Go O Go! | Latest News and Thoughts from Ellyn Weiss

ELLYN WEISS

Home

GessoHead - Blog

Go O Go!

April 25, 2008

52 O St. NW has been an artists' studios building for well over 25 years. In this land of gentrification eviction, that practically qualifies for historic landmark designation. This weekend is 52 O's annual spring open studios and I saw a lot of good art, some very good. Unquestionably seeing the cloud instead of the silver lining, I am reminded again of the heartbreaking truth that there are so many interesting, serious artists around and not nearly enough original art buyers.

Betsy Damos

Several DC stalwarts work at 52 O. Betsy Damos's work covers so much territory in materials and concept that I stand in rank admiration. There are large sculptural pieces in plexi, metal, wood, and a kind of chain mail that she fabricates out of wire. There are small contemplative drawings and the latest work is drawn on canvas and evokes the feeling of deep forest on a bright day.

Stevens Carter

Stevens Carter, who has public work throughout the area, has done some large pieces that stopped me in my tracks. They feature brightly-colored almost anime floating shapes that look like they are being viewed through a microscope. The effect is enhanced because the pieces are in fact three-dimensional, with some of the painting on the front glass (I think).

Michelline Klagsbrun

Another artist who has been at 52 O for some time is Michelle Klagsbrun. Known primarily for her figurative work, she has recently produced some large canvasses that fashion organic shapes into imagined landscapes - a little bit of the Georgia O'Keefe thing going on, but far more complex. Also not to be missed is Andrea Haffner, who embeds flowers, twigs and other naturalia into deeply - colored resin for wall pieces and jewelry. They are gorgeous.

Thom Flynn

There is also something of a new generation at 52 O, many of whom are definitely worth watching, including Ben Tolman with his amazing pen drawings and Thom Flynn, whose large canvases literally burst with highly- colored chunks of torn cardboard covered with layers of a high gloss material. This picture is pretty awful because Thom for some reason trained a spotlight on his pile of art materials, but I thought it was better than nothing.

< Prev		Next >