New Art League Exhibit: Deborah Conn Celebrates Inner Resilience & Strength in “A Sense of Herself”
Watercolorist Deborah Conn celebrates inner resilience and strength through luminous, large-scale portraits of women in “A Sense of Herself,” on view at The Art League gallery, May 9–June 3, 2018.
“A Sense of Herself” coincides with the recent swell in the women’s movement, a coincidence that Conn, a vocal supporter of women’s rights, finds serendipitous. “Art creates an emotional connection with the viewer. It can give us the strength to say things like ‘me too’ or ‘time’s up,’” Conn remarked. She hopes that viewers will leave her exhibit feeling more connected to their own sense of self, buoyed by the confident faces and the remarkable stories represented in her show.
Conn presents viewers with a distinctly beautiful group of women, yet these portraits are far from passive. The confident, direct gazes of the sitters propose a tête-à-tête with viewers, as artwork and observer contemplate each other. Accompanying text passages offer a deeper glimpse into the lives of the models, from a woman who escaped an arranged marriage, to a woman who moved from Sierra Leone and became a successful business owner.
The faces Conn portrays are unique landscapes. She creates an intriguing textured surface by coating the watercolor paper with tissue paper, glue, and gesso. Layering strokes and drips of watercolor and glazes results in an effect reminiscent of veined stone. Thanks to the paper’s uneven terrain, “The paint gathers in the nooks and crannies. There’s an interplay between what the paint wants and what the painter wants,” Conn stated. The painting’s marbled surfaces also evoke the whorls and ridges of a fingerprint—befitting for portraits that showcase both the uniqueness of the sitter and the distinct hand of the artist who crafted them. Her color palette is gentle, washed with lustrous shades of sapphire and earthy terracotta, yet Conn delights in abstracting the faces with fanciful skin tones, seen in the evergreen complexions of Shelia and Ellalyne.
Deborah Conn has been painting in watercolor for 20 years, and she first began by taking classes at The Art League School. Her work appears in national and regional shows, and recent awards include a first place in Potomac Valley Watercolorists’ exhibition at NOVA’s Ernst Community Cultural Center, an Award of Excellence at the Virginia Watercolor Society 2016 exhibit, and an honorable mention in The Art League’s April 2018 Open Exhibit. Conn teaches beginning and intermediate watercolor in her Falls Church home studio as well as on Cunard, Celebrity, and Azamara cruise lines.
Exhibit dates: May 9-June 3, 2018
Free
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 10, 6:30-8:00 pm
105 North Union Street
Studio 21
(located in the Torpedo Factory Art Center)
Alexandria, VA 22314
Information:
www.theartleague.org or 703-683-1780
Gallery Hours:
Daily, 10:00 am–6:00 pm
Open Thursdays until 9:00 pm
Sundays, 12:00 noon–6:00 pm
*The Torpedo Factory may close at 5:00 pm for events. Please check Today’s Hours to see if this affects your visit.
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Exhibitions are free and open to the public.
Founded in 1954, The Art League, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, is among the region’s largest and oldest multi-service organizations for visual artists. As a major component of the cultural fabric of Alexandria, The Art League offers extensive exhibit opportunities for artists through its gallery, outstanding fine art education through the school, and valuable outreach programs to the local community. The Art League is headquartered in the landmark Torpedo Factory Art Center.
