Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Jeff Blum over at DC Photo Scene visits Artomatic and offers some interesting words on the subject.

Jeff adds these eloquent thoughts to the dialogue:

"Artomatic felt more alive and vibrant than any other art event I've been to in DC, and I can't imagine it not being worth a couple of hours of anyone's time. Even if you end up hating everything in it, I can't imagine it being a waste of time to drop by. Lots of angst, gaudiness, crappy work, good work, earnestness, politics, thoughtfulness, whimsy, and an unbelievable amount of everything else not listed."

My "sources at the Post" (Oh please!) tell me that this coming Saturday the Washington Post's "Free for All" will have lots of letters and commentaries about Blake Gopnik vis-a-vis his rootcanalization of Art-O-Matic.

Keep an eye on the Saturday Post.

kojo nmandi Artomatic was on NPR today at the Kojo Nnamdi show.

My kudos to Kojo for once again coming forth to highlight what is going on in the DC area art scene! Kojo has demonstrated (time and time again) the initiative that other "local" NPR shows seem to lack in helping to promote our area's visual arts.

Listen to the show here. It starts at around 13:32 in the show.

Busy day tomorrow...

First I'll be at the third and final day of my conference and then in the late afternoon I'll be briefing the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities on the advisory panel's recommendations for the Individual Grant awards to DC artists. My advance congratulations to all of the DC artists who will be getting $5,000 each, and my stern request that more of you apply in the coming years.

I am always shocked as to how few artists apply each year.

Aimee GarciaAfter that I will be hanging the spectacular debut of Cuban artist Aimee Garcia Marrero at Fraser Georgetown.

Aimee Garcia Marrero is a very young Cuban painter whose solo US debut in Los Angeles sold out in 2002 (a third of our show has already pre-sold before the opening). She then participated in the VIII Bienal de La Habana and since then has been working furiously to create this show.

The Garcia Marrero opening is this coming Friday, from 6-9 PM. We will have Cuban music, Cuba Libres and catering by the Sea Catch Restaurant. It's part of the opening night for the five Canal Square Galleries.

Come and say hi and I'll buy you a Cuba Libre, or as I call them: "Cuba Presa."

Fred Ognibene's Top Ten Artomatic List

Fred Ognibene is a DC area contemporary art collector; below are his top ten Artomatic finds:

Joseph Barbaccia
Scott Brooks
Frank Day
Nina Ferre’
Mark Jenkins
Syl Mathis
Allison B. Miner
Elizabeth Lundberg Morisette
Ruza Spak
Kelly Towles
Rob Vanderzee

Again, today I'll be at a conference most of the day today, so check back later for more top ten lists and other stuff.