Dream Works Benefit Art Auction
Dreams for Kids is partnering with a number of the area’s best artists to put on an evening of art, music and fun! All artists showing have agreed to donate the proceeds from their pieces sold to Dreams for Kids summer programming. The show will take place on March 4, 5:00pm-9:00pm at Paolo’s Ristorante in Georgetown, Washington, DC.
If you are an artist or know someone who would like to be considered for the show please contact our curator, Jackie, for more information. The deadline for submissions is February 26th.
Dream Works is PROUD to present world famous donating artist:
Theo Wujcik |
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Over the last 30 years, Theo has produced an incredibly diverse and ever-changing body of work. Artist, Master Printer and faculty member at USF, His work is represented in important museum collections throughout the United States, including the Chicago Institute of Art, Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery of Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
He has been featured in an award winning documentary series, Art Off the Wall and numerous interviews, including the New York Times and Weekly Planet. Exhibitions are too numerous to name, but the more important ones are a touring 30-year retrospective, Contemporary American Realist Drawings, the Jalane and Richard Davidson Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago and Body and Soul: Contemporary Southern Figures at the Columbus Museum of Art.
Artist’s Statement
My first week of art school in 1958 is no different from the third week of November, 2004. I knew that I had found my true calling then; and, my future looks as bright as ever now.
When teaching retirement dawned at The University of South Florida after the summer of 2003, I was no freer than I had been my entire career as an artist. Over the years, my work ethic and self discipline carried the day under any circumstance.
In keeping with my history, this year I produced five solo-exhibitions: "Breaking with the Past" at the Bleu Acier Gallery in Tampa, "Blind Couture" at the Millenia Gallery in Orlando, "New Work" at the Von Liebig Art Center in Naples, "Mentors" at the Dennos Museum Center in Traverse City, Michigan; and now, "Apollo" at Tampa International Airport, Airside A.
This summer, I was the recipient of an Austin Abbey Fellowship to study mural painting at the National Academy of Design in New York City. Last year, I focused exclusively on and completed a successful commission for the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.
My Career has been shaped by being a consistent practitioner and by fateful decisions that in retrospect, revealed their true significance. Permenant public collections of my work can be seen on both coasts. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, the La Jolla Museum of Art, La Jolla, CA, Los Angels County Museum of Art, Los Angels, CA, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA.
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Being housed in a museum collection or in someone’s minds eye is quite comparable. I know that this Tampa International Airport showing will provide my work with countless opportunities for the latter; and, for this I am grateful. |
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-Theo Wujcik, November, 2004 Website: http://www.theowujcik.com/ |
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Also Donating:
Reid McIntyre
W. Reid McIntyre earned his BFA from West Virginia University in 1977, his MFA from University of Notre Dame in 1980 where he also had a post graduate fellowship in painting in 1981.
His work has been exhibited throughout the country and in London, England. Locally his work has been featured in one-man exhibitions at the McLean Project for the Arts, The Catholic University of America, Anton Gallery, Gudelsky Gallery, Maryland College Art & Design, The University of Notre Dame. He has also hung in shows exhibited at the Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington Project for the Arts, Chestnut Hill Academy of the Arts, Montgomery College, and Georgetown University.
His work has also been reviewed in Art In America magazine, The Baltimore Sun, KOAN, Art Papers, The Washington Review, The Washington Post, New Art Examiner, Washington City Paper, EYEWASH, Washington Times and Arts Magazine.
He won individual awards in visual arts from: Maryland State Arts Council, The Embassy of Japan, Washington Project for the Arts, and McLean Project for the Arts.
Read his article from Art in America: http://findarticles.com/p/
Ann Barbieri
Artist’s Statement
Gardens, still lifes, interiors… I draw from the world around me. Color excites me. Acrylic paint is my medium. I doodle, draw and scratch into it. Line is another element that’s important to me and so usually present in some way in the paintings. I often collage papers that I’ve painted or even fabric into the work. This satisfies my need to "arrange things".
I strive for rhythm and movement in my paintings. They should be lively. My favorite comment from a child visiting my studio is, "You don’t look like you were sad when you painted these paintings." I appreciated that critique.
"Painting"
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James Shields
Raised in Sacrameto, CA. Graduated from Howard University with a degree in Marketing in 2008. Started a corporate job that summer and hated it. 10 months later and got laid off and have been pursuing my passion for art ever since. He is a student at the School of Visual Arts.
"Lil Boy June", 20×30 acrylic
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Website: www.creativeshields.com
Walker Wood
Walker Wood is a Junior at Virginia Commonweath University and is majoring in both the nations number one rated sculpture department, and crafts. She Loves to work with a wide variety of materials and enjoys exploring the possibility of material.
Left: "Untitled",10"l x 4"w x 5"h, glass and plaster
Right: "Raspberries"
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Erin Keele
Erin Keele is a local artist living and working in the DC metro area. She has been showing in DC, VA and MD for the last 10 years. Her non-objective style of oil painting is vibrant and emotive. Driven by her experiences as she moves through life, each piece is a reflection of her personal reactions to the world around her.
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Carlton Morgan
I’m a 24 year old profesional painter and sculptor, currently residing in beautiful Richmond, Virginia. My work expresses vivid color and energy. Experimenting with various glazes, undefined shapes and human expression is an ongoing process, with the intention of creating visons that hold emotional significance.
Left to Right:
"Giant", 6" X 6", Collage
"Explorer", 7" X 13", Collage, Acrylic
"Golden Ages", 11.75" X 11.75", Collage, Acrylic
"Lost Child", 5" X 7", Collage, Acrylic, Xerox Transfer
"Spock Caught a Bird", 4" X 4", Collage, Alkyd Resin
"Universal Priests", 4" X 4", Collage, Alkyd Resin
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Website: www.carltonmorgan.com
Hervé Vu Roussel
Hervé is French of Vietnamese descent. He holds a Master’s degree from Cornell University and started his own company, focused of improving the life of seniors. He started photography in Philadelphia after taking a Black & White class. Through his photography, he wants to make people feel and think.
Left: "Bird storm", Zemun, Serbia (2010)
Middle: "Resting peacocks", Ohrid, Macedonia (2010)
Right: "Break from the game", Capetown, South Africa (2009)
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Jackie Cantwell
Cantwell is a graduate from the Painting and Printmaking department at Virginia Commonwealth University, and the curator of Dream Works Benefit Art Auction. By blood she is a painter, but she explores several mediums including screen-printing and digital photography. She is inspired by the vivid color and composition of films by Wes Anderson, and by the strange characters and eroticism that inhabits most David Lynch films. The graphic nature of Jenny Seville’s paintings, and the recent showing of Robert Bergman’s photography at the National Gallery have also had a huge influence on her. Next move is Grad School where she hopes to get her masters in Documentary Photography.
“My work is an account of my cultural landscape and those that I encounter. Details of those encounters range from portraits of acquaintances, to severed lamb heads. What interest me most seem to be images that make people uncomfortable.”
"Churreria" Photograph.
"Nazarine" Photograph.
"Staff Room" Photograph.
"Doob" Photograph.
"Cabezas Cordero" Photograph.
Amy Konigsburg
2-D prints balanced with multi-perspective edges. The prints push angles and leave spectators questioning the intended viewpoints. Objects or person, each print exposes emotional expressions and brings out a raw, often startling feeling of a disturbed honesty.
I grew up in the Washington D.C. area. I am inspired by Max Beckman, Otto Dix and Tim Burton.
"Glasses on a stool", print.
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Jenn Erwin BFA in painting and printmaking from VCU in 2009. Currently working on my Masters of Fine Arts in Printmaking at the University of Kansas. Born in Puerto Rico, raised in northern Virginia. My body of work has always centered in nature and science. These two prints represent the molecular aspect of disease. Currently, I am working with my own medical anxieties and creating mixed media drawings, etchings, and books. Through various mark making and pattern, I’m creating new specimens and creatures.
Left: "Malaria" woodcut. 9" x 12". 2008.
Right: "Pods". 8" x 6" is the print size, larger with frame. 2009.
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Website: www.jennerwin.com and I can be contacted at jennerwinart@gmail.com for resume, more images, etc.
Tatum O’Neal Sumners
Tatum is a graduate of the Painting & Printmaking department at Virginia Commonwealth University. She works in a wide range of mediums. Her paintings are a menage of natural and synthetic items that she has collected and uses to collage some of her most recent works. She is a true experimenter.
Artist Statement:
This is what I made. Once. Never twice.. upon a time. Surely, I had a lot of feelings happening. Some of them trickled through. Some of them I didn’t even know were happening. All of our years molded what you see… as we combine together, crafting an imperial and unique result. Your life/my life. Blast off towards each other and collide full force. And with this creation and consumption, I hope to conjure glorious ideas and feelings worth exploration within you, my unknown friend…
Photo- Sumners next to her artwork.
Andrew Kozlowski
My work is the result of an ever-ricocheting attention span, resulting in a worldview constructed with pop culture, public radio, punk rock, comics, and conspiracy theories. The result is a black comedy of epic proportions where unseen forces beg for your comradery or forgiveness, or try to sell you condos, while the food you eat turns your teeth into mush. This world is made of fictional events based on true stories, one where the recording devices and magnetic tape have been pulled apart and remade to correct, imply, or distort history. Against a lush backdrop of color a cast of characters is just starting to recall the past, prepare for the future and question the present, all the while the stage is in disrepair, and falling down around them.
Through snippets of current events, bolstered by advertising, politics and attached to the world at large my work deals with the catalogue of human disasters both personal and global in nature. Often my research begins by pondering the curious problem of how human beings have gotten themselves into such tragedies, and how they succeed or fail to adapt to these situations. Through humor, narrative and metaphor I attempt to dissect health problems, environmental disasters and political crisis and our continued inability to successfully navigate them.
Andrew Kozlowski received his MFA in Painting and Printmaking from VCU in 2007 and his BFA in printmaking from Tyler School of Art, Temple University in 2003. His work has been included in numerous shows in San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York, Knoxville, and Richmond. He recently completed a residency at the Frans Masereel Center in Belgium.
He currently teaches printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University, The University of Richmond and the Corcoran College of Art in Washington DC. As a freelance art critic he has written for Art Papers, Richmond’s Style Weekly and NY Arts Magazine. He was the Administrative Coordinator for the Southern Graphics Council Conference held at VCU in March of 2008 and is currently the Director of VCU’s Summer Studio Program.
"Here The Water Ended", 9"x26", screenprint.
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Website: http://www.andrewkozlowski.
Orson Oblowitz
Orson Oblowitz grew up in Downtown Manhattan and Venice Beach, CA and was very much shaped by both of the cities around him. His father a filmmaker and mother an actress, he began to explore the visual mediums of both film and photography from a young age. After graduating from Emerson Film School, he began to focus on the American landscape and concept of "the road". His life being split between both coasts gave rise to his interest in the "nomadic" character, which he believes shaped the American Landscape. This photo comes from a series entitled "The Air-Conditioned Nightmare."
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Scott Dupre Mills
Scott Dupre Mills Artist is a filmmaker, Musician, and the founder and Director of the VCU International Student Film Festival.
He is a Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and teaches Photography and Film in VCU’s Study abroad in Peru at Cusco, Machu Pichchu, and Lima.
Artist Statement:
Having grown up exposed to science, influenced by my father an internationally recognized biologist I became fascinated with the world that exists under the microscope. What is abstract and what is nature where not separate. My interests in the elements of color and shape that affect the biological function of vision are blended with the surreal components of reason and time-based accumulations. I choose to focus on scale and abstraction to engage the mind and the rods and cones of the human eye in a mixture of optical phenomena and mental responses. The work is intended to be studied from a distance briefly and unrecognizably viewed from an ever closer proximity with out arriving at a fixed point of view.
As I begin to paint I see the blank surface as a place for life to take hold. New growth builds up, reinforced in areas of separation and merged in others. Complete work exists when all the available space is filled. Sculptures are painted and paintings sculpted in layers carved away rearranged and reattached. Photography and film are as fluid as wet paint, timed in transitional frames in a synthesis of textured light sonically emitted to the ears and eyes.
Art is a healthy addiction that keeps my active mind occupied and spirit engaged in creation far from a literal explanation for a state that exists with out language.
Anne Benolken
Anne Benolken has a Bachelors from the University of Chicago and a Master of Fine Arts in photography from Maryland Institute College of Art. She teaches in the computer graphics division of Communication Arts. In 1982 she traveled to India on an American Institute of Indian Studies grant to photograph Indian houses from the time of the Raj. She now creates three-dimensional mixed media digital photo collages about problems in life and spirituality, using the Indian goddess Kali to represent herself. She has shown work both locally and nationally.
"Kali Tries to derail her train of thought", Digital photograph.
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Mike Cantwell
Mike Cantwell has a BFA from the University of Notre Dame (Jacques Gold Medal of Fine Art) and a MFA from the University of South Florida. He is the program coordinator for the Computer Graphics discipline at Montgomery College. He is adjunct faculty at The Corcoran College of Art and Design. An active painter his work has been featured in many national and regional exhibitions including; Artsights 96, The Catholic University, The Corcoran, GRACE, MPA’s Strictly Painting III, The WPA Biennial, Poets & Painters International Group exhibitions in Tami Nadu, India and in London, England; Rockville Arts Place, Arlington Art Center, His paintings are in the permanent collections of the The Museum of Florida Art and The Snite Museum of Art. Cantwell is also the corporate artist for the Hard Times Café.
"Dresden" Acrylic on Canvas
"Mandela Head" Oil on Pannel 16"x18" From the head series, won second place at the Fairfax Council of the Arts annual juried exhibition. Viginia Meclenberg juror.
"Tree of Knowlege" 40"x16", Acrylic on Canvas
Alex Butler
Artist Statement: Anytime I go anywhere I see everything through the lens, even if I don’t have a camera on me. I try to capture where I am and how I am feeling in my pictures. I can’t pinpoint any one thing that inspires me because I am constantly inspired by many different things. When taking pictures or looking for a great photograph I look through the lens and test many different angles until I find the perfect one. I try to always capture an essence of my surroundings instead of the whole. I hope to show people that you don’t have to take a perfect landscape or portrait to make a photograph. Something as simple as a wood fence post is just as beautiful as the entire fence. I even though I have been involved in photography for 9 years I still feel like I am just getting started, and still have a lot to learn.
David Kapszukiewicz
Primarily an oil painter, David also works in graphite, acrylic and some watercolor. Nature is his inspiration. Our willingness to destroy her is his motivation. Currently, he is a student at the Kewaunee Academy of Fine Art. Their mission is to “train and prepare students for a career in contemporary representational painting.” While attending KAFA, he continues to paint in his studio in Appleton, work on commissioned projects and plein air paint. He is influenced by the work of Zorn, Bongart, Sargent, Inness, Sorolla, MacPherson, Kelly and Gerhartz among others. His mentors/teachers include: Craig Blietz, Steve Ohlrich, Lori Beringer, Amy Lloyd, Bonnie Plaruch, Ken DeWaard and Bonnita Budsyz. David has and continues to have his work shown at numerous Wisconsin galleries.
Artist’s Statement: “Through my art, I attempt to create images that demonstrate my feelings about Nature and our delicate balance with her.”
"Diversity" Acylic on Canvas, Print.
Pat O’ Brien
Pat O’ Brien earned his BFA at the University of Notre Dame (Jacques Silver Medal of Fine Art) and his MA from the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque. He has an extensive exhibition record that includes such venues as the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Smithsonian, New York; Adler Gallery, Baltimore; Greater Reston Art Center; Snite Museum of Art, Notre Dame; Montgomery College; and Magazine Street Gallery, New Orleans. His work has been featured in Nest Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and Schoolastic Magazine. He currently has a studio in Baltimore, MD.
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Marie Mangenot
“I am French, born in 1979 and freshly arrived in DC. I had the opportunity to travel extensively since I was 20, traveling in Europe and Africa, teaching in England and Mexico before launching a 2 year project on women issues in China in 2007. By discovering new cultures and different ways of life on my own, I often found it difficult to describe and share with my family or friends in France the amazing experiences that I was living without them.
I eventually found out that photography was the best way to share these moments and express how I felt. Capturing moments and emotions that can actually “travel in time and space” through a picture and be felt by someone else in another context is fascinating. There is nearly no need for explanation in front of a picture; it speaks for itself… and eventually for me!”
"Tea For Two" Photograph.
"Bus Stop Marie" Photograph.
Joseph Schoenwetter
Born Michael Joseph Schoenwetter on January 19, 1985. Joey graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2009 with a degree in painting and printmaking. Married to his wife Kelli in August of 2009, they had one “chunk- a- licious” baby boy whom they named Dayton in October of the same year. Joey’s passion in art is Screen-printing and its properties of layering and producing multiple images that he finds so attractive. His art reflects that fore mentioned esthetic with a multitude of line work and color combination. The many variations and combinations he creates from a single print illustrate his love of investigating. He is also a firm believer that one should not erase their mistakes, but rather embrace them. By never erasing and overcoming the mistakes you learn more about your art and obtain a more solid piece than you would ever have otherwise.
"Smoke" Screen-print.
"Hat" Screen-print.
"Gurl" Screen-print
Photo- Schoenwetter & Artist Jackie Cantwell next to Joey’s Work.
Ephraim "Ed" Steinberg
“A long time ago, I was born in Philadelphia, Pa., moved to Bristol, Pa. and then to Richmond, Va. In Richmond, I finished Thomas Jefferson High School and the University of Richmond with a B.S. degree in chemistry. After a very short time in the Army, I was discharged for a commission in the Navy. The war (W.W.II) over, Baltimore, Md. became my home for 5 years, where I worked as a paint chemist and then back to Richmond, Va. In Richmond, I became interested in art and attended Richmond Professional Institute, which later became Virginia Commonwealth University. It was there that I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.”
“Ed” teaches screen-printing at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Studio Art School, and at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. He has shown work at numerous establishments across the nation including: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Mint Museum, The Anderson Gallert at VCU, They Chrysler Museum, Richmond Public Library, & Middle Street Gallery. He has shown work abroad at galleries in Milano, Italy, Lima, Peru, & Montreal, Quebec.
In addition to the above, works have been exhibited with the Boston Printmakers, Richmond Artists Association, Metropolitan Artists Association, ONE/OFF and the Print Club of Philadelphia, PA. Prints are in many private and public collections throughout the United States and several foreign countries.
"Clowns in a car" Screen-print.
"Rachels Tomb", 6 1/4"w x 4 3/4"h, Screen-print.
"Film Developing" Screen-print.
Website: http://www.esteinbergprints.
Mark Gottlieb
Mark Gottlieb has been photographing since his parents gave him his first Instamatic camera on their family vacations to Disney World. In high school he took traditional black and white courses and in the summer he attended Manhattanville College’s Photo Essay class. Although it was not until his freshman year at Emerson College that he became inspired by many photographers through his History of Photography course. Gottlieb later continued this pursuit with various professors in the Photography Department, studying many styles and mediums. In his free time he freelanced for the internet music daily Junk Media and donated a large body of work to the Harvard College Women’s Center for their first art exhibition. Gottlieb was later awarded Emerson College’s Outstanding Senior Achievement Award for Photography after self-publishing his first book of photography,"Krescent City: Saint Louis Cemetery Number One and the Lower Ninth Ward." In 2009 he graduated with a Minor in Photography and now lives in New York City with his girlfriend, Alexandra Ragheb. They happen to have met in his Photo Practicum class and one of her photographs is also a part of this show.
"Quarry" Photograph.
Gail Vollrath
Gail Vollrath is a Washington, DC based artist. Her abstract paintings and mixed media work represents the day, current affairs, conversations and events. Vollrath uses mediums such as china marker, oil bar and oil based paint pens along with oil paint on canvas, paper and board, to create complex, two-dimensional surfaces. She received her MFA from UNC-Greensboro in 2000 and exhibits nationally.
"Metatame", Oil, collage, chalk on paper, 8" x 7.75
Karen Danenberger
Karen Danenberger received a BA in studio art from Smith College in 1974, did graduate work at Edinburgh University in Scotland in 1975, and earned a MA in painting from NYU in 1979. Through NYU’s Summer Abroad Program, Karen was able to spend two summers in Venice, Italy, where light reflections and the emotive qualities of color first became central themes in her artwork. Karen grew up on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the daughter of an artist and longtime art educator, Edward Bolton. Karen, herself, has over 30 years experience in art instruction at all age levels, and was recently a teacher of oil and acrylic painting for adults at the Reston Community Center at Lake Anne from 2001-2009. Karen has participated in group and solo shows throughout the US and Italy and has won a number of awards in shows sponsored by the League of Reston Artists. Her drawings, paintings, and batiks are in private collections throughout the Northeast, Virginia, and Europe. After a return trip to Venice in 2007 to celebrate a 25 year wedding anniversary, and after many visits to Cape Cod, Karen has continued her study of the images and feelings generated in scenes depicting water.
Photo- Danenberger in front of her work.
Matt Ravenstahl
Matt Ravenstahl is currently a Doctoral candidate at the University of Durham in Northern England, doing course work in the summer, and researching and teaching in the US during the academic year. He received his MFA from Univeristy of Maryland in 2004. His work explores the concept of white guilt. Specifically in regard to the concept of guilt and its impact on the identity of the white american male in contemporary global society. Matt has been reviewed in many known publications and exhibits nationally. He has a one man show opening at the Greater Reston Arts Center in Jan 2011. Matt typically usses the medium of performance, video and installation.
Jeff Lassahn
Jeff Lassahn is a multi-media artist working and living in Richmond, Virginia. In video, painting, drawing, and printmaking, he explores the economic and social tensions of modern American society. War and inequality feature prominently in both figurative and conceptual work.
"Grandma" Lithograph.
"Toys for Tots"3 x 2 ft. (apprx.),lithograph, 4 color photoplate transfer of drawing in chalk and colored pencil, Summer 2009
Photo- Lassahn working on his lithograph, "Grandma"
Carlos Martinez, Jr.
My name is Carlos Martinez Jr. I live in Reston, Virginia. I received a BFA in Communication Arts, also known as Illustration from Virgina Commonwealth University. My talents include drawing, painting, sculpture, computer graphics, and design. All of which i use as a Scientific Illustrator. My inspiration comes from poster art, music, art history, and nature. Recent clients include Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Entomology and Botany Departments. For freelance work email me at aquinoc85@gmail.com.
"Coffee" Water Color
"Fish & Crab" Water Color
Max Charnley
Max Charnley, 22, a senior, double majoring in Communication Arts(illustration) and Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, was born in Charlotte, NC, spent his high school years in Floyd Co. VA, and now resides in Richmond.
From boyhood, Max has had a profound interest in Asian art and culture, which can be seen as having great influence in his work and artistic style. Having traveled to Japan as a young adult on two separate occasions, Max has been able to develop, first hand, an appreciation for the pattern, line, and color abundant in Japanese art forms which he has put to use in his own work. Inspiration for his work has derived from Japanese Ukiyo-e, or woodblock prints, in the use of flat color and bold line work, European Art Nouveau, in the display of the human form and curvilinear/organic shapes and line, as well as inspiration from Comic Book culture, and artists from the "Golden Age of Illustration." Greatly inspired by Music and Literature as well, in particular the Southern Gothic writing styles of Flannery O’Connor and Faulkner, as well as the musical lyrical stylings of "Country Noir" musicians like Neko Case and Gillian Welch, Max enjoys the challenge of taking themes presented in these non-visual art forms and bringing new life to them by adapting them into a visual experience.
With the completion of his degree program, Max’s plans for the future are vague, and may include Graduate School, teaching abroad, or taking his work freelance, in the hopes of one day entering the global marketplace through the pursuit of a career in illustration and design.
Anne Cherubim
Anne Cherubim is a self-taught artist who paints contemporary landscapes. She works predominantly in acrylic. Her art is rooted in real life images and textures, with a modern abstraction, often in a limited colour palette.
“My art is a reflection of contemporary art as portrayed by someone who is a product of a myriad of cultures: a Canadian girl, born of Sri Lankan parents, now residing in the US. This unique ‘lense’ through which I see the world informs my work, undeniably. ‘Tolerance’ is the word we use to talk about being open to, and welcoming of, one another. I believe ‘embrace’ is a much better word for talking about cultures, and the ways in which we can coexist.
I often talk about art (and music) transcending language, among other barriers, and creating commonalities, harmony. Art and music are universals. They can be enjoyed and appreciated no matter where you come from, or what language you speak,” says Cherubim.
Though she has been an artist for many years, her professional pursuit of it began more recently. Anne Cherubim has enjoyed exhibiting her work locally and internationally and currently resides with her husband and children in the USA.
Artist Statement
In the ‘Luminosity’ series, I try to portray the luminosity of the skies, and everything they touch, painting in layers of colour. A ‘wet on wet’ technique effectively blends colour, adds depth to the canvas, and evokes time and space.
Many of my paintings start with a moment in time, or a colour –sometimes one little cross-section of colour on a larger plane. I have been especially interested in capturing the essence of the night sky. Some nights the skies just glow, illuminating everything beneath.
Up until now, man could look skywards and tell what type of weather was imminent. In this age of global warming, where many people are still unaware of just how quickly the earth is changing, the skies are more beautiful, more volatile, than ever—but at what cost?
I am interested in the ways in which the luminosity of the skies changes the appearance of things.
The night skies have so many colours.
"Golden ii", 16×20, acrylic on stretched canvas, $2000 (This piece is not gallery wrapped. The colours of the painting continue over the edges of the canvas on all sides, over the staples.)
"Petals" in The Wind Recycled, 30×30, limited to an edition of 150, on stretched canvas, $350
MP Brown
Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the 1970s, I was raised during the gradual decline of the American steel industry. The slow transformation from a blue to white collar society left a lasting impression on me. Much like the societal struggles inherent during change; my artwork invokes a feeling of contradiction or struggle. I relocated to suburban Maryland in the early 1990s and have remained in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area now residing in Brambleton, Virginia. I have studied under watercolorist Joan Beveleaqua and at the University of Maryland and his work is heavily influenced by Gerhard Richter, Sean Scully, and Jasper Johns.
My most recent series is an experimental technique of smearing, blending, and manipulating paint with various straight edged materials. Beginning with an acrylic or milk paint base of a chosen palette, he juxtaposes contradictory colors to achieve a general air or feeling. Through the use of color, composition, line, and texture, I superimpose a conflicting mood. This subtle struggle is an abstract depiction of his general mood at the time of creation and its alter ego.
The piece, ‘Santa Ana’ was inspired by the seasonal winds that engulf Southern California from the Pacific and alludes to the unpredictability of this atmospheric phenomenon. In each of us there lays great potential born to us, it is only through our journey that we are able to fully realize that potential and drive our own fate.
"Santa Ana"
Christopher Noser
Christopher Noser designs portions of ships for the Navy. He lives in southeast DC and enjoys landscape photography of local architecture and outdoor scenes. Playing on the Capitol Lawn captures local energy being released after a new snow (Blizzard of Febuary 2010).
Daniel A. Root
My inspiration is drawn from elements in pop culture and of our past. The caricatured figures touch on a resemblance of film noir, vintage ads and comics evoking a playful, yet subtle dark humor. Haphazard and layered textures reflect my fascination with primitive style and urban decay. Education: BFA SUNY Plattsburgh.
Valerie Molnar
Valerie Molnar earned her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art, and her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Painting. She currently teaches Surface Research in the Art Foundation Department at VCU. In 2007 she earned a spot at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture residency, and she was also awarded one of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowships. Molnar was recently published in New American Paintings and has recently shown in galleries in New York, Brooklyn, and Santa Monica.
Shanna Walston
Shanna Walston is a student at the ARTiculate and Employment Training Program where she created this piece of artwork. Shanna Walston loves being an artist in the studio. She has recently been trained in Jewelry Design. Shanna’s upbeat personality makes her such a great addition to the WVSA family
WVSA ARTs connection is a unique non-profit organization providing multiple creative environments, opportunities, and experiences for children and adults through art-infused and vocational programs.
Vincent Merkel
Born 1971,Wash D.C.. Studied Sunderland University, Campus Arts and science, Athens Greece. Exhibits through out Greece. 12 Years studio Athens, & years taught color theory and design, sculpture and painting. Basic philosophy, the best teachers are not afraid to share their knowledge and admit their ignorance.
"The Grid"
Students from the IB Art program at South Lakes High School:
Laura Hoyos
I am a senior attending South Lakes High School. I have been in IB Visual Arts for two years and Digital Photography for one year. In my photographs I particularly like to play with the subject in order to make it seem more vulnerable than they truly are. On top of that, I draw a connection between all living beings. I am a believer that everything on earth is one and connected, therefore everything affects each other. For this reason I may give qualities of one object or thing to another in order to create these connections. On a different level, I sometimes make fun of the human way of life and how we as humans feel superior to everything around us. In my photographs, humans may look vulnerable or disoriented, this serves as symbolism that we are merely another life or energy in the universe, nothing else. As an artists, I definitely plan on expanding my career at the university level no matter where I go.
Maur Dessauvage
I migrated from Belgium in 2006. My work was exhibited before at the Greater Reston Art Center last year. I mostly experiment with different types and textures of paper or pen & ink.
Hannah Elmer
I am a senior IB Art student at South Lakes High School, working towards attending an Art school after I graduate in June of this year. I am predominantly a painter, but I challenge myself and my artwork by experimenting into differant mediums such as photography. My art gives me the opportunity to explore the natural world around us in relation to the artificial planet that we have created for ourselves. I look for similarities in movement between the human race and the physical environment that it inhabits, and attempt to convey those similarities through visual expression.
Jasmine Le
While photography is not my general choice of medium, it is just one more opportunity to capture life the way I, as an artist, see it. In my many travels, I have found that a camera is the perfect “digital canvas” for whenever I want to hold on to a visual. Even with this scope, I strive to capture my ideas and emotions through something as straightforward as a jellyfish, which more than 90% water. Simple and captivating, it drifts from place to place, just like a person, and really only functions by the means of a network of nerves. As an artist, I do see everyone as only a mass with a network of nerves and although we all may have an idea of where we feel we may belong, that destination will change the closer we get to it. With this idea, I strive to emphasize in my art that “the best thing about life is knowing that you put it together” and that nothing can stop whatever you decide.
"Violet Eye" 8×10, photograph.
Hannah Humphrey
Hannah Humphrey is a senior at South Lakes High school in Reston Virginia and is participating in the IB Art program under the direction of Matt Ravenstahl. She’s been interested in art her entire life, growing up with a photographer as her father and hopes to pursue art as a minor in college and a life long passion. Her work is greatly inspired by nature and it’s importance both in her life and connection with mankind, resulting in organic shapes, textures and colors that are shown through her art, a long with conveying personal emotions.
Rachel Munoz
Through art I enjoy expressing and showing a unique point of view to create meaning and feel. In my photograph, “simply untouched” I show stillness and subtle beauty. Nature and awareness captures still beauty.
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