Category Archives: Shows

May 10, 2013 · 12:19 pm

Open Studio Tours in Mid-City: Artist-Led Tours Take You Inside

pic courtesy MidCityArts

pic courtesy MidCityArts

For the first time, Mid City Artists (MCA) is offering curator led tours of their open studios on May 18th and 19th.  Local curators Laura Roulet, Sondra Arkin, Judy Sherman and Blair Murphy will be leading tours at designated times throughout the weekend.  Each curator will visit 4-6 studios in about two hours. You must reserve in advance and the meet up location will be sent to you in a confirmation email.  Please RSVP through our website.

12:00pm til 5:00pm, Sat May 18 @ Mid City Artists, 1716 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009

Visitors can hop from one studio to another within vibrant Mid City and witness an expansive offering of art and culture by the city’s most-talented and creative artists.

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April 24, 2013 · 12:13 pm

Terminators: Opening Reception

Terminators_Postcard_ImagePartnering with Oslo, Norway based arts collective No Place, Transformer presents Terminators, an exhibition of works in a variety of disciplines by Norwegian artists Jørgen van Eijk, Ole Martin Lund Bø, Donkey and Punch, Sebestian Helling, and Henrik Pask in their first DC exhibition.

6:00pm til 8:00pm, Sat May 11 @ Transformer, 1404 P St NW, Washington, DC 20005

Identifying Washington, DC as the “inner core of the United States, where decisions that effect the rest of the world are made,” in considering the exhibition collaboration with Transformer, No Place deemed it essential, both aesthetically and ideologically, to work with artists that have a sense of deconstruction in them. The artists chosen for the Terminators exhibition all explore deconstruction in their artwork: a deconstruction of their own artwork, past events, physical objects in themselves, or their own personality. Inviting open dialogue through visual formats, No Place member and Terminators curator Karen Nikgol states: “Order and deconstruction share an interconnectedness wherein strategies of order can only be comprehended once broken down and analyzed – particularly through aesthetic expression. Our aim is that the sense of deconstruction as presented in an orderly environment will produce an understanding of how strategies of order are built and created. Deconstruction begets termination, or finality. It is in finality that one is able to apply the retrospective view, to look back and understand. The works of all the artists in Terminators deconstruct AND terminate, affording the viewer the benefit of bearing witness to both the process of deconstruction, and the ever-present sense of nostalgia that deconstruction carries with it. In this way, Terminators is not really about deconstruction – it is about the reflection inherent in terminating.”Dedicated to advancing emergent expression in contemporary visual art, Transformer is honored to have the opportunity to work with No Place in an effort to broaden cultural, political, and artistic discourse through the presentation of the participating artists’ ideas and work.

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January 11, 2013 · 7:01 am

Weekend East City Event Round Up: Happy 2013 Edition

 

Laura Elkins “Self as Michelle Drinking Tea.”Photo Courtesy of the Fridge

Laura Elkins “Self as Michelle Drinking Tea.”
Photo Courtesy of the Fridge

Friday January 11

 

Honfleur Gallery (6pm to 9pm)

Artists Michael Dax Iacovone and Kathryn Zazenski collaborated on a series of “Memory Maps” based on recent travels undertaken by each artist.  In the Points That Bring Us from Here to There, audiences will experience Iacovones’ chronicle describing his crossing of all 123 Mississippi River bridges and Zazenski’s visual documentation of her time in Haukijärvi, Finland, Washington, DC, and Beijing.  For more information click here.

Honfleur Gallery is located at 1241 Good Hope RD SE

 

 

The Gallery at Vivid Solutions (6pm to 9pm)

Oswald Spengler once said “It goes without saying that what distinguishes a town from a village is not size, but the presence of a soul.” As such, the Instant DC photography collaborative, through an open call, found several photographers whose images of Washington, DC have captured the spirit of this quote.  For more information, click here.

 

NOTE: The Gallery at Vivid Solutions is temporarily relocated to the second floor of 1241 Good Hope RD SE while the permanent space is being renovated.

 

Saturday January 12

 

Art Enables’ Off Rhode Gallery (1pm to 4pm)

Art Enables’ second gallery space known as the Off Rhode Gallery will host an opening for the group show Inaugural Visions.  The exhibition features Presidential Inauguration themed works by resident artists as well as Washington, DC mainstays like Dana Ellyn and Matt Sesow.  For more information, click here.

Art Enables is located at 2204 Rhode Island Ave NE

Tubman-Mahan Gallery (2pm to 4pm)

To open up the 2013 exhibition season, the Tubman-Mahan gallery at the Center for Green Urbanism will show a series of new work by Maryland artists Sandra D. Davis.  Davis’ Journey with Paper features brilliantly colored mixed media work.  For more information, click here.

 

Tubman-Mahan Gallery is located at 3938 Benning Road NE

The Fridge (6pm to 8pm)

In keeping with the Presidential Inauguration theme, Capitol Hill artist Laura Elkins, known for her portraiture of first ladies, pays homage to Michelle Obama.  Elkin’s use strongly contrasting color and course brushstrokes results in a bold interpretation of her subjects. For more information click here.

The Fridge is located at 516 1/2 8th Street rear alley, SE

 

 

Monday January 14

 

Catalyst Projects (6:30pm to 8:30pm)

Extend your week into Monday Night.  Have you ever been interested in taking your artwork to a Miami art fair?  Now is your chance to learn from experts and newcomers fresh from their December 2012 experience.  The panel discussion is organized by Capitol Hill based Catalyst Projects and will feature Lenny Campbello, Tim Tate, Sean Hennessey and Ada Rose Bitterbaum.  For more information, click here.

The HIVE 2.0 is located at 1241 Good Hope RD SE

Phil Hutinet is the Editor-in-Chief of East City Art.  You can get more information about East City Art on Facebook , follow them on Twitter or sign up for their newsletter here. 

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January 10, 2013 · 7:20 am

Laura Elkins’ Homage to Michelle Opens in The Mini-Fridge

pic courtesy of The Fridge

pic courtesy of The Fridge

In a nod to the upcoming inauguration, The Fridge opens Laura Elkins’ Homage to Michelle in The Mini-Fridge, the newly opened space at the gallery. The artist will show a retrospective of works inspired by Michelle Obama during the first administration. Elkins uses First Lady imagery to create self-portraits that are at once deeply personal and also inherently historical and political. Elkins’ work addresses larger social and cultural issues, including current events, while maintaining the everywoman quality of a self-portrait.

Homage to Michelle opens on Saturday, January 12, 6 – 8pm, and is on view through February 9, 2013. The artist draws upon the mythical narrative that each First Lady is the personification of flawless taste and grace as well as a humble servant to the people. Elkins pairs conservative style choices with provocative imagery to reexamine the American perception of the qualities that the First Lady, and by extension, all women, should possess. Her artwork presents a radically new understanding of how private identity is masked to create a socially acceptable and politically correct public personality. This will be Elkins’ third solo exhibition with the gallery.

6:00pm til 8:00pm, Sat Jan 12 @ The Fridge, 516 8th St SE, Washington, DC 20003

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December 19, 2012 · 9:20 am

Opening Reception for Davis McLane Connelly’s Individuation at The Fridge

 

Connely bunniesThe Fridge presents Individuation, an exhibition of drawings by Brooklyn-based artist Davis McLane Connelly.

Davis draws youthful figures in lifelike, surrealistic scenarios. In a departure from previous works in this series featuring stuffed toys and anthropomorphic animals, Davis is also showing drawings with human figures as part of his pursuit to fully realize this dream-like exploration of the psyche. Davis is a self-taught artist whose skills as a draftsman earned him a post-graduate residency in Corciano, Italy. His academic training in the field of psychology is the dominant influence in his work. This series is born out of the concept of individuation, the Jungian term for each person’s path to becoming whole.

Davis says, “I want to make work that is visually accessible, and I believe it’s important for everyone to be able to form their own interpretation of my work. I aim to make my drawings aesthetically pleasing so that they appeal to a wide range of viewers. Beyond the immediate aesthetics, there are slightly muted references to greater topics. For example, the words on a magazine, the direction in which light is cast, or the arrangement of the composition will hold clues to a deeper meaning.”

7:00pm til 11:00pm, Sat Jan 5 @ The Fridge, 516 8th St SE, Washington, DC 20003

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December 7, 2012 · 8:17 am

Weekend East City Event Round Up: “Miami? Whatever!” Edition

Scip Barnhart “Jasper Johns Test Stone for the Phillips Collection” detail. Photo by Eric Hope for East City Art

Scip Barnhart “Jasper Johns Test Stone for the Phillips Collection” detail. Photo by Eric Hope for East City Art

Friday December 7

 

Brentwood Arts Exchange (6pm to 9pm)

In partnership with the Washington Printmakers Gallery, the Brentwood Arts Exchange presents the “Maryland Edition” of Mentor & Mentee with instructors and protégés showing work side by side.  You have to love an exhibition with a piece called ““Out of the Jungle It Came: A Look into the Irrational Fears & Paranoid Delusions of a Sleep Deprived Stoner.” For more information, click here.

Read Eric Hope’s preview of the show by clicking here.  The Brentwood Arts Exchange is located at 3901 Rhode Island Ave in Brentwood, MD

 

 

Saturday December 8

CHAW Holiday “Fête” (Noon to 8:30pm)

You can literally stay at CHAW all day Saturday and enjoy both an exhibition of teacher’s work, a Student show and make a holiday gift purchases at the annual Capitol Hill Art League’s “Wrap It Up” sale.  In addition, resident theater company Dog & Pony will be performing The Killing Game for $17 a ticket.  For more information, click here   CHAW is located at 545 Seventh St SE

 

Gateway Arts District Open Studios (1pm to 5pm)

There are several open studios on Saturday including the ez Storage Studios, the 39th Street Studios and the Brentwood Arts Exchange. Flux Studios in Mount Rainier will also host an open house on Saturday. For more information, click here  Most of the studios are located at 3901 Rhode Island Ave in Brentwood, MD

 

Art Enables Holiday Art and Ornament Workshop (1pm to 4pm)

Art Enables annual Holiday art sale begins this Saturday; come early as the best pieces run out in the first hour.  Beth Baldwin will be leading an ornament making workshop during the sale.  For more information, click here.  Art Enables is located at 2204 Rhode Island Avenue, NE.

 

H Street CDC (4pm to 8pm)

Local artist Reiko Renee Tate will be showing a series of her most recent work.  The Nashville native paints, makes jewelry and creates works on paper including one of a kind greeting cards.  For more information, click here.  The H Street CDC is located at 501 H Street NE

 

 

Phil Hutinet is the Editor-in-Chief of East City Art.  You can get more information about East City Art on Facebook  by follow them on Twitteror click here to sign up for their newsletter.

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November 30, 2012 · 8:24 am

Opening Reception: TAXI GANG’s Exclamation Point.

The first solo-show by Fridge Owner and Director Alex Goldstein

7:00pm til 11:00pm, Sat Dec 1 [tomorrow!] @ The Fridge.

Exclamation point. is the first-ever solo show by Owner and Gallery Director Alex Goldstein. The exhibit unites Goldstein’s heavily graphic design-influenced style with the visual and text-based themes he has been working with for many years in the streets of NY and DC.

One hundred stencil and spray paint works on paper will be displayed in the gallery; two multi-layered images repeated in differing viewpoints: a boy with hand grenade, inspired by Diane Arbus, and a girl with two guns blazing. “These are images of empowerment and rage. I’m a staunch pacifist. I’m terrified of guns, but I’m obsessed with these images because of the part that they play in our society,” says Goldstein. Goldstein will present paintings on paper, mixed media, and a new mural on the exterior walls of The Fridge.  The exhibition will evolve over the course of the month; buyers are invited to take the works directly off the walls instead of waiting until the exhibit comes down.

Goldstein will hold a stencil and spray paint workshop on December 9, 11 – 1pm. Participants may bring images that they want to make into stencils and any clothing or objects to paint. The artist will also provide stencils. Materials and supplies $20.

The exhibit is on view through December 30 at The Fridge, 516 8th St SE, Washington, DC 20003

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November 28, 2012 · 8:37 pm

Caves and Buddhas, You’re Here!

Some things in the DC arts are not to be missed.  Song 1 at the Hirshhorn this past summer.  Ai Weiwei’s exhibition there right now.  And, starting on December 1, Pure Land at the Freer and Sackler Galleries.

Imagine being in a dark cave, shining a flashlight around over intricate paintings.  Then, all of a sudden, the lights go up and, yes, everything is illuminated.  In Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang, a heated tent outside the Freer and Sackler Galleries represents the UNESCO World Heritage site itself, now closed to visitors.  Wearing 3D glasses, visitors have the capability to zoom in on intricate details, to hear music made by the instruments represented in the painting, see traditional dances acted out like the ones in the painting, zoom in on tiny yet gorgeous details, and just really be wowed.  I was concerned that the idea might come off as hokey, but seeing the cave without suffering any jet lag was just perfect.

The caves at Dunhuang in the Gobi Desert are located on the Silk Road.  Financed by the Medicis of the time, they came to be known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas.  There are over 700 caves on the site, but this one was selected for the experiment of transporting the 360 degree, true to life experience of the cave abroad.  Using thousands of photographs, the 3D experience really does feel like being there, but better.

Please don’t miss this, DC.  It’s only here for a short time, and you really won’t be able to see it in China.

Visitors can experience Pure Land for themselves, from December 1-9.

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November 27, 2012 · 8:00 am

At 25: The Freer [and Sacker] Is Here

pic courtesy Freer Sackler gallery

And not only are the Freer and Sackler Galleries here, they’re turning the ripe old age of 25!  To celebrate, the galleries will be hosting several different and exciting shows from Asian artists.  The Freer and Sackler are, after all, the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian art.  And with all the Asian art that’s been hitting DC lately [Ai Weiwei's Zodiac Heads exhibition is still at the Hirschhorn], I predict a very full week of events from November 28 to December 1.

On Thursday of this week, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang will stage a pyrotechnic display in honor of the Sackler’s 25th anniversary.  Check back for more detail, right here on the blog, on Thursday morning.  The show is at 3pm but can be live-streamed here.

And in addition to the above outdoor spectacle, the Sackler Gallery will produce a heated tent in their adjacent Moongate Garden which will transport the visitor “to a Chinese Buddhist cave, where murals come alive with musicians, dancers and flying Bodhisatvas. “Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang,” on view Dec. 1—Dec. 9, is an immersive 3-D experience of one of the world’s ancient art treasures and a technological application never before seen in the United States.”  The real site has been cordoned off to visitors, so this is the only time and only way the curious will get to see the inside of one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites.

For more on the origins of the Freer and Sackler, see the following from the galleries’ director:  ”The Smithsonian Institution has two museums of Asian art: the Freer Gallery of Art, which opened to the public in 1923, and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, which welcomed its first visitors in 1987. Both are physically connected by an underground passageway and ideologically linked through the study, exhibition, and sheer love of Asian art. In addition, the Freer Gallery contains an important collection of nineteenth century American art punctuated by James McNeill Whistler’s Peacock Room, perhaps one of the earliest (and certainly one of the most controversial) art installations on record.”

Stay tuned for more on the special events lined up for the galleries’ 25th anniversary.  It’s a good excuse to go down to the Mall, even in these cold winter months.

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November 26, 2012 · 8:41 am

Mark Parascandola Photography: Reception at Sotheby’s

pic courtesy Mark Parascadnola

From the reception press release:

On Thursday, Nov. 29th from 6-8pm, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty office on 14th St NW will host an opening reception featuring local DC photographer, Mark Parascandola, whose work will be on display there until Jan. 11.

Mark Parascandola, a PhD epidemiologist by training, uses photography to explore patterns of movement in human populations, focusing on architecture as evidence of often-invisible social, environmental, and economic processes. With family roots in the desert landscape of Almeria, Spain, he is currently documenting the remains of old movie sets constructed in the region during the 1960s and 1970s.

Parascandola’s work has been featured at various galleries in DC and at Galería Acanto in Almeria, Spain and appears in the DC Art Bank and numerous individual collections. He is an active member of the Mid City Artists and the Washington Project for the Arts. He was also recently selected as a finalist for the 2011 Sondheim Prize, and four of his images were chosen by Corcoran Gallery of Art curator Amanda Maddox for inclusion in her section of the FotoDC Flash exhibit. Mark creates his own limited-edition digital prints using pigment inks on watercolor paper. TTR Sotheby’s International Realty is proud to showcase his work at an opening reception on Thursday, November 29th from 6-8pm. His work will be on display until January 11th. For more info about Parascandola’s work, visit www.parascandola.com.

 

price free

contact contact@artseedc.com

 

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