American Acrostics: Richard Diebenkorn

Richard Diebenkorn, Interior with View of the Ocean, 1957

Richard Diebenkorn, Interior with View of the Ocean, 1957, Oil on canvas 49 1/2 x 57 7/8 in.; 125.73 x 147.0025 cm. Acquired 1958. The Phillips Collection, Washington DC.

To celebrate the last month of Made in the USA, we’ve asked Phillips staff to create acrostic poems for works in the exhibition. We’ll feature some of our favorite submissions over the next few weeks. In this post, Sarah Osborne Bender, Technical Services Librarian and Collections Metadata Specialist, clearly has her mind on being seaside.

Richard Diebenkorn, Interior with a View of the Ocean

Until the sun came out
Sitting in chairs
Across from each other in a cloudy room

Sarah Osborne Bender, Technical Services Librarian and Collections Metadata Specialist

Staff Show 2013: Duly Noted

In this series, Young Artists Exhibitions Program Coordinator Emily Bray profiles participants in the 2013 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show. Join us for the Staff Show reception on October 10, from 5:30 to 8 pm.

Duly Noted

Duly Noted painters: Matthew Malone, left, and Kurtis Ceppetelli, right, painting together. Photo courtesy: Matthew Malone and Kurtis Ceppetelli

Duly Noted Painters is a team of artists consisting of Matthew Malone and Kurtis Ceppetelli working in collaboration on individual pieces simultaneously. Ceppetelli was born in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. He studied painting and sculpture at NSCAD in Halifax Nova Scotia. Malone was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania. He studied painting and printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.

In 2009, the two painters met working at The Phillips Collection. There, the two decided to work on a piece together. What they soon discovered was a way to explore something new artistically. This resulted in a working partnership that to this day has produced over 70 large scale pieces over the course of two years. The duo has shown at various locations in Washington, Annapolis, and their most recent show attracted the attention of the East City Art Blog.

What do you do at The Phillips Collection?
Kurtis is a Museum Assistant. Matt is a former Museum Assistant.

Are there any unique or interesting parts about your job that most people might not know about?
Kurtis: I know all the hidden doorways.

Who are your favorite artists in the collection?
Kurtis: Richard Diebenkorn
Matt: John Graham

What is your favorite gallery space within The Phillips Collection?
Matt:
The Security Room
Kurtis: The Music Room

What would you like people to know about your art and process?
The painting in the 2013 Staff Show is about a relationship both in subject matter and execution. We used a direct reference to another painting. As two artist working as one, our challenge is to make it ours. The result was not simply a reproduction of what we saw but how we saw it.

Duly Noted Painters—“We are two painters painting as one.” Our work is just as much about the process as the painting itself. It is about compromise, discussion, feeling, mood, anger, love. It is experimental like our nature. Ultimately, the discussion is about what is best for the piece.

The 2013 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show will be on view September 23, 2013 through October 20, 2013. The show features artwork from Phillips Collection staff.

Emily Bray, Young Artists Exhibitions Program Coordinator

Kurtis: The Music Room

Staff Show 2013: Julia Kwon

In this series, Young Artists Exhibitions Program Coordinator Emily Bray profiles participants in the 2013 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show. Join us for the Staff Show reception on October 10, from 5:30 to 8 pm!

Julia Kwon’s abstract paintings are inspired by the act of mark-making; she invents new spaces with expressive brushstrokes. She has received many awards, including Joseph S. Lepgold Phi Beta Kappa and the AAUW’s poster competition: Celebrating Women’s Voice in Politics and Art.  She was also selected by the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS) for the Integrative Arts Fellowship.

Julia Kwon, Untitled, 2013, Oil on canvas

Julia Kwon, Untitled, 2013, Oil on canvas

What do you do at The Phillips Collection? 

I’m a museum assistant at The Phillips Collection.

Who are your favorite artists in the collection?

My favorite artists are Mark Rothko, Vincent van Gogh, and Richard Diebenkorn. I admire these artists for their clear vision, expressiveness, and emotional content.

What is your favorite gallery space within The Phillips Collection?

My favorite gallery is the Rothko Room. The room’s dim lighting not only adds to the depth and resonance of the colors, but also creates a comforting space for viewers to really experience the art.

What would you like people to know about your art and process?

I take pleasure in being present and making creative decisions.  Mark-making has been my biggest inspiration as it creates a series of actions-and-reactions between me and my paintings.  This state of flux provides opportunities for experimentation and discovery; it allows the paintings to intricately and continuously evolve and expand.  Lyrical, intertwined marks gradually emerge from my belief in continuous growth in life and my realization of the complex interdependence between all things.  Through painting, I create my own story with new meaning and space that not only intrigues me visually, but also moves me internally.

The 2013 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show will be on view September 23, 2013 through October 20, 2013. The show features artwork from Phillips Collection staff.

Emily Bray, Young Artists Exhibitions Program Coordinator