Philly and on Tyler's Elkins Park campus.

These programs are designed to contribute to the intellectual liveliness of the artistic community in Philadelphia, and to have a national impact as a forum for the debate of significant artistic issues. Tyler Exhibitions seeks a highly organized individual to work with the Director on public relations, planning, budgets, overseeing students, and all aspects of gallery and office administration.

The Successful candidate will be flexible, detail-oriented, and able to work on multiple projects simultaneously. Position requires minimum three years art gallery or museum experience, strong writing skills, knowledge of contemporary art, experience with office administration including expertise with Word, Access, and Excel.

Cover letter, resume, and three references to:

Sheryl Conkelton
Tyler Exhibitions
7725 Penrose Ave
Elkins Park, PA 19027

Pyramid Atlantic Art Center Seeks Executive Director

Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, a contemporary visual arts center and gallery in Silver Spring, MD, dedicated to creation, exhibition and appreciation of paper, prints and book art, seeks a new Executive Director to succeed founder, Helen Frederick, who has been running the joint for over 26 years.

The new person will direct, inspire and oversee art programs through collaboration with external artistic leaders for the organization's programming and artistic activity. Reporting to the Board, they will work closely with local, regional and broader philanthropic community, including state and local agencies, to cultivate financial and other support.

Experience should include: arts background, proven leader with entrepreneurial flair, experience with diverse fundraising of $500k annually, experience leading a management team and staff through change process, Master's or Bachelor's degree in Art, Arts Management or related field.

Click here for a full job description. To apply send email with your cover letter, resume and salary requirements to: successionusa@gmail.com.

Opportunity for Artists and Curators

Deadline: June 15, 2007

The Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) is requesting proposals for exhibitions for its main gallery space for periods of approximately 4-6 weeks. Proposals will be accepted from artists, independent curators, or arts organizations.

Visit this website for more details.

PostSecret Artist at Artomatic

My good friend, local artist and one of the world's best-known artists, Frank Warren, the talent behind the spectacularly successful PostSecret project, will be signing copies of his books at Artomatic starting this weekend.

Copies of Warren's three bestselling books, "PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives," "My Secret: A PostSecret Book," and his latest work, "The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book," will be available for purchase during the signing events.

Launched at Aromatic in November 2004, PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. More than 80,000 postcards have been received. PostSecret has attracted interest from around the world, and the project's Web site, www.PostSecret.com has been visited by more than 70 million people.

"None of this would have been possible without Artomatic," said Warren, a Germantown, Md., businessman. "For me, Artomatic was a gateway to a new more creative and fulfilling life."

The PostSecret signings will take place on Friday, May 4, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, May 5, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday, May 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Visitors to Artomatic can also watch a video presentation of some of the
PostSecret postcards Warren has received in room Yellow 6B25.

For directions and hours, call the Artomatic infoline at (202) 544-1005.

Opportunity for Artists and Curators

Deadline: October 15, 2007

The Howard County Center for the Arts, a 27,000 square foot facility located in Ellicott City, Maryland, is seeking proposals from artists and curators nationwide for solo and group exhibits for the 2008-2009 gallery season.

All original artwork in any media, including installations, will be considered for the general review. The Arts Council is also accepting slide submissions for two specific upcoming exhibits: Illuminations (working title), a juried exhibit of artworks with light/illumination as the primary medium, and an untitled exhibit of book arts. Work previously shown at the Howard County Center for the Arts will not be accepted for review, nor will work previously submitted to the gallery program in the past year. There is no fee to apply.

Artists must be at least 18 years old. Artists and curators should submit up to 20 slides with an accompanying slide list, an artist/curator statement, resume and application to exhibit, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope with sufficient postage for the return of application materials. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Call 410-313-2787 for an application or download it here. Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis, however, deadlines to be included in the next review is October 15, 2007.

Wanna go to a Germantown, MD opening tomorrow?