September 7th Gallery Picks

I went to a lot of openings on Friday. Here is the short list and my recommendations

Reconciling Worlds: The Work of Soviet Artist Yefim Laydzhensky
The Bronfman Gallery
September 6 - December 30
16th and Q Street NW
Washington, DC
[First show by newly appointed gallery director, Wendy Fergusson. Fergusson did a great job developing a mini-retrospective of the artist's work. Who knew the JCC put on such kick ass shows? It's officially not just a place to find sexy gay doctors.]

Botanica
Carroll Square Art Gallery
September 7 - November 16
975 F Street
NWWashington DC 20004
[Flowers... weak concept for a contemporary show but safe enough for the law firm where it's located. 22 artists were selected for this show and a lot of the work is dynamic. This exhibition was a collaboration with Hemphill Fine Arts.]

Noelle Tan: From Here to the Salton Sea
Erick Jackson: Vlad's Crib
September 7 – October 20th
Civilian Art Projects
406 7th Street, NW3rd Floor
Washington DC 20004
[I was drinking and socializing at this opening... Sorry guys I swear I will return to view the art.]

Brady Robinson: Shift
Curated by Chan Chao
September 7 –October 6th
Flashpoint
916 G Street
NWWashington DC 20001
[I didn't make it to this show but Chan Chao is amazing so it's on my short list for the coming month]

ArtRomp20
The last ArtRomp group show in the original Warehouse buildings!!!
Featuring works by 100’s of DC Artists
September 7 - October 26
Warehouse Gallery and Theater
1017-1021 7th Street NW, Washington DC
[It was like a funeral for a popular football player. Warehouse will be missed. I talked to Molly Ruppert about the future of the Warehouse in Columbia Heights. She said that they're still holding out for investors. The Warehouse will be missed. Go check out the show and write a check for $15,000 to Molly Ruppert.]


YOU ARE HERE: Maps Re-Defined by Mid-Atlantic Contemporary Artists
Curated by Cynthia Connolly
Curated by Ellipse Art Center Director, Cynthia Connolly, work was selected by artists who are exploring their own ideas about boundaries and representations.
Artists: Dawn Gavin, Julie Jankowski, Karey Kessler and Renee van der Stelt
August 22–September 30
Artists' Talk: Saturday, October 13, 12 - 2 pm
Ellipse Arts Center
4350 N. Fairfax Drive
Arlington VA
[Well worth leaving the Beltway.]

2007 Corcoran Alumni Juried Exhibition, Recent Graduates: 2002–2006
August 20 - September 13
Gallery 31 at the Corcoran College of Art + Design
500 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC
[I enjoyed the video about the dead mouse. Go see it.]

OPTIONS 2007

September 13 - October 26, 2007
Curated by PAUL BREWER
Opening Reception: September 13, 6:30-8:30 PM
Curator Talk: Sunday, October 7, 2:00 PM
Artist Talk: Friday, October 26, 6:30-8:30 PM

Originally developed in 1981 by the WPA board of directors, the first WPA OPTIONS biennial was curated by legendary artist Gene Davis and Washington Review editor Mary Swift. Continuing with this historic and eagerly anticipated exhibition, OPTIONS 2007 curator Paul Brewer, Director of the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, has selected 10 emerging artists who represent the creative diversity of the region. 2007 marks the 12th year of OPTIONS and the ongoing dedication of the WPA\C to support, promote and encourage new and emerging talent, as well as to stimulate dialogue between established and emerging artists, and the regional community.

OPTIONS 2007 Artists:
Taylor Baldwin
Anne Chan
Neil Feather
Eli Kessler
Cory Oberndorfer
Pat O’Malley
Siobhan Rigg
Sayaka Suzuki
Kathleen Shafer
Rene Trevino

PEPCO’S EDISON PLACE GALLERY / 702 Eighth St. NW / Washington DC 20001

*text from WPA/C Newsletter

of Montreal - Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse

Another amazing band out of Athens, GA. Kevin Barnes brought the band together in 1997. They've become the darlings of indie rock over the past decade. After the commercial use of their music for an Outback Steakhouse Commercial and on the Showtime series, Weeds, of Montreal's audience grew. Their 2007 release Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, is perhaps their best. On this album Barnes holds true to his lo-fi roots and adds more abstract soundskapes.

Deep Cuts:
I Felt Like Smashing My Face in a Clear Glass Window (1997)
Disguises (1997)
Advice from a Divorced Gentleman to His Bachelor Friend ... (1999)
Climb the Ladder (2004)
Vegan in Furs (2004)
The Party's Crashing Us (2005)
Oslo in the Summertime (2005)

Gus van Sant Snaps Up Penn and Damon for Harvey Milk Film -- Towleroad for modern gay men,#comments#comments

Gus van Sant Snaps Up Penn and Damon for Harvey Milk Film - [reposted from: Towleroad]

2007 Sondheim Prize Semi-Finalists

I'm a 2007 Sondheim Prize Semi-Finalist! Therefore I will be less social this week than previously planned.

"For the second round of review the jurors will look at a larger amount of your work and will select approximately six artists who will be the finalists for the prize. These artists will have their work shown at The Baltimore Museum of Art. The remaining artists will be included in an exhibition at Artscape 2007 in the Decker and Meyerhoff galleries in the Fox Building of the Maryland Institute College of Art."-Gary Kachadourian, Visual Arts Coordinator, Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts

2007 Sondheim Prize Semi-Finalists:

• Seth Adelsberger, Baltimore MD
• Chul-Hyun Ahn, Baltimore MD
• Lillian Bayley, Baltimore MD
• Heather Boaz, Towson MD
• Mark Cameron Boyd, Beltsville MD
• Edward Brown, Salisbury MD
• Lynn Cazabon, Baltimore MD
• Richard Cleaver, Baltimore MD
• Mary Coble, Washington DC
• Kathryn Cornelius, Washington DC
• Frank Hallam Day, Washington DC
• Eric Dyer, Baltimore MD
• Neil Feather, Baltimore MD
• Shaun Flynn, Baltimore MD
• Steven Frost, Washington DC
• Dawn Gavin, Baltimore MD
• Geoff Grace, Baltimore MD
• Susannah Gust, Baltimore MD
• Maren Hassinger, Baltimore MD
• Sam Christian Holmes, Baltimore MD
• Jason Horowitz, Arlington VA
• Courtney Jordan, Baltimore MD
• Brian Kain, Emmitsburg MD
• Avish Khebrehzadeh, Washington DC
• Magnolia Laurie, Baltimore MD
• Joey P. Mánlapaz, Washington DC
• Gabriel Martinez, Washington DC
• Jeanette May, Alexandria VA
• Lisa Moren, Baltimore MD
• Brandon Morse, Takoma Park MD
• Jeremy Rountree, Baltimore MD
• Erik Sandberg, Washington DC
• Tony Shore, Baltimore MD
• Molly Springfield, Washington DC
• Deirtra Thompson, Baltimore MD
• René Treviño, Baltimore MD
• Karen Yasinsky, Baltimore MD
• Jason Zimmerman, Washington DC