We decided to conduct an experiment. We asked artists to take a gamble and offer up their work for a raffle during the Hyattsville Arts Festival on this past May 22nd. We had a ton of foot traffic and a great deal of attention last year, so we figured this was an opportunity to take advantage and develop a different way to sell art.
Kevin Mellema stepped up to the plate and brought a few drawings by my place that were previously on display in the Lee Art Center. Kevin’s work “Ponytail #3″ pictured below really spoke to me, and he agreed to offer it for a raffle. One extremely lucky art lover was going to get an amazing deal!
Ponytail #3
The raffle idea is a bit unusual since it fights the traditional affluent art buying mentality. It’s still an expensive work of art, but one lucky collector will get the work through funding developed by the masses, not the individual wallet. We had to protect the artist with a minimum. It would be a travesty if the gamble failed and he only received pocket change for his work. The project was successful, and we sold enough tickets to pick a winner.
At the close of the day, Amy and I tossed all of the tickets into a pitcher, shook them up, and then she picked one at random! There was no bias! (see the video below!) Kevin and I are both quite pleased that the winner is an artist and an art lover. Which means it will go to a loving home where it will get the respect it deserves.
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.
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!
The artdc Gallery has entered a new realm with this show. Grayson is a tremendous Maryland area artist with an eye for creativity and roots in metal work and sculpture. Artists curating art shows create a unique view outside of the traditional. He’s selected artists with new applications to traditional and non-traditional materials. Stop by and witness work that steps far outside the usual area art show. We often struggle to find superlatives with impact. Here, words, even superlatives, can not produce enough praise for the quality of work in this exhibition.
The opening reception will be April 10th, a Saturday, from 6-9 pm. The show consists of numerous Maryland artists’ works of a larger size and varying mediums; sculpture, painting, drawing, instalation and mixed media. There will be beverages, snacks and great art! Please come and support Maryland artists and the rising Hyattsville Arts District. The show will be held at artdc on Route 1 in Hyatysville, MD.
Participating Artists;
Caroline Battle, Michael Booker, Felicia Glidden, Peter Gordon, Grayson Heck, Jeff Martin, Sarah Martin, Audrey Sackner-Bernstein, Timothy Thompson, Alexandra Radocchia Zealand, and Jesse Cohen.
Check out some install pics shot by Alexandra Zealand:
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.”
“Art is an addiction. There’s a compulsive need to create and express your self. It’s sweet and painful at the same time. Art is Junk. People think they can control it, do it just once in a while, but that’s just a lie created by one’s own arrogance. Art is all consuming. There’s no such thing as a part time artist. There are those who make a living, and those who don’t, be we think about it 100% of the time whether it’s our bread winner or not. When I’m not making art, I’m thinking about what I’m going to create next, and if I’m not doing that, I’m suffering from the lack of inspiration, and completely aware of it at that moment. It’s an addiction, full of love, pain, and tolerance for the lack of freedom to do what you want as you’re fighting to survive, learn a new technique, or find that next moment of joy that are few and far between. Art takes arrogance and the need to learn, practice, steal, mimic, progress, and create new ideas.”
Just in time for the show’s closing, BRASH dropped off the first run of Lustrous chapbooks at the artdc Gallery in the LUSTine center. They’re already selling, so get your order in if you want one. It’s a different approach that the usual postings done in the past at places like Artomatic and the ZIP Code show in that the poems are compiled in one place, so you can have a take-home collection that spans the entire show. An added twist (from BRASH’s much twisted sensibilities) is that the poems are not directly attributed to the work that inspired them. (There’s also a poem in there about the trash can at the LUSTine center–that’s assuredly not about any of the art!, as well as a small tribute to the wild weather of February 2010 and an examination of Olympic Ice Dancing as a metaphor for love.) I’m told that this is so you the artist can decide which one goes with your work, and then explain why by writing to BRASH@bust.com. The books, put together in an interesting 3 panel way, have identical poetry in each copy, but are compiled randomly, so that different books juxtapose different poems. There are almost 100 poems for the low price of $13, five of which goes to support ArtDC ventures. I’m also told that because the formatted file of the poems was lost right after printing the first draft copy, these early runs will include all the errors and errata that make early runs so much more valuable! So get your copy now!
We must send out our thanks to the benefactor again! We posted previously about the benefactor here where they showed their artdc support with the gift of a silver “I love artdc” piggy bank filled with monopoly money and the hopes that it may draw more community support. Shortly after our Valentines Day opening for the “Lust…” show, Alex from EYA dropped off a package that they received for us. It was another benefactor gift with the idea of using Candy as a fund raiser! We want to send out our Overdue Thanks.
We’re so pleased that there’s a Secret individual out there wishing us support and great hopes for the future. It takes a lot of energy to step out and do something. We’re glad the benefactor did.
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 8th – March 3rd 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.
