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The summer art season is well underway in Washington - Ranging from American master James McNeil Whistler to Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, a wide variety of exhibits will be on display through most of the summer in and around the Mall, and are sure to satisfy, bore and entertain art lovers and visitors alike.
Artists who dabble in many media and subjects (with the notable exception of Picasso) are often viciously dubbed as "jack of all trades and masters of none." Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) can justifiably be called a "jack of one trade and master of that one trade." Simply put, Mondrian was little more than a graphic designer who simply re-arranged black lines and color rectangles over and over.
In the end, he contributed hugely to modern design, and probably made the biggest impact of any 20th century artist upon daily common items. His images have become familiar in dresses, book covers, refrigerator doors, wallpapers, tiles and even bed sheets to name a few.
Per two of the guards at the National Gallery, the show has so far been received mildly by the public (it was generally ignored by Dutch crowds in its debut showing in The Hague).
The Hirshhorn Museum is showing the work of Irish-American artist Sean Scully; this exhibit is a good follow on to the Mondrian exhibit; try to see them both in the same day. Scully is one of the most successful painters of his generation (he maintains studios in New York, London and Barcelona) and is a direct product of the award machinations of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Spanish master Salvador Dali once said that if "you can't paint well, then paint big," and this appears to be a maxim to Scully's works at the Hirshhorn, a series of 62 gargantuan paintings on display as a 20-year retrospective. Strangely reminiscent of giant quilts and jigsaw puzzles, the paintings sometimes baffle the honest viewer. The 15 by 19 foot "Angelo" (1994), which is representative of Scully's recent works, was compared to a giant Rubik's cube by an visitor while I was looking at the painting; I agreed.
Alfred Stieglitz, one of the great masters of photography is on exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery. Perhaps the first superstar photographer of the 20th century, Stieglitz introduced unique portraits of Georgia O'Keefe and Pablo Picasso which have become art history icons. He is credited with being the catalyst which brought photography into the realm of fine art. 87 of his pieces on exhibit at the Corcoran are ample evidence of the well-deserved title of "fine art" when dealing with his works. This is a magnificent show from a remarkable man and tremendously important artist; it should not be missed!
In a jump from the sublime to the mundane, the National Gallery's "Arshile Gorky: The Breakthrough Years," delivers four rooms full of work by the man anointed by Andre Breton, the high priest of surrealism, as the "last of the surrealists."
Armenian born Gorky was fond of saying that the "origin of his work was in Armenia." A stroll through the exhibit quickly brings to mind the question that perhaps the origin of his works may be in the art of Spaniards Picasso and Miro, and even the work of the father of abstraction, the Russian Wassily Kandinsky.
A tormented artist, Gorky struggled to find a place while being overly influenced by the true giants of his generation; he died at the early age of 44 in 1948. Had he been living today, I suspect he would be painting in the style of Scully or some such other modern "master" who happens to be "in."
Finally, the work of (and portraits of) one of the better known masters, American James Abbott McNeill Whistler will be on exhibit both at the National Gallery of Art and the National Portrait Gallery. Critics once denigrated his works as "decorative" and "formalized;" they were wrong. No review is needed of the great work of this true master, a modern 19th century Velazquez - Don't miss this show!
The concept of entropy is often defined as nature’s tendency to move from order to disorder. Other ideas associated with entropy are: a lack of predictability, change in condition or appearance and gradual decline over time into disintegration or dissolution. In nature, this phenomenon is seen in the slow degradation of elements such as stone or wood, or in a myriad of other possibilities. Time is the key to both entropy and change, whether in nature or in human lives.We invite artists to propose an individual or group exhibit that expresses or relates to these intertwined concepts.
The Department of Visual and Performing Arts is calling for exhibition proposals for the Open Gallery in The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center that address the theme, “Time: Entropy and Change”. Four exhibitions will be scheduled for the 2016–2017 academic year.
Application Process
Eligibility: Applicants must be at least 21 years of age. Current Montgomery College students are not eligible to submit proposals.
Eligible works: The Open Gallery is primarily linear wall space that can accommodate two-dimensional works up to 54” tall. Freestanding, pedestal, and wall hung three-dimensional works up to 75lbs. will also be considered. Video and digital works that can be displayed on monitors will be considered. Video projections are not eligible. A floor plan of the gallery is available on our web site, http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/arts-tpss/exhibitions/opportunities.html
Deadlines: All proposals must be received by April 8, 2016 to be considered. Applicants will be notified by June 1.
Submission: Mail or deliver all proposal materials in one envelope to:
Claudia Rousseau, Exhibitions
Committee Montgomery College, TP/
SS Campus7600 Takoma Avenue,
CF-128 Takoma Park, MD 20912
Application materials can be obtained here.
