Co-Exist A 3-Person exhibit curated by Molly Ruppert.

CO-EXIST
Three artists examine their relationship with the materials of the world of art.

Opening Reception:Saturday October 10th 
5:00-8:00 
Show runs through November 21st.
Otis Street Arts Project
3706/ 3708 Otis Street

Otis Street Arts Project is know for creating a warm, open, creative vibe at excting arts events in Mount Rainier, Maryland, a major hotspot for the arts in the DMV. The exhibition, Co-Exist curated by the incomparable DC arts maven, curator, impressario, life coach, and recipient of the WPA Alice Denny Award, Molly Ruppert furthers that reputation. With her deep connection to the DC Arts Community, Ruppert finds and brings together 3 unique artists bringing an enriching touch to their chosen media.

Glenn Richardson- Carves sculptures from fallen trees

Eric Celarier- Creates sculptures with found, made, and natural materials.

Albert Schweitzer - Recreates society with paint on canvas

Co-Exist looks at the way three artists examine their world using different materials to create works to express their inner vision

Albert Schweitzer’s paintings use color and image to show human emotions of fear, jealousy, hope, and joy. He exults in the world’s humanity and “the flux between life and death”.

Eric Celarier makes beautiful, elegant sculptures out of our trash. His use of spent electronics mixed with elements of nature and other garbage uncovers “hidden aesthetics”

Glenn Richardson sculpts with a chainsaw. His work begins with the wood which is from fallen tress or trees discarded by society to make room for progress. His work shows a depth of feeling about social issues such as gun violence though he is interested in the weird and playful as well.

See our Facebook event page HERE

The Critique- September 9th.

The Critique
Wednesday September 9th
6:00-9:30 PM

Here at Otis Street Arts Project, we’re interested in elevating our conversations about art. We feel that group studios and areas of artist density provide fertile ground for growth and development. While this is an important part of our daily interaction as artists, we also feel that Curators, Critics, Art Writers, and other Arts Professionals bring an amazing amount of insight for an Artist. With this in mind, we are announcing our series The Critique. 

(photo source)

We will show the work of 4 artists and have an invited arts professional guide us through talking about the work. Our aim is to intelligently discuss the work, pointing out strengths and flaws in the pieces, and providing a suggested guidance for the future.

Each session will be led by a different professional and will accordingly be slightly different.

Our first session will be led by F. Lennox Campello.

An award winning artist, a published regional art critic, art exhibitions curator, author and book reviewer, and gallerist are some of the adjectives used to describe F. Lennox Campello. You may have read his widely popular blog DC Art News, or see his book 100 Washington, DC Artists, or viewed his wonderful and innovative artwork. Certainly most DC area artists have heard of or know Lenny Campello. We’re proud to have Mr. Campello as our special Art Critic for the evening.

Our first round of artists to have their work talked about are
Nate Lewis
Zofie Lang
Christian Tribastone
Ceci Cole McInturff

Everyone that is interested in hearing this conversation about specific works of art is invited sit in on The Critique. The conversation is meant to be critical, and constructive. We aim to discuss what works, what doesn’t work, and to lead the artist toward possible resolutions or developments.

6:00 - 7:00 Meet and Greet with refreshments, and to see the Otis Street Arts Project space.

The Critique will begin at 7:00. Some works we will discuss will be jpgs, some will be actual pieces. Each artists work will be discussed for roughly 30 minutes.


RSVP on our Facebook Event Page
(not required for attendance)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1649240928664730/

Artist Profile: Scott G. Brooks

Otis Street Arts Project Artist

Scott G Brooks

Website: www.scottgbrooks.com
Contact Info: scott@scottgbrooks.com
Social Media Things:

http://twitter.com/scottgbrooks

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scott-G-Brooks/374098574084

https://instagram.com/scottgbrooksart/

 Scott G Brooks lives and works in Washington, DC. His paintings are primarily figurative, and range from simple portraiture to intricate narratives. Often using humor, he depicts scenes using social, psychological, and political issues. Anatomical distortions separate the figures from the photographic ideal, which gives him the freedom to create his own distorted reality. His work is described as twisted and offbeat, sentimental, and disturbing.

How do you work in the narrative aspect of your work. 

It all depends on the painting. As I create the context for the figures I am constantly re-evaluating what it is saying, or what it needs to get some sense of place or motivation. I grew up reading comic books and watching lots of cartoons, so I think I developed a way to communicate using imagery. The symbolism works both ways and I can sometimes use it to cloud my intentions, since I don’t want to give everything away. People see symbols very differently, and the range of interpretations fascinate me.

What do you think is the most important influence on your art?

There’s so many, but I’ve always loved Norman Rockwell, and glad he’s finally getting the respect he deserves. Further back was Caravaggio. Lately I’ve really loved the Pre-Raphaelites. I’m lucky to be friends with some amazing artists, Troy Brooks, Dave Cooper, and Erik Thor Sandberg just to name a few. Music is also an inspiration, singers and songwriters can pack so much in a song, and I try and do that in my work as well. Lastly, I love watching anything by Pixar or Dreamworks, and think it’s really pushing the way I work today.

How has your work evolved in the past few years. Yea, there has always been this “thing” in the arts community between illustration and fine arts, and I had a real hangup about that.  My illustration work has always been “tighter” and my paintings a little looser, I think people are calling that “deskilling” these days.  I’ve always been inspired by great illustration, both what’s been done in the past and what I’m seeing now. My illustration work is 100% digital now so the brush handling and detail I love is now incorporated into my fine arts.      

How do you incorporate your life into your work?

My work is personal, and sharing it with the public isn’t necessarily my primary concern. I know it will most likely happen and I take that into consideration, but in the end it’s MY work. Some pieces are are  more therapeutic than others, and I can end up working out issues in my own life on the canvas. I want to create work that’s honest as well. Some elements get obscured in the process, and I also use lots of symbols and metaphors.

I  think of myself as a very private person, though in this day of social media that’s all relative. It’s a delicate balance trying to create work that’s honest to who I am, and then putting it out there, without making myself vulnerable. I have a partner and a family so I need to respect their privacy as well. Most  aspects of my life are public if people want to look, and I’m ok with that. Most of my life was also pre-internet, so while I use it when I can, I do remember what life was like before Facebook.

Where did the offbeat and "twisted" nature of your work come from?

Growing up in a small town influenced that. Most of the art I saw was either religious, wildlife art, or comics, all of which I admire greatly, so when I started creating my own work I knew it had to be a little “different” to stand out.  My family was mostly normal, other than an odd assortment of pets. It wasn’t very strict though, and I’ve always been drawn to the weirdness for some reason, monster movies, Mad magazine, The Addams Family. I’m mostly normal and lead a very boring life, it just comes out in my art.

Artist Profile: Gloria Chapa

Otis Street Arts Project Artist

Name: Gloria Chapa
Website: http://gloriachapa.com/

Contact Info: gloriachapa@msn.com

A Short Bio:

     Gloria Chapa has realized many of her life goals by utilizing resources at her disposal in unexpected ways.  Texan, Catholic, Mexican, matriarchal and mathematical are a few of the influences that define her character.

      Originally Ms. Chapa was destined to be an engineer due to her mathematical abilities and a strong parental affinity for the sciences. Early on, she had a fascination with making and drawing, but she was dissuaded from taking any sort of fine arts classes as a child. Her engineering career allowed her to exercise some of her creative abilities, but after 10 years the difficult decision was made to pursue degrees in art.  Not surprisingly, one of her first art professors commented that she was like an insatiable sponge.

      After graduate school, there were several university positions that Ms. Chapa held (Virginia Commonwealth University,University of Richmond, University of Mary Washington). One of the most rewarding of these teaching positions was in Bogota,Colombia at a District University in the city center. Third world art student views/ideas were beyond anything encountered in US schools. There was also a short period of graduate studies in Moscow that reinforced this aspect of art outside the US.

      Gloria Chapa has a wanderlust that she has been able to indulge. Her creative center has benefited from the many varied environments that she has allowed herself to experience. Recently, she has made an effort to remain inWashington, in order to reflect, examine, organize and utilize the events of her life in her work. The last couple of years have been extremely productive. Her amalgam of mathematics, domesticity and cultural variety  results in art work that is contemplative, revelatory, unexpected and yet very accessible.

Questions and Answers

What question about your work do you hate getting asked?

What is this about?

Why do you use the materials and techniques that you use?

Exploring materials and inventing new techniques is what feeds the engineering side of me. This  helps me open up the creative flow of ideas.  

What do you like the most about the Washington DC area art scene?

Diversity of cultures, professional disciplines, and influences.

What drew you to working in Mount Rainier, MD and the Otis Street Arts Project ?

I live in the area. Love the homeyness of the neighborhood so close to the DC center. The very visible presence of a working art community.

When did you start calling yourself an artist? or how did you come to be an artist?

I was always an artist. I still remember relishing the smell of my first box of Crayolas.  I always have a bin full in my studio.

If you weren’t an artist, what would you currently be doing?

Engineer.

What do you think is the most important influence on your art?

Analytical skill and femininity.

Our Studios

Currently Available Studios: 1

Otis Street Arts Project will serve as artist studios and a creative incubator for those interested in a dynamic, supportive, and community oriented work environment of professional artists. Situated among other group studios in a light industrial space, including a glass studio, ceramics studios, painters and public artists. We aim to create an active space open to visitors, guest artists, collaborations, critiques, interactions, and other events. The space consists of subdivided empty studio areas roughly 11' x 11' with 9.5' ceilings and concrete floors. There is a bathroom, community area, flex space, kitchenette, utility sink, and exhibition space that will be used to showcase rotating exhibitions. The studio has a loading dock and parking. 

It is located in Mount Rainier, MD, just over the DC line.

Studios are $400/month each 

If interested please contact otisstreetartsproject@gmail.com 

Include your contact info, website, and give us a sense of what kind of work you want to do in the space. Studios are ideally suited for sculptors and mixed media artists. 

Exhibition Series: Cory Oberndorfer and Jeff Huntington

In starting the Otis Street Arts Project, we knew that a component of our endeavor would be bringing in artists to show their work. We wanted to have a gallery. We are very pleased to have two fantastic artists to share with you for our Inaugural Exhibit.  

Cory Oberndorfer

Bio 

A lover of popular culture and Americana, Cory Oberndorfer’s work fixates on the simple pleasures in life. Oberndorfer received his MFA from American University in Washington, D.C. and BFA from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. His work has been exhibited at Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana, CA, Redux Contemporary Art Center and Jericho Arts in Charleston, SC, Flashpoint Gallery, G Fine Art, and the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, D.C.

Jeff Huntington

Bio

Jeff Huntington received an MFA in 1997 from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA in 1995 from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC. His work has been included in more than eighty exhibitions nationally and internationally over the past 25 years. His paintings are in private and public collections throughout the world, including The Rockford Art Museum in Rockford, Illinois and in U.S. embassies in the Philippines and Panama. Reviews of his work have been featured in numerous publications, including The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The New York Times, Juxtapos, The New Art Examiner, as well as a features on CNBC and NPR. Some awards received include The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Fellowship (Canada), The Jacob Kainen Award for Excellence in Figurative Painting, a Maryland State Arts Council grant and The Ethel Lorraine Bernstein Memorial Award for Excellence in Painting. Huntington is currently an adjunct faculty member at the Corcoran in Washington, DC. His paintings are represented by Porter Contemporary in New York City, Reyes+Davis in Washington, DC, Gallery 1301 in Baltimore, MD, and The Annapolis Collection Gallery in Annapolis, MD.

www.jeffhuntington.com

The exhibit will be up for the next few weeks.  
The works are available for purchase
For inquiries and viewing appointments please contact

Sean Hennessey
202.550.4634
or Email

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What is The Otis Street Arts Project

The Otis Street Arts Project is a collaboration between artists Sean Hennessey and David Mordini. It is a studio space, an exhibition space, a performance space, and an incubator for artistic creativity.

Located in Mount Rainier, MD, a hot bed of artistic activity, and with a large density of artists just outside of Washington, DC Otis Street Arts Project aims to further the bonds of the creative community in the area and create great art and art experiences in the process. Within our section of warehouses includes many other professional artists and institutions including The Washington Glass School, White Point Studios, Orange Door Studios, Blue Door Studios, and a slew of other individual artist spaces. 

Otis Street Arts Project will create a series of exhibits, group critic opportunities, studio visits, lectures, musical events, staged readings, cabarets, and workshops.  

Otis Street Arts Project has studio space for artists. 8 Spaces roughly 130 square feet, including shared flex space, utility sink, a small kitchen, loading docks, and tall ceilings. We are primarily a space for mixed media sculptors. There is 24 hour access to the space. At the time of this writing each space is $400/ month, including utilities.

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Otis Street Arts Project
3706 Otis Street
Mount Rainier, MD 20712
otisstreetartsproject@gmail.com