Alexandria, VA – There’s no doubt about it: Alexandria is for the arts! Ongoing as well as upcoming exhibits, installations, and programs promise to make 2019 a summer of art. The Zebra revisited a number of noteworthy shows closing this weekend in Port City. Be sure to catch them while you still can.
Bridge-Paris II, Oil on board.
Paintings by Geoffrey Johnson are spotlighted at The Principle Gallery in the Gilpin House on lower King Street. Johnson is a regular exhibitor at the Principle Gallery, which is the finest private art space in Port City. Johnson is known for his predominantly 50 shades of black, white, and grey canvasses depicting haunting exterior and mysterious interiors – vaguely ominous yet somehow inviting.
City Skyline Gold, Oil on Canvas
The intriguing use of isolated but not incidental touches of a single color (shocking shades of rose coral or persimmon, sage, cobalt, even gold) in some of the canvases proves to be a welcome come hither, inviting the viewer to linger over the composition.
City Square, Oil on board.
Given the accomplished arsenal of talent among the established “contemporary realism” artists complementing contemporary impressionist Geoffrey Johnson’s solo exhibition, a visit to Principle Gallery is a must. Next week, GC Meyers’ 20th solo exhibition opens with a public reception June 7 from 6:30- 9:00 PM at the Principle Gallery, 208 King Street, open daily/late night until 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Two notable exhibits at the Torpedo Factory Art Center are closing soon. The Target Gallery is the national artists contemporary exhibit space in the art center featuring new and progressive artists from across the country. The 2019 Emerging Artists exhibit showcases the work of four up-and-coming artists from around the DMV. Kim Sandara, from Falls Church, has on exhibit four works of abstraction utilizing a stream of consciousness method of escapism through musical and visual inspiration. The color-intense acrylic paintings on canvas are vivacious and transformative.Sean Sweeney, hailing from DC, is not new to the Target Gallery. His sculptural installation work utilizing found objects interplayed with architectural standards is at once contemplative and confrontational. Zen while upsetting the apple cart.
Madeline A. Stratton, also from DC, works outside the box exploring content as context. Objects become a function of space, time and memory. One installation piece involves a floating panel that engages its own silhouette, employing the negative space of the gallery to create light and shadow.District artist Kate Gorman, who earned her masters degree in media production from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, illustrates the power of visual expression as language. Watercolor enhanced by quilt-making techniques yields images of encoded messaging and cryptic meanings, expressing the tension and mystery of a world beyond what is known.
The 2019 Emerging Artists exhibit is on view at the Target Gallery through June 5, 2019. Adah Rose Bittenbaum was a juror for this year’s emerging artist show. She is founder and director of the Adah Rose Gallery in Kensington, Maryland. Phillipa Hughes, founder of The Pinkline Project, and Dawne Langford founder of the Quota, a pop-uo public art venue, were also furies for this annual show.At the other end of the Torpedo Factory first-floor galleries is The Art League. The solo exhibit there is the latest work of Berit Jarama Estabrook. Her solo exhibition is titled “Eyes of the Wild”. Her large acrylic paintings depict animals of the arctic, tundra, and northern woodlands: polar bear, caribou, moose, fox.
Hotspot IV
Born in Mexico of Peruvian and Norwegian descent and raised in Sweden, layered, overlapping patterns and hues yield a color on cool effect, reflecting Berit’s exploration of roots and cultural identity. She is a passionate, compassionate conservation activist. This current body of work for the Art League Gallery solo exhibition spotlights animal and environmental protection as well as conscientious advocacy. Large painted works range from around $1,200 to over $4,000 with small, framed collage/mixed media pieces at $150 each. “Eyes of the Wild” closes June 2.
The Heat is On
The Del Ray Artisans May show “The Sacred Feminine,” on exhibit through June 2, celebrates all that is woman – body, mind and spirit. The show was curated by Lynn Fernandez and Tamara Wilkerson. The themes of female empowerment, the energies of life, birth, motherhood, nurturing and sexual aspects unique to womanhood and connections to nature and spirituality are explored in painting, photography, jewelry, mixed-media, wood, print, ceramic and textile.
Nevertheless, She Persisted by Pamela Huffman
Art and Soul by Kate Gibney
Sunflower Two by Jahed Haidari
Del Ray Artisans Gallery
2704 Mount Vernon Avenue
Del Ray
703-838-4827
Gallery opens at noon Thursday~ Sunday with late hours until 9 PM Friday and Saturday
(All Photos by Kelly MacConomy)
