Closing: Jeremy Blake Wild Choir

Sunday is your last chance to catch Wild Choir: Cinematic Portraits by Jeremy Blake @ Corcoran. (David Berman the subject Blake's Sodium Fox, spoke last night in the Corcoran's Hammer Auditorium.)

After your done taking in Blake go around the corner and find the Looking for "There There" exhibit. Its an amazing mini exhibit of important Californian artists. The Corcoran provides your only opportunity to see work by west coast supers stars John Baldesari and Ed Ruscha.

(Possibly illegal clip from Blake's Sodium Fox.)

Conversations: Adrian Tomine's Shortcomings

Graphic Novelist Adrian Tomine will be in the District next week to talk about his new collection, Shortcomings. He creates amazingly hatable characters. Shortcomings is a storyline collected from his series, Optic Nerve. It follows one character with a bad attitude, a thing for white girls and well... nothing to brag about on craigslist;)

You can see him next week at Politics & Prose.

Wednesday, March 5th @ 7PM
5015 Connecticut Avenue NW

Closer Look: WPA Auction Preview

If you didn't grab one of the $250 tickets to the WPA's annual auction next Friday... the preview night is tonight and admission is FREE. The curators will talk about their selections and many of the artists will be present. If you can afford tickets the auction, buy them before tonight (apparently they're almost sold out). The WPA auction is a great opportunity to buy work by local and national artists at prices well below market value. I went last year and the table centerpieces were definitely the hottest buys. Unlike most of the work in the auction, the centerpiece artists were asked to create one to four unique pieces for the gala.

Erin Chase Mackay at Chase Contemporary Art LLC., gathered the artists for this year's centerpieces. Akemi Maegawa who just opened a very successful solo show at Irvine Contemporary is among them.

Preview work by the artists:
Pattie Porter Firestone
David Henderson
Scott Hutchison
Bridget Sue Lambert
Elaine Langerman
Laurel Lukaszewski
Akemi Maegawa
Sam Noto
Susanna Starr
Catherine White

(photo courtesy of wpa artfile and pattie porter firestone.)

From the Feed: Blogger gets Blogged

Corcoran College of Art + Design senior Valerie Dryden followed Tina Henry-Barrus, Jeff Barrus (I Like Sea Monsters.com) and family for weeks to develop her photojournalism thesis show. Both Josephine her husband are avid bloggers. Check out their response to be being under the microscope.

On View Thesis Week:
BFA Fine Art Photo Thesis Show @ the Corcoran College of Art + Design.
Featuring: Aimee Anthony, Catherine Conley, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Selina Lamberti, Danielle Membrino, and Daniel Payn.

Runs: 2/27- 3/2
Reception: Thursday, February 28th
6-8PM @ the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Gallery 31)
free to the public

Complete Schedule of BFA Thesis Events at he Corcoran

(photo courtesy of ilikeseamonsters.com)

Recent Aquisitions: Mary Coble at Hirshhorn

If you haven't had a chance to see the Hirshhorn's Currents:Recent Acquisitions don't hurry, the show will be up until October 1st, 2008. What you don't want a to miss is a chance to hear DC based artist Mary Coble discuss her work in the collection. Coble will be joined by research associate Ryan Hill.

February 29, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Find out more about Mary at Conner Contemporary.

(photo courtesy of connercontemporary.com)

Conversations: ArtCade Crit night

Adrian and Ayo of Dissident Display be guest Gallerists for Artcade's second Crit Night. This month they will be meeting with area GWU MFA candidates. I hope Ding Ren (formally of the WPA) will be among the students (see the above image). Rachel Fick a junior at the Corcoran College of Art + Design and founder of ArtCade, organized this event so it's sure to be fun. Food, wine and art speak, be sure to put this event on your calendar.

ArtCade Crit night
Sunday, March 2nd at 7pm-10pm

George Washington University
Smith Hall of Art, 2nd floor 801 22nd St NW, Washington, DC

(photo courtesy of dingren.net)

Closer Look: the 2008 Sondheim Prize Semi-Finalists

Semi-finalists for the $25,000 Sondheim Prize are finishing up their applications to become finalists. If they are successful they'll be in an exhibit at the BMA and have a shot at the $25,000 prize. Last year's winner Tony Shore got a great deal of mileage off the prize. I see his name everywhere now. This year's crop of semi-finalists are much more Baltimore based. Kriston Capps noted on his blog that Molly Springfield, Chris Saar and Bridget Sue Lambert are the only DC artists nominated. Last year 14 of the semi-finalists were DC based.

I have provided links to each artist's website (or closest thing to it). In compiling these links I previewed all their work and I am very excited for the exhibits that will grow from this contest.

Becky Alprin, Laura Amussen, Rachel Bone, Ryan Browning, Mandy Burrow, Linda Day Clark, Brent Crothers, Melissa Dickenson, Eric Finzi, Laurie Flannery, Shaun Flynn, Dawn Gavin, Geoff Grace, Maren Hassinger, Kay Hwang, Courtney Jordan, Bridget Sue Lambert, Youngmi Song, Beverly Ress, James Rieck, Christopher Saah, Lynn Silverman, Molly Springfield, Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, Calla Thompson, Edward Winter, Erin Womack

Art History: An American in Paris

The Oscars are tonight. In 1951 the Best Picture was An American In Paris. It stared Gene Kelly, and Leslie Caron. At the time Leslie was 20 and Kelly who played her love interest was 40. The film cost 2.7 million dollars to produce and gave birth to one of the most beautiful moments in American film. This scene is part of twenty minute sequence that has little if any dialog. When the film began shooting in 1950 the final scene was yet written . Filming was halted for three days when members of the cast came down with Chicken Pox. Kelly, and director Vincentte Minnelli designed this legendary sequence in those three days.

Call for Entries: The Trawick Prize

Applications for the 2008 Trawick Prize are now being accepted

The deadline for submissions is April 11, 2008

Download the Application

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards is the visual art prize produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District. The fifth annual juried art competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to four selected artists. The first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000. A “young” artist whose birth date is after April 10, 1977 may also be awarded a $1,000 prize sponsored by the Fraser Gallery. 400 artists applied for this honor last year.

Check out the jury:

Molly Donovan is Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Art. She has written extensively on the work of living artists, including Christo, Jeanne-Claude and Richard Tuttle. She is presently preparing a book on the Andy Goldsworthy Project at the National Gallery. Donovan has curated several site-specific installations and numerous exhibitions and her upcoming show will feature Andy Warhol. Donovan holds a Master of Arts with a concentration in 20th century art from Williams College in Williamstown, MA.

Irene Hofmann became Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore in 2006 after four years as Curator of Contemporary Art at the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach, CA. She holds her Master of Arts in Modern Art History, Theory and Criticism from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Hofmann has held positions at Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Art Institute of Chicago; Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. Recently, she curated the first United States museum exhibitions of work by Swiss artist Fabrice Gygi and Berlin-based artist Jason Dodge.

Leah Stoddard is the Director of Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, VA. Stoddard holds her Master of Arts in Art History and Criticism from SUNY-Stony Brook and has served as Associate Curator and Registrar at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, OH. She has curated over 80 exhibitions including 30 Years: Three Decades of New Art at Second Street Gallery (2003); The Colonial Show (2007) and work by Jane South, Gary Baseman, Joyce Scott, Kay Rosen and Anna Gaskell. She has taught contemporary art seminars at the Jefferson Institute for Lifelong Learning, University of Virginia and Art Academy of Cincinnati, and written many essays for Second Street catalogs, as well as exhibition reviews for New Art Examiner and Arts Indiana.

On View: Akemi Maegawa 2nite @ Irvine

Irvine Contemporary Art Presents:

Akemi Maegawa
Invisible, Inc.

Sculptures and Installation Works
Exhibition Essay by Benjamin Teague

February 23 - March 29, 2008
Opening reception with the artist, Saturday, February 23, 6-8PM

1412 14th Street, Washington, DC

Closer Look: Hamiltonian Artists Announced

Blogger Lenny Campello announced the first crop of Hamiltonian Artists this week. Take a minute to check out their websites. I'm excited to see how this new project works out. I was a little surprised that only two of the artists are district residents.

Christian Benefiel (Severna Park, MD)
Anne Chan (Baltimore, MD)
Ian Davis (Baltimore, MD)
Leah Frankel (North Wales, PA)
Alex Gutierrez (Kensington, MD)
Linda Hesh (Alexandria, VA)
Al Miner (Washington, DC)
Youngmi Organ (Nokesville, VA)
Brian Rojsuontikul (Springfield, VA)
Michael Sirvet (Washington, DC)


I am happy to see Linda Hesh on this list. Pieces from her delightful door tag series are available at Civilian Artist Projects new store, "THE SHOP." They're not on the web yet but you can check it out during openings and gallery hours.

Calls for Work: Artscape 2008: Visual Arts Exhibitions

Gary Kachadourian sent me this list of Artscape exhibitions which are seeking entries. If you haven't been to Artscape yet make a point of checking it out this year. One of the many reasons to risk getting HebB from entering the Baltimore City limits.

Applications are at www.artscape.org (click on join us/applications). If you have trouble downloading please email us at this address.

Artscape is produced by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts, Inc. on behalf of the Baltimore Festival of the Arts, Inc., Mayor Sheila Dixon

PENNED: an exhibition of and about drawing with pens and markers

Pinkard Gallery, Bunting Center, Maryland Institute College of Art

Application deadline, May 16, 2008

An exhibition of pen and marker drawings including photographs of the pens used to make them. Interested artists should submit a drawing, text on the pen(s) used and a photograph of the pen(s). This exhibition will travel to Ellipse Arts Center, Arlington, VA and Lump Gallery/Projects, Raleigh, NC and possible other galleries in the coming years.

Review Committee, Cynthia Connolly, artist, photographer, Director, Ellipse Arts Center, Arlington, VA; Bill Thelen, artist, Director, Lump Gallery/Projects, Raleigh, NC; Andrew Jeffrey Wright, artist, co-founder, Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA; Wendy Yao, Owner/Director, Ooga Booga, Los Angeles, CA; Staff Members, Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, Baltimore, MD

Midway
Charles Street Bridge

Application deadline, March 14, 2008

To inaugurate the expansion of the Artscape festival onto Charles Street Midway will present installations, performances, sculpture and other forms of art and performance to create an alternate carnival midway. Artists should submit proposals for 8x8 or 8x16 foot spaces. Honoraria between $200 and $800 will be provided for each project.

Curators, Ted Frankel, artist, art director, graphic designer, and owner of Sideshow at the American Visionary Art Museum; Chiara Giovando, musician, sound and video artist, and independent curator; Dina Kelberman, artist, comic book writer, fashion designer and founding member of Wham City collective; Melissa Webb, fiber artist specializing in costume, performance, and site-specific installation. (note; each curator will work independently on one section of the exhibition)

Outdoor Lounge: a public sculpture exhibition
Mt. Royal Ave. between Cathedral St. and Lafayette Ave.

Application deadline, March 14, 2008

Outdoor Lounge is a public sculpture project where all of the installed works must somehow provide seating for one or more persons. This includes seat designs, sculpture forms designed to be sat on and environments that include seating. Performance/Programing within your seating area will be considered, but not required. Interested artists may submit proposals. Between $500 and $3,000 will be available for each selected project.

Curator, Michael Benevento, artist, curator, and co-director of Current Gallery since 2005; an artist run gallery, studio, and performance space in downtown Baltimore. Recent curatorial projects include Under Construction, Automation Constipation, and Hacking Utopia(s) at Current Gallery; Antagonism, Hacks, and Hoaxes at Maryland Art Place; Stuttering at the Carroll Museum; and co-curated The Dilapidated Reanimated Expo at Artscape 2006.

Baltimore Sculpture Project
Multiple sites

Application deadline, March 14, 2008

The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA), Artscape and the City of Baltimore present the second annual Baltimore Sculpture Project, an outdoor sculpture exhibition that will engage sites around the city. This exhibition will open in July 2008, and run through April 2009. This year’s show will concentrate on sites inside the Station North Arts & Entertainment District, at Mt. Royal Avenue and Cathedral Street on the Artscape site, Preston Gardens, and other possible locations yet to be finalized. Honoraria between $500 and $4,000 will be offered.

Baltimore Sculpture Project (continued)

Jurors, Bob Alholm, sculptor; Maren Hassinger, artist and Director, the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art; Irene Hoffman, Executive Director, Baltimore’s Contemporary Museum; Sam Holmes, artist and a member of Morgan State University’s Visual Arts Faculty; and Tim Scofield, artist and Sculpture Faculty at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

City-County Exhibitions

Application deadline, March 14, 2008

These galleries will be reviewing submitted work for exhibitions during Artscape

Area 405 ~ The Gallery at CCBC Catonsville ~ Creative Alliance at the Patterson ~ Current Gallery ~ Eubie Blake Cultural Center ~ Gormley Gallery, College of Notre Dame of Maryland ~ Load of Fun Gallery ~ Rosenberg Gallery, Goucher College ~ School 33 Art Center ~ Sub-Basement Artists Studios ~ Theatre Project, John Fonda Gallery ~ Villa Julie College Gallery

(Note: not all spaces listed above will use this prospectus, some exhibitions will be invitational)

15th Annual Art Car and Other Wheeled Vehicle Show

Application deadline, March 14, 2008 and ongoing

Artscape and the American Visionary Art Museum invite art car artists and all artists to be part of the annual Art Car Show in Baltimore. This year, Artscape will be offering commissions for the creation of new cars, bikes and other wheeled vehicles. Limited travel stipends for out of the area cars will also be considered.

Curator, Harrod Blank, art car artist, historian and filmmaker.

Also check out;

Artists’ Market & Fashion at Artscape

Application deadline, March 30, 2008

DIY at Artscape

Application deadline, March 30, 2008

Demoscape

Application deadline, March 30, 2008


For more information contact Gary Kachadourian at 410-752-8632

gkachadourian@promotionandarts.com

Thesis Season is Back

It's spring and students at the Corcoran College of Art + Design have stopped sleeping. That must mean it's Thesis Season. Each spring the Corcoran hands over gallery space to their graduating BFA students to present their theses. The gallery turns over weekly and has been the launching pad for many of DC's hot young artists like Zach Storm, Jason Zimmeran, Melissa Ichiuji and Akemi Maegawa. [Maegawa's solo show at Irvine Contemporary opens tonight! (2/23)]

Add to your art collection and enjoy this weekly event through May. Check out the Cororan's website for details.

Svetlana has posted photos from this month's Salon Contra @ Marvin on BTY.com. Thanks Philippa for the great happy hour and performance pieces. If you missed the Wonderbread and Irish Spring sandwich be sure to catch next month's.