Opening Reception: Art in Transition-suddenspace

Opening Reception: November 6th  7-11:30pm

Exhibition Dates: November 3 - November 27, 2010

artdc.org proudly presents the newest installment of it's Art in Transition series; suddenspace, a pop-up art exhibition displaying the work of 19 dynamic emerging artists. Continuing the tradition of alternative gallery spaces, Art in Transition-suddenspace celebrates art and the activation of dormant architecture through the rich use of materials that range from large scale sc...ulpture and installation to intimate paintings. These artists will exhibit work exploring the ephemeral to mundane; from the traditional to the unexpected in 5,000 square feet of empty retail space from November 3rd -29th.

Participating artists: 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, Megan Mueller, Camden Place, Katherine Sable, Samuel Scharf, Ben Tolman, Jenny Walton, and Stewart Watson.

2301 Columbia Pike Arlington, VA

for more info go to suddenspace.com

Artist of the Week #5

Hedieh Javanshir Ilchi

www.hediehart.com

My art revolves around my cultural identity. As an Iranian immigrant, my initial understanding of the notion of identity as a fixed phenomenon has become more and more hybridized with the passing of time and has indeed transformed into an enticing amalgamation of East and West. This never ending transition has proven to be a challenge from the immediate culture-shock to my recent dealings with the not so recent social/political issues of Iran and the United States. I find a strong parallelism between the social/political issues and the most personal issues as this reflects in an individual’s understanding of his or her identity. This interconnection has dragged itself into my art and it specially drives my recent body of work.

The dichotomy of my Eastern and Western experiences enables me to explore and push artistic and gender related boundaries of the two cultures. My work morphs into a cultural hybrid that defines itself in a dual sense, as a visual entity and a conceptual paradigm. I utilize personal/cultural memories of experienced moments and allegorical symbols. These elements are merged with the appropriation of the Western macho Abstract Expressionism techniques and concepts and the feminine styles of miniature paintings and Islamic art of the Middle-East to find a collective language that is neither personal nor cultural, but somewhere in-between. Spontaneous and energy driven pours and splashes of paint are followed by hours of quiet and contemplative act of painting.

My paintings echo a sense of narration; though, this narration is fluctuating and non-linear throughout the body of work. This is an invitation for the culturally diverse viewers to participate in the making of art. I embrace the layering of meanings and the ambiguity that they entice. I draw from cultural and artistic traditions and conventions as a means of reframing those traditions.

MFA OPEN STUDIOS

Saturday, September 11, 2010

6:30-8pm

2nd Floor, Katzen Art Center

4400 Massachusetts Ave, DC

Artist of the Week #4

Bobby Coleman

http://bobbycolemanart.com/

Artist of the Week #3

Kate Demong

www.katedemong.com

My artwork is about the earth, history, family, life, and death. Fundamental to the work is my process of making; I gather natural materials — wood ash, soils, and sands — and then dry, grind, and sift them to create my own non-manufactured pigments. My paintings thus contain and preserve actual earth.

My reductive compositions draw focus to my works’ materials as well as encourage introspection by providing respite within our intensely busy world. For me, the simplicity engenders order, calm, and reflection. Many works are monochromes; others contain abstract shapes that evoke elemental forms in nature as well as geometries that cultivation imposes on the landscape. Although they appear simple, beneath the works’ surfaces are hours of contemplative labor, of collecting and preparing pigments, and of turning the earth into art.

These pigments come from places integral to my personal history. The wood ash is from my family’s apple farm in Vermont where I grew up; when globalization caused our orchard to fail, my father cleared the land by burning down the trees. I excavate soils that sustain crops and pasture across Vermont and collect other soils and sands from the American Southwest, where I have been transformed during many rich months hiking in the backcountry. In our modern economy we are more detached than ever before from nature and the source of the things that we use and consume. My works bring the earth indoors and have a history that I know directly.