In Dale Alward’s art, the idea becomes imbedded with the painting—watching and reporting on the battle between the images and the pigment—and emerges in a new form in the flow of color and contrast.

In his show, “The Alchemist and the Chambermaid,” Alward is looking for a new balance between subject and paint. He “pushes paint around,” with a few preconceived ideas and lets the subjects happen.

It’s a battle between the alchemist who is out to create the grand illusion and the chambermaid, who cleans up the thoughts and actions of the illusionist and holds him accountable.

Alward is truly fighting himself here. The struggle is between two personas—the dreamer and the doubter. Recognizable images, the stories, fight to be the determinist but may end up being incidental fragments—unimportant in the flowing abstractions of color, and buried in the qualities of the paint that emerge in the process of cleaning, scraping and repainting.

The paintings are loose, with muted cobalts and indigos dominating. The blues are played against the cool rose tints, the occasional red and more forceful yellows. Overall, patterns emerge and hold the unexpected contrasting elements together.

Dale has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, has lived in DC since 1984, and builds multimedia software for museums around the world. His early work was “monochromatic and tight.” He stopped painting for a while, because of business demands, but also to change directions. He wanted to move away from the cerebral to being more sensitive to the materials—to give the paint a voice. Besides, despite the self-doubts and anxieties that all artists suffer, he couldn’t be happy without it.

His show runs through May at the “Pierce School” Evolve Urban Arts Project at 1375 Maryland Ave, NE. See www.evolveDC.com for hours and information.

Jim Magner’s Thoughts on Art
If you have a trademark on your domain name, it apparently doesn’t carry much weight.

I got “ArtCite.com” in 1997 and a trademark on that name in 2000. My friend Kitty Kaupp and I developed an art registry internet site. It operated for six years and had hundreds of members. I didn’t receive a renewal notice from Network Solutions in 2006 and it lapsed. The site went down. The name was picked up by someone who later said he didn’t know it was trademarked.

Okay so far. We discovered that a man in Phoenix had the name and had put up an e-magazine called “ArtCite” at ArtCite.net and used ArtCite.com as a rollover. We asked him to give us back the dot com and said he could license the name for virtually nothing. He refused. He finally stopped using ArtCite.com as a rollover, but said we would have to pay him his fees to get the domain name back—contrary to trademark law. He became obstinate and even renewed the name after a year, deliberately preventing us from exercising the rights of our trademark.

We had to go to the trouble and expense of filing suit. He could have ended the whole thing, without cost to him, by simply giving us the name back. He didn’t. Go figure.

We went to trial. We got the domain name back. We won. But wait. That’s it? The judge said that because the man had stopped infringing with his web site within “a reasonable time,” he doesn’t have to compensate us for loss of business, or even pay for lawyer fees. That is very challengeable, but beside the point. The point is that by holding our domain name, he prevented our use of own trademark, and the product itself, for almost two years —more damaging than actual infringement.

The judge also said that ArtCite, the art magazine, is different than ArtCite, the art registry. So, I guess if you create a soft drink that is not a cola, you can call it Coca Cola.

Result? If someone gets your domain name, they can hold it for as long as they want, regardless of trademark, without fear of penalty until you can bring them to court. A federal judge just said so.

At the Museums
“In the Forest of Fontainebleau”
National Gallery of Art
Forth St. and Constitution NW 
To June 8
You witness the early days of outdoor, “plein aire” landscape painting in France and the toddling beginnings of landscape photography in the rugged and varied Forest of Fontainebleau, 35 miles southeast of Paris. An art colony is born as the stars of 19th century French painting hang out around the village of Barbazon, having a great time and making great art.

You get a side-by-side look at early photographs and paintings of the same locations. The contrast is dramatic. The paintings dazzle with color, flights of romanticism and otherworldly dynamics that soar beyond the specific scenes.

The early photographs are black and white, of course—small, quiet and serene. Originally intended to impart the reality—they give us an invaluable historic record—the photographs become works of art in their own right as the photographers, often former painters, begin to explore the endless potential of the craft.

The show presents over 100 works by 30 artists in six rooms -- Corot, Corbet, Millet, Renoir, Sisley, Monet. They reach deep into the fantasy of the forest…the fantasy of life…and let it breathe. At the same time, the photographs hold on to the “real” and let us better understand the incredible force of painting without sacrificing their own magic.

Paula Rego
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Ave, NW
To May 25, 2008
Paula Rego is one of the leading figurative painters working today. She uses her art as a “journey through the mind and through the complexity of life’s experiences.” This is the first major U.S. showing of Rego’s work, featuring 25 paintings, as well as etchings, lithographs, and drawings. 202-783-5000 www.nmwa.org.

Art Around Town
“Eastern Market Artists Interpreting Eastern Market”
East Hall building wall
Between 7th and 8th Streets SE.
The name, Eastern Market, on 7th St. SE, is almost synonymous with “art.” You go to the wonderful historic market for food, flowers and fine art served up by a band of talented artists—painters and photographers—who are familiar to frequent visitors. After the market fire in April ’07, the DC Arts commission recruited professional artists to create works of art on the plywood panels that fit into the large arched windows during restoration. It was a good idea, but few of the regulars were included. So, the commission has done another good and deserving service to the neighborhood—in collaboration with the Eastern Market artist community, the Eastern Market Community Advisory Commission, and the Eastern Market merchants.

Twelve large-scale images have been digitally produced from original works by ten of the artists and now adorn the temporary “East Hall” building wall along the alley between 7th and 8th Streets SE. Included are Mary Belcher, Michael Berman, Thomas Bucci, Jonathan Blum, Victor Kinza, Matthew  Parker, Val Proudkii, Zakhar Sasim, Quest Skinner and Joseph Snyder.

Artomatic 2008
Capitol Plaza 1
1st and M Sts. NE
May 9—June 15
The wondrous chaos of art on the edge explodes once again in the District. “Artomatic.” The name itself sounds like a weapon of mass decompression—where art, performances, and art-like things fly as free as birds in paradise. Most upscale art on exhibit these days reeks of fear, the fear of being wrong—of being criticized. Ambitious artists often busy themselves with the obtuse, the obscure; they choose to play it safe, even if it’s boring and unimaginative.

Not so in Artomatic. You are entering the No Fear Zone. Check your arty pretensions at the door—your eyeballs will be battered and sensitivities assaulted. I promise.

It’s bigger than ever: 800 artists on eight floors in 200,000 sq. ft. at Capitol Plaza 1, at 1st and M Sts. NE—one block from the New York Ave Metro. See news@artomatic.org. It always opens with a blowout. Be there.

Jim Magner is a Capitol Hill artist and writer.  He can be reached at Artandthe City05@aol.com