Washington Glass Studio Returns to Art Basel / Art Miami Fairs!

CONTEXT Art Miami 2022

Miami’s Longest Running International Art Fair Art Miami and sister fair CONTEXT Art Miami featured artwork by many artists from the Washington Glass Studio.

View into part of the Alida Anderson Art Projects space in Miami

On Tuesday, November 29, 2022, almost 20,000 guests came to the opening of the 10th edition of the sister fair to Art Miami. CONTEXT Art Miami is dedicated to the development and reinforcement of emerging and mid-career artists, and the vibrant contemporary and modern art fair was the natural setting for the works carried by Alida Anderson Art Projects (AAAP).

Tim Tate’s endless mirror series are a favorite of visitors to the fair.

This year’s AAAP booth at CONTEXT Art Miami showed works by glass mixed media artwork by Christina Helowicz, Michael Janis, Tony Porto, Tim Tate and Erwin Timmers. It also featured mixed media works by J Jordan Bruns, Lenny Campello, and Steve Wanna.

Tony Porto chats up collector group describing the collaborative sculptures made with Michael Janis.

Some Art Miami Highlights:

Christina Helowicz installs her blown glass /mixed media sculpture at the Art Miami fair.
Erwin Timmers with a San Francisco collector that acquired his cast recycled artwork for her collection.
Nora Atkinson, Curator-in-Charge for the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery flanked by Michael Janis & Tony Porto.
Lenny Campello (center) describes Michael Janis’ new glass panel artwork.
Christina Helowicz, Director of Alida Anderson Art Projects talks about Steve Wanna’s paintings.
alida anderson, michael Janis and Tony porto, christina helowicz, f lennox campello, lenny, erwin timmers at dinner.

The artists at CONTEXT Art Miami raise their glass in toast! Salud! Amor! Dinero! Clockwise from left bottom: Steve Wanna, Erwin Timmers, Michael Janis, J Jordan Bruns, Christina Helowicz, Tony Porto, Lenny Campello, Joe Ivacic, Danny Marder.

2022 Art Basel/Art Miami Features Washington Glass School Artists

Washington Glass School artists are prepping spectacular glass/mixed media artwork to be presented at Context Art Miami – at Alida Anderson Art Projects . New art works by WGS artists Michael Janis, Christina Helowicz, Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers, along with artworks by Lenny Campello, Tony Porto, J Jordan Bruns and Steve Wanna, Marinela de la Hoz and others will be on exhibit at CONTEXT Art Miami Art Fair, space A29.

CONTEXT Art Miami, presented by Art Miami, continues to create and push boundaries on the conversation about contemporary art, The 2022 edition will showcase works from 75 innovative galleries from more than 20 countries, including Japan, Turkey, Australia, France, South Korea and Chile, among others. CONTEXT Art Miami will kick-off during Miami Art Week with an invitation-only VIP preview on Tuesday, November 29 and run through Sunday, December 4, 2022.

Final Week of CLICK-IT! Online Exhibition

Works by Jennifer Caldwell & Jason Chakravarty, Jeff Zimmer, F Lennox (Lenny) Campello, Teri Bailey and Steve Wanna.

Works by Jennifer Caldwell & Jason Chakravarty, Jeff Zimmer, F Lennox (Lenny) Campello, Teri Bailey and Steve Wanna.

We’re down to the final week the “CLICK-IT!” online exhibit!. Showing works by these talented artists (Teri Bailey, F. Lennox Campello, Jennifer Caldwell, Jason Chakravarty, Cheryl P. Derricotte, Sean Donlon, Sean Hennessey, Joseph Ivacic, Michael Janis, Carmen Lozar, Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers, Steve Wanna, & Jeff Zimmer) to the public and hearing the wonderful feedback has been so rewarding. It means a lot to us that we can share their world with the world and an appreciation for the works/sentiments/technical brilliance can be appreciated.

Works by Sean Donlon, Michael Janis, Jennifer Caldwell & Jason Chakravarty, Joseph Ivacic and Tim Tate.

Works by Sean Donlon, Michael Janis, Jennifer Caldwell & Jason Chakravarty, Joseph Ivacic and Tim Tate.

Those who have yet to visit the exhibition should grab the chance to see these truly wonderful works online – click HERE to jump to online exhibit!

Works by Cheryl Derricotte, Sean Hennessey, Erwin Timmers, Jennifer Caldwell & Jason Chakravarty and Carmen Lozar.

Works by Cheryl Derricotte, Sean Hennessey, Erwin Timmers, Jennifer Caldwell & Jason Chakravarty and Carmen Lozar.

Artists For Racial Justice” exhibit and fundraising for non-profits that can help with equality with art as a tool for healing and peace to help at this time.

Artists for racial.equality.justiceClick HERE to jump to the fundraiser arts page.  

Want more than just visual …stimulation? click on link below and get the official “Click It” themesong – music by Donovan Lessard.

WGS Featured Artist : F Lennox Campello

CLICK IT! Featured Artist: F. Lennox Campello

F. Lennox (Lenny) Campello

F. Lennox (Lenny) Campello

Florencio Lennox (Lenny) Campello was born in Guantanamo, Cuba and studied art at the University of Washington School of Art in Seattle, Washington from which he graduated in 1981. While there Lenny helped to create the Arts NW Student Gallery in Seattle, the area’s first art gallery focused on student artwork. He also organized several exhibitions at the School of Art.

In that same year that he graduated from Washington, he won the William Whipple National Art Competition First Prize for Printmaking, the silver medal at the Ligoa Duncan Art Competition in Paris and the French “Prix de Peinture de Raymond Duncan,” also in Paris. In addition to numerous galleries, his work has been exhibited at the McManus Museum in Scotland, the Brusque Museum in Brazil, the San Bernardino County Art Museum in California, the Musee des Duncan in France, the Frick Museum in Ohio, the Meadows Museum of Art in Shreveport, Louisiana, the Hunter Museum in Tennessee, the Sacramento Fine Arts Center in California, The Art League in Alexandria, The Museum of Contemporary Art in DC, the Rock Springs Art Center in Wyoming and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Boulder, Colorado, the Popov Museum in Russia and the Museum of Small Art in Malaysia. In 2009, world famous American art collector Mera Rubell selected one of his pieces for her 2010 “Cream” auction at the Katzen Museum in Washington, DC. In 2016 The Washington City Paper called him “one of the most interesting people of Washington, DC.

Washington Glass School blog catches up with Lenny as his work is part of the WGS Contemporary online exhibit “CLICK-IT!”.

Washington Glass School (WGS): Describe your artwork method/process.

Lenny Campello: I usually draw with either charcoal or graphite, generally on paper and for the last few years on reclaimed, broken, unfired Bisque. The drawings are most likely part of an ongoing narrative series, some of which I’ve been doing for decades, where I tell and retell stories, or express ideas through the means of contemporary realism. Over a decade ago, inspired by the marriage of embedded video in the glass sculptures of Tim Tate, I started to embed video in my narrative pieces, where I employ the video to further the narration process.  This has further progressed over the years to embedding miniature spy cameras, motion detectors, video recorders, etc. into the artwork.

f.lennox.campello.art.ceramic.charcoal.wgs.contemporary.clickit

F. Lennox Campello “Suddenly, She Wasn’t Afraid Any Longer ” charcoal & conte on unfired bisque. Lenny’s artwork is part of WGS Contemporary online exhibit CLICK-IT!

WGS: Describe your work in the show and highlight aspects that the viewers should understand about the work.

Lenny Campello:Suddenly, She Wasn’t Afraid Any Longer” is part of several of my processes. This charcoal and conte on Bisque is part of my “Obsessive” series. I have probably repeated this image, in various variations and incarnations, over 200 times since the 1980s. The subjects which draw my obsession are diverse and varies. Some of them are iconic people and often comic book superheroes – Frida Kahlo was the first around 1975 when I first saw her works in Mexico City, Elvis, the racist murderer Che Guevara, Monroe, The Batman, Catwoman, Spidey, Superman, etc.  Others, such as “Suddenly, She Wasn’t Afraid Any Longer” is just an image that keeps returning to the blank paper. This one exemplifies lack of fear, taking a chance, a leap forward and away from indecision… freedom.

WGS: How have you handled the Covid lockdown?

Lenny Campello:  Not well… I have not adapted… It sucks! All my time is occupied around the ripple effects of the draconian lockdown and I have not created many new pieces… the ones which have emerged are dark and foreboding.  I am concerned that more people will die eventually because of the Covidian lockdown effects than from COVID-19 itself.

WGS: What artwork/event has moved you and got you thinking about your own work?

Lenny Campello: John Singleton Copley’s dramatic rendering of a shark attacking 14-year-old Brook Watson in Havana Bay – depicted in his painting “Watson and the Shark” has always struck me as one of the greatest narrative paintings of all time! And it made Watson into a celebrity!  Tim Tate’s worldwide impact on art history, in being the first human on the planet to take video away from video players and embedding it into artwork, so that the video became a component of the artwork, not an “artsy movie” to be played on a screen, had the most profound effect on my artwork. I stole his idea – which he developed into glass sculptures – and deployed the same concepts into my drawings and paintings.

F. Lennox Campello "North Atlantic Mermaid (Syreni Caldonii)" artwork in the CLICK-IT! online exhibition.

F. Lennox Campello “North Atlantic Mermaid (Syreni Caldonii)” artwork in the CLICK-IT! online exhibition.

WGS: if you were not an artist – what would you be?

Lenny Campello: Running a food truck outside some Midwestern University or running a small Cuban restaurant in Brechin, Scotland.

WGS: Do you do a lot of planning in your work – or is there an element of chance while working?

Lenny Campello: Very little planning – other than compositional… and there’s always an element of chance – especially in the blurring of the charcoal, which often reveals unexpected new forms and figures.  Sometimes that leads me to include a double-encrypted form of writing that I’ve developed over the years, where I’ve married ancient Ogham writing with the Navy’s verbal Falcon Codes. I use this to “leave” messages hidden as cracks on the backgrounds of some drawings – these almost always start by “accident”, when I see a shadow or crack developing into a phrase.

WGS: What is your rule of thumb in determining when a work is finished?

Lenny Campello: No rule of thumb – I just know…

Click here to jump to F. Lennox Campello’s work in CLICK-IT!

CLICK-IT Exhibition Opens June 16th @ WGS Contemporary

WGS Contemporary hosts CLICK-IT and Artists for Racial Justice

WGS Contemporary hosts CLICK-IT! and Artists for Racial Justice

With much of the physical art world closing because of Covid-19, artists, galleries and museums have turned to technology and social media to stay open (albeit virtually), allowing visitors from anywhere in the world to interact with and view art.

WGS Contemporary Gallery (located in the DMV’s Gateway Arts District) had to get creative with how to bring art to the world. With so much changing so quickly, artists and arts organizations are still in the process of finding their footing. “With everyone in isolation, art is needed now more than ever to help remind people that we are not alone. Art helps us to dream, escape our current realities, and engage our imaginations in building a better world for tomorrow,” said Gallery Director Teri Swinhart (Bailey). “With this show, we all stand united (six feet apart, of course) and ready to take on these challenges and the new opportunities they present.” 

"Spilt Perfume Set", Artist:  Carmen Lozar

“Spilt Perfume Set”, Artist: Carmen Lozar

"Sea Through The Looking Glass" Artists: Jennifer Caldwell and Jason Chakravarty

“Sea Through The Looking Glass”, Artists: Jennifer Caldwell and Jason Chakravarty

Opening June 16th, WGS Contemporary presents “Click-It!” featuring works by some of the most exciting and inspiring artists, with a broad spectrum of works that showcase the current trends in art and the media specific works.

"Patterns of Containment", Artist: Erwin Timmers

“Patterns of Containment”, Artist: Erwin Timmers

Artists in the show include:

Teri Swinhart (Bailey)
F. Lennox Campello
Jennifer Caldwell
Jason Chakravarty
Cheryl P. Derricotte
Sean Donlon
Sean Hennessey
Joseph Ivacic
Michael Janis
Carmen Lozar
Tim Tate
Erwin Timmers
Steve Wanna
Jeff Zimmer

“By placing artworks of different materials, mediums, and styles in direct conversation, there is opportunity for new dialogues and perspectives,” adds Swinhart. Click-It! will highlight the many parallel and interesting artistic directions these artists bring creating a dynamic environment of exchange online.
“We will be using our online platforms to introduce exciting new art programming that aims to enrich, entertain and inspire during this challenging time.”
A special fundraising event “Artists for Racial Justice” is also scheduled online as a companion show, with the-proceeds for these special works to be donated to the non-profit organizations “Color of Change ” and the “NAACP”.

"Deja Vu" Artist Sean Dolon

“DejaVu”, Artist Sean Donlon

 

WGS Contemporary is a Washington, DC area art and special projects fine arts gallery. WGS Contemporary’s mission is to contribute to thinking about art, new media, technology, and social issues through an open access forum which we hope will facilitate contemporary and innovative projects worldwide. In that process, WGSC will expose the cutting edge work of artists pushing the new media frontiers of art. Projects using robotics, sensory perception, holographic imaging, self-contained video sculptures and others will offer an intelligent and fresh set of artwork that marries technology and art into a new creative dialogue in the visual arts.

 

 

 
Want more than just visual …stimulation? click on link below and get the official “Click It” themesong – music by Donovan Lessard.

Artomatic Picks F. Lennox Campello!

Artomatic presents: F. Lennox Campello Selects – A curated show of artists selected by artist, writer and art critic, Lenny Campello. Many of of the selected artists participated in the Artomatic Inaugural Ball last month.

Featured Artists Include: 

Bijan Machen

Carrie Hughes

Christ Lyngas

Cory Oberndorfer

David Camero

David D’Orio

Deborah Lash

Devin Symons

Erwin Timmers

John Grunwell

Joseph Merchlinsky

Kathryn Trillas

Larry Jones

Lindsey Routt

M. Helene Baribeau

Magda Johanna Gomez

Michael Janis

Monica de Gastyne

Nancy Donnelly

Natalia

Natalie Camou

Nicolas Zimbro

Paul Farley

Philip Yabut

Rania Hassan

Ric Garcia

Roger James

Russ McIntosh

Sardar

Sasha Sinclair

Sean Hennessey

Shanthi Chandrasekar

Stephanie Booth

  Tim Tate

  Zofie Lang


Exhibit from February 8th to February 22nd, 2013.

Opening reception February 13th – 6 to 8 pm (think Valentine’s!)

Pepco Edison Place Gallery address and hours:

702 8th Street, NW between G and H Streets

Open Tue Wed Thu Fri Noon – 4pm

Click HERE to jump to FB event page.

WGS Gets Wood Artist Drew Storm Graham

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The DC-area knows that StrathmoreHall houses the incredible Baltimore Symphony, but Strathmore is not just for the performing arts anymore – Strathmore features fine visual arts. The organization is in its second season of its Fine AIR program, where the center cultivates local visual arts talent by pairing emerging artists with established professionals in the community in its Fine Artist in Residence (Fine AIR) program and exhibition. Fine AIR residencies last six months, during which time participants expand their craft, build their audience, create a curatorial proposal, solidify their artistic voice and, ultimately, premiere a new body of work commissioned by Strathmore.

“Twisted” Drew Storm Graham

2012-2013 Strathmore class of fine artist-in-residence Drew Storm Graham expands his knowledge of artwork media by working in glass at the Washington Glass School.
Multidisciplinary artist Drew Graham’s artwork references imagery steeped in the counter cultures of tattoo and graffiti art. Normally working with airbrushed laminated wood veneers,  under the mentorship of writer and artist F. Lennox Campello, Drew has been exploring new artistic possibilities. 

Drew Graham begins sifting crushed glass powder onto panels of glass for color samples.
Color, texture, patterns, sequence and how depth can be achieved are the goals of the glass workshop.

The culminating Fine Artists in Residence Exhibition  will be on view in the Mansion at Strathmore beginning August 31, 2013.

About Strathmore

Strathmore presents and produces exemplary visual and performing arts programs for diverse audiences; creates dynamic arts education experiences; and nurtures creative ideas and conversations that advance the future of the arts. The hallmark of the arts center is the Music Center at Strathmore, a 1,976-seat concert hall and education complex. The Music Center at Strathmore, located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane in North Bethesda, MD, is immediately adjacent to the Grosvenor-Strathmore station on Metro’s Red Line. For more information, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

Zenith Gallery Hosts "100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic" Book Party & Exhibition

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100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic E. Ashley Rooney with Foreword by Charles Yoder; Schiffer Books

Zenith Gallery hosts VISUAL VOICES” – an exhibition of DC area artists profiled in the new book “100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic” by E. Ashley Rooney. The show at Zenith Gallery will open with a Book-signing Party with the author and artists, on Wednesday, September 21, 6:00 – 8:30pm, and remain on display through October 29, 2011.

Visual Voices – featuring works by: Alan Binstock, F Lennox Campello, Joan Danziger, Julie Girardini, Margery Goldberg, Robert Jackson, Michael Janis, Joan Konkel, Ann Marchand, Donna McCollough, Davis Morton, Carol Newmyer, Marc Rubin, Barton Rubenstein, Sica, Ellen Sinel, Betsy Stewart, Cassie Taggert, Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers, Paul Martin Wolf, Joyce Zipperer.


Book Party, Meet the Author and Artists

Wednesday September 21, 6 – 9 PM

Exhibition: September 21 – October 29, 2011



Zenith Gallery at Chevy Chase Pavilion, second level next to Embassy Suites Chevy Chase Pavilion, 5335 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington DC 20015

Accessible by Friendship Heights Metro Stop

Book Release Party for "100 Artists of Washington, DC"

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This weekend, the book release party was held at the beautiful Conner Contemporary Art Gallery in Washington, DC. As the Mid-Atlantic sweltered in record-breaking high temperatures, the cool crowd was in force at the book reception. The book is incredible – the production quality is very high and the selection of the artists represented and the artwork included all contribute to a fantastic compendium of the best of the DC area art scene. Though I understand the first set of books from the publisher is already sold out at places like Amazon Books, more books are due soon.

Artist/Author F Lennox Campello at his book release, held at Conner Contemporary.

The crowds braved the heat to get their first look at the book.

Tim Tate waves a jaunty ‘hello’ to this intrepid reporter.

Book Signing Party for 100 DC Artists Book

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100 Artists of Washington, DC / F Lennox Campello
Schiffer Publishing
ISBN: 9780764337789

The Washington, DC, capital region is not only home to some of the best art museums in the world, hundreds of art galleries, non-profit art spaces, alternative art venues, and art organizations, but it also supports one of the best visual art scenes in the nation. Celebrating this art scene, award-winning artist and prominent critic and commentator, F. Lennox (Lenny) Campello, has compiled works by 100 leading contemporary visual artists who represent the tens of thousands of artists working in this diverse region. Equally diverse are the artistic styles and media you will see in this new book, the first of its kind for the capital area. With more than 730 works of art, Lenny offers a primer for both the savvy art collector and the beginning collector, highlighting his selection of emerging artists who deserve more attention.

As part of the book release events, there will be a party held at one of Washington, DC’s leading art gallery; Conner Contemporary, on Saturday, June 23, 2011.

You might remember last year when Lenny announced that he was retained by Schiffer Publishing to edit and create the “100 Artists of Washington, DC” book as part of their series on national artists, that a fair bit of controversy and debate arose in various newsmedia and blogs, including Lenny re-writing Kriston Capps’ original Washington City Paper article with a different tone. Now that the book is out, we can see if the brouhaha was warranted. The book publisher, Schiffer Books, has also just released a “100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic” book that includes artists from the DC region – but authored by E. Ashley Rooney. An interesting note – there are few artists that are included in both books – notably, the directors of the Washington Glass School – Michael Janis, Tim Tate and Erwin Timmers were each selected by the authors for inclusion in their books.

100 Artists of Washington, DC Book Release Party
Saturday, July 23, 2011
3:00pm to 5:00pm

Conner Contemporary Art

1358 Florida Ave, NE

Washington, DC

Can’t wait for the bookstores or Amazon (where its already out of stock!)? Click HERE to jump to Google search for sites that have the book!

Here are the 100 DC area artists:

Ken Ashton
Joseph Barbaccia
m. gert barkovic
Holly Bass
John Blee
Margaret Boozer
Adam Bradley
Scott G. Brooks
Lisa Montag Brotman
iona rozeal brown
Wayne Edson Bryan
Renee Butler
Judy Byron
Colby Caldwell
Rafael J. Cañizares-Yunez
Chan Chao
Zoe Charlton
William Christenberry
Manon Cleary
Mary Coble
Danny Conant
Kathryn Cornelius
Rosemary Feit Covey
Jeffry Cudlin
Richard Dana
Adam de Boer
Rosetta DeBerardinis
David D’Orio
John Dreyfuss
William Dunlap
Mary Early
Victor Ekpuk
Dana Ellyn
Fred Folsom
Helen Frederick
Rik Freeman
Chawky Frenn
Victoria F. Gaitán
Carol Brown Goldberg
Janis Goodman
Pat Goslee
Muriel Hasbun
Linda Hesh
Jason Horowitz
James Huckenpahler
Melissa Ichiuji
Martha Jackson Jarvis
Michael Janis
Judy Jashinsky
Mark Jenkins
Margarida Kendall Hull
Craig Kraft
Sidney Lawrence
Amy Lin
Barbara Liotta
Malik Lloyd
Laurel Lukaszewski
Maxwell MacKenzie
Akemi Maegawa
James W. Mahoney
Isabel Manalo
Percy Martin
Carolina Mayorga
J.J. McCracken
Donna McCullough
Patrick McDonough
Alexa Meade
Linn Meyers
Maggie Michael
A.B. Miner
Brandon Morse
Lida Moser
Cory Oberndorfer
Byron Peck
Jefferson Pinder
Michael B. Platt
Susana Raab
W.C. Richardson
Marie Ringwald
Nate Rogers
Robin Rose
Erik Sandberg
Matt Sesow
Foom V. Sham
Joe Shannon
Jeff Spaulding
Molly Springfield
Dan Steinhilber
Lou Stovall
Tim Tate
Lisa Marie Thalhammer
Erwin Timmers
Ben Tolman
Kelly Towles
Novie Trump
Frank Warren
Joe White
John Winslow
Colin Winterbottom
Andrew Wodzianski

Click HERE to jump to a Pink Line Project interview with Lenny Campello by John Anderson on what started this project and how the artists were chosen.