Art Whino

Last updated
Art Whino Gallery
Established2007
LocationAmerican Way, National Harbor, Maryland
FounderShane Pomajambo
GenreLowbrow, Newbrow, pop surrealism
Other galleriesBlind Whino
LocationDelaware Avenue SW, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Website www.artwhino.com
www.blindwhino.org

Art Whino is an art gallery at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Its primary objective has been to provide exposure to artists of the Lowbrow art movement, also sometimes referred to as Pop Surrealism and Newbrow, since its inception in 2007. The gallery space has exhibitions featuring talent from across the U.S. and abroad, as well as publications and specialty toy merchandise pertinent to Newbrow culture and related underground art movements. Art Whino avidly participates in the Washington, D.C. art scene, and other national art events such as Art Basel in Miami and New York Comic Con.

Contents

History

The Art Whino Gallery was founded by Shane Pomajambo in 2007. Originally located in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, it was later relocated six months later to its current location in Maryland. On Friday, October 19, 2007, Art Whino held its first opening reception for artist Derrick Wolbaum's solo show. On its Lowbrow genre, "According to Art Whino owner Shane Pomajambo, the unusual moniker is a nod to his own addiction to the graffiti-inspired, pop surrealist and 'lowbrow' art he specializes in." [1] Since its inception, Art Whino's presence has rapidly increased to including over 1200 artists in its arsenal.

Exhibitions

Art Whino holds exhibitions in its gallery space 8-10 times a year. Past featured artists have included Blaine Fontana, Aaron Jasinski, Brendan Tierney and many more. In efforts of bringing Newbrow art to surrounding communities, Art Whino has participated in many events around the city including Art in a Box, a juried exhibition hosted at the Half Street Fairgrounds, Marcātus, a creative art market, the annual D.C. (e)merge Art Fair, Miami Art Basel in 2009, and New York Comic Con in 2012. In 2012, Art Whino began a new collaborative event called Art without Borders as an international initiative to raise awareness and funds for international organizations providing humanitarian aid across the globe. [2]

G40 art summit

In March 2010, the inaugural Art Whino month-long G40 summit was held in Crystal City, Virginia in Arlington County, Virginia. Part of the summit mission was to bring leaders of the Newbrow genre together to explore, discuss and grow the movement and serve as a full cross examination of this genre. the Summit featured curated works from around the world that also included music and visual performances, lectures and live painting. Held in an empty office building in Crystal City, Va., the 75,000 sq. ft. exhibition took up the four floors and lobby by some 2,000 artworks by over 500 artists. [3] Art Whino returned mid-May the following year for the second edition of the G40 summit. The month-long event was held at a 25,000 sqft building near the U Street Corridor section of Washington, D.C. Unlike the first summit that mainly explored Newbrow art within a cultural and regional context, the 2011 edition extended its scope to other genres on the forefront of creative transitions and growing in large scale. Some of the genres included were customized collectibles, skateboard art, stencil, wheat paste and 3D installation art. This exhibition also featured 20 artists showcasing 16 foot murals.

May 2012 marked Art Whino's third G40 installation focusing on the "Art of the Mural.” That year, the G40 summit travelled to Richmond, Virginia as the inaugural opening event of the city's official art district. Art Whino invited 12 of the top mural artists from around the globe to unleash their creativity to 20 large-scale walls throughout Richmond. Additionally, exhibitions were held in pop up galleries along the main street of the district as well as a group exhibition for 500+ artists. [4]

Richmond Mural Project

Launched in 2012 with the help of R. Anthony Harris of RVA Magazine, Venture Richmond and the City of Richmond, the Richmond Mural Project is a yearly project bringing together mural artists from all over the globe in an attempt to establish Richmond, Virginia, as a landmark destination for internationally recognized murals and create exposure for the city. Many of the walls targeted are in disrepair and the Project aims to also be a positive catalyst for change in rebuilding the city as a whole. The Richmond Mural Project hopes to have 100 murals completed in five years within the city. [5] The artists that participated in the first Richmond Mural project are 2501 from Italy, Angry Woebots from California, Aryz from Spain, Gaia from New York, Jaz from Argentina, La Pandilla from Puerto Rico, Lelo from Brazil, Pixel Pancho from Italy, Roa from Belgium, and Scribe from Kansas.

With varying themes and locations throughout Richmond, the Project has aimed to help create an identity. On the selection, "Pomajambo said that if building owners agree to a mural, he asks them about the building and its history, as well as how they feel about their community. Then he tries to match artists who could best describe those feelings with paint." Since its inception, the event has grown in popularity and has given rise to other arts-related events in the city. [6] One mural, created by mural artist Etam Cru, "Moonshine", was ranked No. 3 in global publication Buzzfeed's "Best Street Art in the World of 2013" list. [7]

Blind Whino

The Blind Whino church fully renovated Blindwhino.jpg
The Blind Whino church fully renovated

Blind Whino is a non-profit organization located in a once defunct and abandoned building, Friendship Baptist Church, nestled in the heart of southwest Washington D.C. Purchased in October 2012 as a branch of the Art Whino Gallery, Blind Whino is a 15,000 sq. ft. property renovated with the intention to provide the community with an art inspired environment for both learning and creating within the arts culture. [8] The exterior and interior of the now completed space was designed by renowned artist HENSE from Atlanta, Georgia and MEGGS from Australia. [9] For over two decades, the former Friendship Baptist church had been vacant. The transformation process began in the fall of 2012 restoring the church from its previously peeling white paint to a brightly multi-colored building. Designed to host a variety of events, Ian Callendar, co-founder of the Blind Whino along with Shane Pomajambo stated, "Here’s a space where anything can happen — theater, music, supper club, jazz, anything that you can imagine." Working on the land outside of the Blind Whino is non-profit organization, Dreaming Out Loud, helping restore it for community utilization. [10]

Associated publications

Related Research Articles

Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine is a magazine created in 1994 by a group of artists and art collectors including Robert Williams, Fausto Vitello, C.R. Stecyk III, Greg Escalante, and Eric Swenson to both help define and celebrate urban alternative and underground contemporary art. Juxtapoz is published by High Speed Productions, the same company that publishes Thrasher skateboard magazine in San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bogside Artists</span>

The Bogside Artists are a trio of mural painters from Derry, Northern Ireland, consisting of brothers Tom and William Kelly, and Kevin Hasson. Their most famous work, a series of outdoor murals called the People's Gallery, is located in the Bogside neighbourhood of Derry and depicts the events surrounding sectarian violence and civil rights protests in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renwick Gallery</span> United States historic place

The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building that was opened in 1859 on Pennsylvania Avenue and originally housed the Corcoran Gallery of Art. When it was built in 1859, it was called "the American Louvre", and is now named for its architect James Renwick Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millard Sheets</span> American artist, teacher, and architectural designer.(1907–1989)

Millard Owen Sheets was an American artist, teacher, and architectural designer. He was one of the earliest of the California Scene Painting artists and helped define the art movement. Many of his large-scale building-mounted mosaics from the mid-20th century are still extant in Southern California. His paintings are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum in New York, the Chicago Art Institute, the National Gallery in Washington D.C.; and the Los Angeles County Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Kraten</span>

Aaron Kraten is a mixed media artist from Costa Mesa, California.

La Luz de Jesus Gallery is a commercial art gallery located in Los Angeles, California. It is closely associated with the Lowbrow Art Movement, Kustom Kulture, and pop surrealism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Dailey (glass artist)</span> American artist

Dan Owen Dailey is an American artist and educator, known for his sculpture. With the support of a team of artists and crafts people, he creates sculptures and functional objects in glass and metal. He has taught at many glass programs and is professor emeritus at the Massachusetts College of Art, where he founded the glass program.

Valerie Jaudon is an American painter commonly associated with various Postminimal practices – the Pattern and Decoration movement of the 1970s, site-specific public art, and new tendencies in abstraction.

Gaia is an American street artist who has received significant museum showings and critical recognition. Based in Baltimore, he has created large-scale murals worldwide to engage the community where he works in a dialogue by using historical and sociological references to these neighborhoods.Besides continuing to do commissions for private and corporate clients, Gaia is teaching two classes a semester- Drawing and Professional Developmant at his alma mater MICA.

In recent years, Atlanta has become one of the USA's best cities for street art. Street artists have prominently created murals in Krog Street Tunnel, along the BeltLine, and in neighborhoods across the city. The street art conference, Living Walls, the City Speaks, originated in Atlanta in 2009.

Alex Brewer, also known as HENSE, is an American contemporary artist, best known for his dynamic, vivid and colorful abstract paintings and monumental wall pieces. He has been active since the 1990s. In 2002 he began accepting commissions for artwork and over the course of the last decade has established a solid reputation as a commissioned artist, having appeared in several solo and group shows.

Walter Henry "Jack" Beal Jr. was an American realist painter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernice Cross</span> American painter

Bernice Cross (1912–1996) was an American artist and art instructor born in Iowa City, Iowa, who was based in Washington, D.C. for most of her professional career. Known for her originality, creative imagination, sense of humor, and love of fantasy, she painted with a deceptive simplicity and handled color and form with subtlety and a sure touch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Brown Goldberg</span> American artist

Carol Brown Goldberg is an American artist working in a variety of media. While primarily a painter creating heavily detailed work as large as 10 feet by 10 feet, she is also known for sculpture, film, and drawing. Her work has ranged from narrative genre paintings to multi-layered abstractions to realistic portraits to intricate gardens and jungles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theresa Pollak</span> American painter

Theresa Pollak was an American artist and art educator born in Richmond, Virginia. She was a nationally known painter, and she is largely credited with the founding of Virginia Commonwealth University's School of the Arts. She was a teacher at VCU's School of the Arts between 1928 and 1969. Her art has been exhibited in the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. She died at the age of 103 on September 18, 2002 and was given a memorial exhibition at Anderson Gallery of Virginia Commonwealth University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrei Kushnir</span> American painter

Andrei Kushnir is an American fine art painter. He is known for his landscapes, city views, and seascapes, but also has created genre, portraits and still life works. He is a resident of Maryland, with a studio in Washington, D.C.

Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU in Richmond, also known as the VCU Institute for Contemporary Art at the Markel Center, is an arts center at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia. It was designed by architecture firm Steven Holl Architects, and built by Gilbane Building Company. Steven Holl Architects was selected from 64 competing architectural firms worldwide, along with local architect, BCWH Architects. Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao, in announcing plans for the ICA in 2011, said that the prominence of the museum's location, "bordering the city's Arts District and in the Broad Street Corridor which links the VCU Monroe Park Campus with VCU's Medical Center" would have symbolic significance. The ICA opened to the public in April, 2018.

Allen Dester Carter, known as 'Big Al' Carter, was an Alexandria, Virginia artist and public school art teacher in Washington, D.C.

Alessandra Torres is an American visual artist of Puerto Rican ancestry. Torres was raised in Puerto Rico, and now she resides in Baltimore, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmund Archer (artist)</span> American painter

Edmund Archer (1904–1986) was an American artist best known for his portraits of African Americans. He was born in Richmond, Virginia, to parents who were both culturally and socially prominent in that city. Having taken an early interest in painting, he took art classes continually from childhood into his adult years. His long career included periods spent in Richmond, Paris, New York, and Washington, D.C. In addition to painting, he served as an assistant curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art and an instructor at the Corcoran School of Art. His portrait style tended toward a poster-like flatness early in his career and later toward a more traditional modeled style. He painted with a high degree of realism throughout his career and rarely experimented with any degree of abstraction. Galleries and museums gave him frequent exhibitions and both individual and institutional collectors provided him with income from sales. In 1938, a critic said he was then considered to be "one of the best of the young artists in the United States". A few months later, another critic credited his success to hard work: "Edmund Minor Archer has had advantages. His success story is no Horatio Alger tale. It is a story of an earnest and deeply talented artist who has worked and studied in humility and devotion, and has early reached the top, hard step by hard step".

References

  1. "Art Whino in Oxon Hill, MD: Museums on". Washingtonpost.com. 2008-11-14. Archived from the original on 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  2. "Art Whino Presents Art Without Borders @ Blind Whino (03.22)". Vinyl Pulse. 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  3. "'G40: The Summit' brings art to empty Crystal City space". Washingtonpost.com. 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  4. Nathan Cushing (2012-04-03). "G40 Summit brings artists, murals, and "lowbrow" art to Richmond". RVANews. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  5. Alix Bryan (2014-02-11). "Richmond Mural Project names 2014 lineup, launches fundraiser". WTVR.com. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  6. "Artists adorning buildings in Richmond Mural Project - Richmond Times-Dispatch: City Of Richmond News". Timesdispatch.com. 2013-07-22. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  7. "Best Street Art In The World 2013". Buzzfeed.com. 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  8. "Articles | Art Whino Presents HENSE DC | RVA Magazine | Richmond, VA". Rvamag.com. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  9. Simmons, Holley. "Faith in Blind Whino". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  10. "Former D.C. Church Being Transformed Into Arts Center « CBS DC". Washington.cbslocal.com. 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2014-05-29.

38°52′50″N77°0′43″W / 38.88056°N 77.01194°W / 38.88056; -77.01194