Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th kicks off an art-filled weekend. Here are a few highlights:


Conner Contemporary is opening an exhibit of paintings by Howard Mehring from the Vincent Melzac Collection.

Mehring has been called the "sleeping giant" of Washington Color Painting and was the first of the second generation of Color Field painters to explore the potentials of color through novel experiments with painting techniques including pouring, staining, stippling, and sectional painting. Early in his career, Mehring created innovative abstract paintings in distinctive all over styles, so called because the artist eschewed a central focal point in favor of a uniform presentation of saturated color. These canvases were best known for their breathing, pulsating, lyrical expressions of color, which the artist identified with tonal qualities of music.

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Guerilla Film Club is hosting a party at Civilian Art Projects (7th and D) from 6:15 to 9 pm before everyone heads over to E Street Cinema to view The Lives of Others. This movie is one of the best I have seen in years. It's beautiful, subtle, taut and most of all, reflects on the transformative power of art. www.gfilmfest.com/gfc17.html.

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Gallery Neptune presents "Behme Craghead Wallace", three artists whose work is inspired by literary influences.


Mark Behme presents a collection of five hand carved wood sculptures based on the early 20th century artists drawing game known as Exquisite Corpse. A master of intricacy, Behme's alluring sculptures are fascinating studies in metaphor and mystery.

David Wallace, a collage artist from Pittsburgh, uses old advertising images and text in his paintings and collages. His bold images layer font design with unrelated pictures of animals and people that together send new messages to a modern audience.

Warren Craghead III, inspired by the French surrealist poet Guillaume Apollinaire, presents ten mixed media drawings and a book of drawings called "How to Be Everywhere". Craghead aligns his own creative impulse to that of Apollonaire's to create new art that pays homage to this visionary poet.

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WISH I WAS THERE
Showcasing the artwork of Gary Fisher, Glenn Fry, Jason Wright & John Talkington, the event happens on Friday April the 13th , 2007, 7PM – Midnight in the old Lee Jensen Brake Service at 1333 14th Street NW - a great raw space provided by Fathom Creative. The show continues on Saturday, April 14 from 12 – 5 PM for additional art viewing, sales and pick-up. The artists are donating 15% of all sales from the 2-day event to the Sitar Center for the Arts. Sounds will be provided Friday night by DJ Daweson. Food and drink are compliments of W.Millar & Co Catering, 18th & U Duplex Diner and Halo, co-sponsors of this event, along with Fathom Creative and BlackBox. So come, enlist, enjoy the show – and take home some great art by the artists from Studio 14 while helping the Sitar Center continue to feed the creative juices for the young artists among us.

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Artomatic, the Washington, D.C., area’s eclectic, engaging — and occasionally even eye-popping — arts extravaganza is back this spring and promises to be more of a draw than ever before. Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic is the region’s one-of-a-kind multimedia art featuring more than 600 regional artists and performers. The free five-week event, to be held April 13–May 20, will feature nearly 90,000 square feet of paintings, sculptures, photography and other creative work.

April 13–May 20, 2007
2121 Crystal Drive, Arlington, Va.
Metro stop: Crystal City
Free admission. Donations accepted

Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday: Noon–10 p.m.
Thursday: Noon–11 p.m.
Friday, Saturday: Noon–1 a.m.
Closed Mondays