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by Cara Ober, BmoreArt.com
BmoreArt: Before settling in Washington, DC, you lived all over the world. Can you talk about how your family and upbringing has impacted your life as an artist?
My family is from the Caribbean – primarily from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Antigua, West Indies. I was born in Puerto Rico, raised in Arlington, Virginia, and have lived in Washington, DC for the last 20 years.
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Sofiya Ballin, http://www.philly.com
The African American Museum in Philadelphia is giving us another chance to see the i found god in myself: the 40th anniversary of Ntozake Shange for colored girls exhibit. But this is your last chance to go see it. And you should definitely go.
The show celebrates the 40th anniversary of Ntozake Shange’s award-winning for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, the landmark poem and play featuring women of color, represented by various hues, reciting monologues that touch on race, gender, sexuality, and love.
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Amber Robles-Gordon's piece, "my rainbow is enuf," is part of the exhibit. Photo by Dianne Smith, courtesy of Robles-Gordon.
by Lian Parson, www.theavenuephilly.com
When “i found god in myself: the 40th anniversary for Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls” exhibit premiered, Shange herself attended to view the 20 original works curated by Peter “Souleo” Wright.
By then, she had suffered two strokes and was in a wheelchair. But when she saw the life-size portrait of herself by painter Margaret Rose Vendryes, Shange tried to get out of her wheelchair to show how the tattoos on her body perfectly matched the ones in the painting.
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http://artapedia.com/
Read MoreBy Mark Jenkins, Washington Post
F. Scott Fitzgerald, group portraits and that R.E.M song. Lottery tickets, gentrification and a fast-food sign. These are among the artifacts and phenomena that define Rockville and D.C., respectively, in exhibitions that seek to reveal something of those places’ characters. The titles are telling. VisArts’s “(Come Back to) Rockville!” is a pep-squad cheer; Honfleur Gallery’s “How We Lost D.C.” is a blues lament.
Read MoreBYT Staff, https://brightestyoungthings.com
March is Women’s History Month. Throughout the month we be profiled D.C. based women you should know. Amy Morse, the founder of Ideas Club, headed the project. Today she profiles Amber Robles-Gordon.
Amber is a D.C.-based changemaker who turns big ideas into visual art. Her work, which ranges from 50-foot banners draped on D.C. buildings, to installation art and mixed media assemblages, addresses global consumerism, gender imbalance and other major social cultural themes. Through the symbolic use of materials and their interactions, she exploratory meditations on her work read like spiritual healing practice. Her vantage point is unique, academically grounded (MFA in painting from Howard University), and incredibly beautiful. For those who enjoy interacting with creative nonfiction cultural critiques, she is a gem in D.C. of social commentary, drawing from an intuitive connection to herself and her spiritual practice.
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Examiner.com
A talented group of creatives from the DC area are showing their work in the Prizm Art Fair at Art Basel Miami. Prizm is a curated exhibition founded in 2013 by Mikhaile Solomon, a Miami-based designer, arts advocate and producer. According to Solomon, the mission of Prizm is to promote artists of color and “expand the spectrum of international artists from the African Diaspora and emerging markets at one of the most prestigious art festivals in the world.”
The Prizm Art Fair, located at the Miami Center For Architecture And Design (100 NE 1st Avenue), is one of many events held during Art Basel week - an international showcase for contemporary art featuring over 300 distinguished galleries and attracting an estimated 80,000 visitors.
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www.bvipropertyyacht.com/vi-bvi/
Two years ago, Virgin Islands Property and Yacht magazine interviewed famous local artist Joseph Hodge, unveiling his artistic finesse and wealth of experience to our readers. It is of little surprise that his bloodline has conceived more talented individuals in cousin Amber Robles-Gordon, a mixed media sculptor and installation artist, who has recently discovered several of her relatives, including Joseph Hodge via our technological accessibility to the globe.
Read MoreSeven artists from DC have been invited to participate in the Prizm Art Fair and we need your help to get there! The Selected Artists: Holly Bass, Wesley Clark, Jamea Richmond-Edwards, Shaunte Gates, Amber Robles-Gordon, Adrienne Gaither and Stan Squirewell.
In recent years, DC artists, collectors and gallerists have been making the pilgrimage to Art Basel Miami Beach in ever-growing numbers. With 260 leading galleries participating and over 50,000 people in attendance, Art Basel Miami is one of the most highly exposed art fairs in North America. This year a group of 7 Black artists will be showing work together at the Prizm Art Fair, along with other jury-selected American and international artists. This is an incredible opportunity, not only as artists but as ambassadors of DC’s contemporary art scene.
Read MoreNo, not every deserving artist gets their first taste of attention through one of the art world's largest platforms such as the legendary Art Basel show, or the Frieze Art Fair. In particular, African-American artists and other artists of color are still working towards greater visibility in the highest spheres of the rarified art community. Thus, there can never be too many lists bringing attention to the abundance of talented creators on the cusp of discovery who are ready to emerge.
Here are the fresh faces and more established visionaries still gaining ground that you need to know in 2014. The African diasporan artists compiled in the photo gallery above carry forth the traditions set in motion by visual artists from significant eras such as the Harlem Renaissance and Black Arts Movement, yet speak with new images and forms that lead us into the future
Amber Robles-Gordon, an accomplished mixed media artist, is a featured participant in this year's Prizm Art Fair (Marquis Miami, 1100 Biscayne Blvd.). Prizm is one of many exhibitions held during Miami Art Basel, one of the most prestigious art festivals in the world. The Prizm Art Fair is a collaborative effort between Mikhaile Solomon, a designer and arts advocate, and Marie Vickles, an independent curator and arts educator. Solomon created Prizm to expand the spectrum of international artists from the African Diaspora and promote the work of artists of color.
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All art works are in no specific order please go to each artist website and buy their art and support .. please tell a friend | Brothers Perspective Carefully studies Art that we feel is relevant to our websites and blogs.
#loveart #cultureart #repost #reblog
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Three works from Hair Apparent, Athenaeum *No Me Without You* (left) Emilia Olsen and Sara Winston, photography;* Composition 337*, (center) Dagmara Weinberg, photography and image manipulation; * ** Sauvage*, (right) Kate Kretz, human hair embroidery on hair
Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association, Athenaeum Gallery
*Hair Apparent* is a multimedia exhibit including sculpture, photography, assemblage, and performance. The show explores artists' relationships with hair referencing cultural perception, myth, ritual, and memory - and reflections on a private asset as a public statement.
Represented in *Hair Apparent* are Holly Bass - performance Shelly Bell - spoken word poetry Emily Biondo - sculpture installation Stephanie Booth - photography, video, hair embroidery Caryl Burtner - assemblage Kate Kretz - human hair embroidery Emilia Olson - photography, works on paper Betsy Packard - sculpture, assemblage, Amber Robles-Gordon - sculpture installation, Danielle Scruggs - photography Dagmara Weinberg - photography, image manipulation, Sara Winston - photography
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Washington’s newest arts enclave isn’t tucked away in Georgetown, or even on burgeoning H Street. It’s east of the river, in Anacostia. The area — once known as Nacotchtank, after the first Native American settlers of the region — has a long history of creative expression. Go-go music was born here; graffiti by street artists such as BK Adams (the man behind all those I AM ART wheatpasted posters around the city) dot the walls of buildings. But unlike Shaw, with its recently reopened Howard Theatre, or H Street, anchored by the refurbished , Anacostia has lacked the arts infrastructure to draw visitors.
That is changing. In the past five years or so, a handful of small-but-vibrant galleries have sprung up, complemented by a smattering of new public art pieces and festivals celebrating a homegrown arts scene. LUMEN8Anacostia, a wide-ranging fest that ran over three months this spring, brought dozens of artists, performers and temporary arts spaces together and received encouraging media coverage.
“Anacostia is emerging as a cultural hub,” says Josef Palermo, who works with the Pink Line Project, a group that organizes events promoting local arts across D.C. Palermo moved to Anacostia in 2008. “At the time, there were not a lot of restaurants, really no nightlife to speak of,” he recalls. “Now, a revitalization is taking place.”
That energy comes, in part, from a flurry of investment by groups such as the ARCH Development Corporation. The organization, founded in 1991 to help the area’s homeless, has increasingly put resources into local arts to infuse new life into the neighborhood. It sponsors three closely clustered galleries — Honfleur Gallery, Vivid Solutions and Blank Space SE — along with HIVE, a shared workspace for freelancers. “We want to draw on local and international resources,” says Phil Hutinet, chief operating officer of ARCH. “We want to showcase what will really become the future arts district of the city.”
That means highlighting works by artists such as Amber Robles-Gordon, a sculptor and mixed-media artist. Robles-Gordon has lived in Anacostia for 15 years. “For me, there’s an energy that I get from the area,” she says. When she paints on her porch, children scurry up and ask what she’s doing. Every once in awhile, she scours her neighborhood for old fliers and scrap paper, pieces she recycles into her own work.
Not long ago, Robles-Gordon — who’s shown at several international galleries — had to travel to Northwest or even into Maryland to show her work locally and connect with other artists. With galleries such as Honfleur as an anchor, that’s shifting. “Now, more of us know about each other,” she says. “You have a working-class group of people more like a creative class. It’s about us coming together and finding each other.”
Behind the Scenes at the Anacostia Community Museum Though the Anacostia Community Museum is undergoing renovations until July 29, it is still offering public programs — such as a behind-the-scenes tour. Guides will focus on the 45-year-old museum’s evolving role in the community.
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
1901 Fort Place SE;
July 13, 10 a.m.,
free; 202-633-4820
(Anacostia)
Citified: Arts and Creativity East of the Anacostia River The creative history of Anacostia gets spotlighted at this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival with a full schedule of events. African dancers and drummers, church choirs, hip-hop artists and go-go bands will perform, and storytellers will tell neighborhood tales. Tattoo artists will demonstrate their craft, as will members of a multigenerational quilting guild. National Mall; through July 8, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., free; 202-633-1000, Festival.si.edu. (Smithsonian)
Public Art East of the River Walking Tour Explore the history of Anacostia’s public and street art with Deidra Bell, as she leads a walking tour of neighborhood gems includ-ing Martha Jackson-Jarvis’ river-themed mosaics and Uzikee Nelson’s quirky metal sculptures, left. Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Place, SE; July 10, 10 a.m., free; 202-633-4820. (Anacostia)
Inside Outside The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with more than 5 million Americans in prison. In Washington, the numbers are even more stark: Three out of four young black men will serve time in prison. Artist Gabriela Bulisova, whose work is pictured below, chronicles the experience of the incarcerated through photography. The Gallery at Vivid Solutions, 2208 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE; July 13-Sept. 28, free; 202-365-8392. (Anacostia)
East of the River Exhibit From July 13 through Sept. 8, Honfleur Gallery will host its sixth annual local juried show, a great primer to the neighborhood’s hottest artists — with key pieces that explore the neighborhood’s social, environmental and historical challenges.
Honfleur Gallery
1241 Good Hope Road SE
Washington, DC 20020
July 13-Sept. 8,
free; 202-365-8392.
(Anacostia)
(March 28-April 27)
Every Fiber Counts
With Every Fiber of My Being is showing through late April at Honfleur Gallery in Southeast. Local artist Amber Robles-Gordon shares dozens of dream catcher-shaped sculptures made from repurposed clothing and other recycled materials.
With Every Fiber of My Being (solo exhibition)
Honfleur Gallery
1241 Good Hope Rd SE,
Washington, DC 20020
http://wamu.org/story/12/03/28/art_beat_with_sean_rameswaram_mar_28/
https://www.amberroblesgordon.com/with-every-fiber-of-my-being-2012-public-art-installation
Washington Post
Anacostia, a neighborhood once synonymous with crime and violence, now offers yoga studios and chai lattes. Young black professionals are spurring development and gentrification of Ward 8.
Amber Robles-Gordon works in the living room of her Anacostia home. Gordon earned an Master of Fine Arts degree from Howard University.
In addition to making art, Gordon teaches yoga at Anacostia’s Spirit Anacostia Health and Wellness Center. Her commute to work is 10 minutes.
Amber Robles-Gordon displays her work at the Pleasant Plains Workshop, a shared studio space on Georgia Avenue.
Bonnie Jo Mount / The Washington Post
Click here for the full article
By Mark Jenkins, The Washington Post
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In a city with a changing art scene, 10-year-old organization Black Artists of D.C. fosters a community of support and inspiration.
Amber Robles-Gordon is an African American artist who teaches yoga and pilates, organizes art workshops, and writes an art blog. “[My work is] colorful, intuitive, and abstract,” Robles-Gordon said of her art, which includes three-dimensional pieces, collages and paper mosaics.
Robles-Gordon’s work was recently featured in an exhibition at the D.C. Arts Center called “Black” that focused on artists’ personal perceptions of blackness. Her work personifies a growing black art movement in the District that is often overlooked.
A Supportive Art Family
Since 2004, Robles-Gordon, 32, has been active in Black Artists of D.C., a growing art organization with about 400 members.
“I just jumped in, and at that time there was a wonderful group, but there wasn’t a whole lot of structure,” she said of the organization, which elected her president in 2009.
Robles-Gordon has been a leader in the group since she joined, curating exhibits and publicizing the organization. She cites Black Artists of D.C. as a major support system.
“My family’s not here,” she said of relatives in her native Puerto Rico, “so I was searching not only for artists; I was also searching for family, and it was like I inherited an artistic family.”
The group, which partners with other organizations and has strong ties to Howard University, provides inspiration to Robles-Gordon and other members.
“Beyond what they gave me in terms of love and support, I also learned so much,” she said.
Read more and view interviews with artists Amber Robles-Gordon and Michael Platt, Janell Blackmon,art history professor at Howard University and Norman Parish owner of the Parish Gallery in Georgetown... http://onlinejournalismworkshop.com/artists/story.html
