Gallery plan b celebrated the opening of Persona Grata, a showcase of figurative works in painting, photography and sculpture by both local and non-local artists.

By Monica Raymunt

Persona Grata exhibit at gallery plan b. Photo by Monica Raymunt.

The exhibit, on display at gallery plan b until April 11, includes the works of Timothy Johnson, Shelley Laffal, Keith Clark, Gordon Binder, Chad States, Robert Dodge, Melissa Widerkehr, Andrew Criss, Joshua Hughes, and Massimo Righini, with each piece offering a uniquely personal perspective on the construction of gender and identity in and through art.

Persona Grata exhibit at gallery plan b. Photo by Monica Raymunt.

All of the pieces in the exhibit offer a unique voice in the conversation on human identity. The works of both Andrew Criss and Chad States offer commentary on the intersection of contemporary identity with technology: States’ Masculinity Series showcases photographs of people found on Craigs’ List who consider themselves masculine, while Criss’s oil paintings of online profile pictures plays with the “masquerade of identity” and the idea of “exposing and hiding [oneself] at the same time.”

Some of the works, like those of Tim Johnson and Shelley Laffal, showcased a more light-hearted or whimsical approach to identity, be it in their real or imagined subject. In a candid conversation with me, Johnson revealed the importance of humor in all of his work, while Laffal offered that “the narrative is what propels the imagery” in the pieces she features.

Gordon Binder shares that his pieces are more about “the moment, the street scene,” and the observer’s identity that exists through those street scenes. Keith Clark’s three main pieces on display constitute “defining moments” of his life and what it means to “come to terms with yourself and who you are.” In contrast, Joshua Hughes, who argues that “art should be about people responding to it,” notes that he is not so much concerned with how his identity resides within his art, but rather how the viewer’s identity is changed by interacting with it.

Gallery plan b considers itself a “grass roots kind of operation” and prides itself on presenting “an eclectic mix of artwork from established and emerging artists.”  Judging by the turn out at exhibit opening, the gallery has a vibrant community supporting its endeavors and will continue to bring provocative works to the northwest area of the District.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s annual gala drew the city’s young and old art enthusiasts in large number.

By Sarah Khan

Nick Verreos, Karen LaMonte and Nicholas Bell at Artrageous, the Smithsonian American Art Museum's annual gala. (Photo by Tony Brown/Imijination Photography)

Art patrons, socialites, live music, and an immaculately laid buffet dinner kept the event rollicking till the very end. The event was held inside the museum’s Kogod courtyard. Beams of purple and pink light emanating from the floor provided a perfect backdrop to the centerpiece of the evening: artist Karen LaMonte’s ‘Reclining Dress Impression with Drapery’ on display at the center.

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Green was the color of the night at the Embassy of Finland’s celebration of their LEED Gold certification status as the first green embassy in the U.S.

By Julie LaPorte

Embassy of Finland. Photo by Vincent Gallegos.

Built in 1994, the Finnish Embassy was notable from the first for its modernist approach. “It’s an architectural landmark,” said Ambassador Pekka Lintu who was accompanied by his wife Laurel Colless. “And now it’s a green architectural landmark.” He cited Finland’s history of supporting environmental initiatives and spoke proudly of their position as world leaders in the sustainability movement. “We practice what we preach.”

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The Art Registry Gallery at Todd Christofaro proves that art collecting isn’t just a pastime for the wealthy elite, but an exciting and educational endeavor available to all.

By Julie LaPorte

Erin Mackay and Jill Lubar. Photo by Julie LaPorte.

Erin Mackay and Jill Lubar’s Art Registry Gallery is located on the second floor of the Todd Christofaro Salon in Georgetown. This intimate space is home to bi-monthly solo exhibitions, but the Art Registry is much more than a simple gallery. Erin and Jill specialize in private consultations for local collectors as well as hosting multi-artist shows in venues around the city.

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The Phillips Collection dips into the nightlife scene, with their monthly happy hour that celebrates art, music, food and wine.

By Katherine Delmonico

Phillips After 5

Tucked in a gorgeous residential block of Dupont Circle, it’s easy to almost miss the unobtrusive Phillips Collection. What used to serve as a home for founder Duncan Phillips, now houses a spectacular collection of permanent art pieces, as well as impressive traveling exhibits. Even more spectacular – every first Thursday of the month the gallery hosts a culturally rich happy hour, with DC’s young and artfully inclined gathering to enjoy the collection, music and conversation

Guests enjoy a Gallery Talk about Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boat Party"

Walking by, you might not even notice the museum; save for the fact that on this particular Thursday evening, the museum was lit up and a diverse cross-section of D.C.’s art lovers (and casual cocktail seekers) were on line outside. Upon arriving, Shira Pinsker, Publicist for the Phillips Collection, showed me around the beautifully spare and modern space. They were preparing to debut their Georgia O’Keefe exhibit, which was opened on Saturday, February 6^th and will run through May 9^th (helpful tip: the last day of the exhibit is Mother’s Day, so visiting the exhibit is a great idea for a thoughtful activity if you have family in town or your mom lives in the area). Strolling through the museum, there were several locations and activities to enjoy, allowing for the sizeable crowd to be spread throughout the space. As I passed by one room, a group was gathered around Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party as a museum curator was giving a “Gallery Talk”. Another station was set up to provide tastings of Godiva’s new chocolate liqueurs. Around the corner there were beautifully presented tapas tastings. With dark wood paneled walls and ornate decorations, the music and cocktails portion of the event was cozy, elegant and sophisticated. Partygoers could enjoy the deejaying talents of DJ Adrian Loving, admire artwork, snack on finger foods or indulge in a strawberry fondue station.

Some of the artfully displayed small plates available

However, one of the most unique activities was taking place in a video booth. A love theme encompassed the event as it fell in the weeks before Valentine’s Day, and at Phillips After 5 the Phillips Collection sought to capture love stories that involved the museum. One couple, Pinsker told me, had met at a Phillips’ event in 1996 and were married soon after. Another used a piece of art in the Phillips’ permanent collection for the inspiration for their wedding. As these stories began to filter through the ears of Phillips employees, they decided they wanted to capture them on film, so they placed a video booth in the event that allowed couples to relay their stories of how the Phillips had been a part of their love story, whether it be a first date, where someone proposed, or simply a place the couple enjoyed spending time together. See one of these stories posted on the Phillips Collection YouTube channel.

One of the most appealing things about this event is the fact that it offers none of the pretense and intimidation that can be common with some “artsy” events. The crowd certainly skewed younger, but it truly did represent a diverse cross section of people. With numerous activities, the event provided the option for an avid art lover to immerse themselves in an evening of culture or for the casual gallery-goer to simply relax with a glass of wine and enjoy the scenery. With a certain lively energy that made it a genuinely enjoyable experience,  Phillips After 5 has a finger on the pulse of the youthful nightlife scene in D.C.

The Phillips Collection

Please visit the Phillips Collection website for more information on upcoming Phillips After 5 events.

Members of the Corcoran Gallery gathered for a preview celebration of Turner to Cezanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales.

By Julie LaPorte

Joseph Mallord William Turner, The Storm, ca. 1840–45. Oil on canvas. National Museum of Wales; Miss Margaret S. Davies Bequest, 1963 (nmwa 509). Courtesy American Federation of Arts.

Partnering with the National Museum Wales and the American Federation of Arts, the Corcoran Gallery of Art is presenting over 50 works of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art – most of which have never been in America before.

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Tracking Washington’s contribution to the world’s preeminent art fair. Has the art world recovered?

By Carolina Furukrona

Jason Rhode's installation, "Untitled," 2004, Rubell Family Collection

From December 1-6, 2009, Miami Beach became the epicenter of the art world once again when the most important art show in America, Art Basel Miami Beach, and its nearly two dozen satellite fairs, welcomed the annual pilgrimage of art world players. The event annually takes the temperature of the art market – and the diagnosis this year was good. Over the course of several days, I set out to host a group of Archives of American Art supporters in a series of events and to meet and connect with the vibrant Washington, D.C., art community that made its way to sunny Miami.

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Muhammad Ali at a book signing at Govinda Gallery, September 1995. Photo by Chester Simpson.

The famed Washington art space, Govinda Gallery, recently celebrated its 34th year on 34th Street NW, making it the longest-established art gallery in one location in Washington’s history. To celebrate this impressive milestone, owner Chris Murray launched “The Back Room,” a blog within the gallery’s website that covers cool recent events as well as documenting historic and exciting moments of the venue’s storied past, which includes visits by Annie Leibovitz, Andy Warhol, and Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood.

1227 34th St. NW, 202-333-1180, www.govindagallery.com/category/blog.

DC Commission on Arts and the Humanities made this great video showcasing murals around Washington D.C.

The Corcoran settles into their lovely Art Basel lounge.

Corcoran College of Art + Design, including designer Marc Ross and artist Akemi Maegawa who have collaborated on the design and deccor of the space. Photo courtesy of Dakota Fine

The Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design partners with the New Art Dealers Alliance on the swanky Corcoran Lounge during the NADA Art Fair.

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Active in his field for over 40 years, photographer Philip Trager is renowned for his intimate pictures of buildings and expressionistic images of dancers.

Philip Trager

Trager’s “Form and Movement” exhibition is currently on display at the National Building Museum and The Library of Congress is acquiring his definitive archive as part of its core collections.

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Longview Gallery host some graphic poetry at this months Art Salon  

By Alannah Wells

Guests enjoying the art work at the Longview Gallery. Photograph by Alannah Wells

Art Whino,  Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and W.H.A.L.E.R.’s Creation join together to try and make life less tricky for foster children.

Text and Video by Alannah Wells

Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels and Art Whino Gallery Founder Shane Pomajambo Photograph by Alannah Wells

Life can be a little “trickier” for foster kids and Art Whino and W.H.A.L.E.R.’s Creation aimed to highlight this at their recent fundraising event, ‘Old Skoolin’ for the Children’. Continuing its trend in joining forces with local charities, Art Whino has been leveraging the best in visual and musical artists to emphasize the power of art to affect change.  In this case, the issue was giving foster children a hand up – something W.H.A.L.E.R Honorary chair, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, who performed at the event, knows a lot about.

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Local artists get a Mexican make-over at the 6th Transformer Gallery Auction and Benefit

By Alannah Wells

Guests perusing the artworks for sale. Photograph by Alannah Wells

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Dust off your SLR and get ready to see some amazing photography at FotoWeek DC ’09.

By Alannah Wells

Guests enjoying the 'PoshBooth' at FotoWeek DC.Photograph with thanks to Mike Chepurin

FotoWeek DC kicked off its annual weeklong celebrations recently, taking over the city in an unsurprisingly ‘fotographic’ style. Spilling into every arty nook and cranny, it appears that few stones have been unturned this year with an impressive line up that included many of Washington’s top galleries, institutions, art houses and even public schools.

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All with an eye for the unusual: introducing a cadre of influential metro area visual artists.

Maggie Michael and husband Dan Steinhilber (Photograph by Joseph Allen)

Maggie Michael (whose work has been described as “sculptural painting”), and her husband Dan Steinhilber (who they say creates “painterly sculpture”) are the current glamdarlings of the Washington art scene. Michael is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant and an Artist Fellowship from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. She was a resident artist in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s Artist at Work program in 2006-07. During 2008, Michael was awarded an Artist Research Fellowship at the Smithsonian and received the Trawick Prize from the Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. Both artists have shown at G Fine Art. Steinhilber’s show there, received excellent reviews.

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Abstract artist Sam Gilliam names his favorite spots in D.C. Listen up, he knows what he’s talking about.

Artist Sam Gilliam at his studio.

No matter what direction in which you go, Washington does not stop in terms of its natural settings. The tree cover extends all the way to Pennsylvania, and there are seagulls nesting in Rock Creek Park who have flown in from the Chesapeake Bay. Everything becomes like what you see in art. You just have to know how to look at it. Here are a few of my favorite places:

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Contemporary art, hula hoops, a dancing pig and brass band, oh, it’s just another Hirshhorn After Hours. Is it the best art event in D.C.?

By Alannah Wells

Courtyard fountain at Hirshhorn After Hours. Photograph by Alannah Wells

“This is great! It totally doesn’t feel like D.C.!,” seemed to be the reoccurring sentiment as I meandered through the oh-so-young-and-hip crowd at the Hirshhorn after Hours. But this is Washington and what this event routinely proves – besides the fact that it’s okay to have a DJ and light show in an art museum – is that the Washington arts scene is thrusting itself forth, straight into the iCals of the hip, young and fresh faced.

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Hickok Cole is known for its architecture, but its annual Art Night is helping build the local arts community.

By Michael Clements

Art lover and artists mix in the offices of Hickok Cole. (Photo by Hoachlander Davis Photography)

Each year, awarding winning architectural firm Hickok Cole Architects opens its doors to allow local artists and art patrons to turn its office into one of the area’s best contemporary galleries (for one night at least). This year saw over 50 local artists showcasing their work. Judging by the amount of pink “sold” dots around, the quality of the art was high. “It’s probably one of their biggest fundraisers of the year for the Washington Project for the Arts,” (WPA) said enthusiastic Hickok Cole Architects senior marketing manager Jennifer Oh over the loud buzz of cocktail conversation. The night generated more than $60,000 in artwork sales, with post event sales expected to reach $90,000.

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Washington Sculptors Group joins with the Art Museum of the Americas to get us ‘engaging bilaterally’

By Alannah Wells

Tony Capellan. Mar Caribe (Carribean Sea) 1996.

Twenty-Five years worth of carving, sticking, building and generally creating are being celebrated with the opening of the 25 anniversary exhibition by the Washington Sculptors  Group (WSG) in collaboration with the Art Museum of the Americas (AMA). ‘Bilateral Engagement’ aims to demonstrate the workings of the WSG from the past few decades combining this with a selection of works chosen from the permanent collection at the AMA.

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The Phillips Collections latest ‘Intersection’ exhibition series goes down a storm with the works of contemporary artist Jennifer Wen Ma

Artist Jennifer Wen Ma. Photograph by James Brantley

Old meets new at The Phillips Collection this Fall as they present their new exhibition series ‘Intersections’, exploring the relationship between traditional and contemporary art practices. The gallery opened the series in style showing the works of contemporary Chinese artist Jennifer Wen Ma with her two part piece ‘Brain Storm’. Ma builds on the traditional technique of the Chinese ink wash landscape merging it with contemporary video techniques. The mesmeric video shows a stormy journey taken by man and horse across an ephemeral stirring landscape of swirling sand, water and ink.

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Transformer’s Victoria Reis on the art of collecting.

Victoria Reis and Carlotta Hester

Transformer, a Washington based non-profit visual arts organization, launched Collector’s View in the spring of 2008 to pursue a better understanding of the artwork people collect, the relationships collectors have with artists, and why people live with certain works of art. This decidedly different series provides an opportunity to intimately view some of Washington’s best privately-owned contemporary art collections, engaging these visionary art supporters in dialogue with artists, critics, and other patrons of the arts. The 2008 Collector’s View hosts included: Heather & Tony Podesta, Shigeko & Tim Bork, Jan & Peter Hapstak, and Christine Varney & Tom Graham. This year’s series’ hosts included: Barbara & Aaron Levine, Farinaz & Dadi Akhavan, Lorie Peters Lauthier, and Paul Yandura & Donald Hitchcock.

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Red Bull lets artists loose to create aluminum masterpieces from their iconic beverage container – welcome to “Pop-top” art 

By Alannah Wells

'Yes I Can Can with Red Bull' Monica M Eddleman (Artist)

Our mother’s wise words have gone in one ear and out the other with Red Bull hosting the ‘Art of Can’, an event encouraging us all to twist, bend and remodel our empty cans in hope of creating the next soda-inspired masterpiece. The main lobby of Washington D.C.’s spacious Union Station was transformed into a Red Bull shrine, showing a spectacular array of artworks, all with one fizzy common denominator – inspiration from the familiar red and blue can. Ranging from the use of just one solitary can to some pieces built from over 4,000, the number of restless artists is anyone’s guess. Some of the works being shown include a photographic piece of an impressive 270-foot Red Bull inspired crop circle, an eight-foot octopus with some unsurprisingly tinny suckers and a ‘Moulin Rouge’ style dress.

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Snapping at the heels of the recently opened Sargent and the Sea, the Corcoran Gallery of Art have wasted no time in presenting their newest show Edward Burtynsky: Oil, a perfect round up to their fall exhibition season. Opening on October 3^rd, Washington Life attended the exclusive private preview showcasing the contemporary photographic works of Canadian born artists Edward Burtynsky. The succinct exhibition title delivers much more than it says on the tin. Showcasing 56 large-scale color photographs, each one tells a different tale of the ‘lifecycle’ of this energy source and the significant role it has played in our ever changing industrial landscape. The literal size and detail of the pieces reflect the scale and importance of this finite resource.

Oxford Tyre Pile #9ab, Westley, California, USA, 199. E Burtynsky

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Art Whino and the International Lifeline Fund team together to host an all encompassing art show, concert and fundraiser at DC’s Portals Theater.

By Alannah Wells

It isn’t often that you can spend an evening submersed in art from over 100 artists, listen to an immense live DJ set, enjoy a few drinks and still wake up in the morning with a warm sense of wellbeing. However when Art Whino and The International Lifeline Fund teamed up for an exciting event this weekend at the Portals Theater in DC, I was the first to jump on the wellbeing bandwagon.
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G Fine Art presents the works of Jefferson Pinder and José Ruiz in “El Museo del Ghetto”

By Alannah Wells

Opening Night Reception. Jefferson Pinder, Capsule - 2009. Wood from Obama's inauguration platform. salvaged tin.

Wrestling masks teamed with Picassos, a frisky sombrero with a mind of its own, and the remanence of a crumpled aid drop parachute wasn’t exactly what I was expecting when I shook out my umbrella and stepped into G Fine Art’s temporary E Street location on a soggy September evening. However this is just a taster of what was to come at the opening night reception of the “El Museo del Ghetto” exhibition featuring the works of Jefferson Pinder and José Ruiz. Gallery Director Annie Gawlak commented to me that the new space worked wonderfully for this exhibition since it enabled each artist to present video pieces in separate areas. I agree.

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Conner Contemporary gathers area’s top abstract artists

By Alannah Wells

Opening night reception of 'Conversations in Lyrical Abstraction: 1958 to 2009' at Conner Contemporary Art

If you are into abstract art, the opening of Connor Contemporary Art’s (1358 Florida Avenue NE) “Conservations in Lyrical Abstraction: 1958 to 2009” exhibit was the perfect place to be. The exhibition was as a billed – a crossing of the boundaries of ‘race, gender, geography and chronology.’

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By Karin Tanabe

Artist Shepard Fairey. Photo by Kyle Samperton

Let the inaugural games begin. It’s the afternoon of Saturday the 17th and I’ve just trotted to four different inaugural celebrations in 18 hours—all held blocks apart celebrating the same iconic event, yet every one unique in their atmosphere.

The first fête I clicked my heels Friday evening was the launch of Manifest Hope DC, held in the vast space that used to house Artefacto furniture on M Street. In conjunction with Moveon.org, Irvine Contemporary Gallery, artist Shepard Fairey, SEIU, and our magazine Washington Life, more than one hundred artists displayed work that in one innovative way or another paid homage to our 44th president.

My first thoughts when I walked out to brace for the onslaught of the 14 degree weather and my eyes turning to iceballs were, 1) why don’t we have more events like this in Washington? It would be amazing if this cavernous space remained a space for the arts and the community. And 2) I sincerely hope that very soon to be President Obama ought to be able to see this show.

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Fendi Casa, The Design Center

Photos by Tony Powell

Lindsey and Jay Scott

THE EVENT: Habatat Galleries owners Lindsey and Jay Scott brought some of their most beautiful works (paintings and glass) to Fendi Casa’s showroom at the Design Center where interior designer Dominique Alexander was the guest speaker and Famoso café provided the hors d’oeuvres and Couture Cupcakes the desserts. Tunes by Euro Lounge got everyone in the mood for Ibiza or Mykonos throughout the night, including Fendi Casa’s Ani Schroeder.

Nontraditional art spaces lend themselves to thought-provoking installations

By Beth Farnstrom

On the third level of "Here and Now," Lisa Kellner's organic, amorphous forms clung delicately to the rafters and walls

If 14^th Street was the new “gallery corridor” in 2007, the former Church of the Rapture (1840 14^th St NW) has to be its main entrance. For starters, the Cultural Development Corporation’s FlashForward benefit (which we were privileged to sponsor) was held in this new it-space, where mere months before the PW Meat Market - a celebration of all things arty, gritty, and nouveau – had also been held. Transformed from bare warehouse walls to subdued glamour with live band and Absolut cocktails, the event was elegant and highly successful, with a laundry list of local luminaries in attendance (one example: Pamela Sorensen, who blogged about it in glowing terms), artists (Maggie Michael, Dana Ellyn, Matt Sesow, Regie Cabic of Sol & Soul), and over $100,000 raised for CUDC’s mission to fund local arts efforts. The spontaneous gestalt of District arts seems to be coalescing - organizers like In Series performing arts guru Carla Hübner and Corcoran COO Sam Sweet are mixing with patrons, painters, and purveyors of the arts.

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Coloring our world, artists turn increasingly to shades of green

By Beth Farnstrom

"Sun, Moon, Star" features "OMPHALOS," a stoneware sculpture which burns incense to project a wavering image of the full moon onto a painting of stars suspended from the ceiling.

Living close to the earth didn’t always signify being hip, modern, and eco-friendly. Bugs live close to the earth. In earlier times, serfs wearing rough-sewn smocks colored with bilious vegetable dye lived barely a notch above it, on straw pallets. Today, eco is chic. There are vegan suede stilettos for sale; Salma Hayek and Cameron Diaz zip around the Hills in sexy little hybrid roadsters. These, however, are the habits of a telegenic few, and can’t really be expected to completely pervade the shopping habits of WalMart moms and Home Depot dads. Or even artists, to bring this column back to the point. What’s the state, then, of eco-art?

Pigment was once as precious (and as symbolic) as gold. Specific tinctures of lapis added value to papal commissions; painting could be a literal “show” of status. Making artwork, then, with twigs and cow urine, wouldn’t signify “environmentally conscious” or “close to the earth, spiritually” as much as “crazy peasant.” In our century, Italian art critic Germano Celant introduced the term “Arte Povera,” or “poor art,” to describe the work of artists like Domenico de Clario and Alighiero e Boetti, who used sticks, rocks, slate, rope, iron, and other “common” materials. The draw in 1960s Genoa and Rome was more likely political – common art for the common man – but it certainly paved the way for artists who use natural materials today.

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The red vinyl of New York City is blue serge in Washington; regimes in artistic expression change more subtly and quietly here

By Beth Farnstorm

Holly Bass in "Diary of a Baby Diva"

It’s a new year. Out with the old, sure; but let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater in 2008 (Wasn’that a performance art piece at Decatur Blue back in 2001?). In art, that’s nearly impossible; that particular “baby’s” bath of self-referential murk and brine doubles as its life-giving amniotic fluid. In plain English, an artist’s influences and personal experience are so densely layered that separating original idea from borrowed is like sifting the Aegean Stables for one particular horse’s handiwork. Be that as it may, we’d like to talk about the new class. It’s been argued by sage citizens of this transient town that gallery life in Washington has entered a boom period these past few years, and one imagines that credit must be divvyed up between the Class of 2008 and their intrepid fore-artists. Here’s hoping this postmodern pep rally pays adequate tribute to the big Friday night game as we venture stoically (pom-poms raised) onto Washington’s artistic playing field. WL spoke to a select group of emerging - and established - talent about creating art in the District.

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