GreenHeART was a exhibit staged last Friday night at Lofts11, on 11th and M St. NW. High profile DC artists such as Matt Sesow, Dana Ellyn, and the ever elusive Kelly Towles were my personal favorites. Phillipe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques and and founder of Earth Echo Intenrational, provided remarks. I had a great time; I knew some of the artists and got to catch up with them, and the friends that I was there with made it a really fun experience.
Where to start. Hm. I could start with Phillipe since he was deemed one of DC's most eligible bachelors, and now that I think about it, there were a lot more women there that night than men. He gave a speech, nothing really to do with art, but I was pleased that biodegradable plates, utensils, and cups were provided. From what I saw, it was a lot more crowd-working than art-admiring going on from his end. I'm not too sure what to make of that since the artists were donating 10% of profit from of each piece sold to Cousteau's organization.
Artwork represented included painting, photography, and some fantastic mixed media pieces. I was really impressed by a set of three photography/glass/typography pieces, and I'm kicking myself for not remembering the artist's name. Each piece was comprised of multiple panels; I don't recall how many, but at least two. The back panel was made of painted wood, and the front pieces were photographs and typography printed onto texturized glass. The way these pieces were lit really made it beautiful; the shadows from the glass fell onto the wood, and the texture from the wood itself added another dimension to the texture.
One of my favorite artist's right now is Kelly Towles. Kelly is represented by Adamson Gallery, where I used to intern and served as an interim Assistant Director back in 2002. He has a street/urban background, but there is something just beautiful about his work. His debut at Adamson was stunning - gigantic characters painted from floor to ceiling of the gallery space. At Green HeART, only four pieces of paper with small drawn characters were displayed. His characters are what I am really pulled in by; cartoonish, realistic, humorous, menacing, and just human. I was a little disappointed since I personally did not feel the prices were justified for unframed pieces, but I loved the intimacy of such small pieces.
Matt Sesow and Dana Ellyn exhibited a small collection of their work. I know these two artists from the collective, OCCOA, who debuted our work in respective exhibitions. Dana showed a collection of self-portraits, including one that was terrifically haunting. It was painted in hues of greys and blues, and the expression was just so... desparate.
Of the pieces Matt displayed, my fave was one called something about Nuggets (I'm so terrible with names. Probably because I don't title my photographs). Bright blues and reds, two chooks flanking a red headed female subject. I'm just really attracted to bright and deep colours, and the characters in that piece were just really fun.
This makes a nice segue into the Sesow Open Studio on Saturday. When I first saw Matt's art back in 2002, I wasn't quite sure what to think of it. All I had been exposed to was fine "museum" art, and never really had much exposure to the concept of outsider art. I wouldn't call his work abstract, but it certainly is contemporary and didn't fit into the mould of high art that I was normally exposed to. Six years later, I have to come to a deeper appreciation and respect for his work. For it's not about how beautiful or refined art is supposed to be, it's about the emotion, the drive, the intent, of the art. The textures and lines in Matt's work visibly demonstrate the new meaning that art has taken on for me. I bought my first piece of art, from Matt, at his open studio, and I love it. It's a small 8x10 on bristol paper. A man in a bunny hat against a blue background with a stick drawing of a mean bunny in the corner. It's just fun and makes me smile when I see it.
I didn't quite make it to the Project 4 opening or the fundraiser. I kept my biodegradable glass of wine continuously full of wine on Friday, and absolutely regretted it the next day.
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