Author Archives: Chip Montague

Catherine Edelman Gallery features Tim Tate

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Chicago’s Catherine Edelman Gallery is renown for photographic exhibitions, and they have expanded via their new Edelman Projects Presents , as a way to showcase work that is outside the photographic medium.
Tim Tate, along with painter Fred Stonehouse are the featured artists in the current two-man exhibition. Tim’s work on exhibit is his 21st Century Sideshow.

Want a quick trip to Chicago to see the show – well, click on the link below, and Tim Tate will take you through the exhibition!

Artist Talk with Tim Tate (2011) from Catherine Edelman Gallery on Vimeo.

The show is open at Catherine Edelman Gallery through July 9, 2011.

Posted in 21st century sideshow, catherine Edeleman Gallery, Tim Tate, video

Darwin & The Concept of Beauty

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The recent Washington Post article about the 10 Year Anniversary Washington Glass School exhibition at Long View Gallery brings up notions of beauty – where critic Michael O’Sullivan questions if contemporary art must be ugly – if only to be less superficial – had me looking into what defines beautiful – or at least the “culturally conditioned concept of beauty”.

Philosophy professor Denis Dutton (and the editor of Arts & Letters Daily) suggests that humans are hard-wired to seek beauty. In this TED talk on the notion of beauty, Prof Dutton collaborates with animator Andrew Park to illustrate his theory on beauty — that art, music and other beautiful things, far from being simply “in the eye of the beholder,” are a core part of human nature with deep evolutionary origins.

Robert Pirsig delved into similar concepts in his 1974 book Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance . But certainly there’s more to it these days than just appreciation of well made things. Or understanding of value connectedness or whatever it was that Pirsig described. More so than ever these days, higher value is placed upon appreciation of things that make the patron/viewer feel special, smart, successful. Its the reason we like challenging & complicated works of art, with symbolism, context and references that invite us to figure them out. (Challenging, but not too challenging that we can’t figure it out.) Its valued more when there is a bit of work or effort invested.

Posted in andrew park, beauty, concept, darwin, denis dutton, pretty, Ted

Washington Post asks "Is Glass Only Pretty?"

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Washington Post reviews Washington Glass School 10th Anniversary Show at Long View Gallery

The Washington Post newspaper arts critic Michael O’Sullivan has a lengthy review of the Long View Gallery 10th Anniversary exhibition : Artists of the Washington Glass School – The First 10 Years. Michael finds artworks that move him and question if contemporary art must be ugly – if only to be less superficial.

In his review of the retrospective show, Michael O’Sullivan writes: “On the one hand, glass is pretty. It’s hard not to like the way it looks: the luminous color, the way it plays with light. On the other hand, maybe glass is only pretty. How do we know that the beauty is also capable of brains? The rest of the show is proof that it is”…“For the artists of the Washington Glass School, the embrace of glass’s very materiality — in essence, its glassiness — is a tentative one. There are stories to be told, and glass is just one way to tell them.”…

Debra Ruzinsky Sugar Bomb #3

Jeff Zimmer “Fog Of Communication III” photo by anythingphoto.net


And of artist Jeff Zimmer’s work, Michael writes:

“One of the quietest, least assuming works in the show is “Fog of Communication III” by Jeff Zimmer. A moody, fog-bound landscape, it’s also mounted on a light box, and features multiple, sandwiched layers of sandblasted and enamelled glass to create something halfway between a vintage black-and-white photo and a 3D shoebox diorama. It isn’t especially pretty, or even eye-catching.
But it catches — and fires up — something else. And that’s the imagination. “

Click HERE to jump to the full Washington Post article.

The Washington Post also goes into the background story of one of the largest works in the show – “The Three” by Elizabeth Ryland Mears and William “Tex” Forrest.

Elizabeth Ryland Mears with William Forrest “The Three” photo by anythingphoto.net

Michael writes “But the vaguely anthropomorphic thing could just as easily be read as an allusion to another example of cinematic horticulture (not to mention a tribute to the strangely powerful influence of Janis, Tate and Timmers on the art-glass scene). To my eye, it looks like one of the pod plants from “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

Click HERE to jump to the full Washington Post description of the Liz Mears / Tex Forrest work


Jennifer Lindstrom What is Home?


Click HERE to jump to the Washington Post’s photo gallery of some of the works in the show.

The WGS 10th anniversary show at Long View Gallery will be on exhibit until June 19, 2011.

Featured artists include: Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers, Elizabeth Mears, Syl Mathis, Lea Topping, Robert Kincheloe, Alison Sigethy, Dave D’Orio, Anne Plant, Jeffery Zimmer, Teddie Hathaway, Jackie Greeves, Kirk Waldroff, Debra Ruzinsky, Tex Forrest, Diane Cabe, Robert Wiener, Nancy Donnelly, Sean Hennessey, Cheryl Derricotte, Jennifer Lindstrom, Michael Mangiafico, Allegra Marquart and m.l.duffy.

There is an artist talk on Sunday, June 05, from 3-4 pm. There is a 10 Year Anniversary celebration that will be held at the Long View Gallery, Sunday, June 19, from 2-5 pm.

Washington Glass School: The First 10 Years
LongView Gallery
1234 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC

Posted in 10th anniversary, american, long view gallery, michael O'Sullivan, studio art glass, washington glass school, washington post

Glass Sparks: Tim Tate

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Tim Tate photograph by Tom Wolff

When Tim Tate started out as a glass artist there was almost no place locally that he could study glass sculpture. A third generation Washingtonian, Tim had to leave the region to be able to interact with the medium he fell in love with.


Tim works “off pipe” at Penland, NC

For 10 years, he spent every vacation, every free moment, at various arts facilities throughout the country learning as much as possible about every aspect of the medium.


After a personal event sent him to Penland School of Craft for several months, Tim left the concept of technique driven vessels behind, and began his decade long passion for narrative, content driven sculpture. By working with content, Tim had found his voice. With this clarity of focus Tim sought to enhance the position of glass as a sculptural medium to the Washington, DC art scene. Tim’s first step: he founded the Washington Glass School.
Working with Erwin Timmers and a dedicated group of volunteers, they began by clearing space out of one of DC’s abandoned school buildings that was converted to artist studios. That task was a hard enough start, but after a summer of preparation of the studios, the school was challenged by situations outside if its control. The first class occurred just days after 9/11. Thinking the students would want to cancel after so disturbing an event, Tim called all the students – who unanimously asked for the class to go on. In frightening and unstable times, Tim discovered that people like to work through pressures by creating artwork. The glass school has sought to become the refuge for those seeking artwork as a way to help define and express themselves.

Tim advises a student about a casting technique.

Over the past ten years, the school has grown greatly – crossing the threshold of 4000 students since its opening. The glass school has been host to dozens of nationally recognized instructors and students from 4 continents and many countries.

Tim has worked at having the medium of glass evolve in the last decade; taking it from a technique driven vessel approach to the mixed media sculptural material it has become. His pioneering work at integrating contemporary electronics and video medias into traditional craft has brought much attention to his artwork. In 2009, National Public Radio (NPR) had segment about Tim’s work in their “All Tech Considered”

Click HERE to jump to the NPR segment “Tim Tate’s Hi-Tech Art”.


Tim has become an enthusiastic promoter of the medium, finding new ways to have artists of other media integrate glass into their works. He also works with other glass artists on collaborative works that takes both artists to new levels that they could not achieve on their own. Most notable are the series that Marc Petrovic and Tim Tate worked on together – the Apothecarium Moderne and the Seven Deadly Sins – which was recently featured in American Craft Magazine.

Tim has shown nationally and beyond, including exhibitions in the Museum of Arts and Design in New York; SOFA New York and Chicago; Art Basel Scope in Switzerland; Red Dot at Art Basel-Miami; the Luce Foundation Center for American Art at the Smithsonian; the Renwick Gallery and commercial galleries from Washington, DC to London and Berlin.


Tim Tate & Marc Petrovic
Apothecarium Moderne
photo: Anything Photographic

Ken Trapp, the former Curator-in-Charge of the Smithsonian American Art Museum said this of Tim’s work, “by taking on the clichés of our culture, Tate lays down a challenge for himself, a challenge he is up to…it is impossible to see such figures and not be reminded of how much the discovery of self is a daily exercise of uncovering layers we have assumed or imposed on ourselves.”

His awards include “Rising Star ” from the American, the Virginia Groot Foundation Award for Sculpture, three Artists Fellowship awards from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Mayor’s Art Award. His work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, the Mint Museum, the Fuller Museum, the Katzen Art Center of American University, the Milwaukee Art Museum and Vanderbilt University. Tim Tate was just awarded a Fulbright, and in 2012, he will be at the UK’s University of Sunderland and the National Glass Centre. He has an upcoming solo show at the Taubman Museum in Roanoke, Va.

The Taubman Museum in Roanoke, VA

Click HERE to jump to the Taubman’s website information on the museum’s solo show “Tim Tate: The Waking Dreams of Magdalena Molière”


Tim will be one of the featured artists at Long View Gallery ‘s exhibition in honor of Washington Glass School’s 10 year anniversary:

Washington Glass School: The First 10 Years
LongView Gallery
1234 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC
May 19 – June 19, Opening Reception, May 19th, 6:30-8:30 PM

For other glass artist profiles:

Diane Cabe
Sean Hennessey
Teddie Hathaway
Elizabeth Mears
Erwin Timmers
Michael Janis
Robert Kincheloe
Jackie Greeves
Jeff Zimmer
Allegra Marquart

Posted in 10th anniversary, 21st century sculpture, fulbright, glass spark, Tim Tate, washington glass school

Gateway Open Studio Tour

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WHY?

To Get to Gateway Art District’s Open Studio Tour!

Cross the Eastern Ave Border and check out the Gateway Arts District Open Studio tour!

click on image to jump to Gateway Arts Map pdf

The 7th Annual Gateway Open Studio Tour

May 14th, 12-5pm in the Gateway Arts District. FREE!


Join the Washington Glass School and the other 70 Studios as they invite you to get “up close and personal”! Free shuttle bus transportation is available along the Route 1 / Rhode Island Avenue corridor to help get you to all the venues on the tour. Or … drive, walk, bike or skip your way along this self guided tour. Maps and more information is available at www.GatewayOpenStudios.com

Big Ideas @ Gateway Arts Center, 3901 Rhode Island Ave.

Check out what’s on sale and what’s shaking at the Washington Glass School, then pop in at the adjacent Flux Studios ; Red Dirt Studio and the other studios “On-the-Tracks”. Also – down the street, at the Gateway Arts Center – there is a great show – Big Ideas – that features work by Ellen Weiss, Susan Finsen and Sondra Arkin. They are having artists talks at 2 & 4 pm.

Be A Chicken & Cross The Road!

See you Saturday!

Open Studio Tour
Saturday, May 14, 2011
12 Noon til 5 PM

Washington Glass School
3700 Otis Street
Mount Rainier, MD 20712

Posted in gateway arts district, maryland, open studio, washington glass school

Glass Sparks: Michael Janis

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photograph by Tom Wolff

Michael Janis studied architecture at Mies van der Rohe’s IIT in his hometown of Chicago, IL. In 1993 he moved to Australia and there he worked on a number of large scale architecture projects, including work for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. It was in Australia that Michael first started working with glass, designing walls of cast glass.

Moving back to the United States in 2003, glass artwork became his focus. Michael began glass blowing at a Baltimore hot shop and was soon taking glass courses at art centers such as Haystack Mountain in Maine, North Carolina’s Penland School of Craft, and Urban Glass in New York.

Michael at Penland School of Craft

Attracted to the experimental and adventurous approach to the medium that defined the Washington Glass School, he soon became involved with the school as the Studio Coordinator.

L-R Washington Glass Studio directors Erwin Timmers, Tim Tate, Michael Janis. From the 2006 American Style article “Filling Glass With Meaning“. Photo by Roger Foley.

In 2005, Michael became one of the Co-Directors of the Washington Glass School, and he is the Director of Public Art projects for the Washington Glass Studio.

“The Gravity Between Us” Hotel Palomar, Washington, DC

Public Art sculpture for Prince George’s County Circuit Court

Michael continues teaching at the Washington Glass School, and also has taught glass art workshops at Istanbul’s Glass Furnace, the Penland School of Craft and the Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI) in California.

Michael teaching fused glass technique class at Washington Glass School, 2005

Michael Janis teaching at California’s Bay Area Glass Institute, 2010

His kilncast bas-relief glass and steel sculptures were featured in the seminal “Compelled By Content” exhibition at Bethesda, Maryland’s Fraser Gallery. In this show, artists that used glass with narrative content showed how the traditional craft of glass was evolving.

“Liar Paradox” Collection of Susan and Fred Sanders. Photo: Anything Photographic

Michael began incorporating imagery into his glass works, and by manipulating crushed glass powder he has been able to create intricate detail images within the glass, layering the images to emphasize the depth within.

Text and imagery work their way through Michael’s artwork panels, similar to an architect’s diagrams, suggesting elements of stories not fully disclosed. Michael’s work references the Surrealist artists of the early twentieth century and Neo-Dada concepts as seen in the work of artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Joseph Cornell and Jasper Johns.

Click HERE to jump to a short documentary on Michael and his sgraffito frit powder technique.

From the catalog of the 2011 exhibit “Material World”:

“When viewers see images of Michael Janis’ work, they may not immediately recognize it as glass art…The virtuosity of Janis’ technique supports his imagery, which is often tinged with a nostalgia for days where innocence reigned and magic seemed possible. Janis is not simply naïve, for there is a darker undercurrent to these works that speaks to the loss of this sense of wonder.” Stephen Boocks curator, April 2011

Maurine Littleton Gallery space, SOFA Chicago 2009

In 2007, Maurine Littleton Gallery began exhibiting his glass artwork at international art shows such as Art Miami, SOFA Chicago and SOFA New York. Currently, his work is on exhibit at the Flemish Center for Contemporary Glass Art in Lommel, Belgium.

In 2009 he was awarded Florida’s “Emerging Artist” award by the Florida Glass Art Alliance, in 2010, he received the Saxe Fellowship from California’s Bay Area Glass Institute. This year, Janis will be named a “Rising Star” by the Creative Glass Center of America and the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass at the biannual glass art conference held at the Museum of American Glass at WheatonArts, in New Jersey.

The Memory of Orchids, 2011

His first museum solo show will open this year (August 6 thru November 6, 2011) at the Fuller Museum of Craft, in Brockton, Massachusetts. Michael Janis also was just awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, and will be at the UK’s University of Sunderland and National Glass Center in 2012.

Detail from “In the Evening Twilight”

Michael will be one of the featured artists in Long View Gallery’s exhibition of Artists of the Washington Glass School:

Washington Glass School: The First 10 Years
LongView Gallery
1234 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC May 19 – June 19,2011
Artist Reception, May 19th, 6:30-8:30 PM

For other Washington Glass School artist profiles:

Diane Cabe

Sean Hennessey

Allegra Marquart

Teddie Hathaway

Elizabeth Mears

Jackie Greeves

Erwin Timmers

Jeff Zimmer

Robert Kincheloe

Posted in architecture, biography, chicago, fulbright scholar, glass education, glass spark, history, long view gallery, michael janis, mike janis, niles, studio glass, washington glass school

Washington Glass School – The First 10 Years

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The Washington DC area has become internationally renowned as an emerging center of glass art. At the forefront of this charge is the Washington Glass School, where the instructors, artists and students have brought narrative and content into glass, dragging it away from decorative craft and into the rarefied atmosphere of the contemporary fine art scene. The Washington Glass School has produced artists whose art can be found in museums and collections world-wide and is advancing the Studio Glass Movement with its explorations of narrative, technology and skills. This represents the largest and most important movement in the Washington art scene since the Color School of the 70’s/80’s.

This May, the Washington Glass School celebrates a momentous milestone – its 10th year. DC’s Long View Gallery presents “Artists of the Washington Glass School – The First Ten Years” showcasing over 20 artists and 10 years of integrating glass into the contemporary art dialogue. While it recognizes the past and present, The First 10 Years is intended to instigate – and celebrate – the new directions contemporary glass is exploring through various artistic metaphors.

Featured artists include: Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers, Elizabeth Mears, Syl Mathis, Lea Topping, Robert Kincheloe, Alison Sigethy, Dave D’Orio, Anne Plant, Jeffery Zimmer, Teddie Hathaway, Jackie Greeves, Kirk Waldroff, Debra Ruzinsky, Tex Forrest, Diane Cabe, Robert Wiener, Nancy Donnelly, Sean Hennessey, Cheryl Derricotte, Jennifer Lindstrom, Michael Mangiafico, Allegra Marquart and m.l.duffy.

In bringing The First 10 Years to Washington, DC, Long View asks artists and audience alike to cast aside traditional notions of glass art and participate in a new form of dialogue; one that looks to the future and not the past.

The Washington Glass School Movement has focused almost entirely on the narrative content aspects of glass, breaking away from the technique-driven vessel movement of the last millennium. By focusing on cross-over sculptural work, mixed media and new media (such as interactive electronics and video), the impact this movement has had on the work of contemporary art has been felt internationally. This is the perfect chance to see a cross section of artists who have led this evolution.

Washington Glass School: The First 10 Years

LongView Gallery

1234 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC
May 19 – June 19, Opening Reception, May 19th, 6:30-8:30 PM

For more information

http://www.longviewgallerydc.com/

email: info@longviewgallery.com
(202)232-4788

Posted in 10th anniversary, longview gallery, washington glass school

Gateway Open Studios Tour

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7th Annual Gateway Open Studio Tour!

15 Venues. 70 Studios. 120 Artists.

Saturday, May 14th, 12-5pm in the Gateway Arts District of Prince George’s County, MD

Get up close and personal with legions of local artists in their studios and see the work of this intensely creative community

The Gateway Arts District will host their 7th Annual Open Studio Tour on Saturday, May 14 from 12 PM to 5 PM. Maps will direct visitors on a self-guided tour of the new

Gateway Arts Center

3901 Rhode Island Avenue

Brentwood, MD 20722

and over 70 art studios within a half-mile radius. Food carts at several locations; free parking.

Following the Tour is the After Party! The Gateway Arts Center will concurrently feature two exhibitions: “Big Ideas: Sondra N. Arkin, Ellyn Weiss, Susan Finsen” (artist talks at 2 PM and 4 PM), and “Body,” curated by Ledelle Moe (party/opening reception following the Open Studio Tour, from 5:30 PM to 8 PM)

Maps and more information available onsite, or at www.gatewaycdc.org.

Metro: West Hyattsville station (green line) is 1.5 miles from the Arts District (easy biking); Rhode Island Avenue station (red line), 3 miles

Posted in artist, gateway arts district, open studio

Glass Sparks: Erwin Timmers

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In honor of Earth Day, today’s artist profile is about eco-artist Erwin Timmers.

Erwin has become one of the area’s leading “green artists”. Recycling, waste, the environment and how they relate to society are recurring themes in his work – all of which he blames on his Dutch heritage. Erwin’s main medium is one of the least recycled building materials; float glass or window glass, and he has had to develop new techniques to work with this material.

Originally from Amsterdam, Erwin Timmers moved to California, graduating from Santa Monica College for Design Art and Architecture in 1995. Erwin’s artwork and sculpture has always incorporated recycled materials, and often integrated lighting elements. In 1999 he came to the Washington DC area and along with a new home came a new passion: Glass – creating the perfect marriage of metal and light. Combining this with found and recycled metal, his work carries strong environmental themes.

“Mr Cobrahead”, recycled materials, cast recycled glass

“Love Me, Love Me Not”, recycled steel, cast recycled glass, neon

Seeking to further his knowledge on using recycled glass, Erwin soon found there were few local options that taught glass techniques and recycled glass processes. And with little information available, Erwin became a pioneer in the field, developing his own kiln schedules. Fate would have it that he met up with Tim Tate, who was then starting the foundations for a glass school in Washington, DC. With his experimental approach and his easygoing, accessible teaching attitude, Erwin and Tim started the Washington Glass School in 2001. Erwin developed a number of courses that integrate his love of the materials and his environmental philosophies. His sustainable design knowledge has been sought by other glass schools, and besides courses here at the Washington Glass School, he has been teaching across the country, spreading the word about eco-friendly art.

Erwin Timmers chats with Italian glass Maestro Lino Tagliapietra.

Erwin has also become a leading consultant in LEED Certified artwork. He has received multiple public art commissions and is also featured in numerous private collections. The EPA had commissioned Erwin and the Washington Glass Studio to create an educational sculpture for the courtyard at the EPA’s Washington, DC headquarters.

Low-Impact Demonstration Project, Ariel Rios Courtyard, Washington, DC. Quinn Evans Architects, John Shorb Landscaping

Erwin Timmers and Evan Morgan installing recycled glass panels.

Recently completed architectural projects include recycled glass works for Prince George’s County Courthouse and for Fox Architects and he is currently working on an eco-friendly project for the new Safeway in Bethesda, MD. Erwin’s expertise in the field of environmental art is sought out by the media, with interviews on local news stations, including this video where Erwin’s demonstration of tempered glass did not go quite as planned. The Washington Post Magazine has just interviewed Erwin for an upcoming article on recycling, scheduled to come out this June. His artwork is featured in several books, notably “Art Glass Today” by Jeffrey Snyder and “Ideas for Creative Reuse” by Garth Johnson. Two more books that include work by Erwin are due out this Spring/Summer.

“Self Scrutiny”, cast recyled glass
photos: Anything Photographic

“Self Scrutiny” detail

Erwin’s environmental focused artwork has found an audience, from Miami International Art Fair to local and regional art gallery shows, including and upcoming engagement at Project 4 Gallery this summer. His work showcases the possibility and beauty of recycled material, while encouraging the viewer to consider his or her environmental impact.

“What We Leave Behind” cast recycled glass, steel.

Using glass salvaged from a Virginia office building refurbishment, disposable technology and ephemera from recent decades are expressed as though discovered from a future archaeological dig.


“What We Leave Behind” detail, 2000’s

photo by Anything Photographic

His work is not always appreciated in the manner he expected – a feature on his work on the Artist-a-Day website prompted viewers to ask if the work was made of Jello.

Erwin will be one of the artists featured in the upcoming LongView Gallery show Artists of the Washington Glass School: The First Ten Years.

Washington Glass School: The First 10 Years
LongView Gallery
1234 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC May 19 – June 19,2011
Artist Reception, May 19th, 6:30-8:30 PM

For other glass artist profiles

Diane Cabe
Sean Hennessey
Elizabeth Mears

Teddie Hathaway

Robert Kincheloe

Jeff Zimmer
Allegra Marquart

Posted in earth day, environmental art, erwin timmers, recycle, sustainable design