Craft of Music at Katzen Arts Center

The Craft of Music will take place at the Katzen Arts Center of American University from noon - 5:00 on Feb 7.

The Craft of Music at the Katzen Arts Center of American University from noon – 5:00 on Feb 7.

An exciting, engaging, and unique program, The Craft of Music (From Bach to Bluegrass:  Stringed Instruments and the Music They Make) will take place at the Katzen Arts Center of American University on February 7th from 12:00-5:00 PM.  You do not want to miss this one. The four part program includes:  displays of contemporary and nontraditional instruments, a panel discussion on the craft of making stringed instruments and then two musical performances of stringed instruments. 

The doors of the Center will open at 12:00 noon to allow visitors to peruse the displays of contemporary instruments presented by panelists and the exhibit of nontraditional instruments curated by Jennifer Lindsay (there will be demos with some of those being played!).

The panel discussion will begin at 1:00 PM.  The notable panel members include:  Dick Boak from Martin Guitar, Jim Warwick a Luthier, Wayne Lanham a member of the Bill Emerson Band, Bran Dillard owner of Picker’s Supply, and Fred Oster of Oster Violins and the Antique Road Show.  Luthier, Mike Mears will moderate.  There will be plenty of time for Q & A, so come with your questions about instrument making.

After a break, Arcovoce with Amuse will perform Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #6.  Arcovoce is led by Nina Falk who studied at Juilliard and Oberlin, received a Fulbright to study in Europe, has performed with the National Symphony and the Paris Symphony and was described by the Washington Post as “one of Washington’s finest musicians”.  Other members of the ensemble are equally notable.

The classical performance will be followed by a performance by the Bill Emerson Bluegrass Band, Sweet Dixie.  Award winning Emerson is founder of the world famous Country Gentlemen, founder of US Navy Band Bluegrass Ensemble, Country Current, and he has recorded and played with more bands than any other banjo player.  Each musician in the band has had a notable career.

During the afternoon there will be plenty of time to talk with panelists and musicians, to browse the instrument displays, purchase CD’s from the artists and refreshments from the café of the Katzen Center.

Come join the group for an exciting afternoon.  Let your friends know and get your tickets early for this unique program by logging onto the JRA website:  www.jra.org/events/craft-music.  Seating is limited.

Silvia Levenson @ Katzen Arts Center

Silvia Levenson @ American University Museum

Silvia Levenson “She Flew Away” cast glass, steel wire

Artist Silvia Levenson believes her work is an expression of her soul. She uses glass not for its natural beauty, but for its potential as a narrative medium. In her exhibition Identidad, (January 24 – March 15, 2015 at the American University Museum in the Katzen Arts Center), Ms Levenson channels her identity as a survivor of the Argentinian Dirty War and her emotional connection to the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo in order to push the bounds of her skills as a glassmaker and produce refined glass work. 

Silvia Levenson was born in Buenos Aires, the capital and largest city of Argentina. She and her family went into hiding for almost three years as political activists opposing the military dictatorship of General Jorge Rafaél Videla. In 1981, during the disappearances of the so-called Dirty War in Argentina, they fled the country and immigrated to Italy, where they eventually attained dual Argentine-Italian citizenship. Between 1976 and 1983, the Argentine military dictatorship kidnapped, tortured, and killed about 30,000 people known as “los desaparecidos” or “the disappeared.” Thirty percent of those kidnapped were young women, many with children by their side or in their womb. These children were later stripped of their identity and given up for adoption. 

levenson.2

Levenson studied at the Martin Garcia School of Graphic Design in Buenos Aires. She acquired glass-making skills at the Musée-Atelier du Verre (Sars-Poteries/FR) at workshops with Antoine Leperlier (pâte-de-verre, 1991) and Vincent van Ginneke (casting, 1994). Silvia Levenson lives in Lesa/Italy and Buenos Aires. In 2004, Levenson received the Rakow Commission Award from the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.

The American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center presents a lecture titled “The Strange World of Silvia Levenson” featuring Washington Glass School Directors Tim Tate and Michael Janis to be held on Thursday, January 29, 2015, 6:00-7:00 pm at the Katzen Arts Center. 

RSVP by Jan 22, 2015 to museummembership@american.edu 

Identitdad by Silvia Levenson

January 24 through March 15, 2015

Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016

Glass in the 21st Century Exhibition @ Salisbury University

21st Century Glass exhibit at Salisbury University

21st Century Glass exhibit at Salisbury University

Maryland’s Salisbury University Galleries will present an exhibition of glass artworks by a diverse roster of noteworthy artists, reflecting the expanded nature of contemporary sculptural glass art. Glass, as a medium, is undergoing a sea change. What started as a bohemian enterprise in the garage of the Toledo museum of art in 1962 turned into a cultural force by the early 1990’s. Artists like Dale Chihuly and the strong influence of Venetian glassworking techniques set the tone for the Studio Glass Movement for more than three decades. The early spirit of experimentation and a devil-may-care attitude toward process gave way to an emphasis on bright colors, skillful execution, and mastery of increasingly complicated techniques. However it is evident that momentum for a new paradigm is building.

Audrey Wilson, "Jacob's Ladder", Pâte de verre, kiln formed tempered glass, refractory glass, found objects

Audrey Wilson, “Jacob’s Ladder”, Pâte de verre, Kiln-formed Tempered Glass, Refractory glass, Found objects

 

Artists who have no previous connection to the material like Roni Horn, Anish Kapoor, and Kiki Smith (among many others) are including major glass sculptures in their body of work, and finding an audience for that work in some of the most prestigious museums around the globe. This would have been virtually unheard of 20 years ago as glass was dismissed out of hand as a purely ‘craft material’. Artists like Josiah Mcelheny take traditional glassmaking processes and turn them on their head by incorporating social commentary and by connecting his work to a historical context., “21st Century Glass” looks at the future of the medium as artists move away from technique-driven work into a more modern approach to the material. Movements like Glass Secessionism (placing the focus on artistic vision) and Hyperopia Projects (artists with glass backgrounds drawing from multiple disciplines and media) are included in this survey of sculptural glass.

Davin Ebanks, "Portrait of the Artist: Redaction: 13.05.17, Pterois volitans", Blown, Hot-sculpted, Sand-blasted & Mirrored Glass, Wood, Aluminium

Davin Ebanks, “Portrait of the Artist: Redaction: 13.05.17, Pterois volitans”, Blown, Hot-sculpted, Sand-blasted & Mirrored Glass, Wood, Aluminium

Steven Durow, the Head of SU’s Art Department Glass Area was the curator of the exhibition. Durow gave some insight on the show: I chose the title for this exhibition, Glass in the 21st Century, because I wanted to take note of this moment in time as we settle into the new millennium and to take a glimpse down the road to see where glass as a material for artistic expression might be headed. The work in this exhibition comprises a sampling of artists whose approach to the material of glass exemplify the changes”.

Durow continued: “The digital revolution has given artists access to technologies for video, sound, and interactive media that is unprecedented. Advancements in glass studio equipment and the inclusions of glass programs in the university setting (as well as artist retreat centers like Penland, Pilchuck, etc) have given more people access to the material than at any time in human history. What were once fiercely guarded secrets are now a YouTube search away. Artists have become their own educators. Harvey Littleton, the recognized founder of the Studio Glass Movement in America famously quipped, “Technique is cheap.” Today, it is free. Now that an artist working in glass can do whatever they want, the focus becomes what will they choose to say with it? That is the focus of this exhibition.”

The artist in this exhibition represent the changing way artists are approaching the material of glass. Featured artists include: Karen Donnellan, Davin Ebanks, Sean Hennessey, Michael Janis, Weston Lambert, Carmen Lozar, Sibylle Peretti, Margaret Spacapan, Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers, Audrey Wilson, and Walter Zimmerman

21st Century Glass

January 20th – February 21, 2015

SU Art Galleries, Fulton Hall, 1101 Camden Avenue, Salisbury, MD 21801

Artist Lecture by Karen Donnellan: Thursday February 19 at 5:30pm, Fulton Hall 111
Reception to follow in the University Gallery. SU Art Galleries programming is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council and the Salisbury Wicomico Arts Council.

East City Art Regional Juried Show “Emulsion” Returns!

emulsion-whitelogo-550px

EMULSION returns to H Street March 21, 2015! CALL DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 15, 2015 

This call for entry is open to all residents of the Washington-Baltimore combined statistical metropolitan area as defined by the US Census. This is an opportunity for artists from the central Mid-Atlantic to showcase the extraordinary diversity in regional contemporary art.

An emulsion combines two seemingly incompatible ingredients to produce a third yet entirely new substance.  In this spirit, East City Art’s “EMULSION” seeks to again combine the culturally different yet geographically close regions of Washington and Baltimore and to combine a wide array of art forms and mediums.

East City Art hosts “EMULSION” as an annual event that showcases the brightest talent from the Mid-Atlantic region.  Click HERE to jump to ECA’s online entry form.

PRIZES

$1,250 First Place Prize
$750 Second Place Prize
$500 Third Place Prize
Two People’s Choice Awards

ENTRY FEE
An entry fee of $38.50 paid to East City Art Media LLC

QUALIFICATIONS
This call for entry is open to all residents 18 years of age or over who reside or create art within 50 miles of East City Art’s headquarters located at 922 G Street SE, Washington, DC.

WORKS TO BE CONSIDERED
All work will be considered including but not limited to two dimensional work (painting, photography, digital imaging, drawing), three dimensional work (sculpture), performance art and new media.

LOCATION
Gallery O on H located at 1354 H Street NE in the heart of the Atlas Entertainment District

EXHIBITION DATES
Opening Reception Sat. March 21 | Closing Reception: Sat. March 28
Exhibition on view March 21-28, 2015 with weeklong programing

JUROR
Gallery Owner Adah Rose Bitterbaum. Read her interview HERE

Eligibility Area (50 mile radius)

Contact
For all inquiries please direct emails to editor@eastcityart.com

“Unmapped” @ Brentwood Arts Exchange

"Unmapped" exhibit at Brentwood Arts Exchange features work by Ellyn Weiss, Pat Goslee and Sally Resnik Rockriver. January 12 - February 28, 2015

“Unmapped” exhibit at Brentwood Arts Exchange features work by Ellyn Weiss, Pat Goslee and Sally Resnik Rockriver. January 12 – February 28, 2015

Artists Pat Goslee, Ellyn Weiss, and Sally Resnik Rockriver each use art as a method of discovery, responding to forms and materials and then exploring their qualities as method of expression. Whether it’s finding the balance in giving up control to a chemical reaction, investigating material properties, or the conscious act of constructing energetic movement through paint, all three artists make provocative statements about the ways that meaning is created through the interaction of process with form. The Brentwood Arts Exchange presents an exhibition of the three artists works titled “Unmapped” which runs January 12 – February 28, 2015.

The three distinguished artists in the show each work in a variety of mediums. Pat Goslee works with layer upon layer of del­i­cately painted forms and color on can­vas and on gesso board. Ellyn Weiss works in a wide variety of media; one recent solo show was composed of paintings made entirely of tar. Much of her recent work is encaustic – wax with oil pigment. Sally Resnick Rockriver works primarily in glass – generating chemical reactions in blown glass and ceramics to create new forms. 

 

Sally Resnick Rockriver

Sally Resnick Rockriver

Sally Resnick Rockriver’s glass sculpture is intriguing. She mixes ceramic glazes with hot glass, where the glazes fuse, melt, and crystallize, creating a thermal reactivity. 

Ms Rockriver’s sculpture introduces or allows for rough edges, chance arrangements and a clash of smooth and rough surfaces. By employing the peculiar materials and their specific properties, she moves glass away from the traditional studio glass aesthetic. In careful but surprising ways, she molds incongruous materials, often making their formal properties almost contradictions of themselves. Geometry seems to disintegrate away from the formalizations of precision in a whimsical and disarming manner.

sally.resnick.rockriver

Sally Resnick Rockriver “Thermal Quake” 40 inches wide

Sally Rockriver said of her invented geology: “The works in UNMAPPED deal with mapping new geologies of unfound planets. I have always thought that my processes could exist on other planets. I generate chemical reactions by combining ceramic materials with hot glass. The release of gases causes an expansion of self- blown spheres. I imagine this event could occur on a glass lake while salts and silica are falling from the sky. Recently NASA discovered a planet that that has an atmospheric glass rain. In this exhibit, works refer to thermal storms and tectonic quakes on Planet Azure and the specimens we might find there. Kiln bricks are the remains of architecture from a past civilization that did not survive the hot glass rains. In this fantasy, crystallized glass growths overtake the destruction from a traumatic event.”

The uncanny materiality of each of the artist’s works play off each other in this exhibit, where each artist invites us to open up to things we don’t know, to things that aren’t written out first then repeated as art, and to where our paradigms don’t fit – in other words, areas Unmapped.

UNMAPPED

 January 12 – February 28, 2015, Opening Reception Saturday, January 17, 5-8 pm

Brentwood Arts Exchange

3901 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, MD 20722

Brentwood Arts Exchange Seeks Visual Arts Program Facilitator

Prince Georges County Brentwood Arts Exchange has sent out a notice about an job opening that they seek someone to fill. It’s a job working out of their main office putting together a bunch of the small exhibition and visual arts programs that they do around the county. Art handling skills are a big part of it. The right person should also have the right attitude to be able to take initiative within a complex institution.brentwood.art.xchange

Job Posting: Visual Arts Program Facilitator, Arts Seasonal/Intermittent Position

The Visual Arts Program Facilitator position is a part-time position, up to 30 hours per week, as needed, for the Arts and Cultural Heritage Division of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County.  This position develops approximately 20 exhibitions per year highlighting artists who live, work or study in Prince George’s County for public Parks and Recreation sites.  The work also includes managing the Department’s art collection, as well as providing Visual Arts programs and services for the professional development of artists and to enhance cultural education and recreation opportunities for the general community.  Candidates need to have a strong background in the visual arts, public programming and/or exhibition development.  Candidates should also have the following skills: strong knowledge of art handling and installation techniques, ability to multi-task and meet deadlines, excellent communication and customer service, writing and editing, marketing, and promotion. Basic knowledge in the Adobe Creative Suite is preferred.  Experience leading or administering arts education programs is a plus. The job holder should be able to lift and move up to 25 lbs unassisted. Please see the application link below for more about the position, and http://arts.pgparks.com/Home.htm for more about the Arts and Cultural Heritage Division.

How to Apply

To apply, send a cover letter and resume to Kirsten Hein, Countywide Arts Coordinator, at kirsten.hein@pgparks.com, and apply online athttp://bit.ly/1vG8vO9 for the position of “Arts Seasonal/Intermittent Positions – PG55555S.”  You must apply by both email and the website application.  Position is open until filled.  Posted on 12/31/14.