A Curator's Walkthrough of You Are Here: Washington DC At The Dorian Grey Gallery

Image via Complex Original

Washington, DC isn't known on a national scale for its vibrant art scene. However, a recent surge in the number of independent galleries and art fairs has been aiming to change that. These events run the gamut from street art to fine art, yet the city's culture scene has still failed to surpass the shadow of big government and ongoing political strife.

Hoping to place some of the District's emerging talent in the context of a larger art world, curator Danielle Vu aspires to highlight work by DC-based artists in the exhibit You Are Here: Washington DC at the Dorian Grey Gallery in New York's East Village. The collective works hope to make a statement about artists who are forced to carve their own niche in a city where a creative economy is often overlooked in favor of the larger political machinations and power struggles that coarse through the town's veins.

Curator Danielle Vu highlighted some of the pieces in the exhibition as well as the artists who created them. Check them out in our gallery.

You Are Here: Washington DC
October 15 – November 13, 2011
Opening reception: October 15, 6–9 p.m.

Dorian Grey Gallery
437 E. 9th Street, NYC
Tuesday to Sunday 12–7 p.m.

Lily DeSaussure, Cart Away, 2008

Cotton Embroidery Floss on Paper, 30” x 22”

DeSaussure’s work is so beautiful in the sense all her pieces are immensely personal and she is quite literally revealing her heart in her work. Although known for her drawings, DeSaussure did a series of embroidered pieces that document the disintegration of her first marriage. The white-on-white use of embroidery floss creates more of an impression than a distinct image and gives the work a textural, almost sculptural quality. 

Ryan Florig, Snow Fire, 2009

Digital Image on Matte Paper, 11” x 14”

New to the fine art world, Florig is a personal friend of mine whose work I have really loved and believed in and I am happy to be able to give him a viable platform to launch his career. He specializes in street photography and I admire the skill it takes to see and process an image as it unpredictably unfolds before your eyes. This photograph was taken during the intense East Coast blizzard of 2009 and the mix of the burning fire and the falling snow make a gorgeous image. 

Marissa Long, Fake Flowers, 2011

C-Print, 16” x 20”

“Perception vs. Reality” was the initial theme of this art show and Long’s photographs embody that theme perfectly. In this photo, she placed plexiglass with images of flowers to overlap the bouquet of real flowers. The photograph asks viewers which are the fakes and which are real but ultimately does it really matter? The bold, vivid colors in this photograph are especially appealing to me. The subject is delicate, but the colors scream for attention.  

Joey Manlapaz, Propped (Mardi Gras), 2004

Oil on Linen, 46” x 40”

I wanted Manlapaz’s work in the show because she depicts Washington DC in a very objective sense. The photo-realistic quality of her portraits and the detail presented is truly amazing. Her series of window reflections are reminiscent of taking a leisurely stroll through DC neighborhoods and reflecting both literary and figuratively on yourself and your surroundings.   

Alexa Meade, Exposure (Portrait of a Self-Portrait), 2009

Chromogenic print on Fuji Crystal Archive paper, 16” x 20”

To really enjoy Meade’s pieces, one must see them in its full installation form, but sadly the gallery is too small to encompass them so we are showing prints of her installations instead. The brilliance behind her work is rooted in the illusion of what the viewer sees. This print is a “self-portrait” but it’s really a photograph of her painting herself to look 2-dimensional. Her hair is the only thing in this photograph that dictates the story behind the photograph.

Adrian Parsons 10.31.2010a, 2011

Ultrachrome K3 Pigment Print, 40” x 60”

Parsons is fairly controversial in the DC art world for some um… choice artistic performances but this piece speaks volumes on what an agile artist he really is. He grabbed the New York Times travel section, coated it in petroleum jelly, and then scanned it to juxtapose the text and the image. The inherent framing of the image gives it a cinematic-like quality and this piece echoes Fellini films, which is far removed from some other works Parsons is known for.

Trevor Young, Social Observer 2007

Oil on canvas, 60” x 60”

Young’s work generally are depictions of hauntingly isolated, urban landscapes. His works rarely feature people but instead showcase places like gas stations or in this work, an empty bedroom. The bedroom is brightly colored however the mood and atmosphere of the work is very somber and it’s as if that room harbors many secrets. It’s a contemporary take that echoes Edward Hopper and Young executes it beautifully.