At first glance, the building is fairly non-descript. Next to the oversized posters of the Studio Theater, its modern architecture and unfinished first floor blend into a street full of new developments. Those passing by don’t give it a second look. It is unmarked but for four thin, silver numbers next to its light green door: 1515.
This building is one hub of a rapidly growing contemporary art scene in the District of Columbia. Once a city largely populated by politicians and lawyers who never considered themselves locals, Washington has become a cultural center in its own right. A new generation of Washingtonians are looking for the vibrant arts scene they have experienced in other cities. After many quiet years, contemporary art galleries are starting to respond to that demand.
Today, visitors can find four of Washington’s most distinguished galleries in one building, at 1515 14th Street. They need only walk down the block to find Fusebox, which represents an impressive roster of artists, both regional and international. Around the corner, the non-profit Transformers Gallery presents alternative art that might never make it into a commercial space.
14th street is one of two major art centers emerging in D.C. The other is Dupont Circle, where galleries new and old have bonded together to present high quality contemporary art to both the local population and an international network of art collectors. They are represented by the Galleries of Dupont Circle Association, run by gallery owners, which organizes events to publicize art.
Washington residents and major international curators alike have always been lured by the vast collections of the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on the National Mall. But today, they are starting to realize that D.C.’s commercial galleries have much more exciting and innovative work to offer.
A slow start
Washington D.C. has been a destination for art aficionados since the National Gallery of Art was created in 1937. But when artists started moving from Europe to the United States midway through the 20th century, few of them settled in Washington. New York became the center of art innovation, and wealthy Washingtonians who developed an interest in art collecting made the short trip up the coast. Local artists and galleries struggled.
In the early 1960s, that started to change. Kenneth Noland, an art professor at Catholic University, and Washington-based artist Morris Louis visited New York, where they became fascinated with the work of abstract expressionist Helen Frankenthaler. That trip gave birth to the Washington Color School, the first 20th century art movement to come out of Washington-and the last. Rather than launching a local contemporary art scene, the work of Noland and Louis traveled to New York to become famous.
Most gallery owners seem to identify the political character of Washington D.C. as the biggest obstacle the art scene has faced. According to Kathleen Ewing, who founded a photography gallery in Dupont Circle in 1976, the lack of a substantial corporate presence removes one major source of art funding. For example, she said, corporations in Chicago looking to decorate their skyscrapers with cutting-edge art account for a large portion of local art sales.
Lenny Campello, co-owner of the Fraser Gallery, which has branches in both Georgetown and Bethesda, Maryland, suggests a deeper problem may exist. In his day-to-day interactions, he said, he has observed that while most Washingtonians are well-educated, they know little about art. “These are people who one generation ago came from blue collar families where art just wasn’t important,” he said. “They think of it as something foreign and out of their reach.”
Campello said some locals have what he called “gallery phobia.” The Bethesda branch is glass on three sides, allowing pedestrians to see the art without stopping in the gallery. But Campello said even those who want to come in seem to be afraid to do so. “They’re like sharks circling around it. Sometimes they even stand in the door … but it’s like a Star Trek forcefield, they just won’t step in,” he said.
Georgetown Professor Martin Irvine, owner of Irvine Contemporary Art in Dupont Circle, agreed that education is the key to unlocking the Washington contemporary art scene. “People in Washington aren’t as exposed to art as in, say, New York, where you can’t avoid culture,” he said. Irvine is the founder of Georgetown’s graduate program in Communication, Culture and Technology.
Irvine added that this cultural absence may create a psychological barrier to actually buying art. “They think nothing of buying another car for $35,000,” he said of many locals. “People feel like they might lack the confidence to purchase art.”
Moving into new territory
A few ambitious gallery owners are setting out to deconstruct that barrier, and their work is starting to change the image of Washington arts on the international stage. They want Washington artists to have a voice, but they also want museum curators, private art collectors and artists to know that Washington is an aggregation point for high-quality art from all over the world.
From the independent music club Black Cat to the Studio Theater, by the end of the 1990s, the new 14th street had clearly established itself as an arts destination. Large warehouses and former car washes provide spaces perfect for contemporary art. Loft-style apartment buildings are going up left and right, giving residents a place to put newly purchased works.
But it was not until September 2001 that Sarah Finlay opened the first major contemporary art gallery in the 14th street corridor. The gallery, called Fusebox, has been a critical success. Within a few years, Finlay said, she has been able to establish relationships with younger collectors in the area, as well as with the curators at the Hirshhorn, the Smithsonian’s only museum that focuses on modern and contemporary art.
Finlay’s success has had a direct impact on the Washington scene. “Fusebox made this area habitable in terms of art,” said Annie Gawlak, whose G Fine Arts was the first to move into the 1515 Arts building.
One developer’s dream
Giorgio Furioso, a real estate developer who built 1515 14th street, made 14th street a destination for those seeking contemporary art. He was responding, he said, to the dispersal of galleries in Washington. “Galleries tend to go where they can get the best deal, and that’s not necessarily all in the same place,” he said.
His model, he said, was a building in SoHo, in New York, that housed four major galleries during the abstract expressionism movement. He wanted this building on 14th street because, he said, it is one of the last streets in the District that feels truly urban. “When you walk down 14th street you don’t feel like you’re in the capital,” he said.
Next link in the chain
Finlay and Furioso may have launched the 14th street scene, but other galleries have been making similar waves. In Dupont Circle, Martin Irvine is taking an active approach to putting Washington on the map in terms of art. A longtime resident of Washington, he had been art dealing privately 17 years. “But the last five have been really interesting,” he said. “I saw the opportunity to connect Washington to the national and international artworld.”
In line with that thinking, he recently hired an eight-year veteran of the New York art scene as associate director of the gallery. Before joining Irvine, Heather Russell had worked at two New York art galleries and the auction goliath Sotheby’s.
But Irvine’s ambitions extend beyond his own gallery. In the network of the artworld, he said, there exist certain nodes-New York and London are the largest today. These nodes bring together resources, infrastructure and actors to produce innovative contemporary art. Irvine said his goal is that Washington will become such an “attraction point.”
One of the ways that Irvine can fuel this kind of growth is by helping young people with disposable income to learn about art. His gallery offers an “art advising” service, which helps potential art buyers to create a “cohesive” collection, according to the gallery’s website. Irvine encourages young professionals to view art as an investment that is meaningful and lasting. His ultimate goal, he said, is to help create a generation of art collectors that has not previously existed in Washington.
Irvine isn’t alone in Dupont Circle. Since 1999, the Leigh Conner has been running the successful Conner Contemporary Art. Conner isn’t out to revolutionize the Washington scene-when asked why she chose to sell art in D.C., she said, “You can see the sky.” Nevertheless, this straightforward, competent woman is bringing world-renowned art to the District and, at the same time, sending her artists’ work to the major art fairs and into the homes of major collectors.
Conner’s second-floor gallery is open, well-lit and appealing. Conner said she strives to bring in work that is “challenging,” and the Academy show that ends Aug. 27 is no exception. The show exhibits the best work of recent graduates from area art schools. From a set of mouse coffins to a painting in the tradition of the Washington Color School, the art is exciting and innovative. “You can learn a lot by following her artists,” Irvine said.
The city responds
While these gallery owners have been pushing Washington onto the international stage, the city may be changing to better support a contemporary art scene. Standing on 14th street on a Tuesday afternoon, you won’t see tired bureaucrats coming home from work. Young hipsters are walking down the street sporting the requisite baseball tees and messenger bags, and the P Street Whole Foods is packed. “This is the type of neighborhood where you look for artists and art galleries,” said Gawlak.
The government is employing fewer people in the District, leaving room for the private sector and the different kinds of people it draws. According to the D.C. Department of Employment Services, private sector employment increased 15 percent between 1993 and 2004, while government employment decreased by 20 percent. Hemphill observed, “Washington is a destination for many people now in terms of their career development.”
According to Jesse Cohen, a local artist who runs an online art forum, this new demographic is excited about the arts. Cohen described a recent opening for a group exhibition in Maryland.
“Tons of people showed up for the opening, at least 200 to 250 people,” he said. “A lot of people were new to the area, looking for the same energy that they’ve seen in other areas.”
It is not just the newcomers who are bringing an increased interest in art and expression. According to Hemphill, a change is easy to see in even in D.C.’s traditional residents. Ten years ago, he said, if you walked into the parking garage of a Washington law firm, you would see nothing but black town cars. Today, he said, the same lawyers are buying colorful sports cars. “You’re seeing a much more expressive society developing here,” he said.
Hemphill suggested that this change was brought on by a change in Washingtonian’s values. Ten years ago, he said, the rich and powerful in Washington had come of age in the consumer-oriented 1940s and 1950s. “Now predominantly, the people who run the city are people who are children of the 60s and 70s,” he said. An emphasis on free expression during those decades may have created a generation that is fundamentally more open to innovative art.
Conner also argued that the population of Washington is ready to support a vibrant contemporary art scene. “People aren’t looking for something just to decorate their homes, they’re looking for a lifestyle,” she said. “Art collecting is a passion, it’s myopic.”
Synergy
Whatever the reasons, there is no question that Washington’s art scene is undergoing a change. Most gallery owners feel that a “critical mass” of galleries and artists now exists, so that the energy in the scene will not soon diminish.
More importantly, many are seeing the beginning of institutional change. Local media coverage of the scene has been, and remains, “miserable,” according to Fraser Gallery co-owner Campello. However, a traditionally distant relationship between Washington’s nationally oriented art museums and local galleries is starting to warm up. Jacquelyn Serwer, chief curator at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, said Washington galleries are definitely on her radar. “We love the gallery scene now, I think it’s as vibrant as it’s ever been,” she said.
Serwer noted that the Corcoran, which also encompasses a well-known art school and a nonprofit organization called the Washington Project for the Arts, has always had a closer relationship with local artists than other area museums. But she commented that curators at other museums also seem to be taking notice. In 2003, the Hirshhorn Museum showed a solo exhibition of Washington-based sculptor Dan Steinhilber. “For many years that was unheard of,” Serwer said.
Today, gallery owners say, it’s normal to see an area curator at a local gallery. Fusebox’s Finlay commented that she’s been “lucky” to have a positive relationship with the HIrshhorn. Adamson said she also has noticed an increase in curator interest in her gallery.
Both gallery owners and artists acknowledge that the District has a long way to go before it can compete with New York or Miami. But major artists are talking to Washington gallery owners like Irving and Conner. Gallery owners are joining together in one building on 14th street. And curators are starting to present local work to a national audience. A glimmer of synergy is visible.
