Mid City Artist Spring Open Studios are this Saturday and Sunday. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Eliza French. Follow her on Twitter @elizaenbref; email her at eliza[AT]borderstan.com.
The Mid City Artists will host their spring Open Studios this Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19. This time around, 21 studios around Borderstan will be open to the public. Visitors can download this comprehensive map as a guide for their studio tour and for detours to local businesses and galleries that support the weekend.
This weekend also marks the first time Mid City Artists will offer curator-led tours of the studios. Each tour with one of four local curators will include six to eight studios. The group hopes the tours will help audiences interact with the artists and more fully engage with the works. There will be two tours on Saturday and two on Sunday. Each two-hour tour focuses on a common theme that re-emerges in the featured works. Registration is free, but space is limited to 10 people per tour.
Works on view include sculpture, glass, painting, photography, drawing, printmaking, mixed media and found object collages. The wide variety of works comes from an equally diverse pool of artists.
Participating artists include: Chuck Baxter, Scott G. Brooks, Jane Cave, Robert T. Cole, Michael Crossett, Thomas Drymon, Aster da Fonseca, Gary Fisher, Charlie Gaynor, Sally Kauffman, Miguel Perez Lem, Eileen Lyons, Lucinda Friendly Murphy, Betto Ortiz, Mark Parascandola, Dave Peterson, Brian Petro, Marie Ringwald, Peter Alexander Romero, Richard Siegman, George H. Smith-Shomari, Michael Torra, Robert Wiener and Colin Winterbottom.
The Details
- What: Mid City Artists Open Studios
- When: Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19
- Where: View the map for details.
Guided tours take place at noon on Saturday, and at noon and 2 pm on Sunday. Register here to attend.
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Mid City Artists: It’s Open Studios time again. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Luis Gomez. Catch his photos at One Photograph A Day. Follow him on Twitter @LuisGomezPhotos.
Fall is here and that means it’s time for the Mid City Artists Fall Open Studios. Open Studios are held twice a year during the spring and sfall, and this season’s event is this weekend, October 13 and 14.
A total of 20 artists are participating this Saturday and Sunday, all of them in the Dupont-Logan-U Street area. Mid City Artists has an easy-to-read map with participating artist studios. Studios are open in the afternoon; check the map for exact times for each artist.
There are almost 40 Dupont-Logan artists in Mid City Artists, many of whom either work out of home spaces or have studios in non-traditional spaces. Mid City Artists explains, “Everyone seems curious about how artists fit their act of creation into busy schedules that often include full time jobs and families–and spaces that may also double as dining rooms or basements, garages or carriage houses.”
Participating Artists
Below is a list of this year’s participants in the Mid City Artists Fall Open Studios. Click on the link to read the artist’s Borderstan profile.
- Sondra N. Arkin – Painter, Mixed Media. 1764 Church Street NW. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm.
- Chuck Baxter – Found Art Sculpture. 914 Westminster Street NW. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Scott G. Brooks – Painting. 929 Florida Avenue NW, Apt 7008. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Robert Cole – Metal Sculpture and Susan Cole – Painting/Drawing. 1714 REAR 15th Street NW (Carriage House) – Go down the alley at 1708 15th Street. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Aster da Fonseca – Abstract Painting. 1327 14th Street NW. Saturday, October 13, 1-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 1-5 pm.
- Thomas Drymon – Painting. doris-mae studio. The studios at 1716 14th Street NW. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Gary Fisher – Painting. 1327 14th Street NW. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Glenn Fry – Silk Screen Artist. 1327 14th Street NW. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Charlie Jones – Painting. 2125 14 Street NW #317W. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm.
- Sally Kauffman – Painting. The studios at 1716 14th Street NW. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Miguel Perez Lem – Painting, Photography, Mixed Media. Lem Design. 1843 14th Street NW, 3rd floor. Saturday, October 13, 12-6 pm, Sunday, October 14, 1-7 pm.
- Regina Miele – Painting. ARTS@1830. 1830 14th Street NW. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Lucinda Murphy – Painting. 1704 Florida Avenue NW. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Dave Peterson – Painting, Printmaking. The studios at 1716 14th Street NW. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Brian Petro – Abstract Painting, Photography. 1829 14th Street NW (below Vastu). Saturday, October 13, 12-6:30 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-4:30 pm.
- Peter Alexander Romero – Painting, Sculpture. 1320 Wallach Place NW. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- George Smith-Shomari – Painting. 912 Westminster Street NW. Saturday, October 13, 12-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Robert Wiener – Art Glass. DC Art Glass, 1322 Corcoran Street NW. Saturday, October 13, 11-5 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-5 pm.
- Colin Winterbottom – Photography. 1829 14th Street NW, lower level (below Vastu). Saturday, October 13, 12-6:30 pm, Sunday, October 14, 12-4:30 pm.
Enjoy the art and meeting the artists at the Mid City Artists Open Studios — many of them truly are your talented neighbors!
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Local artist Brian Petro works on his "Supermarket Series." (Photo Credit, Brian Petro)
From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter@rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com.
Local artist, Brian Petro, is displaying some of his latest works on the walls of Vastu (1829 14th Street NW), now through July 16. The present works, “Supermarket Series” and “Roman Series,” are very different in both their influence and the media used.
When Petro was 22, he took his first trip to Europe and spent some time in Rome and other cities throughout Italy.
“I was just floored by Italy,” said Petro, whose travels inspired his current exhibition, “Roman Series.”
“[In this series,] I like to keep things very simple with the far-away, stoic gaze,” said Petro, referring to photograph prints of ancient ruins and statues hanging on the wall. “I feel it highlights the complexity of Roman society, just through this quiet, staring imagery.”
For the pieces in “Roman Series,” Petro uses a difficult and tedious process that makes each piece of work unique – a process Petro refers to as “photographic thermal transfer.”
“What I do is I shoot on real film, develop and enlarge that and then print that with a four-color press onto paper, a chemical release agent and plastic,” explained Petro. “Then when I heat that, it melts the plastic into the toners and the ink and then I can press it and it will leach off onto another surface. And in this case, the other surface is 140-pound archival paper.”
Also adorning the walls in Vastu are pieces from Petro’s colorful and vibrant “Supermarket Series,” which uses drastically different materials and pays homage to another influential time in the artist’s life.
“One of my first jobs in central Pennsylvania was working in a produce department in a grocery store,” said Petro. “I really loved the physical labor of working in this huge produce department, and I didn’t realize what was happening until years later, but I’d go in early in the morning and pack this huge department full of colors and textures and shapes and smells, and when I’d get done, I’d sit back and have such a gratifying feeling to see all of this wonderful and beautiful stuff. Now I realize that I was putting up an art installation every morning.”
Inspired by the urbane grittiness and the bustling energy of Manhattan, Petro first received the idea for his “Supermarket Series” when he found old signs from supermarkets and bodegas while searching for found art in the city. Petro’s affinity for red apples – and the Big Apple – is fully expressed and captured in this playful and lively series.
“This is my take on still life, just without the fruit in the bowl,” said Petro.
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From Candida Mannozzi. You can reach her at candida[AT]borderstan.com.
Borderstan, I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed a lot of creative and visual expression in our area (and in the city, at large). Perhaps the spring weather encourages our creative neighbors and friends to display their activities outdoors and open their workspaces to the public. Certainly, the larger art institutions seem to plan numerous outdoor events and happenings for the season.
Creativity is all around the neighborhood. (Luis Gomez Photos)
One such event is the film projection onto the outer walls of the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on the Mall. Created by Doug Aitken, “Song 1” (showing through May 20th) is a 360-degree film projection from multiple cameras, covering the entire surface of the circular walls of the Museum.
The soundtrack to “Song 1” is part of a verse from “I Only Have Eyes for You” (written and composed by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, 1934 ) and interpreted by various actors on screen … to varying degrees of success. The excerpted verse is looped over and over, as the images flow. Make sure you bring your own music with you, in iPod form, so you can dispel the “it’s stuck in my head for the rest of the night” effect when you leave!
Still, seeing the entire building come alive with moving images is truly something you ought not to miss. Projections start at 8pm (or right around sunset), and the movie plays on a loop throughout the evening.
Go on a date (or with friends), bring your pets or go on your own… but GO! Mostly I enjoyed switching my gaze from the enormous images on the museum walls to the “zoomed out” version that included the entire Hirschhorn with the surrounding darkening sky, or the nearby Washington Monument, or other items in my line of sight, taking in the entire spectacle in its larger context. Don’t miss walking all the way around the Museum to see the projection from as many different angles available.
Another celebration of creativity is this upcoming weekend’s 10th Mid City Artists (MCA) Open Studios in our very own ‘hood! Of the almost 40 member-artists, more than one-half are opening their studios to the public, allowing glimpses into their creative spaces, their current works-in-progress and their previous collections.
I say we wear our neighborhood pride on our sleeves this weekend! Let’s visit as many of our creative (and courageous) neighbors as possible, celebrating the variety, imagination, humor, insight and talent these artists bring to our ‘hood. From Florida Avenue and W, all the way to 10th and N Streets NW, it won’t be hard to pop-in to a handful of studios this Saturday and Sunday.
MCA’s helpful map of participating studios also lists Capital Bikeshare locations in the area for anyone wanting to cover more territory than a leisurely stroll might allow.
Hooray for Borderstan and the amazing its number of creative neighbors! It’s truly a privilege and a growing pleasure to live here.
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Mid City Artists held their Fall Open Studios weekend October 22-23. Click above for more images (Luis Gomez Photos).
More photos of Mid City Artists!
From Luis Gomez. Catch his photos on Picplz and at One Photograph A Day. Follow him on Twitter @LuisGomezPhotos.
It was a busy weekend for the Mid City Artists in Borderstan. On Saturday and Sunday they had their Fall Open Studios weekend. We visited some of the artists in their studios — sadly we couldn’t make it to all of them. But here is a list of Mid City Artists that we have profiled.
The next Open Studios weekend will be May 19-20, 2012.
Mid City Artists Profiled on Borderstan
- Regina Miele: Local Artist, Global Reach
- Gary Fisher: Art Changed My Life
- Mark Parascandola: Abandoned Architecture
- Peter Alexander Romero: Color, Movement and Texture
- Shaw Artist Chuck Baxter: Trash to Treasure
- The Inspiration of Dupont’s Ryan Epp
- French Artist Isabelle Spicer Finds Color in DC
- Robert Wiener: From Accounting to Art Glass
- Thomas Drymon: Showing the Hand in His Paintings
- Dave Peterson’s Brand Mixes Graphics, Captions, Materials
- Joren Lindholm: “Between Abstract and Representation”
- Glenn Fry’s Silkscreens: From the Fed to the Real World House
- No Regrets: Betsy Karasik’s Transition from Lawyer to Painter
- Cole’s Metal Sculptures Part of Dupont-Logan Landscape
The Robert T. Cole and Susan Cole Sculpture Studio is on this weekend’s Fall Open Studio tour of Mid City Artists. A number of Robert Cole’s sculptures can be found throughout the Dupont-Logan-U Street area. Check out Cecile Oreste’s profile of Cole along with 13 other Mid City artists. (Luis Gomez Photos)
This weekend is the Fall Mid City Artists Fall Open Studios, which runs from 12 to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday, October 22-23. There are a total of 21 artists at 15 locations. The Mid City Artists area encompasses several neighborhoods, including Dupont Circle, Logan Circle and U Street.
Go to the Mid City Artists website for a complete list of artists participating in this weekend’s event — and download their great map that shows the studio locations. Over the past two years Borderstan arts writer Cecile Oreste, along with Luis Gomez as photographer, profiled a total of 14 Mid City artists.
Mid City Artists Profiled on Borderstan
- Regina Miele: Local Artist, Global Reach
- Gary Fisher: Art Changed My Life
- Mark Parascandola: Abandoned Architecture
- Peter Alexander Romero: Color, Movement and Texture
- Shaw Artist Chuck Baxter: Trash to Treasure
- The Inspiration of Dupont’s Ryan Epp
- French Artist Isabelle Spicer Finds Color in DC
- Robert Wiener: From Accounting to Art Glass
- Thomas Drymon: Showing the Hand in His Paintings
- Dave Peterson’s Brand Mixes Graphics, Captions, Materials
- Joren Lindholm: “Between Abstract and Representation”
- Glenn Fry’s Silkscreens: From the Fed to the Real World House
- No Regrets: Betsy Karasik’s Transition from Lawyer to Painter
- Cole’s Metal Sculptures Part of Dupont-Logan Landscape
Click above for the slide show. Mid City Artists held their spring Open Studios May 21-22 in the Dupont-Logan area. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Luis Gomez
See the slide show of photos from Open Studios on May 21-22.
A total of 28 artists in the Dupont-Logan area opened their studios last Saturday and Sunday to the public. All are members of Mid City Artists, which holds spring and fall Open Studios. If you missed last weekend, there will be another Open Studios this fall.
Check out the 13 profiles of Mid City artists by Borderstan’s Cecile Oreste.
- Gary Fisher: Art Changed My Life
- Mark Parascandola: Abandoned Architecture
- Shaw Artist Chuck Baxter: Trash to Treasure
- The Inspiration of Dupont’s Ryan Epp
- French Artist Isabelle Spicer Finds Color in DC
- Robert Wiener: From Accounting to Art Glass
- Mid City Artist Mike Weber is California Dreamin’
- Thomas Drymon: Showing the Hand in His Paintings
- Joren Lindholm: “Between Abstract and Representation”
- Dave Peterson’s Brand Mixes Graphics, Captions, Materials
- Glenn Fry’s Silkscreens: From the Fed to the Real World House
- No Regrets: Betsy Karasik’s Transition from Lawyer to Painter
- Cole’s Metal Sculptures Part of Dupont-Logan Landscape
Ryan Epp is one of 28 Mid City Artists participating in their open studios tour this weekend, May 21-22. (Luis Gomez Photos)
If you haven’t partaken of a Mid City Artists Open Studios weekend, it’s a great opportunity to discover artists in the neighborhood. You’ll have the chance to meet some great local artists, 13 of which have previously been featured on Borderstan — check out the list below.
Download a Mid City Artists map with studio locations and hours for May 21-22. A total of 28 studios (at 21 locations) are open this weekend; the artists also host a fall weekend session.
Profiles of Mid City Artists
Check out the 13 profiles of Mid City artists by Cecile Oreste.
- Gary Fisher: Art Changed My Life
- Mark Parascandola: Abandoned Architecture
- Shaw Artist Chuck Baxter: Trash to Treasure
- The Inspiration of Dupont’s Ryan Epp
- French Artist Isabelle Spicer Finds Color in DC
- Robert Wiener: From Accounting to Art Glass
- Mid City Artist Mike Weber is California Dreamin’
- Thomas Drymon: Showing the Hand in His Paintings
- Joren Lindholm: “Between Abstract and Representation”
- Dave Peterson’s Brand Mixes Graphics, Captions, Materials
- Glenn Fry’s Silkscreens: From the Fed to the Real World House
- No Regrets: Betsy Karasik’s Transition from Lawyer to Painter
- Cole’s Metal Sculptures Part of Dupont-Logan Landscape
