MidCity Artists – Spring Open Studios | May 18th & 19th
The time has come again for the MidCity Artists Open Studios!
Tour the neighborhood and visit with local artists in their own studios. Here at Vastu, you can chat with and see works from Colin Winterbottom and Brian Petro.
Click the link below for a map of this weekends’ participants:
And if you have a smartphone, click here or the main image above for a mobile-friendly app.
New Art Exhibit: Brian Petro
Brian Petro
Vastu again welcomes artist Brian Petro back to our walls March 25th through early June. From classic floral and sculptural imagery in his signature transfer style, to his fresh new chunky oil paint abstracts and scrawled quirky painted drawings, Brian elicits comfort, joy, and humor in this show.
"bois and girlz"
His work represents his wandering and wondering mind. He credits his style to the dichotomy between his supportive, rural, central-Pennsylvanian upbringing and the brutal independence of urban life. Global travel and urban exploration fuel his search for images, ideas and processes.
"pink"
Brian is presently represented by galleries in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Rehoboth Beach. His work is also on display in venues in Brazil, England, Italy and Hong Kong. Past commercial clients include Absolut Vodka (who commissioned Brian to design the Absolut Dupont Circle Ad), The Ritz Carlton Hotels, Saks Fifth Avenue, and The Library of Congress. Brian has been published in regional and national news magazines and newspapers, and he and his work have been featured on several television shows including HGTV’s Curb Appeal and Showhouse Showdown
"used car"
To see more samples of his art and to learn more about Brian, please visit www.brianpetro.com, see him on YouTube.
To arrange a tour of Brian’s studio, located in the lower showroom here at Vastu, please contact him directly at (202) 270-7352 or brianpetroartist@yahoo.com.
Mid City Artists “Fall Open Studios” This Weekend
It’s that time of the season again for the Fall Open Studios hosted by the Mid City Artists. This is a great opportunity to support local art and visit various artists in their own studios.
Photography by Colin Winterbottom
Here at Vastu we have artists Colin Winterbottom and Brian Petro. You can visit their studios (located in our lower showroom) from 12pm to 6:30pm on Saturday, October 13th and 12pm to 4:30pm on Sunday, October 14th.
Art by Brian Petro
Vastu will be open on Saturday, October 13th from 11am-7pm and Sunday, October 14th from 12pm-5pm.
Almost Gone…
There are only 6 more days left to stop by the Vastu showroom and see work by local artist and Vastu art director, Brian Petro, up close and personal. Taking pieces from his Supermarket Series and Roman Series, Brian showcases his talent as well as his versatility with materials and methods.
"Grand Roma"
All of Brian’s pieces are for sale.
Please see or call a Vastu designer for availability and pricing.
Spring Open Studios from the Mid City Artists
A press release recently went out about this fun event held twice a year:
“Mark your calendars for the weekend of May 19 and 20 when twenty-one artists who are part of the “Mid City Artists” collaborative, will open their studio doors as part of The Mid City Artists Spring Open Studios Tour. This bi-annual event in DC’s “Mid-City” – in and around the Dupont Circle and Logan Circle neighborhoods – offers a special opportunity for art-lovers to take a peek into the artists’ creative process, connect personally with artists and learn more about how and where they make art, and purchase art as well. The participating artists represent a great diversity of work, including drawings, sculptures, paintings, prints, photographs and mixed media.”
Here at Vastu, we’re pleased to house studios for Mid City Artists Brian Petro and Colin Winterbottom, the former of which has a show currently hanging in our showroom.
So come out this weekend, explore the neighborhood and meet and support some local artists!
Vastu will be open on Saturday, May 19th from 11am-7pm and Sunday, May 20th from 12pm-5pm.
Download a walking map of the studios here.
New Art Exhibit: Brian Petro
Brian Petro is no stranger to Vastu. As our art director, and resident artist, he works to find amazing art to hang up in our gallery and this exhibit is all from him! Taking pieces from his Supermarket Series and his Roman Series, Brian shows us the broad range of styles he’s able to work in.
Supermarket Series
“This series incorporates supermarket and bodega window signs (often found in nearby dumpsters), spray paint, polyurethane, oilbar, spray adhesive, and oil paint on sections of wooden doors. I love resurrecting and honoring rubbish into a style that warms and cheers the heart, and evoke humor and joy from images of simple items we enjoy every day.”
London Broil & Bananas - 36.5" x 80.5"
Roman Series
“This body of work simplifies the complexity and range of the Romans’ ability to glean psycho/social/artistic developments from other cultures abroad, and condense and improve them to create an existence much greater than the sum of its parts. The distant stares and stark composition of the sculptural busts evoke the focused cogitation of melding and merging the many facets of the ancient Roman way. Each artwork is an original photographic polymer transfer on acid-free archival paper utilizing images captured on film and printed with a 4 color press. “
Roman Youth, Red/Blue - 24" x 32"
WHERE:
Vastu
1829 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20009
202.234.8344
WHEN:
[UPDATE] May 14th, 2012 – July 15th, 2012 July 22nd, 2012
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?
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