Style on the Go

Lavanya Ramanathan highlighted the Collectors Select show in her Style on the Go piece in the Washington Post today.

Art Patrons, Displaying Favorites
By Lavanya Ramanathan
Friday, February 1, 2008; C11

They dole out hundreds of thousands of dollars for art -- for the honor of being patrons. And locally, when you say "collector," a few names come to mind: Heather and Tony Podesta (like Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the Podestas must be taken as a pair); Pink Line Project's adventurous founder, Philippa Hughes; and Philip Barlow, who recently was photographed, painted and sculpted 15 different ways by local artists in an exhibition at the Curator's Office.

But what would an illustrious Washington collector do if offered a mini-gallery to curate as he or she pleases? The Arlington Arts Center asks that in its little experiment, "Collectors Select," which opens with a reception tonight.

Daniel Levinas, a collector of Latin American art, wanted the walls raspberry pink. Odd, we know. But raspberry does add that certain something to the room's obsessive, almost mechanical blueprints by Argentine artist Le¿n Ferrari, whose highly controlled, repetitive works reflect the atmosphere under his native country's military dictatorships.

And what to do about the Arts Center's "Tiffany Room," which has one wall covered with Tiffany stained-glass windows? Hughes chose D.C. graffiti artist Tim Conlon and his crew (Bryan Conner, The Soviet, Rams) to have his way with the other three walls, the street art playing hilariously off the staunch Tiffany, and vice versa.

Barlow selected the same geometric and ordered works he might buy, by artists such as Tomas Rivas and Michele Kong; the Podestas brought in performance artist Kathryn Cornelius, photographer Steve Alterman and Barbara Liotta (whose site-specific string bridge-like sculpture, "Ascent," is a stunning centerpiece for the space). Henry Thaggert turned his exhibit into the AV room, choosing to show the gender- and race-exploring video works of Bradley McCallum and Jacqueline Tarry. And old-school collector Julian Fore went with favorite local artists, including William Christenberry and Sam Gilliam.

Though the collectors probably own hundreds of pieces, those aren't the works you'll find here. The collectors merely chose the artists who represented their vision, and borrowed.

Free. The reception is from 6 to 9 tonight; show, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays through March 29. Arlington Arts Center, 3550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. 703-248-6800.

The AAC's Director of Exhibitions Jeffry Cudlin wrote a superb summary of the Collectors Select show on his blog, Hatchets and Skewers.