New Exhibitions at gallery plan b, Hamiltonian

From Jana Petersen

What happens when art form becomes the end, instead of the “means to an end”? Visit Gallery plan b this weekend to find out. On Saturday, April 16 at 6 pm, gallery plan b on 14th Street NW will host its opening reception featuring the works of Greg Minah, Mars Tokyo and Andrew Wapinski.

Minah’s and Wapinski’s works in particular challenge the viewer to understand art as the art development process, rather than the byproduct of certain artistic techniques.

Confusing? Allow me to an offer an example. Imagine a blank canvas in front of you. You have a bottle of red acrylic paint. You pour some paint in the center of the canvas, but find yourself at a critical decision point: do you tilt the canvas left or right? A tilt to the left guides and shifts the paint in a way that a tilt to the right would not, ultimately dictating the final product and the way the viewer understands or interacts with the art piece.

Minah describes his art as a “collaboration between the spontaneity of liquid paint and the control that I have over its behavior. The result is a lyrical moment, suspended in time, that evolves with closer readings. The significance of the painting, its purpose, is always fluid, as it relies entirely on the encounter with the viewer” (Minah).

For a different spin on “textured” art, consider rounding out the weekend with a visit to the Hamiltonian Gallery. This Saturday at 7 pm, the Hamiltonian Gallery will host an opening reception for its exhibit, “Call + Response: Textures.” Playing “matchmaker between writers and artists,” this exhibit pairs four writers with four artists, each writer contributing one call — a short piece of fiction or poetry — and each artist creating a new installation piece in response to that call. At 5:30 pm on Saturday (before the reception), each writer/artist pair will lead a discussion around their work.

Find out what’s showing at 12 galleries in the Logan-Shaw-U Street area below the fold.

Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery DC Jewish Community Center 1529 16th Street NW 202.518.940	“What Was There to be Seen” through April 24. Gallery Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 10 am to 10 pm; Friday, 10 am to 4 pm.
Adamson Gallery 1515 14th Street NW 202.232.0707	“William Newman: Ouroboros” through May 4. Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 am to 5 pm; Saturday, noon to 5 pm.
Curator’s Office 1515 14th Street NW 202.387.1008	“Nicholas & Sheila Pye: Amend” through April 30. Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 6 pm.
gallery plan b 1530 14th Street NW 202.234.2711	“Paintings by Greg Minah, Works on Paper by Mars Tokyo, Works in Gold Leaf by Andrew Wapinski” April 13 through May 15. Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 7 pm; Sunday, 1 pm to 5 pm. Opening Reception: Saturday, April 16, 6 to 8 pm.
Hamiltonian Gallery 1353 U Street NW 202.332.1116	“Call + Response: Textures” opens with a reception reception Saturday, April 16 at 7 pm. Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 pm.
Hemphill Fine Arts 1515 14th Street NW 202.234.5601	“Anne Rowland” April 9 through June 4. Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.
Irvine Contemporary 1412 14th Street NW 202.332.8767	“Image/Fame/Memory” with Curtis Knapp, Gerard Malanga, Billy Name, Kate Simon & Shepard Fairey in collaboration with Billy Name and Kate Simon through April 23. Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm.
Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts 1632 U Street NW 202.483.8600	“What Matters.” Judy Byron’s The In-Flux Window Peep Show is on display 24-7 during construction at the gallery. Now featuring: Kristina Bilonick — fabricated familiar — through March 21.
Lamont Bishop Gallery 1314 9th Street NW 202.232.4788	Thursday through Friday, 5 to 9 pm; Saturday, 6 to 10 pm; Sunday by appointment.
Long View Gallery 1234 9th Street NW 202.232.4788	“REVIVE” through May 1. Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm; Sunday, noon to 5 pm.
Project 4 Gallery 1353 U Street NW 202.232.4340	“Green Works” with Heidi Fowler, Sayaka Ganz, Julia Anne Goodman and Duncan Johnson through April 22. Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 6 pm.
Transformer Gallery 1404 P Street NW 202.483.1102	“Sketch” through May 7. Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 1 pm to 7 pm. Artist talks: April 28, 5 to 6 pm Drawn-ins: April 23 and 30, 2 to 6 pm.