Alexandria, VA – Take a break from blossom fever during this most-welcomed break from winter. There’s a lot of inspirational scenery to be seen, indoors as well as out. Nepenthe Gallery and the von Brahler Gallery Ltd. kickstart the spring art season presenting More Moments of Art at the mansion house of the magnificent River Farm estate.
The glorious grounds of River Farm, boasting expansive views of the Potomac River on land once owned by George Washington, are maintained by the American Horticultural Society. The exhibit, which runs from April 3 to June 12, focuses on floral and landscape art. Sales benefit the organization. There is an opening reception April 6 from 2-5pm and an evening one June 5, at 5 to 7p.m., before the exhibit closes. Both are free and open to the public.
New at Nepenthe
Meantime inside at the Nepenthe Gallery at Hollin Hall, on Thursdays from 6 to 7:30pm, Art + WINE + CHEESE events never disappoint. April 3 highlights the oil and flashe paintings of Mia Guille, with the art on exhibit all month. April 10 showcases Beyond the Brush: Exploring Visual Art Forms through May 7th. Closing out April is Alexandria artist Katie Stadler, whose art can be seen until May 22.
It’s also last call for Michael Alfano, Faces of 1 artwork is on exhibit at Nepenthe until April 9. Alfano is the artist behind the sculptures created for the public art placemaking project along Route 1/Richmond Highway in Fairfax County that’s sponsored by the Southeast Fairfax Development Corp. Smaller scale sculptures of the public artwork celebrating the diversity and resilience of southeast Fairfax are available for sale at Nepenthe. For a map of the sculpture locations go to sfdc.org/Facesof1
Spring Synchronicity
The April show at Del Ray Artisans celebrates the artistry of the nonprofit art organization’s die-hard volunteers. Synchronous is curated by Volunteer Director Morgan Parr, who conceived of the exhibit theme as a visual expression of gratitude for the most dedicated exhibiting volunteers. DRA’s working artists and numerous community-engaged art lovers collaborate to ensure the gallery’s mission of supporting emerging as well as veteran makers of art.
Mucha Madness
Timeless Mucha: The Magic of Line is a not-to-be-missed exhibition at the Phillips Collection on view through May 18. Alphonse Mucha was a Czech decorative painter best known for his evocative poster art and commercial illustration work during the heyday of the Art Nouveau period. His exquisite expertise of line proved to be timeless, eventually co-opted by the pop/ psychedelic counterculture movement of the Sixties one-hundred years after his birth.
Dazzled by Donohoe
Speaking of deftly-drafted artful execution of line, Alexandria artist Wendy Jones Donohoe recently won the American Art Collector Editor’s Choice Award at the International Guild of Realism Fall Salon for her colored pencil and acrylic drawing of 415 Prince Street. This recognition earned Donohoe a full-page feature in the March issue of the very prestigious American Art Magazine.
If you frequent the Art League Patron Show each year, you will know that winning a Wendy Donohoe drawing is a highly coveted coup. Her artwork frequently takes the top prizes (first-picked art and best-in-show) for her incredible mastery of realism using a pencil.
Particular standouts over the years: the whimsically nostalgic Sixties-flashback, black and white “The Birthday Party.” And “Boston’s Daughters” is a colored-pencil masterpiece depicting an art lover engaged by John Singer Sargent’s “The Daughters of Edward Darley Bolt” at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. My collector’s heart desires both. But I wasn’t so lucky.
Fantastic Fiberworks
Have you discovered Judy Gula’s Artistic Artifacts on Eisenhower Avenue in the West End? It’s not only a treasure trove of material for quilting. The maze of a makers’ supply source is a veritable guild workshop of fiber and mixed-media artists. The shop is ever abuzz with state-of-the-art Bernina sewing machines in busy-bee overdrive as classes and sewing studio space are in high demand.
Congratulations to Judy Gula and staff for winning the 2025 Creative Hub Award in the Local Quilt Shop Contest as well as being named 2025 Regional Prize Winner for the second year in a row. Stop by Artistic Artifacts to see what all the fabulousness is about. You’ll thank me later.
ICYMI: See the Inspiring Black History Film “The Poppaw Queen” with Discussion on Friday, Feb 21
