Release of DC Cultural Plan Working Draft for Public Review

The DC Office of Planning (OP) is excited to release the DC Cultural Plan working draft for public review. The Plan was led by OP in consultation with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) and the DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (OCTFME).

Culture is important to the District of Columbia. It embraces who we are; reflects our diversity; and brings us together. Culture is also an important part of our economy, where it accounts for an estimated $30 billion in annual spending and 112,370 jobs.

The Cultural Plan's recommendations strengthen arts, humanities, culture and heritage in neighborhoods across the city by increasing cultural participation, expanding capacity building, stimulating cultural production and informing decision-making. The Plan lays out a vision and recommendations on how the government and its partners can build upon, strengthen and invest in the people, places, communities and ideas that define culture within the nation's capital.

Check out the working draft of the DC Cultural Plan here. 

Comments on the draft will be accepted through February 28th, 2018 via email at DCculturalplan@dc.gov.  

Plae adult sketchbook

Plae is "the innovative, customizable, fashion-forward shoe brand that encourages children and now adults alike to never stop playing. In the light-hearted spirit of fulling its mission, the brand recently launched a sketchbook coloring contest, giving doodlers, scribblers, colorers and sketchers the chance to let their creativity soar."

In collaboration with Swedish artist, Mikael Selin, the contest invites users to download the vibrant adult sketchbook on their website, color them to their heart's desire and submit their masterpieces by 1/29/2018. 

Prizes for the lucky winner include a limited first edition Mulberry Plae shoes (the first ever Plae adult shoe offering), a Boosted Board, a custom Mission Bike, and $250 Plae gift card. 

You can find more info and contest details here.

Sam Gilliam

Lots has been written recently about the well-deserved "revival" in interest in the works of my good friend Sam Gilliam, and no one deserves it more than this hard-working artist (never identify Sam as a "DC artist" or he may kick your ass.

Anyway - Gilliam's work has enjoyed not only a "rediscovery" in recent years (a lot of it associated with his increased exposure via art fairs), but also finally a significant increase in price; after all, art is a commodity.

It wasn't that long ago that one could show up at a local auction house and find an original Gilliam for a few hundred bucks. For example, the below work, identified at the auction site as:

Sam Gilliam (American b. 1933) Untitled (Abstract): A Double-Sided Work The first, signed Sam Gilliam and dated 68 twice l.r.; and the second Sam Gilliam and dated 68 l.r. Mixed media on paper; apparently in good condition. Framed.* Sight size: 17-1/2 x 23 in (44.5 x 52.4 cm) 

Sold for $1400 in 2011!!!

Not anymore! Check out a "local" history of Sam's prices via a local DC area auction house here.

The the bear turned his attention the other way

Opportunity for Portrait Artists

The International Portrait Competition showcases the finest in portraiture and figurative art today. The competition is open to all artists and the top 20 finalists are required to exhibit their original artwork and be present at The Art of the Portrait conference in Washington, DC, April 19-22, 2018.

Over $100,000 in cash & prizes will be awarded with the Grand Prize Winner receiving $20,000.

Entry Fee.

Details: 850-878-9996 OR http://www.portraitsociety.org/international OR info@portraitsociety.org

Lots of Fridas

Who knew?
Check out this search...

Go to this opening tomorrow

Opening at Adah Rose Gallery
adahrosegallery@gmail.com
www.adahrosegallery.com

"The Evocation of a Moment..a Gesture" - Jessica Drenk

Vernissage Saturday January 20 6:00-8:00 pm.
Live Music by Bud Wilkinson

Tactile and textural, the sculptures of Jessica Drenk highlight the chaos and beauty that can be found in simple materials. Jessica's work is influenced by systems of information and the impulse to develop an encyclopedic understanding of the world. Jessica’s interests in archaeology, paleontology, biology, botany and geology influence not only the shapes and textures of her sculpture, but also lend a visual framework for creating, collecting and classifying her own specimens of the present. The sculptures are both fragile and strong, complex and simple; always elegant and unique. Her materials  are as varied as marble, PVC pipes, toilet paper, books, pencils, wood, coffee filters, and q-tips. 

Jessica was raised in Montana, where she developed an appreciation for the natural world that remains an important inspiration to her artwork today. Jessica was awarded the International Sculpture Center's Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award.  Her work has been pictured in Sculpture Magazine and she has exhibited in shows at the International Grounds for Sculpture in NJ, Skidmore College, the Albuquerque Museum, the Tucson Museum of Art, the Everhart Museum, Yale University and the Brooklyn Public Library. Her work is in many prominent individual and corporate art collections. Jessica has exhibited in numerous solo and duo shows in Washington DC, Dallas, San Francisco, Hawaii, Florida, Massachusetts and Arizona. She has exhibited with the gallery at PULSE Miami, PULSE NY and the Silicon Valley Art Fair. This is her third show with Adah Rose Gallery.

Jessica Drenk received an MFA from the University of Arizona in 2007 and a BA from Pomona College in 2002. She currently lives and works in Florida.

Adah Rose Gallery
3766 Howard Ave
Kensington MD 20895
Thursday-Sunday 12:00-5:30 and always by appointment

Art Scam Alert!

Beware of this mutant trying to rip off artists!

From: Gregory Kurstin andrew.brand966@gmail.com

Date: January 18, 2018 at 4:10:16 PM EST

Subject: Urgent Order

Greetings,Hope you will be in the office, I want to know whether you sell ( Patty Makers ).. Email me the available sizes/models you have, or a link to look through. Also want to know the types of payment you accept.Hope to hear back from you soon.

Best Regards,

Gregory Kurstin 

Art Centers looking for directors!

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is seeking  Directors for two of their Arts Centers, Brentwood Arts Exchange and Arts/Harmony Hall Regional Center. A single online application will be used as a pool to fill both positions. Applicants may express their interest in applying to either or both positions in the supplemental question section of the application.

The Directors must be self-motivated, organized and experienced in personnel management, arts program development, fiscal management, community relations, working in a fast-paced, demanding, creative and exciting work environment. He/she will manage a multi-faceted arts center that includes exhibitions, arts classes, youth camps, concerts, film screenings, lectures, festivals, and public events. An ideal candidate will have at least three years' experience in arts management; in an arts facility or for a regional arts program. 

More information is available online at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/mncppc/jobs/1943796/arts-facility-manager-director-12727-11233-grade-22

Frida Smoking

Updated a little...

"Frida Smoking"

Charcoal and Conte with Embedded Electronics

24x36 inches

"Frida Smoking"

Charcoal and Conte with Embedded Electronics

24x36 inches

"Frida Smoking"

Charcoal and Conte with Embedded Electronics

24x36 inches

Not a good match this time...

Seriously? I think Google needs a little adjustment....

#googleartsandculture

Bolivaring

Quote of the day

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is too dark to read."

-- Groucho Marx

New Frida Kahlos discovered!

Is it me, or does this auction in Charlottesville have a lot of "undiscovered" works by major masters???? there's two Kahlos... cough, cough... two Diego Riveras, one Juan Gris, one Toulouse-Lautrec, one Braque....

See them here.

Frida at auction

Anybody like Frida? This very cool painting that I did in art school and which sold originally almost 15 years ago, just showed up at an auction house! Follow the link! At a really good starting bid - Only $100!

https://www.auctionzip.com/auction-lot/lot_44743D7916?utm_source=azemail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alerts

Jessica Drenk at Adah Rose!

Opening at Adah Rose Gallery
adahrosegallery@gmail.com
www.adahrosegallery.com

"The Evocation of a Moment..a Gesture" - Jessica Drenk

Vernissage Saturday January 20 6:00-8:00 pm.
Live Music by Bud Wilkinson

Tactile and textural, the sculptures of Jessica Drenk highlight the chaos and beauty that can be found in simple materials. Jessica's work is influenced by systems of information and the impulse to develop an encyclopedic understanding of the world. Jessica’s interests in archaeology, paleontology, biology, botany and geology influence not only the shapes and textures of her sculpture, but also lend a visual framework for creating, collecting and classifying her own specimens of the present. The sculptures are both fragile and strong, complex and simple; always elegant and unique. Her materials  are as varied as marble, PVC pipes, toilet paper, books, pencils, wood, coffee filters, and q-tips. 

Jessica was raised in Montana, where she developed an appreciation for the natural world that remains an important inspiration to her artwork today. Jessica was awarded the International Sculpture Center's Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award.  Her work has been pictured in Sculpture Magazine and she has exhibited in shows at the International Grounds for Sculpture in NJ, Skidmore College, the Albuquerque Museum, the Tucson Museum of Art, the Everhart Museum, Yale University and the Brooklyn Public Library. Her work is in many prominent individual and corporate art collections. Jessica has exhibited in numerous solo and duo shows in Washington DC, Dallas, San Francisco, Hawaii, Florida, Massachusetts and Arizona. She has exhibited with the gallery at PULSE Miami, PULSE NY and the Silicon Valley Art Fair. This is her third show with Adah Rose Gallery.

Jessica Drenk received an MFA from the University of Arizona in 2007 and a BA from Pomona College in 2002. She currently lives and works in Florida.

Adah Rose Gallery
3766 Howard Ave
Kensington MD 20895
Thursday-Sunday 12:00-5:30 and always by appointment

Censorship as False Morality

The most recent attempt at art censorship comes from a petition started by someone named Mia Merrill who complained about a Balthus painting at the Met titled Thérèse Dreaming. I suggest that Ms. Merrill next task should be to have Nabokov’s Lolita removed from libraries and burned.

Notice the progression of her argument—it begins with the image and its description. Then, she makes a judgment about Balthus’ personal life, and ends with the main reason of why the painting should be removed.

Read the article in Splice Today by Emina Melonic here.



Thérèse Dreaming by Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski) c. 1938  

Nan Montgomery at Addison/Ripley

NAN  MONTGOMERY

 Intersections/Dialogues

January 20 - February 24, 2018

opening reception for the artist

Addison/Ripley Fine Art

Saturday, January 20th, 5-7pm.

Although we have been aware of Nan Montgomery's work for quite some time, this is the first exhibition of it at Addison/Ripley. Color rich, her paintings combine a pure geometry, in the tradition of Piet Mondrian, and style of Josef Albers and, more recently Burgoyne Diller and Al Held, with a seeming reverence of nature that, ironically, Mondrian processed away from. Mondrian began "...as a naturalistic painter and.....very quickly felt the urgent need for a more concise form of expression and an economy of means. I never stopped progressing toward abstraction." Montgomery clearly shares this aesthetic although her affinity for Malevich in this work, in particular is clear. 

The newest of the paintings in this exhibition have a dynamic quality, an implicit movement and, at the same time, measured strength. Whether in smaller scale egg tempera or the much larger oils on linen, these are the boldest, most assertive works by the artist to date. Strong titles like "Intersection", Decision", "Circlet" and "Cadence" and equally firm compositions demonstrate Montgomery's mastery of her medium and her art. Montgomery's "less is more" credo is evident in an exquisite collection of small works included in this collection.

Cadence, 2015, egg tempera on gessoed wood, 10 x 10 inches each

In a recent essay by Jean Lawler Cohen, the critic notes an evolution to the mature artist Montgomery has become. "But now an accommodation prevails, as if the painter has negotiated a temporary truce between impulses. Hard-edge blocks and stripes advance across dark or light grounds, ensuring a stability that holds until the peripheral insertion of a softer, textured vertical. Indigo, for years her darkest, near-black signature color, still appears but, at times now, co-exists with a new velvety black. Early, outright, heraldic encounters seem to have given way to more contemplative engagement. "

After attending the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts and graduating from the Yale University School of Art with a BFA, the artist moved to Washington and took classes at the Corcoran School. Nan Montgomery has been an essential member of the Washington Art Community for more than 30 years. Her work is represented in the permanent collections of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Watkins Collection of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, the Washington Post, the Artery Organization, the American Federation of Teachers, the Washington Convention Center, The Federal Reserve Board, Washington, DC, as well as in private collections. Committed to abstraction and purity of form, her work is unified in the dichotomies of natural and material, restriction and freedom, hard edge and soft, all consistent with her personal history.

The gallery is located in Upper Georgetown at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Reservoir Road and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 until 5:30 and by appointment.



The Complete Guide to 2018 Artist Grants and Opportunities

If you consider yourself a professional artist and not a hobby artist, then start 2018 by working the system(s) and target yourself to apply to six of these...

Click here.

The 10 Questions You Should Ask a Gallerist Before Buying Art

Edward Ball asked gallerists from around the world to share their top tips for buyers — from checking authenticity, to buying as an investment... read it all in Mutual Art here.