Weekly Art Lens by Beth Shook

Prince Of Petworth May 10, 2011 at 11:00am

We Are Monsters at Pleasant Plains Workshop. Photo courtesy Steve Loya.

Old Fashioned New Media at Flashpoint: So far May seems to be a big month for technology-oriented art in D.C. This Friday, Flashpoint presents four conceptual and installation artists who work with technologies ranging from telegraph machines to overhead projectors to surveillance cameras. They may work in different mediums, but Andy Holtin and Chandi Kelley (both D.C.-based), as well as Jamie O’Shea and Christine Buckton Tillman, share an interest in the “development of tools used to document our lives and communicate.” On view May 13 to June 11. Opening reception on May 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. Metro: Gallery Place – Chinatown.

Cold Light: Bioluminescent Evolution at The Fridge: The latest exhibition at The Fridge also merges science and art, but focuses away from human interaction. “Cold Light” is the exploration of three D.C.-based artists into fluorescence and bioluminescence, or the light given off by living things. By shining UV light on to his scenes, Jeremy Tidd photographs wintry landscapes through the eyes of some of the creatures that inhabit it. Beth Hansen creates “sculptural creatures” in fabric that only manifest themselves under certain light conditions. I’m looking forward to Katie Schuler’s paintings of bioluminescent organisms, especially after seeing her educational (and pretty adorable) video “Andy the Anglerfish” online. On view May 14 to June 5. Added bonus: there will be a “scientist talk” on May 28 from 3 to 5 p.m. Metro: Eastern Market.

We Are Monsters at Pleasant Plains Workshop: Pleasant Plains Workshop is a relatively new printing studio and gallery space on Georgia Ave., but their current show of monster-inspired art is receiving a good amount of local attention. With 20 artists participating, including Adam Dwight & Dana Maier, who just rounded out a show at Flashpoint, the monsters are all over the place — on display are paintings, works on papers, sculptures, collages and dolls. While the presentation is modest (some of the works are suspended from binder clips attached to pushpins), the artists’ approaches to the “monster” theme are often interesting and unexpected. On view until June 4. Metro: Columbia Heights or Metrobus: 70/71.

Recent Photography Acquisitions at the Corcoran Gallery: The Corcoran has continued to accumulate a phenomenal collection of photography in recent years. This summer they’ll have on view works recently acquired from Washington Center for Photography founder Sharon Keim and an anonymous donor, including some by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alex Webb, Brett Weston and Barbara Crane. For those normally deterred by the admission fee, keep in mind that the museum’s “Free Summer Saturdays” start in two weeks. On view May 14 to Aug. 28. Metro: Farragut West or Farragut North.

Short list:: Windows and Paper at Foundry Gallery; Nancy Cohen: Estuary and Other Landscape-Inspired Work at the Textile Museum; New Work by Hamiltonian Fellows at Hamiltonian Gallery; The Infinite Reduced to 2968 at the Washington Project for the Arts.