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. 

Facing History and Ourselves to Present “Choosing to Participate”

NATIONALLY ACCLAIMED EXHIBIT COMING TO WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFERS LOOK AT PREJUDICE, INJUSTICE AND THE MORAL CHOICES WE MUST MAKE TO ENSURE A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

Facing History and Ourselves to Present “Choosing to Participate” 

@

Historical Society of Washington, D. C., 

February 17-June 17, 2011
Opening Wednesday, February 23

This exhibition examines the impact and history of bigotry and injustice, and inspires conversation about the choices we can make every day to foster civic engagement, tolerance and mutual understanding in our communities. While the exhibition will open its doors on February 17, the official opening will be on Wednesday, February 23, 2011.

Choosing to Participate is part of a national initiative, created by Facing History, aimed at encouraging young people and adults to think deeply about the importance of participating in a democratic society, and to consider the consequences of action and inaction. One of the highlights will be “Upstanders: Portraits of Courage,” featuring photographs and stories celebrating Washington-area individuals or groups who were nominated and selected for the exhibition based on their having taken a stand on behalf of others, be it a small or large act of courage or kindness. Choosing to Participate has visited Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Memphis since 1998, and in each city, the Upstanders are local residents.

"Choosing to Participate is a catalyst for conversation about civic participation in our community, our nation, and across the globe,” says Margot Stern Strom, Facing History’s founder and executive director. “The exhibit reflects our mission to help students think deeply about what democracy means and what it asks each of us. Our young people are among the best moral philosophers, and by engaging in Choosing to Participate, they learn how to confront the moral decisions they face each day and develop the skills to build an inclusive community.”

The Walmart Foundation is the national sponsor of Choosing to Participate’s current five-city tour that began in Cleveland and will move to Memphis, New York, and Chicago after its Washington stay. To learn more, visit walmartfoundation.org.

Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational and professional development organization whose mission is to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. By studying the historical development of the Holocaust and other examples of genocide and mass violence, students make the essential connection between history and the moral choices they confront in their own lives.The positive impact of Facing History on teachers and students has been documented in more than 90 studies over the last three decades.

For more information, visit facinghistory.org and watch a video at
facinghistory.org/video/face-it.

"Prints of Old Europe"

April 11– May 6, 2007
Opening Reception: Friday, April 13, 6—8:30 PM
Third Thursday Reception: April 19, 6—8 PM

Mary D. Ott's exhibit at Touchstone Gallery, "Prints of Old Europe," shows another dimension of her work. Traveling with a digital camera in hand, Ott captured images that she has made into original, hand-pulled prints.
Although the images are modern, her screen prints evoke a sense of history. Impressions of Crete are shown in overlays of colors and designs. Sunflowers from Slovenia glow in screen prints that incorporate oil paint and wax. Intaglios* present architectural details from the Czech Republic, France, Germany and Italy.** Intaglio refers to printmaking techniques in which an image is incised into the surface of a printing plate. The plate is then inked and the excess ink is carefully wiped from the plate. Finally the image is printed onto dampened paper using a printing press. Multiple copies may be made, each one inked and printed separately.
Ott uses a technique called "polymer intaglio" in which a photopolymer film is affixed to a copper printing plate. The image, contained on a transparency, is then transferred to the photopolymer film using ultraviolet light. The resulting photopolymer surface holds the ink and is wiped and printed like other intaglio plates, yielding a printed version of the image.
Touchstone Gallery
406 7th Street, NW, 2nd floor
Washington, DC 20004
202-347-2787
http://TouchstoneGallery.com

5 + 5': The Equation Works Only in Theory

Michael O'Sullivan reviews teh Exhibtion in the Washington Post

"5 + 5: Five Artists Select Five Artists to Watch," an exhibition at the center's Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery celebrating, for the first time, neither Jewish themes nor Jewish artists but connections, in the broadest sense of the word, to and among the local community." Read here.

Robert Moses and the Modern City

Ever wonder at the Megalopolis of New York City and how it got that way? Read the excellent article by Philip Kennicott in the Washington Post about the rise of the Big Apple.

Robert Moses and the Modern City, a three-part exhibition, can be seen at the Museum of the City of New York until May 6, the Queens Museum of Art until May 13 and the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University until April 14. More information is available at http://www.mcny.org/

TIM TATE

"...but what have we gained?"
Blown and Silver Plated Glass, 18" x 18" x 6"

March 9 - April 7, 2007
Opening Reception: Friday, March 9, from 6pm - 9pm

Widely considered to be a pioneer of mixed media sculpture in this region, Tim Tate continues to push the boundaries of contemporary sculpture by incorporating narrative and conceptual ideas with technique and craftsmanship.

Fraser Gallery Bethesda
7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 718-9651

NANCY SANSOM REYNOLDS

Water + 4 Seasons
Mar 3 – Apr 14, 2007

Sculptor Nancy Sansom Reynolds fashions colorful wood sculptures that appear to bend and flex at her whim. However, Reynolds has had to combine her artistic senses with mathematics and carpentry - drawing shapes. Reynolds exhibits in New York, California, Arizona, and Washington, DC. In 2002, her work appeared in the exhibition "Curator's Choice" at the Corcoran Museum of Art in Washington, DC

Addison Ripley Fine Art | 1670 Wisconsin Avenue, NW | Washington, DC 20007 | Tel: 202.338.5180

Hillyer Art Space Presents: Veiled

March 2, 2007 – April 6, 2007

Erin Cluley

Veiled, an exhibition of paintings and mixed media works by Baltimore-based artist Erin Cluley, explores the nature of religion and its divergent symbols and rituals. Inspired by her up bringing in the Catholic Church, Cluley questions the religious values that shaped her existence, particularly the ritualistic practices of confession, penance, and the sacrament of the mass. Her richly layered constructions serve not only as a vehicle for introspection, but also as an investigation of the tension that lies between punishment and reward.

Hillyer Art Space
9 Hillyer Court, NW
Washington, DC, 20008, USA

Modernism: Designing a New World 1914-1939

March 17, 2007 — July 29, 2007

Modernism: Designing a New World 1914-1939 is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition on the subject ever staged in America, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art will be the only American venue. The exhibition explores the foundation and meaning of Modernism, and it contains some of the most seminal works of modern art, graphic and product design, and architecture produced in the first half of the 20th century. It traces the historic development of modern form through social, industrial, and political upheavals of the 1920s and 1930s. It investigates the role of the factory and mass production; the spiritual aspect of modern life; the period’s fascination with the healthy body and organic forms found in nature; and national identity.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art
500 17th Street, NW
Washington DC 20006

Main Information Number
202.639.1700