Vastu ♥’s Art
Art is one of those design elements that can really take a space from nice to amazing! It’s also an element that our designers take into consideration when working on a client’s space. Check out how we’ve used art in past projects!
Brian Petro - Church Street Flat
MidCity Artists Fall Open Studios
Who are the Midcity Artists?
They are a diverse and talented group of around 40 professional artists who have come together for the purpose of promoting their art and the Dupont/Logan neighborhoods in the city they call home.
What is Open Studios?
Open Studios is a bi-annual event that allows the public to see where the artists based in the Midcity neighborhood create and get first-hand look at their most current work. This year’s Fall Open Studios event is Saturday, October 22nd and Sunday, October 23rd.
Be sure to stop by Vastu to check out the work of Brian Petro and Colin Winterbottom.
Brian Petro
Colin Winterbottom
Click here to download the map to start planning your walking tour of the various studios.
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To keep up with Midcity Artists, check out their Facebook page
or follow them on Twitter.
Brian Petro’s Showhouse Debut
Vastu art dealer, Brian Petro was recently on tv alongside Eric Kole. Okay, well, Brian wasn’t physically there, but some of his art was!
In charge of finding new and exciting art and artists to showcase in our showroom, Brian has been a friend of Vastu’s for quite some time. He occasionally has exhibitions in our space and you can even seee him at work during one of the many open studios that occur throughout the year.
For his episode of HGTV’s Showhouse Showdown, Eric used three of Brian’s pieces from his Grocery series. They beautifully adorned the wall in the family room and looked great next to the Finland Sectional and Bowie Swivel Chairs from Steven Anthony and the Saarinen coffee tables from Knoll.
Read more about Brian Petro’s Grocery series in this past Design Clique post and be sure to stop by Vastu as Brian is offering 30% off of any purchase of work that’s in his studio. Call for appointments – (202) 270-7352. The studio is here at Vastu – 1829 14th street, NW, Washington DC. Hours are 11 am to 7 tues-sat, sunday 12-5.
Buying local… ART!
This weekend is the summer Midcity Artists Open Studios event. Not only does this annual event allow you to tour the studios of local artists, you can also support these artists by buying local.
What is the concept behind buying local?
These days, it’s very common for people to go to the farmers market to “buy local” products, which have been produced or grown in close proximity to where they live. But do people buy local because they care about the way the products have been treated or because in so doing, they can also sustain and grow the local economy of their neighbors?
Artist Statement: Brian Petro
Vastu welcomes back Brian Petro with one of his most exciting bodies of artworks.
Brian shared that, based from his studies of homeless peoples scavenging practices in Central Pennsylvania and in New York City, he dumpster dives to find cast-off bodega and supermarket signs and discarded denim to create his new series of work. Above is one of 2 styles that presently hanging in Vastu, and will be on display through mid-January.
For more on the current art exhibit, click here.
New art exhibit featuring Hans Kline and Brian Petro
Vastu is pleased to welcome Hans Kline for his first show at Vastu called bad art: {iconograffiti}. Regarding his work, Kline asks the questions…
What defines an icon? A lasting brand? Is it on purpose or a white lie that goes unchallenged? I want to discuss why certain details become larger than life, usually eclipsing, and often misquoting, their origin. More directly: is jesus an alligator you can wear on your shirt?
Brian Petro’s show Cranial Denim explores scavenged denim thrust into hand-built wooden frames, then slathered with paint and polyurethane. The texture conjures up the thousands of folds of a human brain. What are thoughts, and why do we have them?
When:
Nov 9, 2010 – Jan 16, 2011
Where:
Vastu
1829 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-234-8344
Work by Hans Kline
Midcity Artists Open Studios
Who are the Midcity Artists?
They are a diverse and talented group of nearly 40 professional artists who have come together for the purpose of promoting their art and the Dupont/Logan neighborhoods in the city they call home.
What is Open Studios?
Open Studios is a bi-annual event that allows the public to see where the artists based in the Midcity neighborhood create and get first-hand look at their most current work. This year’s fall Open Studios event is Saturday, November 6th and Sunday, November 7th.
Be sure to stop by Vastu to check out the work of Brian Petro and Colin Winterbottom.
Click here to download the map to start planning your walking tour of the various studios.
___________________________________________________________
To keep up with Midcity Artists, check out their Facebook page
or follow them on Twitter.
Mid City Artists Open Studios
The upcoming Mid City Artists Open Studios event promises to be the biggest open studios tour ever with 27 local DC artists participating. On May 22 – 23, take a walking tour of some of the artist studios located in the District’s Mid City neighborhood.
Not familiar with the Mid City Artists or this event? The artists are a diverse and talented group of about 40 professionals who have come together for the purpose of promoting their art and the Mid City (Dupont / Logan / U Street) neighborhood they call home. The lack of industrial space in DC makes large, open warehouse space for studios hard to come by, so these local artists have carved out niches in unexpected ways. The twice-yearly open studios event allows visitors to see where the artists create and get a look at their most current work.
Be sure to plan your walk ahead of time! Click here to download your map. And, be sure to stop by Vastu to check out the work of Brian Petro and Colin Winterbottom. Their studios are located on our lower level.
More on Brian Petro’s work…
Above is a photo Brian Petro shared with us – it’s his New York City studio about mid-way through the construction/creation of the pieces in the series presently hanging in Vastu. To see these pieces in person, just stop by the showroom during store hours. These works will be up through mid-April.
Artist statement: Brian Petro
Vastu is currently presenting work by Brian Petro that was made within the last five months. This body of work stems from the lessons learned from Sammy Hodis, his 14 year observance of public and private art collections, carpentry skills from his father, and utilizing one of his favorite pastimes – dumpster diving in New York City. Read more
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