Matthew Smith

February 01, 2012, 8:15am

Playing Rothko: The Seagram Murals on Arena Stage

Edward Gero as Mark Rothko and Patrick Andrews as Ken in the 2011 Goodman Theatre production of Red. Directed by Robert Falls. Photo by Liz Lauren.

Listed under: Art World, DC

Tagged as: Arena Stage, Christopher Rothko, Edward Gero, Harvard University, John Logan, Kate Rothko Prizel, Mark Rothko, Matthew Smith, Patrick Andrews, Philips Collection, Red, Robert Falls, Roberta Smith, Rothko Chapel, Seagram Murals

January 20, 2012, 8:00am

NAP Annual Prize Winner: William Betts

This year's New American Paintings Annual Prize has been awarded to William Betts. If you’re a longtime subscriber to New American Paintings you’re probably familiar with the work of the Houston-based artist. Betts has appeared in editions #60, #72, #84 and most recently as an Editor’s Pick in #96.

Listed under: Noteworthy, Q&A

Tagged as: Art Institute of Chicago, Bill Arning, Ellen C. Caldwell, Ellen Caldwell, James Rondeau, Matthew Smith, Miami Art Museum, The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, William Betts

January 06, 2012, 8:15am

Collecting Critically: A Q&A with Henry L. Thaggert

Andy Warhol’s relationship to abstraction is charged.

Listed under: Collecting, DC, Q&A

Tagged as: Andy Warhol, Arlington Arts Center, Corcoran, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Erika Ranee, Faith Ringgold, Henry L. Thaggert, Jefferson Pinder, KARA WALKER, Lauren Woods, Matthew Smith, Maya Freelon Asante, Nadine Robinson, Nekisha Durrett, Philips Collection, Renee Cox, Renee Stout, Warhol, Washington Project for the Arts

December 20, 2011, 8:15am

By Any Means Necessary: Q&A with Chip Allen

Chip Allen’s letting loose. He’s squeegeed, splattered, and gesturally brushed over his geometric abstractions, and by the looks of it action painting’s winning out. His loose, intuitive marks and smudges run interference across seemingly systematic lines, the resulting balance a taut non-resolution that tugs from opposing ends, even if one end does so a bit harder. But there’s no subjugation here. Amalgamation is more like it, and a methodical contemplation on the all-encompassing potential of his medium -- oil in his most recent paintings.

Listed under: DC, Q&A

Tagged as: Chip Allen, Heiner Contemporary, Matthew Smith

November 30, 2011, 8:45am

Colorful Language: Paintings by Mel Bochner at the National Gallery of Art

As Mel Bochner tells it, his longstanding engagement with language was inevitable.

Listed under: DC, Review

Tagged as: Alfred Jensen, Dan Flavin, Eva Hesse, In The Tower, Matthew Smith, Mel Bochner, National Gallery of Art, Sol Lewitt, The Tower Gallery

November 07, 2011, 9:46am

Historical Lineage: Q&A with Matthew Craven

Much of Matthew Craven’s meticulous work exists as both colorful abstraction and surreal historical document. His transformation of images appropriated from history textbooks nudge and reconfigure the original historical narratives. And his modular treatment of familiar forms unexpectedly activates their hidden potential for abstraction. Painting, drawing, collage and installation are linked in Craven’s practice through his fastidiously precise lines, which run across works and from project to project.

Listed under: DC, New York, Q&A

Tagged as: artsauce, Benjamin Edmiston, Brooklyn, Christopher Daniels, Matthew Craven, Matthew Smith, Michigan State University, Natalia Yovane, Nick Van Woert, NUDASHANK, Paper Chasers, Sam Adams, Stacey Rozich, SVA, The School of Visual Art

October 20, 2011, 9:00am

Progress Report: Q&A with Kris Chatterson and Vince Contarino

Give it time and the Internet will mobilize for change in just about any arena. So it’s not surprising that artist-run exhibition spaces -- always bastions of change -- are increasingly striving for a stronger online presence, sometimes even eschewing fixed brick-and-mortar locales all together. And it’s not just exhibition spaces.

Listed under: DC, Features, Q&A

October 06, 2011, 12:10pm

The Writing’s on the Wall: a Q&A with David Kramer

Considering current events, it may be easy to wonder if David Kramer’s paintings have a slight political bent. Much like the characters in his work, we’ve had to collectively reassess our own aspirations amid the failed promises of the credit and housing bubbles. But taking stock of one’s own life is far from a political act, and Kramer’s work is probably too introspective to be social activism.

Listed under: DC, Q&A

Tagged as: David Kramer, George Washington University, Heiner Contemporary, Matthew Smith, Pratt, Prequel to the Sequel, Yaddo

September 26, 2011, 2:09pm

Highlights from (e)merge: the artists platform

Unlike the gallery platform, two-dimensional works were a bit less common in the artist platform at (e )merge. It’s not surprising -- in their call to artists the organizers expressed an interest in site-specific work that engaged with the idiosyncrasies of a hotel setting. But it may also point to the organizers’ desire to favor experimentation over commerce in this portion of the fair.

Listed under: Art Fairs, DC

Tagged as: Alex Ebstein, art fair, Corcoran, DC Cheer, eMerge, Free Art Booth, Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann, Kristina Bilonick, Matthew Smith, MICA, NUDASHANK, Peacock, platform, Sophia Guerci, Tammi Campbell

September 24, 2011, 8:33am

Highlights from (e)merge: the gallery platform

(e)merge kicked off with a preview and poolside party on Thursday evening. Featuring two platforms, one for galleries and the other for unrepresented artists, the fair occupies the first three floors of the Capitol Skyline Hotel as well as the lower level parking garage. I took a look around the gallery platform on Friday -- just about 40 exhibitors -- and will be checking out the artist platform on Saturday. My report on the galleries, with lots of images, after the jump. - Matthew Smith, DC Contributor

Listed under: Art Fairs, DC

Tagged as: ADA Gallery, Andy Moon Wilson, Bart O'Reilly, Conner Contemporary Art, Curator's Office, Daniel Rios Rodriguez, Ella Kruglyanskaya, eMerge, Jiha Moon, Jimmy Trotter, kendell carter, Matthew Smith, monique meloche, Nina Bovasso, White Columns

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