- Show
- I Call Shenanigans
- Type
- Solo show
- Venue
- Long View Gallery, 1302 Ninth Street NW
- Where
- Washington, DC
- When
- June 9–30, 2007
- Reception
- Saturday, June 9, 2007, 6–8 pm
- Also shown
- Selected paintings from 31 Days in July, in the upstairs annex
About the show
I Call Shenanigans was Dana Ellyn’s solo show at Long View Gallery in Washington, DC, June 9–30, 2007, with an artist reception on Saturday, June 9, from 6 to 8 pm. In the gallery’s upstairs annex, the show also revisited selected paintings from the first five years of 31 Days in July, ahead of that July’s work.
Paintings
The War Within
This Little Piggy
Press release
Long View Gallery announces new exhibition: I Call Shenanigans, Dana Ellyn
Washington, D.C. – [May 17, 2007] – Long View Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of paintings entitled “I Call Shenanigans” by Dana Ellyn from June 9 – June 30, with an artist reception on Saturday, June 9, 2007, from 6 to 8 pm. In the gallery’s upstairs annex, we will revisit select pieces from the past five years of her “31 Days In July” series in anticipation of this July’s work.
Dana Ellyn values her fine arts training but arduously works on peeling away the art school compulsion to make, and hide behind, pretty pictures. Dana’s unique perspective and inspiration are drawn from living in the world’s most influential city – she lives and paints less than five blocks from the White House. The allure of a Dana Ellyn painting is that it tells a story; her paintings have meaning, and sometimes the message may come as a shock. Her work is bold and confrontational, often exposing unpleasant aspects of current issues.
Ellyn’s work elicits conversation, tackling the subjects of religion, politics, family and other sensitive issues with sardonic humor and engaging honesty. Her work forces reaction rather than complacency – begging the viewer to think, to understand, to interpret, and then to discuss. Sometimes conversations become heated with reactions such as:
“In my totally uneducated opinion, Dana Ellyn is BEGGING for help.”Anonymous response received to the “I Call Shenanigans” invitation
While the characters that populate her paintings often appear crazed, their message is solid. Ellyn is an artist with the capacity to evoke polarized emotional responses, both positive and negative, which makes her work unique, respectable, and intriguing.
Dana Ellyn is a George Washington University graduate in fine arts and art history who quit her law-firm job five years ago to become a full-time artist.
About Long View Gallery: Long View Gallery was founded in 2000 by Andrew Haley and Suzanne Zylonis in Sperryville, Virginia, a small town 75 miles from Washington, D.C. In 2006, William Waybourn and Craig Spaulding joined with them to open the second Long View Gallery in the historic Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Opening night
After the show…
In the press
