Melanie Fischer

 artdc acquired  No Responses »
Feb 062012
 

In 2010, we held our first show inviting UMD undergrad interns to act as our guest curators. The show was tight, and well attended. We bought our first undergrad work for the artdc collection at that show. A year later, we recently closed our second UMD undergrad show for 2011.

It was an excellent event, an opportunity for students to network with more seasoned artists, and experience their work in a gallery off campus. The energy in the air reminded me of my first New York solo show, at Tracy Causey’s gallery. I was so excited to be in NY, I slept under my art in lieu of a hotel. Maybe this energy is part of my attraction to doing undergrad shows. We’re offering the public an opportunity to view the work of new artists selected by a first time curator. Again I’m stuck with the limited number of explicatives to describe the event, so tremendous fits.

As in 2010, we decided to expand artdc’s collection by adding another work from our UMD series.

We purchased Melanie Fischer’s “Jetski Accident.” It’s full of energy, and I can visualize the title in the piece.  I see the red and black representing blood and oil, blue for water It’s exploding energy with motion in the paint and scratches in the surface. The art stands on its own, but in such an abstract work, it’s nice to cheat with a little insight into the artist’s mind by reading the title. I liked that for a young artist, she’s using quality materials like museum wrapped stretcher bars supported with cross bars in the back. Little details matter.

With a title like “Jetski Accident,” I do want to know more about its history, and the thought behind Melanie’s process. There’s history in a title like that.

Recently, I produced some work that pushed my limits in the abstract world. To develop titles, I had to dig deep into why I was creating my images, the process and thoughts behind them. I can’t wait to find out how Melanie’s work develops, and what it means to her.

 Posted by at 11:13 pm

Daniel Miller

 Personal Collection  No Responses »
Jan 262012
 

For a show in December 2011, I selected work for the Target Gallery’s Petri Dish exhibit.  Petri Dish was a national, all-media, small works exhibition that has the primary focus of artist experimentation. The work in the exhibition fit within a standard petri dish.  The concept was great.  Historically, I worked at Georgetown University in drug development and molecular biology.  It was an exciting time, and I often thought about how I “should have” combined science and art; however the idea lain dormant.  I had the opportunity to bring this combination to life through networking with Mary Cook.

Mary Cook is the director of Target Gallery and the microwave project. She has seen some of my work through artdc’s Web presence, pop-up galleries, and a show that I juried for the Torpedo Factory’s Art League.  This is another instance of an art family.  While the DC area has a large active art scene, there are many connections bringing people together.  Outside of the Target Gallery, I think I first became aware of her work when I went to the G40 summit to view Peter Gordon’s work with the Microwave Project.  See more about Peter’s work below.

Mary invited me to select works for Target Gallery’s December 2011 show.  It was a great project.  She is very organized, which made my job significantly easier.  My attention was on the work, not the effort to acquire, organize, and manage submissions. She used Dropbox to create a depository of images to roll through.  This allowed me to look at the work as an entire group and make comments about work that moved me.  My selections were blind; there were no artist names attached to the images. There was such a wide range of work, which allowed me to push the connection beyond the sterile environment of the room and size limitations.

The layout of the show was extremely clean.  Mary mounted over 50 small white shelves to present the work.  It required viewers to walk in the room and look down at each piece. This was a great way to let the works lie on their own, and move your focus at an individual pace.

Before the close of the show, I moved through the gallery and found the 3 works by Daniel Miller.  I remember looking at his photos during selection.  At the time the light from these works of art excited me, but I knew I had to experience them face-to-face to connect.  They are kinetic.  LED bulbs blinking, creating movement.  I was impressed that he created his own custom controllers to time the activity of the lights.  If you flip the work over, you can see the semi-conductors and the work he did to manufacture a custom circuit.  I love kinetic art.  You may have seen the show that Grayson Heck and I produced at the artdc Gallery.  At a young age I used to tinker with electronics, so the fact that Daniel created his own microcontrollers sans breadboard attracted me further to “Under The Ice.”  I really enjoy Daniel’s work, and I told the gallery assistant I wanted to buy “Under The Ice, 2011.”


(Image courtesy of www.danmillerart.com )

I was excited to see that this show was mentioned in The Washington Post, and that this work is in the article.  That’s wonderful for a little provenance–icing on the cake!

 Posted by at 7:58 pm

Lisa Rosenstein

 Personal Collection  No Responses »
Jan 212012
 

In September of 2011, the artdc Gallery hosted its 12” x 12” show.  This was our 3rd annual small works exhibition.  Our goal was to show a large number of works to a wide audience.  We decided upon a small works show to aid in keeping the cost per work small, hoping that more people from a local arts festival would buy. This show is an open call exhibit with very few restrictions.  It’s all-inclusive, which has been a great opportunity for us to develop relationships with new artists, and reaffirm connections with existing relationships.

I have bought a few things for the gallery from our 12” x 12” exhibits.  The work is affordable, and it creates access to work that I might not have found since there is a large group of over 100 works.

In the process of adding to the gallery’s collection, I decided to buy one of Lisa Rosenstein’s works for my self.  The work stood on it’s own, and she’s a representative of our activity.  I thought it would be important to have her work in my collection.

I enjoy her material use.  She plays with texture and layering that creates dimension with in her works.  I love the layers between the canvas, threads, and strings.  I can trace the details with my eyes for hours.  These two small works had wonderful presentation with a metal frame adding to the structure that she’s created.

I picked the one that spoke to me the most.  It’s titled Restrained Freedom and based on the juxtaposition of the “head” being restrained while the “body” is breaking free.  It has the theme of life, you can see there are 18 vertical dots, signifying Life in the Jewish religion (18 = Chai = Life).  The work is composed of acrylic, acrylic mediums, dimensional paint, archival paper, thread, and handmade net on canvas board.

I told her that I needed to purchase it for my personal collection, and she refused to let me buy it.  She gave it to me as a gift instead!  I’m so touched.  She is such a motivating force that makes me want to get out there and make more art.

 Posted by at 12:54 pm

“Sleep”

 Personal Collection  No Responses »
Nov 252011
 

In September I selected a show with work from several local artists that represented a range from hyperrealist portraits and pop art to abstracted metal sculpture. The show consisted of works by Patrick Kirwin, Jack Labadie, Michael Winger, Sy Gresser and Grayson Heck.

Our reception was well received and garnered positive compliments. After the close, I made arrangements to buy “Sleep,” a cast aluminum work by Grayson Heck. I connected with the sculpture. While its titled “Sleep,” there’s more to it than just relaxation.

The connection relates to my association with the artist. I see this as a self-portrait. There is a contrast between the surface texture, the expression, and the abstraction created by the lack of eyes and teeth.

In 2003, I conducted an experiment on film using changes in composition and depth of field focused on a ceramic mask. I tracked the development of emotion shooting a range of works focused on the same subject.

In one image in particular, I flipped the lens backward with a close-up filter. I decreased the depth of field to focus on the lips only. The eyes appeared like empty, fuzzy black circles vs. another image focused sharply on the eyes. With the former, there was an eerie vacant sense to the subject’s presence; he wasn’t there contrasting with the other image that appeared to track you with his eyes.

I love seeing a connection between artists, especially when my work is involved. Grayson and I had no conversations about the subject of his work before it was completed. His creativity is independent of mine, but there is a connection of thought. His work stands on its own because of the hollow format with empty eye sockets. You could look at that as our departure into another world while we sleep, or a spiritual departure in death.

I find it extremely interesting to learn of an artist’s intent behind a work in comparison with my reaction to the work. I look forward to his response to this article.

 Posted by at 5:55 pm

Camden Place

 Personal Collection  No Responses »
Oct 062011
 

In February of 2011, I purchased a work from Camden Place for my personal collection.  The piece is titled, “Sam knows how to party.”  The subject is Sam Scharf.  Both the Sam and Camden are artists in Washington, DC area. I’ve worked with them in a number of area art events.  I first saw Camden’s work in our Sudden Space show, a pop-up gallery event that took place in Arlington, VA.  Sam and Megan Muller curated the event, artdc.org, organized the show.

At Sudden Space, I was immediately excited by Camden’s technique.  He creates wood reliefs using either red oak or plywood with veneers.  He coats the block of wood with black ink and then reveals the image with a chisel, as if he were going to use it for prints.  That said, his blocks are never used for prints.  His works are one of kind with depth and intensity.

His marks are extremely shallow and delicate.  They are created with a very careful and visible measure of intent.  The process is a wonderful transformation of the people and situations that he observes.  To me, his work is more than the moment captured, but the transformation of emotion of the subject.
          

I selected this piece out of his collection with appreciation for it’s particular use of contrast with great control of the shadows.   The way the marks worked with this particular slab of oak, manipulating the grain, and revealing the image with respect for the subject, Sam.  The shadow’s over his face captures his energy. This will be an important piece for it’s quality as a work of art which stands on it’s own, and the subject who’s sure to gain fame and acclaim in the art scene at-large.

With out going further, I say view this work, and draw your own conclusions.  But, make the decision to buy Camden Place’s work now, while you still can.

 Posted by at 8:33 pm

Knots by Grayson Heck

 artdc acquired  No Responses »
Jun 052011
 

The artdc Gallery has represented Grayson Heck in several exhibitions since April of 2010.  His positive energy as an artist and guest curator has had a bright impact on our experience in our space.

Grayson works in a wide variety of media from painting to sculpture and beyond.  I find strength in his ability to transform metal from raw material, giving it life and form representing an idea.  He doesn’t just bend metal; he creates emotions and reactions.  Since his work in “Don’t Feed the Art,” (DFTA) I’ve been impressed, and I knew we’d eventually purchase some of his work.  His sculptures maintain electric energy, even without the wall plugs of the kinetic works in the DFTA show.

In January of 2011 we put together a show titled “structure, energy,” exhibiting the works of Peter Gordon, Grayson Heck, and Lisa Rosenstein.  Over the years, they have all produced a solid base of work, so we were excited to display their creations.

Grayson included six works ranging from found object-based instruments and stationary sculptures.  An artdc patron purchased one group of sculptures simply titled “spikes.”  The spikes are tall triangular based works.


(Structure, energy spike and kinetic instrument installation shots by Tom Cardarella).

See the kinetic instrument sculptures:

After circling the show for several days, I decided it was time, and I dropped Grayson an e-mail to let him know that we’d purchase his “knots” for the gallery collection.

The knots are sand cast iron made from a foam burn out.  To create texture, Grayson coated the foam with a faux ceramic surface. Grayson writes, “The knots represent our frustrations and anxieties that build up inside of us. As we try to repress and control these emotions/thoughts, our ‘insides’ get tangled, contorted and tied together.”

See a knot close up here:

 Posted by at 10:22 pm

Brian Krik

 Personal Collection  No Responses »
May 252011
 

In November of 2010, I dropped some photographs by the Studio Gallery in DC for photo week.  I fell in love with the art by Brian Kirk.  His work ranges from steel sculpture to prints created with rust.  I like the metallic content.  In my mind, they harmonize with the rusted paint can work by Steven Dobbin who is represented by friends of ours at Causey Contemporary.  While Steven created prints from rusted paint cans, Kirk is using metal tools to develop impressions with rust for a period of 6 weeks or more.  I know they are both concerned with the effects of time and nature.   The end results of Kirk’s and Dobbin’s work are very different, but to me, there’s a relationship with similar thoughts.  I’m sure they developed their ideas independently, but there is excitement to see connections in creative material use.

While I was at the gallery, Adah, the director, gave me a tour of the space.  After viewing Kirk’s work, she pointed to a portfolio that contained more of his rust prints.  I bought one for my personal collection.  I like buying unframed work since it allows me to play with the presentation.  After all, the walls in my house are not white like the gallery, so I enjoy adding to the décor, and using the frame to make the work pop.

I stopped by my framer’s shop. Mark Klostermeyer is a master framer with a great eye.  We decided to step out of my normal range and begin a new addiction with cloth-covered mats.  As a photographer, I’ve presented a number of works in a very simple manner.  This work deserved more.  Mark suggested a mat with a fake suede finish.  He mounted the work for me, and I completed the work using Acropolis by Larson Juhl (Mark’s suggestion) which has a dark terra cotta finish.  The snapshot below of the finished work doesn’t quite show the details.  There are some amazing subtleties between the rust, suede, and frame hues of brown. In the future, I’ll start to photograph these works before adding the glazing so you can see the work sans reflections.   For this work, I chose plexi with UV protection to keep the work safe while reducing the weight on the wall.  View the completed work here:

 Posted by at 5:27 pm

Jenny Walton

 artdc acquired  No Responses »
Apr 062011
 

In August of 2010 we hosted a popup show in Arlington, VA entitled suddenspace, which developed from the idea that we planned this show with less than 30 days notice.  Suddenly, we had space.  Sam Scharf and Megan Mueller selected the work for the exhibition.  The show consisted of a wonderful group of artists many of which were from American University.

We filled a 5000+ square foot space with an amazing selection works from Emily Biondo, Tim Campbell, Bobby Coleman, Kate Demong, L. Kimberly Gillespie, Victoria Greising, Adam Hager, Sabeth Jackson, Sarah Laing, Stuart Lorimer, Lindsay McCulloch, Sarah Miller, Camden Place, Katherine Sable, Ben Tolman, Jenny Walton, Stewart Watson, Megan Mueller, and Samuel Scharf.

The show crossed the range with a wide variety of works including a number of unique installations art.

During setup and installation, I felt a great attraction to Jenny Walton’s monotypes.   Her work is tight and fluid at the same time with ghosts of bones.  You can see pain in her abstracted images.

We invited her to do a show at the artdc Gallery.  I paired her work with the film-based found objects of Alexandra Zealand.  We named the show, “in the present.”  Their work matched well with a contrasting edge as they both grappled with thoughts of human life and its evolving relationships to the world, which they expressed through organic curves using stark black and white combinations.

As our collection grows, I realized that one of Jenny Walton’s works would fit nicely, so we purchased a small work.  See it below:

 Posted by at 11:46 am

Boocks

 artdc acquired  No Responses »
Feb 232011
 

In February of 2009 we decided to start the artdc gallery. Before we had access to our space we decided to begin with an auction at our friend’s space, the Wohlfarth Galleries.  The owner, Lavinia Wohlfarth, was very generous in helping us set up an auction to raise well-needed funds.

The event was packed with art collectors and artists who bought art. It was a very positive event.

Since our space opened we thought about doing another auction, but we held off. We wanted to grow and increase our connections with more artists and art lovers who want to support our community.

In December 2010 we held our second auction.  Again, we had a good number of people attend who were passionate about our community.

We invited Cheryl Edwards to be the auctioneer for both events.  Her energy and passion for our project can be felt as the night’s event moved on.  We’ll introduce more details about her excitement for art as this site grows.

With lust for art and zeal for excitement, the bidding started. I wanted to get in the mix and bid on two or three items for my personal collection.  Cheryl ignored my bids!  She knew this was about bringing in external bids rather than letting me raise funds for the gallery from my bank account.

Piece by piece, great work from tremendous DC-area artists including Alexandra Zealand, Christopher Brady, Lisa Rosenstein and Barry Schmetter were sold to collectors.

Toward the end, I couldn’t take it anymore, and I placed a bid for the gallery on a work by Stephen Boocks.  Stephen and his wife Lori are both artists.  I know her work from the Studio Gallery in Dupont Circle, and I’ve watched Stephen’s work grow as he’s submitted art for a number of our group shows. I knew it was time to acquire one of his pieces for the Gallery’s collection.

Going once. Going twice. Sold to the highest bidder, as the gavel smashed down onto the steel pedestal.

Stephen does an excellent job of juxtaposing his surfaces with objects.  You can tell that he cares about his paint.  There’s a very subtle rhythm to the tonality, while his choice of a coat hanger is definitely a non-traditional subject.

His core image evolved through his personal quest of healing and a resulting epiphany of structure, which occurred when he dropped a stack of hangers on the floor.  Stephen found beauty in this simple accumulation of objects, and decided to study it.

As an artist, I appreciate his obsession with an idea.  He has put in effort working his images.  He’s developed a habit honing his technique, which takes tremendous effort to work the image, and re-work it till he gets what he wants.  He’s created a solid series based on a set core subject idea.

 

 Posted by at 9:32 pm

poco a poco

 artdc acquired  No Responses »
Feb 082011
 

With the goal of expanding our gallery’s community we offered two spots for internships to the University of Maryland.  We invited our interns to select art. We thought this was an extremely unique opportunity for the both of us.  We earned the view of “art to come” through eyes of new artists, and they acquired the opportunity to plan a gallery show outside of the university.

To start, our interns met with gallery Neptune owner Elyse Harrison to discuss the process of selecting work.  The show was a team effort where our two interns, Owen Duff and Sahar Somekhian worked together to develop their first curatorial experience.  They gave the show an appropriate title of, “Square One.”

Both Sahar and Owen had very different views of art, however they worked extremely well together and picked a cohesive group of works with a wide range of styles.  Their differences allowed the show to grow.  The artists included Jay Chmilewski, Erica Federhen,  Timothy Horjus, Christie Liberatore, Kunj Patel, and Fawna Xiao.  Square One was bright and packed full of color.  See the link above for more information about the show.

Walking into the reception after the installation was an exciting experience since I had been out of town the week before the final selections and install for a tour of LA area galleries.  We took the city apart running from Culver City to Bergamot Station and Abbot Kinney to amazing museums like LACMA, the Getty, and beyond.  However, that in itself is a story for another time.  After living in a LA state of mind for over a week, it was so wonderful to see the choice works of art that our interns had selected.  “Square One,” definitely fit with my west coast state of mind.

I knew we were going to buy art from this selection of work; it was just a matter of what suited the future of our collection. It was an extremely difficult choice.  Each artist’s work spoke to me on a personal level from Timothy’s extreme attention to detail and bright colors, to Fawna’s screen prints.

The entire show was strong, but I was really attracted to Erica Federhen’s acrylic works on canvas.  At first glance, I wanted the entire collection of her works, which made the choice difficult.  It was going to be the alphabetical work with the letters  r, e, and d in red.

It looked like we had a buyer for that work, so I spent more time with her other paintings since I didn’t want to prevent a collector from purchasing a work.

Then “poco a poco,” which means little by little caught my attention.  By the time the show ended our collector who was interested in the “red” work had commitment issues.  I decided that “poco a poco” was really a statement about our/artdc’s efforts in the art scene over the years.   We do things little by little, so as much as I thought the red work was an homage to Jasper Johns, whom I love, the gallery decided to purchase poco a poco.  See it here:

See the artist with her work in our gallery:

 Posted by at 8:00 pm
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