Annie Albagli, As Above, So Below, 2011, unique screenprint on Arches paper, 84 x 60 inches.>> Refresh yourself at Long View Gallery on Thursday for an opening reception featuring a selection of the gallery’s favorite artists, including Scott Brooks, Marie Ringwald, Ann Marchand and many more. The swing jazz quartet Laissez Foure will provide the tunes while you peruse the artwork and sip refreshing summer cocktails. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Free.
>> Think about your own art collection or favorite pieces, ask yourself what specifically you are drawn to, then head over to the Torpedo Factory Art Center for an art panel on Thursday. Why does art move you? Artist Tory Cowles leads the discussion in response to her current exhibit Tory Cowles: Living LARGE!, in which she studies the relationships between colors within the canvas. 6 to 8 p.m. Free.
>> Annie Albagli’s Greetings from Paradise, a collection of unique, layered screenprints, opens with a reception at Pleasant Plains Workshop on Friday. The current Teaching Artist-in-Residence at Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center, Albagli combines organic shapes and geometric symbols to convey not only the look of her personal paradise, but also its feel. Contribute to the series and explore your own personal paradise by participating in interviews during the reception. 6 to 9 p.m. with the unveiling of a new window installation at 6:30 p.m. Free.
>> Flashpoint Gallery hosts opening receptions for a pair of site-specific installations on Saturday. Janell Olah, with curator Amanda Jirón-Murphy, installs you make me nostalgic for a place I’ve never known, living sculptures of translucent vinyl that breathe and glow fueled by the gallery’s HVAC system, thanks to fans and timers that inflate the structures and light them from within. In Trace, Nicole Herbert focuses on architectural features of the gallery by using drawings and sculptures to highlight its hallways, windows and office spaces. 6 to 8 p.m. Free.
>> The Corcoran Gallery of Art hosts a Saturday afternoon dance party featuring the music behind Chris Martin’s inspiration for his monumental paintings. You, too, can Break It Down Like James Brown while perusing his work, Chris Martin: Painting Big, currently on display. 1 to 3 p.m. Free — part of the gallery’s Free Summer Saturdays through Labor Day Weekend (and, there are only 6 weekends left!).
>> When one shower per day is just not enough, we all wish we were somewhere a little more pleasant. Escape into the sweet air-conditioned darkness in the National Gallery of Art‘s East Building Auditorium for three free movies this weekend. Long before he was precariously hiding watches or dancing in music videos, Christopher Walken played a Victorian boy who could look through walls in The Boy Who Could See Through, followed by Director Mary Ellen Bute’s Passages from James Joyce’s “Finnegans Wake”, starting at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Round two starts at 4:30 p.m. with A Co-op Omnibus, featuring a selection of groundbreaking shorts from the Film-Makers’ Cooperative‘s circulating collection, continuing with Jose Rodriguez-Soltero’s 1966 film Lupe and Jack Smith’s 1963 film Flaming Creatures at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
>> Washington City Paper is calling all kid crafters to submit for Young & Crafty, one of the newest additions to this year’s Crafty Bastards arts fair happening on October 1. If you’re between the ages of 9 and 18, are crafty, and can make enough items to display and sell by the end of September, get your parents’ approval and submit your application by August 8! It costs $10 to apply and, if chosen, $65 for your vending space in the fair. The parental units can contact the paper directly with questions.
