His soon-to-be-tenants, however, appreciate his artistic convictions.
"The art scene would die if real estate development didn't have someone like Giorgio in it," says George Hemphill, who opened his gallery in Georgetown in 1993. "Most developers wouldn't care if you were pumping ice cream out of a machine in that building or selling carpet. Giorgio cared about its identity."
Giorgio Furioso has made 1515 14th St. NW into a home for several of the city's best art galleries.
(Michael Temchine For The Washington Post)
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Hemphill found moving to Furioso's 14th Street complex more affordable than renewing the lease at his current site. Being in the new building also offers him a more visible role in the arts scene.
David Adamson says the high caliber of galleries in Furioso's project was a major factor in his plan to relocate from Seventh Street, where he and his wife, Laurie, have run their gallery since 1982.
"You'll get a good group of collectors coming through," Adamson says. "This is an opportunity we didn't want to miss out on."
Andrea Pollan of Curator's Office agrees: "It's an alluring situation. If there's any place I want to be, it's where all these serious art people are."
Even the 1515 14th St. galleries' nearest competition has nothing but praise for their impending presence.
"I have so much respect for them," says Sarah Finlay, co-owner of Fusebox, the pioneering 14th Street gallery that opened three years ago. "It'll be great when 1515 is open. It brings more people, and with more galleries here, there will be more art dialogue. Giorgio has made that possible."
Trawick Prize Winners
The top four winners in the 2004 Trawick Prize art competition were announced last night at Bethesda's Creative Partners Gallery, which is hosting a group show of the 15 prize finalists. David Page of Baltimore was named best in show, a $10,000 award. Jeff Spaulding of Bethesda received the second-place award of $2,000. A $1,000 award for third place went to Randi Reiss-McCormack of Lutherville, Md. A $1,000 young-artist award was given to Marci Branagan of Baltimore.
The annual competition, administered by the Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District, is open to artists from the District, Maryland and Virginia. This year's jurors were Jeffrey W. Allison of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Peter Dubeau of the Maryland Institute College of Art, and Kristen Hileman of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
An opening reception for the exhibition will be held tomorrow from 6 to 9 p.m. Creative Partners is at 4600 East-West Hwy. in downtown Bethesda. For more information, call 301-215-6660 or visit www.bethesda.org.
