Las Tapas in Old Town
I've been to Las Tapas in Old Town Alexandria many times in the past, and until last Saturday I had never been disappointed.
Perhaps it was the fact that it was crowded and the cooks were concentrating on the "set menus" for couples, but the tapas - almost all of them - that we ordered a la carte were not very good.
The pinchitos are some of my favorite tapas on the planet. When I lived in Spain, they were usually served using ex bicycle wheel spokes as the skewers. The ones that we got last night at Las Tapas were tasteless - they certainly didn't have that pinchito-unique flavor - and they were lukewarm, and they were tiny! They should be called tapitas, not tapas.
The Calamares Rellenos En Salsa De Tomate looked great, but when I went to cut into one of them, the stuffing popped out all in one lump, as it was also lukewarm and the dish had been allowed to settle back and separate, thus allowing the stuffing to congeal into one lumpy mass.
The Pulpo A La Gallega was acceptable, but once again, it was lukewarm and the thinly sliced octopus would have probably tasted a lot better if it had been hotter in temperature.
The Mejillones Al Vapor were hot and delicious; no complaint there. The Pa Amb Oli, one of the priciest tapas on the menu, was also good.
I had a half jar of Sangria and this is where La Tasca really failed. This was by far the worst Sangria that I have ever tasted in a restaurant, Spanish or not.
It was essentially made up of Triple Sec and wine, with the Triple Sec overpowering all the other stuff which is supposed to be in a true Spanish sangria and which I think was missing from this "sangria."
I suspect that what happened was that they ran out of the pre-mixed Sangria (we were there at 8PM) and they were just dumping wine and triple Sec and cut up apples into the pitchers.
As many of you know, and anyone who went to a Fraser Gallery opening between 1996-2006 can testify to, I can make one really decent sangria, which follows a recipe that I learned while living in Spain. This perhaps makes me a tough juror for Sangria.
But if you are a Spanish restaurant, and your Sangria tastes like watered down Triple Sec, then you have a problem.
Fail!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Artisphere
Arlington's wonderful new Artisphere has three visual art galleries within it:
The Terrace Gallery is a 4000 square foot gallery that showcases international, national and regional artists in five annual exhibits. Curated exhibits often investigate trends in contemporary art.
The Mezz Gallery promotes the work of artists and curators who live, work, study or have a studio in Arlington, Virginia as well as artists from our Sister Cities program. Artists and curators may propose individual or group exhibits to be featured along the 140 running feet of wall space. Group shows may feature work from non-Arlington artists so long as the curator meets the requirements. Shows are scheduled one to two years in advance. Visit Artist Opportunities to learn more.
Works-In-Progress Gallery - The WIP (Works-in-Progress) Gallery is situated at the entrance to the Terrace Gallery. WIP exhibits cross multiple disciplines that are constantly changing, providing the public a window into the creative process and offering critique opportunities for artists as their work evolves.
At the Mezz Gallery they currently have Victoria F. Gaitán's photographic series of "flesh-and-blood still lifes visualize human subjects as meat puppets. The images are calling cards from the artist's explorations of internal worlds, illness, in-between states, shared delusions and hells, stillness, memory, interpretations of pain, private and public intimacies, trauma, beauty and conditioned responses." That exhibition is through March 12, 2010 and it is a "must see" for all DMV art aficionados.An artist talk with Victoria F. Gaitán and Curator Al Miner is scheduled for Friday, February 25, at 6 pm. Also, the below video has Victoria talking about the exhibition:
VICTORIA F. GAITÁN from Arlington Arts on Vimeo.
Both Victoria and Al Miner are in my 100 Washington, DC Artists book. Check it out on Amazon here.
PS - If you are an artist and you live or have a studio in Arlington, then see this.
Call for Artists: Bethesda Painting Awards
Deadline: Friday, February 25, 2011
Submissions must be received by Friday, February 25, 2011. The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is currently accepting applications for the sixth annual Bethesda Painting Awards. Up to nine finalists will be selected to display their work in an exhibition during the month of June in downtown Bethesda, and the top four winners will receive $14,000 in prize monies. Best in Show will be awarded $10,000; Second Place will be honored with $2,000 and Third Place will receive $1,000. Additionally, a “Young Artist” whose birthday is after February 20, 1981 may 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 paintings including oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, encaustic and mixed media will be accepted. The maximum dimensions 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 exhibit. Each artist must submit 5 slides, application and a non-refundable fee of $25. Digital entries will be accepted on CD in JPG, GIF or PNG format. For a complete application, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Bethesda Painting Awards, c/o Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, 7700 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, visit www.bethesda.org for the downloadable version or call 301-215-6660 x17.
Opportunity for Artists with a disability
Deadline: March 11, 2011
VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, announces Shift, an international call for art. Artists ages 18 and older who have a physical, cognitive, or mental disability are invited to apply. Artists are asked to submit up to four artworks of any media that address the theme of Shift – an investigation of a moment of change in one’s life that alters the direction of a person’s path. For more information about how to apply, visit www.vsarts.org/shift. The online application be found on CaFE, www.callforentry.org. Please contact Sonja Cendak, visual arts manager, scendak@vsarts.org with any questions. Selected artwork will be exhibited at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC in June 2011.
Opportunities for Artists
Deadline: Before February 23, 2011
The new Touchstone Gallery has announced membership opportunities as they launch 2011 solos and member exhibitions in their new modern gallery at 901 New York Ave. NW. It's an attractive street-level space in the heart of Washington, DC. They are seeking "excellent artists with a contemporary vision who work in fiber, book as art, video, glass, interactive art and other media."
New Members Benefits: a biennial solo show, one or more pieces on exhibit in each monthly member show, artist bins and gallery website artist pages.
To be considered for one of the limited membership’s available, contact Ksenia Grishkova, Gallery Director, now at info@touchstonegallery.com or 202 347-2787. She'll answer questions and explain their jury process. The next jury of actual works will take place on February 23, 2011.
Touchstone Gallery
901 New York Ave NW
Washington DC 20001
Tel: 202-347-2787
E-mail: info@touchstonegallery.com
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Modernizing Picasso
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and The Martin Agency announced yesterday a joint social media effort that brings to life the upcoming exhibition of 176 works from Picasso’s personal collection, Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris.
The only east coast venue for the exhibition’s seven-city international tour, VMFA partnered with The Martin Agency to develop a marketing campaign that Picasso fans can see from anywhere, using Facebook, QR codes and Layar applications to drive information about the exclusive exhibition.
The print and out-of-home elements use a portrait of Picasso made entirely of QR codes. When a phone scans the QR image, it is re-directed to a landing page featuring Picasso’s work and an invitation to buy tickets to the exhibition.
“To honor the progressive nature of Picasso’s work, we created art out of modern technology,” said Keith Cartwright, SVP/group creative director at Martin. “Just as Picasso once took found objects – bicycle handlebars, etc. — and brought them together to create works of art, we were able to take something technologically functional, QR codes, and use them as building blocks to create something arresting and beautiful.”
Social media supports the campaign by extending the marketing reach all along the east coast, where multiple out-of-home elements will raise awareness of the exhibition. On the corner of Grand and Wooster streets in New York City, a QR code portrait of Picasso will be painted on the side of a building. In a SoHo neighborhood, as well as in Richmond and Washington, D.C., 22 geo-coordinates will be activated for detection by Layar phone applications. When the Layar application detects the geo-coordinates, augmented reality images from Picasso’s collection will appear on surrounding buildings.
In Philadelphia, an entire storefront and empty store space have been designated as a virtual exhibit, using augmented reality. When scanned using a phone, the QR code on the storefront enables the device to display Picasso’s artwork on the walls inside the space, as if it were the museum itself.
Throughout Richmond, all 33 Starbucks locations will partner with VMFA to promote the exhibition. Each store will display the Picasso QR code on the storefront, and once inside the store, works of art will appear on the walls of Starbucks in a similar fashion to the Philadelphia virtual exhibit. Facebook.com/myVMFA goes live this week with a “Picasso” tab to serve as a home base for the social media technology. Here, art enthusiasts can view Picasso’s works, as well as a Google Map guide to the geo-coordinates laid out in New York, Richmond and D.C.
“The Virginia Museum’s Picasso exhibition is the most ambitious show in the 75-year history of our museum,” VMFA Director Alex Nyerges said. “The occasion of this landmark exhibition is an ideal time to deepen our presence throughout social media. The innovation of the Picasso QR campaign and augmented reality is in keeping with the innovative genius of this master artist and our quest to be on the leading edge of technology for art museums.”
Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris, will be on view from February 19 through May 15, 2011 and is co-organized by the Musée National Picasso, Paris and VMFA.
Go to this opening tonight
I'll be at Old Town Alexandria's Gallery West for its 14th Annual National Show, which was juried by yours truly.
The prizes will be presented to the winners at the Artists Reception and Awards Presentation, which is tonight, Saturday, February 12 from 5-8pm. Please join me there for a bite, a glass of wine and some excellent artwork from around the nation.
The prizewinners are:
1st Place - Eric Standley, "Poseidon"
2nd Place - Amy Swartele, "Breath"
3rd Place - Margaret Dowell, "Joseph and Naked Aggression"
Honorable Mentions:
Kimberley Bush, “Squatty Copperhead”
Francesca Creo, “Washed Up”
Annie Evans, “Masque”
Daniel Filippone, “American Kestrel”
Robert Madden, "Twisted Vision"
Drew Parris, "Tempest"
Nicole Santiago, "Anniversary Cake"
Fierce Sonia, "Material Things"
Tore Terrasi, "Grid Study (Gradient)"
See ya there!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Come join me
A while back I spent a long but fun four hours jurying 555 works of art submitted to Old Town Alexandria's Gallery West call for artists for its 14th Annual National Show.
I had juried an earlier version of this show, maybe around a dozen years ago, and so it was fun to return and see the state of the nation from this unique perspective.
The quality of the entries was superb, and I've already eyed a couple of artists whose work I'm going to recommend to some local gallerists.
A few days ago I dropped in to see the actual work and picked the prize-winners. This was a very tough job, but let me tell you that Eric Standley, the First Prize winner has some of the most obsessive and technically perfect work that I have ever seen, especially in the rather odd media of cut paper. But even as good as he is (and I doubt that there's anyone else on the planet who is better, maybe just as good, but his degree of technical prowess just can't be any better), I would have some good advice for this artist, and suggest a new subject focus for his astonishing and obsessive facility with cutting paper.
Second Prize winner Amy Swartele could have easily won the top prize, had I not been so hypnotized by the intricacy of Standley's obsession with cutting paper and also by seeing something that one doesn't see everyday in an art show in his work. But Swartele also has a deep mastery of the her technique, and she also pushes it into a modern dialogue with her unusual subject matter pairings and associations. This is a painter with a mission! There is a little bit of nightmare blended into her primary, secondary, and tertiary colors, and her color harmony has a little of Goya and Stephen King hiding behind the brush strokes.
Margaret Dowell won third prize, thus "representing" for the local artists, as the other two are from outside the DMV. I am a big fan of her work and once wrote that "Dowell is an enviably talented painter. Her paintings show not only extraordinary technical skills, but also a hungry sense of desire and an intelligent understanding of her subjects..."
What else can I say after that? I can tell you that McDowell continues to impress me with the courage and depth of her subject matter.
So without having a preconceived idea of what my agenda for this show would be (I didn't have one), I ended up awarding the top three prizes to artists who have spent the thousands of hours needed to master anything - in one case cutting paper and in two others painting - of the three, two won because their artistic vision and subject matter impressed me, and they had the technical facility to deliver their idea with enviable ease. One won because I had honestly never seen such a degree of skill applied to a singular genre with such ferocity and control.
The prizes will be presented to the winners at the Artists Reception and Awards Presentation, which is this coming Saturday, February 12 from 5-8pm. Please join me there for a bite, a glass of wine and some excellent artwork from around the nation.
The prizewinners are:
1st Place - Eric Standley, "Poseidon"
2nd Place - Amy Swartele, "Breath"
3rd Place - Margaret Dowell, "Joseph and Naked Aggression"
Honorable Mentions:
Kimberley Bush, “Squatty Copperhead”
Francesca Creo, “Washed Up”
Annie Evans, “Masque”
Daniel Filippone, “American Kestrel”
Robert Madden, "Twisted Vision"
Drew Parris, "Tempest"
Nicole Santiago, "Anniversary Cake"
Fierce Sonia, "Material Things"
Tore Terrasi, "Grid Study (Gradient)"
See ya there!
New Artists, New Art
Longview Gallery will be showcasing the works of several standout new artists showing with Long View Gallery including Ryan McCoy, Shaun Richards, Jordan Bruns, Zach Sherif, Tom Burkett, Amy Genser, Shawna Moore, Michelle Peterson-Albandoz, and Clyde Fowler. In addition to highlighting the work by each of these new artists, several of Long View Gallery’s favorites will be showing as well.
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 17th, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Show Dates: February 17, 2011 - March 13, 2011
Look for Ryan McCoy to steal the show here as well...
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Cuban artists on racism in Cuba
For years now, I've been writing about the harsh racist attitudes and realities of contemporary Cuban society in Cuba's "Worker's Paradise". And a while back I barked at the Congressional Black Caucus' spectacular ignorance of the plight and long history of oppression of Afro-Cubans by a long line of racist Cuban governments, including the Castro brothers' never-ending brutal dictatorship.
I sent a copy of this post and commentary to every single member of the Congressional Black Caucus; not a single one responded.
And now, a traveling art exhibition, by Cuban artists, partially showcases what I have been talking about for a long time:
"Rebellion is in the air. Whether in the cities of Africa and the Middle East, or within disparate communities of artists, people are examining the current status of human rights and finding it lacking.
While street crowds are forcing political change, the literati are prodding more benign conversation about perceived inequities.
A case in point is the taboo-bashing exhibition "Queloides: Race & Racism in Cuban Contemporary Art" at the Mattress Factory. "Queloides" translates as "keloids," protruding scars caused by trauma, which exhibition curators apply to the wounds racism has inflicted upon the body politic."
Armando Marino's The Raft, part of the Queloides exhibit at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh - Photo by Tom Little
Read the review by Mary Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, here.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Annual Call
Deadline: February 28, 2011.
Open call for Washington, D.C. area (the ole DMV) metro area artists for Torpedo Factory Art Center’s 2011 annual jury for artist members. Drop off date: February 28, 2011. The Torpedo Factory's annual jury will be held February 28 - March 3, 2011.
The Torpedo Factory houses more than 165 artists in combination studio/gallery space. The application form and submission requirements are available on their website www.torpedofactory.org/jury. Accepting submissions by emerging and established artists in all media.
Direct inquiries to Michele Hoben at mphoben@aol.com.
Opportunities for Artists
Deadline: April 30, 2011.
Call for Entries: The Graceful Envelope Contest - Artists everywhere are invited to participate in the 2011 Graceful Envelope Contest, conducted by the Washington (DC) Calligraphers Guild under the sponsorship of the National Association of Letter Carriers.
There is no entry fee.
This year's theme is "Time Flies," so design an envelope that explores good times, quality time, the times of our lives, time travel, or any other idea you have time to develop.
Address the envelope artistically to:
The Graceful Envelope Contest
Washington Calligraphers Guild
P.O. Box 3688
Merrifield, VA 22116.
This is the contest's 17th year. The Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum created and administered it until delegating responsibility to the Washington Calligraphers Guild in 2001. The National Association of Letter Carriers exhibits the winners, which are also exhibited online at www.calligraphersguild.org. The complete Call for Entries (including categories for children) is posted on the Washington Calligraphers Guild website or you may contact contest coordinator Lorraine Swerdloff at swerdloff@gmail.com.
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Torpedo Factory Art Center Visiting Artist Program
Deadline: February 28, 2011.
The Torpedo Factory Art Center (TFAC) invites emerging and experienced artists to apply for one, two, or three-month residencies (June, July and/or August, 2011). The TFAC (www.torpedofactory.org) in Alexandria VA is home to more than 140 visual artists working in 82 studios. Artists create in a wide variety of media including painting, fiber, jewelry, ceramics, printmaking, and sculpture. The TFAC is open to the public every day; visitors are invited and welcomed into studios to watch artists at work, ask questions, and purchase original art.
Visiting artists will be provided with studio space and will be able to display and sell original work. Finalists will be selected by yours truly.
There is no application fee.
Download the Prospectus and Application Form from www.torpedofactory.org/vap. Send questions to: vap@torpedofactory.org.
Monday, February 07, 2011
Tonight at the Phillips
Millennium Arts Salon, in collaboration with the Phillips Collection, and sponsored by The DC Council on the Arts and Humanities, has a cool panel discussion at the Phillips tonight, Monday, February 7, 2011, starting at 6:00 PM.
Panelists will explore the topic of Washington artists with a special focus on African American artists and their contribution to the creative milieu of DC.
The panel will be moderated by Professor Emeritus and cultural historian Richard Long, Institute of Liberal Arts, Emory University, Atlanta. The panel will include: Professor Adrienne Childes, Art Historian, University of Maryland; Billy Colbert, Artist, Washington, DC; Lisa Gold, Executive Director, Washington Project for the Arts; Judith Greenberg, Director, The Kreeger Museum, Washington, DC; and Claudia Rousseau, Art Critic and Art Historian, Montgomery College, Maryland.
Registration required here.
Select 2011
I was invited to participate in the WPA SELECT 2011 WPA Art Auction Gala, which will take place on Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 6:30 PM at 700 Sixth Street,NW in Chinatown. The space is owned by Akridge, who is providing a unique, approximately 20,000 sq. ft. space to showcase all the wonderful artwork that has been selected, while also allowing for 500 dinner guests. I dropped my artwork recently and the space looked terrific for an art event.
The WPA Art Auction Gala is usually one of the hottest tickets of the art season, routinely selling out several weeks in advance.
For 2011 the curators are:
· Vesela Sretenovic - Curator, The Phillips Collection
· Frank Goodyear - Assistant Curator of Photographs, National Portrait Gallery
· Milena Kalinovska - Director of Public Programs, Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden
· George Ciscle - Curator-in-Residence, Maryland Institute College of Art and Founder of The Contemporary Museum in Baltimore
· Helen C. Frederick - Professor & Director of Printmaking, George Mason University and Founder, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, Silver Spring, MD
· Claire D'Alba - Assistant Curator for Art in Embassies
· Annie Adjchavanich, curator at HSPACE Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA.
Details here. By the way... here's the drawing that I will have at the auction:
Eve, Running Away from Eden. 15 x 39 inches. Charcoal on paper.
Circa 2010 by F. Lennox Campello
Select: the WPA 2011 Art Auction Exhibition includes work by Karin Abromaitis, Carlos Amorales, David Amoroso, Sarah Z. Barnes and Michael W. Anthony, Kyan Bishop, Margaret Boozer, Michael Borek, Kevin Bradley, Nicole Brugnoli Whipkey, Renee Marcus Butler, Colby Caldwell, F. Lennox Campello, Christine Carr, Mei Mei Chang, Chan T. Chao, Richard Chartier, Amy Chase, Natalie W. Cheung, Roman Cho and Tatiana Wills, Charles Cohan, Cynthia Connolly, Joseph Corcoran, Pepe Coronado, Roy Crosse, Matias Cuevas, Brian D. Dailey, Stephen Dallmus, Adam de Boer, Oletha DeVane, William Downs, Mia Feuer, Eric Finzi, Paul Frank, Helen C. Frederick, Breon Gilleran, Janis Goodman, Laura Jane Hamilton, Don Ed Hardy, Jessica Todd Harper, Leonard Harris, Davey Hawkins, Alexander Heilner, Pablo Helguera, Danny Heller, Tayo Heuser, Bernhard Hildebrandt, Ryan Hill, Michael Horsely, Karen Hsiao, Fleming Jeffries, Tendai Johnson, Elizabeth Kendall, Susanne Kessler, Avish Khebrehzadeh, Jae Ko, Magnolia Laurie, Pepa Leon, Adam Lister, Laurel Lukaszewski, Marco Maggi, Kimberly Manfredi, Isabel Manalo, Ben Marcin, Brooke Marcy, Gene Markowski, Virgil Marti, Allyn Massey, Patrick McDonough, Elizabeth McGrath, Jeff McMillan, Jaclyn Mednicov, Linn Meyers, Maggie Michael, Greg Minah, Elizabeth Lundberg Morisette, Phil D. Nesmith, Carrie Nobles, Kendall Nordin, David Page, Ruth Pettus, Phyllis Plattner, Susana Raab, Kelly Richardson, Marie Ringwald, Stuart Rome, Debra Ruzinsky, Jim Sanborn, Emily Sartor, Kim Schoenstadt, Joyce J. Scott, Hadieh Shafie, Whitney Sherman, Mike Shine, Steven H. Silberg, Alan Simensky, Jenny Sidhu Mullins, Kerry Skarbakka, Jo Smail, Susanna Starr, C.R. Stecyk III, Daniel Steinhilber, Betsy Stewart, Mike Stilkey, Soonae Tark, René Treviño, Blake Turner, Lina Vargas De La Hoz, Eli Walker, Solomon Wondimu, Dave Woody, Sue Wrbican, and William Wylie
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Pack it in
The grub is ready, firewood chopped and in the fireplace, the beer and wine are chilled, Little Junes has his football sweater on, and now we just await the start of the game. I'm still smarting at the worst-officiated Super Bowl in history (Super Bowl XL) and so in an anti-Steeler mood.
My prediction? The Packers will send four wide receivers to spread the defense and make the Steelers' secondary quite vulnerable.
Packers 24-17.
Elise Campello reviewed again
She gets a nice shout out in this review in The Olympian.
On a more serious note, Elise Campello as Olive Ostrovsky sings beautifully and powerfully on “The I Love You Song” with backup by Moon and Anastasia, and in duet with Fry on “Second.”
