FEATURED IN BETHESDA MAGAZINE
Bethesda to be new home to amy kaslow gallery
grand opening exhibit to highlight ukranian artists
by Akira Kyles | April 13, 2023
Bethesda becomes the new home of Amy Kaslow Gallery. Credit: Provided by Amy Kaslow Gallery.
Washington, D.C., native, Amy Kaslow spent about four decades as a journalist and photographer for various publications including The Washington Post, the Huffington Post and SLATE, covering conflict and post-war conflict from Iran to Iraq. Now she is moving her D.C. fine art gallery to Bethesda.
Kaslow decided to go out on her own and sell some of her botanical images, which helped fund the launch of her gallery. Kaslow’s gallery originally opened in D.C. in 2020, with the intent to highlight fine art celebrating the natural world. The owner of the former space of Kaslow’s gallery is the building. She eventually found a place in Bethesda, at 7920 Norfolk Ave.
The Bethesda location’s grand opening at 6 p.m. on Thursday will run concurrently with the unveiling of its latest exhibit, Documenting Landscapes: Ukraine’s Vanishing Terrain, featuring Jaroslav Leonets, a Kyiv-based artist. The exhibit will remain in the gallery until May 7.
“[His landscape paintings are] exquisite and there’s a war story because literally [the paintings] came through ground transport, so a no-fly zone through Ukraine of course, into Portland, again, by ground transport to some place in Warsaw where they could go to be flown,” she said. “We framed them and they’re so evocative. I’m very proud of these.”
Nine of Leonets’s pieces will be featured in the exhibit including iconic vistas, some of which have been ravaged by Russia’s invasion and others are in regions under attack or on the front line.
Additionally, Kaslow represents artists from various parts of the world whose work has also been highlighted in her gallery. The International Folk Art Market in Sante Fe, New Mexico, is a partner with the gallery, allowing it to introduce indigenous fine art.
“This is a great location and unbelievable floor space with windows, windows, windows which we love,” she said. “It’s a northeast location, perfect for an art gallery so nothing gets sunburned and there’s a crowd here.”
Along with many windows and great lighting, the Bethesda location is also bigger than the previous space by about 9,000 square feet.
One of her favorite aspects of her gallery is the ability to connect with the community, she said.
“People come in from everywhere,” Kaslow said. “We love to be a date night destination. We love it when people have come and made a special trip because they love weaving or they love this kind of bronze sculpture, or whatever it is. That to me is very exciting.”
Kaslow said she’s excited to find ways to have an influence on the art scene in the Bethesda area.
“I’d love to meet who’s here on a professional level. I’d love to see how we can impact the community and help the community, there are a lot of needs here,” she said. “Also, there’s a lot of fun to have, beauty to explore and I’d love people to get to know us.”
The gallery also holds a dialogue series and the next one will feature Natalie Jaresko, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Aspen Institute Kyiv, and James Steinberg, Deans of John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies to discuss Democracy: Ukraine’s Fight is the World’s Fight. The dialogue is April 27 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the gallery.