Lenny Campello has spent the last few years curating the art project Women Artists of the DMV, which has grown to 18 exhibits that include 600 artists.
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These exhibits spotlight 600 female artists in DC area
An art curator and blogger is on a mission to correct what he’s perceived as a lack of representation of female artists from the D.C. area in local galleries.
Florencio “Lenny” Campello has spent the last few years curating a series of exhibits that feature artwork created by local women. His project, Women Artists of the DMV, has grown to 18 exhibits that include 600 artists.
The heart of the project is at American University’s Katzen Arts Center, where 63 pieces are on display.
“This isn’t even the largest one,” he said. “Some of these venues have over 100 artists in them.”
Campello hand selected each piece. Walking through the Women Artists of the DMV exhibition on American University on Wednesday, Campello laid out the detailed history of the artwork and the women behind it.
Many of the artists, he told WTOP, follow a similar pattern of cranking out work followed by a gap — while raising children — before returning to their creative outlet.
While it’s widely accepted that female artists are underrepresented in art galleries and museums, Campello said the issue doesn’t just have to do with their gender.
From his perspective, artists from the D.C. region are generally underrepresented in professional galleries.
A painting by Teresa Oaxaca is seen in American University’s Katzen Arts Center, where 63 pieces are on display as part of the Women Artists of the DMV project.
(WTOP/Jessica Kronzer)
WTOP/Jessica Kronzer
An oil painting by Sharon Moody is seen in the gallery at American University.
(WTOP/Jessica Kronzer)
WTOP/Jessica Kronzer
A favorite by guests has been a portrait of a young girl, titled “Olivia,” by Wendy Jones Donahoe.
(WTOP/Jessica Kronzer)
WTOP/Jessica Kronzer
An oil painting by Judith Peck, called “Coastal Communities,” hangs in the gallery at American University.
(WTOP/Jessica Kronzer)
WTOP/Jessica Kronzer
How the survey developed into 18 galleries
Two years ago, Campello announced his plans for a survey of female artists at American University on his blog. The idea caught on with local galleries who reached out to him with the hope of joining.
He received nearly 4,000 inquires from artists in the D.C. region.
“That goes to show you the amount of women in this area that consider themselves artists,” Campello said.
Over the next couple months, galleries around the D.C. region are taking part in the exhibition. Some of the venues include the Strathmore Galleries in Bethesda, Maryland, which will open its exhibit Oct. 4, and the Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel.
“I challenge anyone to go to one show and not want to go see all the other ones,” he said.
Campello breaks down his exhibition into a three-part pyramid. At the top is well known artists; below that is artists who are well established but not quite as acclaimed. The bottom, and largest, tier of the gallery is new artists.
“The real powerful part is the base of the pyramid, where I try to have as many brand new artists who have never been in a museum,” Campello said.
What’s on display
One of Campello’s favorite pieces in the exhibit at the Katzen is by Teresa Oaxaca.
“It is a super busy painting, which is all anchored, if you know art history, on a tiny little corner of the painting,” Campello said.
Oaxaca even painted the frame to match the vibrant piece. It depicts a scene within a famous renaissance painting, The Feast of the Gods.
Another standout is an oil painting by Sharon Moody that truly looks like a comic book.
“She focuses almost strictly on vintage comic books, and the way that she can depict each paper is beyond belief. It’s incredible,” Campello said.
A favorite by guests has been a portrait of a young girl, titled “Olivia,” by Wendy Jones Donahoe, who drew a child who was friends with her daughter.
“It has all the power of a real good portrait artist, which is not just to capture the likeness of the subject — which she does incredibly well — but also, even more important, a psychological signature of that person,” Campello said.
Since the gallery’s opening a few weeks ago, the artwork has resonated with visitors, including Grace Ashford, a sophomore at American University who works at the Katzen museum.
“I also love the versatility of all the artworks in here and the way that it is a lot of human beings being represented,” Ashford said. “I feel like it ties into aspects of femininity and humanity and seeing people as they are.”
Her favorite piece is an oil painting by Judith Peck called “Coastal Communities.” Ashford notes the artist’s use of color with yellow, pink, black and blue hints throughout the depiction.
“It really draws you in, and it almost portrays her essence, as well as just her physical representation, it’s also representing the complexity of her,” Ashford said.
The exhibits wrap up on different dates; the one at American University is expected to end Dec. 7. But Campello hopes to keep his project going beyond the closure.
For a full list of the venues participating, head to Women Artists of the DMV’s website.
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