Special Events in Arlington VA Arts

Arlington unveils a retail line of Artist-designed fine chocolates...now anyone can get a taste of the arts in Arlington, the latest project is art you can eat. Arlington Cultural Affairs has joined forces with Arlington-based luxury chocolatier Artisan Confections to create lines of hand-dipped chocolates that are screened with images created by Arlington-based artists.

The "Artist Series" will showcase the work of a different set of Arlington-based artists each year, with a portion of the sale of each box going to benefit the arts in Arlington.
The six artists selected for the debut "Artist Series" in 2005-6 were David Amaroso, Richard Chartier, Laura Jane Hamilton, Justine Light, Monica Stroick and Joel E. Traylor, III. Those selected for 2006 - 7 are Nancy Murphree Davis, Martine Graf,
Leila A. Holtsman, Jocelyn Buck Hunn, Liz Starr and Reiko Renee Tate.

Chocolatier Jason Andelman, an Arlington resident and native of northern Virginia, is the former pastry chef at Washington, DC's TenPenh Restaurant. He is an honor graduate of the pastry program at the Culinary Institute of America, and holds a BA in Art History from the College of William and Mary. Washington Magazine featured Artisan Confections in a 2002 article on the region's best chocolates. The boxes are sold in both 12 and 24 piece boxes.

The Artisan Confections philosophy is a simple combination of two passions - fine art and fine chocolate. Each hand crafted chocolate is itself a culinary-artist's creation using only the finest French chocolate, fresh butter, cream, luscious fruit purees and fresh herbs; without the use of preservatives or artificial ingredients. Their small batch confections couple traditional techniques with a contemporary flair producing an exquisite feast for your senses. Of equal importance is the value they place on their local community. They've chosen to reflect that essential connection by showcasing local artists and by giving back a portion of each sale to benefit the arts in Arlington.

Artistan Confections now has a retail store at 4815-B Lee Highway, Arlington, VA. 22207
Phone: 703-239-0616

HISTORIC NEW DEAL ERA MURALS EXHIBITED AT CENTRAL LIBRARY

Arlington Shares Recently Restored Murals with the Public at Eye-level

September 26, 2005 - Fall 2006

View Auriel Bessemer’s historic New Deal-era murals, on loan from the United States Postal Service during the restoration of Arlington’s Main Post Office. Bessemer (1909–1986) was commissioned by the Treasury Department’s Section of Fine Art to paint Historical and Industrial Scenes – Sketches of Virginia for the Main Post Office in Clarendon as part of a national effort to beautify new federal buildings. This is a rare opportunity to view the murals at eye-level since they were installed at the post office in 1940. The murals were restored this summer by the Fine Art Conservation Group in New York City and will be reinstalled in the Main Post Office fall 2006.

As a public commission, Bessemer was encouraged to depict imagery emblematic of national ideals and local history. His paintings are therefore significant artifacts of our national history and also symbolize the strengthening of Arlington’s identity in the 1930s and 40s. When the new post office opened, it became a unifying entity that identified Arlington as a distinct county, rather than an agglomeration of neighborhoods. Bessemer’s murals contributed to this objective by illustrating local destinations with which residents could identify, such as Great Falls and Roosevelt Island. By focusing on such themes, Bessemer added to the sense of local pride and created what is probably Arlington’s first work of public art.

This exhibition was sponsored by Arlington Cultural Affairs, Public Art Program, Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources and Keating Partners with support from the Arlington County Department of Libraries and the United States Postal Service.

Dreamer: an Eyrie Perch, with Austin Thomas
Installed in Clarendon Park, next to the Clarendon Metro, for the next year
Artist Austin Thomas will be in the structure, September 9, 6 – 10 p.m. 703-228-7710

Dreamer, an Eyrie Perch, pictured at right, is one of New York artist Austin Thomas' many perches, functional architectural structures that fuse public art with civic space. Featured in this year's Corcoran Biennial, it will be installed in Clarendon Park for the next year. Visitors are invited to explore the structure, which, the artist says, "acts as a catalyst for discovery, conversation and contemplation". Thomas' perches are incomplete without interaction between audience and artwork, and visitors are invited to observe their surroundings from a lofty vantage point upon the artwork, which is suggested in the work's title, "Eyrie", an elevated house or nest.

Over the past five years, New York-based artist Austin Thomas has been building a series of architectural structures known as Perches. Perches are both functional and aesthetic objects, combining skilled craftsmanship with elements of mid-century design. Inspired by outdoor patio furniture plans from the 1950s, Thomas's stained, wooden gazebo-esque sculptures were first placed within an interior context — that of a gallery/museum space — thus altering their original intention. During their exhibition, Thomas has baked pies and cakes, hosted tea parties, or shared a beer with visitors and passersby, inviting them to "perch." These open and informal exchanges between artist and spectator dislocate the traditional experience of artwork and act more as spaces of potentiality. Part salon/part tea party, Thomas cultivates a practice that extends beyond the object itself to allow a space for pause and reflection, embrace a spirit of hospitality, intimacy, and intellectual rigor within the domain of the art space.