Arts in Foggy Bot­tom cel­e­brated the return of its award-winning Out­door Sculp­ture Exhibit on Sat­ur­day, May 1 with an open­ing day tour and recep­tion much to the delight of the enthu­si­as­tic and large crowd of more of more than sev­enty peo­ple who gath­ered on the cor­ner of New Hamp­shire Avenue and I Street to be part of the fes­tiv­i­ties. Co– Direc­tors Mary Kay Shaw, Jill Nevius and Jackie Lemire wel­comed atten­dees to the bien­nial exhibit and intro­duced cura­tor Shirley Koller.

Win­ner of the Mayor’s Arts Award for Inno­va­tion in the Arts, Arts in Foggy Bot­tom has again cre­ated a vivid exhibit fea­tur­ing the tal­ents of seven new and eight return­ing Wash­ing­ton artists – sev­eral of whom were on hand to dis­cuss their remark­able
sculp­tures dur­ing Saturday’s tour. Koller and artist Sam Noto led tours that stopped at each of the fif­teen res­i­den­cies where a sculp­ture was installed. Sculp­tors in this year’s exhibit include Richard Binder, Alan Bin­stock, Mike Brin­ing, Jeff Chy­atte, Chas Col­burn, Patti Porter Fire­stone, Nancy Frankel, Seth Gold­stein & Paula Stone, Don Her­man, Mariah Jose­phy, Craig Kraft, Philippe Mougne, Sam Noto and Mike Shaffer.

Atten­dees were eager to learn not just about each sculp­ture, but also about how Koller hand­picked each piece and deter­mined their loca­tion in the neigh­bor­hood. Dur­ing the tour, Koller expressed how excit­ing it was to work with each artist in choos­ing the most dynamic pieces.

This exhibit is an incred­i­ble way to show­case Washington’s artists and the power of art in a com­mu­nity which gen­er­ates con­ver­sa­tion and engages res­i­dents in the area… ~ Shirley Koller

The artists them­selves were also pleased to inter­act with the crowd and share their sto­ries behind each sculp­ture. Retired engi­neers and husband-and-wife team Seth Gold­stein and Paula Stone cre­ated Vinesque, made entirely out of Ori­en­tal Bit­ter­sweet vines. They were led to this type of design after becom­ing cer­ti­fied Weed War­riors, enabling them to com­bine their love of nature with sculpt­ing. Jeff Chy­atte shared how his sculp­ture Gen­e­sis rep­re­sents con­nec­tions in soci­ety and the desire to build a stronger foun­da­tion for future generations.

In addi­tion to increased par­tic­i­pa­tion from res­i­dents, The River Inn joined the exhibit. This marks the first time that sculp­tures are on dis­play on a cor­po­rate prop­erty. Two sculp­tures from Philippe Mougne (Helios) and Gar­rett Strang (Inci­sion) have been installed in front of the Inn on 25th Street.

The cel­e­bra­tion con­tin­ued after the tour with a recep­tion at the Water­gate Gallery and Frame Design where addi­tional works from the artists are on dis­play inside the gallery for the dura­tion of the exhibit as well.

The exhibit con­tin­ues until Octo­ber 23 and artist-led tours will be offered on the 2nd Sat­ur­day of each month at 11 a.m. The next tour is June 12 and will lead by Paula Stone (Vinesque). Brochures may be picked up at each sculp­ture site for a self-guided tour any­time and include a cor­re­spond­ing map.

Enhanc­ing the arts­go­ing expe­ri­ence is Guide by Cell, a fea­ture being offered for the first time where vis­i­tors can dial 202.595.1187 from their cell phone and hear each artist describe their piece.

For more infor­ma­tion on the exhibit, artists and upcom­ing events visit the Arts in Foggy Bot­tom page here on this web­site. ~ FBN