A collaborative Holy Cross/Kaiser Permanente space was adorned with artwork by Artists Circle. The piece below, created in calming blue hues, can be seen in the elevator lobby. A local artist was retained to create watercolor prints for each of the 52 patient rooms on the floor.
From Renderings to Realization
We get it - buying art can be intimidating! Making investments in artwork without being sure how the final product will look is hard! That's why we always strive to provide our clients with meticulous detail about the pieces they are interested in and how they will enhance their space. One way we do so is by dropping the artwork into schematics and renderings of a client's space; that way, there will be no surprises in terms of scale, color, or how it fits into the aesthetic of the room. Check out some examples below!
"Hey! I didn't know Artists Circle did that..."
You have no idea how often we hear the above sentiment! We often find that our clients are not aware of the wide range of services we offer that go beyond procuring artwork and framing. Our services include but are not limited to collections management, artwork consulting, procurement, printing, framing, estimates of value, and installation. Our skilled installers can handle anything from hanging a few framed pieces in an office, to securing heavy sculpture to the ground or on the wall. Check out some of our more complex sculptural installations below!
This is a large public art sculpture in downtown Rockville that has a 7 foot diameter and is internally lit.
The delicate nature of the cast glass in this sculpture made this public art installation tricky.
Our installers had to individually mount each welded and powder-coated flower to the brick wall.
This install involved mounting over 60 individual aluminum sculptures to a three 8'x12' brick niches in Alexandria.
Meet our new Installer, Dan!
Artists Circle continues to grow! We've recently hired a new installer, Dan, as an installer and art-handler extraordinaire. Dan has been working with us as a contractor for years and recently was brought on-board as a full time employee.
Dan visiting Artechouse in DC!
Q: What do you do at Artists Circle? I set up and execute art installations and transport artwork. I also do small, but important(!), tasks around the office like administrative work and cleaning and organizing.
Q: What do you love? My dog Jasper, a 5 year old husky shepard. I love music; I listen to everything, although currently I've been listening to a lot of an artist named Nahko Bear and some random electronic dance music. I started to learn poi (a style of performance art where you swing tethered weights) to perform at shows and hope to be able to do fire poi one day! I have also been playing acoustic guitar for 15 years and bass guitar for 4 years (wish I had people to play with though).
Q: What do you hate? Traffic... don't get me started.
Q: What do you like to do on the weekends? Go camping! I usually go to my friend's property near Darlington, MD. It's a great place for hiking and shooting, or laying out in a field and having a fire in the woods at night.
Q: What’s an embarrassing story about yourself? When I was young, my sister and I were getting ready for church. I decided to make a bagel with cream cheese. After making it I went to my sister and said that the cream cheese taste funny. She said we didn’t have cream cheese, so I showed her the container and she looks at me and says “Crisco isn’t cream cheese.”
Welcome aboard, Dan!
The Process: What to Expect After Engaging an Art Advisor
By Katie Giganti (Sr. Associate)
Imagine you are searching for the perfect piece of artwork to go above your bed. The colors should be in sync with your duvet, evoke a special memory or feeling, and - of course - it should be something you would be happy looking at over, and over... and over again. Now, imagine how difficult that process would be if you had a committee of friends helping you pick artwork, each person contributing their own individual vision and subjective feelings: favorite colors, styles, compositions. Take it one step further and imagine these "friends" are actually your coworkers and you are trying to find artwork that will make each of you have a certain feeling AND will also appeal to all of your other colleagues and visitors alike. Is your head spinning yet?
Enter Artists Circle. Our job is to help you navigate the process of buying artwork; we listen, educate, focus your interest, and present the best artwork answers for your space. We at Artists Circle have superhero art powers: the ability to envision the nonexistent.
“We can conjure up the soothing landscape that your visitors will look at in the waiting area while waiting for a meeting, the whimsical wall sculpture that will make children smile in the pediatric unit, the bold and colorful “statement piece” for your lobby that shouts, “You are here and no other building is like this one.””
So, how do we go about making this seemingly stressful process into something fun and manageable? I consider myself to be a psychologist-artist-designer-architect-engineer-project manager all wrapped into one. Here is how the typical process goes down and because I'm Type A, let me put it into a list for you:
- Give us a call as soon as you know you will need art or art services. Delaying will result in sub-par results (insert sad face here). Two and half months is ideal if you are moving into a new space. If art locations, lighting, etc. can be integrated into your floor plan even earlier, it makes more a cohesive collection that feels like a part of the overall design rather than an afterthought.
- We will then go into "pre-project planning, learning and research mode": we will ask you about budget, preconceived ideas about the artwork, and we will scour your website for background information about your company. The design of your space, size of the walls and ceiling will be ingrained in our minds. We will recommend that you keep your art committee limited to three or four people for efficiency (more than that, we find, makes for too much subjective feedback). In our first meeting, we will bring some art images for initial comments so we can get a quick gauge of what you respond to.
- At this stage, our office is a mess. We have an "idea pile", images pulled from our resource files of hundreds of artists, on the floor because we are visual people and need to see everything laid out.
- How many meetings can I expect and how long will this take? For a medium sized project of 20K to 30K sf, we will typically do one site visit followed by two or three meetings to select artwork. We need sign-off on the art package approximately four weeks in advance of your desired installation date.
- Once the art package is approved, we start the nitty-gritty process of procuring everything and reviewing mounting/framing specifications with our framing studio. Once the art is far enough along in production, we will be in touch to set up the installation.
- VOILA! You now have beautiful artwork on your walls.
See? It isn't too complicated, although I completely empathize with many clients' fear of the unknown in purchasing artwork. It isn't something you do every day and that's why we are here to make the process as simple and efficient as possible. Artwork will only enhance your space, adding to your culture, brand, and provide the finishing touch on top of the furniture, paint colors, and other finishes you select.
Trajectories Recap
Our Spring show, Trajectories, just ended and we wanted to share some of the photographs taken during our opening reception with artists Sarah Hardesty and Chee Keong. It was such a fun afternoon of beer sampling and art viewing!
Special thanks to Sarah and Chee for enlivening our space with their works of art!
Principal Jack Devine gives a quick introduction about the barn and the artists' work.
Sarah Hardesty's work interacts with the barn's finishes.
Visitors enjoy speaking with artist Chee Keong about his process.
Our bartenders!
Corporate Clients Near and Far!
Through Artists Circle is located in the Washington, DC area, our team works on projects both close to home and beyond. We are happy to travel and work with our clients outside of the DMV! In fact, Mason & Olivia recently finished a project for a corporate client in Louisville, Kentucky. The company occupies 5 floors in a tower in downtown Louisville and wanted to feature local, Kentucky artists in their new space. Artists Circle procured over 120 original works of art by Kentucky artists and coordinated framing and installation of each piece. We source artwork from artists all over the country (and many abroad as well!), so honing in Kentucky was no problem at all.
A similar project is currently underway in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A corporate client is renovating two 30-story towers and, like our Louisville client, they would like to feature local PA artists. Updates to come!
The Most Colorful Project: Kaiser Permanente Capitol Hill Pediatrics
With our long relationship with Kaiser Permanente, Artists Circle Sr. Associate Katie Giganti was once again brought on board by Kaiser Permanente to source an underwater themed collection of artwork for their new Pediatric Center on Capitol Hill. The artwork is full of whimsy and features several pieces by local, DC area artists.
These fun pieces are made of sculptured plastic embedded in painted resin. They are meant to be touched by children, providing an interactive experience.
Thematic, Textural, & Vibrant - Yes Please!
Check out this 3D painting we recently installed at a law firm downtown! The art committee was initially drawn to this piece because its bright punches of color coordinate so well with other elements in their space. Since they specialize in international immigration law, they became even more smitten when they realized that the painting is a loose abstraction of a nautical map!
These paintings have a 3 dimensional quality to them due to the method in which the artist creates them. By pouring acrylic paint into the recesses of a wooden mould, the paint settles at different levels and textures. He uses brushes, palette knives, and vacuums (yes, vacuums) to guide the paint along the surface. Below is a close-up view of another piece by this artist that we have in our studio. Let us know if you're interested!
Meet our Summer Intern, Lucia!
Meet Lucia, our Summer Intern! Lucia is a rising junior at Wootton High School and is joining us for 4 weeks this summer to learn about the Artists Circle Way! During her time at Artists Circle, she will be helping us with project proposals, site assessments, office administration, and artwork inventory among many other projects. Welcome aboard, Lucia!
Why did you want to intern at Artists Circle?: I have taken many art classes throughout middle and high school, and to build up variety and interesting works in my portfolio I wanted to be inspired by and introduced to different types of art. I also hoped to learn more about other peoples’ art interests and why they are attracted to certain types of art.
What I love: Music and guitar are a very big part of my life; some of my favorite songs come from movie soundtracks, 80’s one-hit-wonders, alternative rock, electronic pop, or just anything that is fun to listen to! I also love my two bunnies, freshly fallen snow, horror movies, and walking with friends.
What I hate: If I sense noodle salad or icebreakers I will run away.
Little did you know...: When I was in kindergarten I was an avid short-story writer, some of which included talking dolphins, big green pumpkins, or thousands of bats. Other kindergarten passions included growing up to be a farmer.
Lucia on a project site. She's helping us develop mural options for the wall in the background!