As always with the end of summer, there have been slim pickings in the art world, and most galleries are banking on you using Labor Day weekend for one final trek to sunny beaches. We scrounged up a few options for those of you sticking around town, which you may want to consider using as a warm-up for next week, when the fall art season opens with a bang.
>> G Fine Art is warming up, too, with a one-day-only show featuring the work of young artist Andrew Margolies Mezvinsky. His paintings on fabric are manipulated so that the carefully shaped folds create shadows, giving the works form and structure that’s just as fascinating as the drawings on them. The U.K. artist spent a stint in Ghana in the Peace Corps, and uses his experience to create pieces that speak of multiculturalism and sometimes oddly combined situations. Stop by the gallery Saturday between 1 and 4 p.m. to see his work with some drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
>> Tonight’s Artful Thursday at the Phillips Collection features a gallery talk on the talents that crossed oceans to soak up the creative know-how of Claude Monet. Afterwards, wander around the museum to see how Americans emulated and branded their own form of impressionism in the ongoing and aptly titled exhibition, American Impressionism. Talks begin at 6 and 7 p.m. and are free with admission.
>> There are only two more weeks to see the exhibit Undisturbed by Color: Art and the Early Photographic Album at the National Gallery of Art. Though perhaps a little navel gazing, this nonetheless fascinating collection documents the transformation of art history; photography allowed people around the world to view art without having to travel vast distances to see it. Black and white photo albums of masterpieces created a gateway for artists, collectors, and students into the minds of creative geniuses as early as 1860. See the show before it closes on September 16.
>> We love art for a cause, and one of our frequent contributors — as well as Exposed winner and occasional Photo of the Day featured photographer — Pamela Viola participates in a good one. Every month she features one of her signature soft focus, vibrantly colored photographs for Print for the Cure. Ten dollars from each print sold (they come in editions of 100) goes to a different health-related charity each month. This month the money will go to fund Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic, which supports a group of pilots who volunteer their time to transport financially needy patients for essential, non-emergency procedures. Check out her print, Boys of Summer, and stop back every 28th of the month for her new offering.
Image of DaVinci painting at the National Gallery of Art by andertho.
