March 2010

"My designs express my Nordic background," says Swedish metal artist Barbro Eriksdotter Gendell

Posted by Susanna at 9:51 AM, Mar 31, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

  Swedish silver designer Barbro Eriksdotter Gendell

"LOOKING BACK, I recall being fascinated by modern silver design, whether jewelry or other objects, even at a young age. For various reasons, however, working with metals became my third professional endeavor. Now I find it a joyous challenge to form metals in an eloquent way. My Scandinavian roots inform my aesthetics. Visual and emotional memories endure..."

Silver design by Barbro Eriksdotter Gendell

BARBRO ERIKSDOTTER GENDELL grew up in Stockholm. Her father, Erik Winberg, was president of the family-owned company, Germa, which specialized in lingerie/intimate apparel. She studied at Maertaskolan, the prestigious fashion design school in the Swedish capital, including haute couture in their French department, and at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Design in New York City. This prepared her for a position as designer at Germa and subsequently at various companies in the New York garment industry.

WHILE STUDYING NY, she met her future husband, Murray, a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University. The couple married in 1958 and in the following years lived in Stockholm, New York, Geneva (Switzerland), Berkeley (California), and finally Washington, DC, where her husband was professor of sociology and demography at Georgetown University until his retirement.

 "AS OUR TWO children were growing up and needing less of my attention, I felt the need to expand my horizon. Textiles seemed a natural venue. Building on my Swedish weaving experience (way back!), I enrolled in weaving classes at the Silver Shuttle in Georgetown, DC. This eventually led to my fiber artist career. When the now renowned Torpedo Factory Art Center opened in Alexandria, VA, in 1974, I was heading the newly created Potomac Craftsmen Gallery (now Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery)."

BUT METALS somehow beckoned. A few courses in silver construction at Northern Virginia Community College got her hooked for good. "This is indeed an enduring love affair and has been my main artistic and professional focus since the late 1970's. While designing in this inherently hard material, I like to negate its confines by bending it into fluid forms. I also like to play with contrasts, where clean minimalist lines and a smooth surface compete with rich, tactile textures (think textiles, my former life) to create a dynamic tension." Ms. Eriksdotter is a charter member of the Washington Guild of Goldsmiths; she has been a member of Studio Metallum (known for its contemporary designs) at the Torpedo Factory Art Center since 1983; she was a teacher of metals/jewelry design at the Art League School in Alexandria for 16 years.

HER AWARD WINNING work has been shown in numerous juried local, national and international exhibitions. Some recent participation: Two Capitals-Contemporary Art Jewelry - Moscow, Russia (2004); Art in Embassies Program, Seoul, Korea (2006-09); Swedish 3 x 3, Watergate Gallery, Washington, DC (2006); Spring News from Washington, DC, Seoul, Korea (2009).

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NIH researcher Markus Heilig talked about alcoholism at a SACU Luncheon in Washington

Posted by Susanna at 2:38 PM, Mar 30, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Paul Johnson, Markus Heilig, the Clinical Director at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and SACU chairman David Paul

DURING A SACU (Swedish American Cultural Union) luncheon on Tuesday, March 23, Markus Heilig, M.D., Ph.D., who is a Swede trained at the University of Lund and who is currently the Clinical Director at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in Bethesda, Maryland, discussed the work of his clinical research team to develop new pharmaceuticals that will help treat the underlying causes of alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Before coming to the U.S. in 2004, Mr. Heilig led similar clinical research efforts at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

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Big crowd came to listen to rock group Suspicious Package at Glover Park bar in Washington

Posted by Susanna at 1:36 PM, Mar 27, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Norbert Bärlocher, Counselor, Head of Communications and Culture at the Embassy of Switzerland, Christina Sevilla of the rock group Suspicious Package, and Paul Blustein of the Brookings Institution

ON FRIDAY EVENING, March 26, the Washington-based "journo/pol" rock band Suspicious Package attracted a big crowd at the Gin and Tonic bar in the northwest Washington, D.C., Glover Park neighborhood.

BAND MEMBERS include The Washington Post Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Tom Toles on drums, Christina Sevilla, deputy assistant at U.S. Trade Representative's office, on keyboards, Tim Burger from Bloomberg News on bass guitar, Bryan Greene, deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on guitar, and Josh Meyer, national security reporter at the Los Angeles Times, playing lead guitar.

Janet Donovan of Creative Enterprises International and Keith Lipert of Keith Lipert Gallery

Christina Sevilla of the rock group Suspicious Package and Kiki Ryan of Politico

The rock group Suspicious Package

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Festive Grand Opening of the Health & Care Program at the House of Sweden

Posted by Susanna at 4:06 PM, Mar 26, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

David J. Barton, Gunilla Ekberg, representing the Swedish company Mocana (www.mymocana.com), and Felix Bengtson of the Swedish Embassy.

THE SWEDISH EMBASSY in Washington, D.C. inaugurated its spring program - Health & Care - on Thursday evening, March 25. Ambassador Jonas Hafström opened the program, and guests enjoyed four new exhibitions, live entertainment and a healthy lifestyle lounge on the rooftop (even though it was quite windy up there!). They also were able to taste Swedish traditional dishes or "husmanskost," and read explanations about nutritional goals for Swedish school meals. For instance, in 2005 the Swedish National Food Administration developed guidelines for meals in daycare, schools and community youth clubs. Those guidelines indicated that lunch served in school should constitute about 30 percent of the child's daily average food intake.

AND WHAT CLASSIC Swedish school dishes were the guests served? Kåldolmar (which is ground beef wrapped in cabbage), potatoes, lingonberry jam, grated carrots, salad, pasta, and traditional knäckebröd (crispbread) with Västerbottenost (cheese from a region in the north of Sweden called Västerbotten ).

Hugh Grindstaff and Anne Reiley

Ludvig Lundstedt, Johan Sandström and Felix Bengtson

Maria and Carl Ek

Paul Johnson and Terrie Nelson

At House of Sweden's rooftop bar fruit drinks were served.

View from the rooftop at the House of Sweden in Washington, D.C.

Explaining Swedish school meals

The Buffet Table

Performance during the grand opening

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Enthusiastic crowd at the concert with Miss Li and Francis at the House of Sweden in Washington, D.C.

Posted by Susanna at 9:36 AM, Mar 23, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Miss Li after the performance

A BIG AND ENTHUSIASTIC crowd gathered at the House of Sweden in Washington, D.C., when Swedish groups Miss Li and Francis - both from the Swedish province of Dalecarlia -- performed on Monday evening, March 22.

Marianne Gustafsson, singer Petra Mases of Francis, and Ingrid Beach

THE CROWD LOVED the music and the performers returned the favor. As singer Petra Mases of the group Francis said during the performance: "We love to be in America, so please let us come back!"

FRANCIS ARRIVED at the House of Sweden after having played at six sold-out concerts at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas. The bluesy rock band is made up of four childhood friends that have played together since 2006. They released their first single "Bad to the Bone" in 2008. The single received good reviews from bloggers and media outlets around the world, and the group's unique mix of folk, blues and Americana continues to generate an international following.

Francis performs.

MISS LI IS ONE of Sweden's new hot stars, and in April 2009 she released her fourth album "Dancing the Whole Way Home." Her single "Don't Try To Fool Me" has been featured on TV-series "Weeds," as well as "Grey's Anatomy." And the song "Bourgeois Shangri-La" from the album "Dancing the Whole Way Home" was used by Apple in the iPod Nano 5G television commercial.

Miss Li performs.

SWEDISH CULTURAL cultural counselor Mats Widbom joked about the groups being from Dalecarlia "this is the best thing that happened to Mora (a town in Dalecarlia) after Gustav Vasa (the Swedish king who has been labeled as the founder of modern Sweden)."

Swedish cultural counselor Mats Widbom introduces Miss Li.

DALECARLIA IS also known for being the source of one of Sweden's most recognized symbols, the Dala horse, a carved wooden statuette of a horse decorated in orange, blue and other bright colors.

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Art Opening for Swedish Photographer Maria Friberg at Conner Contemporary Art in Washington, D.C.

Posted by Susanna at 1:22 PM, Mar 21, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

Swedish photographer Maria Friberg and gallery owner Leigh Conner, Conner Contemporary Art

THE ART OPENING for the exhibition "transmission" by Swedish contemporary videographer and photographer Maria Friberg (www.mariafriberg.com) at Conner Contemporary Art (www.connercontemporary.com) was held on Saturday, March 20. This was the worldwide debut of "transmission," which is the artist's latest work, and will be at the Conner gallery through May 8.

Lauren Reliford, Nord Wennerstrom, Charles A. Birnbaum and Doug Reed

IN "TRANSMISSION," Stockholm-based Maria Friberg re-frames the automobile as a sign for ambivalent concepts, such as progress and environmental threat, social hierarchy and economic instability, and male power and uncertainty. By filming the bottom of moving cars against a clear sky, Friberg achieves a dream-like effect, while underscoring the relation between man and nature, which is a major theme in her art.

SHE HAS PREVIOUSLY showcased her art in Sweden and abroad, and has had solo exhibitions at Conner Contemporary Art in Washington in 2003, 2005 and 2007. The gallery is located at 1358 Florida Ave., N.E., in Washington, D.C. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Heather McCaw and Benjamin Loewy

Photographer Maria Friberg, gallery owner Leigh Conner and Joseph Rabinowitz

Janine Durand, Craig Appelbaum of Industry Gallery (www.industrygallerydc.com) and Dutch artist René Yeenhuizen

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Ishimoto Yasuhiro's Photography and An Authentic Japanese Teahouse Showcased at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C.

Posted by Susanna at 3:05 PM, Mar 20, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

An authentic Japanese teahouse called Ippakutei was presented for public viewing at the Old Ambassador's Residence in Washington, D.C., on March 18 and 19.

"AN ETERNAL FORM" - 50 black and white images of the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto created by the famed photographer Ishimoto Yasuhiro, and an authentic Japanese teahouse called Ippakutei were presented for public viewing at the Old Ambassador's Residence on Massachusetts Avenue in Northwest Washington, D.C., on March 18 and 19.

THE TEAHOUSE IS located on the grounds of the Embassy of Japan and featured a room modeled after the Katsura Imperial Villa's teahouse, Shokintei.

An authentic Japanese teahouse

ISHIMOTO YASUHIRO, born in San Francisco in 1921 and educated at the Chicago Institute of Design, is widely recognized as one of the most influential photographers in the development of postwar Japanese photography. Among his most celebrated works are his pictures of the legendary 17th century Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto. According to the Japan Foundation, these images, which were created from a new sensibility developed in Chicago, broke new ground and represented a revolution away from the existing images of Katsura. The exhibition at the Old Ambassador's Residence presented Ishimoto Yasuhiro's attempt to liberate tradition through a contemporary viewpoint.

Black and white images of the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto created by the famed photographer Ishimoto Yasuhiro.

 
THE EXHIBITION of Ishimoto Yasuhiro's photographs and the presentation of the Ippakutei teahouse were coordinated by the Japan Information & Culture Center, the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation.

The Old Ambassador's Residence in Washington, D.C.

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Swede Maria Friberg to show her latest work "transmission" at Conner Contemporary Art in Washington, D.C.

Posted by Susanna at 6:10 PM, Mar 15, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

MARIA FRIBERG, Swedish contemporary videographer and photographer (www.mariafriberg.com), will show her latest work "transmission" at Conner Contemporary Art in Washington, D.C. March 20 through May 8. This will be the worldwide debut of "transmission."

IN "TRANSMISSION", Maria Friberg re-frames the automobile as a sign for ambivalent concepts, such as progress and environmental threat, social hierarchy and economic instability, and male power and uncertainty. By filming moving cars against a clear sky, Friberg achieves a dream-like effect, while underscoring the relation between man and nature, which is a major theme in her art.

MARIA Friberg was born in Malmö, Sweden in 1966, and she was educated at the Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm, where she now works and lives. Ms. Friberg says that she "creates ambiguous tableaus that challenge preconceived notions about identity, gender and social hierarchies." She has showcased her art in Sweden and abroad, and previously she has had solo exhibitions at Conner Contemporary Art in Washington in 2003, 2005 and 2007. For additional information: www.connercontemporary.com or 202-588-8750. Conner Contemporary Art is located at 1358 Florida Ave., N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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The 4th Annual Cocina De Coprodeli Event on April 1 in Washington, D.C.

Posted by Susanna at 1:06 PM, Mar 12, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

THE NON-PROFIT organization, Coprodeli USA, in partnership with the Embassy of Peru, will host its 4th annual spring event, Cocina de Coprodeli, on April 1, 2010. It will include a variety of Latin American dishes prepared by local chefs from restaurants Mio, Las Canteras, Yorktown Bistro, Redwood and the Embassy of Peru. Café Atlantico, Funxion and Mio will be making pisco sours, the Peruvian national cocktail. Vibrant music and dance will be included in the celebration. Pisco will be provided by Macchu Pisco and wine by Brassfield Estate Winery. CF Industries is providing funding to underwrite the cost of the event.

Padre Miguel Ranera, founder of Coprodeli

COPRODELI USA aids Peruvian families by providing for fundamental needs, promoting education and job training, and developing strong self-sustaining community programs. Proceeds from the event will benefit nutrition and agriculture programs in selected areas of Peru.

THE EVENT, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. will be held at 1777 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Advance tickets are $35 at www.coprodeliusa.org or $40 at the door.

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Women in the Arts are celebrated at an exhibition at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia

Posted by Susanna at 8:31 AM, Mar 10, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

Music was played by a harpist during the opening reception.

"6 ABSTRACT WOMEN" is the headline of an art exhibition at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia, that had an opening reception on Sunday, March 7. The exhibition, which will be showcased through March 28, presents works by artists Andrea Cybyk, Marcia Dale Dullum, Michele Hoben, Joyce McCarten, Jan Sherfy and Roberta Thole.

THE EXHIBITION was a part of the Virginia state-wide celebration of women in the arts during March, which is Women's History Month. Titled "Minds Wide Open: Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts," the Virginia program is the first statewide celebration of its kind. Between March and June this year, thousands of special programs and events will take place across the state to honor contributions by women in the arts and culture. For more information: www.ArtsVA.com.

THE WORKHOUSE ARTS CENTER is located at 9601 Ox Road, Lorton, VA 22079, www.WorkhouseArts.org, tel. 703-584-2900.

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La Grande Fête de la Francophonie held in Washington, D.C. in Solidarity with the Haitian People

Posted by Susanna at 1:24 PM, Mar 7, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

French Ambassador Pierre Vimont (in the middle) and guests

"LA GRANDE Fête de la Francophonie," which was held on Friday evening, March 5, in Washington, D.C. at the French Embassy - La Maison Française - is the crowning event of the 2010 Francophonie cultural festival. This year "la Grande fête" was dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives during Haiti's recent earthquake, and to the rebuilding efforts of those who survived. Funds collected from the event will be given to the American Red Cross to support their campaign to help the people of Haiti rebuild their country.

Romanian Ambassador Adrian Vierita and his wife Codrina Eugenia Vierita

DURING THE FESTIVE evening hundreds of guests could enjoy culinary specialties from over 35 nations and dance the night away to live music provided by Cyprus' Nikolas Metaxas and swinging Cajun tunes from Louisiana Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys. Representatives from various embassies, governments and institutions presented their cultures and showcased their rich traditions and cuisines of the French speaking world.

Nathalie Jobin and French Cultural Attaché Roland Celette

THE FRANCOPHONIE FESTIVAL is a month-long event in Washington, to enjoy films, children's programs, lectures, concerts and other cultural arrangements. Visit www.FrancophonieDC.org for the entire schedule, March 1 to April 11.

Ann-Marie Brisbois and Robert Dyer

Jennifer McFarland, Sarah Grafton and Siobhan Gavagan

Lath John Akadje is the Cultural Attaché of Côte d'Ivoire.

Koustubh Parulekar, Sasha Sutcliffe-Stephenson, Shelagh Hayes and Jean-François Peyronnard

Fatoumata Noumansana (in the middle) with friends

Priyanka Neewoor, Jennifer Nelligan, Nagesh Rao and Kate Culpepper

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Opening Reception for Visual Artist Claudio Talavera-Ballón at the Peruvian Embassy

Posted by Susanna at 11:15 AM, Mar 4, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

Blanca Ochoa of Embassy of Peru, the visual artist Claudio Talavera-Ballón, and Fernando Quirós, who is the new Deputy Chief of Mission at the Peruvian Embassy.

THE OPENING RECEPTION of "Peru: People and Costumes" - an exhibition with artworks by Peruvian visual artist Claudio Talavera-Ballón (www.talavera-ballon.com) - was held at the Embassy of Peru on Wednesday evening, March 3. Talavera-Ballón, who was born in Arequipa, showed an early talent for drawing and painting. During a few years he worked as a graphic designer. In 1997 he learnt to know the renowned watercolorist Luís Palao Berastain, who became his mentor, and he decided to work professionally as a painter. In 1999 he was invited to move to Calca, a small town outside Cusco, to study watercolor techniques and live with his master for a two-year period, a time during which he fully dedicated himself to painting. Talavera-Ballón's work has been exhibited in several galleries throughout Peru and Chile. He currently resides in Cusco, Peru.

Renato Reyes Tagle, Blanca Ochoa and Luís Chang of the Embassy of Peru

Blanca Ochoa and her brother Dr. Jesús Ochoa Zavaleta

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Exhibition of the work of Futurist Designer Fortunato Depero at the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C.

Posted by Susanna at 6:17 PM, Mar 1, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Rita Venturelli, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C., her husband Luigi Volta, and Mary Bird

AN EXHIBITION OF the work of the Italian futurist designer Fortunato Depero (1892-1960) was presented at an event at the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C. on Friday evening, February 26. Mr. Depero is best known for his design of the 1932 Campari Soda bottle, which is still in production.

THE EXHIBITION, titled "Fortunato Depero 50," is a collection of Debero's graphic design work over the course of 35 years and includes 41 works and 10 vintage prints. It explores the techniques used by the designer in his works and his advertisements.

FORTUNATO DEPERO was born in 1892 in Fondo (Trentino). In 1913 he began to explore Futurism as an artist, and shortly after his move to Rome in 1914, through Giacomo Balla's intervention, he was officially admitted into the group of futurist painters and sculptors. On March 11, 1915, he and Balla signed the manifesto Futurist Reconstruction of the Universe.

FORTUNATO DEPERO ALSO worked with the Swiss poet Gilbert Clavel to create Balli Plastici, or the "Plastic Dance," a show that was first performed in Rome in 1918, featuring puppets instead of live actors, giving a mechanical but joyful vision of the world. At Friday's event, that show was presented again in a "re-imagining" film directed by Franco Sciannameo of Carnegie Mellon University.

IN 1928 DEPERO LEFT for New York, where he worked with costumes and stage solutions for theater and ballet institutions, as well as in advertising and illustration for magazines. He was deeply changed by his New York experience, with its bright skyscrapers but also rundown suburbs. New York showed him the real face of the technological future that the Italian futurists had always dreamt of. He returned to Trentino, but after World War II he was back in New York to have another chance at the American adventure, and it brought him into contact with the surrealists and with anthropological interests, which revitalized the work of his final years.

THE CURATOR for "Fortunato Depero 50" was Italian art critic Maurizio Scudiero and Studio 53 Arte in Florence, Italy.

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Closing Reception of "Till Death Do Us Apart" at Long View Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Posted by Susanna at 1:54 PM, Mar 1, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

Painter Dana Ellyn in front of some of her artworks

"TILL DEAHT DO US APART" - the show with work by artists Dana Ellyn (www.danaellyn.com) and Matt Sesow (www.sesow.com) at Long View Gallery(www.longviewgallerydc.com) - held its closing reception on Saturday, February 27. On Friday, February 5, the well-known Washington artist couple tied the knot at a ceremony during the opening of the show, and the public was invited.

ELLY AND SESOW created paintings called "Till Death Do Us Apart" for the exhibition that accompanied their wedding, featuring artwork that depict scenes of love-hate relations in marriage.

The fabulous "A Swedish Midsummer Feast" by Swedish artist Anna U. Davis

Drew Porterfield of Long View Gallery

Artwork by Swede Anna U. Davis

Painting by Matt Sesow

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