Studio Gallery is open to the public from Wednesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays from 1pm to 6pm and on Saturdays from 11am to 6pm. Masks are recommended but optional. To schedule a visit, please contact director@studiogallerydc.com or call (202) 232-8734.
Ink on a Coffee Stirrer: Female figures in ink and charcoal
Elizabeth McNeil Harris
Curated by Adah Rose Bitterbaum
March 1 - 25, 2023
"Forward" by Elizabeth McNeil Harris
Using either charcoal or a wooden coffee stirrer dipped in Japanese sumi ink, the line drawings that form the basis of these pieces are executed quickly yet meditatively. Creating them is as much about being poised in the moment as it is controlling the ink or charcoal on the page. Color is added later using chalk pastels.
This series is about the lines between self and other, action and inaction, and body, mind, and spirit.
Opening Reception:
Saturday, March 4th
4-6 pm
Third Thursday:
Thursday, March 16th
5-8 pm
Closing Reception:
Saturday, March 25th
4-6 pm
In The Lower Gallery
ELEMENTS: New Work by Premier Associates
A Premier Associate Group Show
Curated by Veronica Szalus
March 1 - 25, 2023
From left to right starting with the top: Kim Bursic, Joan Mayfield, Bill Bowser, Bob Burgess, Pam Frederick, and Jennifer Duncan
Four natural ELEMENTS -- earth, fire, air and water – were thought by the ancient Greeks to be the building blocks of all matter on earth. In Hinduism’s sacred literature, the inward essence of everything in the cosmos is rooted in just five essential ELEMENTS – earth, water, fire, air and space. Today, Scientists believe that all things consist of some combination of approximately 100 simple chemical ELEMENTS that make up the Periodic Table. While visual art is often considered to be the product of seven foundational ELEMENTS: line, color, shape, form, value, space and texture. In this exhibit, seven artists offer their individual creative celebrations of and reflections on ELEMENTS of various sorts and in various forms.
Drawing from the classical elements of nature, the colors and forms in Bowser’s pastel paintings create a sense of mystery and foreboding. A few basic geometric shapes constitute the nucleus from which the structure of his compositions gradually emerge from murky surrounds. His Kübel (“simple bucket”) sculptures explore themes of threat and protection using high gloss reds and greens against a deep matte black surface.
Burgess seeks and translates the geometry and chaos in nature in his captivating close range photographic images. Discomfortingly intimate views of specimens offer a window through which we enter and plumb the depths of these natural elements along with the artist.
The visual texture of leaves and patterns of light in Duncan’s paintings are among the elements that guide the viewer on a lively excursion around the surface of the canvas. Lush, wooded landscapes, often characterized by obscured or camouflaged objects create a longing to push back the branches for an unobstructed view, and a sense of intrigue as the viewer navigates their way.
Pam Frederick and Joan Mayfield use disparate geometric and organic shapes and colors as the foundational components of their abstract compositions. Discarded ephemera and forgotten wallpapers are the elements Frederick combines to depict simplified mixed media still life representations. Mayfield fuses unrelated found objects, pieces of cardboard and wooden frames to assemble three-dimensional low relief sculptures.
And Bursic’s mixed media paintings speak to an inward space. Using the elements of shape, color and texture, she draws the viewer into a visually disjointed conversation. The prints illustrate the essence of disruption and interruption by combining and fusing two separate series of art together, locking them in a flow of conflict and cohesion.
Finally, bold colors and simple forms are the essential visual elements of Lipton’s abstract paintings, starting with a drawing and then incorporating a heroic-like figure interacting with and engaging in the drama of the canvas. Lipton says, “Everyone needs heroes, and often we are our own best heroes."
Our relationships with and understandings of critical formative ELEMENTS such as these are complex and mysterious. But they sustain our lives and are a source of wonder and beauty.
Opening Reception:
Saturday, March 4th
4-6 pm
Third Thursday:
Thursday, March 16th
5-8 pm
Closing Reception:
Saturday, March 25th
4-6 pm