Athenaeum Invitational Opening

OPENING RECEPTION: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 4 - 6 pm  

 37 Local Artists Chosen

 $2500 in Prize Money

September 22 - November 6 

Artists from across the region were asked to interpret the theme, "Oh! The joy!"  The selected entries represent the breadth and wealth of excellent art being created in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.  Not only displaying a variety of styles and media, the show is a fascinating exploration of the creative process.

At the opening reception on Sunday, September 25 from 4 to 6, Megan Beyer, Executive Director for the President's Council on the Arts and Humanities will award cash prizes of $1500 and $1000.  The prize money is furnished by TTR | Sotheby's International Realty, sponsor of the event.

The exhibition includes the work of seven invited artists who have previously exhibited in the gallery and thirty artists selected from responses to an open call.  The invited artists are:

David Carlson

Mimi Frank

Sheep Jones

Hannale Lahti

Anne Marchand

Carol Reed

Suzanne Stryk

The winning responses to the open call will be revealed when the show opens.

Theme: Oh! The joy!
The theme asked artists to reflect on a moment of pure joy. It was inspired by  Lewis and Clark's expedition across the unchartered North American continent to reach the Pacific Ocean. After an arduous, two-year trek, William Lewis crested a hill, saw the vast body of water and cried, "The Ocean in view. Oh! The joy!" It was suggested that artists might explore that singular burst of relief and satisfaction after enduring a difficult task, the magic of being struck by something unexpected and delightful, or the sudden transformation that is experienced in sheer ebullience. 

In fact, at the moment those words were uttered by Lewis, the expedition was actually facing an estuary of the Columbia River, not the open ocean. This presented another aspect of the theme for artists to consider: whether a moment of joy is 'valid' when it is later learned that the reason or impetus for the emotion was wrong or undeserved.
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Athenaeum Gallery  | 201 Prince Street, Alexandria, Va 22314  |  703.548.0035 / nvfaa.org

The Athenaeum Gallery is open Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 12 to 4 pm, and Saturdays from 1 to 4 pm.  It is closed on holidays. Admission is free.

The NVFAA is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in all forms of art, and to establishing programs that will enrich the cultural life of Northern Virginia and the surrounding metropolitan area. The Athenaeum Gallery exhibits work created solely by artists living or working in the region and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences. 

The Five Senses:

More Than Meets the Eye
March 6 - April 6, 2008

Reception: March 13th, Second Thursday Art Night, 6-8pm
Gallery Talk: Juror, F. Lennox Campello, 7pm

TARGET GALLERY
105 N. Union St.
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-838-4565


Jurors Statement -
Over the many years that I have been curating, creating, discussing and writing about art, I never cease to be surprised at the constantly changing and always surprising quality that is human creativity.

When the Target Gallery asked me to curate "The Five Senses," I must admit that I was a little concerned about the sort of work that I would eventually review for selection. The harsh brainwashing of the post-modernist mafia is a hard thing to avoid, even if you are a rebel against it.

But leave it to the creativity and intelligence of the artists submitting entries to not only surprise me, but also to delight me and open my eyes to a whole new genre of creativity, new media, fresh ideas and enviable talent from all over the nation.

I was floored by the sheer diversity of interpretations of the theme, including a lot of three dimensional entries, which are usually represented by a small number, in a juried call for artists such as this one. Not this call! There was a surprising number of 3D pieces in this call and a significant number in the selected pieces.

Not to say that the 2Ds were not represented; after all, J. Lewis Takahashi's gorgeous watercolors and Thomas Schlotterback's superb charcoal drawing make a very strong presence for the wall works.

But as I write these words, I can't wait to see and get my hands on Sun Kyoung Kim's "Triad II" or "Restriction I." Or see or walk around Anjali Srinivasan's "(Re)Flexion" and Adam Bradley's "Cherubs," or wear and use Gary Schott's "Thought Stimulators."

This exhibition is a triumph of the human mind and talent over those who want to reduce the creation of art to just ideas or wall text about ideas, and it has been my honor and pleasure to have been a part of it.Juror: F. Lennox Campello