36th Annual Northern National Art Competition

 

As most of you know, recently it was my honor to jury the 36th Annual Northern National  Art Competition, which was staged in the beautiful campus of Nicolet College in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

As all great juried shows are, this was an immensely difficult show to judge, which is a good thing! I have juried and judged and curated a lot of art shows over the last few decades, and when I say that this one was by far one of the top shows with some of the best entries that I have ever had the honor to jury, I mean among the very top!

I was also superbly impressed by the diversity of the subject matter submitted - it covered practically the entire spectrum of the tapestry of the visual arts, and many of the selected entries pushed the envelope of contemporary art. 

Like any art competition, some works stood out almost immediately, but what singularly marked this show as a great competition was the significant number of entries that stood out. There are quite a few entries in this show which allowed some very talented artists to flex some powerful artistic muscles that deliver a powerful message to the solar plexus of the inquisitive mind – be prepared to be stopped in your tracks as you wander through the show. 

Finally, as always, I am honored to be able to judge and comment on the work of my fellow artists. I am humbled, kindled and educated by the talent present in this exhibition.  You can see the exhibition via a virtual tour here.

The Award winners:

Awards of Excellence

$1000

Joshua Newth / Caitlyn, Crown - Oil

James Swanson / Splash Landing - Oil

Emma LaPine / The Kindness of Transformation - Oil

Robert Jinkins / Scarecrow in the Garden - Mixed media

Special Merit Awards

$500

Kyle Surges / Cocktail Party - Oil

Berthold Boone / House Paint - Acrylic

Andrea Kidd / The Mad Hatter and The Doormouse - Charcoal, white pastel

Benefactor Awards

$300

Rebecca Korth / Rufous Martini Splash - Oil

Nate Wilson / Life Drawing - Charcoal on toned paper

Roberta Condon / Blanketed by the Barn Owls - Soft pastel on sanded paper

Sandra Cashman / The Gathering Storm - Oil

Mark Weller / Storm over Mendota - Timestacking photography

Donor Awards

$200

Michael Nichols / Breath - Buon fresco

Sheila Stilin / Tom's Barn - Watercolor

Elizabeth Yarosz-Ash / Bon Vivant - Acrylic

Patron Awards

$125 - $150

Cassandra Smith / Embellished Deer - Taxidermy whitetail deer, embellishments, acrylic

Taylor Mazer / Water Towers - Pen and ink

Craig Blacklock / Light Waves Squared AAP970 - Photography

Audience Choice Award

$250

Cassandra Smith / Embellished Deer - Taxidermy whitetail deer, embellishments, acrylic

Purchase Award

Nicolet College Permanent Collection Purchase

Rachel Catlett / Feeding the Flock, Sunburst - Oil

Review: Burning Man: Art on Fire

For decades now I have been discussing, ranting, and raving about how fine art fairs have become the epicenter of the art world, as well as how outdoor art festivals are also a key component to the tapestry of the visual arts.

Let me add to that what is perhaps the greatest single week-long art happening in the history of the planet: Burning Man.

The description of the event goes like this:

For one week every August, a remote Nevada desert becomes Black Rock City, the home of Burning Man where 80,000 participants build a temporary city devoted to creativity and community. There is no money, no running water—and there are no constraints. Artists bring enormous sculptures for participants to climb. Outrageous Mutant Vehicles glide through an opulent mirage. This is a dreamscape of permission. For seven days and nights, the artistic movement of our time materializes—and then disappears without a trace.

Burning Man: Art on Fire (Epic Ink | July 4, 2023 | $45.00 USD), is a gorgeous new and completely revised, expanded edition book illustrated with over 250 spectacular color photos. 

The book is a labor of love by Jennifer Raiser; "a writer, nonprofit leader, and Burner." 

It is also two talented photographers' insight into the raw, unlimited power of human creativity when allowed to unleash itself once a year. The photographers are Washington, DC born Scott London, who has been documenting the art and culture of Burning Man for nearly two decades, and Brazilian-born photog Sidney Erthal.

This authorized collection also includes: 

• Over 150 new photographs and descriptions of individual pieces of Burning Man art from over two decades, including art from the 2022 Burning Man event
• Over 32 new pages featuring incredible sculptures and Mutant Vehicles
• A fully updated text, which considers Burning Man’s evolving significance in the art world, and how Burning Man is the art movement of our time
• A foreword from Burning Man CEO and Co-Founder Marian Goodell
• A new epilogue about the growing importance of Burning Man art beyond Black Rock City and throughout the art world, including museum exhibits, public art, and over 100 regional Burning Man events worldwide
• A tribute to Burning Man Founder Larry Harvey, with highlights of his philosophical approach to art

The art created and often destroyed for Burning Man is an important and unique addition to the fine arts world.

In fact, I believe that it is the most significant “art happening” on the planet, and as this book and the associated documentary proves, it is art on a scale of objects nowhere else achieved, and perhaps barely imagined by such minds as Christo’s, as well as a vibrant and imaginative riot of people who often become art objects and subjects themselves.

Burning Man: Art on Fire, Revised and Updated Edition publishes July 4, 2023. 

You can order it here.

The Juried Exhibition Grant: Call for DC artists

 

FY24 Juried Exhibition Grant

The Juried Exhibition Grant (JEG) provides support for District-based artists to exhibit their work in a juried, themed visual art exhibition through grant awards and the use of CAH’s exhibition space located in the lobby of 200 I Street, SE.

RFA Release: Monday, June 26, 2023

Submission Deadline: 9 pm ET, Friday, July 28, 2023

This Request for Applications (RFA) seeks works for an exhibition that will reflect on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 during its 60th year anniversary in 2024 and how DC artists have been influenced, both explicitly and implicitly, by the social progress and reform of the past 60 years. This landmark legislation aimed to prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. By exploring this significant milestone, the exhibition seeks to provide insight into the progress, challenges, and ongoing efforts towards achieving equity and social justice.

JEG seeks works from DC artists that:

• Feature how artists in DC utilize their practices to respond to and engage with the social, political, and cultural changes resulting from this pivotal law.
• Highlight artists' documentation and interpretation of the political landscape on the local, national and international level.
• Engage archival, historical, and artistic movements that have emerged since the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 until the present day.
• Examine how present moments and developments have shaped the landscape of Washington, DC.
• Delve into historical influences of the past, capture the transformative aspects of our present, and engage with imaginative approaches to building a better future.

Staff Contacts:

• Ron Humbertson | ron.humbertson@dc.gov
• Deirdre Darden | deirdre.darden@dc.gov

Find more info on the FY24 JEG RFA RSVP for FY24 JEG Workshops

National Small Works at WPG

the 2023 Peggy Doole

Competition and Exhibition



National Small Works

June 30-July 30, 2023

National Small Works

including work from 36 artists,

representing the DC and 17 states



Opening: Saturday, July 8, 2:00-5:00 pm

It is with great pleasure that we announce the 23rd year of the National Small Works Show: the first since 2019, due to Covidian cancellations. This year’s exhibit honors Peggy Doole (1934-2021), long-time resident of the DC area who shared her love of art by giving lectures, sponsoring exhibits, and leading tours at the Hirshhorn, the National Gallery of Art, and other museums throughout Europe and the U.S. Her post-graduate museum work led her to a focus on, and a special passion for, printmaking.

The exhibition includes 36 pieces – fine art prints, photographs, and artist books chosen by the juror LuLen Walker, Art Curator for Georgetown University. 

Washington Printmakers Gallery ● 1675 Wisconsin Ave. NW ● (202) 669-1497

info@washingtonprintmakers.com ● www.washingtonprintmakers.com

This weekend at Glen Echo

This weekend is your last opportunity to take in the beauty of Glen Echo's Partnership Galleries' June exhibits; they close end-of-day on Sunday, the 25th! 

Stop by Stone Tower Gallery for a sci-fi journey through Blair Anderson's A Silversmith's Guide to the Galaxy, Popcorn Gallery for a special exhibit by Yellow Barn Studio instructors, and Park View Gallery for unique silk painting in Nico Gozal's Wonderland.

Yellow Barn Gallery's weekend exhibit features works by painter, illustrator, and instructor Eric Westbrook. Opening Reception Saturday from 4-7pm.

Saturday morning, hear from a leader in the 'eco-artist' world during Art Clinic Online. Erwin Timmers has a fascinating background and impressive career transforming materials that often aren't recycled into art.

Later in the day on Saturday, tune in to Photoworks' Artist Talk with Sandy Sugawara and Catiana Garcia Kilroy as they share the difficult but important topic of their new book, Show Me the Way to Go Home: the World War II incarceration camps that held Japanese Americans.

On Sunday, Photoworks is contributing a fascinating talk to the Diverse Voices: A Juneteenth Celebration FESTIVAL OF FREEDOM. Documentary photographer Marvin Tupper Jones will be discussing the new exhibit at the Chowan Discovery Group: Building a Mixed Race Community.

Mark your calendars! Their third Art Walk of the season is coming up on Friday, July 7th!

Why waste precious print space?

One of the constant threads of this blog in its two-decade history has been my perennial complaint about the Washington Post's lack of adequate coverage of the visual arts in the Greater Washington, DC region (a.k.a. the DMV - a term which I apparently invented).

In fact, DC ART NEWS' first ever blogpost (see it here) was me bitchin' about the WaPo and its lack of visual arts coverage.

In the nearly two decades since that post, the WaPo's visual arts coverage of our area galleries and visual arts spaces have gone from scant - to nearly non-existent. Back in 2003 there were two weekly columns in the Arts Style section of the paper - both on Thursdays: the Galleries column by Ferdinand Protzman, then Jessica Dawson, then a string of freelancers, and the Arts Beat column by Michael O'Sullivan, which rather often "augmented" the Galleries column.

Today we have Mark Jenkins' Galleries column - Arts Beat ended years and years ago... and we are grateful for that column and Mr. Jenkins' travels through the DMV covering various visual art shows in both independently owned commercial art galleries as well as non-profit art spaces. He's the only one who does that - apparently Mr. Sebastian Smees only does museums.

And thus I am somewhat baffled as to why Mr. Jenkins (who as far as I know is probably a nice, regular guy) would waste precious print space in the column to take a swipe at a physical location which is host to some of the top art studios, schools, and galleries in the region.

In today's review of the Laurel Lukaszewski exhibition at Artists & Makers in Rockville, Jenkins opens with:

Not exactly a garden spot, the gallery exhibiting Laurel Lukaszewski’s ceramics is a windowless room in the Artists & Makers complex, which sits in a charmless, light-industrial section of Rockville.

That opening seems out of place, as it has nothing to do with the show, or the rarity of an actual building in our area full of art studios, art schools and art galleries.

The complex where Artists & Makers calls home in Rockville is an important part of the DMV's art scene - much like the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria (which the City of Alexandria seems focused on screwing up), or the warren of art studios and galleries in the Gateway Arts District, or STABLE, etc. 

Located in the heart of Rockville’s White Flint/Twinbrook business district, Artists & Makers Studios is a 13,000 square foot complex  consisting of 43 studios, and it is home to three galleries and 65+ creative and talented minds.

And as any artist in our region who struggles to find affordable studio space knows, the power that comes from being part of a hive of creative minds (such as the tenant artists of this wonderful space know), is key to keeping the artistic juices flowing and easily overshadows any issue raised by location and prettiness of the bricks and mortar that house the artists.

And as any city dweller knows, including I suspect Mr. Jenkins, in most cities the "garden spots" are usually taken by chains and franchises and cash-rich organizations who can afford the best commercial locations and not the "light industrial" sections.

And as any light student of real estate operations also knows, it is in places such as this area where artistic endeavors such as Artists & Makers can establish a footprint and work hard to keep it and offer a visual arts presence to an otherwise gray and boring city scene.

As a keen observer of the DMV's art tapestry for over three decades, I also personally know how hard the leaders and the executive director of Artists & Makers have worked over the decades and continue to work to ensure that places such as this jewel not only continue to exist, but prosper well into the future.

I am far from subjective on this issue, but that does not bother me when I send them a message: "Continue to do what you do so well - and thank you for all that you do!" 

Simul Prosperatur

More on the City of Alexandria and the Torpedo Factory

Last month I was pretty harsh in examining, reviewing, and criticizing  the City of Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory “new” artist/studio selection process, which as the many, many comments both here and in various social media platforms gave evidence to, has been and remains a contentious point at the Factory.

My focus was on the process, but some commenters felt that my critical approach to the process problem also reached to the new artists’ themselves – that was not my intention and for that I apologize, and must note that as recent as December of last year I lauded several of the new artists.

Bottom line: The process; not the artists.

Next month, after communicating with various City officials, I will have part two of my thoughts on the City of Alexandria and its handling of the Factory and its artists.

Last year, former Congressman and former fellow U.S. Navy Officer Joe Sestak authored a brilliant OP-ED here titled “No Higher Honor” Than to Preserve Torpedo Factory Artist Space Against City’s “Vibrancy” Plan.

Sestak notes:

The Council needs to decide if the Torpedo Factory’s new purpose is to become like Tik Tok — or remain the inspiration and appreciation one can only imagine from visitors watching such an artist making fantastic art...

This Op-Ed is more than worth the read -- it's also an intelligent view and opinion from someone who "sees" the Torpedo Factory from an angle that me (as an opinionated insider) and artists (as subjective participants) and City officials (as ????) cannot. 

Read it here.