Fairouz Cafe And Gallery
Today I had lunch at one of the best Mediterranean/Greek/Middle Eastern restaurants that I can recall - ever.
I'm talking about Fairouz Cafe And Gallery in San Diego (Gallery because the owner is quite an accomplished artist - Ibrahim Al Nashashibi - and loads of his work decorates the restaurant).
The lunch buffet was amazing! It has both a vegan side and also a "regular" fare of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean delicacies - but many of them (I talked to the owner) come from Nashashibi's mother's recipes - which have been in the family for centuries.
And I mean centuries - for example Nashashibi was born in a house on Jerusalem's Via Dolorosa which the Nashashibi family has owned for centuries!
"You must try the Lemon and Chicken soup!" he begged me as I was about to leave. "It has been voted San Diego's best soup for the last two years in a row!" he told me.
I tried it and it was delicious. As was the saffron chicken, which also tasted as it had been infused with lemon. The combo of saffron and lemon was a fantasy to the taste buds.
Even simple dishes, like the garlic cabbage were amazing.
And all of that and much, much more in a buffet for $8.99 - simply a spectacular deal for the money for home cooked food from the east part of the Med.
Fairouz Cafe And Gallery
3166 Midway Drive #102
San Diego, California 92110
Phone: 619.225.030
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
WGS Studio Coordinator Position Open
The Washington Glass School has an immediate opening for a Studio Coordinator in its Mt. Rainier location. Founded 8 years ago, this is one of the busiest studios on the East coast. They are not only an educational venue, but they are also the home of many successful independent artists. The School also works with large scale public art projects.
The successful candidate will have many of the following traits:
~ Extremely organized and punctualDuties will include:
~ Ability to move from one project to the next very quickly
~ Be a self starter and able to work independently
~ Skills in sculpting clay would be helpful…..as well as skills in computer work, administrative paperwork, warm glass, shipping and delivery
~ Comfortable with people and able to possible teach classes
~ Daily studio clean-upsWhat they offer:
~ Working with plaster, lost wax, warm glass
~ Installing sculptural work
~ Assisting or taking over some classes.
~ 100 things that might come up….and do. This can be hard, dirty work
~ To learn numerous methods of relating to glass and sculpture (all classes are free to you)This is a great opportunity for someone who would like to further their sculpture or glass career, and to join one of the most successful teams in the region. Please email Tim Tate at TimTateGlass@aol.com.
~ Free studio space to work on your warm glass
~ $10 an hour to start
~ The ability to see how a very successful sculpture studio operates.
~ Many gallery and show opportunities.
~ The ability to become part of a much larger community
~ Mentoring for your career as an artist
Washington Glass School
3700 Otis St.
Mt. Rainier, Md. 20712
202-744-8222
WashGlass.com
Monday, February 01, 2010
Tape Sculptures
There's a contest going on to see who can create the best sculptures in Scotch Tape's first annual tape sculpture contest.
Current entries can be viewed, and voted, online here.
Persons interested in submitting their sculptures can still do so through the end of this month. A press release with details - and instructional
videos for how to make tape art - is online here.
Winners will be selected among the finalists by (who else but) DC-based tape sculptor Mark Jenkins.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Temp Gallery?
I hear that an interested party is looking for a short term lease to occupy the empty space where the Numark Gallery used to be on E Street. That gorgeous space has remained empty since Cheryl Numark closed a few years ago.
Gallery moves
Washington Printmakers will move to their new home at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center tomorrow. Their inaugural opening reception for their 25th Anniversary Reunion Show will be Friday, February 5, 5:30-8:00 pm.
25 years in gallery years is like 100 in any other business. One of the reasons that some of our oldest galleries in the DMV are collectives is because all the artist members share the load of the costs of running the space, which allows it to survive rocky austere times such as we are experiencing now.
And WP is by far the best DMV area gallery in its specialty of printmaking.
One word that has been hijacked from the art lexicon by the art merchants is the word "print."
A print is a woodcut, or a linocut, or an intaglio etching, etc. It is created by the printmaker, from beginning to printmaking. Anything else is a reproduction.
So if the original is a watercolor, or an oil, etc. and then you get digital copies of it, or four color separations, etc. all of those are reproductions of the original. However, it's hard to sell something when you describe it as a reproduction, and thus why dealers and artists alike describe their reproductions are "prints."
Giclees is a modern artsy way to describe a reproduction. Giclee is the French word for "spray" or "spurt." It describes the Iris burst printers originally used to make the beautiful new digital reproductions that started appearing in the art world around 15 years ago.
Nothing pisses off a printmaker faster than hearing a reproduction called a print. Want to see some good prints? Visit Washington Printmakers and Pyramid Atlantic often.
Cultural Capital
If you are a fan of live performances, arts events and cultural programs, then you should know about CultureCapital.com, The Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington's Arts & Cultural Events Resource Site.
CultureCapital.com, includes over 300 participant arts and cultural organizations in DC, MD and VA (complete list here) and is easily searchable by date, category, keyword and region.
Use the advanced search on the upper left to customize your search by date range, subcategory and keywords and be sure to click on the map to search the area you prefer. On the right side of the site you will see a link to TICKETPLACE, where you can find half-price tickets online, in advance which they will hold for you at will call for shows at various arts and cultural events at The Kennedy Center and many other great venues!
Also on the site, you will find a place to sign up to for the new weekly email, CultureCapital Insider, which highlights special events, openings and closings, one night only and free events for that week.
CultureCapital.com is a great online guide that can help you to explore the creative side of this city and the entire DC region by providing a one-stop-shop that helps you to discover all of the wonderful arts and cultural events happening in the area.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Opportunity for Artists
Deadline: Feb 28, 2010
The M-NCPPC space in the Gateway Arts Center is actively seeking both exhibition proposals for the 2010-11 season, as well as craft artists interested in showing & selling work at the center.
Craft proposals are being reviewed immediately and on an ongoing basis.
The next deadline for exhibition proposals is Feb 28, 2010.
The Gateway Arts Center (formerly called the Brentwood Art Center) will celebrate it’s grand opening on March 19, 2010. The center, located at a gorgeous space at 3901 Rhode Island Ave. in Brentwood, is dedicated to presenting and promoting the visual arts.
It is home to a dozen artists’ studios (Studio rents are starting at $13 s/f, plus utilities. For more information or to make an appointment to see the studios call John Paradiso at 301-864-3860 ext.3.), a gallery operated by the Gateway CDC, and the Prince George’s African American Museum & Cultural Center and certainly the heart of a new area home to many artists studios and several emerging art galleries.
The Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission occupies approximately 1/4 of the building, featuring a gallery, a contemporary craft store, and an arts class/meeting room. It is a place for people of all ages to meet, engage and learn about art, purchase one of a kind craft objects, and explore new talents.
Proposals/applications should include:
* A résumé or CV
* Appropriate digital documentation with a list of images that includes titles, media, size, and dates.
* Exhibition proposals should include and artist/curator’s statement.
Send to:
Attn: Gateway Arts Center
Arts & Cultural Heritage Division, M-NCPPC
7833 Walker Dr. Suite 430
Greenbelt, MD 20770
If you have any questions, would like additional information or a full prospectus, please contact:
Phil Davis, phil.davis@pgparks.com
tel. 301-277-2863; tty. 301-446-6802; fax. 301-277-2865
Sixth Annual Bethesda Painting Awards
Deadline: Friday, February 26, 2010
The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is currently accepting applications for the sixth annual Bethesda Painting Awards, a juried competition honoring four selected painters with $14,000 in prize monies. Deadline for slide submission is Friday, February 26, 2010. Up to eight finalists will be invited to display their work from June 1 – 26, 2010 in downtown Bethesda at the Fraser Gallery.
The competition will be juried by Dr. Carolyn Carr, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; Mark Karnes, drawing and painting teacher at Maryland Institute College of Art and Erling Sjovold, painting professor at the University of Richmond.
The first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000. A “young” artist whose birth date is after February 26, 1980 may also be awarded $1,000.
Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. All original 2-D painting including oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, encaustic and mixed media will be accepted. The maximum dimension should not exceed 60 inches in width or 84 inches in height. No reproductions. Artwork must have been completed within the last two years and must be available for the duration of the exhibition. Digital entries on CD will be accepted.
Each artist must submit five slides, application and a non-refundable entry fee of $25.
Applications are available online at www.bethesda.org or please call 301/215-6660. You may also send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Bethesda Painting Awards, c/o Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District 7700 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20814.
For this evening...
Make sure that you come by the Washington Project for the Arts (WPA)'s opening of its newest exhibition, Cream, January 30 - March 6, 2010, at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center.
This annual exhibition features works by more than 110 local and national artists selected by an esteemed group of eight top curators including scholars, museum directors, practitioners and collectors. All works are on view until the WPA Annual Art Auction Gala, which will take place March 6, 2010, during which the exhibited works are available to the highest bidders.Best deal in the auction block (in my clearly biased opinion)? This gorgeous piece.
An opening reception will be held tonight, Saturday, January 30, 2010 from 6-9pm, along with a talk by the curators on Thursday, February 25, 2010, 6:30-9:30pm, both at the Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC.
The 29th iteration of this exhibition highlights some of the region's most talented artists, presenting a broad range of media and styles of both new and emerging artists as well as more established career artists. As an annual WPA presentation, the auction exhibition has gained new stature and recognition, evolving from a brief 'showing' of artists' works as a preview for the WPA's auction event, to one of the most prestigious and recognizable art showcases of its kind, with a high caliber of notable curators selecting the works. Cream is a notable survey of contemporary art in the region and beyond, with selected works representing the cream of the crop and the talent of the artists included that rose above thousands of others viewed during the curatorial process.
"We are tremendously pleased with the participating curators and their art selections - the work is fresh and exciting, and there are artists with long-standing ties to WPA as well as new names that the curators are introducing to the public," said Lisa Gold, WPA's Executive Director. "It was particularly rewarding to have a window into the curatorial process this year," she added, referring to 36 Studios- Part I, a 36-hour tour with collector Mera Rubell, during which she visited with 36 artists to inform her exhibition artwork selections.
Curator View and Presentation of Alice Denney Award
Thursday, February 25, 2010, 6:30-9pm
Curator and former WPA Executive Director Jock Reynolds will present the Alice Denney Award for Support of Contemporary Art to James F. Fitzpatrick, followed by a slide show and short talk by Cream curators about their exhibition selections and a preview of the exhibition.
Admission to the exhibition and curator talk is free and open to the public. Seating for the curator talk is limited; attendees are encouraged to RSVP by February 19 to info@wpadc.org.
Cream exhibition curators and their selected artists include:
KEN ASHTON, Visual Artist and Museum Technician for Works on Paper, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DCMargaret Adams, Chan Chao, Natalie W. Cheung, Billy Colbert, Frank Hallam Day, Matthew Girard, Avi Gupta, James Huckenpahler, Michael Dax Iacovone, Hatnim Lee, Marissa Long, Kate MacDonnell, Beatrice Valdes Paz, Ding Ren, E. Brady Robinson
KRISTEN HILEMAN, Curator of Contemporary Art, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MDKen Ashton, Clarke Bedford, iona brown, Renee Butler, David Carlson, Zoë Charlton, Mary Coble, Jennifer Dorsey, Susan Eder & Craig Dennis, Bernhard Hildebrandt, Ryan Hill, Brece Honeycutt, Dean Kessmann, Cara Ober, Erik Sandberg, Joe White
CAROL K. HUH, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Asian Art, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DCJon Bobby Benjamin, Howard Carr, Neil Greentree, Max Hirshfeld, Tim Hyde, Franz Jantzen, Courtney Jordan, Martin J. Kotler, Jeffrey Smith, Stanley Staniski, Oliver Vernon
JOANNA MARSH, The James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DCMark Dion, Michelle Elzay, Kota Ezawa, Devon Johnson, Mark Newport, James Prosek, Jean Shin, Joseph Smolinski, Alison Elizabeth Taylor, René Treviño
JOCK REYNOLDS, The Henry J. Heinz II Director and Visual Artist, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CTWilliam Christenberry, Tom Green, Jacob Kainen, Betsy Packard, Lisa Scheer, Jeff Spaulding, Alan Stone, William Willis, Yuriko Yamaguchi
CHARLES RITCHIE, Visual Artist and Associate Curator of Modern Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of ArtJay Bolotin, Astrid Bowlby, Georgia Deal, Douglas Florian, Cassandra Kabler, Mark E. Karnes, Karey Ellen Kessler, Sangram Majumdar, Rob Matthews, Beverly Ress, James Stroud, Lynn Sures, Bill Thompson, Alice Whealin, John Wilson, Janine Wong
MERA RUBELL, Co-founder, Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FLm. gert barkovic, Holly Bass, Judy Byron, F. Lennox Campello, Rafael Cañizares-Yunez, Adam de Boer, Mary Early, Victoria F. Gaitán, Carol Brown Goldberg, Pat Goslee, Jason Horowitz, Barbara Liotta, Patrick McDonough, Brandon Morse, Dan Steinhilber, Lisa Marie Thalhammer
N. ELIZABETH SCHLATTER, Deputy Director and Curator of Exhibitions, University of Richmond Museums, Richmond, VAHsin-Hsi Chen, Irene Clouthier, Joelle Meredith Francht, Ron Johnson, Sue Johnson, Kirsten Kindler, Martin McFadden, Susan Noyes, Erling Sjovold, Jessica Van Brakle, Barbara Weissberger, Andrew Wodzianski, Amy Glengary Yang, Shannon YoungAdditional works on view in the exhibition this year include a new series of glass sculptures created by Joe Corcoran, David D'Orio, Steve Jones, and Megan Van Wagoner, members of DC GlassWorks, a public access glass blowing and sculpture facility located in Hyattsville, MD. These pieces will be featured in the museum exhibition and on the dining tables during the auction event, also available for bid.
The Cream exhibition is open for viewing, Tuesday - Sunday, 11am - 4pm at the Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is Free. More information on the exhibition is available at www.wpadc.org. Preview the works at auction.wpadc.org.
About the Art Auction Gala
Now in its 29th year, the WPA Art Auction Gala will be held at the Katzen Arts Center on the campus of American University and is the organization's most important fund raising event. Guests include more than 400 artists, collectors, and business leaders vying to bid on the works included in the Cream exhibition, as included above. The event supports WPA mission's to promote emerging and established artists in the greater DC metropolitan region. The gala dinner is sold out but information on purchasing party tickets will be available at auction.wpadc.org.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Dawson on local shows
Jessica Dawson has some good mini-reviews of some top DC area shows here.
The place to be tomorrow is...
Washington Project for the Arts (WPA)'s opening of its newest exhibition, Cream, January 30 - March 6, 2010, at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center.
This annual exhibition features works by more than 110 local and national artists selected by an esteemed group of eight top curators including scholars, museum directors, practitioners and collectors. All works are on view until the WPA Annual Art Auction Gala, which will take place March 6, 2010, during which the exhibited works are available to the highest bidders.Best deal in the auction block (in my clearly biased opinion)? This gorgeous piece.
(Update: AU MFA students will be having open studios on Saturday as well. The studios are located on the second floor of the Katzen Center.)
An opening reception will be held on Saturday, January 30, 2010 from 6-9pm, along with a talk by the curators on Thursday, February 25, 2010, 6:30-9:30pm, both at the Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC.
The 29th iteration of this exhibition highlights some of the region's most talented artists, presenting a broad range of media and styles of both new and emerging artists as well as more established career artists. As an annual WPA presentation, the auction exhibition has gained new stature and recognition, evolving from a brief 'showing' of artists' works as a preview for the WPA's auction event, to one of the most prestigious and recognizable art showcases of its kind, with a high caliber of notable curators selecting the works. Cream is a notable survey of contemporary art in the region and beyond, with selected works representing the cream of the crop and the talent of the artists included that rose above thousands of others viewed during the curatorial process.
"We are tremendously pleased with the participating curators and their art selections - the work is fresh and exciting, and there are artists with long-standing ties to WPA as well as new names that the curators are introducing to the public," said Lisa Gold, WPA's Executive Director. "It was particularly rewarding to have a window into the curatorial process this year," she added, referring to 36 Studios- Part I, a 36-hour tour with collector Mera Rubell, during which she visited with 36 artists to inform her exhibition artwork selections.
Curator View and Presentation of Alice Denney Award
Thursday, February 25, 2010, 6:30-9pm
Curator and former WPA Executive Director Jock Reynolds will present the Alice Denney Award for Support of Contemporary Art to James F. Fitzpatrick, followed by a slide show and short talk by Cream curators about their exhibition selections and a preview of the exhibition.
Admission to the exhibition and curator talk is free and open to the public. Seating for the curator talk is limited; attendees are encouraged to RSVP by February 19 to info@wpadc.org.
Cream exhibition curators and their selected artists include:
KEN ASHTON, Visual Artist and Museum Technician for Works on Paper, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DCMargaret Adams, Chan Chao, Natalie W. Cheung, Billy Colbert, Frank Hallam Day, Matthew Girard, Avi Gupta, James Huckenpahler, Michael Dax Iacovone, Hatnim Lee, Marissa Long, Kate MacDonnell, Beatrice Valdes Paz, Ding Ren, E. Brady Robinson
KRISTEN HILEMAN, Curator of Contemporary Art, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MDKen Ashton, Clarke Bedford, iona brown, Renee Butler, David Carlson, Zoë Charlton, Mary Coble, Jennifer Dorsey, Susan Eder & Craig Dennis, Bernhard Hildebrandt, Ryan Hill, Brece Honeycutt, Dean Kessmann, Cara Ober, Erik Sandberg, Joe White
CAROL K. HUH, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Asian Art, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DCJon Bobby Benjamin, Howard Carr, Neil Greentree, Max Hirshfeld, Tim Hyde, Franz Jantzen, Courtney Jordan, Martin J. Kotler, Jeffrey Smith, Stanley Staniski, Oliver Vernon
JOANNA MARSH, The James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DCMark Dion, Michelle Elzay, Kota Ezawa, Devon Johnson, Mark Newport, James Prosek, Jean Shin, Joseph Smolinski, Alison Elizabeth Taylor, René Treviño
JOCK REYNOLDS, The Henry J. Heinz II Director and Visual Artist, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CTWilliam Christenberry, Tom Green, Jacob Kainen, Betsy Packard, Lisa Scheer, Jeff Spaulding, Alan Stone, William Willis, Yuriko Yamaguchi
CHARLES RITCHIE, Visual Artist and Associate Curator of Modern Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of ArtJay Bolotin, Astrid Bowlby, Georgia Deal, Douglas Florian, Cassandra Kabler, Mark E. Karnes, Karey Ellen Kessler, Sangram Majumdar, Rob Matthews, Beverly Ress, James Stroud, Lynn Sures, Bill Thompson, Alice Whealin, John Wilson, Janine Wong
MERA RUBELL, Co-founder, Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FLm. gert barkovic, Holly Bass, Judy Byron, F. Lennox Campello, Rafael Cañizares-Yunez, Adam de Boer, Mary Early, Victoria F. Gaitán, Carol Brown Goldberg, Pat Goslee, Jason Horowitz, Barbara Liotta, Patrick McDonough, Brandon Morse, Dan Steinhilber, Lisa Marie Thalhammer
N. ELIZABETH SCHLATTER, Deputy Director and Curator of Exhibitions, University of Richmond Museums, Richmond, VAHsin-Hsi Chen, Irene Clouthier, Joelle Meredith Francht, Ron Johnson, Sue Johnson, Kirsten Kindler, Martin McFadden, Susan Noyes, Erling Sjovold, Jessica Van Brakle, Barbara Weissberger, Andrew Wodzianski, Amy Glengary Yang, Shannon YoungAdditional works on view in the exhibition this year include a new series of glass sculptures created by Joe Corcoran, David D'Orio, Steve Jones, and Megan Van Wagoner, members of DC GlassWorks, a public access glass blowing and sculpture facility located in Hyattsville, MD. These pieces will be featured in the museum exhibition and on the dining tables during the auction event, also available for bid.
The Cream exhibition is open for viewing, Tuesday - Sunday, 11am - 4pm at the Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is Free. More information on the exhibition is available at www.wpadc.org. Preview the works at auction.wpadc.org.
About the Art Auction Gala
Now in its 29th year, the WPA Art Auction Gala will be held at the Katzen Arts Center on the campus of American University and is the organization's most important fund raising event. Guests include more than 400 artists, collectors, and business leaders vying to bid on the works included in the Cream exhibition, as included above. The event supports WPA mission's to promote emerging and established artists in the greater DC metropolitan region. The gala dinner is sold out but information on purchasing party tickets will be available at auction.wpadc.org.
Wanna go to an artist's talk tomorrow?
Alan Feltus and Lani Irwin will be discussing their work and exhibition at AU's Katzen Museum at American University tomorrow Saturday, Jan. 30, 5 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Alan Feltus. 2004 Summer.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Campello Sisters Coming to Town
Some shameless promotion of my two daughters, Vanessa and Elise, both of whom are coming to town in March to meet Little Junes.
Both have extensive modeling experience, so if anyone is looking for a Cuban-American model for anything in late March, drop me an email.
Vanessa Anne Campello de Kraus
Elise Lena Campello y Strasser
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Drag
Jason Horowitz's new Drag portfolio is kicking off the decade in style with three shows opening in the next month (two this weekend!). That's what you call a hard working artist.
Transhuman Conditions
Arlington Arts Center
3550 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201
Exhibition dates: January 29 to April 3, 2010
Opening reception: Friday January 29, 2010, 6 to 9 pm
Opening this Friday Transhuman Conditions is curated by Jeffry Cudlin; the show will include two of the Drag images super-sized to ten feet wide.
Cream, WPA 29th Annual Auction Exhibition
American University Museuem at the Katzen Center
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW DC 20016
Exhibition Dates: January 30 to March 6, 2010
Opening reception: January 30, 2010, 6 to 9 pm
Curators' talk: Thursday, February 25, 2010, 6:30 to 9 pm
Auction gala: March 6, 2010 (tickets required)
Two of Jason's pieces were selected for this exhibition by collector Mera Rubell, founder of the Rubell Family Collection in Miami, during her whirlwind tour of DC area artist studios last month.
Drag
Curator's Office
1515 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005
Exhibition dates: February 20, 2010 to March 27, 2010
Opening reception: February 20, 2010, 6 to 8 pm
This will be Jason's second one-person exhibition at Curator's Office.
Touchstone Gallery moving
After a long intensive search, Touchstone Gallery is putting the finishing touches on plans for a new and modern gallery at 901 NY Avenue NW, an attractive street-level location between the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the new DC convention center, and around the corner from the new Longview Gallery.
