Foundry Gallery
Jay Peterzell presents a series of new mixed media works that explore his reaction to his personal life and the times in which he lives. The loss of a brother and a longtime friend coupled with the current political climate have led the artist to create a series that examines both the outside world, through representational work, as well as his emotional responses to love, sex, death, and politics through expressive abstractionism.
Peterzell explains that he is trying to “push beyond a stylistic distinction – realism and abstraction – to the unstable line between them, crossing and re-crossing it, approaching from both sides, falling off and approaching again.” In a final act of defiance, as a self-proclaimed patriot, Peterzell desecrates the American flag in “Untitled No. 1” to express his anger at our nation’s current state of affairs.
Gallery Neptune & Brown
Wolf Khan has exhibited internationally for more than six decades. His work features prominently in the collections of over 24 public institutions, and this year, the US Department of State honored him with the International Medal of Arts. Considered one of the most preeminent second-generation members of the New York school, Kahn has produced work that straddles the boundaries between realism and abstract expressionism.
The artist has long-held “The Feast of the Gods,” a Renaissance masterpiece created by Titian and Bellini, as one of the paintings that has had the most profound influence on his work. The painting hangs at the National Gallery of Art, and Khan has taken the occasion of a visit to Washington to revisit Titian and Bellini’s palette and composition, which has so informed Khan over the years.
While Khan has worked in a variety of mediums, his favorite remains monotype. For the series on view at Gallery Neptune & Brown, his subject matter will include nocturnal forest landscapes and abstracts like “Rich Magenta,” pictured in this article. His artistic process combines the use of washes over zinc plates and ink crayons, which he uses to draw over the print. This combination produces what the artist describes as “the transparency of a soft wash and a contrast with the density of thick dark inks.”
Hamiltonian
“It’s Still All Up to You” is a group exhibition with work from Hamiltonian Fellows Kyle Bauer, Aschely Cone, Rachel Guardiola, Magali Hebert-Huot, Paolo Morales, Nara Park, Kyle Tata, and Rives Wiley. The exhibition is curated by Eve Biddle and Will Hutnick.
The current cohort of fellows will explore the ways in which “we try to communicate and connect by obscuring, revealing, and purposefully distorting information.” By “we” the artists speak of themselves, specifically the ways in which they attempt to obfuscate their intentions or to hide their identity behind their work. In other cases, they offer a subtle quid pro quo. They tease the viewer with hints and clues offering a dialogue between both parties.
To accomplish this end, the artists have created a series of abstract works, further compounding the opacity of what the cohort will present to the public. However, the artists do not intend this exercise to be an end onto itself or a game for their own amusement. Rather, they seek to understand and observe the result of intentional miscommunication. When applied to contemporary events, how does obfuscated visual or written communication impact our society or our politics?
As the title of the exhibition suggests, it is up to the viewer to make sense of what they are viewing and to see the greater picture by unmasking that which is hidden through critical analysis, detachment, and impartiality.
Touchstone
In reaction to a wave of anti-immigration policy changes implemented by the Trump administration and widely supported by his political base, 220 area artists created a single panel of art to commemorate their stories as American immigrants. Titled “The One House Project,” the 220 panels in their entirety form a house, like wood shingles, with each piece representing a memory, an homage, or a statement about an ancestor, a relative, or in some cases the artist.
A local group of artist-activists called Art Watch, organized by Ellyn Weiss and Jackie Hoysted in the wake of the 2016 Trump election, put out a call for artists and organized the exhibition. Art Watch worked in collaboration with the Touchstone Foundation for the Arts to bring the project to fruition.
A series of programs will accompany the exhibition including a genealogy workshop with DC Public Libraries, a workshop with select artists, and an artist talk. The 220 artists who participated in “The One House Project” seek to open a dialogue about immigration to the United States. Leading by example, they also hope that, as they have come together from diverse backgrounds to create a singular piece of art, perhaps as Americans we can all pull together despite our cultural differences.
The organizers designed the project with portability in mind and hope to continue the dialogue by exhibiting the work in communities around the area and perhaps around the United States.
Exhibitions on View
Charles Krause Reporting Fine Art
New location: Dacha Loft Building
1602 Seventh St. NW, Second Floor
202-638-3612 | www.charleskrausereporting.com
Hours: Weekends, 1-6 p.m.
Exhibition schedule TBD
Gallery Neptune & Brown
1530 14th St. NW
202-986-1200 | www.neptunefineart.com
Hours: Wed. to Sat., noon to 7 p.m. | Sun., 1-4 p.m.
Through Jan. 6
Wolf Kahn, “Density & Transparency in Monotypes”
Opening reception: Friday, Nov. 24
Foundry Gallery
2118 Eighth St. NW
202-232-0203 | www.foundrygallery.org
Hours: Wed. to Sun., 1-7 p.m.
Through Nov. 26
Jay Peterzell, “New Paintings”
Hamiltonian Gallery
1353 U St. NW
202-332-1116 | www.hamiltoniangallery.com
Hours: Tues. to Sat., noon to 6 p.m.
“It’s Still All Up to You” group exhibition with Hamiltonian Fellows Kyle Bauer, Aschely Cone, Rachel Guardiola, Magali Hebert-Huot, Paolo Morales, Nara Park, Kyle Tata, and Rives Wiley. Curated by Eve Biddle and Will Hutnick.
Nov. 18-Dec. 16
Hemphill Fine Arts
1515 14th St. NW
202-234-5601 | www.hemphillfinearts.com
Hours: Tues. to Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Through December
Lingling Lu, “100 Melodies of Solitude”
Long View Gallery
1234 Ninth St. NW
202-232-4788 | www.longviewgallerydc.com
Hours: Wed. to Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Through Nov. 19
Sondra Arkin, “What You See Is All There Is”
Touchstone Gallery
901 New York Ave. NW
202-347-2787 | www.touchstonegallery.com
Hours: Wed. to Fri., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. | Weekends, noon to 5 p.m.
Through Nov. 25
“The One House Project”: 220 artists stand up for tolerance, inclusion, and unity
Genealogy workshop by the Labs at DC Public Library: Thurs., Nov. 9, 7-9 p.m.
Artist talk: Sat., Nov. 11, 2-4 p.m.
Art workshop: Sat., Nov. 18, 1-3 p.m.
Phil Hutinet is the publisher of East City Art, dedicated to DC’s visual arts. For more information visit www.eastcityart.com.
