The Patrons’ Show Fundraiser is this Sunday, February 14! It all starts at 4:00 pm, though you can take your seat as early at 3:00 pm. Here’s everything you need to know:
How to Join In
There are still some tickets left at the time of this blog post!
Even if you can’t come on Sunday, you can join the fun with the First Choice Raffle Ticket, on sale in the Gallery. See below for details!
Making Your List
Because 600+ pieces is a lot to keep track of, we’ve posted a number of tools to help you make your lists. For the most up-to-date versions of these downloads, visit our Patrons’ Show Fundraiser homepage.
Who gets the very first pick on Sunday? The winner of the First Choice Raffle! Buy one raffle ticket for $15 or two for $25 and you could win that piece you’ve been eyeing …
Tickets are available for sale in the Gallery right up until the drawing on Sunday. You don’t need to have a Patrons’ Show ticket to purchase a raffle ticket.
Cast Your Vote
Stop by the Gallery desk to pick up a ballot and vote for your favorite piece in the Patrons’ Show. The artist whose piece wins the popular vote takes home $100!
Gallery Hours This Weekend
Thursday: 10:00 am–9:00 pm
Friday: 10:00 am–6:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am–6:00 pm
Sunday: 10:00 am–4:00 pm
Valentine’s Weekend in Old Town
SOUPer Saturday: Saturday, February 13
Torpedo Factory Art Center, 9:00 am–12:00 noon
For $20 this SOUPer Saturday, purchase an handmade ceramic bowl and receive a cup of clam chowder donated by our neighbor, the Chart House. All bowls have been generously created and donated by Torpedo Factory artists, and proceeds benefit United Community Ministries, a Route 1 corridor social-service agency serving Alexandria and Fairfax.
Scope Gallery Raffle Torpedo Factory Art Center, Studio 19
Scope Gallery and the Kiln Club are raffling off a handmade raku vase, and all Patrons’ Show ticketholders can receive one free ticket by coming to the gallery. See Scope Gallery for details.
Remember:
Bring your ticket (you need it to check out with your artwork and it notes your seating area)
The drawing starts promptly at 4:00 pm. We recommend arriving around 3:00 pm. This is when the chairs will begin to be distributed.
Please be respectful of the limited space and be kind to your neighbors. After all, it is Valentine’s Day!
Deadline: February 12. Pyramid Atlantic Art Center (Silver Spring, MD) is currently seeking proposals from artists & curators for their first Annual Pop-Up Exhibition for the month of March 2016.
Photography competition
Deadline: February 29. The Allegany Arts Council is pleased to announce the call for entries into the Allegany National Photography Competition and Exhibition, to be held at the Saville and Schwab Galleries in downtown Cumberland, Maryland through the entire month of April 2016.
Brooklyn residency
Deadline: February 29. Wayfarers in Brooklyn, NY is now accepting applications for their Summer Artist in Residency Program. The program awards one artist the opportunity to develop a body of work in the supportive environment of Wayfarers, where ten other working artists have studios.
Solo shows
Deadline: March 7. Arlington Arts Center is accepting submissions for their 2016–17 Solo Exhibitions. Artists who produce cutting-edge contemporary art in any and all media, and who live or work in Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, or Pennsylvania may submit exhibition proposals.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Plein air competition
Deadline: February 14. The 8th Annual Mountain Maryland Plein Air event, June 11, is a juried exhibition and art competition organized by the Allegany Arts Council. Artists have two hours to paint and compete for cash prizes.
March150
Entry: Through February 15 (panels may run out earlier). Target Gallery (in the Torpedo Factory) is raising money for special exhibitions and programming with the 6th Annual Exhibition Fundraiser, March150! The exhibition includes 200+ pieces of original artwork on 10″ square panels created by local and regional artists.
Emulsion 2016
Deadline: February 15. The third annual Emulsion juried show at East City Art is open to all 18 and over within 50 miles of East City Art in SE DC.
Wearable art
Deadline: February 15. For “Any Portmanteau in a Storm” (Norfolk, VA), artists are invited to submit any wearable art created using unusual techniques or processes.
Food art
Deadline: February 16. This March, Capitol Hill Art League hosts its annual DC-metro area Open Call juried art exhibit based on the theme Appetite for Art. 2-D and 3-D work will be accepted.
Del Ray Artisans
Deadline: February 20. March Melee – An Art Bash at Del Ray Artisans is an opportunity to submit your best and brashest art — big or small.
Deadline: March 19. Artists are invited to submit original, two-dimensional photographic images for Surrealism at Del Ray Artisans.
Painting award
Deadline: February 19. The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites eligible artists to enter the Bethesda Painting Awards. Artists must be 18 years of age or older and permanent, full-time residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, DC.
National exhibition
Deadline: February 23. The Academy Center of the Arts (Lynchburg, VA) Annual National Juried Art Exhibition is open to U.S. residents, 18 years or older, working in the following disciplines; painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, fiber, glass, ceramics, wood, metal and mixed media. No photography accepted.
Photography exhibit
Deadline: February 24. The Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO has issued a call for artists for Night, juried by Sean Corcoran.
I Eat Therefore I Am
Deadline: February 29. “I Eat Therefore I Am” will be at Sipma Contemporary in Trenton, NJ. Artists are invited to express their take on food, body image, need, nourishment, obsession, and compulsion, anything that pertains to the human condition in question.
Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship
Deadline: March 1. The 9th annual open call for the Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship is now open. Advancing the professional development of emerging visual artists, the two-year program serves as a steppingstone for the next generation of contemporary artists in Washington, DC.
Road Trip
Deadline: March 15. Gallery Underground announces “Road Trip,” a national juried art competition. All-media artists, sculptors, and photographers are invited to create visual works that portray the subject of a road trip – literally, figuratively, and metaphorically.
Delaplaine juried exhibit
Deadline: March 15. The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center in Frederick, MD, announces a call for entry. All media are eligible. Artwork for exhibition must have been completed in last 2 years and not previously exhibited at the Delaplaine. More about the 2016 National Juried Exhibit →
Virginia artists
Deadline: March 16 (early bird February 16). Art Speaks on the Bay is held in Mathews, VA and is open to all Virginia artists age 18 and up.
City of Fairfax
Deadline: March 17. The City of Fairfax has two events for artists later this year: the Fall Festivaland the Holiday Craft Show.
Philadelphia craft show
Deadline: April 1. The 40th Annual Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, a juried exhibition and retail sale, will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from November 10 to 13, 2016, with a Preview Party on November 9. The jury will accept 195 craft artists.
Alper Initiative
Deadline: none. The Alper Initiative for Washington Art accepts general exhibition submissions from Washington area artists and curators of all ages, medium, and backgrounds.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: ongoing. Artspace in Richmond, VA has an exhibition season running from January to December. The Exhibition Committee reviews proposals throughout the year. Proposals may be submitted at any time. Proposers will be notified whether they have been placed on the exhibition calendar for the coming year.
Who gets to choose first this Sunday at the Patrons’ Show?
The winner of the First Choice Raffle!
Buy one raffle ticket for $15 or two for $25 and you could win that piece you’ve been eyeing …
Tickets are for sale in the Gallery right up until the drawing on Sunday. You don’t need to have a Patrons’ Show ticket to purchase a raffle ticket (but you do have to have a Patrons’ Show ticket to attend the event).
To purchase your raffle ticket, come to the Gallery (studio 21 in the Torpedo Factory) from 10:00 am–6:00 pm Friday or Saturday, or 10:00 am–4:00 pm Sunday.
Monday, February 8 marks the official start of Looking Forward to Spring — it’s when registration starts for our Spring term of art classes. Take our quiz to find out what class is for you, and then register online!
But wait — there’s more! Monday is also the start of registration for Summer Art Camp for kids five and up.
Spring classes start the week of April 4 or later, and Art Camp runs weekly from June 20 to August 19. As always, if you have any questions or need help picking the class that’s right for you (or your child), give us a call at 703-683-2323.
Art Thief: Get a STEAL at The Art League’s Patrons’ Show
We’re THRILLED to have an amazing app for the 2016 Patrons’ Show Fundraiser. Steve Roberson of Zurka Interactive conceived the idea for Art Thief after participating in the Patrons’ Show as a ticket-holder. He took it upon himself to build and design a wonderfully user-friendly tool for iPhone and iPad to rate, sort, and keep track of all of the artwork before and during the drawing.
Deadline: February 19. The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites eligible artists to enter the Bethesda Painting Awards. Artists must be 18 years of age or older and permanent, full-time residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, DC.
National exhibition
Deadline: February 23. The Academy Center of the Arts (Lynchburg, VA) Annual National Juried Art Exhibition is open to U.S. residents, 18 years or older, working in the following disciplines; painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, fiber, glass, ceramics, wood, metal and mixed media. No photography accepted.
City of Fairfax
Deadline: March 17. The City of Fairfax has two events for artists later this year: the Fall Festival and the Holiday Craft Show.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Fiber arts
Deadline: February 8. Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center in Dowell, MD invites artists to submit works that reflect the best of contemporary fiber and textile art for Threads: A Sampling of Fiber Art.
Plein air competition
Deadline: February 14. The 8th Annual Mountain Maryland Plein Air event, June 11, is a juried exhibition and art competition organized by the Allegany Arts Council. Artists have two hours to paint and compete for cash prizes.
March150
Entry: Through February 15 (panels may run out earlier). Target Gallery (in the Torpedo Factory) is raising money for special exhibitions and programming with the 6th Annual Exhibition Fundraiser, March150! The exhibition includes 200+ pieces of original artwork on 10″ square panels created by local and regional artists.
Emulsion 2016
Deadline: February 15. The third annual Emulsion juried show at East City Art is open to all 18 and over within 50 miles of East City Art in SE DC.
Wearable art
Deadline: February 15. For “Any Portmanteau in a Storm” (Norfolk, VA), artists are invited to submit any wearable art created using unusual techniques or processes.
Food art
Deadline: February 16. This March, Capitol Hill Art League hosts its annual DC-metro area Open Call juried art exhibit based on the theme Appetite for Art. 2-D and 3-D work will be accepted.
Del Ray Artisans
Deadline: February 20. March Melee – An Art Bash at Del Ray Artisans is an opportunity to submit your best and brashest art — big or small.
Deadline: March 19. Artists are invited to submit original, two-dimensional photographic images for Surrealism at Del Ray Artisans.
Photography exhibit
Deadline: February 24. The Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO has issued a call for artists for Night, juried by Sean Corcoran.
I Eat Therefore I Am
Deadline: February 29. “I Eat Therefore I Am” will be at Sipma Contemporary in Trenton, NJ. Artists are invited to express their take on food, body image, need, nourishment, obsession, and compulsion, anything that pertains to the human condition in question.
Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship
Deadline: March 1. The 9th annual open call for the Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship is now open. Advancing the professional development of emerging visual artists, the two-year program serves as a steppingstone for the next generation of contemporary artists in Washington, DC.
Road Trip
Deadline: March 15. Gallery Underground announces “Road Trip,” a national juried art competition. All-media artists, sculptors, and photographers are invited to create visual works that portray the subject of a road trip – literally, figuratively, and metaphorically.
Delaplaine juried exhibit
Deadline: March 15. The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center in Frederick, MD, announces a call for entry. All media are eligible. Artwork for exhibition must have been completed in last 2 years and not previously exhibited at the Delaplaine. More about the 2016 National Juried Exhibit →
Virginia artists
Deadline: March 16 (early bird February 16). Art Speaks on the Bay is held in Mathews, VA and is open to all Virginia artists age 18 and up.
Philadelphia craft show
Deadline: April 1. The 40th Annual Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, a juried exhibition and retail sale, will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from November 10 to 13, 2016, with a Preview Party on November 9. The jury will accept 195 craft artists.
Alper Initiative
Deadline: none. The Alper Initiative for Washington Art accepts general exhibition submissions from Washington area artists and curators of all ages, medium, and backgrounds.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: ongoing. Artspace in Richmond, VA has an exhibition season running from January to December. The Exhibition Committee reviews proposals throughout the year. Proposals may be submitted at any time. Proposers will be notified whether they have been placed on the exhibition calendar for the coming year.
For the latest exhibit in our solo room, each of the 12 girls in the 2015-2016 Space of Her Own (SOHO) Old Town class used a film camera to create a series of portraits and “hairtraits.”
Nakeya Brown, an award-winning photographer who is known for exploring the complexities and politics of African American hair in her own work, introduced the SOHO girls to color photography as a method of self-expression and cultural pride.
Emphasis was placed on providing the girls with valuable lessons about the techniques and aesthetics of photography, while simultaneously creating a space for reflection and critical thinking. The girls were encouraged to work directly with one another to capture portraits and photograph their unique day-to-day “hairtraits.”
Nakeya Brown was born in Santa Maria, CA in 1988. She received her BA in Visual Arts and Journalism & Media Studies from Rutgers University. Her work has been exhibited at the McKenna Museum of African American Art, Woman Made Gallery, Vivid Solutions Gallery, and Mason Gross Gallery. Brown’s work has been reviewed by New York Magazine, The Washington City Paper, African & Afro-Diasporan Art Talks, ForHarriet, and has been published by international publications Hysteria and Tonelit. She is a recipient of the Hortense May Boutell, Richard T. Evans, and Winifred Todd Farah endowments. She is currently pursuing her M.F.A at The George Washington University. Nakeya lives in Washington, DC with her 3-year-old daughter, Mia.
SOHO, a “Space of Her Own,” is an award-winning outreach program that engages at-risk, low-income, fifth-grade girls in a year of personal growth centered on art. This special collaboration between The Art League & the City of Alexandria’s Court Service Unit pairs each girl with an adult, female mentor to participate in art lessons led by Art League artist instructors. Each week, girls & mentors work together to create expressive artwork. These sessions become the catalyst to discuss larger life concerns, decision-making, & emotional issues. At the completion of the program, the teams remodel each of the girls’ bedrooms, incorporating all of their artwork, to truly give each girl a “space of her own.”
Bev Ryan’s workshop Introduction to Encaustic has been on our video wishlist for some time, and this month we finally made it in to her workshop to take a peek!
For one weekend, the jewelry studio becomes a wonderland of color alchemy while students create paintings with encaustic, which is a mixture of beeswax, binder, and pigment. Check out these paintbrushes:
Of course, this video is just a taste of what happens in the two-day workshop. Stay tuned for another demo on charcoal transfers!
“I’d have loved, for instance, if there was a film of Rembrandt, to have seen the order of marks, to have seen the speed of them.” — David Hockney
Rembrandt and other famous artists have invited their share of biopics and post-mortem biographies, but the films below are somewhat different. Living artists invite the camera into their lives to share (or attempt to share) their thoughts and processes. We collected some of the best documentaries about — and starring — working artists, all of which you can watch online.
Keep in mind that even if you don’t subscribe to Amazon Prime or Netflix, you can still purchase or rent many of these titles through Amazon, iTunes, and other sources.
This film functions as a making-of documentary about the MoMA performance of the same name, but it also delves into the artist’s life and career. If performance art interests you, this is a great film to learn more about it.
Filmmaker Bruno Wollheim’s second TV documentary about David Hockney, it aims to provide a glimpse of the famous artist working “near the end” of his career. It’s been years since the film was finished in 2009, and Hockney’s career continues, so perhaps it’s time for a third film, hopefully including some footage of Hockney at work on his iPad.
“All artists talk about process … nobody really talks about full-term process, to the end, to the destruction and to the dissolution of a piece.”
This one is about cardboard artist James Grashow and his over three-year-long quest to build a “fountain” from corrugated cardboard, then watch it dissolve in the rain.
See the photographer at work with her wet plates and large format camera on her Virginia farm. With footage covering five years, the film shares a good deal about Mann’s life and creative process, including her series exploring death (which gives the film its title).
Exactly what the title says — there’s a lot of Gerhard Richter painting and not a lot of him talking, which makes for some very Zen sequences with only the sounds of brushes, squeegees, and the painter’s footsteps. A great chance to see a famous artist at work inside the studio, in a film that’s more about the artist’s process than his personality.
In contrast to Gerhard Richter, Louise Bourgeois has a lot to say and a little less studio time in this film. The sculptor, who died in 2010, and her contemporary artists will give you plenty to think about, and the “Tangerine scene,” a long monologue by Bourgeois, is a must-watch.
This documentary is a photographer’s delight, loaded with interviews and images by street photographers like Joel Meyerowitz, Martha Cooper, and Boogie.
“There’s nothing behind it. It’s just painted in his style.”
Talent, greed, and crime. Wolfgang Beltracchi’s forged paintings made him millions, and now it makes an interesting and though-provoking documentary. You can also see Beltracchi at work on his own, non-forgery paintings.
Have a favorite art documentary to share? Let us know in the comments, below!
The Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO has two open calls for artists:
Landscapes juried by Natasha Egan (deadline January 27)
Night juried by Sean Corcoran (deadline February 24)
March150
Entry: Through February 15 (panels may run out earlier). Target Gallery is raising money for special exhibitions and programming with the 6th Annual Exhibition Fundraiser, March150! The exhibition includes 200+ pieces of original artwork on 10” square panels created by local and regional artists.
Portugal residency
Deadline: February 15. ARTErra is a multidisciplinary artistic residency placed in the green and friendly village of Lobão da Beira.
Del Ray Artisans
Deadline: February 20. March Melee – An Art Bash at Del Ray Artisans is an opportunity to submit your best and brashest art — big or small.
Deadline: March 19. Artists are invited to submit original, two-dimensional photographic images for Surrealism at Del Ray Artisans.
Deadline: January 25. “All to Pieces” is an exhibit at Falls Church Arts devoted to collage.
Photography grants
Deadline: January 31 and March 3. The Alexia Foundation offers production grants to students and professional photographers to give them the financial ability to produce substantial stories that drive change in the effort to make the world a better place. Students also get scholarship opportunities.
Wearable art
Deadline: February 15. For “Any Portmanteau in a Storm,” artists are invited to submit any wearable art created using unusual techniques or processes.
Road Trip
Deadline: March 15. Gallery Underground announces “Road Trip,” a national juried art competition. All-media artists, sculptors, and photographers are invited to create visual works that portray the subject of a road trip – literally, figuratively, and metaphorically.
Plein air competition
Deadline: February 14. The 8th Annual Mountain Maryland Plein Air event, June 11, is a juried exhibition and art competition organized by the Allegany Arts Council. Artists have two hours to paint and compete for cash prizes.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Video fest
Deadline: January 20. The Brentwood Arts Exchange All-Screened Video Fest (PDF) is an open-call feature of short film and video work by regional filmmakers. Presented to the public in a social and appreciative atmosphere, the one-day festival is a showcase of known and unknown talent alike. One artist/filmmaker will be awarded Best in Festival with a $300 prize.
Maker Faire
Deadline: January 23 (early bird January 16). The NoVa Mini Maker Faire is held each spring in Reston, Virginia. Northern Virginia tech enthusiasts, engineers, woodworkers, artists, and craftspeople come together to show what they’re making. Makers who wish to sell work at their booth pay a fee; otherwise participation is free.
Sculpture residency
Deadline: January 25. Artist Residencies at the Carving Studio & Sculpture Center offer sculptors opportunities for inspiration and to create new work in the former marble quarry and manufacturing area of Vermont. Residencies are from one week to three months, featuring artists working in a diverse range of materials and techniques.
Two Torpedo Factory opportunities
Visiting Artist Program deadline: January 29, 2016. Applicants may apply for a 1, 2, 3, or 4-month summer residency at the Torpedo Factory, June through September. More information about the Visiting Artist Program
Annual Jury deadline: January 29, 2016. Each spring the Torpedo Factory Artist Association conducts its annual jury for new Torpedo Factory Artists. More information about the jury process
Fiber arts
Deadline: February 8. Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center in Dowell, MD invites artists to submit works that reflect the best of contemporary fiber and textile art for Threads: A Sampling of Fiber Art.
Emulsion 2016
Deadline: February 15. The third annual Emulsion juried show at East City Art is open to all 18 and over within 50 miles of East City Art in SE DC.
Food art
Deadline: February 16. This March, Capitol Hill Art League hosts its annual DC-metro area Open Call juried art exhibit based on the theme Appetite for Art. 2-D and 3-D work will be accepted.
I Eat Therefore I Am
Deadline: February 29. “I Eat Therefore I Am” will be at Sipma Contemporary in Trenton, NJ. Artists are invited to express their take on food, body image, need, nourishment, obsession, and compulsion, anything that pertains to the human condition in question.
Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship
Deadline: March 1. The 9th annual open call for the Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship is now open. Advancing the professional development of emerging visual artists, the two-year program serves as a steppingstone for the next generation of contemporary artists in Washington, DC.
Delaplaine juried exhibit
Deadline: March 15. The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center in Frederick, MD, announces a call for entry. All media are eligible. Artwork for exhibition must have been completed in last 2 years and not previously exhibited at the Delaplaine. More about the 2016 National Juried Exhibit →
Virginia artists
Deadline: March 16 (early bird February 16). Art Speaks on the Bay is held in Mathews, VA and is open to all Virginia artists age 18 and up.
Philadelphia craft show
Deadline: April 1. The 40th Annual Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, a juried exhibition and retail sale, will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from November 10 to 13, 2016, with a Preview Party on November 9. The jury will accept 195 craft artists.
Alper Initiative
Deadline: none. The Alper Initiative for Washington Art accepts general exhibition submissions from Washington area artists and curators of all ages, medium, and backgrounds.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: ongoing. Artspace in Richmond, VA has an exhibition season running from January to December. The Exhibition Committee reviews proposals throughout the year. Proposals may be submitted at any time. Proposers will be notified whether they have been placed on the exhibition calendar for the coming year.
Walking into the solo room of The Art League Gallery (above) right now is like taking a peek into the future: you can see just a little bit of what our solo artists are bringing to their exhibits this year.
Each of the nine artists in the Solo Preview Exhibit has been working since at least 2014 to craft an exhibit proposal, complete the jurying process, and — most importantly — create the artwork you’ll see hanging here soon. They were selected from the 47 artists who applied that year.
You can see the Solo Preview Exhibit through this Sunday, January 24. See below for the schedule and details on the full exhibits:
Fritz DesRoches kicks off the solo artist schedule with “The Caribbean — How Beautiful.” DesRoches was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in Boston.
Nancy McIntyre’s prints and paintings, presented in “Rhythms of Time,” “treasure the local, the small-scale, the eccentric, the ordinary.” The exhibit gets its name from pieces revisiting the same locations at different times, hours or years apart. You might find it difficult to tell the paintings from the silkscreens; McIntyre’s prints can have over 100 layers.
What better medium than watercolor to explore the beauty of water? “Watermarks” is Alex Tolstoy’s exhibit of drippy, splashy, flowing paintings that show water in abstract and familiar places. Tolstoy was a research scientist in mathematics for over 40 years, specializing in ocean acoustics.
The water theme continues in July with Kathleen Best Gillmann, whose paintings in “Vision at Water’s Edge” depict real-life waterscapes. Gillmann’s love for painting water began in her native state of Maine.
Michael Fischerkeller is a doctor of political science as well as an artist. His subject matter comes straight from the headlines, and his stencils and acrylic spray paint bring the street art aesthetic onto canvas for “Art of Politics.”
Anita Damron’s mosaic “tapestries” draw from material all over the world: crystal from Austria and the Czech Republic, glass from Italy, found objects from various sources, and inspiration from India. For “Transformations: Tapestries in Glass,” the ancient mosaic art form is transformed with reused materials.
Photographer Soomin Ham guides the viewer through her mother’s life, depression, and death in “Sound of a Butterfly.” To create some of the images in the exhibit, Ham rephotographed pigment prints under layers of ice and snow.
Dennis Crayon is a trompe l’œil painter, which is French for “fool the eye” — in other words, the Scotch-tape collages you see above are just illusions. (Please don’t touch.) The paintings in “That Which Was Once Whole” explore memory and history.
Seats: When you buy your tickets, you’ll select your seat(s) on a map. You can choose a section where you’ll have an assigned seat, or a section where seats are first-come first-served (“festival seating”). Either way, you have a guaranteed seat.
Awards: If you’re an artist thinking of donating original artwork for this fundraiser, you’ll want to know about the over $9,000 in awards that are available this year. More about donating artwork →
Tickets and Seating
You will select your preferred seating when you purchase your ticket. This year, you will be able to reserve specific seats within a limited number of sections on the first and second floor. Tickets will be marked indicating your seat reservation. During the event, the floor will be marked, designating each zoned seating area, and seat if applicable. Each ticket-holder will be assigned one seat.
You have the option to buy:
A single ticket for $200 (one work of art and one seat), or
A couple’s ticket for $250 (one work of art and two seats). Couple’s tickets are limited.
Important Dates
Tickets go on sale: Saturday, January 16 at 10:00 am
Artwork on view: February 3–14
Drawing: Sunday, February 14 at 4:00 pm
How Does it Work?
This annual event features 600+ works of original fine art donated by Art League artists, Art League faculty, and Torpedo Factory artists. The number of tickets sold matches the number of works donated.
Prior to the drawing, the show is on view in the Gallery and online, giving ticket-holders an opportunity to study the artwork and note their favorite pieces, so they’ll be prepared to select from the available artwork when their names are drawn.
On the evening of the Patrons’ Show drawing (Sunday, February 14 at 4:00 pm), tickets are randomly drawn and when the name of each ticket-holder is announced, they may select an available work of art from the show.
All proceeds go to benefit The Art League’s educational programming, exhibits, and community outreach programs.
Questions?
See the FAQ on the ticket sales page. If your question isn’t answered there, you can call the Gallery at 703-683-1780.
A big Art League thank you to this year’s Patrons’ Show sponsors: Event Lead Sponsor: Halt, Buzas & Powell, LTD Award Sponsor: The Clemente Family
“Muted” is an exhibit about the visually quiet. For photographer Pete McCutchen, that necessitated a departure from his vibrant, colorful images you might have seen previously at The Art League and in his Torpedo Factory studio.
It also resulted in the Gallery Director Award for his photograph Hope. We asked McCutchen to tell us more about this piece, where it fits in his output, and how he creates images.
What is your creative process like? Do you typically have the final product in mind when you shoot, or does it emerge during editing? Pete McCutchen: My approach is one of radical openness to the possibilities of any particular situation. I try not to go out shooting with the fixed idea of shooting a certain sort of picture, because I find that it gets in the way of seeing what’s there. I try to clear my mind, to be as empty and open as possible. To turn off that critical analytical side and just see.
Have you ever seen a child in a new place, eyes wide, looking around curiously? The child doesn’t know what’s ordinary and mundane, what we’re supposed to ignore. A child might be fascinated by buttons, or by the pattern of a shadow on the wall, stuff that most of us just ignore. A child looks at everything. When shooting, I try to cultivate the child’s openness and sense of wonder. As if I were seeing the world for the first time.
Blinkers by Pete McCutchen (Amelia T. Clemente Best in Show Award, May 2011)
Ansel Adams had this whole idea about pre-visualization. His approach was to see the image in your mind’s eye hanging on the wall of the gallery, and then work backwards from there. I’m the opposite of that; I try to listen to the scene, to photograph it the way it wants to be photographed.
Of course I don’t literally hear voices, but that sense of receptiveness is central to my approach. Greek poets thought they didn’t write their poems, but that the muses were speaking through them. At one level, that seems nonsensical, but I think it’s actually a good metaphor for that sense of relaxed receptiveness that I try to cultivate. I read the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance when I was around 15, and I’ve read it again in every decade of my life since then. I’m not actually a Buddhist, and the book isn’t very accurate on about Buddhism (or motorcycle maintenance), but it’s had a profound influence on my approach to shooting.
I do see the initial image capture as a preliminary step. My goal isn’t to have a RAW file that looks great; my goal is to produce a final product that looks great. I try to expose the images to give myself as much information as possible. For example, with Hope, I actually have a lot of detail in the shadowed right side in the Raw file, but I chose to print it with just enough shadow detail to give it depth and texture. I could have brought it all out, but it would ruin the image.
Arc by Pete McCutchen (Honorable Mention at The Art League, October 2012)
Once the shutter is tripped, I take the images back to my studio, and at that point the analytical side kicks in. I’m very analytical in thinking about which images from a particular shooting session are worth working on, very critical of my own work. In shooting, I feel like you have to give yourself permission to take bad pictures, but I don’t think you should ever give yourself permission to show something that’s substandard. My former teacher Jim Steele said that a photographer’s two most important tools are the tripod and the trash can.
Processing the image is the final step, and that to me is just as important, if not more important than actually tripping the shutter. Back in my darkroom days, I processed my own film and did my own printing. I now work digitally, but the principles are the same: I do all of my own editing, and I print it myself. Even selecting the paper is important — I made test prints of Hope on three different papers before deciding that Moab Entrada Bright White Paper was the optimal surface. Then I tweaked the file for printing on that paper.
Five Lights by Pete McCutchen
What was your goal with Hope? What do you think it says?
If I have a goal when actually shooting, I’m thinking too much.
Once back to my studio, the goal is to produce the best image I can from that particular shot. I know that’s a bit anticlimactic, but it really is as simple as that. If the final printed result meets my quality standard, I’ll show it; if not, trash can.
As to what it says, I make it a practice not to provide verbal interpretations of my own work, other than the title. What does it say to you?
Is this piece part of a series? If so, how has the series progressed to where it is now?
That’s a good question. My series tend to emerge organically from what I’m doing. For example, I found myself photographing roller coasters, and I discovered that many of the most successful images were nothing more than brightly-colored track against clear blue sky. After I noticed the pattern, I grouped them in a series and began to look for similar opportunities.
I do have a series of images shot in abandoned buildings, like the image Another Ladder to Heaven and Five Lights, which won an Honorable Mention last year at the Monochrome Awards, an international photography competition.
Another Ladder to Heaven by Pete McCutchen (Honorable Mention at The Art League, October 2015)
Hope was shot at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, and at the time I mentally grouped it with my Interiors series. But it doesn’t really fit that series, in terms of look and feel — they’re black and white, very stark, high contrast, while Hope is softer. I did do a black and white conversion for testing purposes, but I thought the soft color was more effective.
Who are some of your influences as a photographer?
This question makes me chuckle a bit, because if I told you who had influenced me, it would make zero sense in terms of Hope. This is actually a pretty atypical image for me. Most of my work is very bold, with vivid colors and simple composition. My mom loved art, but when I grew up we didn’t really have much in the way of original art — instead she put up framed posters. We had posters from Andy Warhol, Mondrian, Roy Lichtenstein, and Georgia O’Keefe. I grew up surrounded by color. We had lime green shag carpeting and metal kitchen cabinets painted bright purple. Yep, this was the 70s. You can see that influence in a lot of my work — what I’m saying makes total sense in light of Blinkers or Stimsonite #1 or Arc, all of which previously appeared in Art League shows.
Stimsonite #1 by Pete McCutchen (Honorable Mention at The Art League, July 2014)
That ties in with what I was saying earlier about not having preconceptions, about listening to how the scene tells you it wants to be photographed. This piece just didn’t want to look like most of my other work.
In terms of photographers, I’d say people like Pete Turner and Freeman Patterson would be the most direct influences. A couple of years ago, I saw a show by Sebastiao Salgado called Genesis in New York, which may have been the most profound and moving photography show I’ve ever seen.
I’m also inspired by other Torpedo Factory photographers. Jim Steele, the tripod and trash can guy, was one of my teachers when I started doing photography seriously again in the early 2000s, and I now have the studio around the corner from his. Jim did very classical black and white landscape and nude photography for years, but in the last decade or so he’s begun exploring all possibilities; I love how open he is to reinventing himself.
Fred Zafran, a Torpedo Factory artist and member of Multiple Exposures Gallery, has a great brooding sensibility about his work. (Fred’s show at Multiple Exposures this month should not be missed.)
My friend Min Enghauser in the studio around the other corner from me has an amazing sense of light, and a real respect for the materials and history of photography.
Torn by Amanda Marie Harner.
Soomin Ham I admire because of how innovative and original she is, and also the elegance of her work. I love her piece in this month’s show, and I’m looking forward to her solo show.
My friend Amanda Harner, who won her first Art League Award at seventeen and who juried into the Torpedo Factory at nineteen, won another Honorable Mention in this month’s show for her image, Torn. It is an outstanding image, and her award is well-deserved. One of the first thing I noticed about Amanda is that she is a very precise shooter; she sees the whole frame and composes corner to corner. Amanda may have begun as my protégé, but I now see her as a peer and valued colleague.
I try to cultivate all of those virtues in myself — willingness to experiment, emotional intensity, sense of light, compositional precision.
When did you decide to pursue photography as a career?
My interest in photography began when I was very young — I had my own darkroom when I was 12. But I did other things like being a lawyer. I started getting back into photography seriously in the early 2000s — I started entering shows at The Art League around 2005. Around 2008 I decided to do photography full time, a decision that was objectively nuts. In 2010, I juried into the Torpedo Factory, had my first solo show, and joined the Touchstone Gallery.
What’s the best part of being a photographer?
Doing what I love.
The Art League winter term may have kicked off this week, but that doesn’t mean that it’s too late to sign up for an amazing class. These fantastic classes (and more!) await:
Deadline: January 14. “Typecast” at Hillyer Art Space is an all media exhibition that will showcase artists whose work expresses, explores and questions ideas about identity.
Art Hop Takoma
The Old Takoma Business Association is pleased to announce the 7th Annual Art Hop Takoma. On Saturday and Sunday, April 9-10, 2016, the Takoma commercial district (DC and MD) will once again transform into a lively arts district showcasing the talents of both emerging and established visual artists and welcome visitors to our eclectic mix of local businesses.
Studio space: Arlington
Deadline: May 1. Newly renovated artist studios are available at Studio 3700, the Arlington Cultural Affairs arts incubator located in south Arlington. Professional artists and collaborative artist groups who live or work in the Washington, DC metro area are eligible to apply. Applications will be reviewed by a panel of artists and arts professionals.
Re-runs: The listings below have appeared here before, but their deadlines still haven’t passed:
Alper Initiative
Deadline: none. The Alper Initiative for Washington Art accepts general exhibition submissions from Washington area artists and curators of all ages, medium, and backgrounds.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: ongoing. Artspace in Richmond, VA has an exhibition season running from January to December. The Exhibition Committee reviews proposals throughout the year. Proposals may be submitted at any time. Proposers will be notified whether they have been placed on the exhibition calendar for the coming year.
Biennial
Deadline: January 15. All artists and craftpersons are invited to submit works for the Biennial 2016at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News, VA. The juror is Valerie Fletcher, senior curator at the Hirshhorn Museum.
Deadline: January 18, 2016. The Cube is an experimental and installation space programmed by Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh, NC. The space, a roughly 20×20′ box, is equipped with several electrical outlets and track lighting. More about the Cube →
Video fest
Deadline: January 20. The Brentwood Arts Exchange All-Screened Video Fest (PDF) is an open-call feature of short film and video work by regional filmmakers. Presented to the public in a social and appreciative atmosphere, the one-day festival is a showcase of known and unknown talent alike. One artist/filmmaker will be awarded Best in Festival with a $300 prize.
Maker Faire
Deadline: January 23 (early bird January 16). The NoVa Mini Maker Faire is held each spring in Reston, Virginia. Northern Virginia tech enthusiasts, engineers, woodworkers, artists, and craftspeople come together to show what they’re making. Makers who wish to sell work at their booth pay a fee; otherwise participation is free.
Sculpture residency
Deadline: January 25. Artist Residencies at the Carving Studio & Sculpture Center offer sculptors opportunities for inspiration and to create new work in the former marble quarry and manufacturing area of Vermont. Residencies are from one week to three months, featuring artists working in a diverse range of materials and techniques.
Fiber arts
Deadline: February 8. Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center in Dowell, MD invites artists to submit works that reflect the best of contemporary fiber and textile art for Threads: A Sampling of Fiber Art.
Emulsion 2016
Deadline: February 15. The third annual Emulsion juried show at East City Art is open to all 18 and over within 50 miles of East City Art in SE DC.
Food art
Deadline: February 16. This March, Capitol Hill Art League hosts its annual DC-metro area Open Call juried art exhibit based on the theme Appetite for Art. 2-D and 3-D work will be accepted.
I Eat Therefore I Am
Deadline: February 29. “I Eat Therefore I Am” will be at Sipma Contemporary in Trenton, NJ. Artists are invited to express their take on food, body image, need, nourishment, obsession, and compulsion, anything that pertains to the human condition in question.
Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship
Deadline: March 1. The 9th annual open call for the Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship is now open. Advancing the professional development of emerging visual artists, the two-year program serves as a steppingstone for the next generation of contemporary artists in Washington, DC.
Delaplaine juried exhibit
Deadline: March 15. The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center in Frederick, MD, announces a call for entry. All media are eligible. Artwork for exhibition must have been completed in last 2 years and not previously exhibited at the Delaplaine. More about the 2016 National Juried Exhibit →
Philadelphia craft show
Deadline: April 1. The 40th Annual Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, a juried exhibition and retail sale, will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from November 10 to 13, 2016, with a Preview Party on November 9. The jury will accept 195 craft artists.
Deadline: January 15. All artists and craftpersons are invited to submit works for the Biennial 2016 at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News, VA. The juror is Valerie Fletcher, senior curator at the Hirshhorn Museum.
Deadline: February 8. Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center in Dowell, MD invites artists to submit works that reflect the best of contemporary fiber and textile art for Threads: A Sampling of Fiber Art.
Food art
Deadline: February 16. This March, Capitol Hill Art League hosts its annual DC-metro area Open Call juried art exhibit based on the theme Appetite for Art. 2-D and 3-D work will be accepted.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: ongoing. Artspace in Richmond, VA has an exhibition season running from January to December. The Exhibition Committee reviews proposals throughout the year. Proposals may be submitted at any time. Proposers will be notified whether they have been placed on the exhibition calendar for the coming year.
When it still stood, the Duke Street Annex was home to three Art League classrooms and the Space of Her Own outreach program. Our classroom space (and SOHO) has been consolidated into our renovated Madison Street facility.
If you ever took a class at the old Duke Street Annex, you might be surprised to learn you were painting atop history all along!
To the delight of archaeologists, an 18th-century ship is the latest find underneath the site of former Art League classrooms, along with a 1755 warehouse and three privies. The ship’s hull was preserved underground and is being dismantled today for preservation.
The public can view the site from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon on Tuesday before the wood is removed.
The dig site, looking east. The hull’s position puts it about where the Duke Street Annex parking spaces were.Students working on one of the interior murals at the Duke Street Annex.
This post from 2015 has been updated with new classes and links.
Winter classes start up soon (January 11–17), and it’s not too late to join the fun!
Taking a new class is a great way to work on your New Year’s Resolution to try something new or learn a new skill. Browse all our classes — or, see below for some tips on classes to take to fulfill your personal resolution.
So, what do you want to do this year?
. . . try something new.
We have you covered there! Every class and workshop we offer is new if you haven’t taken it before. But if you’re looking for something recently added to our catalog, why don’t you try one of these?
Foundation Painting: A class about building color relationships, for beginners and more experienced students.
Pound it Out: All Things Hammered: How do you think Thor got so buff? It’s all in the hammer. (This is a class for making hollow metal forms like bowls and teapots.)
. . . travel.
We organize travel art workshops every year, but there are also classes closer to home that can make your own travels more fun!
Intro to Photography: If you want to make some killer vacation albums this summer, why not spend your winter learning the ins and outs of your camera and how to see with a photographer’s eye?
Intermediate Photography: This is the class for you if you already know how to use your camera and want to hone your style and learn advanced techniques.
OK, you were probably thinking of French or Mandarin — but an important part of taking art classes is learning the (non-verbal) language of visual art: things like composition and color.
Basic Drawing: The class we recommend most to those who want to take their first art class.
Calligraphy: So you can write beautifully, no matter the language.
Sumi-é: This class is an opportunity to learn a non-Western tradition of painting. Sumi-é is a form of brush painting with roots in calligraphy.
. . . be creative and make mistakes!
It’s pretty much our motto here at The Art League School. So find your class (please call or email the School if you need help picking one out) and get to it! And don’t forget to share with us, whatever it is you make this Winter!
