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The reception for coverage was a flawless event.  Packed with art lovers and collectors, we were proud to bring the work of 3 amazing artists to the public.  Sam, a mad man, walked 6.2 miles through the sweltering heat pulling a self built cart the thursday before the reception collecting found objects creating a display of the environment connecting his home to the gallery.  A projection documenting the event connected the public to his performance experience.

Megan has installed an display of mixed media assemblages with grace and texture while Sabeth has produced a fine installation of linotypes.  Works are selling, and there was an air that the economy might be returning the DC area with a great increase of excitement and interest in art collecting.  View the walkthrough below which was shot at the beginning of the reception, and drop us a line if you’re interested in setting up an appointment to view the work.  Plan to come to the artist lecture on the 24th 6 to 8pm.

View more videos from the artdc Gallery at vimeo.com/artdc

artdc Gallery Presents:
Sabeth Jackson, Megan Mueller, &  Samuel Scharf
July 17, 2010 – August 14, 2010
Opening Reception: July 17, 2010 – 6pm – 8pm
Artist Lecture: July 24, 2010 – 6pm – 8pm

artdc Gallery presents a group exhibition of works that explore coverage with relationship to the body, geog raphy, and memory. Accumulating gestures and layers, while referencing the passage of time, these artists present works of sculpture, painting, printmaking and drawing. Sabeth Jackson’s work chronicles domestic themes and uses archetypal and culturally charged imagery to communicate emotions and stories. Megan Mueller finds inspiration in the architecture of tents and the lifestyles of the transient to investigate the idea of permission. Samuel Scharf explores the physicality of movement, collection and deconstruction.

Sabeth Jackson is a printmaker, painter and artisan. Sabeth studied art at Mesa State College in Colorado and at the University of Oregon. Her work has been exhibited nationally, most recently at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Silver Spring and the Hillyer Art Space in Washington, D.C.

Megan Mueller holds a BA in Political Science from George Washington University and a BFA in Sculp ture from Virginia Commonwealth University. Mueller has exhibited her work nationally, most recently at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, and the Lexington Art League.

Samuel Scharf attended Rollins College, graduating with a BFA in studio arts. He has shown around the DC metro area at Artdc in Hyattesville Maryland, SU Downtown in Shenandoah Virginia, and the Axis Alley project of Baltimore Maryland. Sam will begin his MFA in Sculpture at American University in Washington D.C. this fall.

“Don’t Feed The Art…” opened well with solid attention and excitement for kinetic art.  This show allows patrons to interact with the work.  Entering the show, you are forced to walk through Zac Jackson’s work.  You’re surrounded by their questioning faces, your left not knowing what they are trying to say, like a slow silent scream.

As you walk in, you’re confronted by Grayson Heck’s tweaking bug that flashes with excitement.  The kinetic nature of Christian’s inflatable work along with the energy and size of Sarah Martin, and Peter Gordon’s works on paper and canvas create impact.    Every work in this show is a tremendous representation of these artist’s creativity and insight into the future of our art scene.  Come, support Maryland area artists.  Support UMD’s artists by increasing your collection with some wonderful works of art from Maryland artists.!

Checkout this snapshot of Peter Gordon’s installation “Smart Grid” 576 growing cups, plastic trays, soil, telephone and power cords and plugs.  He’s obsessed with the future of the over production of obsolescent technology.

Peter Gordon’s “Smart Grid”

Take a look at this walkthrough of “DFTA…” Check back for details on the closing reception on July 9th, 2010.

artdc Gallery
5710 Baltimore Ave.
Hyattsville, MD 20781
Dates: June 5^th to July 10^th 2010

Reception: Friday June 18^th 7:30 to 10pm

View the gallery preview below:

Don’t feed the art, because it may bite!  Don’t feed the art (DFTA) explores the boundaries of movement in art.  Motion in sculpture is often perceived without existing.  DFTA jumps out with energy and electricity while it sings to you with noise and calamity.  DFTA encompasses a wide range of techniques that are powered by motors and the viewer, creating motion, which ranges from random physical movements to very defined circles.

Christian Benefiel joins an artdc exhibition for the first time.  He’s developed a unique series of wind powered inflatable kinetic sculptures.   While many of his works are directly attached to hose or pump, this sculpture is free standing removed from the blower.  His work occupys space in such a uniuqe way.  You must see it!

Zac Jackson’s disembodied faces moved by servos taunt you with faces reminiscent to fear, pain, and orgasm which grab your attention as the grind, rattle, and shutter.

Peter Gordon, who you may know for the microwave project, the G-40 exhibition, and artdc’s Big,  knocks us out again with installations that make us ask questions, and 2d work that he’s completed with mastery.

Grayson Heck has built an assembly of parts which crank, buz, flap, blink and jitter with an intensity reminiscent of a few too many caps of Adderall.  While his bug taunts you with a winged seizure like activity,  you can play his found metal based art organ.   He’ll give you a demonstration.  It’s mechanized performance art in action.

In a room overflowing with tweaker like energy, Sarah Martin’s paintings jump out and grab your attention with calming power.  With the combination of the size, content, abstraction and technique  she’s managed to create several gigantic 6 foot x 6 foot works of art which convey her abstracted portraits and figures.

Come experience this show.  Come with your checkbook or Visa.  Buy work from all of these artists while we still can.  Collect their work before we can no longer afford it!  We say this often, but we mean it more and more with each show as they grow with quality and energy.

Artist Links:
Zac Jackson
www.zacjackson.com

Christian Benefiel
www.christianbenefiel.com

Grayson Heck
www.graysonheckart.weebly.com

Peter  Gordon
www.petergordonart.com

Sarah Martin

We are exceedingly excited to announce our May 12×12 exhibition.  This is our 2nd Annual 12×12 exhibition.  Last year this show had the highest foot traffic for the entire year.  The energy will be at a maximum as our space will be filled with the fuel of creative energy, packed to the brim with great art.

This artist powered gallery fundraiser will show over 100 works of art by over 65 artists.  All works in the show are under 1 square foot.  The 12×12 2d work is augmented by a few 12x12x12 or smaller sculptures.

The $300 price cap and show’s proximity to the Hyattsville Art Festival will add to the frenzy of attention and art collection!  www.hyattsvillearts.com

The show is located at The artdc Gallery, which represents primarily Washington, DC area artists.

We’ll have a soft opening reception to coincide with other neighborhood related events on May 8, 2010 from 7 to 9pm, while the main Artist’s reception will occur on the day of the Festival from 10am to 6pm on Saturday, May 22nd.  The art will hang from May 1st to June 5th.  Appointments can be scheduled here.

Find the address here.

Check out a preview of the show.  These images were snapshots taken shortly after the install.

The Artists Include but are not limited to:

Michael Auger
Elizabeth Baldwin
Michael Bivens
Christopher Brady
Stephen Spencer Boocks
Danielle Brown
Mary Cook
Caroline D Buddensick
Ismael Carrillo
Mei Mei Chang
Anne   Cherubim-Sundaram
Rob Chester
Ann Marie Coolick
Jennifer Cox
Brett Davis
Jennifer A Deskins
Dana Ellyn
Rita L Elsner
Paul T Farley
Elisabeth C Formant
Robert J Fox
Ricardo Garcia
Todd A Gardner
Ruoyi Gao
Janis E Garland
Laura F Geissel
Eric M Ginsburg
Peter Gordon
John N Grunwell
Gregory Gutierrez
Jessica B. Hensley
Jeannette Herrera
Dale R Hunt
Amy M. Jackson
Fareeha Khawaja
Phyllis D. Klein
Angela Kleis
Anita H Knight
Joanna Knox
Michele Late
Zofie Lang
Matt MacIntire
Matthew Malone
Lillian Mattiaccio
Alex Mayer
Heather Miller
Allison E Nance
Alyson Melissa Olander
Anthony D Palliparambil Jr.
Kelly Perl
Kevin Peshkopia
Dave Peterson
Lydia Prentiss
Thien-Kim Pham
SaRa Prigan
Alan Rich
Lisa K Rosenstein
Laura Rotondo
Fabian H Rios Rubino
Rahul Saha
Fernando Sandoval
Samuel D Scharf
Heather M Schmaedeke
Matt Sesow
Paul W. Sharratt
Amy Carmichael Smith
Soline Krug
Grace Toulotte
Roy n Utley
Mollie Wolfe
Alexandra Zealand
and more..

On April 10th, we had our opening reception for the Grayson’s View exhibition. Personally, we loved the art, and knew it would be a smash, but we had no idea of the level of attention that we would receive. The gallery was filled at capacity for the extent of the night, the band played on, and the patrons stayed to discuss the art! We were pleased with the mix of interesting and important visitors from UMD professors, George Koch of artomatic, art collectors and gallery directors..

With tremendous excitement we watched patrons spend time with the work, discuss it, and then talk with the artists. There was real interaction with the work which is the way it should be!

View a video snapshot of the reception here:

In the pictorial below, check out this spectacular building shot as Grayson and I adjust the lighting and final touches before the opening.  See the size of this work all perfectly laid out in a 500 square foot room!  This show does have large art with individual pieces expanding beyond 5ft!

The lay out of the show is topnotch, and the first work I notice entering the space from the street is Felicia Glidden’s “Duet.”  We really wanted to find a way to develop a transition between the main gallery room and the smaller studio gallery.  While Caroline Battle’s work expanded between several movable walls which was a new approach for us, we needed something to bring the separate rooms together.

Timothy Thompson’s installation  ”Pariguayo” accomplished the task.  Space transitions have been a difficult task and for the first time, this-site specific work has really allowed the 2 rooms to work well together!  To the right, Audrey Sackner-Bernstein’s mixed media archival print / painting works light up our moveable walls, while Peter Gordon’s battle with obsolescent technology made us ask questions.  The installations result in humor and serious future anxiety at the same time.

While curating the show, Grayson and I were talking about Peter’s work, and I couldn’t get Alexandra Zealand’s coffee filter works out of my head. So we invited her to join the show. There’s a connection between the repetitive material nature of their works. One filter or phone line isn’t enough. They hammer the idea in and create a new work out of old materials with a furious energy.  As we move through this gallery process, I become more and more excited about site-specific work, and how they can change from space to space. Lexi’s work is a great example of that, since her filter works were created for her past exhibition at the Delaplaine in Fredrick, MD where they lived as wall installations.  Here, we worked together to fly them with fishing line. During the show they would move and float with the air current.

Don’t let me stop here. Let’s take a look at Michael Booker’s work which is both a painting and site-specific as it’s drywall backing deteriorates and crumbles. The painting erodes and dies and it lives out it’s life from studio to gallery to gallery. I love work with a lifespan to it. I was simply blown away by Sarah Martin’s 6 ft square canvas work. Not only does the work, technique, and composition suit the work, it fits the space. It’s as if this painting was created to work with our gallery. A lucky collector needs to buy this work. We all know it’s difficult to sell large work, but this painting, “Untitled (circa 1973)” is worth the price tag. Buy it now, before it leaves the gallery!

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We are blown away by the positive attendance to our Censored show.  Thank you to those who stayed, and thanks to those who really looked at, and talked about it.  With the mass local openings at the Design Studio Art Gallery, Violetta Markelou, and Cheryl Edward’s spaces, the energy was hopping.  With 4 galleries marketing an opening, we’ve really developed some attention.  I look forward to the next area group project.  We’re creating a destination, and it’s working!  Pics to follow…

Please join us for the opening of “Censored”, a show sponsored by artDC. “Censored” will be held at the artDC gallery in Hyattsville, MD. The opening will be Saturday, March 13th from 6pm to 9pm. Light refreshments will be served.

“Our theme, “Censored” is in response to the typical thought process that nudity is taboo. Our intention is to poke fun at the long-running practice of moral and societal censorship of art by covering the genitalia in each work with post-it notes. Visitors will be encouraged to take a sneak peek of what’s going on underneath the notes. The artists in this month’s show were specially chosen for their work in fine art nudes and erotica. The artists are Billy Monday, Chris Brady, Jerry Harke, Jesse Cohen, Kollin Bliss, Michael Woodward, Rahul Saha, Raju Singh, and Renee Woodward.”

Facebook invite here.
artdc.org discussion here.

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Reception: February 14^th, 2010 1 to 5pm

HYATTSVILLE, MD– artdc Gallery, Design Studio Art Gallery, and Cheryl Edwards Studio will host this exhibit. An opening reception will be held on Sunday, February 14, 2010 from 1-5pm. The exhibit will run from February 8^th – March 3^rd 2010.

In collaboration with multiple Arts District galleries, we will work to create a movement in celebration of that wonderful time full of love.  You know the day–February 14th!  V-day.  We will be developing a semi-all inclusive show that will be curated in one space, and then split between galleries.   This movement goes beyond space limitations and activates the neighborhood through multiple gallery collaborations.

Saint Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14.  There’s an energy which drives us to fall in love. Philosophers, scientists, and artists study it.  Lust is an intense craving for one’s lover and has been a tremendous force in the creation of art and spirit.  Lust is joyful and painful at the same time.

Dante compared it to the sweeping force of a whirlwind with no hope of escape to cleanse your soul and purge your minds from desire.  Lust controls many of us with muscle truck unstoppable force!  We are exploring lustful creativity with a tremendous, ground-breaking show which crosses individual gallery barriers.  As a group, each gallery director will assist in curating the show. We will then divide the work between our spaces.  Lust will create a movement for the month of February!

The art will range from publicly accessible art PG-13 to much spicier concepts! This is not an erotic art show.  We need to explore this unstoppable whirlwind of fear, need, anxiety, love, and desire.  Lust and love move deeper than sex, it’s power.

The artdc Gallery in the Lustine Center (appropriate name for the show!)

The Design Studio Art Gallery

Andrea Waldron Bates’ photo of the Lustine Center sign in celebration of the show.

Gallery Websites:
www.artdc.com
www.designstudioartgallery.com
www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/cheryl-edwards.html

Addresses of Participating Galleries:
artdc Gallery:   5710 Baltimore Ave, Hyattsville, MD 20781
Design Studio Art Gallery: 5702 Baltimore Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 20781
Cheryl Edwards Studio:   4303 Rhode Island Ave, Studio 215 Brentwood, MD 20722

View the call for artists here.

February is going to be an amazing month.  We are doing something bright and wild.  We will be collaborating with 2 other independent galleries to create a month long movement in the celebration of that wonderful time full of love.  You know the day.  February 14th!  V-day.  We will be developing a semi-all inclusive show that will be curated in one space, and then split between 3 galleries.  The fun will be finding your work.

Saint Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14.  Lovers express their emotions by sending gifts, cards, and themselves.  There’s an energy which drives us to fall in love, philosophers, scientists, and artists all study it.  Lust is an intense craving for their lover and has been a tremendous force in the development of art and the creative spirit.  Lust is joyful and painful at the same time.  Donte compaired it to being continuously swept around in a whirlwind where they cannot cleanse their soul and will never purge their minds from their desire.  Lust controls many of us with muscle truck unstoppable force!  With that in mind we would like to explore our lustful creativity with a tremendous ground breaking show which crosses the barrier into multiple galleries.  As a group, each gallery director will curate the show as a group, and we will divide the work between our spaces as a whole exhibit!  Lust will create a movement for the month of February in the DC area!

We will be looking for a wide variety of art ranging from publicly accessible art PG-13 and below to much spicier concepts! This is not an errotic art show, and Strictly adult themed images or pornography will not be accepted since we really want to explore this unstoppable whirlwind of fear, need, anxiety and desire.  Lust moves much deeper than sex, it’s power.  We want to see a wide range of work from the science behind love to those gentle images of lovers holding hands to heat and desire to related abstraction.  We reserve the right to curate the show to keep art related to the theme and to deny work that doesn’t meet our requirements.  The Jury members will be Cheryl Edwards, Erica Riggio, and Jesse Cohen.
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