10
NightLife
Move the party to the gallery
by Lavanya Ramanathan The perfect way to break yourself out of
that happy-hour rut you fell into this sum- mer? Put down the Miller Light. Go get some
culture.
September is littered with art soirees, in- cluding large-scale art walks, a photogra- phy show at a popular restaurant, even an outdoor exhibition and a party on the wa- terfront. Yes, there will be free wine. But art open- ings are also a chance to go highbrow — there is art, after all — and chat up artists, gallerists and like-minded people. And did we mention that galleries don’t hit you with a tab at the end of the night? Three shows to check out this weekend:
“Potty-Trained at Gunpoint” The party: Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Fridge. John Tsombikos is better known as the
artist behind the notorious “Borf” graffiti that started appearing about six years ago in Dupont Circle, on the sides of mailboxes, on a highway sign and pretty much any- where else it could be surreptitiously spray-painted. He was arrested in 2005 and given a 30-day jail term for de- struction of property. These days, the very word “graffiti”
doesn’t seem to stir up as much bile as it used to; graffiti artists — Tsombikos in- cluded — even get gallery shows. In his solo show “Potty Trained at Gun-
point,” Tsombikos, who is in his early 20s, abandons the Borf aesthetic in favor of a
mixed-media examination of “the tactics of power used for social control.” (We think he means “jail.”) The opening Saturday night should be one of the most interesting scenes all month. The Fridge, 516 Eighth St. SE (rear alley). 202-664-4151.
www.thefridgedc.com. Free.
Bethesda Art Walk The party: Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. at vari- ous galleries in downtown Bethesda. A guided tour meets at 6:30 at Old George- town Road and Wisconsin Avenue. Every month, Bethesda galleries stay
open late for one giant reception, but only once a year does the bash get this interest- ing. The Trawick Prize annual competition awards the best of the area’s artistic com- munity, and at a gallery on Hampden Lane, you can catch a special exhibition of final- ists. It includes work by some big names, including Kathryn Cornelius, Dan Steinhil- ber (who took second place) and Sara Pom- erance (who snapped up the Trawick’s $10,000 prize last week). Take the guided tour (offered Friday and again Oct. 8) if you’re unfamiliar with the galleries. It stops at six venues, including Fraser, the Trawick Prize and Orchard gal- leries. The Trawick Prize Gallery, 4728 Hampden Lane, Bethesda. For a map of participating Art Walk galleries, visit
www.bethesda. org/bethesda/art-walk. Free.
Second anniversary celebration of Workhouse Arts Center The party: Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Workhouse. It has been only two years since this arts complex opened — without much in the
TOP: FRIDGE/COPYRIGHT JOHN TSOMBIKOS; ABOVE: 2005 PHOTO MARVIN JOSEPH/THE WASHINGTON POST
John Tsombikos (you might remember him as graffiti artist Borf, above) has a show at the Fridge gallery featuring works such as “Helping Hand,” top. At the Trawick Prize Gallery in Bethesda, you can view works by the competition finalists, including an untitled work, left, by second-place winner Dan Steinhilber.
FROM DAN STEINHILBER
way of a dramatic renovation — on the site of Lorton’s old correctional facility. The old prisoners’ dorms? Now they’re galleries. If you want to see it for yourself, this cel-
BETHESDA URBAN PARTNERSHIP Once a month, galleries stay open late for the Bethesda Art Walk.
ebration is your chance; activities in the morning and early afternoon are mostly kid-friendly (hula, dance and ornament- making classes), but in the late afternoon, you can attend a tea with a curator, hear a performance by the Backyard Blues Band and make your way through the myriad galleries. Workhouse Arts Center, 9601 Ox Rd., Lor- ton. 703-495-0001. www.workhousearts. org. Free.
Other art parties of note this month:
Devotion in the District: Photographic Explorations of Places of Worship, Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Gallery at Social, 400 Meridian Pl. NW, second floor. 202- 834-6576.
Beautiful Minds, a show curated by Art Whino, Friday from 3:30 to 11 p.m. at the opening celebration for the Yards Park, 10 Water St. SE.
www.artwhino.com. Asia After Dark, Sept. 23 at the Freer and Sackler galleries. asiaafterdark.
www.asia.si.edu/ ramanathanl@washpost.com
THE WASHINGTON POST • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2010
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