At the Foundry Gallery in Dupont Circle, Abstract Expressionist Eugenia Skarstrom, who has in the past lectured on "visual literacy," challenges viewers with her skilled water based mixed-media paintings in a show appropriately titled "Currents" on exhibition until July 14. I particularly liked the paintings which succeeded in delivering more visual clues than Abstract Impressionism usually does. My favorite was Storm Surge; superb show by a talented painter.

At Perry House in Alexandria, Steven Saunders and new curator Susan McCollough have once again put together a superior group show with their 5th Annual North American Summer Invitational Juried Prize Show. This is the largest seasonal juried competition in the Mid-Atlantic, and 45 artists from 19 states and Canada were selected from nearly 1,400 entries. The Best of Show was won by N.Y. artist Christopher Gatto, whose Rafters in Lucid Dream I had picked as one of my top three selections.

Another of my picks, At Rest, a gorgeous intaglio etching by Carolyn Witschonke was also selected for a prize. The only disappointment in the prize selections was the award of the First Prize to an enlarged Iris print of a photograph (which the juror said made the "photograph look like art").

Although not a prize winner, I also liked Gail Bessette's pastel Evening Meadow, which showed tremendous skill and control of this temperamental media.

Overall, this show has certainly grown to the point where it is rapidly becoming a way for local art lovers to sample the state of the arts in the continent, and no gallery or museum in our area (except perhaps for the Art League) displays this variety of art or artists.

While in Alexandria, don't forget to drop by the Torpedo Factory Arts Center. This great art place doesn't close at all in the summer! The monthly Art League juried group shows remain the best place to pick up great works by local artists.

A few feet from the Art League Gallery, the Target Gallery has an incredible show on display in July. It is called "Chain Gang" and it is a collaborative show of 144 jewelers around the U.S. and several other countries. Each jeweler has designed and built a chain link, and the resulting chain is on display at Target and will travel around the country.

The links are astounding in media, design and effect; they range in price from $35 to $5,000. My favorites links were built by Laurie Flannery, Elizabeth Garvin, Steve Price and Kirsten Rook.

Down the street from the Torpedo Factory, July brings Deborah and Bethany Buffington's oil paintings and photographs to Gallery West. The exhibition, which runs until July 23 is titled "Celebrating Porches," and a reception for the artists will be held July 13, 4:00-7:00PM.

In Georgetown, lovers of rock music have a treat at the Govinda Gallery, which is staging a show of photographs by Baron Wolman, the first Rolling Stone magazine photographer (1967-1970). Although I was disappointed (as a purist) to discover that Wolman does not print his own photography (I went to the review accompanied by the Photographic British trio of Karen Watendewao, Malcolm Sharp and Catriona Fraser), the show is spectacular in the quality of the work.

My favorite piece was Wolman's portrait of an angelic James Taylor. The black and white photographs, as well as a signed book by Wolman, are a superb deal and a terrific show.

At Creighton-Davis, Chilean master Roberto Matta has a small exhibition of prints ranging in time from work done in the heyday of Surrealism (which is heavily influenced by Dali, Gris and Miro) to modern acid prints which are slightly disappointing in comparison.

Also in Georgetown, Steven Weitzman's debut at Gallery Okuda has proven so successful that this gifted artist's exhibition has been extended until mid July. There are not enough good things I can say about this sculptor who in this show also rediscovers painting. I have seen hundreds of sculptors who struggle to skip the main road in sculpture - hard labor - with the dead excuse of modernism; when you see a Weitzman sculpture you are in front of sometimes thousands of hours of labor from one of this nation's most gifted sculptor. My favorite? Leda and the Swan, of course.

Down from Okuda, gallery owner Norman Parish is showing his colorful paintings at his own gallery. The pieces are full of bright color and luscious scenes. Knowing the kind of highly abstracted art which Parish selects for his gallery shows, I was pleasantly surprised by the style and quite liked the work done by the boss.

Next door, the Renaissance Gallery had a gallery full of bikers for the display of the photographic collage work, jewelry and sculpture of "Krazy" Ric White, a special exhibition in support of Rolling Thunder, Inc. during Motorcycle Appreciation Month. Lots of exposed breasts from those strangely, erotic hard women known as "biker chicks" compose the majority of the collages, which also have dozens of signatures and lipstick marks on the mats. Quite an unusual show, certainly worth a look.

A few feet down, the eklektikos gallery has on exhibition the dry brush oils of Mary Connelly. The paintings are strangely sensuous, and the way in which the beautiful Connelly hides the faces, or obscures the character of the piece is almost tantalizing in its oddness. I particularly liked Red Room, although Pink Lady was also a favorite. I quite like this artist's works and hope to see more of it. On July 19, eklektikos is staging the American debut of British photographers Karen Watendewao (nee Williams) and Malcolm Sharp, two former students of the famed Pymouth College of Art & Design Photography School. More to come on this show next month.

Finally, in Occoquan, go see the latest pieces by Caribbean artist Roland Richardson at Miller Fine Art. Richardson is one of the Caribbean's top artists, and a true master of "plein air" painting. Like the Impressionists who made outside painting popular, Richardson's oils vibrate with exotic colors and temperamental hues. His canvasses are controlled riots of lushness and sensuality. There is no lack of talent, skill or raw power in these pieces - this man is truly a modern master!

The author is a regional art critic for several art magazines and local newspapers. He is also an award winning artist and the former co-owner of one of Washington's top art galleries.