Reception for WALA at Hamiltonian

Join WALA's monthly art and networking event!

Thursday, March 18, from 7 to 9 pm, Hamiltonian Gallery hosts a happy hour reception for WALA members, volunteers, and friends. Join us for wine and cheese, networking and viewing art by some of Hamiltonian's artist fellows.

FREE for WALA Members, suggested donation of $10 for non-members.

About Hamiltonian's Current Exhibition
Hamiltonian Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Alex Kondner, Hamiltonian Fellows Ian MacLean Davis, Linda Hesh and Bryan Rojsuontikul, opening Saturday, February 20, 2010. Through the repetition of a particularly burdened word, object, material or image, each artist utilizes the visual residue of popular culture to address the roots of current sociopolitical mores.

In the series Evacuate, Alex Kondner trades in the seemingly nonessential physical attributes of traditional artist materials for disposable ones, such as play-sand and faux fur. Excerpts from historical speeches and 80's New Wave song lyrics mix to comprise the neon-colored sandy text in three paintings. In other paintings, the repeated word "evacuate" fills the surface of the canvas while screen-printed images of apocalyptic Japanese landscapes float on top. The contrasting elements of Kondner's pieces bring to mind the blur of today's frenetic visual culture.

Ian MacLean Davis appropriates imagery from mass-produced sources drawn from fine art and pop culture. Davis then distorts and layers these images to depict how technology and information saturation affect our memory and perception of gender. Two paintings, Golem and Lithe, bring to mind clichéd male and female bodies from popular media. Pours of syrupy paint are covered by overlapping threads of viscous enamel, masking an underlying image and portraying the murky lens with which the two sexes view each other.

In the Garden is the tale of original sin retold by Linda Hesh using apples laser-etched with the word "EVIL." Hesh places the glossy, imprinted apples in various scenarios to photograph, including EVIL on a shelf amongst marred Disney princess figurines, EVIL in an artist's studio, EVIL in proximity to a serpent, and the moment just before EVIL is bitten by a little girl. The EVIL apple installed in different settings conjures up the complexities of how we view gender. Hesh also presents the jarred EVIL apples freeze-dried or preserved in denatured alcohol as a metaphor for the upholding of ancient stereotypes of male and female roles. A time-lapsed video depicts the EVIL apple disintegrating, which represents the breakdown of gender disparity.

In Words in Space, Bryan Rojsuontikul creates minimalist works by spray painting text on canvases faced with tiny foam balls that make up the underlayment of linoleum tile. One work consists of the phrase "Art is Cancer" repeated on canvases differing only in their background colors. Below the canvases, 80 silver floor tiles reflect the phrase back at the viewer. Rojsuontikul relates this to the subtle evolution and growth of art, which he believes cannot be hindered or rationalized.

This exhibition will run from February 20, 2010 until March 20, 2010.


Hamiltonian Artists
Hamiltonian Gallery
1353 U Street, NW
Suite 101
Washington, DC 20009
202.332.1116

HAMILTONIAN ARTISTS

HAMILTONIAN ARTISTS announced the selection of an External Advisory Review Panel.
Philip Barlow, Art Collector
Linda Day Clark, Coppin State University
Annie Gawlak, G Fine Art Gallery
Nevin Kelly, Nevin Kelly Gallery
John Penny, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)
Foon Sham, University of Maryland at College Park
Tim Tate, Washington Glass School

This distinguished panel of artists and art professionals will be tasked to help select the first group of 10 So-Hamiltonian Fellows + 3 alternates for the inaugural season in 2008.

HAMILTONIAN ARTISTS continues to accept applications for the So-Hamiltonian Fellowship Program until the DEADLINE on JANUARY 15, 2008. Application information is online. Check the blog for the latest update.

Hamiltonian Gallery
1353 U Street NW, Washington DC 20009

HAMILTONIAN NEWS UPDATE

OPENING: JUNE 2008

HAMILTONIAN ARTISTS is currently seeking fellowship applications for the 2008-2009 season. Dedicated to support the professional development of emerging visual artists, Hamiltonian Artists is a new 501c (3) nonprofit organization offering an annual national competitive fellowship program for ten promising innovative artists. All So-Hamiltonian Fellows will be provided with: a stipend, representation by the Hamiltonian Gallery, an annual focused exhibition, seminars and mentorship programs led by arts and business leaders, and career placement assistance.

HAMILTONIAN GALLERY will be a new, dynamic art space in the heart of the burgeoning 14th and U Street cultural district in Washington DC, home to many of the city's best contemporary art galleries. With an anticipated opening date of June 2008, the Hamiltonian Gallery will feature the So-Hamiltonian Fellows as well as other established Gallery artists.

Through innovative and groundbreaking programs, Hamiltonian Artists and Hamiltonian Gallery seek to create a new physical and institutional structure in Washington DC to support emerging artists, broaden cultural dialogue within the community and make visual art accessible to a diverse audience.

The fellowship program summary and online application are available at www.HamiltonianArtists.org. Information on the gallery is available at www.HamiltonianGallery.com

APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 15, 2008

Hamiltonian Artists
P.O. Box 73975
Washington, DC 20056
t: (703) 549-9629
e: info@HamiltonianArtists.org
www.HamiltonianArtists.org
www.HamiltonianGallery.com

Hamiltonian Artists is a 501c (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to build a dynamic community of innovative artists and effective visual art leaders.

GMU prof and painter builds new art gallery, Hamiltonian at 14th and U

The gallery and its associated fellowship program are still in the early planning stage. Please visit the following websites for further information in the coming months.
http://HamiltonianGallery.com
http://HamiltonianGallery.org

"Picture it: The abandoned building at 14th and U turned into an art gallery where graduate art students can learn how to sell and market their art.

This idea brought to you by Paul So, physics professor at George Mason University." Washington Post Article by Amy Joyce Read it here.

also in the Washington Business Journal...

GMU prof and painter builds new art gallery

A physics professor at George Mason University is planning to open an art gallery and a nonprofit to help other artists at 14th and U streets NW. Paul So, an abstract acrylic painter in his free time, bought an historic building at 1353 U St. NW last November from Henry McCall for $1.3 million. He has submitted design plans created by Inscape Studio to D.C.'s Historic Preservation Office and received approval, but So says he won't start construction until August, after he gets his construction permits. The 2,791-square-foot gallery, situated between Republic Gardens and a wine store, will have 2,000 square feet to showcase artwork. So also plans to lease the second floor as office space and build two condominiums on top of the building.

So, who has been on a sabbatical for a year, starts teaching again in September. "Time is running out on me," he says. "I hope to get all of the organizational part done, so everything will be on track." He expects to open the gallery by spring 2008.
So's new gallery, called Hamiltonian, is named after West Hamilton, an African-American Army general who owned the building in the 1920s and ran Hamilton Printing, and William Rowan Hamilton, a well-known mathematician and physicist.
"Basically if you know the Hamilton of a certain system, you know everything," So says.

The gallery will open in a neighborhood with several other contemporary arts galleries, including Nevin Kelly Gallery, Hemphill Fine Arts, G Fine Art and Gallery Plan B. Artful teacher: Paul So teaches physics at George Mason University by day and paints abstracts in his free time. Now he plans to build an art gallery on U Street NW. So's model, however, is different from a traditional contemporary gallery. He will still charge the standard 40 to 50 percent commission to the commercial artists he shows for a month at a time, but he also plans to run a nonprofit in tandem with the commercial side to give opportunities to emerging artists. So says he'll take on 10 emerging artists for two years as "fellows." He'll bring in speakers including professors, local collectors and gallery owners who can tell the artists how to present their portfolios. "There are a lot of artists in the region," So says. "I talk to a lot of them, and they feel they need a safe house to transition to a more professional world."

So, who is originally from Hong Kong and went to high school in Hawaii, says he wishes he had that kind of help when he was a young painter. He got his Bachelor of Science degree from Harvey Mudd College and his Bachelor of Arts degree in studio arts from Scripps College in Claremont, Calif. in 1988. He moved to Greater Washington to get his doctorate in physics from the University of Maryland. At that time, So gave two art showings a year. But he says he didn't sell many of his paintings; he stopped altogether when he was writing his dissertation. So is still passionate about being involved in D.C.'s art world but says he needs help on the operational side. He'll hire a manager as well as a development manager for the nonprofit side of his business.

by Erin Killian

E-MAIL: EKILLIAN@BIZJOURNALS.COM