Call for entries / Thoreau's Legacy: Humans and Our Habitat

The Union of Concerned Scientists, a major national environmental organization, is issuing a call for entries for original artwork to hang in the public spaces of its Washington, DC, offices for approximately one year. The theme of this juried show, "Thoreau's Legacy: Humans and Our Habitat," is based on the book of essays on the personal impacts of global warming published this year by Penguin Classics and the Union of Concerned Scientists. The jurors are Washington Post art critic Michael O'Sullivan; artist and curator Ellyn Weiss; and artist, graphic designer, illustrator and UCS Communications Director Elliott Negin. There will be a reception and the selected artwork will be available for sale without commission.

The deadline for submittals is January 15, 2010.

Three images should be submitted in CD format to Douglas Pedersen, 1825 K St. NW, Suite 800, Washington DC 20006-1232 or by email to dpedersen{at}ucsusa.org. Slides will not be considered. Entries should include title, size and medium for each piece as well as a short description of the relationship of the work to the theme.

For complete information, see http://ucsusa.org/callforentries.

Call to visual artists / Art of the Soul

Art of the Soul: : A Woman’s View of Sexism & Oppression 
Feb 12-28, 2010

Art of the Soul is an 18 day exhibit that focuses on women issues ranging from self-esteem and domestic violence to sexuality

486 K Street, NW, Washington, DC

Presented by Fever Couture
Sponsored by Hamiltonian Gallery and Albus Cavus

If oppression was art, what would it feel like? If sexism was art, what would it look like? Art of the Soul is an exhibition of the feelings, thoughts, and prejudices of those often unheard, in this event, women! Since the Victorian age, women have been a target of sin and disgracefulness, an oppression that has affected our sexuality, self-esteem, and character. Through the collaboration of fashion and visual arts, this event will educate the public on issues affecting women that are often deemed “inappropriate” to talk about.

This 18 day exhibit will explore the prevalence of female injustice present in our community. Our collaborative event will strive to facilitate communal dialogue surrounding female related issues and explore ways we can contribute to overturning these injustices, both collectively and individually. Art of the Soul will highlight and discuss the topics of self-esteem, judgment, sexism, AIDS, beauty, domestic violence, FGM (female genital mutilation), and many other issues affecting women.

What we are seeking are visual artists of all disciplines; painting, sculpture, photography, film, etc. to take part in this movement. Art of the Soul will be featured in a unique space in downtown Washington, DC with over 1200 sq ft. of wall space, large windows for display, and heavy foot traffic. We have paired up with local and national organizations, Hamiltonian Gallery, and Albus Cavus organization/artist collective, to gear this exhibit towards success.

Be a part of something great by becoming an Art of the Soul featured artist. You have the option to sell or auction your art and take part in our opening reception with over 150 expected guest where you can discuss your work, network, or explore future opportunities in the DC metropolitan area. With programming scheduled within the space throughout the life of the exhibit, Art of the Soul is more than just a collection of art but a voice for women and all others that have been oppressed.

If interested or if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact Kaira Johnson - theartandsoul.dc[at]gmail.com. Also, if you know any organizations or persons that would like to organize a program or workshop under the Art of the Soul, please forward this information.

Call for Artists: Participate in the Urban Forest Project

This spring, The Urban Forest Project will plant 100 street banners by local designers and students in downtown Washington, DC. Each banner will use the form of, or metaphor for a tree, to make a powerful visual statement about the environment. This project is being brought to Washington, DC as a platform to engage the public in the District's environmental efforts.

The banners will be hung on light poles in downtown Washington, DC during the spring of 2010 in celebration of Arbor and Earth Days. They will then be recycled into unique one-of-a-kind totebags designed exclusively for the project. Proceeds from the sales of the totebags will go to nonprofit environmental efforts that help make Washington, DC a clean, green and sustainable city.
This project, conceived by Worldstudio, is being presented in Washington, DC in collaboration with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH), AIGA DC and Corcoran College of Art and Design.

For more information, contact Rachel Dickerson at Rachel.Dickerson at dc.gov or call 202-724-5613.  To download the call to artist visit:  http://newsroom.dc.gov/show.aspx/agency/dcarts/section/2/release/18804

The Year in Museums / Washington, DC

Washington City Paper Article

By Jeffry Cudlin

Read Here

"But museums thrive on exchanges of energy, information, and influence. They crave audiences and exist to create a conversation with them. In the case of museums of contemporary art, that conversation should be about what sort of people we are, what sort of historical moment we’re creating together—and what sort of art we all deserve. In 2009, we got a chance to figure out at least a little bit of that."

Happy Holidays

 www.annemarchand.com

WSG Gallery | Caring & Giving Fundraiser by Carl Wright

WSG Gallery | Caring & Giving Fundraiser by Carl Wright
through December 31, 2009

Carl Wright Studio is hosting a sculpture fundraiser, the Giving & Carving Fundraiser, for three non-profits: Colorectal Cancer Coalition, Briggs Animal Adoption Center and the Berkeley County Humane Society.

The Sculpture Fundraiser runs from now 'til December 31, 2009.

This is a sculpture fundraiser for several non-profit organizations that are very worthwhile. There are eleven sculptures in stock at Carl Wright's studio, the link to them is at Giving & Carving Sculpture. Purchase one of these sculptures, with Visa, MC, or check, and 25% of the price will be donated to either: one of the three non-profits or you can specify a charity that you would like the 25% to go to with the donations would be made in your name.

The details are here at:
http://www.wsggallery.com/Sculpture-Pages/Giving-and-Caring.htm

The sculptures for the fundraiser are here: http://www.wsggallery.com/Sculpture-Pages/Caring-and-Giving-Sculpture.htm

Carl Wright
Abstract Stone Sculpture
Art for Homes | Art for Corporate, Health Care, Hospitality, Public Art
http://www.wsggallery.com
304-263-2391

Poetic Voices 2.0

Poetic Voices 2.0, a series of YouTube videos that explores African-American heritage, created by the Phillips and the American Poetry Museum.  Poetic Voices invites poets to read and respond to Countee Cullen’s 1925 poem “Heritage.”  The YouTube channel features curator and writer Hari Jones performing “Heritage” and his poetic response, “Do You Remember Timbuktu?”  There is also a video of poet, artist, and teacher Sami Mirandi reading his original poem, “When They Ask.”

The museum is inviting members of public to upload a video of their original poems, expressing what heritage means to them.  Videos added before Dec. 21, 2009 are added to a publicly-decided contest, with an art-themed prize pack.  More details about the contest can be found on pdf here.

These videos were created in conjunction with the Man Ray exhibition at the Phillips Collection.

T H E  P H I L L I P S  C O L L E C T I O N
1600 21st St., NW
Washington, DC 20009

Govinda Gallery: A Gem in Georgetown : Erica Flint | Vanity Fair

Govinda Gallery: A Gem in Georgetown : Erica Flint | Vanity Fair

This year, Murray’s impulse, the Govinda Gallery, is celebrating its 34th anniversary on 34th Street in Georgetown. According to Murray, this also makes his venture the most longest-lived art gallery in one location in the history of D.C.

Collector Mera Rubell makes rounds of Washington's isolated artists - washingtonpost.com

Collector Mera Rubell makes rounds of Washington's isolated artists - washingtonpost.com

By Jessica Dawson

Friday, December 18, 2009

You could call it a Hanukkah miracle. Or the arrival of intelligent life from another planet. Last Saturday at 5 a.m., while the rest of us slept, megacollector Mera Rubell walked among us, hunting local art.

"If you were living in New York, you'd be pushing your work a lot harder," Mera says with firmness. "With all of the millions of dollars poured into museums here, why are artists so contained?"

Critical Perspectives Series Explores Innovation in Contemporary Art

Bold Art, Ideas, Techniques to be Focus of 2010 Forum

The Contemporary Museum will explore radical changes that have taken place in the visual arts during the last 50 years through its discussion series Critical Perspectives. The first session will be held Tuesday, January 26, 2010.

The six-session forum will examine topics that have greatly influenced the direction of contemporary art, including serialism and gravity, environmental themes, and feminist interventions. Historical and critical texts from revolutionary thinkers will provide the foundation for provocative discussion about the events, movements, and people who have guided the evolution of contemporary art.

The series will convene every Tuesday, from January 26 through March 9, 2010 from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Peabody Court Hotel, 612 Cathedral Street, in Baltimore’s Mt. Vernon Cultural District.

Critical Perspectives will be led by Virginia K. Adams, modern and contemporary art history instructor at Maryland Institute College of Art, and Robert E. Haywood, deputy director of the Contemporary Museum.

The fee for the full Critical Perspectives series is $125 for Contemporary Museum members and $160 for non-members. A one-year discounted membership to the museum is included in the cost for non-members. The series is open to all art enthusiasts; no prior art history training is required.

For more information about Critical Perspectives and the Contemporary Museum, visit www.contemporary.org.

About the Contemporary Museum
The Contemporary Museum promotes the art and culture of our time by producing and presenting new works, new thinking, and new practices that are immediately relevant. The Contemporary has earned international acclaim for its thought-provoking exhibitions, innovative programming, and unique collaborations with artists, curators, critics, and members of the community.   

What's It All Mean: William T. Wiley in Retrospect

October 2, 2009 - January 24, 2010

Enter the world of artist William T. Wiley, who has created a distinctive body of work during a 50-year career that addresses critical issues of our time. Art, politics, war, global warming, foolishness, ambition, hypocrisy, and irony are summoned by Wiley’s fertile imagination and recorded in the personal vocabulary of symbols, puns and images that fill his objects. His wit and sense of the absurd make his art accessible to all with multiple layers of meaning revealed through careful examination.

This retrospective, which features eighty-eight works from the 1960s to the present, is the first full-scale look at Wiley’s long career and explores important themes and ideas expressed in his work.

American Art Museum, 8th and F Streets, NW Washington, DC

Guest Show: Songs of the Earth - Great and Small at STUDIO GALLERY

January 6 - January 30, 2010
First Friday Reception (as part of the Dupont Circle Galleries openings): January 8, 6 - 8 pm
Meet the Artist Reception: January 9, 4 - 6 pm

Guest Show: Songs of the Earth - Great and Small
Debbie Bankert, Roberta Bernstein, Neena Birch, Elizabeth W. Carter, Wendy Cortesi, Jill Hodgson, Vicki Malone, Donald B. Myer, Kappy Prosch, Michael Rawson, Eva-Maria Ruhl, Ellen Tuttle, Julie Weihe, S. M. Wilson

Look closely at nature's wonders - its intricacies, its beauty, its poetic patterns - the very web of life of which we are a part. Beginning in 2004, the 16 artists known as Studio 155 have offered their visions of the natural world, expanding the boundaries of botanical art.

Studio Gallery
2108 R Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20008
202.232.8734

WPA Art Auction Gala

Save the Date!

January 20, 2010

@ American University Museum

At the Katzen Center

'Yinka Shonibare MBE' at the Museum of African Art - washingtonpost.com

'Yinka Shonibare MBE' at the Museum of African Art - washingtonpost.com: "Yinka Shonibare, skewing history with his images"
By Jessica Dawson

In the alternate universe of Yinka Shonibare's artworks, Victorian ladies sport bustles of batik, Enlightenment mathematicians misplace limbs, disabled black men penetrate British society and nearly everybody loses their head.

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art
950 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20560
(202) 633-4600

Holiday Open House in Mt. Rainier, MD

 Open Studios at the Gateway Art District

Washington Glass School

Holiday Open House

Dec 12, 2-6 pm

3700 Otis St, Mt. Rainier, MD

202-744-8222

The main regional glass show
***************************************************

Sinel/Stewart/Weiss studios will be among the many in Mt.
Ranier, Brentwood and Hyattsville open to the public, including the
Washington Glass School, Red Dirt, Flux and pretty much everybody in
Mt. Ranier hood.

Sinel/Stewart/Weiss Studios 
3706 Wells Ave, Mt. Ranier,  in the
back building of complex, just two blocks from the DC line.

Laurel Lukaszewski at Project 4

November 6 - December 18, 2009

If you haven't been over to Project 4, you are in for a real treat. Stop by and see the work of Laurel Lukaszewski. Laurel is a founding member of Flux Studios, in Mt. Rainier, MD. Laurel Lukaszewski creates installations and sculptures primarily from clay—usually porcelain or stoneware. Most of Laurel's works are composed of extruded forms resembling three-dimensional line drawings or calligraphic brushstrokes.

There's no denying when you walk into Project 4 that the artists work is captivating and inspired. A realm of porcelain transforms the space into a statement that bridges poetry, nature and the transient nature of existence, a must see during the final week. The exhibition pairs beautifully with the well designed space in midtown DC.

While the artist is clearly inspired by specific forms from the natural world, her poetic installations come to evoke a more abstract sense of the transient beauty present in all of our experience, physical and emotional.  Lukaszewski explains that the phrase "icho-go ichi-e", which derives from the Japanese tea ceremony, corresponds to the work in this exhibition serving "both as an encouragement to seize the day and as a memorial for what has been lost."  

Project 4
www.project4gallery.com
1353 U St NW # 302
Washington, DC 20009-4444
(202) 232-4340

Mary Margaret Pipkin / Watercolors

Mary Margaret Pipkin

The Barn Show

in 

the Shenandoah Valley

On a gorgeous fall day in October, 150 guests attended a reception for Mary Margaret Pipkin's latest exhibition and had a wonderful preview of her gorgeous watercolor paintings. Mary Margaret began to do these paintings about four or five years ago, after her flower show at the U.S. Botanical Garden in Washington, DC.  The tree paintings were a natural progression from her flowering trees in full blossom, a tulip magnolia and a star magnolia, which tied directly to the flower paintings.

Her dream to spend more time in nature began in the mid 80's when she and her husband bought a cabin on the side of Massanutten Mountain in the Shenandoah Valley. Mary Margaret Pipkin has been a part of the metropolitan art scene for over three decades. In the early 80's, she had a studio with a group of artists on O Street NW in Washington, DC including Allison Abbott, Steven Foster, Lori Ehrlich Katz, Anne Marchand, Jean Morgan George, Betsy Packard, Teri Potter Phillips, Nancy Samson Reynolds and Cynthia Rubin. A few years later, she moved to nearby Virginia. Over the past 24 years, Pipkin and her family have spent time exploring, hiking, fishing, and canoeing in the Shenandoah Valley surrounded by nature.  Mary Margaret fell in love with the area, particularly during the fall, and made it the focus of her art work over the last five years.

"Only in the winter, after the leaves had fallen, could I really see the mountain upon which we stood. It made the transition so mysterious, to suddenly be able to see how we were part of something so large. I also love the light in winter. Even though the winters are much darker than in Texas, where I grew up, the quality of light on the trees is quite beautiful, and even more so with the mountain behind. I knew this was something I wanted to explore further."

MM Pipkin, “Early Spring in the Blue Ridge,” 60” x 80”

"After the winter’s rest, the mountain slowly begins to awaken. Ever so cautiously, the first buds begin to push their way out, and life just seems to creep up the mountainside, bit by bit. In my largest work to date, I chronicle this moment of springtime awakening on the mountain in the diptych “Early Spring in the Blue Ridge”.  With the hint of what is to come, I used the evergreens to contrast with the bare branched trees and the newly budded understory of sassafras, reminding us of the ever-present mountain behind with the still cold, blue winter shadows spread across its face."

A few years after beginning work on these pieces, Mary Margaret and her husband bought a small farm about three miles south on the mountain. "Here the rolling fields move rhythmically up to the base of Massanutten Mountain, providing a new vantage point from which I hope to explore further in my work over the next few years. The move seemed to provide a further imperative to capture my experience of the previous twenty years as I began to take in the beauty of the mountain from below."

MM Pipkin,"Tulip Poplar" 40" x 60"watercolor

Pipkin wanted to show her new body of work in a setting which would be as perfect for them as the Botanical Garden had been for the flower pieces. She now had the perfect space to do that, a classic bank barn built in 1919. Lighting was installed and her husband devised an ingenious rail system all the way around the barn to hang the work. The barn environment provided a perfect connection between the warm wood of the walls and the paintings. The views outside created a wonderful symbiosis with the paintings. It took the artist two full days to install the work.

150 friends and family came from the DC area, Richmond, Charlottesville, Texas, Indiana, and North Carolina, including many of her new neighbors from the Shenandoah Valley. Thrashen Hollar, a local Bluegrass band, played all afternoon as people enjoyed the art, barn, bar-b-que and great outdoors. The cathedral windows, installed by the previous owner, created a jewel box setting for the paintings and enhanced acoustics for the band.

"I was happy to bring a new kind of art to my part of the Shenandoah Valley.  For many it was the first time to see such monumental watercolors.  I was equally happy to bring my urban friends to the country to take in the beauty that had inspired the paintings. I look forward to another show there in the future."

You can contact the artist at mmpipkin@aol.com and see more of her work at www.mmpipkin.com.

Call to Artists / “Thoreau’s Legacy: Humans and Our Habitat”

WASHINGTON (November 30, 2009)
Earlier this year, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Penguin Classics published “Thoreau’s Legacy,” a book of essays on global warming in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” (for more information, go to www.ucsusa.org/americanstories). As a follow-on, UCS is issuing a call for entries for an exhibit of original artwork “Thoreau’s Legacy: Humans and Our Habitat,” to be shown in the public spaces of its Washington, D.C., office. Artists and photographers should submit digital images of their two-dimensional work for the year-long exhibit by January 15, 2010. The exhibit will open in February with a public reception.

The jury for the new show includes Michael O’Sullivan, a Washington Post art critic; UCS board member Ellyn Weiss, a noted Washington painter and curator, and UCS Media Director Elliott Negin, a painter, graphic designer and illustrator. UCS will display the artists’ contact information and offer the selected work for sale during the year at no commission.

UCS is a national non-profit organization with more than 200,000 members and activists that provides science-based solutions to the world’s most serious problems, including climate change and nuclear proliferation (for more information, go to www.ucsusa.org). The organization, which moved into its current office in March 2008, hosted its first exhibit, titled “Earth in the Balance,” from October 2008 to October 2009 that featured the work of 16 artists and photographers.EXHIBIT THEME: “Thoreau’s Legacy: Humans and Our Habitat”

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: January 15, 2010

FORM OF ENTRIES: Entrants should submit no more than three images in CD format. We will not consider slides. Make sure to include a document citing the title of each piece, its dimensions and medium, and your email and phone number. In addition, please provide a short explanation of how each of your pieces relates to the theme of the show.

SEND ENTRIES TO: Douglas Pedersen, Union of Concerned Scientists, 1825 K St. NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20006-1232 (on a CD) or via email to dpedersen@ucsusa.org. For more information, call Douglas at 202-331-5650.

###

Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S. science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C. For more information, go to www.ucsusa.org.

Michael Gross Exhibition through January 1

October 26, 2009 - January 1, 2010

Boston Properties Lobby
505 9th St NW
Washington, DC 20004

Boston Properties, Inc., and Jean Efron Art Consultants LLC present Monochromatic, an exhibition of paintings and prints by Washington, DC, artist Michael Gross.
Monochromatic features a selection of artwork that explores the dynamic interplay between line and color to create movement.

Torpedo Factory Art Center Openings

December 10 – January 4, 2010
The One Less Traveled
Pamela Viola's Solo Show
The Art League Gallery
Pamela Viola's photographs feature dreamlike, mysterious landscapes that challenge the viewer to see the world in a new and different way. The images in the exhibit all contain wandering roads and spaces, which symbolize the artist's own journey pursuing her career in photography.
Reception: Second Thursday Art Night, December 10, 6:30-8pm

December 10 – January 10, 2010
Pandora's Box
Target Gallery
This exhibition examines the theme of the title Pandora's Box. Artists must create work based on this theme within a 12 inch square box. The work can be contained within the box or it can explode from the box. The juror for this exhibition is Pyramid Atlantic Art Center's Curator and Director of Programs, Landria Shack.
Reception: December 10, 6-8pm
Awards Ceremony: 7pm, during reception

December 9 – January 4
All-Media Membership Show
The Art League Gallery
Room 21
Works of all media and subject matter by Art League members.
Reception: Second Thursday Art Night, December 10, 6:30-8pm


December 8 - January 3, 2010
Size Matters
Multiple Exposures Gallery
Studio 312
Two fine art photography shows juried by Peg Koetsch, Curator of Exhibitions at Vis-Arts in Rockville Maryland, and Brett John Johnson, Vis-Arts Director of Exhibition Education.

The Torpedo Factory Art Center
105 North Union Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
703-838-4565

DAVID RICHARDSON / The Soul of Seoul

Paintings by David Richardson
December 10 – February 28, 2010 throughout the Pavilion

@ Chevy Chase Pavilion 
5335 Wisconsin Ave.
Chevy Chase DC 20015

Meet the Artist Reception Wednesday, December 9, 6-9pm


PRESS RELEASE, VIEW EXHIBIT  

Zenith Gallery    
PO# 55295    
Washington, DC 20040   
202-783-2963     
art@zenithgallery.com   

Addison Ripley presents Wolf Kahn

WOLF KAHN

PAINTINGS AND PASTELS

December 10, 2009 - January 23, 2010

Opening reception
Thursday, December 10, 6-8pm

Born in Germany, Wolf Kahn has lived in the United States since 1940. He began his studies in art under abstract painter Hans Hofmann, becoming his assistant, after which he received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Chicago. Kahn's career has continued to flourish. He has received such honors as a Fulbright Scholarship, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, and an Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Major Museums including the National Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts are just a few of the prestigious institutions around the country that have Kahn works in their permanent collections. Three books about the artist's work have been published, a monograph about Kahn's paintings in 1996,  a book dedicated to his pastel work in 2000, and most recently, Wolf Kahn's America, which was published in 2003.

Addison/Ripley Fine Art
1670 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007
202.338.5180 
www.addisonripleyfineart.com

Merriment in Georgetown

Sunday, December 6, 2009 – 3:00 to 6:00 pm

Annual holiday shopping and family event to feature American Girl Author Valerie Tripp, Kid’s Rock Band Milkshake, and special sales and discounts at Georgetown’s unique shops and restaurants

The 2nd Annual Merriment in Georgetown (http://merrimentingeorgetown.com/), Washington D.C.’s most anticipated holiday shopping and family event, will usher in the holiday season for residents and visitors alike with special sales and events, seasonal festivities, live entertainment, children’s activities, and culinary treats. Set within the heart of historic Georgetown at the fabled intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, this annual holiday celebration will showcase the neighborhood’s fashionable boutiques, specialty stores and popular restaurants.

Evoking the true spirit of the season, the Georgetown community will come alive with Santa’s arrival on a horse-drawn carriage, traditional and modern holiday performances by community choral groups and a special appearance by popular kids’ rock band, Milkshake. Throughout the afternoon, guests will enjoy traditional holiday beverages, complimentary horse-drawn carriage rides, photos with Santa, among other yuletide activities.

Merriment in Georgetown will welcome children’s author, Valerie Tripp, who will be reading and signing books from her popular series for American Girl.  Young girls and tweens are invited to meet the author and to bring their favorite doll to a special girls’ activity area, which will include jewelry making and cupcake decorating with Georgetown Cupcake. Attendees will also have a chance to enter a raffle to win one of five American Girl dolls with all proceeds benefiting the Prevention of Blindness Society.

Merriment in Georgetown culminates with a candlelight community caroling followed by the 4th Annual Tree Lighting at Washington Harbour and the Annual Boat Parade of Lights. This event is being underwritten by the Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with the Citizens Association of Georgetown (CAG) and Georgetown Business Association (GBA). 

Washington, D.C. residents, those living nearby in Maryland and Virginia, and business and leisure travelers from far and wide are all invited to visit Georgetown. This hip and historic Washington, D.C. neighborhood features world-class hotels and restaurants, art galleries, gourmet shops, fashionable boutiques, high-end home furnishings stores, luxurious spas and salons, and popular nightspots.

For more information about Merriment in Georgetown, visit http://merrimentingeorgetown.com/
This event is sponsored by the Georgetown BID, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the accessibility, attractiveness and overall appeal of Georgetown.

As Likely As Not / Artist Talk at McLean Project For the Arts

Artist Talk With Alex Bay and R.L. Croft

Thursday, December 10, 7 pm Free.

For reservations email info@mpaart.org or

call 703-790-1953

As Likely As Not exhibition

continues through January 9, 2010 

 R. L. Croft, Silo, mixed media 

Alex Bay, Construction No. 1, Night Life, mixed media, 2001-2008 (detail)

Curated by MPA Exhibitions Director Nancy Sausser 

Both artists are object makers who began as painters, currently adept at bringing the world of their imagining into three-dimensional reality. Composed of a wide-ranging array of materials and employing many disparate techniques, the works share a sense of purposeful purposelessness and a no holds barred attitude.

 McLean Project for the Arts 

1234 Ingleside Avenue on the upper level of the McLean Community Center

 Mclean, VA

www.mpaart.org

703-790-1953.

Holiday Open House at the Torpedo Factory Art Center tonight

The annual Holiday Open House at the Torpedo Factory Art Center is Thursday, December 3 from 6-9 pm. 

Food, beverages, music, and holiday shopping opportunities. From 6 to 7:30pm, the Reverie Jazz Trio will perform early jazz standards and forgotten favorites in a style reminiscent of a bygone era. From 7:30 to 9pm, guitarist Jim Stephanson and bassist John Previti will play blues, swing, and jazz inspired tunes.

Target Gallery Kicks Off Holiday Season with Going Postal and Pandora's Box 
Going Postal- 2009 Postcard Exhibition: December 3-6; 
Reception during Holiday Open House - December 3, 6-9pm
 

Own The Press / Awesome Multidisciplinary Arts Project Coming to DCAC 12/5

Own The Press / Awesome Multidisciplinary Arts Project Coming to DCAC 12/5:

"Awesome Multidisciplinary Arts Project Coming to DCAC 12/5

Freedom is Created by Collaborative Experimentation
District Calling Brings Together Up-and-Coming DC Artists

(Washington, DC) – District Calling, a Washington, DC-based multidisciplinary arts project, hosts its first collaborative performance showcase at the District of Columbia Arts Center on December 5, 2009 at 7:30 and 10 pm. District Calling: Freedom is a tightly choreographed, full-length performance, featuring the collaborative work of artists from across various performance mediums, and highlighting a diversity of perspectives around the theme Freedom."

Art of Life Exhibit at Halo Lounge

Anhil CS Rao

Art of Life Exhibition

December 15, 2009 7-11pm

@ Halo Lounge

1435 P Street NW

http://anilcsrao.foliosnap.com

"Courage Unmasked" Exhibits at Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts

There are artist masks available for purchase from the unique fundraiser called "Courage Unmasked".
Check the Courage Unmasked website for information on the masks showing at Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts.

For more info contact: Cookie Kerxton
cookiekerxton[at]gmail.com

Framing the Economic Downturn (FED) continues through Dec. 11

November 10 - December 11, 2009

Framing the Economic Downturn (FED)
Curated by Jim Hubbard, award winning photojournalist and Creative Director of Venice Arts

Location: Gallery O/H, 1354 H Street NE, Washington, DC
Gallery Hours: Friday &; Saturday 2-8pm, Sunday 11am-5pm

Featuring works by: Kike Arnal, Jaimie Beach, Sharon Farmer, Linda Hesh, Michael Kent, Brenda Kenneally, Carolina Mayorga, Judith Pratt, and Michelle Renay Wilson

As part of FotoWeek DC 2009, WPA presents an exhibition of photography selected from the ArtFile Online (AFO) by the acclaimed documentary photographer, Jim Hubbard. In 1989, Hubbard created Shooting Back, a Washington-based organization dedicated to empowering children at risk by teaching them photography. For this exhibition, Hubbard presents a group of works selected from WPA member submissions along with selections by invited artists.

...This new exhibition explores the human drama and its various visual forms against the backdrop of the current and former economic meltdowns that have left millions of our fellow Americans outside the American dream and framed through the lens.
-Jim Hubbard

Studio 4903 Holiday Show

The fabulous metalsmiths and printmaker at Studio 4903 have invited a few artists including Ellyn Weiss to join them in their highly-anticipated Holiday Show. Visit them

@

Studio 4903

Saturday and Sunday

December 5 and 6, 11am - 6pm

4903 Wisconsin Avenue, 2nd floor

Washington, DC 20016

202.641.4248

Painterly Visions Publishing Schedule for December/January

Happy Holidays!

Painterly Visions Blogger will be on sabbatical for the month of December.

I've arranged for some art exhibition news to post in December. No new art events/exhibitions will be scheduled for publication in December starting today. If you have news for January art events that you'd like to send for review, please continue to email Painterly Visions at gmail with your art press releases. I'll review exhibition news for the new year on December 30 for publication in January. If you have any questions, I'll get back to you then.

Everyone have a great holiday season and I hope to catch you in the New Year!

Check http://www.pinklineproject.com/ for more details on the Washington DC art scene.

CRIT '10: MEMBER SIGN-UP

International Arts & Artists' first critique of the series Crit '10 has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 from 6:30 - 8:30pm at Hillyer Art Space, located at 9 Hillyer Ct. NW, Washington, DC, 20008.  This event is a scheduled open critique for ALL artists. Each critique will be open to 8-12 artists on a first come, first serve basis (but don't worry, this will be a monthly event).

Members for this opportunity accepted until December 5 @ 5 p.m. If you do not make it into the roster for this month's event, you will be automatically moved to the waitlist for the next month's critique.

Here are the guidelines:

Theses critiques are to provide helpful feedback to artists' works that are in progress or completed, by telling the artist NOT WHAT YOU LIKE OR DON'T LIKE, but by:

-simply telling the artist what you SEE...

-by perhaps describing and analyzing HOW you perceive the overall structure/composition of the work; what part of the piece 'works', what part might not be 'working', i.e. strengths and weaknesses...

-by interpreting the meaning, content, expression, artist's intention, etc.for the work as conveyed through its formal visual language...

-by offering feedback on quality of craftsmanship

If you are interested in participating, please contact Lachelle Slade
membership[at]artsandartists.org
or 202-338-0680.

International Arts & Artists
9 Hillyer Court NW
Washington, DC 20008 USA202.338.0680
www.artsandartists.org

2009 Downtown Holiday Market

5th Annual Downtown Holiday Market / Washington, DC

Friday, December 4th through Wednesday, December 23rd

11:30am - 8:00pm each day

@

The wide sidewalk of F Street, between 7th and 9th Streets NW, in front of the Smithsonian Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. Directly across the street are Gallery Place Metro, the Verizon Center, and the bustling 7th Street Gallery Place corridor. Opposite the Market are Hotel Monaco, the Spy Museum, and several upscale restaurants.

EXHIBITORS: This is a juried high quality market featuring a diverse mix of seasonal gift items and unique products. Exhibitors are selected based upon the contribution to a vibrant environment of high-quality gifts, hand made items, artwork, imported handcrafts and specialty foods.

Celebrating its fifth year, this event boasts one of the most spectacular outdoor shopping environments in the region. The Downtown Holiday Market (DHM) will operate for nearly three weeks from Friday, December 4th ending Tuesday, December 23rd. Hours will be from 11:30am-8pm each day.

Held in the vibrant Penn Quarter neighborhood with the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture as its backdrop, the festival will again be located on the wide sidewalk of F Street, stretching from 7th to 9th Streets NW. Both ends of the market are within view of entrances to the Gallery Place Metro.

Check out the exhibitors including
Yale Shafer of Little City Style, www.littlecitystyle.com

Maryland State Arts Council /James Backas Gallery

December 3, 2009 through March  24, 2010

Opening Reception: December 3, 5-7pm

The Language of Objects

Curated by Beverly Ress 

Sculpture by Maryland Artists

Brent Crothers | Steven Dobbin | Mary Frank | Breon Gilleran

Ryan McKibbin | Betsy Packard  

 

 Maryland State Arts Counci

175 West Ostend Street

Baltimore, Maryland

410-767-6555

Ads VS Aids at Longview Gallery

An opening reception will be held on World AIDS Day.

WORLD AIDS DAY

12.1.09 | 6-8PM

please RSVP by 11.27.09

info at longviewgallery.com

http://www.longviewgallery.com/

In the mid- to late-1980s, while the medical world was grappling with how to combat the frightening and deadly new virus it discovered in 1984, admen like Jeff McElhaney were struggling with how to raise public awareness of the new dangers this microscopic and mysterious enemy presented. The show features 28 original pieces of propaganda-created mostly by ad hoc underground teams since established advertising agencies weren't quite ready to embrace the then-taboo issue on a corporate level-designed to sell everything from safe sex to HIV/AIDS support services. The exhibit represents a quarter century of ads for AIDS' sake and will be on display through the end of December.

Long View Gallery

234 ninth st nw | washington dc 20001

202.232.4788 

SCOPE Art Fair Miami

Join Hamiltonian Gallery at SCOPE Art Fair Miami SCOPE-Miami December  2- 6 Soho Studios 2136 NW 1st Ave. (Enter @ NW 21st St.) Miami, FL 33127 Booth 232 Please contact jackie[at]hamiltoniangallery.com, 202.332.1116 for any additional information or passes to the fair.

Hamiltonian Artists Hamiltonian Gallery 1353 U Street, NW Suite 101 Washington, DC  20009 202.332.1116 www.hamiltonianartists.org www.hamiltoniangallery.com

Days o' Work / Trudi Y. Ludwig

30 November 2009 - 3 January 2010

Washington Printmakers Gallery presents

New etchings, woodcuts and rubbings by Baltimore-based Trudi Y. Ludwig

Opening Reception: 

Friday December 4, 5:30 to 8 pm 

"Meet the Artist" Talk 

Saturday December 12, 1 to 3 pm 

Artist Holiday Party 

Sunday December 20, 3 to 5 pm 

Washington Printmakers Gallery
1732 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington DC 20009
www.washingtonprintmakers.com

Holiday Shop Opens December 4th

icebox:
The coolest shop for the hottest holiday gifts

icebox Dates: December 4 - 23, 2009
Opening Night: December 4, 2009, 6 - 8pm
Special Shopping Event: December 21, 2009, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Hours: Monday - Friday, 12-5pm and by appointment

Location: WPA headquarters, 2023 Massachusetts Ave, NW, WDC 20036

Washington Project for the Arts is pleased to announce the opening of a holiday gift shop, icebox at WPA headquarters, located at 2023 Massachusetts Ave, NW. The shop will feature artworks and products for sale by WPA artists.

Refreshments generously provided by Darlington House

Foundry Gallery Holiday Art Bash

WPA Art Auction Gala

Save the Date!
Washington Project for the Arts 
Art Auction Gala

January 20, 2010

@ American University Museum

At the Katzen Arts Center

Call For Entries: 36 Studios – Part 1

Washington Project for the Arts announces 36 Studios – Part 1, a series of studio visits with Mera Rubell of the Rubell Family Collection.

The Rubell Family Collection is one of the leading collections of contemporary art in the world.  Started in 1964, soon after Don and Mera Rubell were married, the Rubell Family Collection operates as a non-profit organization based in Miami where it presents rotating, curated exhibitions and hosts a variety of educational and community outreach programs.

Mera Rubell will be one of eight esteemed curators selecting works for Cream, the WPA 2010 Art Auction Exhibition.  Building upon the popular Experimental Video Series at the Rubells’ Capitol Skyline Hotel, Rubell has determined to see the work of as many DC-area artists as possible and select up to twelve to be included in the WPA exhibition and auction.  Her visits to DC are typically 36 hours long, and she has devoted her next trip to this project.

For 36 Studios – Part 1, Mera Rubell and a team of curators and writers will conduct 36 studio visits over the course of 36 straight hours.  Each studio visit will last approximately 15-20 minutes and will take place starting at 5:00am on Saturday, December 12 and continuing until 5:00pm on Sunday, December 13.

Artists will apply to participate and will be chosen at random to have the opportunity to meet and present their work.  The work chosen will be included in WPA’s annual Art Auction Exhibition, January 30 through March 6, 2010 at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, culminating in the auction gala on March 6.  Artists will receive 50% of the proceeds of their artwork sold at the auction and the balance of proceeds benefits Washington Project for the Arts.

On Sunday, December 13 at 6:00 pm at the culmination of 36 Studios – Part 1, artists are invited to join Mera Rubell, WPA staff and friends, and other members of the art community at the Capitol Skyline Hotel lounge for an informal celebration (cash bar).

36 Studios emerged out of Mera Rubell’s personal desire to learn more about the DC art scene by engaging with local artists in their studios. This venture will serve as a model that the Rubell Family Collection hopes to activate for future projects.

Deadline for Submissions: Sunday, December 6, 2009 at midnight

Eligibility: Artists must live in the DC Metropolitan area (DC, MD, VA) and must be available for a studio visit at ANYTIME between 5:00 am on Saturday, December 12 and 5:00pm on Sunday, December 13. If you are selected, an exact day/time will be assigned to you.  We are sorry that we cannot accommodate specific time/date requests.

To Apply:       
The full call can be found here: http://wpadc.org/events/calls.html

Send an email to: 36StudiosWPA@gmail.com with your name, studio address, website URL, resume, and phone number by Sunday, December 6, 2009 at midnight.  Please put “36 Studios” in the subject line.

Artists who apply by the deadline will have their names placed in a lottery. Winners will be randomly chosen and will be notified by December 10 of the time of the studio visit.

Questions? Email: kbilonick@wpadc.org or call Kristina at 202-234-7103 ext. 2

Black Friday - Cyber Monday Discounts on Art2Gift Collection

Take advantage of this special offer to collect some amazing art work this weekend.
Browse the ART2Gift Collection and Shop online. This affordable selection of small, original artworks--paintings, drawings, photographs and mixed media works is priced between $35 - $500.

The Raandesk Gallery will ship the work directly to you!
If you've wanted to own one of my paintings, you can select one for yourself or to give as a gift. You'll get free shipping until Monday, November 27.

Black Friday - Cyber Monday Discounts:
Free Shipping on ALL ART2Gift Items!

Raandesk Gallery is offering Free Shipping on ALL purchases from the ART2Gift Collection made online from 12:01 AM Friday, November 27 until 11:59 PM on Monday, November 30. That gives you time to shop on Black Friday through Cyber Monday!! Enter the code "FreeShip" during checkout and all shipping charges will be removed from your order.

Offer Applies to Artwork in the ART2Gift Collection ONLY

Raandesk Gallery of Art

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone enjoys the day with friends and family.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Launches New Registry of Fellowship Artists

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF) announces the launch of a new, on-line registry of artist fellowship winners from Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia. The service, which is free to both artists and public users, features artist profiles, work samples across all disciplines, online exhibitions, and a technical assistance section. The Mid Atlantic Artist Registry is fully searchable allowing the public user to find vetted artists quickly and easily by state, discipline, or name. 

Users have the opportunity to view video by dance, media, music and theatre artists; listen to audio from spoken word, media and music artists; read poetry, prose, plays, and other writings; and view a multitude of visual work samples from some of the finest artists in the mid-Atlantic region. Contact information for each artist allows users a quick click-through email for information on commissions, purchases, publishing, residency availability, and other contract/exhibition work.

The Registry is accessible through MAAF's primary site (www.midatlanticarts.org) and includes two primary sections: a searchable database of fellowship winners, and an exhibition/technical support section. 

The searchable database features artist profiles including: contact information, web presence, discipline(s), biography, news, fellowship and other awards received, selected work, and selected projects.  The profiles also include visual/audio representations of artist work including images, video, audio, and PDF's of text for literary artists.

The exhibition/technical assistance section includes dynamic exhibitions hosted by guest curators who will work with artists' featured in the registry to create several exhibitions per year.  The exhibitions will feature all genres and not be limited to visual art forms.  John Massier, Visual Arts Curator at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in Buffalo, NY, is the inaugural guest curator.  The technical support section features links to information on subjects such as live/work space for artists, legal issues, and funding opportunities. 

About Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation celebrates and supports the wealth and diversity of the region's arts resources and works to make those resources widely accessible both in the region and beyond.  To learn more about MAAF, its programs and services, www.midatlanticarts.org

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
201 N. Charles Street, Suite 401
Baltimore, MD 21201
410.539.6656

Art in Action / Tom Block

The Amnesty International Human Rights Art Festival marched in the Silver Spring Thanksgiving Day parade this past Saturday. If you missed the event here are a few pictures. Keep up with all the art events and dialogue planned for the Amnesty International Human Rights Art Festival coming to Silver Spring and Washington, DC

on April 23-35, 2010 

by becoming a fan on Facebook.

Thanksgiving Day Parade

 

Photos courtesy Bruce Guthrie

Tom Block was inspired to produce the Art Festival after working with Amnesty International to create activist paintings for His Human Rights Painting Project, www.humanrightspaintingproject.com
Here's a video introducing the activist painting of Art Festival producer Tom Block.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSN1mWuxQi0.

http://www.tomblock.com/

McLean Project For The Arts Presents Three Exhibitions in December

December 3, 2009 through January 9, 2010 
 
Opening Reception and Gallery Talk 

Thursday, December 3, 2009
Free and Open to the public

 Alex Bay, Construction No. 1, Night Life, mixed media, 2001-2008 (detail)

As Likely As Not:  Sculpture by Alex Bay and R. L. Croft (Emerson Gallery)
Curated by MPA Exhibitions Director Nancy Sausser 

Both artists are object makers who began as painters, currently adept at bringing the world of their imagining into three-dimensional reality. Composed of a wide-ranging array of materials and employing many disparate techniques, the works share a sense of purposeful purposelessness and a no holds barred attitude.

R. L. Croft, Silo, mixed media

Hybrids of Tutela: New Works by Melissa Dickenson (Atrium Gallery)
Works made of acrylic paint and ink on cut paper and mounted on acrylic backing are a fantastical world inhabited by imaginary flora and fauna created within the confines of  flowing, meandering and intricate structures, wholly original and at once both sweet and slightly sinister.

McLean Art Society Juried Exhibition (Ramp Gallery)
An eclectic mix of work by members of the McLean Art Society. This exhibition is juried by Linda Hafer, Executive Director of the Art League, Inc. in Alexandria, VA.

Thursday, December 10, 7 pm
Artist Talk With Alex Bay and R.L. Croft
Featured artists from the As Likely As Not exhibition. Free.
For reservations email info@mpaart.org or call 703-790-1953.

Saturday, December 12, 10 – 11:30 am
Family Art Workshop:  Animal Kingdom
Draw favorite animals, cut them out and color them with brightly colored pastels.
Bring pictures of your favorite creatures from the animal kingdom.
$10 per family. To register visit www.mcleancenter.org or call MPA at
703.790.1953

McLean Project for the Arts 
1234 Ingleside Avenue on the upper level of the McLean Community Center
 Mclean, VA
www.mpaart.org
703-790-1953.

Washington Spaces blog : Prime Real Estate Meets Fabulous Art

This Private Art and Cocktail party event by the Art Registy was on my list of places to go last thursday night, a marathon of openings. I made it to three out of four scheduled events. This was a highlight! Erin Mackay and Jill Lubar, co-owners of The Art Registry, put on a stunning display of art in a unique environment.

Read more: Washington Spaces blog : Prime Real Estate Meets Fabulous Art: "Prime Real Estate Meets Fabulous Art" Posted by Emily Lyons

Two birds, one stone. At the intersection of two industries hit hard by the economic mess – fine art and real estate – lies a great innovation. Take an empty house on the market, fill it with art (and bubbly), open sesame, and wow everyone.

For a complete rundown of the artists and works or to make an appointment, go here.