Happy New Art, Washington
DC’s creative set is energetic these days since a new president has come to town. The Obamas are already earning style praise. And in coffee shops and restaurant corridors, folks are whispering that maybe, just maybe, under a style-and-culture-conscious administration, the local art scene will receive some overdue attention.
And it should. We may not have the market share of New York City or the derring-do of Paris, but art here has rare intellect, precision, and immense depth. There’s a thing Washington artists collectively do better than those in any other city I can think of – produce beautifully structured works that cleverly confine themselves and experiment within their own systems of logic. Washington art contains great tension and discipline, exerting most of its power beneath surfaces and between lines.
Againists by Ian Whitmore
In that spirit, let’s take a trip to the galleries on 14th Street. Here’s my short list of what to see right now.
I’m lately obsessed with Ian Whitmore’s ability to obey the laws of classical composition, question them, and break them joyfully, all in the same painting. Within each work, there is much to mull over. Check out his solo show, which is heavily ribboned with politics, history, and a wildly abstract sense of humor.
Settlement and Rickety Construction by Ian Whitmore
This Is Our Music
Paintings by Ian Whitmore
Through Feb. 14
G Fine Art
1515 14th St., NW Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
For many creative people, the subconscious is rich with ideas and images that may not entirely make sense, but are intriguing when given visual form. And dreams are the playground of the subconscious. Next door to the Whitmore exhibit, there are three takes on the images and pattern work of dreaming – the work of Simon Governeur, Jason Hughes, and Paul Laffoley.
Geochronmechane: Time Machine From the Earth (detail) by Paul Laffoley
Peyote by Simon Governeur
Mind Games by Jason Hughes
Lucid Dreaming: Simon Governeur, Jason Hughes, Paul Laffoley
Through Feb. 14
Curator’s Office
1515 14th St., NW Suite 201
Washington, DC 20005
Across the street, Irvine Contemporary is celebrating the power of small things. Its diverse, dynamic exhibit of small-format works in a variety of media contains an array of dense images that are by turns bright…
Dangling Wood by Jiha Moon
haunting…
Trickster Spirit by Phil Nesmith
and hopeful.
Owl (in Greenland) by Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick
Aspect:Ratio 2
Through Feb. 14
Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th St., NW
Washington, DC 20005
Thank you for the highlight.
-Phil Nesmith