Pictured above: Maria A. Brito (Venezuela) Displaced Homes. 12x12x2.5 in. Mixed media on wood panel (wooden stamp blocks, cardstock paper, fabric, head pins, acrylic paint, ink), 2024
By F. Lennox Campello
Starting in 2025 and through 2026, when I organized and curated the huge “Women Artists of the DMV” survey show, which eventually ended being exhibited across the DMV in 19 different venues (maybe a 20th coming), I said to myself something along the lines of “never again am I going to curate such a large show…”
The work alone of dealing with few thousand entries and eventually curating over 800 artists was not only exhausting, but also exhilarating… see where am going?
Cough… cough…
In the nearly 40 years that I have been around the capital region, I have been lucky enough to meet, curate, and know hundreds of area artists who (like me) are immigrants to this great nation.
And thus, the germ of the idea of organizing a fine arts show of 30 or so artists from all over the world to showcase how art can serve not only to preserve one’s own cultural identity, but also paradoxically to tie us together as one… slowly emerged.
I initially proposed this show in response to the Call for Exhibition Proposals by the King Street Gallery of the Montgomery College Department of Visual and Performing Arts, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus; it was promptly rejected.
I immediately voiced my disappointment publicly, and it was heard by Natasha Valencia, the energetic director of the gorgeous ARTSpiration gallery and studios complex in Frederick, Maryland.
I had initially selected about 25 or so artists to Montgomery College, but because ARTSpiration is such a huge space, the show can now go national and a lot more artists can be juried in! Among the selected artists are well-known DMV area names such as Chawky Frenn, Akemi Maegawa, Steve Wanna, Dora Patin, Anna Demidova and many others.
Apply at this link: https://opportunities.wearecreativewest.org/opportunity/17765/CAFE
This celebration of immigrant artists in the United States will be on display in the ARTSpiration Frederick Gallery in Maryland from January 1 – January 31, 2027
Immigrant artists are encouraged to submit original work in any visual medium, including painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, fiber art, ceramics, mixed media, digital art, and other forms of creative expression. The exhibition seeks to showcase a diverse range of artistic voices, perspectives, techniques, and subject matter. The deadline for entries is December 11, 2026.
It is my hope that you will also see these artists challenging you to see their art in the context of the art, rather than the national origin of the artist, while also challenging you to see it also from the exact opposite perspective.
Elsewhere in the region, the November exhibit in Bethesda’s Gallery B: “INTERSECTIONS|Realism & Abstraction”, which is a group exhibition featuring four artists – Lawrence Chandler, Angela Iovino, Ariana Progri and Ravi Raman – with distinct art styles in conversation with each other, will be quite interesting to see the artists showing that “even the most realistic art is a form of abstraction (a reduction of reality) and that abstract art can hold elements of structural, grounded reality.”
They note that “Instead of treating realism and abstraction as binary opposites, works in the exhibition also intersect both worlds, showcasing how different artists navigate the spectrum between the two styles. Viewers not only will see realistic figures and recognizable subjects dissolving into, or emerging from abstract backgrounds, but also the use of bold brushstrokes, form, color, and textures to convey emotion rather than literal details.”
The exhibit runs from November 6 – November 29. Gallery hours are Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 12 – 5pm. There will be an opening reception on Friday, November 6 from 6 – 9pm.
Over in Rockville, Artists & Makers Studios (at 11810 Parklawn Drive, Suite 210, Rockville, MD 20852) has a special celebration in November to honor all of their community, guests, and patrons! November First Friday will feature great exhibits, open studios, a drawing for art, wonderful food, a visit from Butterfly Spirits with their elderberry vodka, botanical liqueur, hazelnut whiskey and three vodka soda canned offerings…. and so much more. Go visit and check out 13,000 sq ft of art and artists – they will host Montgomery County Woodturners and Friendship Star Quilters for the month of November. The exhibit will run from November 4th through November 24th, with a First Friday opening on November 6th from 5-8pm. Additionally, artist Maralyn May shares a mini-solo exhibit in the Lounge Gallery and Resident Artists exhibit new work in the Gallery Hall.
About the Author: F. Lennox Campello’s art news, information, gallery openings, commentary, criticism, happenings, opportunities, and everything associated with the global visual arts scene with a special focus on the Greater Washington, DC area has been a premier source for the art community for over 20 years. Since 2003, his blog has been the 11th highest ranked art blog on the planet with over SIX million visitors.