artdc.com » Space

Cleanup!

Jesse — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:06:57 +0000

Yes! It’s that time again! Gallery cleanup. We de-installed the ’10 12×12 show, several artists artists in the show helped take down the work and organize it for pickup. Then Grayson and I started the process of bringing the gallery back to life. We filled holes, sanded, cleaned up previous drips, stripped the wall plates, tapped what we couldn’t remove, and started to roll paint. I must say this time around, it looks clean, the room itself is a great canvas for our next show!

Here’s Grayson Heck sitting at the desk we set up to sort the work that sold and make room for other artists to sign out work that didn’t sell. Collectors purchased 2 of David’s glass rockets, we asked him to bring more, we sold a 3rd, the on on the desk was the only one left! This show was quite successful and we look forward to doing it again next year.

We can see Zofie Lang, Kelly Perl, and a few other artists help us de-install the 2-d work on the walls.

To me, these perfectly clean walls are beauty. See the moveable walls with fresh paint on all 4 surfaces! A simple wonderful surface ready to display new work. There’s something extremely pleasing to see these walls ready to go; most likely it’s the excitement about the exhibition to come.

Here’s a second image of the left side of the gallery. Prepped, painted, and ready to hang! The next show is going to be a knockout! For a sneak preview, the title is, “Don’t feed the art…”

20781 Gallery / Studio

Jesse — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:43:49 +0000

We’re pleased to be in MD as the artdc Gallery in Hyattsville. The space is a little over 950 square feet or so. 500 is set up as an art gallery, and the rest is a studio and storage room. The space is unique with a lot of auto showroom memorabilia. The gallery is curated by Fine Art Ventures, LLC, and the studio is used by resident artists like an art gym. It’s a group studio where several artists share the same space keeping it active and affordable. Every time we visit the studio and gallery, it evokes a sense of awe. The fact that we’re in this amazing space is so exciting. Look at these windows!

(check out the amazing tall windows, can you imagine painting in this kind of light?)

(Here we can see the original entrance to the space when it was a show room. See the yellow tiled arrow. Yes. Yes. I know, why not show the actual walls where the art is hung? We haven’t had the opening reception for “Pinned.” yet, so we can’t give it all away!)

Then we have the studio space which is gorgeous, clean, and full of great work space. It’s exciting to see artists active here!

(see Adam Eig’s Steel Gazelle Sculpture as inspiration!)

Look at this space, just screaming to be occupied by mass creative force! We plan on filling the space with more benches, and acquireing some group use equipment! I look forward to seeing what’s next!

Installation, auction, & more

Jesse — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:17:48 +0000

We met at the gallery in the morning to finish the install of “Pinned.” The final details included the addition of number pins to correspond with the price list. Here’s a quick preview of works by Antoinette and Ceci:

Antoinette Wysocki
Title: “MMMme”
Price: $1600

Ceci Cole McInturff

Note the number pins. It took some real research to find these amazing little number pins. We’ve had quite a few discussions on the subject; to label or to number. Often the discussion leads to the question do we want to feed the viewer information as they look at the work, or do we want them to expereince the art first? Personally, we think it’s extremely important to let the viewer expereince the art on it’s own, free from attachment to the artist’s name, title, or statement, then make it information available through the price list or statement binder. Several guest curators have thought the opposite, and did not want to make the viewers work by flipping through a the price list. We look forward to more discussion on the subject.

Around 1pm we left the gallery for lunch. Around 3:30pm, Amy and I left to make Cheryl Edward’s Art Auction Benifit for Gonzaga‘s basketball team at Lavinia Wohlfarth‘s gallery. I donated two photographs to aid the cause, and we figured we’d get there early to help, however, Cheryl’s team was so organized, there was nothing to do, so a small group went to restaraunt across the street for an early dinner.

(Photo of the crowd at the auction)

The event was a success, they were able to raise a good chunk of cash and move a significant amount of art. As far as I know, this is Cheryl’s 3rd auction that she’s planned. One for MOCA, one for the development of our gallery space, and now this event. With each event, the expereince keeps improving.

(Cheryl and Vinni working discussing the details in Cheryl’s painting of the team. #52 is her son!)

The painting sold and the price was split by two collectors who then donated the work to the school since they thought it was only appropriate that they should own this painting of their team in action. We left for the night with a positive feeling. I’ve always that that altruism in art donation is limited since you feel good knowing you’ve helped out a good cause. Both of my photos sold, and that means a lot!

DC area studios?

Jesse — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:24:34 +0000

We’d love to improve our comprehensive list of Washington, DC area studios. Find our art studio list here: artdc.com/other-dc-studios . If you’d like to add a link, or tell us about a Washington, DC area group studio that we missed, please let us know.

Why do you need a studio.

Jesse — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:59:45 +0000

This is a topic that is of interest to many artists. Why do you need a studio, and how do you define what a studio is? Often it’s obvious, a place to work, a place to develop the apropriate mindset. A studio can really aid your artistic concentration when you enter to the studio. We have a great discussion going about the subject, on artdc.org. We would love to hear more about your studio needs and what they mean to you. Please comment here or reply to the post linked above.

Studio Space Available.

Jesse — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:29:05 +0000

We just got word that a wonderful space is available in Gabriel Thy’s studio at 52 Ost. Not only is he an amazing artist to share a space with, but his space is unreal. The place even has a dedicated separate varnishing room. Kitchen. Bath. 1500 square feet and all the things that an art studio should be. I get excited just thinking about it. It should be yours too.

Find details and contact through artdc.org here:
http://artdc.org/forum/index.php?topic=10673.0

the side of the Ost building

Why is art space important?

Jesse — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:17:08 +0000

Often, there are many restrictions on creativity, directly related to space. If you’re a painter, in the best situation, you’ll have to pull out drop cloths, set up your equipment, pallets, and go. By then you may have lost an idea or some inspiration. Then you have to clean up, pack up, and hope that your day to day life doesn’t have a negative impact on how the paintings dry. In a studio, you walk in the door, and there’s energy, you’re ready to work. When you’re done, you cover up your work, and walk. When you return, it’s as you left it. With many art forms it’s the same. It’s so incredibly important to have a space dedicated to your work with the equipment you need, and nothing holding you back. No one complaining that your halochrome is stinking your living space up, or that we all go out to dinner smelling like linseed oil. It’s privilege to work in an environment set up for art.

You can read more about the need for space here.

Welcome to artdc.com

Jesse — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:29:26 +0000

This site will soon grow to be a larger resource for the ideas and developments with in an art studio in NE Washington, DC on NY ave. The studio lives in 411 NY Ave with a number of other art and wood working studios. The building also inhabits other art related business like General Type.

We’re pleased to be there. It’s tough to find good art friendly space in Washington, DC. We’ve grown and housed several excellent artists. Our space limited, as there is only room for 5 artists, but we’re excited to use that space to foster creativity and allow our community to grow.

Currently we have painters, wood workers, mixed media artists and a photographer. Details to follow soon.