America Is…, Touchstone Gallery’s third national juried exhibition, explores the question of how we define our national identity and values during a time of divisive politics and social change. Gallery Director Ksenia Grishkova shares a behind the scenes look at the show.
Read moreJanathel Shaw: Portraits of Courage
Janathel Shaw’s April solo show, SOLIDAREity! is a reflection upon the status of Blacks in America: a series of figurative pieces and portraits of men, women and children looking boldly into the present and the future. Inspiration for this new series derives from the lost souls, activists and community of people who are part and parcel of the American landscape—people who enrich that landscape in both hidden and overt ways. The portraits incorporate texture, rich deep lines and are anchored in contrast. Several are rooted in a defiant solidarity of consciousness, soulfulness, and personal voice. Some are dark in tone in recognition of ongoing struggles.
Read moreDavid Alfuth: Is This Art Really 3-D?
David Alfuth
Are David Alfuth’s new sculptural collage works really 3-D? Or is the architectural subject matter just fooling our eyes? To find out, you’ll have to see his new surreal collage works, Perspective, at Touchstone Gallery between October 5—30, 2016.
Read moreTouchstone Gallery Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary!
It’s 2016 and Touchstone Gallery is in a celebratory mood! Being one of the longest-tenured and most highly regarded artist-owned galleries in Washington, DC, Touchstone will celebrate its 40th year in Washington on May 13th with an Anniversary Gala and a May 4-29 member artists show, featuring solo artists, Paula Lantz and Colleen Sabo, and works by present and former members. The gala and show are open to the public.
Read moreFigure 8 plus 1 (part 2)
In January we introduced you to four of the artists who will be exhibiting at Touchstone Gallery in March. In their exhibit FIGURE 8 PLUS 1, the artists continue the historical tradition of exploring the human form in a variety of media and styles including photography, oil, acrylic, watercolor and sculpture. Opening Reception: Friday, March 4, 6 – 8:30 pm Artists Talk: Saturday, March 19, 2 – 4 pm.
Read moreRima Schulkind: Dancing With Change
Rima Schulkind2
Rima Schulkind, a native of New York City, came to Washington DC at age 15 and has remained ever since. In 1972 she obtained a sociology degree before realizing the profession was not for her. Wondering what to do next, she “almost accidently took a ceramics class with the worst teacher in the world.” Rima recalls. “But the clay felt heavenly to my hands, and I knew I wanted to make things with it.” Serendipity #1.
Read moreDavid Alfuth: Bohemian Builder
David Alfuth
"You are on your own now," said David Alfuth's father the day of David's graduation from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. David had a double major in drawing/painting and art history, and was equipped with teaching credits, so he was good to go. David took up the role of elementary art teacher in the Sheboygan school district for three years, enjoying the exuberance of children receptive to art - and, contrarily, putting up with the hard winters and enduring small town ordinariness. But the longing to travel finally caught up with him after his Triumph Spitfire sports car got stuck in the snow one too many times.
Read moreRosemary Luckett: Uncovering the Unseen
Rosemary Luckett
Rosemary Luckett has been on good terms with the earth since she was a young girl weeding sugar beets and caring for the animals on her family’s farm in the desert plateau of south central Idaho. These earliest experiences of taking care of the environment that then, in turn, took care of her, were the seeds of Rosemary’s sense of this relationship as vital and mutual. Over time, she has developed a visual language--plastic ducky's, bones, tree forms, maps, and birds to express her love and worry for the earth through her artwork. The techniques used varies with what she is exploring. Sometimes collage. Sometimes sculpture. And more recently photography.
Read moreThe Privileged Series: Pests By Anthony Dortch
Anthony Dortch
A fine artist and graphic designer, Anthony Dortch's realm is one of precision and grace. Do not allow the lovely colors and silken textures to distract you. Take care not to be taken in by the golden flesh and blue body's charms. Dortch does not create pretty pictures, he constructs a meaningful experience. Layers upon layers of seductive details, revealing societies clandestine verity. When standing before his pieces, one cannot help but feel, imagine, and reflect. Cleverly wrapped in bold and daring colors are elegant motifs whispering of struggle and hope. Veins of beauty and yearning reach out to captivate, to beg questions of ourselves, and break down the facades of our seemingly structured world.
Read moreJanathel Shaw: Ceramic Portraits
Janathel Shaw
"There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud," Carl Sandburg once said--words that clay sculptor Janathel Shaw can relate to. Her recent clay works can be seen at Touchstone Gallery from Sept. 6-29, 2013. As a teen, Jan was inspired by teachers at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and sculptor Elizabeth Catlett (who she was fortunate to meet). She relished in half day-studio classes staying late into the evenings to hone her art skills. Over time, attended Howard University, Prince Georges Community College and George Washington University. Jan received her Bachelors and Masters from George Washington University.
Read moreOut of Chaos: Rosemary Luckett
Whether an artist's studio is neat as a pin or heaped full of brushes, tools, clay or wood, disorder characterizes the creative process. A chaotic jumble of ideas spill out of the brain and become organized in drawn or painted forms. Tubes of color sort themselves out, then are squeezed onto the palette in a jumble of mixed hues. A teapot spout, in a box of cast-offs, offers itself to the sculptor as the beginning of a bird with a long neck. A dream works its way to the conscious surface, suggesting a vision that emerges in material form from a chunk of clay.
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