Foundry Gallery: " Befriending the Triangle"

BEFRIENDING THE TRIANGLE
JULIA LATEIN-KIMMIG

Exhibit Dates: Wed, Apr 04 - Sun, Apr 29, 2012
Opening Reception: Fri, Apr 13 from 6-8pm
Location: 1314 18th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
Contact: 202.463.0203/Web: www.foundrygallery.org

WORKSHOP
"Who Says You Can't Paint!"
Sat, Apr 28 from 1-6 pm

A hands-on workshop for anyone who wants to paint but thinks s/he can't. Please sign up by April 20 and contact Julia at julialaki@hotmail.con for a supply list and details on the workshop. A donation of $20 per person to the Foundry Gallery is appreciated.

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

Julia Latein-Kimmig’s new series is dedicated to developing and discovering the triangle in her newest of series.

Her work usually avoids what in her eyes seems a dislikeable shape and the artist does not hide her aversion of sharp, pointy edges, which steer artist and viewer alike in a predestined direction rather than allowing a less obvious, unintentional approach on how to read her paintings. Therefore, the triangle is routinely given the boot and makes way for Julia’s likeables.

Starting her paintings with a variety of loose sketches rather than chasing the geometric shape head on makes it possible to free herself and go in search of hidden treasure, intended to be subtle and at times not easily discovered amongst structures favored by the artist.

In her new series, the artist goes on a quest to conquer the unfamiliar, self imposing certain restrictions, challenging her least favorite shape in order to break out of her usual routine and explore new possibilities and discoveries on the way, eventually “Befriending the Triangle” in the process, which turns out to be not such an unwelcome shape after all.

In addition to Julia's solo show in the main gallery, Foundry's Gallery II features member artists exhibiting work that has not been shown before at the Foundry. For an exciting array of work that changes monthly exhibited by a unique group of talented artists, please be sure to visit Foundry Gallery regularly. All work is for sale. For more information about the Foundry artists, please visit www.foundrygallery.org and click on Artists. Look for us on Facebook!

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR NEW MEMBERS!
(Visit our website for artist application and detail member information.)

Intern Review: CRYOS

This review was written by Denise Valdez, one of Studio Gallery's interns and a senior at the University of Maryland.



How long does your work last? “An eternity and a blink of the eye.” Iwan Bagus' show Cryos in the downstairs level at Studio Gallery is a unique experience that will have the viewer thinking twice about ice cubes. Bagus takes a photo on Kodak slide films then freezes the slide into an ice cube. His show comprised of twelve pieces show different body parts that range from his head to his feet. Each has their own personality and emotion. His show Cryos (Cryonics) refers to the Greek word Kryos that means to preserve human and animals in low temperature that cannot be sustained by contemporary medicine in hopes that resuscitation and healing will be available in the future. He takes that idea and gives the viewer the experience of seeing an image of a body part in a slide frozen.

He is capturing that precise image of his body at that time, and with this shot, he is freezing it on film. He takes that moment that can disappear in time and makes it permanent. Because moments go by everyone every second he is instilling them forever in these images. Each of these pieces are different from one another and the viewer can see the process in the piece. Some are clear, while others have a ripple effect on them. With each piece being so unique the ice cube also brings that uniqueness to the image because no ice cube is like the other.

Iwan Bagus' work is something that is unusual that takes an everyday object and transforms it into art. His work is temporary because the ice cube melts but the photo he took of the cube will last a lifetime. He makes the “momentary into momentous”.

CRYOS runs until March 28th, 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.studiogallerydc.com

Foundry Gallery: "Black, White and In Between"

BLACK, WHITE AND IN BETWEEN
New Work in Polymer Clay by Fran Abrams

EXHIBITION: Wed, Feb 29 - Sun, Apr 01, 2012
HOURS: Wed – Sun, noon – 6 pm
OPENING RECEPTION: Fri, Mar 02, 6 – 8 pm
LOCATION: 1314 18^th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036
CONTACT: 202.463.0203/WEB: www.foundrygallery.org

INFORMAL ARTIST TALK & TOUR: Sat, Mar 10, 1 – 5 pm

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

Fran Abrams' work typically involves color and geometry. Color because the colors of polymer clay can be vibrant in themselves, but also blend like paints. Just as in painting, the proportion of each color in the blend affects the outcome of the resulting color.

For this show, Fran explored only black and white clay and the grays that result from blending the two. Her inspiration came from Washington politics where it seems lately that everything is black or white and there is no in between.

Geometry is involved extensively in her work because each artwork is composed of shapes and, when complete, all of the shapes fit together on the canvas. The black, white and gray geometric shapes create abstract works of art that convey a meaning -- sometimes serious, sometimes humorous -- a communication between the artist and the viewers.

Pieces with titles such as "Opposing Views," "Reaching for Compromise" and "Tower of Babel, circa 2011" are inspired by what's happening, or not, in the Nation's Capital. Others, such as the entirely white piece titled "Snowmageddon," comment on other aspects of the place we live.

Fran has been working in polymer clay since 2000. Her work has been widely exhibited and has won many awards. All of the work in this show is new and has never before been exhibited.

MARCH ALL-MEMBERS’ EXHIBIT

In addition to Fran's solo show in the main gallery, Foundry's Gallery II features member artists exhibiting work that has not been shown before at the Foundry. For an exciting array of work that changes monthly exhibited by a unique group of talented artists, please be sure to visit Foundry Gallery regularly. All work is for sale. For more information about the Foundry artists, please visit www.foundrygallery.org and click on Artists. Look for us on Facebook!

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR NEW MEMBERS!
(Visit our website for artist application and detail member information.)

A Review of LA BELLISSIMA

Adam Echavarren, a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park who is currently majoring in Studio Art, wrote this entry. He is a new intern at Studio Gallery.

The history of Venice is inseperable from art, and Elizabeth Gruin-Howe’s La Bellissima gracefully continues this tradition. The show features hand-pulled screen prints of Venetian imagery, making use of mixed media and a variety of printing surfaces. Grusin-Howe’s use of wax and powder brings visual depth to her works; a quality lusted after by many printmakers. Grusin-Howe’s choice to manually print the imagery through a screen allows for heightened expression in the works. Whether referencing a world-renowned space, such as Basilica San Marco, or a more private one, as in Secret Garden, Grusin-Howe delivers energy and emotion foreign to digital prints. Her playfulness with color and her willingness to be gestural with mixed media give the series an overwhelmingly experiential quality. Grusin-Howe is very much aware of this, and uses the ability to edition prints to her advantage.

By keeping the imagery constant and her printing techniques unpredictable, she can make each print in a given edition convey a unique tone. La Bellissima provides a unique vision of Venice that surpasses the limitations of photographical work, creating a dream-like space into which the viewer is cordially invited.

Foundry Gallery: "Foundry Feb Four - A New Full-Member Exhibit"

FOUNDRY FEB FOUR
A NEW FULL-MEMBER EXHIBIT

PRESENTING WORKS BY:
LINDA BUTTON - DRAWINGS AND OIL
LESLEY CLARKE - ACRYLICS
PETER LOGE - ASSEMBLAGE
EDWARD BEAR MILLER - OIL

EXHIBITION: Wed, Feb 01 - Sun, Feb 26, 2012
OPENING RECEPTION: Fri, Feb 03, 6 - 8pm
LOCATION: 1314 18th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036
CONTACT: 202.463.0203/WEB: www.foundrygallery.org

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

Paintings by Linda Button explore the visual eloquence of window dressing through drawings and oil paintings that feature the multiple realities of mannequins and the reflections of pedestrians, architecture, sky and bits of flora.


Painter, Lesley Clarke uses acrylics and found objects in complex abstract works focusing on emotion and conflict. Born and raised in Scotland, Lesley's work invites the viewer into the larger experience of both the work and its construction.


Peter Loge works in assemblage, bringing together found objexts and images to represent an idea of an object or emotion, rather than the object or emotion itself. Peter's work shows reflection of the world as we imagine it to be.


Edward Bear Miller is an emerging artist whose recent oil paintings explore a range of subjects: nudes, portraits, cityscapes, the mountainous Adirondacks as well as the parks and waterways of his native Washington, DC hometown. Miller applies his paint rapidly and generously, producing bold, clear images that break down into gracefully abstract brushwork as the viewer steps forward.

FEBRUARY ALL-MEMBERS' EXHIBIT

In addition to the Foundry Feb Four exhibit in the main Gallery, Foundry's Gallery II features member artists' work that has not been shown before at the Foundry. For an exciting array of new artwork that changes monthly and exhibited by a unique group of talented artists, please be sure to visit the Foundry Gallery regularly. All work is for sale. For more information about the Foundry aritsts, please visit our website at www.foundrygallery.org. We can also be found on Facebook!

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR NEW MEMBERS!
(Visit our website for artist application and detail member information.)

Haiti, Wild Portraits, and Worldscapes

This month at Studio Gallery, I've invited two DC artists, Jenna Crowder and Keith Lane to show some of their work. They had been friends of mine for awhile, and I screen-printed some posters for them awhile back which is also when I realized how amazing they are at what they do. They both live in the realm of freelance which is a very unstable world to live in -- freedom is stressful. The show they have showcases work that nobody is hiring them to do, but rather work they honestly enjoy doing.

The first show is their collaborative show, "Reverb + Echo: A Haitian Landscape" based off their collaborative Ornamental Foxes and showcases their work in Haiti. There are 12 pairs of photographs and monoprints. Keith Lane does the photographs and Jenna Crowder does the monoprints. They are meant as pairs. I see them as two ways of seeing one moment. The photographs are the instant response-- they capture the moment in the moment. You see the moment the way your eyes see it. The monoprints are responses after months of contemplation. They start combining voodoo and culture and Haitian symbols. Together they give the viewer a beautiful and complete sense of the place and time.



The lower floor shows their individual fine art, "a pair of scopes". Crowder has created some extraordinary graphite portraits. People have been asking me who these people are, what are their stories, etc because it is so obvious that these people are significant and have stories. Because they're based off of blind contours, they all look a little warped, a little moved about. Keith Lane's landscapes are snapshots from around the world. They range from mysterious to familiar -- the famous streets of Venice to a pure shot of ice. Jenna and Keith have two very different kinds of work, but on walls opposed to each other, they seem to follow a similar journey.


- Fawna Xiao
Director of Studio Gallery
The exhibitions will be up until the 28th of January. Artist Talk on January 14th from 5 - 6 and a Closing Reception on the 28th from 4 - 6.