Each fall, The Art League brings in a panel of jurors to select artists for solo shows. The jurying takes place two years ahead of time, so artists can get back to the studio and build their exhibit, based on their proposal and jury feedback.
This year’s jurors were Isabel Manalo, Anjuli Lebowitz, and Martin Kotler. Forty-five different artists submitted proposals this time around — no easy feat in itself! The jurors selected 10 artists for shows, which will be scheduled for 2019.
Congratulations to the artists! Now the work begins:
Susan Callahan, a chef and textile artist, will present an exhibit celebrating the non-celebrity chef in shades that match a stainless steel commercial kitchen. She starts with photos, which are screen printed, hand painted, and stitched into the textile artworks for this show.
Margaret Cerutti is a figure and plein air painter — and recently named a member of the Salmagundi Club — who is motivated by light. Her exhibit will explore how light changes the mood of portrait paintings, and she plans to include a studio set-up as part of the exhibit so viewers can experience “sitting” for a portrait.
Painter Berit Jarama Estabrook conceives of a “sacred web” connecting living things for her exhibit, which will invite the viewer to relate to animals. Naturally, the plight of the environment looms large in these mixed-media paintings.
The beauty of mathematics is the subject for Matthew Harwood’s 2019 exhibit — specifically, prime numbers and their relationships. The exhibit will feature digital drawings on metal and laminated banners, as well as explanatory text, scale models, and his artist sketchbook.
Lee Hassig
by Lee Hassig
If you’ve been to Colonial Williamsburg, you may recognize the setting for Lee Hassig’s photographs: it’s Duke of Gloucester Street. But the street isn’t the subject matter for this exhibit; it’s the crowds, with single figures plucked out in unposed portraits for the viewer’s consideration.
Megan Partridge’s gestural paintings of insects started as whimsy, but she says they also function as a kind of self-portrait. These bugs will tickle you — in a good way.
Painter Ann Pickett proposed a polyptych (multi-panel artwork) that spans the exhibit room. It’s inspired by a desire to unite her figural work and abstract expressionist work.
Elaine Qiu
by Elaine Qiu
Titled “The Mystery of You,” Elaine Qiu’s exhibit aims to challenge the idea of “otherness” by creating exchanges between different kinds of people. Viewers will be invited to write one word next to each painting. Qiu, a first-generation Chinese immigrant, practiced calligraphy from childhood — read more in our recent interview on this blog.
Photographer BD Richardson’s subject is the Chesapeake bay — its history, its people, and its questionable future. The photographs will be processed in several different ways, including as salt prints — referencing the bay – and as hand transfers.
Inna Skidan
By Inna Skidan
Finally, the artist Inna Skidan — originally from Ukraine — will bring experimental paintings around the theme of “New Day” to the solo gallery.
Deadline: Weekly through November 24. As the City of Alexandria begins its annual leaf collection program, the Department of Transportation & Environmental Services (T&ES) is partnering with UpCycle on a Fall Leaf Art contest.
George Mason murals
Deadline: December 3. George Mason University’s inaugural Contemporary Mural Arts Festival will begin in April 2018 with up to seven murals on its Fairfax, VA campus. University regulations will not allow painting directly on building surfaces, so the project will feature alternative mural methods including painting on suspended mesh fabric, projection, computer-activated light, digitally-printed wrap, banners, etc.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Prints
Deadline: October 31. Original works in all printmaking media including intaglio, lithography, relief, screenprinting, monoprints, monotypes, digital prints, mixed printmaking media, and three-dimensional prints are eligible for “Impressions 2018” at Sarah Silberman Art Gallery (Rockville, MD).
Textile-inspired
Deadline: November 3. For “Between the Seams” at Woman Made Gallery (Chicago, IL), artists are invited to submit work that places emphasis on the concept of cloth through broad definition and use of materials. Traditional or uncommon approaches to weaving, stitching, knitting, dyeing, felting, crochet, layering, surface embellishment and patterns as well as digital interpretation may be applied. All materials and techniques will be considered.
Virginia fellowships
Deadline: November 3. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Program is a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia. VMFA is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline.
Passages at Target Gallery
Deadline: November 12. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites artists to apply for Passages, a group exhibition that explores the lasting effects migration has on cultural identity. Adriana Ospina, Curator of Permanent Collection and Education at the Art Museum of the Americas, is the juror.
Photographic portraits
Deadline: November 13. Praxis Gallery (Minneapolis, MN) seeks the submission of photographic art that explores the aesthetic and conceptual considerations involved in the creation of the portrait – revealing personal narratives or creating new anthologies through the creative representation of the subject. All genres, capture types, color and black & white, traditional and non-traditional photographic and digital post-production processes are welcome for submission.
Deadline: November 15. VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital requests original art for the new C.A.R.E. Ambulatory patient facility in South Hill, Virginia. The imagery and subject matter should embody the concept of “Caring.”
Photo contest
Deadline: November 30. What does an award-winning photograph look like? It can range from an captivating portrait of a family member to a moon-drenched landscape to movement captured at just the right time. The Smithsonian’s 15th Annual Photo Contest is now open for submissions.
Matador Review
Deadline: November 30. Alternative art and literature magazine The Matador Review is now accepting submissions for the Winter 2018 publication. We publish poetry, fiction, flash fiction, and creative non-fiction, inviting all unpublished literature written in the English language (and translations that are accompanied by the original text) as well as many forms of visual art.
Text objects
Deadline: November 30. Container, a publisher of text objects and artist’s books, invites submissions during its fall Open Container reading period. Submit poetry, fiction and nonfiction plus a pitch for transforming it into a text object.
Emerging DMV artists
Deadline: December 3. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites regional emerging artists to submit work for a new group exhibition. This exhibition will feature up to 5 regional emerging artists — spotlighting new talent and the up-and-coming artistic innovators of the DC, Maryland, Virginia area.
Solo show in DC
Deadline: December 10. The Spotlight Art Series@Touchstone is an opportunity for area artists to have a solo exhibition at the Touchstone Gallery. Successful applicants will enjoy a front window 90 sq. ft. wall exhibition space in our street level gallery located in downtown Washington, DC at 901 New York Avenue NW.
Northern Virginia Festival
Deadline: December 10. 27th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival: Every spring the Greater Reston Arts Center invites over 200 artists to showcase their best, original, contemporary fine art and craft in this competitive, juried outdoor event.
Big Fun Art
Deadline: December 11. For Big Fun Art at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (Solomons, MD), take a break from the news of global doom and gloom and celebrate Big Fun Art! Inspired by the likes of Yayoi Kusama. All media welcome; small to large-scale works; indoor and outdoor works accepted.
We’re counting down to the fourth annual Art on Tap next Friday, November 4. If you haven’t been before, this event boils down to three things:
Art. Beer. Food.
Oh, and music! This year we’ve lined up Den-Mate and Go Cozy as performers. You can listen to Den-Mate’s single “Fall” on NPR’s Songs We Love.
The menu
Seven breweries have selected one artwork each, and we’ve matched them with restaurants who will bring an appetizer to pair. You’ll get to vote for your favorite art-beer-food trio from these seven choices:
We can’t wait to see you all there! And if you don’t have your ticket yet (!) — you can still snag one:
Deadline: November 13. Praxis Gallery (Minneapolis, MN) seeks the submission of photographic art that explores the aesthetic and conceptual considerations involved in the creation of the portrait – revealing personal narratives or creating new anthologies through the creative representation of the subject. All genres, capture types, color and black & white, traditional and non-traditional photographic and digital post-production processes are welcome for submission.
Deadline: December 11. For Big Fun Art at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (Solomons, MD), take a break from the news of global doom and gloom and celebrate Big Fun Art! Inspired by the likes of Yayoi Kusama. All media welcome; small to large-scale works; indoor and outdoor works accepted.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Prints
Deadline: October 31. Original works in all printmaking media including intaglio, lithography, relief, screenprinting, monoprints, monotypes, digital prints, mixed printmaking media, and three-dimensional prints are eligible for “Impressions 2018” at Sarah Silberman Art Gallery (Rockville, MD).
Textile-inspired
Deadline: November 3. For “Between the Seams” at Woman Made Gallery (Chicago, IL), artists are invited to submit work that places emphasis on the concept of cloth through broad definition and use of materials. Traditional or uncommon approaches to weaving, stitching, knitting, dyeing, felting, crochet, layering, surface embellishment and patterns as well as digital interpretation may be applied. All materials and techniques will be considered.
Virginia fellowships
Deadline: November 3. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Program is a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia. VMFA is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline.
Passages at Target Gallery
Deadline: November 12. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites artists to apply for Passages, a group exhibition that explores the lasting effects migration has on cultural identity. Adriana Ospina, Curator of Permanent Collection and Education at the Art Museum of the Americas, is the juror.
Caring art
Deadline: November 15. VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital requests original art for the new C.A.R.E. Ambulatory patient facility in South Hill, Virginia. The imagery and subject matter should embody the concept of “Caring.”
Photo contest
Deadline: November 30. What does an award-winning photograph look like? It can range from an captivating portrait of a family member to a moon-drenched landscape to movement captured at just the right time. The Smithsonian’s 15th Annual Photo Contest is now open for submissions.
Matador Review
Deadline: November 30. Alternative art and literature magazine The Matador Review is now accepting submissions for the Winter 2018 publication. We publish poetry, fiction, flash fiction, and creative non-fiction, inviting all unpublished literature written in the English language (and translations that are accompanied by the original text) as well as many forms of visual art.
Text objects
Deadline: November 30. Container, a publisher of text objects and artist’s books, invites submissions during its fall Open Container reading period. Submit poetry, fiction and nonfiction plus a pitch for transforming it into a text object.
Emerging DMV artists
Deadline: December 3. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites regional emerging artists to submit work for a new group exhibition. This exhibition will feature up to 5 regional emerging artists — spotlighting new talent and the up-and-coming artistic innovators of the DC, Maryland, Virginia area.
Solo show in DC
Deadline: December 10. The Spotlight Art Series@Touchstone is an opportunity for area artists to have a solo exhibition at the Touchstone Gallery. Successful applicants will enjoy a front window 90 sq. ft. wall exhibition space in our street level gallery located in downtown Washington, DC at 901 New York Avenue NW.
Northern Virginia Festival
Deadline: December 10. 27th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival: Every spring the Greater Reston Arts Center invites over 200 artists to showcase their best, original, contemporary fine art and craft in this competitive, juried outdoor event.
Pasture, oil, by Sarah Dax Solano. Winner of the Lorraine Oerth Award for Best in Show.
Would you believe this four-foot-by-five-foot painting started life as a miniature?
The artist, Sarah Dax Solano, is embarking on a new series that combines abstraction, realism, and a large format — and this painting is the first in the series. Pasture was chosen for the Lorraine Oerth Award for Best in Show in this month’s October Open Exhibit.
What are the origins of Pasture?
Sarah Dax Solano: Pasture was originally one of my miniature paintings, Shenandoah Valley Pasture, which was purchased as a mother’s day gift at the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. I was looking back at old photos and knew immediately I wanted to do more with that little painting. So I did! I was also brainstorming for a new series “Blur” at the time, which influenced the aesthetics of Pasture.
Shenandoah Valley Pasture by Sarah Dax Solano
Both Pasture and Night Owl, from “Mark,” have a strong textural element. What role does texture play in your artwork? How did you achieve the texture you wanted for Pasture? I absolutely love texture in paintings because it is indigenous to this medium. Not all of my paintings have elaborate texture because sometimes it is unnecessary for the outcome I am trying to achieve. But boy, when I know I want texture, I go for it and have fun!
Night Owl and detail, oil and acrylic, by Sarah Dax Solano. From the September exhibit, “Mark.”
I always think of icing a cake when it comes to applying texture on canvas. Asking what I use to achieve texture is like asking for my secret ingredient. I will say the majority of the time it is 100% thick oil paint that takes almost a year to dry! I have been experimenting with faster solutions lately.
What inspired your “Blur” series? Where does this painting fit in to that series?
After not being entirely satisfied as an artist with only doing my beloved miniatures, I decided to go big! Pasture is a 48″ × 60″ painting.
After that decision came the conflicting struggle of: Do I want to be a realistic painter or an abstract painter? I was frustrated because on one hand, realistic painting can only get so far — to outstanding, technically mastered hyperrealism, as we are seeing plenty of these days. At that point I asked myself: Wouldn’t a photograph be easier? Then came the critical thoughts of how under-appreciated abstract paintings are. Would that affect sales?
Seravezza Studio by Sarah Dax Solano
As a painter, I love to create works in both of these categories, so I combined the two. For my new “Blur” series, I am oil painting realistic blurred landscapes as backgrounds topped with a foreground abstract element. These paintings are all to be viewed from across the room for a first impression. The further away it is viewed, the more realistic the background appears. The abstract topper has an important role for the eye to be immediately drawn to so the blurred background is pushed into the distance.
Without the abstractions, the paintings would look like an incomplete mess. The abstractions also symbolize vandalizing my own art. It expresses my internal conflict of being pressured to choose a beaten path for my paintings that I refuse to embark. I am extremely excited to be working on this new series.
Piece of S…an Marco, the second painting in the “Blur” series by Sarah Dax Solano, has been accepted into the November “Doubt” exhibit at The Art League.
Pasture is the first piece of this new series! You can see the blurred background on the top half and the thick green abstraction on the bottom. The thick texture forces itself to become the foreground and pushes the top half to the background.
What made you want to paint this on a large canvas? Do you usually work on this scale?
I wanted to unleash my creativity after feeling a little constrained with my miniature canvases for the past couple years. I usually have been working on canvases from a 1” to 3” scale. I have painted large a few times in the past but it has been at least five years since.
Pasture for scale
When did you first know you wanted to be a painter?
Oh boy, this question could lead to my life story. To keep it simple, I have always loved to paint.
I have one silly memory of being in kindergarten. We had colored strips of construction paper representing different learning stations, such as a painting, writing words serval times or solving math worksheets. Each kid had the same number of colored strips. The orange strip was the painting station. I used to trade to get more orange strips. I even stole the orange strips from the discard can. My teacher finally caught on weeks later but it was fun while it lasted.
What are you working on now?
Now I am working on my next 500 miniatures, my Blur series along with exhibit applications, and getting ready to launch a new website this November (sarahdax.com). Anything and everything I do, I keep my ultimate goal in mind of spreading joy in the world with my art.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZWJWDJHKpJ/
How did you capture the texture of the painting in a photograph?
Google Pixel. I have a fancy DSLR and I am blown away at how much better the photos are on the Google Pixel. It is comical in our house because I have to constantly bug my husband for his. I did order myself the Google Pixel 2 the day of the Google IO so I can stop bugging him, which also means my Instagram followers are going to be getting even better content soon!
I will say the only other thing I keep in mind while photographing my work is I like to do it early in the morning for the best lighting and lack of weird shadows. I am not a photographer, but social media has forced me to learn so I can share my art and joy with the world.
Candace Edgerley Shibori collar by Candace Edgerley
Ready to add something special to your cold-weather wardrobe?
Make it yourself in a fiber arts workshop! There are 12 workshops coming up in October, November, and December. Check them out below, and prepare to get hooked:
Glen Echo Creek, watercolor, by Amy Sabrin. Winner of the Sid Platt Award for Best Watercolor.
When he selected the painting above as best watercolor for October, juror Tim Doud said the artist’s “approach, her experimental use of paint, was unique among other watercolorists.”
We talked to that artist — Amy Sabrin — about why she painted this scene, why she works in watercolor, and what’s next:
What was your goal for Glen Echo Creek?
Amy Sabrin: I painted Glen Echo Creek on a plein air expedition late last November. I had been painting outside a lot that fall, primarily along the C+O Canal, and had been inspired by Charles Burchfield’s autumn paintings. My main goal was to be in the moment and really concentrate on what I was seeing, and not get hung up on making “The Perfect Painting.”
Pond in Winter, watercolor, by Amy Sabrin
What does this location mean to you? Why did you want to capture it?
I took a number of classes at Glen Echo, and I walked across the bridge from the parking lot to the amusement park many times. I thought it was a very soothing spot, and I was drawn to the reflections in the rocky stream and the shapes of the overhanging trees. One day, when the trees were that amazing golden greeny mustard color, I said, I just have to stop and paint it — so I did! I particularly liked the abstract, negative shapes of the pools made by the jutting rocks. I also like to do scenes that are back-lit, as this was in the late afternoon.
Sunflowers, Aix Market Day, watercolor, by Amy Sabrin
Why are you an artist? Why watercolor, specifically?
I have simply felt compelled to draw and paint since I was a small child. My father was a doctor who loved art and design. He took us to museums all the time, and made abstract art himself out of shells. He modeled the importance of having a creative outlet regardless of your chosen field. I majored in art history in college, and although I went on to have careers in journalism and the law, I painted when I could.
I took up watercolor initially because it was easy to set up and clean up when I was working and had a small child in the house, but grew to love it for its transparency and intensity of hue. (A large reason why I paint is that I love color!) Since I retired, I have been indulging my love for both traveling and painting, and watercolors are also easy to pack.
Shadow/Snow, watercolor, by Amy Sabrin
What do you think makes a good landscape?
I think a successful landscape is based on finding the strong, underlying geometric shapes in a landscape and a path that moves you through the scene. Good landscapes also capture the unique light of a place — easier said than done!
What’s your favorite color on your palette? Do I have to choose just one? That’s like asking which is your favorite child!
Untitled charcoal and watercolor pieces by Amy Sabrin.
What are you working on now?
I am coming to terms with the reality that my work is never going to be the kind of gauzy, realistic, technical tour-de-force watercolors you see in the Splash books or an American Watercolor Society show. I really appreciated judge Tim Doud’s comments about Glen Echo Creek, because they encouraged me to be more comfortable with my own style and validated my risk-taking. Now I am taking a class in abstract acrylics. I don’t know if I want to go there on a permanent basis, but I think exploring this path will help me to get where I want to go with my watercolors.
Now in its 22nd (!) year, Art Safari is the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s annual hands-on open house for kids and their families. You can join in the fun this Saturday, October 21 from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm with lots of different activities to try!
The Art League is participating, of course — find us in studio 21 for a gallery scavenger hunt based on our current exhibits!
Easel stations in action at Art Safari 2014
The full schedule
Here’s the full list of goings-on at Art Safari:
Giant Papier-Mâché Elephant
1st floor | Lisa Schumaier
Dada Jack-O-Lanterns
Michael Holt
Scrap City
AIA Northern Virginia
Mini Paintings & Coloring Pages
TFAA
Bottlecap Art
UpCycle Creative Reuse Center
Create Buttons & Bookmarks
Alexandria Library
Fiber Demonstrations
Fluff & Nonsense
The Mobile Art Lab
Create Your Own Sea Creatures
Studio 8 | Constantino Bastidas
Gallery Scavenger Hunt
Studio 21 | The Art League
Clay Experience
Studio 22 | Susan Greenleaf
Fiber Collage Project
Studio 29 | Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery
Easel Stations
2nd floor | Christine Cardellino
Silk Screen Printing
Studio 325 | Patrick Sargent
Noodle Necklaces
Studio 326 | Sissy Cutchen
Artifact Illustration
Studio 327 | Alexandria Archaeology Museum
Deadline: November 3. For “Between the Seams” at Woman Made Gallery (Chicago, IL), artists are invited to submit work that places emphasis on the concept of cloth through broad definition and use of materials. Traditional or uncommon approaches to weaving, stitching, knitting, dyeing, felting, crochet, layering, surface embellishment and patterns as well as digital interpretation may be applied. All materials and techniques will be considered.
Caring art
Deadline: November 15. VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital requests original art for the new C.A.R.E. Ambulatory patient facility in South Hill, Virginia. The imagery and subject matter should embody the concept of “Caring.”
Solo show in DC
Deadline: December 10. The Spotlight Art Series@Touchstone is an opportunity for area artists to have a solo exhibition at the Touchstone Gallery. Successful applicants will enjoy a front window 90 sq. ft. wall exhibition space in our street level gallery located in downtown Washington, DC at 901 New York Avenue NW.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
This is America
Deadline: October 20. Gallery Underground in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia, invites artists working in all media to submit to “This Is America,” a national juried exhibition. Submit works depicting what you love – or don’t love – about America today. Works should be a reflection upon or expression about some aspect of America and how you see it. Juror: Marsha Staiger.
National call: Food art
Deadline: October 21. Palate to Palette: Art and Appetite is an art exhibition exploring themes of food, cooking, and eating through painting, drawing, sculpture, graphic design, ceramics, collage, industrial design, video, textiles, clay, and other media.
Bethesda studio space
Deadline: October 20. Studio B, located just a short stroll from the Bethesda Metro, features workspace for local artists. The studio includes exhibit space in each individual artist studio, as well as on the main wall. A 185 sq. ft. individual artist studio is available for rent, and applications are now being accepted.
NC public art
Deadline: October 23. Madison County is pleased to announce a unique opportunity for artists to design a sculpture to be part of a permanent collection on the expanding greenway in Mars Hill, NC. Read the call for artists.
Prints
Deadline: October 31. Original works in all printmaking media including intaglio, lithography, relief, screenprinting, monoprints, monotypes, digital prints, mixed printmaking media, and three-dimensional prints are eligible for “Impressions 2018” at Sarah Silberman Art Gallery (Rockville, MD).
Virginia fellowships
Deadline: November 3. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Program is a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia. VMFA is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline.
Passages at Target
Deadline: November 12. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites artists to apply for Passages, a group exhibition that explores the lasting effects migration has on cultural identity. Adriana Ospina, Curator of Permanent Collection and Education at the Art Museum of the Americas, is the juror.
Photo contest
Deadline: November 30. What does an award-winning photograph look like? It can range from an captivating portrait of a family member to a moon-drenched landscape to movement captured at just the right time. The Smithsonian’s 15th Annual Photo Contest is now open for submissions.
Matador Review
Deadline: November 30. Alternative art and literature magazine The Matador Review is now accepting submissions for the Winter 2018 publication. We publish poetry, fiction, flash fiction, and creative non-fiction, inviting all unpublished literature written in the English language (and translations that are accompanied by the original text) as well as many forms of visual art.
Text objects
Deadline: November 30. Container, a publisher of text objects and artist’s books, invites submissions during its fall Open Container reading period. Submit poetry, fiction and nonfiction plus a pitch for transforming it into a text object.
Emerging DMV artists
Deadline: December 3. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites regional emerging artists to submit work for a new group exhibition. This exhibition will feature up to 5 regional emerging artists — spotlighting new talent and the up-and-coming artistic innovators of the DC, Maryland, Virginia area.
Northern Virginia Festival
Deadline: December 10. 27th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival: Every spring the Greater Reston Arts Center invites over 200 artists to showcase their best, original, contemporary fine art and craft in this competitive, juried outdoor event.
You’ve read about our splendid table on view this month. Soon, we’ll be featuring interviews with this month’s splendid award winners from our juried show.
Today, we’d like to introduce you to the mixed-media paintings in “Splendid Fortitude” by M. Jane Johnson.
You can see how the artist works in the video above: layer by layer, piece by piece, using scrapes of paint and scraps of paper to build her scenes.
On Parade by M. Jane Johnson, the painting seen in progress in the video.
What’s not in the video is the inspiration for these paintings. These graceful geisha — “artists” — began to emerge in Johnson’s work after a friend was diagnosed with cancer. That diagnosis revealed strength, grace, and Splendid Fortitude in the forms on the canvas.
Whether because they’re looking away from the viewer, obscured by a parasol, or simply abstract of face, you won’t see specific people in these paintings. Instead, the artist invites you to see your own strength, reflected.
(gif via) Cover photo: Carrie Yury, Courtesy Kim Schoenstadt and Hauser Wirth & Schimmel
Are you a female-identifying artist in the DC, MD, and VA area? You’re invited to a special event on Wednesday, October 25, 2017!
Here’s the invitation:
Dear Fellow Artist,
We’d like to invite you to participate in an event that we are organizing called Now Be Here #4, DC/MD/VA. The idea is simple: a gathering and photograph of female and female-identifying visual artists from the DMV area. The Now Be Here website hosts the photograph, and each artist will be identified. This is the fourth and final iteration of the project which artist Kim Schoenstadt originally organized in Los Angeles at Hauser, Wirth & Schimmel and subsequently brought to the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Perez Art Museum in Miami. The event will take place Wednesday, October 25 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, DC. The photo will be taken by Kim Johnson.
What sets this gathering apart from the other iterations of Now Be Here is that after the photograph is taken, NMWA will host a cocktail party and Artist Resource Fair. Participating artists will have time to meet and chat with 17 organizations serving DMV artists in critical ways, including: mentorship, financial support, studio space, arts activism, and other creative opportunities. From Oct. 17-30 there will be programing highlighting women in the arts that will be hosted by organizations across the DMV. We have listed the events below under the title Now Let’s Talk, and they are also listed on the Now Be Here website.
RSVPs are required so that we can organize appropriately. A sign-in sheet at the event will document attendance and the photograph of the entire group will be taken. Each participant will receive a link to the final photograph for her archive. Shortly before the event we will email those who have RSVP’d with more specific details for the evening.
Now Be Here #4, DC/MD/VA is an opportunity for us to capture a moment where we, female and female-identifying visual artists from the DMV, stand with each other in all of our unity, power, and diversity!
We want to take a moment to thank our hosts in advance for going above and beyond to make this final U.S. version so very special for the DMV artists! #NMWARocks!
We hope that you and your female/female-identifying visual artist friends will join us for this very special event!
With kind regards,
Linn Meyers & Kim Schoenstadt
Art League staff and artists will be in attendance, and we hope to see you there too! Don’t forget to RSVP here.
Deadline: October 15. “Doubt,” juried by Jason Gubbiotti, is open to all exhibiting artist members of The Art League.
Text objects
Deadline: November 30. Container, a publisher of text objects and artist’s books, invites submissions during its fall Open Container reading period. Submit poetry, fiction and nonfiction plus a pitch for transforming it into a text object.
Emerging DMV artists
Deadline: December 3. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites regional emerging artists to submit work for a new group exhibition. This exhibition will feature up to 5 regional emerging artists — spotlighting new talent and the up-and-coming artistic innovators of the DC, Maryland, Virginia area.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
MD juried show
Deadline: October 10. “Inner Worlds” at Cade Art Gallery (Arnold, MD) seeks work that explores the inner experience, and the intersection between reality and perception. This call is open to all media. Juror: Anke Van Wagenberg, Senior Curator at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD.
Landscape Revisited
Deadline: October 15. Montgomery College, situated outside of Washington DC in Montgomery County Maryland, is pleased to announce “Landscape Revisited,” an exhibition that reexamines the traditional landscape oeuvre.
This is America
Deadline: October 20. Gallery Underground in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia, invites artists working in all media to submit to “This Is America,” a national juried exhibition. Submit works depicting what you love – or don’t love – about America today. Works should be a reflection upon or expression about some aspect of America and how you see it. Juror: Marsha Staiger.
National call: Food art
Deadline: October 21. Palate to Palette: Art and Appetite is an art exhibition exploring themes of food, cooking, and eating through painting, drawing, sculpture, graphic design, ceramics, collage, industrial design, video, textiles, clay, and other media.
Bethesda studio space
Deadline: October 20. Studio B, located just a short stroll from the Bethesda Metro, features workspace for local artists. The studio includes exhibit space in each individual artist studio, as well as on the main wall. A 185 sq. ft. individual artist studio is available for rent, and applications are now being accepted.
NC public art
Deadline: October 23. Madison County is pleased to announce a unique opportunity for artists to design a sculpture to be part of a permanent collection on the expanding greenway in Mars Hill, NC. Read the call for artists.
Prints
Deadline: October 31. Original works in all printmaking media including intaglio, lithography, relief, screenprinting, monoprints, monotypes, digital prints, mixed printmaking media, and three-dimensional prints are eligible for “Impressions 2018” at Sarah Silberman Art Gallery (Rockville, MD).
Virginia fellowships
Deadline: November 3. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Program is a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia. VMFA is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline.
Passages at Target
Deadline: November 12. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites artists to apply for Passages, a group exhibition that explores the lasting effects migration has on cultural identity. Adriana Ospina, Curator of Permanent Collection and Education at the Art Museum of the Americas, is the juror.
Photo contest
Deadline: November 30. What does an award-winning photograph look like? It can range from an captivating portrait of a family member to a moon-drenched landscape to movement captured at just the right time. The Smithsonian’s 15th Annual Photo Contest is now open for submissions.
Matador Review
Deadline: November 30. Alternative art and literature magazine The Matador Review is now accepting submissions for the Winter 2018 publication. We publish poetry, fiction, flash fiction, and creative non-fiction, inviting all unpublished literature written in the English language (and translations that are accompanied by the original text) as well as many forms of visual art.
Northern Virginia Festival
Deadline: December 10. 27th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival: Every spring the Greater Reston Arts Center invites over 200 artists to showcase their best, original, contemporary fine art and craft in this competitive, juried outdoor event.
“Tabletop,” The Art League’s functional art exhibit, returns this month! Artworks from across the country are gathered together around a (figurative) table celebrating art that performs a function: whether serving tea, holding an arrangement of flowers, or covering the tabletop.
Juror Kate Lydon selected five award winners and one honorable mention for this exhibit. See the recognized artworks below, and the entire exhibit through November 5.
Taking Flight, porcelain, by Shirley Gromen: Best in Show, CeramicTemple of Fire I, fiber, by Barbara Warden: Equal Merit award for functional artworkReflections in Red and Blue, fused glass, by Michaela Borghese: Equal Merit Award for functional artworksHazy Dawn Basket, hand-built Grolleg porcelain, by Marion Angelica: Equal Merit Award for ceramicsBlue, soda-fired stoneware, by Michael Poness: Equal Merit Award for ceramicsTeapot, stoneware, by Randall Carlson: Honorable Mention
This Tuesday, we had another packed house for the latest in our Visiting Artist Lecture Series!
Richard Ormond was in town for his talk on John Singer Sargent. The subject: Sargent’s plein air excursions in the summers of 1900 to 1914, when he painted a series of unorthodox watercolors. The exhibit Sargent: The Watercolours at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, which Ormond co-curated, explored this period in the artist’s career.
Thanks to Mr. Ormond, and to all who came out for the event! To be sure you get all the latest news about events at The Art League, you can sign up for our email list.
Deadline: October 8. artspace in Richmond, VA is currently accepting proposal submissions for exhibition in the 2nd half of 2018 and the first month of 2019.
National call: Food art
Deadline: October 21. Palate to Palette: Art and Appetite is an art exhibition exploring themes of food, cooking, and eating through painting, drawing, sculpture, graphic design, ceramics, collage, industrial design, video, textiles, clay, and other media.
Photo contest
Deadline: November 30. What does an award-winning photograph look like? It can range from an captivating portrait of a family member to a moon-drenched landscape to movement captured at just the right time. The Smithsonian’s 15th Annual Photo Contest is now open for submissions.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Crafty Bastards
Deadline: October 4. Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair will be held outdoors at Nationals Park on Saturday, November 11 and Sunday, November 12, 2017 in Washington, DC.
SW DC art fair
Deadline: October 4. A new art fair at the Carrollsburg Condominium Complex (Washington, DC) will be held on November 4. For details, see the info sheet and submission form.
Washington Award
Deadline: October 5. S&R Foundation invites emerging artists including musicians, dancers, and visual artists to apply for the 2018 Washington Award. Winners receive $5,000 and the opportunity to showcase their work during the Washington Award Ceremony in the spring of 2018.
Obama Foundation fellowships
Deadline: October 6. The Obama Foundation Fellowship program seeks to support outstanding civic innovators from around the world in order to amplify the impact of their work and to inspire a wave of civic innovation.
King Street mural in Leesburg
Deadline: October 6. The Leesburg (VA) Commission on Public Art is seeking submissions for murals to be painted on each side of the King Street bridge that crosses over Town Branch in Leesburg.
MD juried show
Deadline: October 10. “Inner Worlds” at Cade Art Gallery (Arnold, MD) seeks work that explores the inner experience, and the intersection between reality and perception. This call is open to all media. Juror: Anke Van Wagenberg, Senior Curator at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD.
Landscape Revisited
Deadline: October 15. Montgomery College, situated outside of Washington DC in Montgomery County Maryland, is pleased to announce “Landscape Revisited,” an exhibition that reexamines the traditional landscape oeuvre.
This is America
Deadline: October 20. Gallery Underground in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia, invites artists working in all media to submit to “This Is America,” a national juried exhibition. Submit works depicting what you love – or don’t love – about America today. Works should be a reflection upon or expression about some aspect of America and how you see it. Juror: Marsha Staiger.
Bethesda studio space
Deadline: October 20. Studio B, located just a short stroll from the Bethesda Metro, features workspace for local artists. The studio includes exhibit space in each individual artist studio, as well as on the main wall. A 185 sq. ft. individual artist studio is available for rent, and applications are now being accepted.
NC public art
Deadline: October 23. Madison County is pleased to announce a unique opportunity for artists to design a sculpture to be part of a permanent collection on the expanding greenway in Mars Hill, NC. Read the call for artists.
Prints
Deadline: October 31. Original works in all printmaking media including intaglio, lithography, relief, screenprinting, monoprints, monotypes, digital prints, mixed printmaking media, and three-dimensional prints are eligible for “Impressions 2018” at Sarah Silberman Art Gallery (Rockville, MD).
Virginia fellowships
Deadline: November 3. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Program is a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia. VMFA is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline.
Passages at Target
Deadline: November 12. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites artists to apply for Passages, a group exhibition that explores the lasting effects migration has on cultural identity. Adriana Ospina, Curator of Permanent Collection and Education at the Art Museum of the Americas, is the juror.
Matador Review
Deadline: November 30. Alternative art and literature magazine The Matador Review is now accepting submissions for the Winter 2018 publication. We publish poetry, fiction, flash fiction, and creative non-fiction, inviting all unpublished literature written in the English language (and translations that are accompanied by the original text) as well as many forms of visual art.
Northern Virginia Festival
Deadline: December 10. 27th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival: Every spring the Greater Reston Arts Center invites over 200 artists to showcase their best, original, contemporary fine art and craft in this competitive, juried outdoor event.
Sin of Innocence, oil and acrylic, by Elaine Qiu. Winner of the Chameli & Amiya Bose Saha Award for Best in Show for Acrylic or Oil.
This is a painting that makes quite the impression, even on a small computer screen. If you’ve seen the statement it makes it in person, you’ll understand why it earned a place in the “Mark” exhibit. (See it through October 1!)
Sin of Innocence won the Chameli & Amiya Bose Saha Award this month, with juror Charles Jean-Pierre saying it was “stylistically unique and utilized color like no other.” Elaine Qiu is the artist, and we checked in to learn more about her creative process:
What does the term “mark” mean to you? What role does mark-making play in your paintings?
Elaine Qiu: “Mark” is important. As a native Chinese, I practiced Chinese calligraphy from an early age, and was deeply influenced by Chinese philosophy and traditional Chinese art. My calligraphy master had always emphasized the importance of mark-making. I was taught to differentiate marks made from the wrist, arm, or heart.
Artwork from “Mark,” including Sin of Innocence by Elaine Qiu
Daily practice is essential for Chinese calligraphy, because only through practice can one learn to coordinate the mind, breath, and the body movement to guide the energy from the heart to the tip of the brush, and then onto the paper. And another important aspect of daily calligraphy practice is to familiarize yourself with the materials to the degree that the ink, paper, and the calligrapher ultimately become one, so that the calligrapher always has perfect control of his mark.
My approach to painting is analogous to that adopted by Chinese calligraphers. As a painter, I respect the physicality of the paint and value the integrity of the mark. And I believe every mark should have its own intention, and the way a mark is made is equally important as the final image.
Sin of Innocence (detail) by Elaine Qiu
However, in Chinese calligraphy, the importance of the brushwork is always secondary. Because the ultimate goal is not to describe a visual existence but to paint distilled memories or the spirit of the artist. In the same vein, my interest lies in the tension between life’s seen and unseen. To me, mark making is a “means to an end” but also an end in itself.
What was your original goal for Sin of Innocence? Has it changed in light of current events?
I am a visual thinker. If I have a question that I cannot think through, I will paint it out — so I can take a good look at it, and figure out what it is. Before painting Sin of Innocence, I had so many conflicting emotions and questions that I had to paint them in order to analyze them. The minute I looked at the finished painting, I told myself, “Oh, it is a portrait of sadness disguised in anger.”
At Times They Sleep, oil and acrylic, by Elaine Qiu
Yes, current events can be disheartening: racism, ableism, misogyny, homophobia … under the magnifying effect of the internet and social media, the chasms seem to keep on deepening. But on close examination, we could see that oppression, injustice, suffering … these conditions were just as rampant as a hundred years ago as they are now. In fact, suffering seems to be an intrinsic component of the social realm. The rawness of Sin of Innocence was a contemplation of these social conditions. But in hindsight, I wish the painting could come from a more compassionate, less righteous place, because righteousness can easily lead to bitterness and despair, and these are not what the world needs now.
How do you interpret the title, Sin of Innocence?
I have been always troubled by human suffering, especially the suffering of the innocent. There is this innate paradox between sin and innocence. In the western tradition, there is this scene of an unblemished goat being chosen and laden with people’s sin, then the innocent animal was sent away, sacrificed and forgotten.
I have to admit that the whole idea of sin and innocence is a bit hard for people with eastern background to grapple with. However, throughout history, the idea kept manifesting itself in different forms. The most notorious one happened less than a century ago: Jews were made a perfect scapegoat given a long history of anti-Semitism and religious prejudice.
An Evening Prayer, oil, by Elaine Qiu. Part of The Art League’s August 2017 Open Exhibit.
In light of current events, I cannot help but ask: Will the scenario replay itself? Can we really solve our problems by removing the scapegoated individual or group? And I am also wondering: How was a scapegoat chosen? What makes a group or an individual a perfect target for blame? Has nature become the scapegoat of our greediness? Can one’s innocence be used against him?
On the other hand, a famous quote by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel also intrigues me. He said, “in a free society, … some are guilty, but all are responsible.” So, what is the sin of innocence? Are we innocent?
What is your creative process like, from an idea to a finished painting?
The process varies. As I mentioned before, I always start my painting with a question. Painting is my way of looking more deeply into what lies beneath the surface of things. I try not to let the subject matter dominate or push a narrative. Rather, I let the painting lead the way.
Where the Nomads Meet, oil, by Elaine Qiu
Sometimes the painting resolves itself fast, sometimes slow. It has nothing to do with the size of the painting. For example, a big painting like Sin of Innocence only took me few days (of course with very little sleep). In contrast, a small palm-sized painting might take me weeks, or even months to finish.
I often have several paintings going at the same time, and I have to listen to each painting’s individual needs. Sometimes, a painting might keep telling me: I’m not done yet. To this, I would say “Honey, don’t worry, take your time.” I might put paintings that need a lot of work next to the more “successful” ones, hoping they could talk to or influence each other while I’m away. Other times, a painting might simply need “time out,” so I just put it in a corner facing the wall.
What materials did you use for Sin of Innocence? Are these typical for your paintings?
I love to try different materials. I use materials according to what the painting calls for. For Sin of Innocence, I used acrylics, ink and oil on top. Technically, using acrylic or oil doesn’t make any difference for me. However, when I work on larger pieces, I prefer using acrylics with a blow dryer, because oil often dries too slowly to catch up with my thought.
What are you working on now?
I have two projects going on right now. Both of them are dealing with human suffering and relationships. I also have an ongoing project of in-between paintings: I do these small flower paintings whenever I’m stuck or in anticipating of my next painting. These paintings are mere studies similar to the scale practice of a musician.
Feeling the Force, mixed media, by Octavia Frazier. Winner of The Art League Award for Best in Show.
What does making a mark mean to you? When we talked to Elaine Qiu for this month’s other Q&A, she placed her painting in the tradition of Chinese calligraphy, with the same intention behind each brushstroke.
Feeling the Force comes from the realm of Western abstraction — and the sponges and squeegees of mixed media artwork — but you can sense calligraphic expression in the bold, powerful black marks across the surface of the work. (How do you think the artists’ marks compare?)
Artist Octavia Frazier, who we’ve previously interviewed on this blog, painted Feeling the Force and took home The Art League Award for her efforts. She told us all about making marks and how, exactly, she got to “feel the force” while working on this painting:
What does the term “mark” mean to you? What role does mark-making play in your paintings?
Octavia Frazier: It means leaving my stamp. I tend to make certain marks over and over without even thinking. I like when people tell me they can recognize my mark in my artwork.
In Feeling The Force, black marks are a strong part of balancing the strong colors I use. I try to be conscious of the strength of the mark and the negative space around the mark. In most of my painting I try to think of the weight of my marks and placement.
Octavia Frazier’s Color Blocking in acrylic and mixed media won the Evelyn Turner Award in March 2014.
What materials did you use for Feeling the Force?
I love the square-shaped, wooden boards, usually ungessoed. Starting out with making big black marks with high flow acrylic paint on a sponge, I follow up with graphite, markers and adding collage and torn paper with tar gel, ending up with a squeegee to eliminate certain marks I don’t like.
What was your goal for this painting?
My goal was to paint a successful painting with elements of shapes, marks, color and texture into a personal balance. I am very thankful to have been selected to receive the “Best in Show” award.
Closed Lines, mixed media, by Octavia Frazier
How do you interpret the title, Feeling the Force?
I really got into the painting, making marks without worrying about messing up or killing my painting. I felt very liberated and powerful. I truly was “Feeling the Force”!
“Mark” is on view through Sunday, October 1, 2017.
Catherine Hess’s monotype Sunny Cloud was juried into the Athenaeum invitational. Image courtesy the artist.
This monthly column is to share news from Art League members about what they’re up to: exhibits, awards, residencies, and the like. We hope hearing from your peers is inspiring and motivating to you! To submit your own news for the next edition, contact us using this form by the 15th of the month.
Let’s hear it for …
Rosalie O’Donnell
Rose writes:
My etchings and monotypes will be featured in an exhibit at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD from September 15 – December 3, 2017.
Nancy Ramsey and Bushra Shamma
Nancy writes:
Bushra Shamma and I are having a show at The Yellow Barn Gallery at Glen Echo this weekend, September 30–October 1. Its 12:00–5:00 pm each day with a reception 4:00–6:00 pm on Saturday. We’d love to have fellow Art League members drop in and visit us!
The artists in GLOW
GLOW, the third annual Athenaeum invitational, is on view September 21–October 29. Lots of Art Leaguers were selected for the exhibit, including:
Instructors: Deborah Ellis and Beverly Ryan
Members: Courtney Hengerer, Suzanne Vigil, Chris Bernstein, Ron Colbroth, Ellen Delaney, Catherine Hess, Joanne Mazarella, Alex Tolstoy, and Suzanne Yurdin
These printmakers
Rosalie O’Donnell, Jane Mann, Dave Mann and Sally Canzoneri all have artwork in “We the Immigrants” at Washington Printmakers Gallery in Georgetown. This exhibit is up September 28 to October 29, with an opening reception Saturday, October 14 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm.
Deadline: September 26. MFA (Maryland Federation of Art) invites all artists residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico to enter its 14th annual Small Wonders competition. Any original 2-D work 11″ by 11″ or smaller and 3-D work 11″ by 11″ by 11″ or smaller is eligible for entry.
Obama Foundation fellowships
Deadline: October 6. The Obama Foundation Fellowship program seeks to support outstanding civic innovators from around the world in order to amplify the impact of their work and to inspire a wave of civic innovation.
MD juried show
Deadline: October 10. “Inner Worlds” at Cade Art Gallery (Arnold, MD) seeks work that explores the inner experience, and the intersection between reality and perception. This call is open to all media. Juror: Anke Van Wagenberg, Senior Curator at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD.
Landscape Revisited
Deadline: October 15. Montgomery College, situated outside of Washington DC in Montgomery County Maryland, is pleased to announce “Landscape Revisited,” an exhibition that reexamines the traditional landscape oeuvre.
Bethesda studio space
Deadline: October 20. Studio B, located just a short stroll from the Bethesda Metro, features workspace for local artists. The studio includes exhibit space in each individual artist studio, as well as on the main wall. A 185 sq. ft. individual artist studio is available for rent, and applications are now being accepted.
Prints
Deadline: October 31. Original works in all printmaking media including intaglio, lithography, relief, screenprinting, monoprints, monotypes, digital prints, mixed printmaking media, and three-dimensional prints are eligible for “Impressions 2018” at Sarah Silberman Art Gallery (Rockville, MD).
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Solo exhibits @ The Art League
Extended deadline: September 26. The Art League (Alexandria, VA) seeks artists who have a strong, cohesive, and exciting body of work expressing an aesthetic concept for our prestigious solo artist exhibitions. Artists must be members to submit. Exhibit applications are reviewed two years ahead of time, so jurying takes place now for exhibits in 2019.
Contemporary craft
Deadline: September 29. The Greater Denton (Texas) Arts Council proudly presents the 31st Annual Materials: Hard + Soft National Contemporary Craft Competition and Exhibition.
Public art: Prince George’s
Deadline: September 29. The Hyattsville (MD) Community Development Corporation is accepting artist proposals for the design and fabrication of two sculpturally-devised bus shelters for placement on Rhode Island Avenue in the Prince George’s County Gateway Arts & Entertainment District.
Foundry Gallery
Deadline: September 30. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few established or emerging artists in the greater Washington, DC area. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows.
SC exhibit proposals
Deadline: September 30. Spartanburg Art Museum in Spartanburg, SC recently opened a Call for Artists for 2018-19. It is open to all contemporary artists nationally and internationally ages 18+.
Alexandria art purchases
Deadline: October 1. The City of Alexandria (VA) is purchasing original art to add to the City’s art collection and to display in City-owned buildings. Artists, art galleries, and art consultants working or residing in Alexandria and the Washington, DC area are encouraged to respond to this call.
Vermont residency
Deadline: October 1. Vermont Studio Center fellowships are open to all artists and writers living and working anywhere in the world. Every VSC residency opportunity includes private room, private studio space, all meals, and full access to our schedule of evening programs and events.
Crafty Bastards
Deadline: October 4. Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair will be held outdoors at Nationals Park on Saturday, November 11 and Sunday, November 12, 2017 in Washington, DC.
SW DC art fair
Deadline: October 4. A new art fair at the Carrollsburg Condominium Complex (Washington, DC) will be held on November 4. For details, see the info sheet and submission form.
Washington Award
Deadline: October 5. S&R Foundation invites emerging artists including musicians, dancers, and visual artists to apply for the 2018 Washington Award. Winners receive $5,000 and the opportunity to showcase their work during the Washington Award Ceremony in the spring of 2018.
King Street mural in Leesburg
Deadline: October 6. The Leesburg (VA) Commission on Public Art is seeking submissions for murals to be painted on each side of the King Street bridge that crosses over Town Branch in Leesburg.
This is America
Deadline: October 20. Gallery Underground in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia, invites artists working in all media to submit to “This Is America,” a national juried exhibition. Submit works depicting what you love – or don’t love – about America today. Works should be a reflection upon or expression about some aspect of America and how you see it. Juror: Marsha Staiger.
NC public art
Deadline: October 23. Madison County is pleased to announce a unique opportunity for artists to design a sculpture to be part of a permanent collection on the expanding greenway in Mars Hill, NC. Read the call for artists.
Virginia fellowships
Deadline: November 3. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Program is a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia. VMFA is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline.
Passages at Target
Deadline: November 12. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites artists to apply for Passages, a group exhibition that explores the lasting effects migration has on cultural identity. Adriana Ospina, Curator of Permanent Collection and Education at the Art Museum of the Americas, is the juror.
Matador Review
Deadline: November 30. Alternative art and literature magazine The Matador Review is now accepting submissions for the Winter 2018 publication. We publish poetry, fiction, flash fiction, and creative non-fiction, inviting all unpublished literature written in the English language (and translations that are accompanied by the original text) as well as many forms of visual art.
Northern Virginia Festival
Deadline: December 10. 27th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival: Every spring the Greater Reston Arts Center invites over 200 artists to showcase their best, original, contemporary fine art and craft in this competitive, juried outdoor event.
What is gesture drawing, anyway? The phrase might bring to mind a game of charades, but it’s really all about “the essence of rhythm and movement,” says John Murray, an Art League instructor who will be teaching Gesture Drawing starting this Fall.
by John Murray
Gestural drawing is associated with loose, flowing, and expressive marks. The term can be used broadly — you’ll even see that we have a workshop called Gestural Florals — but in this class, it’s all about the movement of the human body. Each class, students will draw from a model in 5-minute, 10-minute, and longer poses.
The class is good for all levels, Murray says. There will be some discussion of anatomy, but the focus will be on training the hand, and eye, to build confidence and experience.
Deadline: October 1. The City of Alexandria (VA) is purchasing original art to add to the City’s art collection and to display in City-owned buildings. Artists, art galleries, and art consultants working or residing in Alexandria and the Washington, DC area are encouraged to respond to this call.
Vermont residency
Deadline: October 1. Vermont Studio Center fellowships are open to all artists and writers living and working anywhere in the world. Every VSC residency opportunity includes private room, private studio space, all meals, and full access to our schedule of evening programs and events.
SW DC art fair
Deadline: October 4. A new art fair at the Carrollsburg Condominium Complex (Washington, DC) will be held on November 4. For details, see the info sheet and submission form.
Passages at Target
Deadline: November 12. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites artists to apply for Passages, a group exhibition that explores the lasting effects migration has on cultural identity. Adriana Ospina, Curator of Permanent Collection and Education at the Art Museum of the Americas, is the juror.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Shino ware
Deadline: September 22. The District Clay Gallery (Washington, DC) will hold its 2017 Shino Splendor Exhibition from October 29 to November 26. This exhibition celebrates one of the most exciting and historic ceramic glazes in all its amazing variation and beauty.
Solo exhibits @ The Art League
Deadline: September 23. The Art League (Alexandria, VA) seeks artists who have a strong, cohesive, and exciting body of work expressing an aesthetic concept for our prestigious solo artist exhibitions. Artists must be members to submit. Exhibit applications are reviewed two years ahead of time, so jurying takes place now for exhibits in 2019.
Smithsonian Craft Show
Deadlines: September 17–24. The annual Smithsonian Craft Show is a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American crafts and design. Artists are selected on the basis of the originality, artistic conception, and quality of their work.
Target Gallery: unfinished works
Deadline: September 24. Target Gallery, contemporary exhibition space of the Torpedo Factory Art Center, invites national and international artists working in all-media to apply to Interlude: Unfinished Works. This exhibition gives the spotlight to the artistic process. Curator Betsy Johnson of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is the juror.
Contemporary craft
Deadline: September 29. The Greater Denton (Texas) Arts Council proudly presents the 31st Annual Materials: Hard + Soft National Contemporary Craft Competition and Exhibition.
Public art: Prince George’s
Deadline: September 29. The Hyattsville (MD) Community Development Corporation is accepting artist proposals for the design and fabrication of two sculpturally-devised bus shelters for placement on Rhode Island Avenue in the Prince George’s County Gateway Arts & Entertainment District.
Foundry Gallery
Deadline: September 30. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few established or emerging artists in the greater Washington, DC area. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows.
SC exhibit proposals
Deadline: September 30. Spartanburg Art Museum in Spartanburg, SC recently opened a Call for Artists for 2018-19. It is open to all contemporary artists nationally and internationally ages 18+.
Crafty Bastards
Deadline: October 4. Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair will be held outdoors at Nationals Park on Saturday, November 11 and Sunday, November 12, 2017 in Washington, DC.
Washington Award
Deadline: October 5. S&R Foundation invites emerging artists including musicians, dancers, and visual artists to apply for the 2018 Washington Award. Winners receive $5,000 and the opportunity to showcase their work during the Washington Award Ceremony in the spring of 2018.
King Street mural in Leesburg
Deadline: October 6. The Leesburg (VA) Commission on Public Art is seeking submissions for murals to be painted on each side of the King Street bridge that crosses over Town Branch in Leesburg.
This is America
Deadline: October 20. Gallery Underground in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia, invites artists working in all media to submit to “This Is America,” a national juried exhibition. Submit works depicting what you love – or don’t love – about America today. Works should be a reflection upon or expression about some aspect of America and how you see it. Juror: Marsha Staiger.
NC public art
Deadline: October 23. Madison County is pleased to announce a unique opportunity for artists to design a sculpture to be part of a permanent collection on the expanding greenway in Mars Hill, NC. Read the call for artists.
Virginia fellowships
Deadline: November 3. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Program is a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia. VMFA is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline.
Matador Review
Deadline: November 30. Alternative art and literature magazine The Matador Review is now accepting submissions for the Winter 2018 publication. We publish poetry, fiction, flash fiction, and creative non-fiction, inviting all unpublished literature written in the English language (and translations that are accompanied by the original text) as well as many forms of visual art.
Northern Virginia Festival
Deadline: December 10. 27th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival: Every spring the Greater Reston Arts Center invites over 200 artists to showcase their best, original, contemporary fine art and craft in this competitive, juried outdoor event.
The 2016 Ice Cream Bowl Fundraiser set a record for most ice cream bowls sold: 1,741.
This year, you took home 1,881 bowls — another new record!
For the first time, we also sold these limited-edition handmade ice cream scoops, made by Steve, a participant in our IMPart program.Another milestone: We served our first drive-thru customer.
Thank you to everyone who came out to support us, to all the ceramic artists who created the beautiful bowls, and to the volunteers who helped out during the event. We’ll see you next year!
Decisions, decisionsBlessed by good weatherUnboxing the goodnessChocolate hazelnut, anyone?A small portion of the 1,881.Congratulations to Carla Edge, who won this casserole dish made by Blair Meerfeld!
And even though Art Camp is over, our classes for ages 5 and up continue all year long. You can find the Fall offerings for children and teens in our catalog.
Professor BG Muhn at his September 9 lecture at The Art League
We had a great turnout for the most recent lecture in our Visiting Artist Series! BG Muhn, painter and art professor at Georgetown, spoke at The Art League September 9, sharing his research on contemporary art and artists in North Korea.
We followed up with a few questions afterward, and here are BG’s responses:
Is there an art “underground” in North Korea?
BG Muhn: No, I doubt it. The concept of “underground” is what the people in a liberal society would hope to happen in North Korea. It’s a romantic idea that we anticipate, but yet to come.
Do fine crafts, such as ceramics and fiber, have an equally revered role with painting and sculpture?
All art forms are considered important and all art is VERY active in production; however, fine art such as painting in oil or Chosonhwa is more valued. Hand embroidery is not widely practiced in America, but it is a cherished, traditional art form in North Korea. I’ve seen a Mona Lisa done in embroidery and it looked so fabulously attractive.
Did you have a “minder” and could you have any private conservations with the artists?
Although I had some moments when I could have engaged in a private conversation with an artist, I did not try. I know the system well, and didn’t want anyone to get in trouble.
There appears to be an amazing amount of collaborative artwork. What lessons did you take from your time with these artists? Have they increased you own interest in collaborative artwork?
I thought it would be really wonderful if I can do a collaborative project here. It would be perfect for gigantic wall murals. Imagine that several professional artists work together on a street wall!
