DC

March 26, 2013, 8:30am

Matthew Smith's Concrete Abstract at Heiner Contemporary

Our DC Blog Contributor, Matthew Smith, has curated a fantastic group exhibition at Heiner Contemporary called, Concrete Abstract, which runs through April 20th. In the show, which includes artists Seth Adelsberger, Lisa Dillin, Jeremy Flick, Steven Frost, Sue Johnson, Becca Kallem, Patrick McDonough, Danielle Mysliwiec, and Matthew Smith, the curator "...explores the confluence of abstraction with the everyday" As the press release continues, "The works in the show cultivate a non-representational visual language that emerges from familiar ready-made objects, whether th

Listed under: DC

Tagged as: Becca Kallem, Concrete Abstract, Danielle Mysliwiec, Heiner Contemporary, Jeremy Flick, Lisa Dillin, Matthew Smith, Patrick McDonough, Seth Adelsberger, Steven Frost, Sue Johnson

October 08, 2012, 8:20am

Chromatic Archive: Lisa Ruyter at Connersmith

There’s a seemingly direct line between Lisa Ruyter’s work and pop art. Like pop art, Ruyter’s paintings are guided by photography and mass media, her appropriation strategies a central crux of her compositions. But her artistic concerns are decidedly unwarholian. Rather than revisiting pop art’s critique of commodity culture, Ruyter is more interested in reframing the conceptual meeting point between image and color, obliterating photographic affect and repurposing meaning along the way. Indeed, much of the photographs’ original “truth” is lost when viewed through Ruyter’s decadently neon prism, nearly as abstract as it is figurative.

Listed under: DC, Review

Tagged as: Connersmith, Lisa Ruyter, Matthew Smith

August 29, 2012, 8:25am

From Print to Painting to Print: CTRL+P at Arlington Arts Center

Brian Chippendale came to prominence as a leading figure in the underground art and music scene that blossomed in Providence, RI during the 1990s. At the center of this creative explosion was Fort Thunder, an expansive live-work space co-founded by Chippendale in 1995 that occupied the second floor of an historic mill. Part performance space, part printshop, part residence, Fort Thunder was ultimately purchased by a developer and demolished in 2002, giving way to a supermarket and office supply store.

Listed under: DC, Review

Tagged as: Annie Albagli, Brian Chippendale, Greg Cook, Julie Chae, Jungil Hong, Kayrock, Kris Chatterson, Kristina Bilonick, Matthew Smith, Vince Contarino

August 09, 2012, 8:20am

Guns, Art, and a Project by Ryan Carr Johnson and Samuel Dylan Scharf

There’s a long history of guns in contemporary art, from Chris Burden’s Shoot to Sophie Calle’s ballistic treatment of her lover’s letter in Take Care of Yourself to a myriad points in between. And the connection between guns and painting is no less direct.

Listed under: DC, Review

Tagged as: (e)merge art fair, Academy at Conner Contemporary, Artist Platform, Chris Burden, Matthew Smith, Nikki de Saint Phalle, Ryan Carr Johnson, Samuel Dylan Scharf, Sophie Calle, William Burrough

May 24, 2012, 8:30am

Contemporary Wing Opens in D.C.

A few months prior to opening her new storefront gallery, Lauren Gentile organized the group show Next Generation in a raw warehouse space in downtown D.C. It was timed to coincide with the Rubell Family Collection’s 30 Americans at the Corcoran last winter, and it tapped a few art stars from the Rubell show to select a batch of up-and-comers they viewed as the next generation of great artists.

Listed under: DC, Q&A

Tagged as: Contemporary Wing, Lauren Gentile, Matthew Smith, Next Generation

April 13, 2012, 8:15am

Of This World: Tom Green at Curator’s Office

“Time is of the essence now.” Most of us will never fully grasp the weight of Tom Green’s words when he spoke to the Washington Post last December.

Listed under: DC, Review

Tagged as: Curator's Office, Matthew Smith, Tom Green

February 24, 2012, 8:15am

Le Sigh: Gina Beavers at Nudashank

There’s no escaping the physicality of Gina Beavers’ paintings. Culled from the unremarkable -- quotidian moments and bits of cultural flotsam -- her work is grounded by the immediacy of her source material. Despite the occasional abstraction, these representations aren’t meant to veer far from their physical subjects; they’re tethered to experiential moments that are as concrete as the sculptural reliefs on her canvases. Indeed, borrowing from the pictorial language of naive painting, Beavers’ works suggest redemption for what’s unheroic among us.

Listed under: DC, Review

Tagged as: Baltimore, Gina Beavers, Matthew Smith, NUDASHANK

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 31, 2012, 8:29am

MUST SEE PAINTINGS SHOWS: FEBRUARY

One of the best parts of my job is getting to see the careers of artists that we have worked with take off. Artists such as James Siena, Amy Cutler and Matthew Day Jackson were all featured in New American Paintings long before they reached the international spotlight. This month is not only an extraordinary month for the medium of painting at galleries around the country, it is a particularly strong month for New American Paintings’ alumni. No fewer than twenty artists featured in past, or upcoming editions, have their work on view in February. Two of my favorites, Summer Wheat and Benjamin Degen, will be featured in the soon to be released 2012 Northeast Edition (#98).