Sunday, August 31, 2008

Labor Day Weekend Special : Labor with love

I wanted to put up something special for Labor Day Weekend and author and creativity coach Eric Maisel agrees. This essay by Eric Maisel sums up the perfect motivation to achieve the excellent results of our labor.

DEMAND GRANDEUR

We tend to associate the word “grandeur” with events like royal weddings and sights like the Grand Canyon. Hotels are grand, canals are grand, and cruise ships are grand. But something about that way of thinking prevents us from demanding grandeur from the other stuff of existence, like an image that we craft, a jam that we jar, or a kiss that we give. For more reasons that we can count, grandeur isn’t very present in our daily lives.

In all the meetings I’ve ever attended—faculty meetings, business meetings, meetings of therapists, and, yes, meetings of artists—I’ve never herd anyone say, “What’s wanted is a little more grandeur.” Have you? On the long list of things discussed when people gather, grandeur never appears. There are no parties honoring it, no organizations devoted to it, no lobbyists buttonholing members of Congress and whispering, “Support the grandeur bill and we’ll make it worth your while!”

I remember sitting in a sterile coffee-break room in a suite of offices, writing by hand before the class I taught began. In a corner of the room were some boxes of computer parts. There was a soda machine, a microwave, a copy machine, a fire extinguisher, a sink, a wastepaper basket, and a metal cabinet for office supplies. The walls were a dull blue-gray, the round table at which I sat was the same dull blue-gray, and so were the chairs and the floor.

But on the wall across from me was a poster of a Manuel Neri oil-on-paper called Alberica No. 1. It portrayed a woman with a blue face, a yellow torso, and burgundy legs. The top half of the background was a brilliant yellow and the bottom half was a striking blue. If I hadn’t had it or something like it on the wall to look at, I would surely have died of grandeur deprivation in a room like that.

Think about your own life. What last stirred feelings of grandeur in you? Was it something you saw on the commute to your day job, some reality show episode, or something you experienced at a meeting? Probably not. My hunch is that you were last stirred by music, a film, a passage in a book or a piece of art. You stopped, listened to the music, and said to yourself “How beautiful!” or “How powerful!” or “This is good stuff!” You were transported. In the back of your mind you whispered “I should be doing work this strong.” You said to yourself, but maybe not in a way that you could hear the message clearly, “Without this beauty I would die.”
Without a Neri on the wall or Mozart in the air or Tolstoy in our hands we would wither away, no matter how good the benefits and stock options at our day job. We need grandeur to survive. As everyday creative people and as artists, it is up to us to supply it for ourselves and for others. But we tend to forget our possibilities and our responsibilities. We forget that we are grand creatures who have it in us to create. We forget that grandeur is available and that we can create it ourselves.

One way to prove the exception as an artist is to remember the reality and the importance of grandeur. Demand grandeur from your own work. I’m certainly not talking about subject matter choices: we are centuries beyond presuming that an image of a royal gala or a religious scene is grander than an image of a potato or an abstraction. I am talking about things that arise from our heart, our head, and our hands with the power to move our fellow human beings. I am talking about the intention we hold, to create—choose a word that you like—something powerful, beautiful, admirable, meaningful, resonant, or grand. Maybe there is no right word: but you know what I mean.

The painter Max Beckmann said, “All important things in art have always originated from the deepest feeling about the mystery of Being.” I think that this sentiment comes close to capturing the origins of our sense of grandeur. We are built to appreciate mystery, to harbor deep feelings, to contemplate this universe with its marvelous quirks and distinguishing features. To bring less than all of this to the art-making experience is to bring only a shadow of our inheritance. Many artists are approaching the canvas with smaller agendas: to render a likeness, to repeat themselves, to produce something comfortable, to shock, to offer up a copy of something they once saw in a museum. If you come to the canvas with a different, grander intention, you will find yourself proving the exception.

The result may not look “grand” in any traditional sense. I would be surprised if we saw marble staircases and velvet drapes. Rather, we might see the color fields of a Rothko, the whimsy of a Klee or a Miro, the earthiness of an Alice Neel. We might see anything: muted colors, saturated colors, political satire, homey scenes, anything. What we would feel, however, would be that special feeling that we crave but only occasionally experience, that feeling of grandeur that is part mystery, part awe, and part receptivity to the facts of existence.

How should you approach the canvas in order to achieve these results? You should approach it with your sense of wonder enlisted, with your faculties activated, with a sense of genuine interest and concern, with something more than a desire to make another image or another product to market. In one sense you are simply making a thing; and it is honorable to number yourself among the people who work with their hands and produce artifacts. In another sense you are engaged in existential oratory, commenting in your fashion on the intricacies of existence. When you comment with some feeling, we experience that thing called grandeur.

The rule is that most of the images we see do not really move us. They lack that power. Maybe it is a lack of execution; maybe it is a lack of vision; maybe it is a lack of existential feeling; maybe it is many lacks rolled up into one unsatisfying result. Then there are the exceptions, the artworks with the power to move us. Aim there. Decide that you will prove the exception by demanding of yourself that you manifest your fine existential feeling and your astounding human power in the service of art-making. - Eric Maisel

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Here are links to events and more interesting reading by this successful author.

For more information on Eric Maisel's books and services:
http://www.ericmaisel.com

You can listen to the free Writers Telesummit preview call with Eric Maisel and see if you are interested in attending the Writers Telesummit next week (no travel—stay right at home—24 great presenters) by going here. http://www.telesummits.com/

And if you’re interested in creativity or creativity coaching, the conference sponsored by the Creativity Coaching Association that takes place in October. For more information: Creativity Coaching Association Conference

To listen to The Joy of Living Creatively: HERE

To listen to Your Purpose-Centered Life: HERE

To read the Eric Maisel Creativity Central blog: HERE

To read The Atheist's Way blog: HERE

PICTURING POLITICS 2008

August 15 – September 27, 2008

Artists Speak to Power
Curated by Rex Weil

Reception: Friday, September 5, 6:00 - 9:00pm

Artists:
Helga Thomson, Renee Stout, Jose Ruiz, Rick Reinhard, The Pinky Show, Jefferson Pinder and Matt Ravenstahl, Randall Packer and John Anderson, Independence Fund's Veterans Art Project and the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, Alberto Gaitán and Victoria F Gaitán, Benjamin Edwards, Mary Coble, Judy Byron, Lisa Blas, Wendy Babcox and Meg Mitchell

At the Arlington Arts Center, Washington independent curator, artist, teacher, and critic Rex Weil presents a show focused on the intersection of politics and art-terrain that seldom seems to be explored by artists and galleries in and around the nation's capital.

Picturing Politics 2008 will supply a corrective, examining a wide array of strategies used in the contemporary visual arts for addressing controversial issues and promoting progressive social change-all against the backdrop of a political landscape dominated by mass media. Nine individual artists and five collaborative projects will be included in seven separate gallery spaces on two floors of the AAC.

Arlington Arts Center,
3550 Wilson Blvd,
Arlington VA 22201

Saturday, August 30, 2008

"Block Party" at Art Whino

Friday, Sept. 5, 7-11pm
Preview Event at the Adidas store in Georgetown
1251 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007

Live Painting by Daniel Fleres
Music DJ Alex Gold
A sampling of the Saturday show will be on exhibit
This preview event is FREE and open to the public.

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Saturday, Sept 6, 6pm-Midnight
National Harbor, MD


Art Whino "Block Party"
173 Waterfront St.
National Harbor, MD 20745
The event is FREE and open to the public.
Music by DJ Alex Gold.
Show end date: Sept 31st

Art Whino's "Block Party," serves as a reflection on art pricing and buying. Solo artist Daniel Fleres and 10 others participating in this exhibition are set to display hundreds of small paintings on wooden blocks. The little wood pieces vary in depth and are designed to be displayed singly, in groupings and even as collaboration pieces. The exhibition is designed around around the idea that art should be accessible to people of all ages and income levels. All works in the show will be priced at the same affordable price.

Life and all of its complexities is the source of artistic inspiration for Dan Fleres. Fleres creates streamlined portraits of mournful yet vividly colored characters against skillfully rendered backgrounds. His work is flavored with subtle, insightful views of pop culture and society.

A Good Read on Francis Bacon

Considered an artist of the macabre in his time, Francis Bacon (Oct. 28, 1909 to April 28, 1992) has been on my top list of hard hitters since the 70's. Bacon's instinctual expression and psychological content both fascinates and repells.

In London last July, Study for Head of George Dyer, 1967, by Francis Bacon sold for a cool £13.8m with buyer’s premium.
Gone but not forgotten, read The Art Newspaper's Francis Bacon claims his place at the top of the market.

“Francis Bacon” is at Tate Britain in London from 11 September to 4 January 2009. The exhibition travels to the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid (3 February-19 April 2009) and the Metropolitan Museum in New York (18 May-16 August 2009).

Elders Learning Through the Arts / Grants

Application Deadline:
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 7:00 PM


The Elders Learning Through the Arts (ELTA) Program offers funds to individuals and organizations serving District residents, ages 60 and older, in arts programs. The Commission recognizes that senior art programs are a growing field and one that has shown great benefit to older adults.

Grants will fund projects in the following areas: crafts, dance, literature, media, music, interdisciplinary/performance art, theater and visual arts. Funded projects will support innovative arts programming that provides access and positive enrichment alternatives for seniors.

District residents and District based organizations may apply. Grant amounts range from $500 to $5000.

Assistance in preparing applications is available through workshops held on:

Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 12:00 – 1:30 PM
THEARC

1901 Mississippi Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20020

- AND-

Thursday, September 18, 2008, 6:00 – 7:30 PM
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

1371 Harvard St., NW, Washington, DC 20009

Contact Charles Barzon
202-724-5613.
Visit dcarts.dc.gov to download an application.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Cut and Paste

An exhibit of collages by Kyi May Kaung, Patricia Zannie, and Amy Kincaid

Sept. 3 through 30, 2008
Reception on Sunday, Sept. 14 11:30 to 1:30pm



Village of Friendship Heights Art Gallery
4433 S. Park Ave
Chevy Chase, Maryland
301-656-2797

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Bartering in the Land of Abundance

Transformer and The Floating Lab Collective present an interactive, three-day event
August 28 – 30, 2008

Creating a temporary bartering locale, open to the public for 3 days, The Floating Lab Collective has set up a series of objects within Transformer's project space, encouraging visitors to take an object in exchange for an object they leave behind. To document and archive the exchanges, a Floating Lab Collective artist will be on site to make a quick drawing of each item as well as record its known history. These sketches will be displayed in the space as a growing record of material culture through the duration of the project.

About the project, The Floating Lab Collective states, "This project uses 'bartering' to create community exchange. The purpose of bartering in this instance is to subvert both its semantic value and the traditional context of the art object as mercantile in nature. This project places the object in a social interstice, basically removed from the law of profit by emphasizing the sociability of the object in the context of bartering."

BARTERING HOURS for Bartering in the Land of Abundance are Thursday - Saturday, 1-7pm.
Transformer | 1404 P St NW | Washington | DC | 20005

ODENWALD 1152


The Mexican Cultural Institute in collaboration with Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NY
invites you to the opening of the exhibit

RICARDO MAZAL
ODENWALD 1152
PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4th, 2008 - 6:30 to 8:30 PM


Mexican Cultural Institute
2829 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Reception to follow
Business attire

Free Admission / Limited Space Available
R.S.V.P. icmdc@instituteofmexicodc.org


OD 1152 is the name of a tree located inside a forest outside the small town of Michelstadt, in the Odenwald region of Germany. The forest is now a cemetery, a place where peoples' remains are buried in biodegradable urns amongst the roots of the tree of their choice.

In 2007, the Mexican artist, Ricardo Mazal traveled to Odenwald and he became fascinated with the concept of these burials. He photographed the forest extensively and upon returning to his studio, Mazal used the photographs as a point of departure - digitally transforming and merging them with images of his own paintings - to create virtual studies for new paintings.

For more information please visit www.instituteofmexicodc.org

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Hebraica Mirrors


Hebraica Mirrors
Thru September 30
Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery


Hebraica Mirrors is a series of original colorful prints by the French Jewish artist Matatiaou. The exhibition travels from the Jewish Museum of Florida.

Hebraica Mirrors includes over 60 fine prints on Arches Velum and leather parchment. This type of medium truly represents the crossroads of contemporary design and traditional calligraphy. The exhibition is an interpretation of the Hebraic letter that develops numbers, shapes and colors in mirror effects. This universal graphic interpretation is inspired directly from the Zohar (direct origin of the Kabbala as written circa 1300).

September 17, at 7:30 pm: Book Talk
Resurrecting Hebrew by Ilan Stavans, 2008

Ilan Stavans will be sharing the transitional history of Hebrew from a dead language to the living language of modern Israel. Stavans is a Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amerherst College. The book talk is part of the Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival. TICKETS are now on sale!

Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery, Washington DCJCC
1529 Sixteenth Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 777-3208

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Come One, Come All to CITY HALL ART COLLECTION 2008

SAVE THE DATE
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A BIG!!!! Celebration at the John A. Wilson Building is planned for Tuesday, September 23rd, from 5-7pm......a reception in the Wilson Building to celebrate the art collection and the centennial of the building.

Artists Reception
CITY HALL ART COLLECTION
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 from 5:00PM -7:00PM

John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004


THE Public IS invited. So come out and support your local artists and arts commission. YOU can make ART continue to be a BIG PART of our fair city. Let's deliver impressive numbers of people to this event to show the council, the mayor and our arts commissioners, our support for the artists and the mission of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

++++++++++++
General Public is invited
Photo ID required to enter this building
Free Admission and Refreshments
RSVP requested to PUBLICARTEVENTS@DC.GOV OR 202-724-5613
Metro: Metro Center (Red/Orange/Blue lines) or Federal Triangle (Orange/Blue lines)
Limited metered and garage parking nearby

Dedicating 28 New Works by:
Wayne Edson Bryan
Lilian Thomas Burwell
Manon Cleary
Gene Davis
Willem De Looper
Aziza Claudia Gibson-Hunter
Janis Goodman
Kevin Kepple
Kevin MacDonald
Percy Martin
Paul Reed
Robin Rose
Molly Springfield
Di Bagley Stovall
Lou Stovall
Alma Woodsey Thomas
Dan Treado
Andrea Way
James Lesesne Wells

MAAF's Creative Fellowships Deadlines Approaching!

Creative Fellowships Artists' Colonies Residencies!
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation annually supports regional artist in residence at The Millay Colony, Austerlitz, NY, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, VA.

Residencies support writers, composers, and visual artists. The visiting artist is provided with a private studio, room and board, and the company of other artists from around the nation, for an intensive period of self-guided creative exploration and development.

In addition to sponsorship support, a small travel subsidy is awarded to the selected artist. Artists must apply directly to the appropriate colony. Application materials are available on the websites listed below.

Artists in Delaware, Maryland, the US Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia may apply to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. www.vcca.com

Artists in the District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania may apply to the Millay Colony. www.millaycolony.org

Millay Deadline: October 1, 2008

VCCA Deadlines: September 15, 2008 and January 15, 2009

web: http://www.midatlanticarts.org

Paint the Town

Labor Day Weekend

The Montgomery County Art Association and the Town of Kensington, MD, host Kensington's annual Paint the Town art show every Labor Day weekend. The event had its tenth anniversary in 2004.

For the event, artists paint in the open air at sites across the Town of Kensington and have their artwork judged and displayed that afternoon. Artists from all over the metropolitan area display a colorful array of paintings, drawings and sculpture.

Information about the upcoming event is posted on the Kensington Web site prior to Labor Day every year, so keep an eye on the Labor Day Parade & Festival page.

Monday, August 25, 2008

J.J. McCRACKEN

LIVING SCULPTURE
August 21 - September 11, 2008

Performances:
August 21, 7:00pm and 8:15 pm
August 29, 7:30 pm

"Living Sculpture" by J.J. McCracken is a series of performances that showcase the beauty of clay's transformative qualities joined with the dramatic presence of staged figures.

Project 4
903 U Street NW
Washington DC 20001
202 232 4340
http://www.project4gallery.com/

Friday, August 22, 2008

8 eight photographers

four 2-person, 2-week exhibitions

Final Two-Person Segment opens
Saturday, Aug 23rd-Sept. 5th


Alison Brady
Ryoko Suzuki


Randall Scott Gallery
1326 14th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
202-332-0806

www.randallscottgallery.com

New Prints by Mike Hagan

September 2 - September 28, 2008

First Friday Opening Reception: September 5, 5-8 pm

Conversations with Printmaker: September 5,12-9pm
Brown Bag Lunch: Thursday September 4, noon-1pm
and Sunday, September 7, noon-1pm

Washington Printmakers Gallery
1732 Connecticut Ave, NW
202-332-7757
www.washingtonprintmakers.com

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

DISPLACED ARTISTS RETURN TO F STREET

Artists displaced by downtown development will celebrate their return at 923 F Street, NW beginning 6:30 PM Friday, September 5. The return highlights "extraordinary cooperation in preserving cultural assets downtown," stated Downtown Artist Coalition President (DAC) Michael Berman.

The cooperation was spurred by DAC, which was formed in 1999 to organize the many artists who were facing possible eviction by redevelopment of the 900 block of F Street. The effort to preserve some of the last remaining artists' studios downtown culminated in a 2001 agreement which ultimately involved not only DAC but also the Committee of 100, the DC Preservation League, the landowner, the Archdiocese of Washington; the developer, Akridge; and the District government.

Included in the new Carroll Square development at 975 F Street, NW, is 7000 square feet of working art studio space, now leased from Akridge by DAC, which subleases 6 studios to many of the artists who originally occupied space on the street.

Called F St|Arts the studios occupy the 2nd and 3rd floors of the preserved and rehabbed townhouses that are incorporated into the development. Paintings, photographs, sculpture, crafted jewelry, and wood furniture are some of the artwork that will be featured in the space. Artists will be producing as well as displaying work.

F St|Arts will hold quarterly open studio events, in conjunction with the gallery located in the Carroll Square lobby, as well as other functions. Studios are open by appointment only in August. Public hours of operation will be announced in September.

Artists featured at F St |Arts include:

Gediyon Kifle.

Stuart Gosswein.
CAOS on F. Exhibition space for a coalition of artists to display and sell their work. www.caossystems.com
Mimi Masse.
Judy Jashinsky.
Reyes + Davis. Independent Exhibitions.
Richard Dana.

Carroll Square, 975 F Street NW
Washington, DC

Thursday, August 14, 2008

HOME with Christopher K.P. Brown

August 15th, 6-9pm

International Arts Artists invites you to come HOME this Friday, August 15th!
Welcome new host Fred Joiner, curator and host of the American Poetry Museum's Intersections at the Honfleur Gallery and poet in residence at Busboys and Poets, Shirlington. This month's feature poet is Christopher K.P. Brown, fresh off of his summer tour for the fourth installment in the HOME series.

Brown's most recent work explores the topic of Black male identity, which is the dominant theme of his latest release, POETRY: a hip hop album.

Sign-up for poets is at 6 p.m. The open mic begins at 7 p.m.
$5 for non-members of International Arts Artists
Free for members of IA

HOME is on every THIRD Friday of the month.

Hillyer Art Space
9 Hillyer Court NW
Washington, DC
T. 202.338.0680
www.artsandartists.org/artspace.html

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Hip Hop Community Arts Initiative Workshops



Thursday, August 14, 2008 & Wednesday, August 27, 2008
First time applicants and small organizations are strongly encouraged to attend workshops. Call for locations.

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
1371 Harvard Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
Phone 202.724.5613

Monday, August 11, 2008

HEMPHILL PRESENTS

A SELECTION OF RECENT ADDITIONS TO GALLERY INVENTORY

August 11 - August 29, 2008

Including works by:
James Brooks
Jason Gubbiotti
Alfred Jensen
Robert Rauschenberg
Ed Ruscha
Al Souza
Antoni Tàpies
Alma Thomas

Gallery Hours in August:
Monday - Friday, 10am - 5pm and by appointment

H E M P H I L L

1515 14th Street NW
Washington DC 20005
202.234.5601

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Made In China - Work by Dana Ellyn and Matt Sesow

August 16 - September 20
OPENING RECEPTION - Saturday, August 16, 6-9pm
Long View in the City

Dana Ellyn and Matt Sesow are back from a month long trip to China. In lieu of their annual 31 Days of July series, Dana and Matt will be exhibiting exciting work made while on their trip to China.

Long View Gallery
1302 9th ST NW
Washington, DC 20001
Open Wednesday - Sunday, 11 AM - 7 PM
202.232.4788

Saturday, August 09, 2008

2008 Eyes of History

Pepco's Edison Place Gallery

Saturday, August 9, 2:00pm
Photographer Pete Souza signs copies & speaks about his book The Rise of Barack Obama

2008 Eyes of History
White House News Photographers Association

On Exhibit Through August 22
Tuesday - Friday, noon - 4:00pm

Saturday, August 9th and 16th, noon - 4:00pm

Pepco's Edison Place Gallery
700 block of Eighth Street, NW
(On 8th Street, NW between G and H Streets)
202.872.3396

Metro: Gallery Pl-Chinatown, 9th Street exit

Friday, August 08, 2008

8 eight photographers

8
eight photographers
four 2-person, 2-week exhibitions

On Exhibition This Saturday
Third Two-Person Segment opens
Saturday, Aug 9th-Aug. 22nd


Peter Van Agtmael
Alison Brady
Alexandra Catiere
Jessica Dimmock
Kyoko Hamada
Tema Stauffer
Ryoko Suzuki
Shen Wei


Randall Scott Gallery
1326 14th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20005

202-332-0806
202-332-0807 fax
www.randallscottgallery.com
info@randallscottgallery.com

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Hidden & Revealed Gallery Talk

image: Michelle La Perriere

Jul 29 - Sep 6, 2008

Friday, August 8: gallery talk 6pm
Reception 7pm


Gallery Talk with curator Peter Dubeau and participating Hidden & Revealed artists.
This event is free and open to the public.

To learn more about this and other programs at Maryland Art Place please visit:
http://www.mdartplace.org

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Touring Outdoor Sculpture at Foggy Bottom

This Saturday, August 9 at 11am Sculptor Craig Kraft and Philippa Hughs of Pink Line Project will lead the tour.


Guided tours are held the second Saturday of each month – June through October – at 11:00 a.m. Each tour starts at New Hampshire Avenue and Eye Street, NW (a few blocks from the Foggy Bottom Metro) and there will be a reception to follow at the Watergate Gallery. 2552 Virginia Ave NW, 202.338.4488

The Jazz Song

An American Masterpiece in the District of Columbia
Tuesday, September 16 – Sunday, September 21
Free and open to the public

Nnenna Freelon, internationally renowned jazz vocalist, serves as Project Director
The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is proud to announce the start of The Jazz Song, a workshop and performance program of the American Masterpieces project sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. This celebration of diverse vocal jazz traditions begins September 16. Workshops held at venues citywide will be open to select area performers and composers and lead by accomplished jazz masters.

The project will culminate on Sunday, September 21st at 6:00 p.m. in an open-to-the-public concert showcase at the Enrique V. Iglesias Conference Center of the Inter-American Development Bank, the event co-sponsor, featuring the best students gleaned from the workshops along with lead DC area jazz artists.

For more information, contact Masresha.Tadesse@dc.gov or call 202.724.5613

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

CHALK4PEACE: COMING TO A SIDEWALK NEAR YOU

The Global Chalk Art Project 4 Peace
Coming 14-21 September, 2008

Happening again for the third time on a worldwide basis September 14-21. 2008. Be there to fill in a square! The dates for CHALK4PEACE have expanded so you have the WHOLE WEEK to paint the planet the colors of peace!

Visit
www.chalk4peace.org,
the official website;
for more information.

John Aaron....Global Project Founder

Monday, August 04, 2008

WASHINGTON PROJECT FOR THE ARTS PRESENTS


Turning the Page 2008: Surface Tension
A Virtual Exhibition curated by Jessica Granda and Lexi Kirsch

Featuring the artwork of:
James W. Bailey
Michael Fitts
Kevin Kepple
Cleve Overton


Website Launch Date: August 7, 2008
Opening Reception: August 7th, 2008 5-7pm


Enjoy drinks and refreshments at our new space.
View Turning the Page on our monitors and meet the artists.

Washington Project for the Arts
2023 Massachusetts Ave, NW | Washington | DC

Sunday, August 03, 2008

QUART BAG:

A Summer Art Community Show at Civilian

August 8 - August 16, 2008
Opens: Friday, August 8, 2008, 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Inspired by the many things you can do with a quart bag, Civilian Art Projects has invited over 100 DC area artists to participate in a community art exhibition called Quart Bag. The exhibition provides an imaginative opportunity for artists to use thirty-two ounces of space within a plastic quart size bag. All works of art will be sold for $100 or less, providing an opportunity for all people to walk home with a piece of art that is FAA approved.

Civilian will be taking a short summer break after Quart Bag reopening on September 5, 2008 with Way Down in New Orleans, an exhibition of over 33 artists from across the country whose work and lives have been affected by Hurricane Katrina. The exhibition will be curated by Aubrey Edwards, organized by Civilian Art Projects, and fiscally sponsored by DC Arts Center.


Civilian Art Projects
406 7th Street NW, Third Floor
Washington DC
(202) 347-0022

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Wall Mountables at DCAC



DCist article here

National Mall Bike Tours: Pop Culture / Architect John Russell Pope

Unexplored Tales of the City - Pop Culture on the National Mall

Saturday, August 2, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Jefferson Memorial Front Plaza

Join park rangers as they lead a bike tour exploring the history of the National Mall from a slightly different angle. This won't be your average, textbook history of the monuments and memorials, but history through the eyes of film, music, sports, and other modes of popular culture. Aliens crash into the Washington Monument in The Day the Earth Stood Still, Nixon welcomes Elvis to the White House, Houdini wants to parachute off the top of the Washington Monument, Jenny runs through the Reflecting Pool in Forrest Gump, and much, much more. Come out and hear how popular culture has changed our perspective in these alternative annals of history.

Sunday, August 3, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Thomas Jefferson Memorial plaza

Join the park ranger for a three-hour bike tour of the National Mall that explores the magnificent architecture of John Russell Pope. Few architects have played a greater role, in terms of major architectural contributions, to the appearance of modern Washington, D.C., than J. R. Pope. Pope was noted for his strict adherence to classical forms of architecture, and was referred to as the last of the Romans. The tour will consist of visits to & discussions of: The Lincoln Memorial, The American Pharmaceutical Association Building, Constitution Hall (D.A.R.), The National Archives Building, The West Wing of the National Gallery of Art, and The Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

FREE

Contact:
Jason Martz

email for more information.

Friday, August 01, 2008

Irvine Contemporary's MFA Annual

Introductions4
August 02 to September 06

Collector's Preview: Saturday, August 2, 4-6PM

Opening Reception: 6-8PM



Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th Street NW
Washington DC 20005
202.332.8767
info@irvinecontemporary.com

First Fridays Art Receptions in Dupont Circle

And this is the month of those generous Leos. You know who you are.
Happy Birthday to every one of you!


Hillyer Art Space Exhibitions
First Friday Reception: Friday, August 1, 2008, 6-9 p.m.

Featuring music by DJ Ivan
Catering generously provided by Moby Dicks

Three great shows at Hillyer Art Space. Washington Post Article
If you missed the opening last month and haven't seen them yet this is your chance to see what everyone has been talking about!
*
My Name is Jason

Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin are a collaborative artistic duo making their exhibition debut in Washington, DC at IA's Hillyer Art Space. The pair is best known for their visual and performance art, which seamlessly mesh together Reynolds' poetic prose with Griffin's expressive paintings.
*
Every Day

Mandy Burrow features five installations that explore life, death and resurrection. Through this artistic investigation, Burrow confronts the issue of time and its effects on memory.

*An Allegory in Ink

highlights Ben Tolman's signature style of intensely detailed and micromanaged, large-scale ink drawings. Expanding from his obsession with monsters, fantastical creatures and unusual and bizarre scenes, Tolman presents a series of drawings exploring the human condition.

9 Hillyer Court NW | Washington, DC | 202.338.0680

American Landscape


July 30 - August 23, 2008
Opening: Friday, Aug 1, 2008, 6-8 pm

An international traveling exhibition by Gallery 10, Ltd artists from Santa Reparata International School in Florence, Italy.

Artists:
Banks, Blankstein, Burley, Cable, Carlson, Federman, Heinrich, Hersh-Ingram, Irby, Langston, LeCocq, Levine, Monteiro-Rall, Richelieu, Schoettler, Segnan, Stout, Uravitch, Vess, Watkins

Gallery 10
1519 Connecticut Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Regular Gallery Hours:
Wednesday – Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm

FOUNDRY GALLERY presents

Interpretive Realms

Opening Reception: Friday, August 1 from 6-8 pm
July 30 – August 31, 2008


August Members Show
Patsy Fleming
Mina Oka Hanig
Donna McGee
Pilar Jimenez
Marina Reiter
Ron Riley
Marty Slater
Luba Sterlikova
Kathy Wiley
Amy Barker-Wilson
Patricia Zannie


FOUNDRY GALLERY
1314 18th Street NW, 1st Floor
Washington, DC
202-463-0203
Wednesdays- Sundays, noon – 6 pm

11th Annual National Small Works 2008 and Collateral Damaged

Solo exhibition by 2007 National Small Works Winner
Ann Johnston-Schuster

July 29th- August 31

First Friday Opening Reception: August 1, 5 -8 pm
Artist Reception and talk: Sunday, August 3, 2-5pm
Juror's Talk:Sunday, August 10, 2-4pm

Washington Printmakers Gallery
1732 Connecticut Ave, NW
202-332-7757

Dog Day Night: A Celebration of Artists

Thanks Sharon @ Authentic Art Visions!



DEKKA is located at 1338 U Street, N.W., 2nd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20009. For more information about DEKKA artists, please contact Joshua Tiktin at (202) 986-1370 or visit http://www.dcafam.com

Inked Souls

August 2, 6pm - midnight @ National Harbor

Art Whino joins forces with Tagür Footwear to present Inked Souls, an exhibition featuring customized sneakers and fine art by 35 local, national and international leaders in the Pop Surrealism/Urban Contemporary art movement.
Free and open to the pbulic

HUSH! Foundry's First Annual Silent Auction


Exhibit Dates: Show September 3-28

Opening Reception: Friday, September 5 from 6 to 8 pm
Closing Reception: Saturday, September 27 from 6 to 8 pm


FOUNDRY GALLERY
1314 18TH Street, NW, 1st Floor
Washington, DC 20036
202-463-0203
http://www.foundrygallery.org/Auction.html

Gallery Talks: Martin Puryear

If you haven't yet seen the exhibition of wood sculpture by Martin Puryear at the National Gallery of Art, I'd hop the metro and plan to spend an hour wandering thru this Washington born artist's installation. This is the first American retrospective of the artist's work in more than 15 years. There's a large ebony head form, which I love, that is ripe with sensual overtones and a delight to observe for its simplicity and poetic vision. Also catch the 36-foot-long ash and maple Ladder sculpture in the Rotunda. Many of the sculptures are woven together in a lattice-like style. It's a very impressive exhibit and worth repeat visits. A catalogue of the exhibition is available in the museum shop.

Gallery Talks:
August 4, 6, 8, 21, 26, 29 at 1:00PM
August 12–14 at 12:00PM
(60 minutes)
West Building Main Floor, Rotunda
by Sally Shelburne, Diane Arkin, David Gariff, or Jennifer Riddell

National Gallery of Art
Constitution Avenue between Third and Seventh Streets
202.737.4215