Nevin Kelly Gallery bids the public farewell...for now

With a little bit of sadness and great appreciation for your support over the years, we wish to announce that Nevin Kelly Gallery will close its permanent gallery space effective January 31, 2010 in favor of a different approach to exhibiting art. For the past seven years or so, we have tried to bring a fresh perspective to offerings of contemporary art in the Washington, DC area. We have featured work by established Polish and other European artists and showcased works by talented local artists. Along the way, we have made some great friends and have had the pleasure of being surrounded by some really fine art.

The past year has been exciting. After six years on U Street, we moved to the Highland Park Building in Columbia Heights. We are grateful to Chris Donatelli and Bozzuto Management for their support of our efforts and for the use of public space in the building to display art. We also made a second trip to the Affordable Art Fair in New York City and received a heart-warming nomination for Best Gallery in DC courtesy of the readers of Express Newspaper, owned and printed by the Washington Post. In the last year, we hosted two solo shows featuring works by H. Wesley Wheeler and Ellyn Weiss, respectively, and staged two group exhibitions that reflected the issues of the day. The first, Stimulus, was meant to stimulate the mind and the economy by offering all works at $500 or less. The second, Zeitgeist II: What's Important Now?, a follow-up to 2008's Under Surveillance, presented the participating artists' views on the most important issues we currently face as Americans.

Although we are closing our retail space, we hope to continue our participation in DC's vibrant art scene. We will seek opportunities to host shows in pop-up locations and will continue to gather artists together to talk and showcase their ideas.

So, stay tuned by checking out our blog or by receiving updates via our newsletters. Thanks for being part of our community during the last few years!

Poems inspired by "Dark Matter"

Local extemporaneous poet BRASH visited the gallery during the closing celebration for our recent show, "Dark Matter," and created two poems inspired by Ellyn Weiss's work.

Alchemistry
To Ellyn Weiss’ Lost Continent


The luminous bowl
That is the skull
Scoops the elixir of thought
From the synaptic clot
Of emotion,
Transmutes its graygold matter
Of alchemic fits and starts
Into the wordless patter
Of the heart’s Impatient motion.

© October 17/21, 2009, BRASH


Dreams
To Ellyn Weiss’ Cladocera


At night the brain
Uncouples itself from its mooring
Follows its own bright train
Through the wilderness, seeking, touring,
A restless conductor’s scoring.

At night the brain derails
From crisply ordered thought
To follow the wisp of trails
Unbound, unbordered, hot
With organic combustion wrought.

At night the brain cracks
Free of relentless time’s elapse,
Leaves the faintest spoor of tracks
On the crackled surface that maps
The sharpest etchings of synapse.

Oh to leave behind the shoddy
Hovel of durance mater, — why but for a night? —
To ever escape this grim and earthen body
For the burn of passages deep and bright
Dark and pure as anthracite.

© October 17/21, 2009, BRASH

Talk with Ellyn Weiss

Saturday afternoon Ellyn Weiss stopped by to share with a curious audience the story behind her new collection of works, "Dark Matter."


The talk became an interactive show-and-tell session when those in attendance sat in a makeshift circle passing around old and recent prints, while Weiss explained the progression of her overall oeuvre.

After a short introduction explaining the motivations behind her new work, a dialogue emerged between the artist and her audience. One of the attendants mentioned that these new paintings seem more expressive than her previous work, richer somehow, even though the color palette has been reduced to brown hues and an almost all-encompassing black. The play on texture developed through technique, the application/removal of tar on canvas, gives way to unique paintings; images that appear to be "living things, swimming up from the primeval darkness."

"Dark Matter" will be on exhibit until October 17. A closing reception will be held that Saturday from 3-6pm.

NKG presents...

We are holding two more events to showcase "Dark Matter," Ellyn Weiss's new work in tar!

Please join us this Saturday, October 3 for a talk with the artist between 2-3pm. Weiss will discuss her process of creation, as well as the motivation behind her paintings.

You are also invited to a closing reception on Saturday, October 17, where we will be holding a final celebration between 3-6pm.

Take a look at our newsletter for this and more.

"Dark Matter" shines brightly

The show's opening was a success! I wish I could say the same about the pictures that were taken that night. Let's just say that this will be the last time I mess around with the camera's shutter speed days before an event. Here are some of the better pictures:

Guests downstairs

Downstairs

Ellyn Weiss and two attendees (pardon the blurriness)

Ellyn engaged in conversation

In case you were not able to attend the opening, here are a few more pictures of the art. Make sure you stop by before October 17. These works need to be seen in person to fully appreciate the richness of tones and textures that can be found within them.

Flagellates, 30 x 30, asphalt and shellac on board, 2009

Pseudopodia| Serpentes| Turbellaria

Lost Continent| Cladocera

NKG on Facebook, plus upcoming exhibit

During the past few months, we here at the Nevin Kelly Gallery have made efforts to become a bigger presence in the interactive world of the web. Back in February, we joined Constant Contact for our email updates and created a group on Facebook as well. To follow up, we have now created a page, making it easier to keep you updated about what is happening at the gallery. To become a fan, click on the link below.



What’s to Come
In more exciting news, you will soon be receiving invites for Ellyn Weiss's upcoming solo exhibition, "Dark Matter: New Work in Tar." The show will run from September 17 – October 11 with an Opening Reception on Thursday, September 17, 6 to 9 pm. Here's a preview of the invite and a little snippet from the press release to get you better acquainted with the show.

"Weiss has discovered that tar is not the dull and uniformly black substance it first appears to be. It contains a range of subtle hues—rich browns, subtle grays and warm amber tones. She uses these colors to coax images from the tar. The images are not planned in advance, but reveal themselves as she works.They have an eerily organic quality to them, appearing to the artist like living things “swimming up from the primeval darkness.” They register with us at the most basic level of all, as if triggering a memory we carry in our DNA of the moment life began."

Weekend Art It List

Mid City Artists Open Studios
Saturday & Sunday, May 16-17, 2009 (see map for specific times)
Opening Reception: Friday, May 15, 5-8pm, Coldwell Banker, 1606 17th Street, NW (meet the artists and enjoy refreshments)

Artists in the Dupont/Logan neighborhoods are opening up their studios to the public this weekend. See where the creation happens, browse through works, and take some art home with you. Participating artists include Sondra N. Arkin, Mark Parascandola, and Thomas Drymon among many others. For a map and listing of specific studios and times, click HERE. I’ll be helping out at Sondra’s studio (1764 Church Street, NW) on Sunday from noon to 5 pm, so stop by and say hello.


Mt. Rainier Open Studios
Saturday, May 16, 2009, noon-6pm

On Saturday, artist studios in creatively charged Mt. Rainier, MD will be open to the public from noon to 6 pm. Check out the studios of Ellyn Weiss, Betsy Stewart, and Ellen Sinel at 3706 Wells Avenue, visit the Washington Glass School and Red Dirt Studio, and check out the studios of a number of other participating artists. See my previous Field Trip post, for reasons on why this area is not to be missed. For more information, check out Ellyn Weiss’s Web site.

And for those of you who want to enjoy some art virtually this weekend…


Art Dealers Association of Greater Washington Spring Internet Exhibition
Through June 30, 2009

Check out the Art Dealers Association of Greater Washington’s online exhibition of works by ADAGW members: http://www.washingtonartdealers.org/exhibitions/2009-internet_exhibition/. Nevin Kelly Gallery is a proud member of this group of esteemed galleries in the Washington, DC area.

AAF Recap

We are back from the Affordable Art Fair NYC! Thank you to everyone, NYC and DC friends, who stopped by booth A-300. I thought I’d share some pictures of our little corner. Do you know how challenging it is to hang a 120 square foot space with the work of seven artists?

Left side of the booth showing the work of Laurel Hausler, Ellyn Weiss, H. Wesley Wheeler, Anna U. Davis, and Mary Chiaramonte

Right side of the booth showing the work of Sondra N. Arkin and Molly Brose

The scene at the Preview Night Party

Anna. U. Davis with her work

Molly Brose and her mother with her work

Laura looking lovely with Sondra Arkin’s “Plumbing My Inner Pink”

The big excitement for the weekend was a visit by a certain celeb who tells people what not to wear. She walked away with a Mary Chiaramonte painting under her arm. We still have quite a bit of work that we exhibited at AAF, so if something catches your eye, don’t hesitate to contact us.

A special thanks to Nora Weiss, daughter of the talented Ellyn Weiss, for helping us out for the weekend while yours truly was in FL.

NYC Bound

We are loading up the truck (minivan) and heading to NYC for the Affordable Art Fair next week. Here is a sneak peak of what you can see at booth A-300 by the seven talented artists that we will be exhibiting.

Sondra Arkin, “Dialogue”, 2009, encaustic on dibond, 12” x 16”

Molly Brose, “Quiet Evening”, 2009, watercolor and acrylic on paper, 10” x 10”


Mary Chiaramonte, “Statuette”, 2008, mixed media on panel, 21” x 14”


Anna U. Davis, “Russian Deli”, 2009, paper and acrylic on canvas, 20” x 20”

Laurel Hausler, “Temporary”, 2009, digital print

Ellyn Weiss, “Pure Nerves”, 2008, monoprint, 15” x 11” (paper)

H. Wesley Wheeler, “Four Play”, 2008, oil on canvas, 48” x 36”

The fair will host more than 60 galleries from the US, Europe, Asia, Canada and South America. Come see Nevin Kelly Gallery at booth A-300 and then stop next door at Bethesda’s Fraser Gallery. For more information on fair location and hours, please visit the AAF Web site.

Field Trip

Recently I took a little trip to Mt. Rainier, MD to visit the studio of Ellyn Weiss. I had never been out to that neck of the woods and was impressed by the number of artist studios clustered in the area. Ellyn shares a great space with Ellen Sinel and Betsy Stewart. I thought I would share some pictures of her lovely studio and some works in progress.

Where the creativity happens


Check out the beauty on the left (“Asylum Seeker”, 2006, oil bar and dry pigment on masonite, 48” x 48”)


Recently-completed 18 panel grid of encaustic and oil paintings from the “Gene Pool” series, each panel measures 12” x 12”

Six little oil bars all in a row, each panel 12” x 12”


After being visually delighted at Ellyn’s studio, she took me over to the Washington Glass School where I was given a tour by one of school’s directors Michael Janis. I got to see Michael’s work as well as the work of the other two directors, Tim Tate and Erwin Timmers. Check out the Washington Glass School’s Web site for a list of classes offered.

Ellyn Weiss, studio mates, and other artist studios in the area (including the Washington Glass School, Flux Studios, and Red Dirt Studio) are having an Open Studios on Saturday, May 16 from noon to 5 pm.

Prescription

Post-inauguration blues getting you down with no more parades, parties, or balls to look forward to? Warehouse Gallery has the perfect remedy. Come out to the Warehouse this Friday evening for the Closing Reception of Inaugural Blast and celebrate the inauguration one last time. The gallery features inaugural art rooms produced by local artists including “Hope/Change” by Sondra N. Arkin and Ellyn Weiss.

What: Inaugural Blast Closing Reception

When: Friday, February 6th from 6 to 9 pm

Where: Warehouse Gallery, 1021 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC (tel. 202.783.3933)

Why: It’s what the doctor ordered.

The “O”s Have It

Welcome to the White House President Obama and family! We would be honored to have you visit us at Nevin Kelly Gallery someday.

Ellyn Weiss, “November 5, 2008”, 2008, mixed media on paper, 45” x 120”

Ellyn Weiss writes that the painting above “started before the election but afterward, it got much happier. See all the “O”s?” The work is currently on view at the gallery.

Artobama

Celebrate the Inauguration creatively with The Art of CHANGE: An Inaugural Celebration of DC's Creative Communities. Mid-Atlantic arts organizations Artomatic, Inc. and Playa del Fuego, Inc. have joined together to create one of the most distinctive 2009 inaugural celebrations. The event will be held on Tuesday, January 20th at 8 pm at the Warehouse arts complex and surrounding locations on the 1000 block of 7th Street, NW and will feature visual and performing arts, multiple dance floors, fire dancing, and live music. The talented Sondra Arkin and Ellyn Weiss have been given a room on the second floor of the Warehouse to present their own version of Hope/Change. For more information and to purchase $50 tickets go to http://www.artists-ball.org/.

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.

Recent Acquisitions!

Mary Chiaramonte's "Dead Eyes" and "Desert Floor"

Mary Chiaramonte and Ellyn Weiss recently brought in new paintings to the gallery. Both artists have continued painting in their signature styles and produced works that fascinate us. Please stop by and see their new creations, as well as other gallery artists, during the month of April.

Ellyn Weiss' "Morning Becomes Electric", "Oxford Avenue", "The Secret Life of My Ever-Fleeting Thoughts"

Stayed tuned for news on upcoming our exhibitions, and enjoy the start of spring!

Sneak Peek!

Are you ready for the crazy season of holiday shopping... errr, ummm, I mean.... gallery hopping? How about some: Jingle Bell Rock? Well, look no further as NKG is here to assist you with your never-ending list of gifts to buy this holiday season. Opening November 24, 2007... NKG welcomes the Third Annual Attainable Art Show: Works Under $1500. Just in time for the holidays, works by various artists such as Sondra Arkin, Lukasz Huculak, Mark Parascandola, Joan Belmar, Mary Chiaramonte, Ellyn Weiss and Ming Yi Sung Zaleski (and many more!) will be exhibited and sold. Finally, affordable art that make the PERFECT holiday gifts.

Please join us:
Holiday Open House| Saturday December 1st | 4 to 7pm

More details to come... so stay tuned!