Great deal at auction!

These four prints of mine are on a GREAT sale price on Ebay - no idea who is selling them and how they got them! Two of them are from the 1980s, one from 1990s and the Obama one from 2007 from a series that I did on new Senators.

Bid for it here.

On wit

You have a ready wit. Tell me when it's ready.

 - Henny Youngman

Isla Roja Bajo Rejas en un Mar Verde Olivo

"Isla Roja Bajo Rejas en un Mar Verde Olivo" (Red Island Behind Bars in an Olive Green Sea), c. 1980, oil on canvas with wood dowels... poor Cuba... while the world world, and the Pope, and the United Nations... all look the other way.

"Isla Roja Bajo Rejas en un Mar Verde Olivo" (Red Island Behind Bars in an Olive Green Sea)
c. 1980, oil on canvas with wood dowels by F. Lennox Campello

Cuba - Prision Island at auction

This 1980 work is being offered at auction on behalf of the original buyer, who acquired it from me in 1980 at the Pike Place Market in Seattle while I was a student at the University of Washington School of Art.

"Isla Encarcelada - Isla Golpeada y Prisionera" (Jailed Island - Beaten and Captive Island) is an original hand-colored monoprint mixed media on paper from my "Cuba" series, which I started in the 1970s and which continues to this day.

"Isla Encarcelada - Isla Golpeada y Prisionera" (Jailed Island - Beaten and Captive Island)
1980 F. Lennox Campello

It is being offered at auction here.

This weekend

 

Remembering Washington DC Sculptor, Nancy Frankel

 From Margery Goldberg...

Nancy Frankel (1929-2021)

Mother, Grandmother, artist, sculptor, teacher, friend, mentor, and extraordinary person who never said a unkind word about anyone.

It was my pleasure meeting Nancy at the Katzen Center opening of her exhibition, Nancy at Ninety, a retrospective of seven decades of work as Nancy celebrated her ninetieth birthday in 2019. Later that year Zenith Gallery held an exhibition at 1111 Pennsylvania Ave NW called Organic, showing Nancy's sculpture with another Zenith Gallery artist, Anne Marchand. Nancy was a complete delight to work with and had so many of her friends and admirers come to her opening.

In 2020 we sold her largest sculpture called “The Conversation” to the University of Durham in Durham England. 

I am so thrilled by the outpouring of love and support from around the country for Nancy. She will be sincerely missed by everyone who knew her.

We are blessed that her art will live on for centuries if not millenniums. 

Nancy said of her work, "I use organic geometry to give form to my love of nature and architecture. My work as been one long meditation, an effort to get past the surface aspects of reality to find deeper meaning.

Over the years I have worked with a variety of materials, according to the needs of my particular focus at the time. In turn, these different materials have their own demands, often causing me to think and work in new ways.

My sculptures come in many sizes for both interior and exterior environments.

Whether large or small, dynamic or serene, an explosion of forms, or a gentle curve answering another within a single piece, I hope my work communicates a sense of joy and wonder."

The PAINTER Act

Earlier this month, the White House reportedly reached an agreement with Hunter Biden’s art dealer stipulating that all information related to the sale of the First Son’s artwork—including prices and the names of buyers—would be kept confidential. 

It was said that the agreement would prevent bad actors from buying works of art as a way to curry favor with the president. But the move quickly proved to be controversial, with skeptics fearing that the lack of transparency could actually encourage lobbyists, foreign officials, and others to clandestinely exert influence. (The day after news of the agreement broke, a conspiracy theorist vandalized Biden’s gallery.)

Now, a Republican member of the House of Representatives is aiming to do away with the secrecy surrounding Hunter Biden’s burgeoning art career for good. Florida Congressman Mike Waltz introduced a new bill today that would require current and future presidents (and vice presidents) to disclose their adult children’s finances. Its not-so-subtle name is the Preventing Anonymous Income by Necessitating Transparency of Executive Relatives—or PAINTER—Act. 

Read the article in artnet here. 

Re-review

 I love to re-review shows and see if I agree or disagree with their choices.  Art is a very subjective thing and artists must all have thick skins.

Read what I mean here. 

In comic tsrips

 In comic strips, the person on the left always speaks first.

  -- George Carlin

He will not be forgotten!

 

This hero is Juan Elias Navarro Vaillant from Santiago de Cuba. He was arrested on July 11th during the historic Cuban uprising against their Communist dictators and is currently on a hunger strike against his Marxist oppressors. This hero will not be forgotten!

She will not be forgotten!

 

Dailén Ramírez Quintana from Santiago de Cuba was arrested during the historic Cuban uprising. She will not be forgotten!

Isla Llorona

This painting was done in 1978 while I was a student at the University of Washington School of Art (1977-1981). On this piece, painted are the words:

"La mar, testigo de mi ansiedad, las veces que me ha visto llorar, cuando otro hijo se me va."

The words in Spanish translate to:

"The sea, witness to my anxiety, the times that it has seen me cry when another son leaves me".

She will not be forgotten!

Daimelin Abreu Rodríguez from Matanzas was arrested during the
historic Cuban uprising. She will not be forgotten!

Mujertrees from 1979

A nice lady from Washington state sent me these photos of a "Mujertrees" print that she bought out there at an auction - a lesson here for conservation framing! Lack thereof! 

I most likely sold this work at the Pike Place Market in Seattle between 1977-1981 - since this is a 1979 print... most likely a "market" print.

She will not be forgotten!

Melissa Castellano has been arrested during the historic Cuban uprising against their Marxist dictators and her family has not been able to see her since. She will not be forgotten!

#SOSCuba #11J

 

She will not be forgotten!

 

Deysi Del Cueto from Havana was arrested during the historic Cuban uprising. She will not be forgotten!

She will not be forgotten!

 

Katherine Martín from Regla was arrested on the first day of the historic Cuban uprising together with her sister Mariam and their mother Mayra Taquechel. They are all still in prison and they will not be forgotten!

She will not be forgotten!

Lázara Hernández from Havana was arrested on the first day of the historic Cuban uprising on July 11th and is still behind bars and her family has not been allowed to communicate with her. She will not be forgotten!

Prizewinners for the Phillips' Invitational Show

About 1,300 works of art were submitted for review for the ongoing Phillips Collection invitational show Inside Outside, Upside Down, and about seventy works were chosen by the jurors, Elsa Smithgall (Senior Curator, The Phillips Collection), Renée Stout (DC artist and guest curator of the exhibition), Phil Hutinet (publisher of the local news source East City Art), and Abigail McEwan (Associate Professor of Latin American Art at the University of Maryland). I am proud and honored to have been one of the chosen artists – thank you to the jurors.

The jurors awarded the First Prize to Dominick Rabrun’s work titled Dr. LaSalle, The Spider Queen, and Me, a 2021 digital mixed-media video installation. The Second Prize went to Kristina Penhoet’s installation fiber piece titled How Many More? and Honorable Mentions went to Desmond Beach’s fabric and paper work titled #SayTheirNames 2, to Marta Pérez García’s Your Hand, a molded cotton handmade paper and stitching work with yarn, and to Richard L. Williams’ touching photograph titled Claudette, Roman and Rashard – February 2021.

Constant readers know something about me and jurors -- I love to re-review shows and see if I agree or disagree with their choices. Art is a very subjective thing and artists must all have thick skins.

My choice for Best in Show – not just First Prize – would have been Werllayne Nunes’ gigantic oil on panel painting titled Us. The work vibrates with happiness and power and reaches deep into every child’s memories as well as delivering a powerful social message.

Werllayne Nunes, US,
2021, Oil on linen panel, 30 × 60 × 2 1/2 in

Judith Peck is one of the DMV’s painting superstars – her technical skills are almost supernatural and her breath-taking ability to infuse her work with psychological power legendary. Her painting titled State Collapse, depicting a young woman in bed, is able to transmit fear, anxiety, and angst and summarize 2020 in one gorgeous work of art. She gets my First Prize award.

Second Prize goes to Carol Antezana’s sensitive portrait photograph titled Las Gringas. She writes about this work:

“Las Gringas is a photographic self-portrait analyzing the balance between being both Bolivian and a first-generation American amid political turmoil and uprisings in both countries. Disagreements about politics have been a specter for many families and the differences are ones of morality, core values, and character, creating tension and division. I was always taunted by my family for being “una gringa” because I cannot speak Spanish perfectly, yet there was no importance in keeping our Indigenous language, Quechua, alive. As a child of immigrant parents, the act of balancing, adopting, and assimilating cultures can be daunting; there are deeply rooted racial double standards in both countries. Through redefining my identity, I am striving to decolonize my mind—my attempt at breaking the intergenerational trauma in my family.”

Carol Antezana - Las Gringas

Honorable Mention goes to Cathy Abramson’s oil painting titled Waiting for Takeout (to go), another cool work which captured the Covidian Age perfectly! 

Cathy Abramson - Waiting for Takeout (to go)

I also like Aaron Maier-Carretero’s somewhat disturbing enormous painting titled not in front of the kids. The palpable, hidden violence is terrifying in the work.

Aaron Maier-Carretero - not in front of the kids

Congrats to all the prizewinners! And to my prizewinners!

The Phillips Collection and the DMV

As most artists in the DMV know by now, the Phillips Collection’s call for area artists to submit artwork for Inside Outside, Upside Down, a juried invitational show (currently on view through September 12), where the museum invited artists of the Greater Washington area to submit recent artwork that “addresses the unprecedented events of the past year” was and is the talk of the visual arts community for the last few weeks.

The call was part of the museum’s 100th anniversary celebration, and according to the Phillips' news release continues “founder Duncan Phillips‘s commitment to present, acquire, and promote the work of local artists.”

About 1,300 works of art ranging from paintings, to sculptures, videos, drawings, etc. were submitted for review, and about seventy works were chosen by the jurors, Elsa Smithgall (Senior Curator, The Phillips Collection), Renée Stout (DC artist and guest curator of the exhibition), Phil Hutinet (publisher of the local news art source East City Art), and Abigail McEwan (Associate Professor of Latin American Art at the University of Maryland). 

I am proud and honored to have been one of the chosen artists – Muchas thank yous to the jurors!

Several of the DMV area blue chip artists were selected, including megablue chip artists like Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Kate Kretz, Judith Peck, and others – all with immense artistic pedigree, huge exhibition histories and a proven and deep international presence.

A lot of new artists – at least new to me – were also chosen, which is always a great sign of a well-curated exhibition; kudos to the jurors for the internal mental amplitude to select work based on visual impression rather than recognizing a name or presence.

What caught my eye - other than the many great works in the show, was this:

“After an extraordinarily difficult year that has shaken the world, we feel it is important to join with our entire region to celebrate human resiliency, and especially the strength of artists and the arts,” said Vradenburg Director and CEO Dorothy Kosinski. “Duncan Phillips hosted this type of exhibition annually from 1935 to 1950, and we are proud to continue this tradition to support our talented community.”

Shall I repeat that?

“Duncan Phillips hosted this type of exhibition annually from 1935 to 1950, and we are proud to continue this tradition to support our talented community.”

Wait... whaaaat? 

Why did the Phillips stop? OK - I don't care --- what I do care about and what I hope the Phillips will do, is to re-start that initiative so that  Inside Outside, Upside Down, is not a 2021 anomaly, but the first of annual local area shows like Duncan Phillips organized for 15 years!

The ball is on your court Phillips!

The showcased artists below - and see the digital catalog of the show here.

Cathy Abramson

Simone Agoussoye

Maremi Andreozzi

Carol Antezana

Desmond Beach

Julia Bloom

Michael Booker

Kimberly Brammer

Nikki Brugnoli

Florencio Campello a.k.a. Lenny

Carlos Carmonamedina

Sandra Chen Weinstein

Peter Cizmadia

Wesley Clark

Dominick Cocozza

Robin Croft

Sora DeVore

Sarah Dolan

Mike Dowley

Nekisha Durrett

Tae Edell

Bria Edwards

Kate Fleming

Chawky Frenn

Amelia Hankin

Michael Hantman

Leslie Holt

Michael Janis

Jane Kell

Jean Jinho Kim

Katherine Knight

Ara Koh

Kokayi 

Gary Kret

Kate Kretz

Catherine Levinson

Kirsty Little

Kim Llerena

Aaron Maier-Carretero

Timothy Makepeace

David Mordini

Barbara Muth

Werllayne Nunes  

Zsudayka Nzinga

Jennifer O’Connell

John Pan

Judith Peck

Shedrick Pelt

Kristina Penhoet

Marta Pérez García

Lydia Peters

Junko Pinkowski

Dominick Rabrun

Mojdeh Rezaeipour

Marie Ringwald

Janathel Shaw

Joseph Shetler

Nicolas F. Shi

Tim Tate

Julio Valdez

Jessica Valoris

Ian White

Richard L. Williams Jr. 

Colin Winterbottom