On display: August 5 - 25, 2016
ART AS POLITICS
Our shared reality of pressing social problems and divisive politics as reflected in the work of 90+ national artists.z
Juror: Jayme McLellan, Director and Founder of Civilian Art Projects.
Opening Reception: Friday, August 5, 6 - 8:30pm
Gourmet Frozen Desserts by Moorenko's Ice Cream
Touchstone Gallery’s timely exhibition, ART AS POLITICS, uncovers the voices of artists from across the nation who want their outlooks to be heard along with the current players in the 2016 election cycle.
"The fact that there is a lot riding on this election is the understatement of the century.” says juror Jayme McLellan, “And the pressing--perhaps crushing--social problems plaguing the United States are brought to the forefront by the artists in this national juried exhibitionat Touchstone called ART AS POLITICS. Gun violence, immigration, border walls, climate change, homelessness, racism, #BlackLivesMatter, rape, women’s rights, net neutrality, the psychology of candidates and elected leaders including Hillary, The Donald, Bernie, Obama, and more– it’s all in here. “
McLellan selected 127 works from the several hundred submitted. It’s an all media show including wall pieces, video installations and sculpture. Artwork for the exhibition will be traveling to D.C. from California, Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Maine, Ohio, Iowa and many other states. This exhibition brings together an exceptional group of artists.
“Art represents the time and epoch in which it was created,” McLellan continues. “And if artists are the antenna of the masses, this exhibition reveals much about our present moment. It contains a broad swath of talent and reflects a collective social consciousness that is telling and sometimes hard to endure. As a whole, the exhibition can produce anxiety, some is downright hard to look at, but there is also beauty in there, and hope. The show paints a picture of what it means to be in this melting pot of America right now. For better or worse, this is our shared reality. And as art gatherings build community, it is our chance to dialogue together as we move into the future.”
Touchstone’s August exhibits include both ART AS POLITICS in the main gallery and Touchstone Member’s Summer Sampler works in the Annex gallery. At the Opening Reception on August 5, 6 - 8:30pm prizes were awarded to three of the participating artists.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: MARY ELLEN (M'EL) ABRECHT, MICHAEL AUGER, BE/CAUSE - COLLABORATION BETWEEN ROSSANA JERAN AND MARTIN DIGGS,GINNY BAUGHMAN, RON BECKHAM, MARY BISHOP, STEPHEN BORKO, JILL BRANTLEY, KELLY BURKE, TAYLOR CALLERY, AUGUSTINE CHAVEZ, CHRISTOPHER CHINN, KATHRYN CIRINCIONE, JOHN H. CLARKE, MISTY M. COLE, K. M. COPHAM, JIM DESSICINO, EILEEN DOUGHTY, JULIA DZIKIEWICZ, JOHN FIGURA, MICHAEL FISCHERKELLER, CONSTANCE FLERES, FUENTES, RIC GARCIA, KEVIN GRASS, TRISHA GUPTA, AMANDA MARIE HARNER, KRISTEN VICTORIA HARNER, E. SHERMAN HAYMAN, DAN HILDT, ERIN HOFFMAN, MICHAEL PATRICK HOLT, LORRI HONEYCUTT, MARCUS HOWELL, ROBERT S. HUNTER, ED HUTCHINS, JINNY ISSEROW, JUDY JASHINSKY, R. JAY JAY JOHNSON, TIMOTHY JOHNSON, ERIC JOHNSTON, GLEN KESSLER, SALOMON KHAMMI, HALLIE KROST, MICHAEL LANG, JEFF LASSAHN, AMANI LEWIS, ASHLEY LLANES, GEORGE LORIO, SHELLEY LOWENSTEIN, PATRICK A. LUBER, ROSEMARY LUCKETT, BONNIE MACALLISTER, CATHERINE C. MARTIN, PENNY MATEER, PETE MCCUTCHEN, IAN MCDERMOTT, MARLA MCLEAN, REBECCA MCNEELY, MIKE MCSORLEY, CHARLES MENDEZ, RAM - RASHAD ALI MUHAMMAD, DAVID NELSON, KASEY OBOYLE, MARY OTT, SANDI PARKER, GAIL PEAN, JAMES PENFIELD, JOHN PUNSALAN, MICHAEL RICHISON, FEDERICO A. RUIZ, CINDY SACKS, MEG SCHAAP, STEPHEN SCHIFF, JENNIFER L. SCHMIDT, DAVE SEILER, TOM SEMMES, ALI ONUR SENGUL, JANATHEL SHAW, ANNE H. SHIELDS, JAMES SHUMATE, JANOS SOMOGYI, MAUREEN SQUIRES, ANN STODDARD, BYRON TAYLOR, DORRI THYDEN, PATRICIA TURNER, SHAUN VAN STEYN, ANDRE VELOUX, RUBÉN ALEJANDRO LEBRÓN VILLEGAS, NAOMI VOGELS, CATHY WILKIN, CLARE WINSLOW, JENNY WU.The juror, Jayme McLellan is the director and founder of Civilian Art Projects in Washington, DC. Ms. McLellan has a twenty-year history of curating exhibitions and working with artists and art spaces. She has curated over 100 exhibitions at her gallery as well as realizing independent projects and exhibitions at galleries, museums, and non-profit art spaces across the U.S. and Europe. McLellan has led classes on curatorial practice and professional practices for visual artists at colleges, universities and museums. She is an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University and Georgetown University.
Touchstone Gallery was founded in 1976 by 30 artists and has become an institution in the D.C. arts community. The Gallery has earned a well-deserved reputation for showcasing a wide range of award-winning contemporary art, including painting, prints, sculpture, mixed media, and photography. Ksenia Grishkova, current Gallery Director, describes it as “an art space with a social conscience, concerned with the community beyond its walls, that is a defining part of its structure that sets the gallery apart from many of its peers”.
