News
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.
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 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!
Clients often approach us with a similar issue: they've moved into a beautiful new space that they love, but they lack the appropriate artwork to finish the look. Such was the case with one of Artists Circle's recent corporate clients. Their elegant space featured modern light fixtures, blue glass accents, white marble countertops, and lots and lots of stark, white walls. The Artists Circle team was brought on board to brighten up the space with artwork and finally bring the office to life. The client was primarily interested in abstract paintings with an organic quality. Check out some of our selections and installation shots below!
Artists Circle recently finished procuring and installing new artwork for the Reception and Conference Floor in a law firm in downtown DC. The firm, housed in a historic building on the National Register, features a beautiful design overseen by Dina Frank of the NY offices of Mancini Duffy. With a nod to it's historic roots, while at the same time providing sleek and refined finishes, the space is both elegant and approachable. Certain conference rooms retained their dark wood panels and mouldings while others were updated with large, light-filled windows and modern finishes. To satisfy the blend of light and darker materials, Artists Circle sourced both traditional DC photography for the historic areas and contemporary pieces for the more modern spaces.
The law firm occupies multiple floors in the building that underwent renovation during the project. Artists Circle was responsible for managing the firm's collection on these other floors as well. This involved taking inventory of the firm's existing artwork, packing and storing it during renovation, and re-allocating and installing the artwork upon the renovation's completion for a tasteful mix of old and new.
Artists Circle recently completed a project for a D.C. commercial mortgage office. The newly renovated office is full of light and sleek finishes, and they wanted bright, fun artwork to add color to the primarily white space.
Artists Circle commissioned a textile artist to create unique work for the main conference room to accent the fabric wrapped walls, seen above.
A custom triptych made for a downtown DC law firm's elevator lobby. The blues contrast the woodwork throughout the space, while the lighter part of each piece has a subtle amount of yellow/orange to enhance the balance of color even further.
Here are a few installation photographs of artwork we installed in Shady Grove Fertility's new Rockville office:
Meet the newest member of the Artists Circle Team: Keenan Brown. In our usual "new employee initiation" fashion, we asked Keenan to answer some questions so we could get to know him better:
What I Love: I am an avid ice hockey fan. Go Pittsburgh Penguins! My favorite hobby is cooking; I can make a fantastic teriyaki sauce from scratch and my go-to dinner is usually fried rice. I also spend my free time constructing and painting toy soldiers, something I was really into as a kid and recently picked back up.
What I Hate: Gridlocked traffic (argh DC!), flying, mayonnaise, and humidity.
What I Listen to in the Car: In the morning, it's Elliot in the Morning on DC 101, in the middle of the day it's either whatever catches my ear on the radio or standup comedy on Pandora. At night it's more standup or the John Batchelor Show.
Little Did You Know: I was in several campaign commercials during the 1996 presidential election for Bill Clinton.
Just a few days into the job, Keenan is installing a complex wall sculpture for one of our clients in Bethesda.
Artists Circle was brought onto the design team by GTM Architects who redesigned the Fitness and Business Centers at Circle Towers, a multifamily development in Fairfax, VA. We were charged with the task of finding art with an urban feel, as well as a bit of a typographic theme.
These fun, graffiti-esque pieces greet residents and visitors in the lobby.
The lounge area.
The Business Center has six conference rooms. Each room calls out it's name - One! Two! Three! - by way of oversized, historically sourced typographic numbers on sheets of aluminum.
This energetic canvas greets residents when they enter the Fitness Center.
