A Big “Thanks!” to Our Clients for Our Best Year Ever!

We here at Artists Circle are nothing without our clients, partners and friends in the business community.   We would like to thank the following firms who have contributed to our success in this past year and wish all continued prosperity in the year ahead:

American Academy of Actuaries
American Chemistry Council
ARTBA
Association of American Medical Colleges
Blankingship & Keith
Booz Allen Hamilton
Boston Properties
BPG Management Company
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Buvermo Investments, Inc.
CBRE
Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT)
CoStar Group
Council on Foreign Relations
Cushman & Wakefield
CWCapital Investments
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Envision Design
Exxon Mobil
EYA
Foley Hoag LLP
General Dynamics IT
Gensler
Goldman Sachs
GXS
Hines Interests
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Hunton & Williams LLP
Insured Retirement Institute
Kaiser Permanente
Keller and Heckman LLP
Kutak Rock LLP
Lincoln Property Company
Loeb & Loeb LLP
MacroSolutions
Mathematica Policy Research
Meany & Oliver
Morgan Gick McBeath
National Bank of Abu Dhabi
New Enterprise Associates
Perkins Coie
PhRMA
PNC Bank
Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC
Property Capital
PRTM
Reznick Group, P.C.
SKANSKA
Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
Studley, Inc.
The Carlyle Group
The JBG Companies
Unilever United States, Inc.
United Unions
VORYS
Walker & Dunlop
Washington Radiology Associates
Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (WRIT)
Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald

Building an Art Collection at Hunton & Williams

Moving into a new space is an exciting time for our clients, and we’re always happy to take on some of that excitement for ourselves when a new space calls for new art. When Hunton & Williams decided that updating their art collection was in order as part of their move to a beautiful new Studios Architecture-designed space, they tasked Artists Circle with coming up with a plan for the update.

Polly Apfelbaum's lively "Color Field Notes" light up the space

We decided that a mixture of original pieces by local and national artists, such  James Zwadlo and Francie Hester, as well as an assortment of colorful prints by artists such as Janet Fish, Christo, Robert Cottingham and Gene Davis, would bring some lively and dynamic variety to the clean space. Dimensional pieces, such as John Garrett’s Casino wall hanging and Emily Piccirillo’s 49th Parallel construction, provide contrast with both the walls on which they’re installed and the two-dimensional prints and paintings in the collection.

Emily Piccirillo's "49th Parallel"

Hunton & Williams had a collection of art that they had built over the years. Artists Circle oversaw the management of this collection, working with an involved art committee to determine which pieces would work well alongside the firm’s new acquisitions and which pieces needed to be phased out. Pieces to be re-used were removed from their old frames and mountings and updated to more contemporary and archival displays so as to fit better along the new additions to the collection.

Re-framed Sam Gilliam diptych from H&W's existing collection

We believe that Hunton & Williams’ new art collection will be the envy of art lovers and collectors who get the opportunity to see the space, containing both household names in Op and Pop art as well as pieces by exciting new up-and-comers in the local and national art scene. The collection contains such vibrant and spirited pieces that even those unfamiliar with the collection’s origins will be able to enjoy them.

Prints on paper by Arman

James Zwadlo's "Pedestrians 159"

James Rosenquist's "Yellow Landing"

How It’s Made: Emily Piccirillo Paints the Sky

When we picture artists creating their work, we often think of a mustachioed Frenchman with his easel and paint palette along the side of a Paris avenue or an art school grad flinging paint at a canvas in her Brooklyn loft. In truth, there are as many approaches to creating art as there are artists. Even within the realm of painting, the number of techniques used is staggering. Local artist Emily Piccirillo’s paintings of the sky (oftentimes framed with the branches of winter trees) make use of an idiosyncratic technique in their creation that we think will fascinate as much as her entrancing work does.

“As I prepare for each new piece, I need to decide on the basic features of the imagery I want to create because they correspond with the choice of materials as I get rolling – the external dimensions of the grid, the size of the openings, the type and width of the round steel rod, the handling of the corners of the frame and the length of the legs, the weight of the canvas and size(s) of the panels, and the color and thickness of the cord.

I approach the pieces as double-sided paintings and handle the materials at every step with both surfaces in mind – the sky imagery painted in oil on the front in relation to panels of vivid fields of color in acrylic on the reverse.  Since these works stand off the wall, the ambient tone reflects back and incorporates the installation wall as the third surface.

Gaps between the panels and the grid capture light, freeing color from form.  The panels cast shadows, converging figure with ground and enhancing the sense of optical illusion.  Multiple gradations occur at once and change with the surrounding light.  The pieces take on transitive properties and hover between painting and sculpture.

I initially began this body of work using readymade construction sheets of medium gauge steel wire remesh (meant to reinforce concrete).  Now, I have both stainless steel and carbon steel armatures fabricated to specification.  I polyurethane the carbon steel to make sure the rust is sealed.

Next I cut canvas to either identical or varying sizes for the openings and tie them into the corners using needle and waxed nylon cord, selecting white or black, thin or thick, for each piece.  For larger openings I determine the spacing at either even or uneven intervals of additional pieces of cord along the edges.

I may rotate the knots behind the panels to conceal the ends.  With this variation with white cord against white walls, the panels seem to float.

Alternately, I might have the ends of black cord extend beyond the confines, breaking boundaries between real and represented.  Sometimes I merge these extending ends of the cords with tree branches in the painting.  The cord emphasizes formal and physical tension, literally tying together the fabricated and natural worlds.

Both sides of the panels are gessoed many times, using an electric hand sander in between coats to smooth the surfaces.

Next I paint the panels as a single continuous image, attending to each square as its own image as well.  The front involves multiple layers of oil paint, many being glazes to increase the play of light and color.  The reverse is much quicker to complete since the color field effect is simpler.

Most recently I have been using leather punches to create patterns of round holes or a matt knife for long slits in the canvas surface, introducing another challenge to pictorial convention and further activating the reflected color as elements in the images.

I keep multiple pieces going at once, usually four or five, allowing them to gestate and cue me about best next steps.  I keep a couple notebooks of ideas that are still in very early formative stages.  An art professor said to me once, ‘Always approach each with rigor and wonder,’ and that still helps to remember since every exchange is unique.  Each piece has its own pacing and attitude as it manifests.  They can’t be rushed; patience is key.  By giving them lots of time, I can study them in different kinds of light and times of day, revealing areas of potential I had yet to realize.  Some pieces happen quickly and cooperate easily; others take over a year or two and it feels like an epic battle. There are even times they seem to change all on their own, like they’re possessed by some strange force and I don’t even recognize them when I go back to work on them.  I spend a lot of time sitting and staring at each one.  Finally I varnish the front once the oil paint has dried about a year.

I never sign the front of a piece.  I don’t understand why I would interrupt the image with my name.  I put it on the back with the date.  The titles happen in lots of ways – occasionally they pop into my mind at odd moments; sometimes I watch words as I’m reading something, looking for a clue.  At other times friends will give me their associations and they stick. Once in a while I change the title of a piece, like it finally matured into its true name.  I keep a collection of words and phrases that I like as I find them.  Some of the titles I can’t explain – they just fit; others have long stories that keep evolving. “

Thanks to Emily for providing the wonderful pictures and text to document her creative process and for allowing us a rare glimpse of the goings-on in the artist’s studio. Read about Emily’s work featured in the Washington Sculptors Group’s 2011 “Sculpture Now” exhibit at the Artery Plaza Gallery in Bethesda in this article in the Gazette.

Brade Howe’s “Lever the Sun” at COPT’s National Business Park

The combination of the natural and architectural elements of California-based artist Brad Howe’s sculpture made a perfect fit for Corporate Office Properties Trust’s (COPT) new National Business Park in Annapolis Junction, Maryland, as the modern architecture of the surrounding buildings and the technological nature of their tenants demanded modernity yet the serene setting of the sculpture garden amidst the buildings also required the piece to evoke nature.  Brad Howe has built a reputation on his lively sculpture, using stainless steel to create sinuous, organic but abstract forms. While much of his work focuses on soft curves and bright colors, other pieces instead use his talent with stainless steel to emphasize architectural forms. The engineering put into making these pieces becomes a central theme, drawing the eye to the way in which the sculptural elements make use of balance and cantilevering.

"Lever the Sun" under construction at Brad Howe's studio

Working closely with both the client and the artist, Artists Circle coordinated the design and commission of a new sculpture, Lever the Sun. Brad constructed a 1/12th scale model of the 21-foot sculpture in the same stainless steel the full-scale piece would be made from. Using the scale model as a guide, the Artists Circle crew built a full-scale model of the piece using foamcore board, a lightweight but strong material. We built the elements here in the barn over the course of several days, then transported the elements to the site where the sculpture would be installed. We then assembled the sculpture on-site so that the client could get a better feel for the scale of the piece and decide how it would be oriented.

After the client chose a surface finish pattern from a variety of samples the artist sent to us, he began construction of the sculpture elements at his studio in California. Artists Circle then coordinated the transport of the sculpture across the country to the installation site in Annapolis Junction. The artist and his assistant flew out to the site and arrived shortly after the sculpture and a crane used in the installation. By the end of the day, all of the sculpture elements were placed and welded together.

This project was ambitious and we were very  pleased to be fortunate enough to have both an incredible sculptor and a client who was so committed to making the artwork at their property be a central element of its design. Lever the Sun makes a commanding presence in the center of the NBP sculpture garden and we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

Brad Howe speaks about "Lever the Sun" at the COPT NBP Clark Commons Sculpture Garden Opening

The Sculpture Garden at the National Business Park

Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT), a real estate development trust that focuses on government and defense tenants, is a company that is truly dedicated to integrating fantastic art into their development projects. At their brand-new National Business Park in Annapolis Junction, Maryland, COPT has decided to go the extra mile and make the courtyard nestled between three modern office buildings into a dedicated sculpture garden. With modern lighting and seating scattered throughout the green space and under the trees and pathways that carry you past the sculpture on your way from building to building, the area provides a great location for employees of the buildings’ tenants to relax and enjoy some sculpture.

"Ally II" by Bruce Beasley in cast bronze

Entering the sculpture garden at Clark Commons from the National Business Parkway, immediately on your left is Ally II by California sculptor Bruce Beasley. Beasely’s abstract forms in cast bronze resemble three-dimensional cubist forms carved from stone, with the irregular patina contributing to the strong earthy feel of his work. Ally II had been in COPT’s collection prior to Artists Circle’s involvement in the project, but we worked with local artist and metalworker David Hess to build an installation system for the sculpture. After coordinating the transport of the sculpture from Hess’ studio in Baltimore County to the sculpture garden, the AO crew installed the sculpture on a concrete pedestal, a tricky install as the landscaping had already been completed, disallowing the use of heavy equipment to move and lift the bronze sculpture. We think the piece is situated perfectly to draw the visitor into the garden from the road, and its modern form and earthy aesthetics introduce the viewer to the garden’s high-tech but organic style.

"The Patience of Penelope" by Will Robinson in carved basalt

At the opposite end of the sculpture garden and directly in front of the site that will become the central building of the Clark Commons complex is a grouping of three sculptures in stone by Washington State artist Will Robinson, Eyes of the Storm, Patience of Penelope and Wave Runner, which also doubles as seating. Swirls and swooping curves often contrast smooth, highly-polished surfaces with rough, unfinished textures show us how Will transforms the untamed, rough and wild rock into something softer and more elegant. Artists Circle coordinated the sale of the pieces, and Will transported them himself from the Pacific Northwest to install them at the sculpture garden. We think these pieces emphasize the elements of nature in the sculpture garden and the contrast of those elements with the contemporary architecture that envelops them.

The centerpiece of the garden is Brad Howe’s Lever the Sun, a 21-foot sculpture in stainless steel that COPT commissioned through Artists Circle for the project. Read more about the commission, construction and installation of this monumental sculpture in our blog post here.

Stone sculpture by Will Robinson with "Lever the Sun" by Brad Howe in background

COPT has created a beautiful space that includes a fantastic sculpture collection. It was a great opportunity to work with a great group of artists, installers and professionals and we couldn’t be more proud of all of the work we put into helping COPT create their wonderful sculpture garden.

Fall Beer Tasting Success

Beer is wonderful. We here at Artists Circle are well aware of that simple truth, and more importantly we’re aware that most other people are aware of it, as well. What better choice, then, for an Artists Circle gallery event than a beer tasting? As the weather turns chilly, beers start to get heartier and more flavorful, which makes for a winning combination in our barn’s gallery space. Here at Artists Circle, we often try to come up with art solutions that dig a little deeper than the status quo for our clients, so we thought we’d apply the same philosophy for our fall beer tasting.

Jim pours beer while Jack speaks its praises at the 2011 Artists Circle Fall Beer Tasting

Since we do so much work with local artists, we decided that we’d scrap the idea of focusing on imported beers or well-known American craft brews and instead put local (or local-ish) treasures in the spotlight. The tasting featured beers by:

Stoudt’s Brewing (Adamstown, PA)
Flying Dog Ales (Frederick, MD)
Old Dominion (Dover, DE)
Baying Hound Aleworks (Rockville, MD)
Dogfish Head (Milton, DE)
Heavy Seas (Halethorpe, MD)
Port City Brewing (Alexandria, VA)

Two local Octoberfest style beers by Flying Dog and Old Dominion

The beer was a big hit, especially Baying Hound’s Long Snout Stout and Heavy Seas’ Loose Cannon IPA. Artists, clients and friends alike had a wonderful time imbibing the beers we selected and viewing the art on display here at the gallery, and we had a fantastic time talking with our guests about art and beer. We thought the event was a great success and look forward to the next iteration of the Artists Circle Beer Tasting.

Celebrate Labor at VisArts

Recent political turmoil over the place of labor unions in contemporary America has far-reaching ripples that have even begun to rattle the art world. The Washington Post, among other publications, reported back in April on the controversial removal of a mural by Judy Taylor depicting Maine’s labor history from that state’s Department of Labor by order of Governor LePage. While the mural itself remains in Maine, faithful, nearly life-size reproductions of the mural’s eleven panels are now on display at VisArts in Rockville as a part of the center’s exhibit, “Celebrate Labor: Where Art and Politics Meet.“

"Maine Labor History Mural" by Judy Taylor

Alongside Judy Taylor’s panels are reproductions of Michael Spafford’s “Twelve Labors of Hercules,” another mural commissioned by a state government (Washington in this case) that was later removed due to controversy over the mural’s content.

"Twelve Labors of Hercules" by Michael Spafford

Jack Devine, Principal of Artists Circle and board member at VisArts, worked with VisArts curator Nancy Nesvet to provide framing for the show. We’re proud to have been able to contribute to a show that brings decommissioned public artworks back to the public and to a new audience.

Read more about the show in this article featured in The Washington Post. The exhibition is on view until September 20th at VisArts in Rockville.

Working in a Barn is Pretty Sweet

Artists Circle's Barn-Based HQ

Nestled in the quiet post-farmland suburbia of North Potomac is Artists Circle’s HQ at the Big Red Barn. From the outside, our offices look like any other Victorian-era barn (well, we’d like to think it’s in a bit better condition than your average 100+ year old barn, anyway). Step inside the barn doors, however, and you’re transported directly into a chic art gallery space featuring work by Artists Circle-represented painters, photographers and sculptors. The barn proper houses some of our bigger sculpture pieces and a rotating exhibit of consigned artwork. Turn to your right and be prepared for an even bigger shock: a two-story glass office facade that cordons off half of the barn. The ground floor houses more gallery space as well as our library of artwork and serves as a staging area for upcoming installations.

Inside the barn doors, you can see the facade of the office space within

Tucked in behind the gallery is a stairway that leads to the upstairs office space. Divided into two halves with wood-floored “bridges”  connecting them and views of the gallery below, the upstairs windows give a great view of the gallery space out in the barn proper. The office’s open floorplan makes for an open, engaging workplace that encourages communication and interaction among the AO staff. The design does an excellent job of marrying modern office and gallery amenities with old school charm. Our high speed computer network and climate-controlled artwork storage sit alongside 100 year old wooden beams and a heaping helping of rustic charm.

View from the first floor gallery space

Artists Circle’s HQ serves as a perfect (although maybe a bit extreme!) case of revitalizing an old space. Plenty of our clients are moving into new spaces or are looking to spruce up their current space, and the gallery here at the barn is an example of what a little art can do. Much of the art that winds up installed on our clients’ walls first spends time on ours, so we often have firsthand experience of how a piece of art is capable of livening up a workspace. We consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to work in a place that’s got a constant rotation of fantastic art lining its walls and, because we work surrounded by art every day, we’re extra motivated to be on the lookout for fantastic new artists. That motivation then turns into inspiration to have our clients’ spaces look as great as ours!

View from second floor office space

Part of Artists Circle's library of resources

Getting to Know the Artists Circle Crew

We recently noticed that our blog is always full of information about the artists we work with and the projects we’ve done, but doesn’t tell much about who we are. We decided to rectify that situation by profiling each member of the Artists Circle team:

Jack  Devine

Who he is and what he does:      Dear Leader Jack is Artists Circle’s Eternal President and Supreme People’s Principal. He spends a good deal of his time at the helm of the Artists Circle Battlewagon (i.e. an early 90′s Buick station wagon) carting around portfolios full of art to client meetings. He’s the point person with most of our clients and is responsible for our clients deciding to put art (or, more specifically, *our* art) on their walls rather than floral wallpaper or bulletin boards. With years of experience in the field, Jack has an uncanny ability to get clients excited about art and to provide artwork plans that make the most out of any space and nearly any budget.

What he loves:     Jack loves being outdoors at two in the morning. He also loves trying out new beers. Sometimes, he loves these two things at the same time!

What he hates:     Jack’s not at all a fan of littering or macho attitudes.

What he listens to in the car:     Barenaked Ladies, Pogues, John Cash, Florence and the Machine. All played through a righteous boom-box!

Little did you know…:     Previously a beekeeper, Jack has moved up the food chain and is now trying his hand at keeping chickens. Artists Circle is based out of a barn, so it only makes sense.

Katie Giganti

Who she is and what she does:     With dual roles as the Chief Fulfiller of Needs and Manager of Nagging (aka Operations and Project Management), Katie’s role is to keep track of all project/details and make sure all the Artists Circle employees are getting things done.  Project related responsibilities aside, Katie considers her most important role to ensure the coffee supplies remain in stock.

What she loves:     Her two dogs Kobie and Layla, web comics, geocaching, and chocolate milkshakes.

What she hates:     Coconut, people who inch their cars forward during a red light at an intersection, and people who think email is some sort of instant messaging program.

What she listens to in the car:     98 Rock Morning Show, Pandora (currently on the ‘J Roddy Walston and the Business’ station), and goofy stuff like B-52’s or Spin Doctors.

Little did you know…:    Katie is a Closet Gearhead.  Determined to destroy the stereotype that women can’t fix cars, Katie can often be found changing her car’s oil, brake pads, or battery.  Her next project: helping her husband rebuild their Jeep Wrangler’s transmission (side note: Katie learned to drive stick in the Jeep, which is likely why the transmission needs to be fixed… oops).

Jim Coursey

Who he is and what he does:     Jim is Artists Circle’s jack-of-all-trades (wait…I guess Jack is the jack-of-all-trades, so that make Jim the Jim-of-all-trades). When he’s not providing support for the rest of the team on projects, he’s usually trying to keep Artists Circle’s inventory in order or running our vast marketing empire (or writing blog posts about himself in third person, which is very strange…).

What he loves:     Good beer, loud music, deep woods and nerdy books. He is the proud owner of a parchment map of Middle Earth, which speaks volumes about him. He much prefers the winter to the summer.

What he hates:     People who don’t use turn signals, humidity and the sound of alarm clocks in the morning.

What he listens to in the car:      Death metal, black metal, thrash metal, doom metal. HEAVY METAL. If it’s got “metal” in the genre name, it’s probably good! Running Wild is the best driving music in the history of the world, as far as Jim’s concerned.

Little did you know…:     When not listening to music, Jim’s usually making it. He plays guitar and bass and tries to play drums. He’s in a death metal band with his brother and records his own post-rock/ambient music at home.  He also has more tropical fish than most people would consider socially acceptable.

Sharon Buchanan

Who she is and what she does:     As founder of Artists Circle, the company is Sharon’s baby, all grown up and making its way in the world. Like any parent, though, Sharon knows best when it comes to the company’s goings-on. She uses her unparalleled knowledge of the art world to continue to keep the Artists Circle roster fresh and engaging and her sprawling network of contacts always gives us new leads and new projects. Sharon is always available to celebrate the successes of Artists Circle and its team.

What she loves:     In her own words, “I like reaching the top of a mountain when hiking & knowing that the ole gray mare can still pull the hill, but I love most the journey, with its fields of wildflowers, forests and ferns.”

What she hates:     Mosquitoes and their bite.

What she listens to in the car:     On Saturdays she likes to listen to Click and Clack, The Car Guys, sometimes Diane Rehm floats her boat, or Spanish learning tapes.  Then her granddaughters get in the car and it’s all Taylor Swift.  On her time it’s Phil Collins, David Gray, Carly Simon and Laura Pausini.

Little did you know…:    While on the Crossroads Africa program in 1963, my group of 10 young adults met with a Zanzibar dissident leader in shrouds of night at his house on that island – he soon after became vice president of Tanzania (Tanganika & Zanzibar merged in a coup).  Then I went back to Oklahoma and nobody had ever heard of the place.

Alan Simensky

Who he is and what he does:     Accountant by day and artist by night, Al is responsible for making sure that every time we hear a knock on the door we can assume it’s the FedEx guy and not the IRS. As the Overseer of Payroll Operations, Al is the person responsible for spreading the love around at Artists Circle.

What he loves:     When there is a lot of love to spread around.

What he hates:     When there isn’t so much love to spread around.

What he listens to in the car:     Less than Jake, Offspring, Reel Big Fish, Catch 22, Iron Maiden, Symphony X, Rush, Howard Stern.

Little did you know…:     Al has a scar on his left hand is from pulling nuns and school children from overturned, burning schoolbus on the New Jersey Turnpike in the late 80′s.

Stephanie Gleichsner

Who she is and what she does:     An alumni of Artists Circle’s full-time team, Stephanie has returned in a project management/consulting role. Her years of experience working with clients and artists alike here in the office now means that she’s got what it takes to work on projects from the comfort of her own home (and car, and client offices, and at Underground…ok, maybe telecommuting isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!).

What she loves:     Stephanie loves volunteering because she’s able to participate in a wide variety of fulfilling activities, from modeling, face painting, art auctions, etc…

What she hates:     Stephanie dislikes the cold and much prefers hot weather. This summer has been right up her alley!

What she listens to in the car:     All radio stations, with the exception of country.

Little did you know…:      “I haven’t owned a television in over three years.  I’m an active person and not at home often.  I know which friends like the shows I like, so they record the shows and I come over and have dinner & tv nights.  At the very least, I can watch my shows online.”

Skip Plati

Who he is and what he does:     Skip is an Artists Circle installer extraordinaire. He thinks of his work as the job “no one else wants to do,” but he loves what he does. When he’s not running all over town installing art, Skip can usually be found at Underground working with his family. Skip is also Artists Circle’s moral support, his cheery disposition keeping us going even when the going gets tough.

What he loves:     Skip loves the look on a child’s face when they openly show love and joy.

What he hates:     “I dislike all the governments and powerful people of the world that don’t care about the people who need caring for (and there are many who do need caring for!).”

What he listens to in the car:     Skip listens to all the tools in the back of his van clatter and clink away to all music genres.

Little did you know…:     “One of my favorite moments in life was a snowy day when I looked at the close knit evergreen boughs alternately intertwining and the wonderful idea came to me, ‘I could climb one of those trees and from the top lay down and roll from the branch of one tree to the next and back again until I fell back to the snow covered ground.’ It was a wonderful experience. There’s something special about surrendering to nature!”

Clifford Wheeler

Who he is and what he does:     Part of the Artists Circle installation team, Art Installer Clifford “hangs around” (town) trying to keep out of working folk’s way. “Hangs around”… get it?

What he loves:     Clifford loves when the artwork is all properly hung and the client is tickled pink.

What he hates:     He hates when the client isn’t tickled pink. He also dislikes traffic…ok, he HATES traffic!

What he listens to in the car:     When he’s  in the van, and not listening to traffic, he likes NPR and PFW (Pacifica).

Little did you know…:     I once actually won a ski club race; the mountain turned to ice, and everyone else wiped out. Last one standing sort of thing. Before that, my claim to fame was winning a watermelon in a bingo game when I was 9. I’m not sure if I should tell anyone this, but as I approach 60, I find that I have developed a passion for collecting paperweights. Never could I have imagined that. I thought that hobbies like that were for folks that have long been ‘put out to pasture’!”

Rob and Del Plati

Who they and what they do:     Rob and Del Plati are the master framers at our frame shop. With years of experience in fine art framing, Rob and Del can frame just about anything. If you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig, but if Rob and Del frame a pig, it’s art.

What they love:     Rob and Del love framing so much that they actually frame pictures of frames.

What they hate:     Technology of any kind. We’re still pestering Rob to get a telephone, as sending telegrams every time we need to tell them something is getting a little old. They also tend to send us their invoices via Pony Express, which we didn’t even know was still a thing.

What they listen to in the car:     Rob listens only to Baroque Italian opera and can usually be found singing along to his favorite movements. Del is a big fan of mid-90′s gangsta rap and has a 1,000-watt subwoofer in her trunk.

Little did you know…:     In a 2010 study, MIT scientists actually determined, after thousands of hours of data crunching, that the Plati family is, in fact, the Nicest Family on the Planet. Just talking to them, they said, has the effect of putting just about anyone into a mood of contentment and lust for life.

White Flint at the North Bethesda Market

Jim Sanborn’s sculpture often serves a document of a particular event in history that had far-reaching ramifications for humankind. Pieces like Terrestrial Physics and, especially, Atomic Time serve as confrontational, awe-inspiring and perhaps even frightening reminders of great strides forward in scientific progress during the middle of the last century, but Sanborn’s new work at JBG’s North Bethesda Market in White Flint, Alluvium, is more subtle but no less documentarian in its approach.

We here at Artists Circle are proud to have had the chance to work with Mr. Sanborn and JBG to create such a powerful and indeed, beautiful piece of public art at the North Bethesda Market.

Jim Sanborn installing Alluvium

Taking its name from the white “flint” (i.e. quartz) so common in Central Maryland, the area today is most well known for its shopping mall and Metro station, with the North Bethesda Market already proving itself to be a popular destination. However, development necessarily alters the landscape and shapes the environment into something more suitable for our needs. Oftentimes the change is so dramatic that any trace of the previous, natural environment is completely wiped away. Alluvium, with its waterfalls that recall Great falls and quartz-rich granite that echoes the quartz one would surely find deep below the surface of the paseo on which the sculpture sits,  reveals its allusions to the geography of the region as one sits and contemplates its elements.

Alluvium serves as an excellent example of how public art can be constructed at new development sites in such a way as to document the history of the place where it is built and to celebrate that natural heritage. However, with its machine-cut lettering and industrial-scale copper sheeting, the foundation of the piece is itself engineered by modern man rather than carved by centuries of erosion and geological activity, inextricably linking it with the development it is a part of.

The Unveiling of Alluvium

Read more about Alluvium, including commentary on the piece and the project by Sanborn himself, in this recent article in The Washington Post.