Highlight/ Project 4 / Foon Sham

Project 4 has a light airy space at 1353 U Street NW that's just right for exhibiting the sculpture of Foon Sham. Up a flight of stairs, thru an unmarked door, onto a sculpture deck and the gallery invites you into it's two tiered space. A colossal work by Foon Sham towers in the twenty foot atrium, giving visitors a unique view of the sculpture from the 2nd level. You can peer over the balcony and look down into the work to see it's construction. I like the way Mr. Sham puts pieces of wood together to create undulating forms from geometric shapes. Many of these larger works combine the look of a vessel with references to architecture in the warmth of natural wood. Foon Sham's addition of recycled phone book pages into his work, links ideas of identity, population, and the environment to these evocative pieces. I highly recommend a trip to see this exhibition. Seek out this unique gallery perched on top of the 14th and U St corridor and treat yourself to a fabulous art experience.

Foon Sham
May 9 - Jun 13, 2009

Foon Sham, Opening Night
Spiral Vessel, 32 ” x 45” x 65”, phillipine mahogany

Gallery Director, Anne Surak (R) and visitors

Wrapture, 71.5” x 27” x 26”, black walnut

Opening night at Project 4, Foon Sham, Sculpture Exhibition

Opening night at Project 4, Foon Sham, Sculpture Exhibition

Opening night at Project 4, Foon Sham, Sculpture Exhibition

Opening night at Project 4, Foon Sham, Sculpture Exhibition

Project 4 is a new voice in the growing Washington D.C. art scene. The gallery's programming promotes an international, forward-thinking exhibition schedule of contemporary art and design. Focusing on one-person shows and thematic exhibitions by mid-career and emerging artists, the gallery also invites guest curators to host exhibitions emphasizing trends in contemporary art and design. It is, in effect, a room for art and ideas spanning a range of cultural issues. -from Project 4 Website

THE SPACE

The gallery is 1000 square feet on two levels, including a twenty-foot double-height space. Designed by Washington based architecture firm Inscape Studio, the gallery is meant to be flexible and provide a platform for a variety of media including installation, video, sculpture and site specific works. Project 4 is located at the intersection of historic 14th and U Streets NW, a burgeoning area of restaurants, galleries, bars and stores half a mile east of Dupont Circle. It is less than one block from the U Street-Cardoza stop on the Metro's Green Line.

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Project 4 is in a building that houses the 2,000 square feet Hamiltonian Gallery owned by physics professor Paul So. The current exhibition at Hamiltonian, "FELLOWS CONVERGE: Redefining the Environment," is a group exhibition marking the culmination of the Hamiltonian Fellowship's first year. Exhibiting artists include: Helen Frederick, Christian Benefiel, Tom Block, Anne Chan, Ian MacLean Davis, Leah Frankel, Linda Hesh, Mike Dax Iacavone, Youngmi Organ, Bryan Rojsuontikul and Michael Enn Sirvet. The galleries are located in a neighborhood with several other contemporary arts galleries, including, Hemphill Fine Arts, G Fine Art and Gallery Plan B.

Project 4
1353 U Street NW, 3rd floor
Washington, DC 20009
202-232-4340
info[at]project4gallery[dot]com
wednesday-saturday, 12:00-6:00 pm and by appointment