Arts Agenda
The Smithsonian announced yesterday that they've officially formed the committee to find the replacement for Olga Viso as the new Director of the Hirshhorn. The group of eight includes local art collectors and Hirshhorn trustees, a couple Smithsonian officers, and the Director of SFMoMA, though we can think of at least one more loud voice that might want in on the decision. We'll be interested to hear who they come up with before Viso leaves at the end of the year.
This Weekend Only:
>> Second Fridays mean Bethesda Art Walks. The approach of chilly weather means that tomorrow will be the last guided tour of the season, so get there promptly at 6:30 p.m. to follow along the free trek to 8 of the 13 participating galleries, including Fraser Gallery, which opens a group show of narrative paintings. As go the tours, so goes the Bethesda Artist Market, which will hold its last event of the year this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
>> Project 4 and The Pink Line are throwing another art party this weekend, this time taking over the Lee Jensen Brake Shop at 1333 14th Street NW. While hanging out in the dirty garage, view the art of 13 artists who make up Luster with their works exploring the superficial and excessive consumerist culture. The $10 cover, which goes to Pink Line's emerging artists program, includes cocktails and live music. The show goes on Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight, and Sunday 12 to 5 p.m.
>> If you find yourself squeezing your eyes shut when the Nip/Tuck cameras zero in on a flayed open body and a doctor with stainless steel diving in between the organs, you probably haven't stopped by Bodies...The Exhibition yet. For the rest of you who can suffer some severe gross-out moments in order to examine the wonder of the human body, this is your last chance. The exhibition at The Dome in Rosslyn will hold its last day this Sunday.
>>The McLean Project for the Arts holds its first-ever juried Art Festival this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Local businesses will have food and drink, including Moorenko's Ice Cream Cafe, which made a special flavor just for the event.
>>The Ballston Art Market continues this Saturday, with art, crafts, music and food, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
>> Art Outlet just can't wait for Halloween, so they're bringing the horror to us a few weeks early with Ofrenda: Art for the Dead this Saturday. From 3 p.m. to midnight, get your hands dirty in workshops, sit back and enjoy music and film screenings, not to mention a whole slew of obscure and probably purposefully vague events (marigolds and souls!). Come in your favorite zombie outfit and bring an "offering" for their alter to the dead.
>> If outside the beltway influence is more your style, stop by the one-day show sponsored by artdc.org. Art in Transition Continued, after a long hiatus from the first 2005 show will feature 2- and 3-D works by 17 local artists, chosen by a Vermont art supporter through artdc.org's online archives. They'll be taking over the empty space at 1626 U Street, NW. Doors open at noon; reception is from 6 p.m. to midnight.
Exhibit Openings:
>> This weekend a second American icon opens a show at the Corcoran. Along side Ansel Adams, whose exhibition opened September 15, portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz will display A Photographers Life: 1995-2000 starting Saturday. DCist got an early peek, and it's Brad Pitt-alicious and Queen of England-magnificent. We'll have a full review for you tomorrow.
>> Flashpoint Gallery opens Evade, Elude, Escape this evening, with works by printmaker Georgia Deal. Her layered work (pictured) take images out of their familiar contexts and into larger, geo-political roles, asking the viewer to look at their own life and their role in the bigger issues at the forefront today. Opening reception is 6 to 8 p.m.
>> The gallery at Art Enables will be celebrating Outsider Art Inside the Beltway with a reception Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. The show features visual art by mostly self-taught artists participating from organizations such as Anchor Mental Health, Arts for the Aging, the Prison Art Gallery, and Miriam's Kitchen.
>> Americans in Paris bring their work to Honfluer Gallery this weekend. Five ex-pats come home with their internationally influenced work, such as Linda McCluskey's architecture oil paintings and Matthew Rose's surreal digital prints. Reception is Saturday at 7 p.m.
>> The Nevin Kelly Gallery opens the exhibit H20, featuring the paintings of Polish-artist Michal Zaborowski. His works find the "heroic" in mundane subjects and activities and beauty in the every day. Stop by the opening reception tonight from 6 to 9 p.m.
>> If serenity is what you seek, visit the DCAC this weekend and envelope yourself in Manon Cleary's skyscapes. His Her oil and graphite paintings straddle the line between realism and impressionism, but you'll wish each one was the view from your back porch every day. The opening reception is Friday, 7 to 9 p.m.
Art Notes:
- No doubt many of even the most enthusiastic museum goers have missed the International Gallery at the Smithsonian's Ripley Center, but history buffs and cartophiles will want to seek it out for Worthy of the Nation, which opens today.
- The Washington School of Photography will have an opening for their show My Hometown this Friday from 6 to 9 p.m., along with a silent auction for items from photo accessories to jewelry and sports memorabilia.
- International Visions opens a show with the emotional paintings of Betty Murchison. Reception is Saturday, 6:30 to 9 p.m.
- Two fascinating fine art paper exhibits open at Pyramid Atlantic, starting with an artists talk on Saturday at 6 p.m., followed by a reception from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
- Touchstone Gallery opens three shows with a wide-variety of mediums this weekend, with an opening reception on Friday, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Images for Luster and Georgia Deal's Evade, Elude, Escape are courtesy Project 4 and The Pink Line Project and Flashpoint, respectively.