September 2010

Next Level holds Launch Party to celebrate the opening of their U.S. headquarters at the House of Sweden in Washington

Posted by Susanna at 12:37 PM, Sep 28, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Ola Östlund, Next Level-USA; Jessica Sögaard, wife of Next Level founder Runar Sögaard; Elaine Bergqvist, rhetoric expert and author; Runar Sögaard, Founder Next Level; and Gunilla Girardo, President, Next Level-USA

ON MONDAY evening, September 27, 2010, Next Level's Launch Party celebrating the opening of their U.S. headquarters was held at the House of Sweden in Washington, D.C.

THE MANY guests could enjoy drinks and hors d'oeuvres, and meet and mingle with Next Level's founder, partners, leadership developers and clients in company with other executives and leaders from Sweden and the U.S.

SPEAKERS DURING the event included Gunilla Girardo, the recently appointed president of Next-Level-USA. Ms. Girardo was previously the president of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce (SACC-USA). Other speakers were Next Level founder Runar Sögaard, rhetoric expert and author Elaine Bergqvist, and Karin Olofsdotter, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Sweden. Beautiful entertainment was provided by the Scandinavian tenor ensemble, Eclipse.

Therese Lindé

Next Level is a new approach to leadership development, with highly personalized program, that is designed to build and develop leaders and to create techniques for decision making both professionally and personally. Next Level's clients are CEO, upper management and other executives from the private sector, government agencies, associations, non-profits and other NGO's.

David von Mettenheim and Pernilla Alex von Mettenheim, Next Level-USA   

Next Level was established in Sweden over a decade ago by Runar Sögaard, who has been educating, training and developing people in more than 35 countries since 1990. For more information: www.nextlevel-usa.com.  

Sara Dahlén and Hanna Johansson

Gunilla Girardo, president of Next Level-USA, introduces the Next Level-USA team at the Launch Party.

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David Ivan Clark shows his art at Susan Calloway Fine Arts in Washington, D.C.

Posted by Susanna at 10:55 AM, Sep 27, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Artist David Ivan Clark

HOVERING IN THE SPACE between romantic landscape and weathered industrial artifact, David Ivan Clark's paintings dwell in limbo. Each marks the spot where nostalgia collides with fact, where celebration and elegy converge. Clark works in fine layers of oil on stainless steel or wood. From a distance each of his panels presents land, sky and nothing more, perhaps reflecting his western plains origins. His painting is based in the landscape tradition but it blurs the boundary between representation and abstraction; he is not concerned with re-creating the specifics of place.

Terry Dunmire, gallery owner Susan Calloway, and Thomas Fleetwood Mefford

DAVID IVAN CLARK was raised on the vast plains of western Canada. He graduated from Princeton University in 1983 and studied architecture at the Oregon School of Design 1987-1989. In addition to numerous exhibits in the Bay Area, his work has been chosen by curators from the Whitney Museum of Modern Art, the Los Angeles County Museum, and the Denver Art Museum for inclusion in shows at various venues in the western states. Clark's work is held in over one hundred private, public and corporate collections throughout the United States and Canada.

ON FRIDAY evening, September 24, 2010, his show "Presence/Absence" opened at Susan Calloway Fine Arts in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The show will go on through October 23. The gallery is located at 1643 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. For more information: www.callowayart.com, tel. 202-965-4601.

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Sculpture exhibition 'Porous Borders' opens at The Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

Posted by Susanna at 10:46 AM, Sep 23, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Jayme McLellan, Civilian Art Projects; former Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry; and Philippa Hughes, The Pink Line Project

"POROUS BORDERS," a sculpture exhibition juried by Jayme McLellan, director and founder of Civilian Art Projects, opened on Wednesday evening, September 22, 2010, at The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. The theme is interconnection despite borders and boundaries, and the artists are members of the Washington Sculptors Group.

Sculptor Dalya Luttwak and photographer Claire Bouleau

THE ARTISTS featured in the exhibition are Julia Bloom, Jessica Braiterman, Anthony Comes, Frederic Crist, Brent Crothers, Joel D'Orazio, Pattie Firestone, Helen Glazer, Nestor Guzman, Artemis Herber, Dalya Luttwak, Emily Piccirillo, Guy Rando, Phillip Scarpone, Marilee Schumann, Mike Shaffer, Carmela Solell-Knepler, Diane Szczepaniak, Patricia Tinajero and James Wallace.

Jayme McLellan, Civilian Art Projects; Sandy Bellamy, The Historical Society of Washington, D.C.; and Margaret A. Hutto, The Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

THE WASHINGTON Sculptors Group (WSG) is a volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting an awareness and understanding of sculpture in addition to fostering the exchange of ideas among sculptors, collectors and the general public.

David Furchgott and Mitra M. Lore

THE HISTORICAL Society of Washington, D.C. serves the city, its residents and visitors as an educational institution that promotes knowledge of the past for better understanding of the future. It is located at 801 K Street, N.W., at Mount Vernon Square, Washington, D.C. Exhibition hours are 7 days a week, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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Euro Night party at the French Embassy is once again a great success

Posted by Susanna at 1:34 PM, Sep 18, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Guillermo Corral and Jimena Paz of the Embassy of Spain, and Roland Celette, Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C., which traditionally hosts the "Euro Night" event.

IT WAS ANOTHER successful - and sold-out - "Euro Night" event that was hosted at La Maison Française at the Embassy of France on Reservoir Road in Washington, D.C. on Friday evening, September 17, 2010. This cultural journey and culinary buffet - for the third consecutive year - has become a tremendously popular tradition in the nation's capital.

THROUGHOUT THE evening, guests could enjoy live music followed by dance mixes from DJ Jean Michel NYC, and feast on national dishes and drinks from open bars. Such as Spanish Jamón Serrano, Bitburger beer from Germany, Shrimp sandwiches from Sweden and a Finnish drink, consisting of Finlandia vodka.

MORE THAN 20 European Union embassies showcased their culinary specialties and traditions. Proceeds from the event will help support the numerous and varied cultural activities at the participating European embassies.

Linda Portas, Anna Magnusson and Sophie Kulevska represented the Embassy of Sweden

Ambassador and Mrs. Adrian Vierita of Romania

Representing Sweden: Tobias Andersson and Helena Ernstsson

Luis Chang Boldrini, who is Head of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Embassy of Peru, and Camilla McCaslin

Dr. Hans-Ulrich von Schroeter, Counselor and Deputy Director of the German Information Center USA, and Priscilla Bonsu

Ira Reimann, Dennis A. Quinn and Epp Meisner

Peggy Orchowski and Camilla McCaslin

Guillaume Kroll and Jan-Erik Hauge, Executive Chef at the Embassy of Norway

Daniel Labonne, Executive Chef & Co-Owner of Bistro la Bonne

Jimena Paz, Laura Espino and Barbara Minguez Garcia of the Embassy of Spain 

Gina and Tsuyoshi Takemori

Rochelle Carroll and Michelle Hailey 

Greg Moore

Representatives of the Embassy of Austria

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The Swedish School for Language and Culture in Vienna, Virginia, celebrates its First Year Anniversary

Posted by Susanna at 2:00 PM, Sep 17, 2010 (Comments)

Category: People

A few of the students, teachers and parents at the school

THE SWEDISH School for Language and Culture in Vienna, Virginia, began its second school year on Saturday, September 11. After class, new and returning students, parents, and teachers celebrated their school's first anniversary with traditional Swedish cake decorated with strawberries and cream.

THE STUDENTS seemed to thoroughly enjoy their recess in the beautiful fall weather and a couple of parents led them in a quick game of field hockey. All meetings at the school end with a 30-minute gathering of students and their families.

The school's founders Lena Unander-Scharin and Carina Olsson

THIS FIRST MEETING of the year was spent sharing memories of the summer. The students, ages 5 to 17, were able to use their Swedish skills within the group. There were stories about flea market bargains in Skåne (a region in southern Sweden), meetings with dolphins in Florida and bearded horses in Iceland, and other exciting stories.

FOR MORE pictures and information, visit www.swedishlanguageschool.com.

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Opening reception for Michael Benson's "Images from... Beyond: Visions of our Scolar System" at Long View Gallery in Washington

Posted by Susanna at 9:54 AM, Sep 17, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

Writer, filmmaker, photographer and exhibitions producer Michael Benson at the opening reception at Long View Gallery in Washington

BEGINNING in 1995, writer, filmmaker, photographer and exhibitions producer Michael Benson began hunting through hundreds of thousands of solar system photographs, dating as far back as the late 1960's, to find raw or partially processed images with potential significance in the photograph landscape. As a locator, editor and curator of these images, which were originally taken by interplanetary probes traveling through space, Benson devoted substantial time to the creation of composite mosaics and the optimization of this body of work for print production.

ON THURSDAY evening, September 16, 2010, the opening reception for Michael Benson's exhibition "Images from... Beyond: Visions of our Solar Systems" was held at Long View Gallery in Washington, D.C.

ON TUESDAY, September 28, 2010, there will be a film screening at the gallery of the documentary film "Predictions of Fire" with opening remarks by Michael Benson.

LONG VIEW Gallery is located at 1234 Ninth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. For more information: www.longviewgallerydc.com, tel. 202-232-4788.

Frank Snodgrass, Siobhan Gavagan of Long View Gallery, Jacob Hileman and Aaron L. Machado

Artists Matt Sesow and Dana Ellyn

Alenka Slavinec and Gerhard Olsen

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SACC Washington DC held traditional Swedish crayfish party at the House of Sweden

Posted by Susanna at 2:22 PM, Sep 16, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Sara Dahlén of SACC-USA, Max Litton of Saab North America, Inc., and Amanda Uhlman of SACC-USA

WHAT CAN BE more Swedish than celebrating the end of summer and beginning of fall with a traditional crayfish party or, as the Swedes say, kräftskiva? And that is what the Washington chapter of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce (www.sacc-dc.org) did on Wednesday evening, September 15, 2010, at the House of Sweden, beautifully located on the Potomac River in Georgetown. The cooked crayfish were dark red in color and delicious. They disappeared quickly accompanied by drinks, such as vodka or aquavit, called "snaps," wine and beer. Guests, dressed in the colorful party hats and bibs, sang traditional songs or "snaps-visor."

AS SWEDISH Ambassador Jonas Hafström mentioned in his speech, the famed Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson has said that "there is nothing more Swedish than the crayfish tradition."

THIS VERY successful event was sponsored by Volvo Group North America, Inc., Karlsson's Gold Vodka and IKEA.

Thomas Unander-Scharin, Carina Olsson, Elizabeth Avery and Craig Crutchfield

Anna Winberg of SACC Washington DC, Bradley Olsson, chairman of SACC Washington DC, and Maja Persson of SACC Washington DC

Ambassador Jonas Hafström gives a speech about the Swedish crayfish tradition

Carina Olsson, Mårten Leijon and Dawn Leijon

Jonathan Miller, Vice-President of Government Relations for Volvo Group North America, Inc., spoke to the gathering.

Carina Olsson

Hanna Johansson, Meredith Eisenhart and Birgitta Arnesdotter

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Artist reception with painter Tina Palmer at U.S.S. Sequoia in Washington

Posted by Susanna at 10:38 AM, Sep 16, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Artist Tina Palmer and Tony Cord of Clifton Gunderson LLC

IT COULD not have been a more beautiful September evening, when nationally acclaimed artist Tina Palmer held a cocktail reception and end-of-summer Art Exhibit at U.S.S. Sequoia - the Presidential Yacht - on Maine Avenue in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday the 15th. Guests could admire Ms. Palmer's art (www.tinapalmerart.com) and enjoy the delicious seafood offerings.

Artist Tina Palmer

Melissa Santos of Body by Santos and Dale McCleese

Artist Tina Palmer

Artist Tina Palmer, and Dale and Jan McCleese

U.S.S. Sequoia

U.S.S. Sequoia

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Artisan Series show opened at International Visions Gallery in Washington

Posted by Susanna at 11:40 AM, Sep 14, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

Tim Davis of International Visions Gallery in Washington and André Guichard of Gallery Guichard

THE ARTISAN Series is a nationwide arts competition sponsored by Bombay Sapphire Gin and the Russell and Danny Simmons Rush Philanthropic Foundation. The Artisan Series aims to discover the next big names in both urban photography and multi-media arts, and celebrate today's diverse up-and-coming artists on a national stage.

ON SATURDAY evening, September 11, 2010, International Visions Gallery (www.inter-visions.com) in Washington, D.C., held its Artisan Series art opening. Among the participating artists are Brigid Ashwood, Calvin Coleman, Dmitry Gubin, Jeffery Kent, Julian Lytle, Michael Platt, Edward Savwoir, Stan Squirewell, Tanekeya Word, Miles Bumbray, Swedish artist Anna U. Davis, Allysa Kazew, Marcus Kiser, Jamilla Okubo, Ellington, Cody A. Seekins, Richard Tu and Robinson.

ACROSS ALL markets 20 artists will advance to the Art for Life exhibition held during the Art Basel Miami in December 2010. From that group, two finalists will be invited to exhibit at Rush Arts Gallery in New York City in February 2011.

Smithsonian Director of Education Claudine Brown and famed sculptor Lilian Burwell

Art by Swedish artist Anna U. Davis

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Conner Contemporary Art in Washington, D.C. opens three solo installations

Posted by Susanna at 12:24 PM, Sep 13, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Leigh Conner of Conner Contemporary Art, Rob Shapiro, and Jamie L. Smith, PhD. of Conner Contemporary Art

ON SATURDAY evening, September 11, Conner Contemporary Art in Washington, D.C. opened three concurrent solo exhibitions featuring a sculptural installation and opening night performance by John Kirchner, paintings by John Stark and a recent video by Susan MacWilliam. The exhibition runs through October 30, 2010.

TO CREATE his fourth solo exhibition -- "Infinity" -- with the gallery, the D.C.-based artist John Kirchner physically and metaphorically deconstructs a 26-foot boat. By presenting a live performance in the gallery during the opening night reception, Kirchner confronted viewers with a provocative allegory of human condition.

MERCURIUS DUPLEX is London-based John Stark's first solo exhibition in the U.S. Mr. Stark is an innovator in the dark undercurrent of London's artistic traditions to from his own system of meaning. This is the artist's much anticipated American debut with a new series of paintings in oil on wood panel.

Art by John Stark

BELFAST-BASED artist Susan MacWilliam represented Northern Ireland at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Ms. MacWilliam's art probes the paranormal, the supersensory and the tradition of psychic research. She approaches her subject through the history of occult photography, biography and archival discovery.

CONNER Contemporary Art is located at 1358 Florida Ave., N.E., Washington, D.C. in the historic H Street Corridor/Florida Avenue Arts district. Gallery hours are Tuesday -- Saturday 11 a.m. -- 5 p.m. For more information: www.connercontemporary.com, tel. 202-588-8750.  

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First solo U.S. exhibition by Italian designer and architect Antonio Pio Saracino at Industry Gallery in Washington

Posted by Susanna at 12:13 PM, Sep 13, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

AN OPENING reception was held on Saturday, September 11, at Industry Gallery in Washington, D.C. for New York-based Italian designer and architect Antonio Pio Saracino's first solo U.S. solo exhibition, and premieres new work in Nature/Data.

THE EXHIBITION, which runs through October 30, 2010, premieres two new designs, and features work created mostly during the past year and introduces two large-scale models of triumphal arches representing Italian emigration to North and South America. The works in the exhibition are created in plywood, metal, carbon fiber and synthetics and abstract from natural forms such as molecules, leaves, blossoms, and crystals.

THE EXHIBITION IS in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington. Industry Gallery is located at 1358 Florida Ave., N.E., Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20002, and is open Wednesday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., and by appointment. For more information: www.industrygallerydc.com.

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Italian brothers Lucio Zucchi and Dario Zucchi exhibit at the Arts Club of Washington

Posted by Susanna at 4:45 PM, Sep 11, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Dr. Eric Denker of the National Gallery of Art, painter Lucio Zucchi, photographer Dario Zucchi, and Dr. Erich Keel of the Kreeger Museum

THE ARTS CLUB OF Washington is currently showing work by Italian brothers, painter Lucio Zucchi and photographer Dario Zucchi, under the headline Artconfusion. On Friday evening, September 10, 2010 the opening was held at the elegant club's historic mansion, located at 2017 Eye Street, N.W. in downtown Washington, D.C.

THE BROTHERS Zucchi have created delightful images that reside at the intersection of life and art. Their work is characterized by surprising juxtapositions that enchant and instruct. For more information about Italian Cultural Institute events: www.iicwashington.esteri.it.

John and Kristin Cecchi

The television weatherman Bob Ryan

Ingrid Nilsson of the Embassy of Sweden

Judith Martin - columnist Miss Manners of The Washington Post - and her husband Robert Martin.

Art by Lucio Zucchi

Art by Lucio Zucchi

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POPPY Gallery in Washington introduces work of Parisian artist Virginie Hoyaux

Posted by Susanna at 5:21 PM, Sep 10, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

Gallerist and jewelry designer Heidi Hess and Manuel Charpentier

THE EXHIBITION "Urban Space, Concentration and Vacuum," with work by the French artist, painter and teacher Virginie Hoyaux (www.VirginieHoyaux.Artblog.fr) recently opened at POPPY Gallery in Georgetown in Washington, D.C. The artist is a graduate of Les Beauz-Arts in Paris, and founded "L'association Les Arts," an association hosting art exhibitions and workshops in Paris. Additionally Ms. Hoyaux teaches at the School of Arts at Saint Honoré in Paris and Enghiens-les-Bains.

POPPY is showing Hoyaux's series of abstract paintings explaining memories, dreams, time and space. Brush strokes are repetitive and rhythmic, at once defining and erasing space.

GALLERIST - and jewelry designer -- Heidi Hess says "she is delighted to preview this compelling artist's work in Washington, D.C." POPPY is located at 3235 P Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday 12 noon - 5 p.m. For more information visit www.PoppyMetals.com, tel. 202-290-1377.

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Special preview of the first 'NOW at the Corcoran' exhibition in Washington

Posted by Susanna at 9:54 AM, Sep 8, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

Izette Folger, Lorie Peters and Fernando Batista

A SPECIAL PREVIEW of the first "NOW at the Corcoran" exhibition, titled "Spencer Finch: My Business with the Cloud" was held on Tuesday evening, September 7, 2010, at the gallery in Washington, D.C. This inaugural exhibition in the Corcoran's (www.corcoran.org) gallery space will be opening to the public on September 11. "NOW at the Corcoran" will feature an ongoing series of one- and two-artist exhibitions that will present new work addressing issues central to the local, national, and global communities of Washington, D.C., and that responds to the collection, history, and architecture of the Corcoran.

Justin Scheid and Leigh Conner

Kristin Guiter and Mariana Nork

Victoria Schwaner and Allen Lewin

Laura Fulton and Benjamin Loewy

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New website in English covering the Scandinavian fashion scene

Posted by Susanna at 2:53 PM, Sep 7, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

A NEW WEBSITE - www.scandinavianfashion.net - is the creation of Stockholm-based journalist David Bartal, who has for a long time covered the Scandinavian fashion scene for glossy magazines and newspapers. Mr. Bartal noticed that there was very little on the web in English on the subject. He has previously served as correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, The Times of London, and the IHT. He has also contributed to WWD, Sport and Street, Scanorama, Dutch, LOFT, Nordic Reach, The Forward, MiLK Magazine, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, and Swedish publications including Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet.

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"Art After Dark" - fundraiser for the Art Museum of Americas in Washington

Posted by Susanna at 9:11 AM, Sep 3, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Events

W. Nelson Lewis, Minister Plenipotentiary for Artistic Endeavors of the Embassy of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Katelyn Gimbel of Linda Roth Associates, Inc., J.P. Freire and Kat Ciano.

"ART AFTER DARK: Museum Intervention" was what they called a special evening and fundraiser at the Art Museum of Americas in Washington, D.C., on Thursday evening, Sept. 2. The evening featured a special performance by Exactly, Live Music set by DJ Smudge, and Performance and Video Art.

THE MUSEUM (www.museum.oas.org), located at 201 18th Street, N.W., is part of the elegant OAS (Organization of American States) complex on Constitution Ave., N.W., in downtown Washington next to the Mall. Proceeds from this event will support public programs and exhibitions of the Art Museum of Americas, and it was sponsored by Friends of the Art Museum of the Americas, Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Washington Convention and Sports Authority and the Pink Line Project (www.pinklineproject.com).

Mary Bird and Steven Kijak

Jonathan Sousa of Sousa Consulting, Nancy Younan, Brandon Webster of Brandon Webster Photography and Elizabeth Ward from Salon Contra/The Pink Line Project

Holliday Williams, who is a member of The Friends of the OAS (Organization of American States) Museum Board, and DJ Smudge

Anna Maria Gonzalez and Andrew McMahon

Benjamin Loewy, Samira Georgi and Donald Syriani

Raleigh Clemons and Austin Clemons

Christina Waddler, Benjamin Loewy, Emily Riffle and Bipin Badhe

Elizabeth Ward of Salon Contra/The Pink Line Project and Jason Frels

Heiko Hesse, Emily Riffle and Benjamin Loewy

W. Nelson Lewis and friends

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Costa Brava, Spain

Posted by Susanna at 3:32 PM, Sep 2, 2010 (Comments)

Category: Travel

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