Sunday, December 31, 2006

Community Enriching Images





As part of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, 2006 Community Initiatives Program, a major multi-year gateway project into the Southwest Waterfront (a large mosaic mural by G. Byron Peck will be installed.

Byron Peck, just back from Art Basel in Miami last week, put up the first wall of the SW Gateway mosaics this month. That's muralist Kim Dutton in the first photo. Kim worked with me on both the Westminster and Takoma murals. Byron has been working on improving the visual landscape of Washington, DC for decades. You can see his distinctive murals around Washington, DC celebrating comunity and history, most notably the portrait of Duke Ellington on U Street. Byron also runs City Arts which creates murals and mosaics with a team of inner-city youth—young people learning about teamwork, community, and beauty all at once.

G. Byron Peck
Artist, G. Byron Peck Studios
Washington, DC
www.peckstudios.com
Catalogue for Philanthropy

Friday, December 29, 2006

Men in Underwear?

What a promise! A little too much? Well we'll see.....

PROJECT 4 does just that for it's upcoming exhibition,
THERE'S NO TIME FOR THIS.
January 5 - 27, 2007

Artists Gregory McLellan & Tim Pittman collaborate on a site specific-exhibition exploring their reality and documenting their insanity, in no particular form or medium.
Mixed media, video works, paintings and found objects.

Opening Reception
Friday, January 5 - 6:00pm -8:30pm


PROJECT 4
903 U St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
202.232.4340
info@project4gallery.com

LOU STOVALL: ORIGIN AND THE LANDSCAPE

Master Printer, Lou Stovall has two exhibition opening in Washington, DC next week on the theme ORIGIN AND THE LANDSCAPE.

New Work, Drawings and Silkscreen Mono Prints
January 3 - February 28, 2007

Reception: Thursday, January 4 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Gallery Talk: Sunday, February 11 at 2:00 pm


at
PRADA GALLERY
1030 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-342-0067

and

New Silkscreen Mono Prints
January 3 - January 28, 2007


First Friday Reception: Friday, January 5 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm
Artist's Reception: Sunday, January 7 from 2:00 to 5:00 pm
Gallery Talk/Brown Bag Lunch: Thursday, January 11 from 12:00 to 1:00 pm

at
Washington Printmakers Gallery
2007 INVITATIONAL EXHIBITION
1732 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-332-7757

Flashpoint - Call for Artists

Culltural Development Corporation announces a call for Gallery at Flashpoint 2007-08 Exhibitions. The deadline is Friday, January 26, 2007 at 5pm. CuDC is holding an Open House to answer questions on Saturday, January 6 from 12-2pm at Flashpoint, 916 G Street NW. RSVP requested 202.315.1310 or rsvp@flashpointdc.org. See Request for Proposal guidelines here.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Sugar

We're back in DC after visiting three cities and five airports in seven days. Hope everyone is chilling out from the sugarplum fairies as I'm almost done in from the sweeties. Welcome back and on to the New Year.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

"Small Says it All"

Maryland Printmakers will exhibit in the new Foundry Gallery space on 18th St in D.C.

January 2, 2007 - January 28, 2007

The show’s reception, Friday, January 5th, 2007 will coincide with Dupont Circle’s regular "First Friday." The show is juried by Eric Denker, Senior Lecturer of The National Gallery of Art & Consultant Curator Of the Corcoran Print Collection.


Foundry Gallery, 1314 18th Street, NW, Washington, DC. -- Gallery Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, noon to five pm.

Drawn to It


Featuring new drawings and prints by DC-based artists Ryan Nelson and Rachel Waldron

December 16, 2006 – January 20, 2007

ARTIST TALK: December 20, 2006, 6-7 pm

Drawn to It explores the appropriation and manipulation of comics in contemporary drawing through the work of two dynamic young DC based emerging artists, Ryan Nelson and Rachel Waldron. Flavored with strangeness, dis-order, and unease, Nelson's and Waldron's humorous and sardonic works further the dialogue between art and popular culture, uniquely utilizing vernacular illustration to address themes of longing, loss, and power dynamics, among others.

Ryan Nelson's collected ink drawings in Drawn to It display a range of illustration work he's done over the last few years. Many of these drawings were used or intended mostly as contributions to posters or album covers. Working mainly with the traditional cartoonist's medium, ink and brush, his drawings are primarily planted firmly in the slice-of-life comic style. Presented at Transformer without the usual surrounding text, Ryan's images are provided their own space separated from attached advertisement, and exist as simply drawings that are filled with irony and romantic notions caught between concealment and disclosure.

Rachel Waldron's work is both figurative and narrative, wrestling with the dynamic of power vs. vulnerability. She turns an intimate eye on pivotal moments in the stories she creates. Action is stopped and observed - who will be the victor? Playful with her subjects, Waldron uses the female figure as archetype and metaphor. Exaggerations of size and shadow evoke a feeling of battling super-heroes or monsters, sometimes giving rise to smaller, featureless figures that torment the main character. Hieratic scaling is a major factor in creating a power dynamic. Since all of the players in the composition are basically manifestations of the same person, the viewer is left to decide who should win out.

Ryan Nelson is a DC native whose art has been strongly associated with Washington's underground/punk music scene. Since 1993 his illustrations have been found on numerous local music flyers, silk-screened posters, comic strips, album covers, and t-shirt designs - most notably the annual t-shirt illustrations for the Fort Reno Summer Concert Series. Rachel Waldron, a Baltimore native, moved to DC in 1995 where she received her formal training and BA from the George Washington University. She currently lives and works in DC. Her work has recently been featured in local venues including Blindspot Studio, DC and the Arlington Arts Center, VA.

Exhibition Hours for Drawn to It: Wednesday - Saturday 1- 7 pm, and by appointment.

Transformer
1404 P Street NW
Washington, DC 20005

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Fritz Lang's Metropolis

I've been madly scrambling to finish things up before we leave town for the holidays on Thursday. I'm researching shippers to transport my paintings down to a new Florida Gallery. It seems like things speed up when you least expect. And then the holidays slow down the vendor's schedule. Well, I hope everyone enjoys the new slower pace because I plan to, just as soon as I finish these FEW last things.............

I'm sorry I'm going to miss this classic film by Fritz Lang at the Phillips on Thursday. We'll be on our own 21st century travel adventure that day. I hope some of you can catch it.

Space is still available for the following program.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Program

Fritz Lang's Metropolis
Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006, 6 p.m.
 
In Metropolis (1927), one of the most universally respected and influential films of the silent era, director Fritz Lang presents his vision for the 21st century. Within its spectacular, science fiction-inspired sets, Metropolis delves into the darker side of science, religion, love, and redemption in the year 2026.
 
Included in museum admission. No reservations required. For more information, contact (202) 387-2151.

The Phillips Collection
1600 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Monday, December 18, 2006

El Lissitzky: Futurist Portfolios

October 14, 2006–January 21, 2007

I stopped by the Phillips Collection's new wing yesterday and was delighted by the synthesis of art, architecture and design in this exhibition. The walls are painted in the same modernist designs as El Lissitzky's prints, sometimes grabbing my attention more than the art on the walls. The overall feeling was that of art and architecture merging to define the space, a happy marriage and worth a visit.

"Nineteen prints by Russian artist El Lissitzky comprising two complete lithographic portfolios shown in conjunction with the Société Anonyme exhibition. Lissitzky (1890–1941), also an architect and theorist, created the Victory over the Sun portfolio as designs for a futurist opera, and the Proun portfolio ("Proun" is the Latin acronym for "design for the confirmation of the new") to embrace utopian ideals through the use of abstract architectural forms. A gallery room is designed as a Proun room to convey some of Lissitzky's concepts in three dimensions."

The Phillips Collection
1600 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Holiday Greetings

from Marchand Studios

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Prints by Lou Stovall

WPG 2007 Invitational
January 3- January 28, 2007

First Friday Reception
Friday, January 5, 2007 5-8 pm

Artist's Reception
Sunday, January 7, 2007 2-5 pm

Gallery Talk/Brown Bag Lunch
Thursday, January 11, 2007 12-1 pm

Washington Printmakers Gallery
1732 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20009
DuPont Circle Metro Stop, Q Street exit

Gallery Director: Gail Vollrath
Phone: 202-332-7757

Last Day for Book Sale and Open House at Hemphill 12.17.2006



Sunday, December 17, 2006, 12-5pm
H E M P H I L L
1515 14th STREET NW
WASHINGTON, DC
www.hemphillfinearts.com

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Arts Council of New Orleans Announces $440,000 in Grants

to Launch NOLAFunGuide.com

Contact: Robbie Denny of the Arts Council of New Orleans, rdenny@artscouncilofneworleans.org or 504-571-1833

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Arts Council of New Orleans announced today that it will implement a new online marketing tool and half-price e- mail ticket program to increase attendance for New Orleans cultural organizations. The goal is to make the arts more affordable and accessible for New Orleans' residents and visitors.

The program is being made possible by a grant of $392,000 from The Pew Charitable Trusts and $48,000 from the William Penn Foundation, both provided to the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. The Cultural Alliance will work with the Arts Council of New Orleans (ACNO) to create and launch an online regional events calendar, NOLAFunGuide.com, and FunSavers, a weekly half-price ticket program. NolaFunGuide.com is scheduled to launch in spring 2007, followed by the launch of the FunSavers program shortly thereafter.

"Because cultural organizations and the public are increasingly depending on the internet to access information, NOLAFunGuide.com and the FunSavers program will offer a quick and efficient way to communicate with our audiences," said Shirley Corey, president and CEO of the Arts Council of New Orleans."

For more information on the project and participating organizations, please visit http://www.artscouncilofneworleans.org

http://www.usnewswire.com/

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Obsession, recent works by Amy Lin

December 15 - January 14
Obsession, recent works by Amy Lin
Curated by Anne Collins Goodyear, Assistant Curator of Prints+Drawings at the National Portrait Gallery

Opening Reception: Friday, Dec. 15, 2006 7-9pm
Curator's Remarks 8pmSeparate Worlds by Amy Lin

With a soaring blue mass anchored above a small pink enclosure, “Separate Worlds” reads almost like a question mark. The comparison is apt where Amy Lin’s work is concerned. Enveloped in the artist’s meticulously rendered drawings is an implicit question: what are they? It is precisely in their resistance to easy categorization that the works reach out to spectators.

Lin’s work, with an exquisite calligraphic quality of interweaving cables, is composed of tiny spheres, rendered painstakingly, at varying scales, by the artist. Yet the work does not read as pure abstraction, concerned only with formal properties of color and composition. Instead, a careful examination of these lively surfaces reveals fascinating intersections between the minute units themselves—microbes of a sort— some of which seem to cohere with magnetic pull while others seem to resist one another. Through her use of pattern and repetition Lin has put into play dynamics that seem almost human in nature.

If the artist’s intensity, or “obsession,” reveals itself graphically, the work also brings about a deep sense of contemplative satisfaction. For through an act of meditative creation, Lin has constructed pictorial environments that produce a sense of immense space. Here the viewer can become lost in the delicate task of untangling skeins of threaded dots that tease the mind. - Anne Colins Goodyear

for more information go to: www.amylinart.com

Artists Reception at Cafe Luna

Artists Reception
at
Cafe Luna
1633 P Street N W - Washington , DC - 20036
202-387- 4005
www.skewers-cafeluna.com

Come and meet the talented local Artists who are the winners of the Café Luna Niche contest.

Thursday December 21st
4:30pm – 6:30pm For a night of mixing and schmoozing,
wine and munchies Please RSVP by Tuesday December 19th
Call 202.387.4005

Monday, December 11, 2006

Tips on mingling your way through the holidays

Alyson B. Stanfield of www.artbizcoach.com suggests tips to get out there and rub elbows with your colleagues.
Jeanne Martinet, who wrote "The Art of Mingling." aired on National Public Radio's Morning Edition last Friday with a program called Mingle All the Way Through Holiday Parties. Listen here

Art Basel Sour Grapes Wrap-Up

Hungry for news from Art Basel? Read Lee Rosenbaum's wrap up at CultureGrrl

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Arc d'Light / Lichtbogen

Exhibition Through January 31
In this unusual joint exhibition, steel sculptor Wulf Kirschner and painter Nicola Stäglich explore the effects of light: the two artists use contrasting materials – steel and plexiglass – but the common language of simplified shapes and handwritten lines.

Third Thursday
December 21, 6:00 – 8:00pm
January 18, 6:00 – 8:00pm

Downtown’s monthly gallery crawl features Arc d'Light / Lichtbogen www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/en1789237.htm

Discussion
Thursday, December 14, 6:30pm
Talking about Europe with Finnish Ambassador Pekka Lintu
This program continues the series of discussions with European ambassadors focusing on Europe-related topics that each ambassador wishes to address. Moderated by National Public Radio’s Robert Siegel.
RSVP 202.289.1200, ext. 169

Goethe-Institut Washington
The German Cultural Center
812 Seventh St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-289-1200
www.goethe.de/washington

Monday - Thursday, 9:00am - 5:00pm
Friday, 9:00am - 3:00pm
Metro: Gallery Pl-Chinatown (Chinatown exit)

Saturday, December 09, 2006

First Impressions, Second Thoughts

By Jessica Dawson

Jessica Dawson at WaPo gives a good synopsis of "Juke," by Maryland artist Jefferson Pinder at G. Fine Art, and a five-person group show , "Consume," at Flashpoint. Read here.

Friday, December 08, 2006

As we move into the holidays, let's not forget our brothers and sisters in the deep south

Arlington Art Center's Fresh Paint

FRESH PAINT: Process and Possibility
December 5, 2006 - January 27, 2007

Reception: Friday, December 8, 2006, 6 - 9 pm

Roundtable Discussion: Fresh Paint Up Close: Exhibiting Artists and Curator - Tuesday, December 12, 2006, 7 - 9 pm

Curated by: Carol Lukitsch, Director of Exhibitions, AAC

Artists: Anthony Brock, Byron Clercx, Eric Finzi, Pat Goslee, Christopher Hoeting, Tati Kaupp, Kevin Kepple, Isabel Manalo, Mike Matarese, Cara Ober, Susan Palmisano, Stefan Prosky, Lynda Ray, Shinji Turner-Yamamoto

In FRESH PAINT: Process and Possibility, an invitational exhibition at Arlington Arts Center, fourteen Mid-Atlantic painters focus on process and materials as a means of questioning present-day reality. While they clearly take pleasure in the physicality of paint itself, the artists utilize a variety of alternative materials such as resin, glue, milk, henna, latex, clay and even robotics. At times they utilize unusual techniques which forego the use of a brush or canvas: paint skins are manipulated into sculptural forms, house paint is worked with power tools, needles and syringes are used to inject paint into resin.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Getting in the Holiday groove

Ok, I have to admit, I am already shopping for holiday gifts. Since I'm not making jewelry and my giftees are arty by nature, I went by the National Museum of Women in the Arts yesterday to check out the Holiday Gift Market. (By the way, the gift shop at NMWA is one of my favorite year round places to pick up affordable unique adorning gifts.) Yesterday, I found wonderful beaded treasures among all the Holiday Market vendors. There were beautiful purses, clothing, soaps, necklaces, earrings, pins - all hand made. The artists who caught my eye were Aygil Volare who also shows her jewelry in the National Museum of Women in the Arts Museum Shop . Volare doesn't sell directly to the public so you will have to go to the shop to purchase her gemstone necklaces and pewter bracelets. Cassandra and Stacey, favorite designers at http://www.ikickedaboy.com/ikickedaboy/index.htm have amazing three-tiered gemstone chokers that feel good and look great! I had to get one for myself. (You know that gift?) IKickedaboy.com web site is coming soon. Sandrine Giraud creates a line of necklaces made of flexible steel cables that are unique and futuristic. See a sample at www.nikaia.com. Cheryl Chandola, owner of Better World Inc. had a nice range of fun lucite and elegant gemstone necklaces, earrings, and woven cuff bracelets.
It feels good to have beautifully crafted gifts to adorn some magnificent women in my life. (And I'm still on budget.) Good luck with the shopping. There's lots of good art and good crafts out there. Now go and buy them from your favorite local artist.

Nevin kelly Gallery is featuring a HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, December 9th, 4 - 7 pm

Nevin Kelly Gallery | 1517 U Street NW | Washington DC

Featuring the exhibition:

ATTAINABLE ART: WORKS UNDER $1200
Smaller works by Nevin Kelly Gallery artists
Nevin Kelly Gallery | 1517 U Street NW | Washington DC
December 7 - 31, 2006

This show features small work by many of the Nevin Kelly Gallery's artists as well as introducing the work of Molly Brose and Melissa P. Hackmann.

Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets Snow Business

The annual Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets Snow Business
Holiday Decoration Competition is NOW OPEN for Voting.

Everyone is invtied to visit our wonderful Dupont Circle businesses
and vote for the best Holiday Displays on the HDCMS website.

Voting is accessible at http://www.dupontcircle.biz/snow.htm

Voting will be open until December 18th and the winners will be
annouced at the HDCMS Holiday party on Tuesday, December 19th at
Commerce Bank.

Thank you for your support of this program and please remember Dupont Circle businesses in your holiday shopping and dining.

Have a great Holiday Season!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Artistically Speaking with Marilou Donahue

Artistically Speaking's, Marilou Donahue has had a great year and is ending it on a high note. Featured on her December web site are the Actress Joan Collins and Jay Gates, Director of The Phillips Collection. Lots of other things to read, so enjoy.

Artistically Speaking December news here.

Marilou Donahue
http://artisticallyspeaking.tv/

Sunday, December 03, 2006

“Altered States”

“Altered States”
 December 7, 2006  - January 14, 2007
Receptions to meet the artist:
Thursday, December 7, 6-9pm
Saturday, December 9, 2-5pm
 
The second one-man exhibition of this 27 year old realist painter Drew Ernst.  Ernst sold out his first solo exhibition at Zenith Gallery. His current work, “Altered States”, promises to be another exceptional exhibit in this young mans artistic career.
 
“The world has changed drastically in a very short period of time.  These works are a reaction to those changes.  Altered States has layers of meaning.  The work can be viewed through the eyes of the artist whose personal intent was to make paintings of alternate states of reality or escape. In the bigger picture, Altered States can be seen as a change of consciousness on a world scale.”   Drew Ernst  
 
413 7th Street NW   •  Washington DC  20004   •   202-783-2963   •   art@zenithgallery.com   •   www.zenithgallery.com

Gallery Hours: Gallery Hours: Tues - Fri 11 - 6pm • Sat 11 - 7pm •  Sun 12 -  5pm
  

Friday, December 01, 2006

Weekend exhibits

Lenny Campello on Mid Atlantic Art News reports three new exhibitions this weekend here

Angela Jerardi's "CONSUME" opens November 30 at the Gallery at Flashpoint. Opening reception Saturday, Dec 2, 5-7 pm

Jayme McLellan's show at the Warehouse Arts Complex opens November 30 from 7-9 pm

Irvine Contemporary opens Saturday, December 2, 6-8:00 pm:
The Trophy Room, a solo exhibition of new sculptures by Joshua Levine, and Three New Chinese Artists: A Preview, new paintings by Li Jian Ping, Liu Jian, and Ye Qiang.

Opportuntiy to exhibit

My fellow blogger, Sharon Burton at authentic art dc is co-producing The Art with Joe artist series at Peace and A Cup of Joe Cafe' in Baltimore, MD. They are seeking submissions from emerging women artists, 21 years of age and older, who have not exhibited in a major exhibition (group or solo) or gallery in the last 3 years and reside in the Metro Baltimore/Washington, DC area. This exhibition is in conjunction with Women's History Month. Details Here.

American Museum attendance is booming

Museum of Modern Art director, Glenn Lowry says, "You have to go full-tilt. In this highly charged environment, if you're not out there with extraordinarily good programs presented full-force, other attractions ...are going to impact your audience."

The American Association of Museums' survey of 809 institutions results show:
• U.S. museums log more than 600 million visits annually.
• The median attendance at American museums has remained steady at 34,000 annually since 2000.
• A "typical" museum in the U.S. today has an annual operating budget of $783,000 and a 23,000-square-foot facility.
• Half of museums surveyed have begun or completed construction, renovation or expansion in the last three years. Simply put, building is big."
Read CNN article By Porter Anderson here

Holiday Gift Market