Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Honfleur Gallery

Today I visited the under-construction spaces for the new Honfleur Gallery in order to deliver to them three pieces which will be included in their soft-opening "No Scratchers."

Even under the construction dust, it is easy to see that this new space will be a beautiful new addition to the Greater DC area art scene, and this Anacostia neighborhood right off the MLK, Jr already seems alive and bright with new construction everywhere (the NAACP is having its new headquarters being built almost right across the street.

ARCH has done an excellent job in designing and staffing the gallery, and already they talked to me about an energetic and aggressive exhibition program that has both national and international roots.

Above the gallery are four brand new studios, and four lucky artists have already rented them out and have got a terrific deal (the studio size ranges from 100-125 square feet, and the prices from $155-$200 a month, based on square footage. Each studio has its own skylight. Spaces will be rented on 6-month or 1 year term).

The Gallery and Studios are located at 1241 Good Hope Road SE, in historic Anacostia. They are a 10 minute walk from Anacosia Metro Station and directly on the bus line. To make an appointment to view the spaces (still under construction), contact bevans@archdc.org or call (202) 889-5000, x 113.

Their first show opens Saturday January 20th, 2007, with a reception at 7pm. The show is an informal exhibition highlighting works of art created by D.C. Tattoo Artists. The exhibition is curated by Imani Brown, area artist and photographer, whose work I saw while I was there and speaking of Brown's artwork, I predict that it will be surprisingly refreshing and a welcome addition to our capital's artistic dialogue.

The grand opening is Saturday, February 24, 2007, with an opening reception at 7PM and an exhibition titled "The East of the River Group Show," and featuring work by Jonathan French, Gilbert Trent, Anne Bouie, Fred Joiner, Henry Ferrand, Prelli Williams, Bruce McNeil and more... all artists with East of the River connections.

Randall Scott's Top 10

Randall Scott opened his cool new art gallery in DC last year and very quickly has established it as one of the leading new galleries in the area. Below are his choices for the Top 10 DC area art shows:

1. Sugimoto
2. DADA
3. Keifer
4. Opening of Nat. Gallery
5. Jennifer Steinkamp at the Corcoran (should be perm.)
6. Redefined at the Corcoran
7. Teo Gonzolez at Irvine
8. Christenberry
9. Ledelle Moe’s heads at Metropolis ground floor
10. Wall Snatchers at WPA/C

Opportunity for Artists

Keystone Art and Culture Center (KACC) is a non-profit arts educations center located in Lancaster, PA. The Center houses a 1,800 sq. ft. gallery space and adjacent art foundry facilities. The exhibit space is 10 feet high with a 40 feet by 50 feet floor space.

They are now planning their 2007-2008 calendar of shows and are looking for artists to exhibit their work. Shows run on a 1 to 2 month basis with an opening event typically on the First Friday of each month. KACC may also hold special events in addition to the first Friday openings.

For more information please visit www.artfoundlancaster.org to download the application form.