New Exhibitons at 5 Local Galleries

From Jana Petersen

ChickenVille opens this weekend — but don’t come to Lamont Bishop expecting a “baby chicken.” ChickenVille is the name of the newest art exhibition at Lamont Bishop featuring the work of D.C.-based artist Brandon Hill. The opening reception begins at 7 pm on May 21.

ChickenVille, as described by the artist, is a ” jubilant mixture of Americana, technical proficiency of craft and ideas of pop-culture, sci-fi, lore and legend, all meeting on the same plateau” (Lamont Bishop); each piece reflects his unique perspective of both the serious and trivial nature of commonplace objects and concepts.

What does this mean for the viewer? A robust collection of deck art, two-dimensional works, sculpture and light installation, featuring subjects ranging from boxer Max Schmeling to the all-too-familiar Robocop.

This Saturday is also the opening of “This IS Hawai’i” at the Transformer Gallery. This IS Hawai’i artists Solomon Enos, Puni Kukahiko, Carl F. K. Pao and Maika’i Tubbs explore — through site-specific installation, artistic actions and public programs — what it means to be “Hawaiian” in the 21st century. Artists Maika’i Tubbs and Puni Kukahiko will be at Transformer from 2  to 3:30 pm this Saturday to discuss their art; the full opening event runs from 1 to 7 pm on Saturday.

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	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	Check back for upcoming exhibitions. 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	“Ann Tarantino: SuperNatural” opens May 19 and runs through June 4. Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 6 pm.
gallery plan b 1530 14th Street NW 202.234.2711	“Works by Gordon Binder, Works by Tanja Bos, Works by Beverly Ryan” May 18 to June 19. Opening Reception: May 21, 6 to 8 pm with artists.Overview: Each artist in this exhibit chooses a different way to paint his/her environment. While Gordon Binder captures the world around him through natural landscapes and cityscapes, Tanja Bos uses ink and paper to create ethereal scenes “that seem to glow from within” (Gallery plan b) and Beverly Ryan’s “narrative paintings are populated with soul-searching figures amongst decorative and colorful patterns” (Gallery plan b). Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 7 pm; Sunday, 1 to 5 pm
Hamiltonian Gallery 1353 U Street NW 202.332.1116	“Concurrent Exhibitions by Three Hamiltonian Fellows: Ryan Hoover, Jessica van Brakle, and Linda Vargas de la Hoz“ opened May 14 and runs to June 18. Overview: In this exhibit, each artists explores the notion of physical objects and space to paint a convergence that is not normally seen — a tent made out of a clothes jacket? What about furniture implanted with micro-controllers?Opening Reception: May 14, 7 to 9 pm Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 pm.
Hemphill Fine Arts 1515 14th Street NW 202.234.5601	“Anne Rowland” runs through June 4. Overview: “Anne Rowland’s complex photographic engagement with the farmland around her home in rural Virginia springs from an instinctual feeling for nature and the inherent melancholy of our intrusion upon it. In her collection and mending together of visual data, Rowland points to a place in the human brain that desires to commune with and care for the wilderness” (Hemphill). Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.
Irvine Contemporary 1412 14th Street NW 202.332.8767	“Dataklysmos” opened April 30 and runs through June 4. Overview: “Dataklysmos” is an exhibition of new multimedia sculptures that show the world of data and the materiality of digital technology in new ways. The implication of the Brooklyn artist’s name [dNASAb] — “Disney-NASA-Borg” — is only the tip of the ice berg.Gallery Hours: Tuesdays through Saturdays, 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 “What Matters” is on display 24-7 during construction at the gallery. Overview: What matters? Too much? Not enough? Too difficult to articulate? In her installment, “What Matters,” Byron uses the dialogue that flows from the question to inspire and create six life-size models of the women she engages (life-size models currently on display). “What Matters” is an exploration of the elusive nature of this question and these women.
Lamont Bishop Gallery 1314 9th Street NW 202.232.4788	ChickenVille opens Saturday, May 21, with a reception from 7 to 11 pm. Overview:New works by Brandon Hill: “ChickenVille, as described by the artist, is a place defined as a jubilant mixture of Americana, technical proficiency of craft and ideas of pop-culture, sci-fi, lore and legend, all meeting on the same plateau.” (Lamont Bishop Gallery)Gallery Hours: Thursdays and Fridays, 5 to 9 pm; Saturday, 6 to 10 pm.
Long View Gallery 1234 9th Street NW 202.232.4788	“The Artists of the Washington Glass School: The First Ten Years” May 19 to June 19. Overview: Find out how students and teachers at the Washington Glass School have taken glass sculpture outside of its traditional form.Opening Reception: May 19, 6:30 – 8:30 pm. 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	“Liminal Light” April 30 through June 4. Overview: “The show Liminal Light at Project 4 Gallery features artists who explore various means of representing reality and the boundaries beyond, bringing the viewer to the visual realm of the sublime. Using graphite, India ink, smoke and photo collage, the artists exploit the duality between black and white to reveal the spectrum of infinite shades of gray” (Project 4).Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 6 pm.
Transformer Gallery 1404 P Street NW 202.483.1102	“This IS Hawai’i” May 21 to June 5 at Transformer. Overview: This IS Hawai’i artists Solomon Enos, Puni Kukahiko, Carl F. K. Pao and Maika’i Tubbs explore — through site-specific installation, artistic actions and public programs — what it means to be “Hawaiian” in the 21st century.**This exhibit is being co-hosted by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. For a full list of Smithsonian hosted events, click here.