Part II - Fourth Annual Attainable Art Goes Virtual

Here is another round of Attainable Art for your virtual shopping or browsing enjoyment. See below for Part I. If you see something you like or want to see more, please don’t hesitate to contact us by phone (202-232-3464) or e-mail (info@nevinkellygallery.com).

Sondra Arkin, “Hover”, 2008, encaustic on panel, 6” x 6”, $250

Sondra Arkin, “Showers”, 2008, encaustic on paper on dibond, 12” x 16”, $650

Joan Belmar, “Kapoor’s”, 2007, mixed media, 15” x 12”, $650 (framed)

Mary Chiaramonte, “Desert Floor”, 2007, mixed media, 20” x 15”, $700

Mary Chiaramonte, “Tulsa”, 2008, mixed media, 20” x 15”, $900

Laurel Hausler, “Allan Gray”, 2008, digital print mounted under plexi-glass, 14” x 10”, $275


Ellyn Weiss, “Cellebration”, 2008, monoprint with chine collé and gouache on rice paper, 13” x 10”, $150 (unframed)

Ellyn Weiss, “Pure Nerves”, 2008, monoprint, 15” x 11”, $250 (unframed)

Wesley Wheeler, “In Dreams”, 2006, oil on canvas, 36” x 30”, $1500

Ming Yi Sung Zaleski, “Head of Dog”, 2007, yarn stuffed with batting, $200

Elzbieta Bocianowska, “Two Tree Trunks”, 2005, aquaforte/aquatint etching, 11” x 9”, $150 (framed)

M.P. Bocianowski, “Gil”, nd, aquaforte/aquatint etching, 7” x 6”, $125 (unframed)

Maciej Deja, “Nude”, 2000, mezzotint, 15” x 12”, $250 (unframed)

Jacek Lydzba, “Airplane”, 2006, watercolor on paper, 22” x 27”, $800 (framed)

Fourth Annual Attainable Art Goes Virtual

For the past three years, Nevin Kelly Gallery has held a special “Attainable Art” holiday exhibition. Because we just moved and are still working on getting our new space organized, this year we are going virtual. So, if you are still checking off your holiday gift list, adding to your own wish list, or just window shopping, check out these little beauties. For most artists, we have more works available in the gallery that we would be happy to share with you. Happy virtual shopping!

Sondra Arkin, “Overlook”, 2005, oil pastel and acrylic on paper, 12” x 8”, $425 (mounted between plexi)


Joan Belmar, “The Telegraph”, 2007, mixed media on canvas (mylar, acrylic, plastic), 13” x 17”, $650 (framed)


Mary Chiaramonte, “Favorite”, 2007, mixed media, 20” x 15”, $700


Laurel Hausler, “Red Alice Box”, 2007, mixed media, 15” x 12” x 7”, $350


Ellyn Weiss, “Nerve Cells, Two Views”, 2008, monoprint with chine collé, 15” x 11”, $250


Wesley Wheeler, “West Across the River”, 2008, oil on canvas, 26” x 21”, $900


Elzbieta Bocianowska, “Landscape”, 1992, aquaforte/aquatint etching, 11” x 14”, $250 (framed)


M. P. Bocianowski, “Bird with Crescent Moon”, nd, aquaforte/aquatint etching, 12” x 10”, $225 (framed)


Maciej Deja, “Untitled Toes”, 1994, mezzotint, 15” x 15”, $300 (framed)


Lukasz Huculak, “Three Stools”, 2002, gouache on paper, 11” x 14”, $1100 (framed)


Jacek Lydzba, “Red Flags”, 2006, watercolor on paper, 14” x 20”, $800 (framed)


Mikolaj Kasprzyk, “Giotti's Angel”, 2008, oil on linen, 15” x 21”, $1500


Katarzyna Kmita-Pukocz, “Flowers and People”, 2003, pastel on paper, 19” x 18”, $650 (framed)


Malina Wieczorek, “Red Nude”, 2003, oil on canvas, 9” x 7”, $400 (framed)

If you see something you like or want to see more, please don’t hesitate to contact us by phone (202-232-3464) or e-mail (info@nevinkellygallery.com).

Welcome!

Welcome to the Nevin Kelly Gallery's new space in Columbia Heights (1400 Irving Street, NW, #132)! Please come in and pardon the mess; we still have a bit of unpacking to do.


Check out the shiny kitchen, all the better to serve you with at opening receptions.


Here is the first floor room with a view of the second level. Loving the high ceilings, perfect for hanging large paintings. Note our portable column…a little something familiar from U Street.


Let’s go upstairs. What a view! This will be a great spot for art.


And the best part…just wait…storage, storage, storage!


Join me on our next tour, when we will have art on the walls.

Ellyn Weiss’s Muse

I recently finished photographing a new body of work by Ellyn Weiss and wanted to share some of the images of her beautiful prints with you. Weiss often draws inspiration from the biological world, and this summer nerve cells served as her muse.

Ellyn Weiss, “Biological Agent”, 2008, monoprint, 15” x 11”

Ellyn Weiss, "Nerve Cells, Two Views", 2008, monoprint with chine collé, 15" x 11"

Once Ellyn selects a theme, she pursues it until her imagination plays out. She focuses on particular parts of images, enhancing and deconstructing them to create compositions of layered imagery that are suggestive of her original inspiration but never literal. She usually begins with one or more repeatable matrices (etched plates, woodblocks, or even Styrofoam blocks) to which she adds various elements of color, collage, and stenciling--often running a print through the press three to six times.

Ellyn Weiss, "Deconstructed Elements", 2008, monoprint, 22" x 28"

Although Ellyn served as the first General Counsel for the Union of Concerned Scientists from 1978 to 1988, it was not until a decade later that she became intrigued by the forms and colors of the human body's internal structures. At an exhibition in Baltimore, she was moved by the beauty, depth, and vibrancy she saw in photographic images of magnified cells by two Johns Hopkins scientists. She describes that exhibition as a pivotal experience, explaining that she was "overcome at the thought of this beauty twinned with functionality inside each of us."

Ellyn Weiss, "Cellebration", 2008, monoprint with gouche and chine collé on rice paper, 13" x 10"

Please let us know if you are interested in learning more about Ellyn Weiss’s work.

Winning Combinations

You can’t go wrong with art, chocolate, and holiday cheer. Here is a list of exhibitions and events that some of our gallery artists and friends are participating in over the holidays.

“Rapture, Ecstasy & Bliss” at Biagio Fine Chocolate
 (1904 18th Street, NW)
December 5, 2008 - January 4, 2009*

Small works by Sondra N. Arkin, Joan Belmar, Scott G. Brooks, Anna U. Davis, Tom Drymon, Mary Beth Ramsey, Kelly Towles, and Ellyn Weiss

*Complimentary Chocolate Tasting with Amedei of Italy, December 5, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
*Chocolate Tasting and Reception with the Artists, December 10, 6:30 - 8:30 pm


Holiday Show at Long View Gallery (1302 9th Street, NW)
December 4, 2008 - January 4, 2009

Works by Scott G. Brooks, Mary Chiaramonte, Billy Colbert, Anna U. Davis, Dana Elyn, Matt Seso, and Chris Stephens

Mid City Art Exhibit at Art17, Coldwell Banker 
(1606 17th Street, NW)
December 5, 2008 - February 8, 2009
*

Works by Sondra N. Arkin, Joan Belmar, Jody Bergstresser, Tanja Bos, Tom Drymon, Charlie Gaynor, Dwight Lissenden, Lucinda F. Murphy, Marina Reiter, Ronald Riley, and Richard Seigman

*Opening Reception, December 5, 6 - 9 pm

*Meet the Artists: December 6, 1 - 3 pm & December 7, 1 - 3 pm

Mid City Artists Fall Open Studios
December 6 & 7, 2008

Artist studios in the Dupont/Logan Circles area will be open for visitors with over 20 artists exhibiting. For more information and a map of participating studios, visit the Mid City Artists Web site.

Moving Day

Never fear, Nevin Kelly Gallery is still here! Monday the gallery moved to our new location in Columbia Heights. Although we will miss U Street and our wonderful neighbors, we are in a beautiful new space in the Highland Park complex at 14th and Irving Streets, NW. Columbia Heights is bustling, and we are excited to be part of the action.

We will need some time to get organized but are planning an open house for early next year to introduce everyone to the gallery’s new home. In the meantime, we are still around and happy to help with your holiday shopping needs. Our e-mail address (info@nevinkellygallery.com) and phone number (202-232-3464) are still the same. Stay tuned for updates on the new space, art, and other delights!

In Memoriam: Gretchen Feldman

We are saddened by the recent death or our dear friend Gretchen Feldman, whose vibrant works in watercolor graced the walls of our gallery earlier this year. Gretchen was remarkable not only for her enormous artistic talent, but for her grace, kindness and unfailing humor. The obituary in her hometown paper, the [Martha's] Vineyard Gazette, got her just right.

Gretchen Feldman, "Stripes & Squares", 2007, watercolor on paper, 29" x 27"

Our deepest sympathies go out to her beloved Sam and her daughters and grandchildren. We will miss her delightful presence.

Heavy Metal

With an affinity for exotic metals and hardware, it is no surprise that Stirling Elmendorf is a fan of the architecture of Frank Gehry. “Temporary Constructions” features a series of photographs Stirling took of the Gehry-designed Experience Music Project in Seattle, WA.

Stirling Elmendorf, “Static Wave”, 2008, pigment print

Appropriately, a pile of electric guitar parts inspired Gehry’s design for the EMP which was created as a venue for the history and exploration of popular music. In his photographs, Stirling captures beauty in the gleaming ripples of metal that form the futuristic structure as well as what he describes as “the juxtaposition of rigid elements taking on completely fluid lines.”

Although this is the last weekend to see “Temporary Constructions: New Photographs by Stirling Elmendorf and Marc Parascandola”, please contact the gallery or the artists directly if you are interested in seeing more of their work.

Lucky Number 7

Well, you don’t have to take our word for it, the FotoWeek DC bloggers agree that “Temporary Constructions” is a Top 10 Must Attend (lucky number 7 to be exact) on your tour of FotoWeek exhibitions. For the complete list, click here.

Thank you to Laura Kuah (former NKG employee and now talented gallery opening photographer) for mentioning the show in her article for the Baltimore Examiner. For the complete article, click here.

This is the last weekend to see “Temporary Constructions: New Photographs by Stirling Elmendorf and Mark Parascandola” and the official end of the first annual FotoWeek DC. For more information on other photography exhibitions and events, check out the FotoWeek DC Web site. We also have FotoWeek guides here that at the gallery, so make us your number one stop, pick up a guide, and go from there.

Preserving Constructions

Mark Parascandola recently blogged about the history and fate of the Carabanchel prison in Madrid, a site he had the opportunity to photograph in October. A number of his photos of the prison are currently on view in the gallery as part of the exhibtion “Temporary Constructions”. Here is an excerpt from his blog:

Mark Parascandola, “Carabanchel 1”, 2008, pigment print

“The Carabanchel prison in Madrid is one of the most infamous architectural landmarks from Spain’s decades of dictatorship. General Francisco Franco ordered construction of the prison in the 1940s to house the regime’s many political prisoners. The complex is designed on the panopticon model, with the cell blocks extending outwards from a round central tower. This arrangement, first proposed by 17th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham, allowed guards to easily observe all areas of the prison and was intended to amplify the prisoners’ sensations of powerlessness.

“Carabanchel was finally closed in 1998 and its few remaining inhabitants moved to other prisons. Since then, the building has been heavily looted—all the metal gates and fixtures have been removed—and it has been visited by graffiti artists, drug addicts, gypsies and curious observers.

Mark Parascandola, “Carabanchel 2”, 2008, pigment print

“The Spanish government now wants to make the site available to private developers with plans for condominiums and a hospital. However, an informal group of architects, social workers, neighbors, and former prisoners have demanded that part of the prison be preserved as a memorial to those who suffered under the dictatorship. Members of the Platform for a Center for Peace and Memory have held a series of demonstrations and camped out near the site.

“Just a few weeks ago the fate of the structure appeared uncertain. A national judge had ordered a study of the prison for possible evidence relevant to ongoing investigations into crimes committed under Franco’s regime. And the Congress was debating legislation on the prison’s future. However, the Madrid city government effectively put an end to the debate by authorizing the start of demolition. Seventy people were removed from the complex, mostly Romanian gypsies who had been living on the site. Construction crews began work at 1:00 am on Wednesday October 22. By the following Saturday half of the 32-meter wide central cúpula, the most architecturally significant element, had collapsed.”

Carabanchel and other architectural structures have been captured in time by Mark Parascandola and Stirling Elmendorf in the photographs of “Temporary Constructions” on exhibit through November 23rd.

“Temporary Constructions” Reception Breaks Ground

Thank you to friends, photography lovers and passersby who came out Thursday night for the opening reception for “Temporary Constructions”. What a great crowd! Congratulations to Stirling Elmendorf and Mark Parascandola on their striking collaborative exhibition.

Mark Parascandola, Nevin Kelly and Stirling Elmendorf

Mark Parascandola and guest

Stirling Elmendorf and friends

Here is a snippet from a statement that Stirling and Mark prepared for the show:

“Monumental man-made structures suggest a confidence in the future and the human capacity to conquer the natural environment. However, their seemingly timeless presence belies the reality that even the most ambitious of constructions are subject to the same natural and man-made forces of decay, destruction, and transformation. The images presented here highlight the contrast between two extremes -- the idealized, abstract elements of innovative, contemporary buildings, versus the complex, textured surfaces of decaying structures, revealing changes in human priorities and the impact of time and the natural environment. In these scenes, new architectural elements appear detached from their surrounding environment and devoid of human presence. In turn, the aged structures are captivating not so much for the architectural ideals behind them but for the accumulation of imprints that serve as evidence of the activity of the human and natural world.”

Installation shot of the show

“Temporary Constructions” is a must see on your tour of FotoWeek DC and will be on view through November 23rd.

I Break for Abstraction

We recently had some good news from one of our gallery artists Wesley Wheeler. Wes, who lives in Upstate New York, sold a painting to a major corporate collection in Philadelphia, PA. The painting entitled “The Fire Next Time” takes its name from a book by African-American writer James Baldwin (1924-1987) about race relations in America. The striking painting speaks to Baldwin’s passion and ultimate offering of hope and healing.

Wesley Wheeler, “The Fire Next Time”, 2008, oil on canvas, 48” x 48”

While “The Fire Next Time” already has a home, the gallery has a number of Wesley Wheeler’s meditative abstractions available.

Wesley Wheeler, “August Afternoon”, 2007, oil on canvas, 40” x 30”

Wesley Wheeler, “Water Columns”, 2008, oil on canvas, 40” x 30”

Please stop by the gallery, and we will be happy to show you Wesley Wheeler’s work in person.

Don't Miss "A History of Dogs and Witches"

You’ve probably already hung up your brooms until next year, but it is not too late to see Laurel Hausler’s solo exhibition “A History of Dogs and Witches”.

Laurel Hausler, “Witch Hunt”, 2008, mixed media on paper, 18” x 18”

The show will be up through this Sunday, November 9th.

Celebrating FotoWeek DC with “Temporary Constructions”

Next week marks the much-anticipated launch of FotoWeek DC. In conjunction with this first annual city-wide celebration of photography, the gallery will host a two-artist exhibition of works by local photographers Stirling Elmendorf and Mark Parascandola.

top: Stirling Elmendorf, “Tenley”, 2008, pigment print
bottom: Mark Parascandola, “Carabanchel 1”, 2008, pigment print

The exhibition, titled “Temporary Constructions”, will showcase new photographs by Elmendorf and Parascandola highlighting architectural changes over time in Washington, DC and elsewhere by juxtaposing images of contemporary monumental architecture with those of time-worn abandoned structures.

“Temporary Constructions” will be on view November 12-23, 2008. Please join us in celebrating photography and local talent at the Opening Reception on Thursday, November 13 from 6 to 9 pm.