Washington Project for the Arts is pleased to announce OPTIONS 2011

Washington Project for the Arts is pleased to announce OPTIONS 2011

Exhibition Dates: September 15 - October 29, 2011

Exhibition Location: 629 New York Avenue, NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DCOpening Reception: Thursday, September 15, 6-8pm

Curators Talk: Saturday, October 1, 3pm

Washington Project for the Arts is pleased to announce OPTIONS 2011, the fourteenth installment of WPA's biennial exhibition of emerging and unrepresented artists from DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

OPTIONS 2011 will take place from September 15 through October 29, 2011 at 629 New York Avenue, NW, 2nd floor, Washington, DC. Highlighting the breadth and diversity of contemporary art practice in the area, OPTIONS 2011 will include work by fourteen artists selected by curator Stefanie Fedor.

Participating artists include: John James Anderson (Washington, DC), Bittersweet Zine (Washington, DC), Heather Boaz (Baltimore, MD), Amy Chan (Baltimore, MD), Mahwish Chishty (Hyattsville, MD), Lisa Dillin (Baltimore, MD), Adam Dwight (Takoma Park, MD), Twig Harper (Baltimore, MD), Artemis Herber (Owings Mills, MD), Katherine Mann (Washington, DC), Jimmy Miracle (Washington, DC), Amber Robles-Gordon (Washington, DC), Oscar Santillan (Richmond, VA), and Stewart Watson (Baltimore, MD).

Delusions of Grandeur: Ascension

artists:

www.shauntegates.com

www.jamearichmondedwards.com

www.amberroblesgordon.com

Parish Gallery

1054 31st St NW

Washington D.C., DC 20007-6034

(202) 944-2310

www.parishgallery.com/

Delusions of Grandeur: Works by Shaunte Gates, A.Robles-Gordon an J. Richmond-Edwards

Mandarin Oriental, Washington D.C.
Exhibition: July 14 -August 12, 2011
Reception:

August 8, 2011 6-8pm


Sounds by DJ Control

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities presents an exhibition of new art works by Shaunté Gates, Jamea Richmond-Edwards and Amber Robles-Gordon, Delusions of Grandeur. This exhibition is the result of an artistic dialog about the “delusions of grandeur” they each possess in order to continue progressing in their careers and most importantly in their artwork. Their paintings and mediums are formally very different and highly individualized— Gates style of infusing his paintings with various pieces of print media and assemblage creates very elusive narratives; Richmond-Edwards collage together ink drawn women with printed papers and embellished materials, her elaborate collages mimic those that would be seen in fashion lay-outs in magazines; and Robles-Gordon focuses on fusing found objects to convey her own personal memories inspired by nature, womanhood and her belief in recycled energy. In spite of their different approaches, they all share important intentions; to directly engage the viewer to take a look into their world of opulence, fantasy and power.

Artists
Shaunté Gates work combines multiple processes and genres, by taking appropriations and gestures from pop culture and print media which are combined to create elusive narratives.

Gate’s works seduce us into an imaginary world of juxtaposition and fantasy, a place when the contradictions of culture and the human psyche are collided. His mixed media paintings capture the beauty in subjects that may appear bleak to the average eye at first glance. Gates ideas are derived from the pain, joy, and the beautiful way everything universally is connected.

Jamea Richmond-Edwards work explores the contradictions of female and cultural identity and makes reference to Greek Mythology, African folklore and international fashion. Richmond-Edwards examine how mythologies from ancient times translate into today’s culture and time allegorically. Her figures are empowered by their survivalist adaptation to circumstance. Their sharp features are inspired by both high fashion models and the everyday women in her community.

Amber Robles-Gordon mixed media artworks draw upon her journey through motherhood, genealogy, healing, and being alive today. They represent her technical and scholarly growth as an artist, and are supported by her professional development in the Washington, DC area. Her two- and three-dimensional pieces fit within an expansive notion of painting and sculptural form. She uses wood or painted, stretched canvas to support an accumulation of media in low- or sharp-relief. These assemblages require a close look to interpret their individual parts. Collectively, these parts form a visual energy comprised of the previous “lives” of the objects, their former owners, and the artist’s hand.

Artists work can be viewed at

www.shauntegates.com, www.jamearichmondedwards.com,


www.amberroblesgordon.com


for interview and appointments, contact:

Amber Robles-Gordon


202-417-4888

Delusions of Grandeur: Ascension

Shaunté Gates, Amber Robles-Gordon and Jamea Richmond-Edwards

Shaunté Gates. In my dreams II. 2011

Amber Robles-Gordon Peacock. 2011

Jamea Richmond-Edwards Revealation. 2011

Parish Gallery Exhibition: August 19- September12, 2011

Reception: August 19, 2011 6-8pm

WASHINGTON, DC- Parish Gallery, in conjunction with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is pleased to present an exhibition by three artists – Shaunté Gates, Jamea Richmond-Edwards and Amber Robles-Gordon, “Delusions of Grandeur: Ascension”. This show will open with a reception from 6:00-8:00 pm on Friday, August 19th, and will run through September 16th, 2011.

This exhibition is the result of an artistic dialog about the “delusions of grandeur” they each possess in order to continue progressing in their careers and most importantly in their artwork. Ascension, the act of rising to an important position or a higher level, is the theme adapted for this current body of work. Each artist presents their individual interpretation of the act of ascending.

Artists Shaunté Gates work combines multiple processes and genres, by taking appropriations and gestures from pop culture and print media which are combined to create elusive narratives. Gate’s works seduce us into an imaginary world of juxtaposition and fantasy, a place when the contradictions of culture and the human psyche are collided. His mixed media paintings capture the beauty in subjects that may appear bleak to the average eye at first glance. Gates ideas are derived from the pain, joy, and the beautiful way everything universally is connected.

Jamea Richmond-Edwards work explores the contradictions of female and cultural identity and with reference to Greek Mythology, African folklore and international fashion. Richmond- Edwards examine how mythologies from ancient times translate into today’s culture and time allegorically. Her figures are empowered by their survivalist adaptation to circumstance. Their sharp features are inspired by both high fashion models and the everyday women in her community.

Amber Robles-Gordon mixed media artworks draw upon her journey through motherhood, genealogy, healing, and being alive today. They represent her technical and scholarly growth as an artist, and are supported by her professional development in the Washington, DC area. Her two- and three-dimensional pieces it within an expansive notion of painting and sculptural form. She uses stretched canvas to support an accumulation of media in low- or sharp-relief. These assemblages require a close look to interpret their individual parts. Collectively, these parts form a visual energy comprised of the previous “lives” of the objects, their former owners, and the artist’s hand.

Parish Gallery primarily, but not exclusively, represents contemporary visual artists of significance from Africa and the African Diaspora. In selecting art and artists, Parish Gallery exercises high ethical, curatorial and market selection standards, catering to the spirit of social preservation and regeneration in collecting the art. Parish Gallery is open Tuesday thru Saturday from noon to 6:00 PM or by appointment.

Parish Gallery

1054 31 Street NW

Washington, D.C. 20007

Contact: Gwen Parish

(202) 944-2310

www.parishgallery.com

Wild Fabric...Washington Post Review of Wired By Amber Robles-Gordon

Wild Fabric

Amber Robles-Gordon’s show at Pleasant Plains Workshop is called “Wired,” but fabric is the principal ingredient. Working entirely with found objects, the Caribbean-rooted local artist arrays ribbons and scraps on (mostly) wire frameworks. The result is a riot of colors and patterns, evoking the tropics while playing on the contrast between the rigid frames and malleable fabric. In such pieces as “Dynasty,” the tightly clumped tatters suggest both thick vegetation and the rhythms and hues of island life.

Although Robles-Gordon does sometimes bend the found frameworks to achieve the basic contour she wants, a few of the pieces still seem a little haphazard. The most appealing works are the ones built on recognizable shapes, notably “And So It Is.” Here, the colorful remnants hang on a gold-painted bicycle wheel, giving form to the patchwork. The artist has compared this piece to a family crest, but even without the personal connotations, the abundance of tones and textures is pungent.

Jenkins is a freelance writer.

Wired by Amber Robles-Gordon

on view through July 23 at the Pleasant Plains Workshop. 2608 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001. pleasantplainsworkshop.blogspot.com.

Pleasant Plains Workshop Presents: Wired by Amber Robles-Gordon

Amber Robles-Gordon WIRED June 18 – July 16, 2011




Pleasant Plains Workshop is pleased to present a solo project, Wired, by artist Amber Robles-Gordon. Robles-Gordon recently received her MFA from Howard University and works in mixed media, textile, photography, and painting.

All of the works presented here have wire as their structural core – it forms an armature used by the artist to build wall works that are familiar in their materiality yet remain firmly grounded in abstraction. Using found objects, the works are public declarations of private mementos that explore patterns, color, and materials, while engaging with Robles-Gordon’s cultural identity –a blend of Caribbean, Latin American, and African American.

In this regard, the two works that anchor the main gallery wall act as family crests with their regal form and tight-knit coils, while many of the other works are more playfully ceremonial, harkening thoughts of Carnivale and celebratory cultural objects. The artist’s site-specific window installation, ‘Beyond the Visual Rainbow,’ is evocative of a net cast by the artist that captures fragments of a personal history within the entangled bits of clothing and household items. Robles-Gordon was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Arlington VA. Her family heritage stems from Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and British Virgin Islands. With ‘Beyond the Visual Rainbow’, she charts her personal history through a patchwork of cultural and familial traditions, as well as object that evoke femininity and the coming of age.

Robles-Gordon describes her practice as being influenced by artists such as Sam Gilliam and Alma Thomas. The Gilliam reference is perhaps most striking in Robles-Gordon’s work on draped fabric (not exhibited here), but is also relevant in her use of color and assemblage materials in Wired. Her playful approach to art-making is also noteworthy. The absence of complete closure, and her interest in materiality, is attuned to the concerns of contemporary abstractionists like Cordy Ryman and Lauren Luloff, both of whom also work with sculptural wall works.

The artist’s use of unconventional materials to create a new vernacular narrative is also evocative of Eva Hesse. Both artists have underscores of femininity and gender identity in their work without necessarily wanting to be categorized by those decisions.

With this exhibition, Amber Robles-Gordon has achieved a visual celebration of color, texture and identity. Robles-Gordon is an emerging artist whose work is hard wired for success.

-Kristina Bilonick and Matt Smith-Chavez

Pleasant Plains Workshop
2608 Georgia Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
http://pleasantplainsworkshop.blogspot.com/

Pleasant Plains Workshop Presents: Wired, Works by Amber Robles-Gordon

JUNE EXHIBITION:
Amber Robles-Gordon, WIRED
curated by Kristina Bilonick
June 18 - July 16, 2011
Opening Reception: Sat. June 18, 6-9pm

Pleasant Plains Workshop is pleased to present a solo project, 'Wired', by artist, Amber Robles-Gordon. Robles-Gordon recently received her MFA from Howard University and works in mixed media, textile, photography, and painting.

For this exhibition, Robles-Gordon has transformed found objects with ribbons, gimp, fabric, wire and other materials to create exciting wall works that explore patterns, color and material. The works also speak to her cultural identity which is influenced by Caribbean, Latin-American, and African-American cultures.

Please join us for the opening on June 18th, from 6-9 PM. For more information on the artist visit: http://www.amberroblesgordon.com/

Pleasant Plains Workshop
2608 Georgia Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20001
http://www.pleasantplainsworkshop.com/

get here by Metro- Shaw / Howard U on the Green Line; Metrobus- 70, 71 ; or capital bikeshare (station across from PPW)