Corridor

Corridor, an unusual exhibition showcasing the work of twelve established artists, six from Baltimore and six from Washington, D.C., a show that flips the conventional artist‐curator relationship on its side with enticing results.

The exhibit was conceived by Baltimore‐based artists Bernhard Hildebrandt, Soledad Salamé and Joyce J. Scott working jointly with AMA; the premise being to challenge the artist and curator relationship, allowing for participating artists from each city to select another artist to exhibit in an “artist choose artist” format.

Once all twelve artists were in place, one curator from each city, Irene Hofmann, Director and Chief Curator at SITE, Santa Fe, and former Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore; and Laura Roulet, independent DC curator and art historian, was selected to work with the artists of the opposite city.

Corridor features the work of D.C. artists Martha Jackson Jarvis, Brandon Morse, Phil Nesmith, Michael Platt, Susana Raab, and Jeff Spaulding; and Baltimore artists Oletha DeVane, Bernhard Hildebrandt, John Ruppert, Soledad Salamé, Joyce J. Scott, and Sofia Silva. The selected artists’ work represents a wide range of media and approaches, from sculpture, installation, printmaking and photography to video. The resulting exhibition showcases exceptional examples of some recent trends in art from the region.

Thursday, March 24 at 5:30pm: Gallery talk and exhibition preview
Thursday, March 24 at 6:30pm: Opening reception

On view March 24 ‐ June 26, 2011
Art Museum of the Americas
201 18th Street, NW Washington, DC 20006
Hours: Tuesday‐Sunday 10 AM‐5 PM

Artists' Talk

Last Saturday "Material World" opened at artdc Gallery in Hyattsville. Two artists talks will be held in conjunction with the show: Michael Janis, Sherill Anne Gross and Marie Ringwald on Saturday, March 19, and Matt Langley on Saturday, April 2.

So, this Saturday from 2-3 pm there will be a gallery talk featuring three artists: Sherill Anne Gross, Marie Ringwald and Michael Janis.

The group show, curated by Stephen Boocks, deals with artistic media & how it relates to the artist's work - why does the artist choose that medium to make their artwork? Does the material support the work or does it get in the way? Do all elements work in concert with each other? And how do they achieve their own balance?

A number of familiar DMV artists are featured - from the 100 Washington, DC Artists book: Marie Ringwald & Michael Janis and from the Sondheim Prize shortlist - JT Kirkland and Hamiltonian Projects Fellow Katherine Mann.

Also featured are the very talented paper artist Sherrill Gross and painter Matthew Langley.

Material World
artdc Gallery at The Lustine Center
5710 Baltimore Avenue
Hyattsville, Maryland 20781

Click here to jump to the gallery website.

Congrats!

DMV area artist Hadieh Shafie has been shortlisted for the Victoria & Albert Museum’s prestigious Jameel Prize 2011.

The exhibition of artworks will be on view at the V&A from 21 July to 25 September, 2011 and will then travel to Paris, Riyadh, Damascus, Beiteddine, Sharjah, Istanbul and Casablanca. The winner of The Jameel Prize 2011 will be announced at the V&A on 12 September 2011.

The Jameel Prize is a £25,000 international art prize for contemporary artists and designers inspired by Islamic traditions of craft and design.

Shafie is represented locally by and her art is currently available at MFA: Morton Fine Art in DC.

Congrats!

Wanna go to a DC opening tomorrow?

Here we go again

This time in Vashon Island, Washington (the other Washington):

The owner of the building that houses Two Wall Gallery abruptly removed several works in the gallery's latest show last week, prompting an outcry from the artists, the curator and other members of the Island's arts community.

Louise Rice, who owns the property along with her husband Ray Rice and daughter Wendy Rice, paid a visit to the building with her daughter last Tuesday morning and became upset after viewing "Go Figure: Body of Work," a group show by eight artists that contains numerous nude portraits.

"It was pornography, and I won’t put up with it,” Rice said later from her Burien home. “It’s our hallway, and my husband and daughter and I don’t like it.”

But Jack Strubbe, the show's curator who has mounted exhibits off and on for the past three years in the space, said he was baffled by Rice's actions, especially since the gallery has been the site of many other exhibits with political and other controversial content.

“She has never expressed anything like this in the past, and I’ve had work that I’ve considered much riskier than this,” he said.

Read the whole story here and an excellent report by a local blog with lots of images here.

I hope that I don't have to defend my position when it comes to censorship and art, especially in this great nation, which in the last 20-30 years seems to me, has regressed enormously in that area, and, as an example, public artwork that was once considered acceptable for public display (by that I mean public art such as statues, murals, etc.), specifically nudes, are seldom if ever to be seen in a contemporary public art commission, airport, etc.

The only public art nudes around this town are all the artwork done in the 1800s and as late as the WPA. I suspect that this is pretty much the same for the rest of the nation; certainly for airportism.

But privately owned spaces are a different animals, and as much as I hate what the owners of this space have done to the curator and to the community, they do own the walls and he who owns the walls makes the rules. It is somewhat alike a restaurant owner who puts up a sign that says "no shoes, no service."

OK, OK, that may be an over simplification, but you get my drift. Bottom line: shame on the owners of this building, but as much as I hate it, they do own the building, and they do offer the two walls (for free) to local artists and curators and thus they do have a right to be troglodytes.

The response should be a boycott of the two walls: no more art.

Survival Guide for Artists and Arts Organizations

On Tuesday, March 29th @ 7pm, Adam Natale, Director of Partnerships & Business Development at Fractured Atlas, will speak about key services, programs, and resources that can help artists with the business side of their art -- the "unsexy" side that artists generally do not like thinking about, but allow them to focus more easily on the creation of their art, while also maintaining the infrastructure of their "arts business."

To start, Adam will introduce the services offered through Fractured Atlas, a national, nonprofit arts organization that provides fund raising, education/professional development, insurance, and other services to both performing and visual artists. Adam will then talk about other local, state and national organizations that offer similar resources on arts advocacy/civic engagement, fundraising, jobs in the arts and arts administration, tips on grant writing, social media/new technology, networking, emerging arts leaders, and general career and resume guidance. They are looking forward to a lively Q & A!

RSVP to jackie@hamiltoniangallery.com

Hamiltonian Gallery
1353 U Street, NW
Washington, DC 20010
202.332.1116

It's Only Rock ‘n’ Roll, But I Like It!

Del Ray Artisans will pay homage to all things rock ‘n’ roll during their April show It's Only Rock ‘n’ Roll, But I Like It!. This open, all-media juried show will celebrate the bands, instruments, lyrics, rebellious youth culture and life style dedicated to glamour and excess.

Schedule of show activities:

* Show Opening and Artist Reception: Friday April 1, 2011 7 -10 pm. Light snacks and beverages will be available. Rock attire encouraged, but please "No Smokin' in the Boys Room."

* Rock Movie Marathon: Sunday April 10, 2011 12:00 noon -9 pm. Specific itinerary to be announced. Stop by to enjoy a day of rock-themed movies. Come for one; stay as long as you please. Popcorn concessions.

* Open Mic Lyric Slam: Sunday May 1, 2011 2 -4 pm. This interactive program will honor the poetry, words and anthems of rock music. Participants will have the opportunity to read and recite their original songs or slam the lyrics of their favorite songs.

The show will be at the Del Ray Artisans gallery at the Nicholas A. Colasanto Center, 2704 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22301. Gallery hours are: Thursdays, 12 noon to 4 pm; Fridays, 12 noon to 9 pm; Saturdays, 10 am to 9 pm; and Sundays, 12 noon to 6 pm. The gallery is free, open to the public and handicap accessible.

For more information, please visit www.TheDelRayArtisans.org; or contact show curator Fierce Sonia Fiercesonia@aol.com at 703-314-9175; Jennifer Chappell at Jen.chappell@cox.net or contact dracuratorcoordinator@gmail.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.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: March 31, 2011

Call for Entries: Open to all artists 18 years or older working or living in Virginia, Maryland, DC, Delaware, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia.

To Enter: Each entry requires an on-line application through Juried Art Services.

Exhibition Theme: “BITE: identity and humor” asks artists to use irony, sarcasm, and wit to shed light on issues of personal struggle in mainstream society. Artists are asked to create and share work that challenges historical, societal, and cultural norms that dictate expectations of who we are supposed to be. The selected work does not have to be “funny” as much as insightful. The work will be juried by DMV artist Jefferson Pinder.

Full Prospectus: detailing Acceptable Works, Entry fees, and Special Instructions located here

GreaterRestonArtsCenter
Reston Town Center
12001 Market Street
Suite #103
Reston, VA 20190
703.471.9242
fax 703.471.0952

New gallery to open in DC

Lamont Bishop Gallery, a new art space opening up later this week, appears to be off to a good start -- its beautiful centrally located storefront space in Shaw (1314 9th St NW, a few doors down from Longview Gallery and only two blocks from the green line metro) is enviable. We spoke with gallery director Alexandra Giniger about the gallery, their upcoming inaugural show, and what is in their future.

Read the Pinkline interview here.

The WPA Auction

Last Saturday's WPA auction was packed to the gills with seemingly everyone who's anyone in the DMV art scene attending, including most of the area's top art collectors as well as some out of town familiar collectors' faces, including one good friend who also happens to be a prominent Cuban-American collector who calls Boston his home.

"What are you doing here?" I asked surprised at seeing him at the auction.

"I always fly in for this event," he replied.

Muy bien!

Anne Collins Goodyear, Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings, National Portrait Gallery and Philippa Hughes, Chief Contrarian, Pink Line Project
It appears to me that the auction itself was quite a success. I saw a lot of bids, which drawing from my memory banks, seemed to be more than usual. I am happy to report that my piece in the show, "Eve, Running Away from Eden," received so many bids that in fact it maxed out the bidding sheet and sold for 350% above the initial bidding estimate.

Eve, Running Away from Eden. 15 x 39 inches. Charcoal on paper.
Circa 2010 by F. Lennox Campello
The auction's artistic highlight was definitely when Dan Steinhilber and a small groups of helpers began assembling Steinhilber's piece for the auction, which he was going to construct right on site. The work, made up of a wood pallet and shrink wrap, began appearing before our eyes as the crew wrapped the pallet in shrink wrap of various colors.

At one point I was sure that it was finished, as Steinhilber was initially using shrink wrap of various colors, and for a brief instant the pallet almost looked like a "back to the future" version of a Morris Louis painting!

But the Steinhilber crew continued to add more shrink wrap and slowly the piece began to turn white, ending up as a handsome three dimensional white sculpture.


Read the report from Daily Art Muse here.

Wilmer Wilson IV

Last Friday, along with artists Tim Tate ( whose work just opened in the Milwaukee Art Museum's The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Contemporary Craft two days go) and Susana Raab (whose work from her "Cholita" series will be in the Corridor exhibition at the Art Museum of the Americas opening March 24), we got together with four young artists whom we're mentoring as part of Strathmore's new visual arts mentorship program.

I'll be discussing all four throughout the next few months, but let me start with the work of the very young Wilmer Wilson IV, from Chesterfield, Virginia, and currently a student at Howard University in Washington, DC. Before I start discussing his work, you start by viewing the below video of his installation titled Machine: Bad End.

Wilson is very young, but already appears to possess an artistic vision well beyond his years, and at the present his work seems to fit into that genre of contemporary art which would label him as a WalMartist; that is, artists which use common, everyday materials (such as one would find in WalMart) to create elegant and intelligent artwork.

In his installation titled "Bundles" (detail to the left, see the whole installation here), WIlson uses plastic forks and spoons to create an elegant and minimalist installation which uses the repetitive power of these two objects, together with black tape, which when attached to the wall transforms the objects into a energetic and planned modern bas relief of disposable design.

See more of these utensil installations here and check out his website here.

Keep your eye on this artist.

Trawick Prize Call for Artists

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is accepting submissions for The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. The 9th annual juried art competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to four selected artists. Deadline for submissions is Friday, April 8, 2011 and up to fifteen artists will be invited to display their work during the month of September in downtown Bethesda.

The competition will be juried by Amy Hauft, Chair of the Sculpture Department at Virginia Commonwealth University; Dr. Sarah Newman, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Corcoran in Washington, D.C.; and Sue Spaid, Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, MD.

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 April 8, 1981 may also be awarded $1,000.

Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. Original painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, fiber art, digital, mixed media and video are accepted. The maximum dimension should not exceed 96 inches in any direction. No reproductions. Selected artists must deliver artwork to exhibit site in Bethesda, MD. All works on paper must be framed to full conservation standards. Each artist must submit five slides or five images on CD, application and a non-refundable entry fee of $25.

The Trawick Prize was established by Carol Trawick, a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is the past Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. Additionally, the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation was established in 2007 and has endowed the Trawick Prize indefinitely.

For questions regarding the Trawick Prize, please visit www.bethesda.org or call
301-215-6660.

Conan The Barbarian

When I was about ten, I discovered Robert Ervin Howard's saga of Conan The Barbarian books, written in the 1930s, first published in the 1950s, and really selling well in the late 1960s after they were reprinted with spectacular new cover art by artist Frank Frazetta, perhaps the most sought-after cover artist in history and a cult art figure amongst his millions of followers.

Frazetta's covers set Howard's grim sword & sorcery (a sub-genre that Howard invented) novels on fire. One of those paintings by Frazetta recently sold for one million dollars.


Above is "Conan The Destroyer" which is perhaps Frazetta's iconic image of Howard's brooding hero. A really good analysis of this painting in The Cimmerian can be read here.

Why am I writing about this? Because I've just found out that a new Conan The Barbarian movie (in 3D) is set to be released later this summer. See the trailer below.

As a Conan fan, I'm really looking forward to this film, but I already have a complaint. In the Conan saga, Howard goes to extreme details in describing the savage hero of the series, but it was the Frazetta book covers which burned the Conan image into the minds of its readers, and in this new film, this Conan (portrayed by actor Jason Momoa) is missing the barbarian's most prominent feature: bangs.

This film's directors should have done their homework, as Conan fans, who otherwise loved the 1980s Conan movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, howled back then because their hero also lacked the iconic bangs of Cimmerian men's hair styles as invented by Frazetta, not Howard (who actually described Conan's hair as “tousled,” “matted” and “lion-like").

So who's right?

"…a man whose broad shoulders and sun-browned skin seemed out of place among those luxuriant surroundings. He seemed more a part of the sun and winds and high places of the outlands. His slightest movement spoke of steel-spring muscles knit to a keen brain with the co-ordination of a born fighting-man. There was nothing deliberate or measured about his actions. Either he was perfectly at rest–still as a bronze statue–or else he was in motion, not with the jerky quickness of over-tense nerves, but with a cat-like speed that blurred the sight which tried to follow him."
– Robert E. Howard, “The Phoenix on the Sword”

(e)merge now accepting applications

(e)merge, the new, DC-based art fair focused on emerging artists and galleries with emerging art, just announced that it is now accepting applications from galleries, nonprofits and artists without gallery representation.

The Fair will take place September 22-25, 2011, at the Rubell family's Capitol Skyline Hotel in Washington, DC.

Applications are available on (e)merge's Web site and the deadline to apply is Monday, May 2nd and acceptances will be sent out by early June.

It is clear to me that this is a prime opportunity for unrepresented DMV area artists (well... any unrepresented artist!). In fact, my advice to every single one of you who is not represented by a gallery and who thinks that their work merits to be examined and vetted, is simple: do not miss this golden opportunity.

Why?

As an experienced art fair participant, art fair visitor, art fair rejectee, and art fair observer, I know that this fair model is a new model. This is something new... the goal here, as implied by the cool fair title with the even cooler parenthesis around the (e) - I must find out whose brilliant idea that was - is to put the loupe on galleries who show emerging artists and on unrepresented artists.

What is the ultimate goal? I would guess that at least a partial goal would be to expose (maybe (e)xpose?) the huge numbers of highly talented and original artists out there whom are unrepresented and who may do well with the right gallery.

I am such a fan of this novel idea. Remember when I curated "Seven" for the WPA in 2005? That was one of my goals as well, and one that in my not so humble opinion I succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.

I selected 66 artists for "Seven" - the vast majority of whom had never (or rarely) exhibited in the DMV - I then took my then fellow gallerists in personal tours of the huge exhibitions in the seven galleries of the Warehouse complex... by my last count, about a dozen then unrepresented artists found gallery representation because of that show, including a couple which arguably have become the art star of their respective galleries.

Of course, I scored the biggest hit of them all... I found my wife and the love of my life because of that show...

See what can happen when you mix good people, good thinkers, and good ideas with art?

No one ever did this before

I've invented some new descriptors...

Spitoidal Glucosoids is what I call whatever substance seems to always clog up one of the two basin drains in my bathroom.

According to Google, that combo of words (as a descriptor) does not exist at all in Al Gore's internet.

From now on, whenever some geek types Spitoidal Glucosoids into Google (or any other search engine) it will only come here!

The Lenster just invented Google Word Searchartism....

Who'd thunk it? The Beatles were wrong!

Weekend duties

Tomorrow night: Meet the various artists selected for the Strathmore Fine Artist in Residence Program Mentorship. Those artists are:

Minna Philips (drawing/installation)

Wilmer Wilson IV (mixed media/installation)

Brittany Sims (painting)

Solomon Slyce (photography)

Saturday & Sunday: Review the work by the 43 artists from all over the USA and Scotland who have applied to the Torpedo Factory Art Center's Visiting Artists Program of one, two, or three-month residencies between June 1 and August 31, 2011 - then select about a dozen for the residencies.

Tonight: Mirror art at ARTiculate Gallery

There's a cool upcoming exhibition opening tonight at VSA's ARTiculate Gallery. The show, "Reflections" was inspired by local artist Bob Benson and his work at the American Visionary Art Museum.

Benson worked with the artists in the ARTiculate Program (which provides artistic and vocational training to youth and adults with special needs) to create "mirror art" using glass-cutting techniques in a variety of styles, and the artists have created a unique body of work.

The opening will take place tonight Thursday, March 10th between 5:30 and 7:30pm at the ARTiculate Gallery, located at 1100 16th St NW. The reception will be free, open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

WCP's last word on Fraser Gallery closing

For Catriona Fraser, the Fraser Gallery’s decade-and-a-half run in Georgetown and Bethesda ended on a simple note: “Nobody was buying any artwork from me.”

Case in point: the 10th Annual International Photography Competition, one of the gallery’s best-known feature exhibitions, which just closed at Fraser’s remaining outpost in downtown Bethesda.

The work is affordable, with most of it priced under $500. The work has been seen: The opening reception, Fraser says, was “heaving with people.” And the work is good: Washington City Paper called the exhibit “impressive.”

Yet Fraser did not make a single sale. And so on March 1, following several Bethesda galleries that have recently met the same fate, Fraser Gallery announced it is closing at the end of the month.

Read the article by Kriston Capps and Lou Jacobson here.

Update: Here's the whole text of my email to the CP in response to their request for input:

When my then wife Catriona and I opened the first Fraser Gallery in 1996 in Georgetown, our first two shows almost sold out, we got a huge article in the Washington Post, and I recall Kate and I saying, "WOW, this is gonna be easy."

It wasn't and as we learned, building an art gallery required not only an immense amount of hard work, but also realizing that it is a labor of love, and that more often than not, your finances are getting by (if you're lucky) by the skin of your teeth. Our mantra always was: "the artists get paid first, then the bills."

Catriona was 24 years old when we opened Fraser in Georgetown in 1996; perhaps the youngest ever gallery co-owner in DC history, and she applied herself to the task of co-running Fraser gallery with a ferocity and gusto that was a key ingredient to Fraser's success over the next 15 years.

In my opinion we established a very distinct gallery presence from day one. When we announced that we would focus on contemporary realism - which we described back then as "realism with a bite" - and photography, every one told us that we'd be closed within a year, and that first year, in spite of the great success of those two initial shows, was very tough and more often than not we were using our financial backers (Mr. Visa and Mr. Mastercard) to pay the artists and the gallery's bills.

But a presence we did establish, and we'd get reviewed 4-5 a year in the Post and 1-2 a year in the Times and it seems like every other month in the City Paper (ahhhh... the good ole days), and in spite of the fact that we stayed tightly focused on our gallery focus, we kept doing better and better each year, and continued to argue against the "norm" that only the almost 100-year-old genre of abstraction was "contemporary" for a cutting edge gallery. What abstraction was instead, we felt, was "safe" and perhaps even easier to sell. Try looking at a Chawky Frenn painting for a while - hard to sell, but deserving of a two-page spread review in the New York Times.

We also began to add focus and presence to a whole new set of local artists. Both Erik Sandberg and Andrew Wodzianski (now well-known DMV artists) received their first solo shows at Fraser, while both of them were still MFA students. And Tim Tate's first solo show (which sold out) was also at Fraser... where he went on to have multiple solos over the years.

We also focused a lot of time on photography, and "rediscovered" Lida Moser's wonderful archives of her amazing photography from the past 60 years. Other noted photographers such as Maxwell MacKenzie, Joyce Tenneson, etc. also had multiple solos at Fraser.

A decade ago, almost by accident we decided to put together a show focusing on Cuban artists, and as result eventually we brought to the DC area some of the best contemporary Cuban artists in the world, usually giving them their first solo shows in the US or DC and placing many of them in US museums.

Fraser was also a leading online pioneer, and to this day has the most extensive online presence of any DMV gallery, with nearly 15 years of archived shows and artwork. As I recall, when we opened in 1996, we were only one of 2-3 DC galleries with a website! A few years later we became one of the charter dealers for Sotheby's during their online ventures and by 2001 we were the second largest Sotheby's online dealer in the world. A lot of DMV artists (including myself) owe their secondary market record to that joint venture between Fraser and Sotheby's.

When the art fairs came into vogue, Fraser was also one of the first galleries to start doing them, perhaps only after the now-closed Fusebox Gallery. To this day Fraser brings its artists to fairs in New York, Boston and Miami, still one of less than 5-6 DMV galleries that take the huge financial risk of doing an art fair.

I left Fraser in 2006 and Catriona has been running the gallery alone since then. For reasons that only she knows, we haven't spoken since, even though we had remained partners until the day of my last show at Fraser in August of 2006 (which the City Paper covered in a huge article). I don't know her reasons for closing the gallery, but I wish her the best in her future endeavors.

This is a huge loss for the cultural tapestry of the DMV art scene. Fraser, for all intents and purposes, was the only remaining art star in Bethesda, as other galleries have been closing in the last few years. The opening of the Bethesda gallery in 2002 made us feel like we had accomplished what no one else had ever done successfully in DC: run two galleries at once, which we did until 2005 for three glorious years of 24 shows a year to organize, curate, hang and publicize.

With the loss of Fraser, Bethesda also loses a champion in the visual arts. It was through the hard work and influence of Fraser Gallery that the Trawick Prize and the Bethesda Painting Awards were created; still the two largest individual art awards in the region. It was through the hard work and influence of the Fraser Gallery that the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival - the highest ranked outdoor fine arts show in Maryland and one of the top 100 such shows in the nation - was created.

And with the loss of Fraser, and ins spite of critics always trying to tell a gallerist how to do his/her business, the sharpest eye in representational art with a bite and social commentary goes away.

Ten years of my life don't go away, because the memories of all the great art, all the great artists, and all the great openings (the DMV will definitely miss that famous Fraser sangria) will live with me forever.

Call me if you'd like to chat about anything else...

Cheers,

Lenny

This coming Saturday, March 12, "Material World" opens at artdc Gallery in Hyattsville

The group show, curated by Stephen Boocks, deals with artistic media & how it relates to the artist's work - why does the artist choose that medium to make their artwork? Does the material support the work or does it get in the way? Do all elements work in concert with each other? And how do they achieve their own balance?

A number of familiar DMV artists are featured - from the 100 Washington, DC Artists book: Marie Ringwald & Michael Janis and from the Sondheim Prize shortlist - JT Kirkland and Hamiltonian Projects Fellow Katherine Mann.

Also featured are the very talented paper artist Sherrill Gross and painter Matthew Langley.

Material World
artdc Gallery at The Lustine Center
5710 Baltimore Avenue
Hyattsville, Maryland 20781

Opening Reception Saturday, March 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. Two artists talks will be held: Michael Janis and Marie Ringwald on Saturday, March 19, and Matt Langley on Saturday, April 2.

Click here to jump to the gallery website.