Ai-Wen Wu Kratz

It seems to be a contradiction that such precise calculations could yield such lyrical, fluid drawings. The Ai-Wen Wu Kratz exhibit at the Museums of the Americas shows that there is beauty in such a contradiction. Ai-Wen has won multiple awards for her paintings, drawings and photographs and is also member of MOCADC . Ai-Wen is an example of an artist that truly loves and appreciates art as a meditation. She believes in listening to inner voice and knows that art can excite the senses and ultimately change the world.

Ai-Wen Wu Kratz work is on exhibit at the Museum of the Americas , in Doral Florida through December 1, 2007

Little Brother @ The Black Cat

Phonte and Big Pooh of Little Brother bring you back to a simpler time in hip hop, before gold diggers were getting down and murder music. The North Carolina natives debuted their first album, The Listening in 2003 after touring the underground North Carolina hip hop circuit before that they released a prior single in 2001 entitled, Speed. Little Brother originally consisted of three member; Big Pooh, Phonte, and 9^th Wonder, however 9^th Wonder did not participate on Little Brother’s latest release, Get Back. Even though the group is short a member they do not fall short on conscious lyrics and jazzy beats.

See Little Brother perform at The Black Cat Saturday December 1, 2007, along with Evidence (of Dilated Peoples), and Reef the Lost Cause.

Morris Louis Now: An American Master Revisited

A good way to describe The Morris Louis Now exhibit is; sensual and undulant. Standing in front of his paintings takes you to a place of pure pleasure. While each piece is huge measuring 8-12 feet in height, they are not at all over bearing in fact, they soothe you. Perhaps it is because each piece is made by staining a raw canvas with watered down acrylic paints, the out come is shadowy faint waves of color that blend and bleed into each other. Morris Louis did not always paint in this manner, he got his start painting realist paintings at the Maryland Institute of Fine and Applied Arts, it wasn’t until later in life that he found his calling, and started to create these abstract colorful pieces.

Morris Louis Now: An American Master Revisited will be at the Hirshhorn through January 6, 2008

Grand High Ladner Release Party

Grand High is a Washington DC based company that designs everything from shoes to album cover art. Over the last year they have toured all over Asia with K Swiss as part of the K Spray 2 International Stencil Art tour. Grand High’s newest project, the Grand High Ladner, will be introduced to the DC public on Saturday night at their release party where you can see live art installments by SDCTV customs, view rare and limited edition sneaker displays, and move your feet to the sounds of DJ 2 Tone Jones. This party will be a sneaker pimps fantasy!

The Grand High Ladner Release Party will be at Liv nightclub on Saturday November 17, 2007 from 5-9pm.

For more information visit Grand High

Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

In Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis, Mary Jordan takes a look at one of the most influential artist of the New York underground arts scene. Jack Smith was a performance artist, photographer, film maker, and an art world rebel. He received unwanted notoriety for his early 1960's film, Flaming Creatures which was banned in various states and countries for being too obscene. His unique brand of trashy art influenced film makers such as Andy Warhol and my personal favorite, John Waters. This film collage of images of his over the top art gives the viewer a deep look into his psyche, his hatred for his mother, and finally his untimely death of AIDS in 1989.


Jack and the Destruction of Atlantis is showing at the Hirshhorn on November 15, 2007 at 8pm

Beaujolais Nouveau

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive! Every year on the third Thursday of November millions of cases of Beaujolais Nouveau (a very easy to drink, fruity red wine) are shipped to Paris where they are immediately exported all over the world. This may not seem like such a big deal to a mere American, but to the French it means party time!

This year, the Alliance Francaise de Washington is inviting musical guest Simone Marchand to perform songs by Edith Piaf and other popular music from vintage French parties. But, what makes this affair extra special is that DJ Stylus will be conducting the vibe via the turntables with a funky mix of hip-hop, electronica, and soul, blending the nouveau with the vintage.

Le Beaujolais Nouveau wine release party is on Friday, November 16, 2007, from 6:30pm-9:30pm.

For more information and ticket prices visit The Alliance Francaise de Washington

For information on DJ Stylus visit The Vibe Conductor

MOCADC

Washington DC is known for politics, not really a place you would think to look to for cutting edge art, MOCADC as set out to change that, and has been quite successful in doing so. By offering the public a visual art space that houses works from emerging contemporary artist, MOCADC has broken the mold. Hosting exhibits such as Erotica 2007 and Heads & Tails, an exhibit featuring portraits of nudes and “tasteful backsides”, MOCA is bringing flavor and variety to DC’s art scene and has no intention on stopping or slowing down.

Heads & Tails runs through December 2, 2007, and MOCADC host gallery openings every first Friday.

For more information visit MOCADC

Fernando Botero: Abu Ghraib

Art imitates life. Fernando Botero’s series of paintings depicting the torture of Iraqi insurgents is a testimony of that. Botero got his inspiration for the paintings in this exhibit from reading official reports of the terror and torture that has been going on in Iraq. While this exhibit is painful to take in, these are images that we have been bombarded with via the news for the last five years. Botero’s focus was to “concentrate on the suffering and dignity of the victims rather than their tormentors". This exhibit will hopefully allow the public to feel more compassion for the victims of torture and not just see them as a casualty of war.

This is the first U.S. viewing of Abu Ghraib.

Abu Ghraib runs from Nov. 6, 2007 through Dec. 30, 2007 at The Katzen Arts Center (American University Museum)

Wild Choir by Jeremy Clark

Jeremy Blake’s digital video montages make you feel like you just took a hit of acid. His pieces are vivid, colorful and fluid. In this collection he has collaborated with fashion designer, Ossie Clark, and poet/independent rock musician David Berman. These ultra-hip pieces were inspired by such topics as the mega mall, drug addicts and reality television.
Jeremy grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland attended Albert Einstein’s magnet art program, and eventually went on to the Art Institute of Chicago, so he is home grown.

Wild Choir runs through March 8, 2008 at the The Corcoran Gallery of Art

No Time Like the Present by Linn Meyers

DC native Linn Myer's large scale pieces seem to change form right before your eyes. The untitled pieces are almost all created by small etchings made on a Mylar canvas. Her work is abstract in the classic sense; however it is very pre-meditated and measured. If you look closely at her pieces they resemble graphs, each line is perfectly placed next to the one before it. The result is swirls of color and light that seem to turn into to each other and dance on the canvas.

The opening reception will be on November 3, 2007 from 6:30pm- 8:30pm at G Fine Arts

The exhibit runs through December 15, 2007