Every year since its opening in 1989, the DC Arts Center has held its 1460 Wall Mountables show as a fundraiser for the non-profit Adams Morgan art center. A non-juried opportunity for artists of varying styles and skill levels to display work in a respected D.C. gallery, Wall Mountables comes off as a mini-Artomatic. Work is displayed floor-to-ceiling salon-style, with photographs next to drawn portraits next to abstract oils. And, just like at Artomatic, some work is better executed than others. Director B. Stanley claims that this year is one of the annual show's best displays, with the folks that made typical jokes (like tacking a ten dollar bill to the wall, and naming the price as $10 — oh-so-esoteric!) now replaced by artists who really care about their work.

Artists approach their 2 x 2 foot squares in varying ways. Many purchased several squares side-by-side and are displaying series of small works. Alexandra Silverthorne, a D.C. photographer who often shoots more serious subjects in black and white, finds that Wall Mountables is "a great place to show some of my more playful works," and has learned from past experience that "exhibiting many small pieces really works."

Several other artists followed this tactic as well. Boyfriend and girlfriend pair Shannon McCarty and Daniel Dean chose to hang series of even more playful Polaroids. Both McCarty and Dean are B.F.A. photography students at George Mason University, and McCarty's two series of Polaroids sit next to and underneath Dean's piece. Dean took home the "Best Use of Space" award, earning a $100 prize for Pieces of You, which features a functioning mirrored medicine cabinet that opens to reveal nine images of McCarty's body parts, including her toes, eyes, knee, breast, and half of her crotch. McCarty's series Untitled features fifteen Polaroids of life and relationships, several of which include a layer of typed text. One image shows the couple's strewn sneakers, with white Polaroid strip reading "a portrait of us 5.30.2007." While the works of Silverthorne, McCarty and Dean are a little rough around the edges, it is pieces like theirs that make Wall Mountables an interesting show. The casual vibe of the exhibit gives artists the opportunity to show work in progress as well as pieces that may not fit in so well in the confines of a more formal environment.

Many artists in Wall Mountables seem to be fascinated by images of small toy figurines displayed against stark backgrounds. Relatively well exhibited Trish Tillman and Candace Keegan showed work together, with the former's print of a toy elephant's ass holding cue cards, Commitment, displayed near Keegan's amusing series of toy robots. Andrew Francis Smirz's Trio features a toy fuzzy yellow chick on green plastic grass, a white porcelain bunny holding a purple egg, and an earless tan fuzzy bunny, all photographed on white cloth. The playful kitschy-ness of the toys featured in these works is cute, though it's still surprising to see so many artists working with the same subject matter.

One artist in Wall Mountables is a particular stand-out. Michele Colburn, whose work was recently accepted into the permanent collection at the National Museum of Natural History, displays six black-framed acrylic and mixed media canvases from her recent Desert Series. The series deals with personal losses experienced while the artist lived in Arizona, exuding the terrible separation felt when a friend was deployed to Iraq. This experience brought the current war into a state of reality for the artist, showcased by the emails, writings, photocopied images, newspaper clippings, and drawings shown in the background of the work. Four of Colburn's paintings feature heart organs floating among mostly nondescript landscapes, with two works revealing images of cacti and trees beneath the paint. Helicopter (pictured) shows a UH-60 medical helicopter holding two heart organs on top of newspaper clippings referencing terrorism, eloquently communicating her feelings about the war.

1460 Wall Mountables will be on display through September 7 at DC Arts Center, 2438 18th Street NW. Open Wednesday though Sunday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Image of Helicopter copyright the artist.