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Art I’d Buy: Selections from the WPA Auction

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Works of Art that Cara Ober Woulda Shoulda Bought

SELECT 2014, hosted by The Washington Project for the Arts, is a 3-week public exhibition and a ticketed auction party to support contemporary art and the local (Washington, DC area) artist community.

Official Text: The artists invited to participate in this exhibition were selected by a group of notable curators from some of the most important institutions in our region, emerging curators, and WPA’s Board of Directors.The works represent a cross section of media and disciplines, providing a varied survey of contemporary artistic practice. The SELECT 2014 gala is the region’s longest running contemporary art auction gala and offers a unique opportunity to acquire works by emerging and established artists from the DC region and beyond.

EXHIBITION: Thursday, February 27 through Friday, March 21, 2014

To see all works selected for the auction, click here.  To read more about the curators who selected works for this exhibit click here.

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Christopher Lavoie’s Eggshell Knuckles, 2009 is my top pick! It is made of eggshells! What more could you want? The reserve price was tempting and, had my credit card been with me, it would be mine!
Katleman_Beth_Dog
Beth Katleman’s Dog sculpture is my other favorite! It is made of porcelain and I think it is hilarious. No doubt it was purchased by someone with a Cocker Spaniel.
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Jack Henry’s Untitled (Core Sample #13), 2012 is a tactile mix of materials and color, sandwiched into a cement-block sized cube. It’s made of Gypsum cement, acrylic, and found objects.
ConstantinopleMacdonnellLelyKate-Suitland-Parkway-SEN-St.-NW
Photo Collages or “digital inkjet prints” by Lely Constantinople and Kate MacDonnell are formally arresting and an interesting way to experience local landscapes. I like the Suitland Parkway SE/N, 2013 piece in particular.
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Joshua Wade Smith’s wall/chair assemblages are odd and beautiful. I would take this home as well! Neighbors/Gravel, 2013, mixed media.
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Jackie Milad’s Homage to Hildegard – ink and oil pastel on a wood panel – is fresh and weird and beautiful. I want!
HooverRyan_Monument3
Another white sculpture I would like to take home: Ryan Hoover’s Monument 3, a plaster-based 3D print with acrylic paint. When walking through the event, I noticed some collectors staring at this piece and informed them that, “This was printed by a computer!” They were weirded out, but even more interested after finding this out. Great work! I want it.
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I kept seeing Sheldon Scott at the event and wondering, Why does this guy look so familiar? How do I know him? He caught me staring at him a couple of times and I am sure he thought it was creepy. Or maybe everyone was staring at him? He is pictured, buried in dirt, in the piece by himself, Sheldon Scott, and Joshua Cogan. Obviously it is a memorable piece!
Ryan Syrell's two works on paper also top my list on pieces I would like to take home with me. Strata I: Rocks with Chair, 2013 and Strata II: Arches Formations with Cutouts, 2013 are both made of oil and vinyl paint with colored pencil on paper. They work well separately or together.
Ryan Syrell’s two works on paper also top my list of pieces I would like to take home with me. Strata I: Rocks with Chair, 2013 and Strata II: Arches Formations with Cutouts, 2013 are both made of oil and vinyl paint with colored pencil on paper. They work well separately or together.

* Author Cara Ober is the Founding Editor at Bmoreart! Go buy some art!

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