Addison/Ripley Fine Art Relaunches as A/R and Collaborates with StudioLab RD
Georgetown's Book Hill celebrates new art exhibitions and digital collecting.
A huge day for Georgetown and the city's art scene, one packed with so much newness it requires a glossary. But first, CONGRATULATIONS to Christopher Addison and Robin Davisson for transforming the corner of upper Georgetown!
Kicking off their joint launches Saturday with a panel discussion moderated by USAN USAN Founder Peter Chang, Christopher and Robin shared their vision for art and community, reinvention, artistic focus, and the future of collecting.
"About a year ago we were able to take back the entire space," Christopher explained reimagining iconic Addison/Ripley Fine Art. "What could we do with this corner. Invite someone with a lot of energy to the space downstairs that was never used. That would be exciting. It would draw people in. My great love is Georgetown. I grew up here, I’ve worked here, I’ve got a business here, my family home is no longer my family home but the places that are meaningful to me are the places that are evolving now. We’re in upper Georgetown that maybe thankfully doesn’t get as many visitors. We’d like to change that but not in the way that M Street has been transformed. The sort of people who walk up to the library, who go to Dumbarton Oaks, who walk their dogs. That’s the characteristic of upper Georgetown, of what we’re calling 'The Corner.' We believe that we can make more of this by making partners of the people who are here."
"I want to thank my new partners for the privilege of joining this storied space, this gallery with such legacy, this person who has been a leader in the arts scene for so many years," said Robin. "StudioLab was established four years ago in a space right off M Street on 33rd Street and it's been a wonderful run, an experiment of seeing if art and community could coexist in real time. Could we have serious art on the walls and my studio on the site. People can watch me working, coffee brewing, music on. I invited people to be part of the creative process, to see those paintings that eventually end up on the wall being made. People have come, they’ve stayed, they’ve sat, they've come back. What’s different about downstairs here which makes this experiment even more exciting to me is that the gallery space and the studio is one contiguous space."
Deciding to share his art space allowed Christopher time to pursue his interest in digital art. He spent a year just looking at display screens. With ARTX3, his inaugural exhibition, Sedition Art + A/R features work by internationally renowned artists Yoko Ono, Bill Viola, and Tracey Emin, alongside celebrated DMV artists including Jonathan Monaghan, Matthew Curry, and Robin Bell. The show introduces screen-based works displayed on state-of-the-art Muse Frames and a monumental 110” gallery screen.
"I'm really serious about changing peoples’ minds about what there is on offer in Washington DC," Christopher continued. "Dozens of museums, most of them free, as much green space as any other city in the US and home of this vibrant arts community."
"How do you see this new age of collectors engaging with digital art work?," asked Peter. "Our new audience is expecting an experience."
"Four years ago, I had this idea with a developer when NFTs were considered part of a scheme that offered very little for a lot. We thought that we could add value by combining NFTs with physical objects."
A/R has partnered with three different organizations to interface physical art with digital. Robin and Christopher agreed that authenticity, however defined by the collector, is important. We should know where art comes from. We should know who made it and where it goes.
For Robin, curiosity is the constant thread in her life, with science and math playing a big part before art. "I’m so enamored, completely in love with the visceral qualities of the materials themselves, the paints, the mediums, the substrates, its endless, canvas, paper, woods, the colors."
Christopher agreed. "You cannot be curious about something you don’t know. That’s where the digital aspect comes into it. Our jobs are to feed that curiosity, to give it that edge of approval or not. Any time you can get people talking is good."
"This has been a hard year for art not just here but all over the world," Peter turned to Christopher. "People are just not spending what they used to. Are you seeing demand for digital artwork or are you jumping off a cliff here? What does success look like for you?"
"We’re definitely jumping off a cliff here. I’m not trying to sell anybody anything, Christopher said. "I’m treating it as an educational experience. My belief is there are three audiences. The young audience doesn’t buy anything, not art, not cars. They see stuff only on their phones. My belief is that audience can really be engaged if it’s at a price point they can live and art that they can take home. We have a lot people who are part of that middle ground who are already collectors. It’s a 'show me' moment for them. They want to see what’s out there. I’m really eager to bring them into the fold because that would drive the economic engine. And then the older audience, to bring the art to the institutions, to the museums, to big private collections. In Washington we don’t get enough credit for being the vibrant creative community that we are. We have major world-class museums here but basically the museum don’t pay any attention to us."
Christopher demonstrated how the Sedition digital files are made. "We’re going to take the file from each of these eight canvases and make an art object edition of 25. It’s a seven minute long video interplaying for $500. It’s that kind of strategizing, that low entry point for any collector to see if they’re interested in it."
"What are you doing to engage your collectors? Peter asked Robin. "The idea for StudioLab was based on my own experience of being a collector and knowing the pieces of art that I have collected where they've come from, to know the artist, to have some engagement with the artist, those pieces take on infinitely more meaning in my life. That was the idea of StudioLab. I wanted people to come in to have a living room art on the walls, coffee brewing, music playing, to hang out, where people can get to know me."
Georgetown Heritage is involved too with their Arts & Culture Program helping make Georgetown a destination for art that is welcoming, vibrant, inclusive, and educational. With Robin as its chair, they're off to a great start.
A/R's current show, Bits & Pieces, featuring a newly commissioned work by Robin Bell and works by gallery artists, including Wolf Kahn, is on display until November 29th.
THE GLOSSARY
A/R: Addison/Ripley Fine Art merger with its ARTX3 brand.
ARTX3: A new digital art platform created by Addison/Ripley Fine Art connecting traditional fine art (physical works) with digital innovation using secure tokens for collectors.
USAN USAN: Organization offering a canvas for artists and creative entrepreneurs to showcase their work, while creating new economic pathways to prosperity, where diversity and innovation converge to redefine what’s possible
Sedition Art: An established global online platform for buying and selling limited-edition digital artworks from renowned contemporary artists. The platform allows collectors to purchase digital versions of video and screen-based art and display it on various devices like TVs, tablets, and computers.
StudioLab RD: A hybrid gallery–studio and community hub for dialogue, events, and immersive art experiences.
Chromatic Drift: Robin Davisson's latest, a series of bold canvases transforming color theory into visceral experiences of energy and motion. Recently highlighted in Architectural Digest, Davisson continues to expand the language of abstraction while cultivating StudioLab RD as a hybrid gallery–studio and community hub for dialogue, events, and immersive art experiences.
NFT: Non-fungible token art is a unique digital asset that represents ownership of digital art, verified on a blockchain. Artists can sell and get royalties on their digital creations, like drawings, music, or videos, which are authenticated by a NFT digital platform.
Muse Frame: Founded in 2021 by a group of art collectors, artists, and friends who all craved a simple, yet extraordinary way to display their digital art collection in their homes.
