Virginia-based artist Travis Childers’ work is on display at the Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art in Reston as “Borrowed and Not Returned,” an exhibition of three recent and ongoing series.
The art is on display at the Signature gallery through June 28. The gallery — located at the Signature apartment building, 11850 Freedom Drive — is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Face masks are required to enter.
A reception and artist talk will be held Thursday, April 7, at 6 p.m. at the outdoor courtyard at the Signature Apartments.
Travis Childers’ work is concerned with our society’s extractive relationship to nature, though he often approaches the topic with humor and a healthy dose of culpability as he acknowledges his own participation. In his new Story Tellers series, Childers employs miniature, model railroad materials to create landscapes that, despite their small size, imply the depth of the earth and boundlessness of the sky. In contrast, Childers’ collage work in the Vegetation series presents opaque facades and coverings that create expansive fields of borrowed images.
Altered and constructed landscapes serve as anchors across Childers’ work, creating a common thread between a wide variety of human experiences. Underlying his practice, is the sensibility that in our human relationship to landscape, there is something borrowed and not returned.
Tephra ICA at Signature is a year-round satellite gallery. Curatorial staff select local and regional artists to feature. The gallery is in partnership with Boston Properties and Bozzuto, and supported by Reston Community Center.
The Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art will kick off the new year with the work of Laurel Nakadate, a Boston-based artist who traveled across the country to photograph familiar matches she discovered through DNA testing.
Nakadate’s work, which is presented in partnership with George Mason University, will be on display at the institute from Jan. 22 through May 29. The artist focuses self-representation, identify formation, representation and loneliness.
Her DNA-based series — “Relations” — began in 2013. It also features direct relatives of her mother — who died shortly after Nakadate completed work on that series. Each photograph features individuals at night with a single light source at a location of their choice.
“I realized at a certain point it wasn’t just about the people, but it was about these landscapes. It was about standing in these landscapes and night. And it was about the sort of ways that I could still be surprised by photography,” Nakadate wrote in a statement.
Tephra will also offer a first look at a series in which technicians edited photos of Nakadate’s mother with her newborn son, who was born shortly after Nakadate’s mother died.
The arts institute offered a quick look at upcoming exhibitions as well:
Travis Childers (Feb. 10-June 28): “The component parts of one of Childers’ artworks are often recognizable manufactured objects, such as pencils or model railroad trees and figurines–even his works on canvas are comprised of images lifted from printed newspaper using scotch tape. Through a process that errs on the side of obsession, he assembles works that are deeply influenced by his personal experience of the Northern Virginia suburban landscape and his memories of a more rural childhood. In reference to a collage made from hundreds of skies excerpted from the background of published newspaper images, the artist reflects, “There is just something reassuring about seeing so many horizon lines.”
Danni O’Brien (July 14-Oct. 11): Danni O’Brien is fascinated by the history of the plastics boom that took place in the mid-twentieth century. Looming in the corner of her studio, an overburdened wire shelf serves as a library of collected refuse. Boxes and bins of found and scrapped objects are sorted intuitively by criteria such as texture, shape, material, and color. O’Brien speaks about her process as “caring for the objects” as she meticulously integrates them into monochromatic wall mounted works, whose compositions are drawn from diagrams similarly loosened from their original contexts as instructions for home renovations, sewing, or understanding human anatomy.
Dominic Chambers (Fall 2022): Chambers’ most recent bodies of work feature his friends and acquaintances engaged in acts of leisure and contemplation. “Too often, the Black body has been located in our imaginations as one incapable of rest,” Chambers explains. “Often when we imagine what the Black body is doing it is usually an act of labor, rebellion, or resistance.” Instead, his subjects are depicted reading or lost in thought, their gaze fixed on points that seem far beyond the realm of the picture plane.
Image via Laurel Nakadate/Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art
Reston Man Arrested in Connection with Regional Robberies — Police have arrested a Reston man in connection with a series of robberies at convenience stores in Loudoun and Fairfax counties. Bresner Porres, 30, was arrested after a multi-jurisdictional effort and was charged with three counts of robbery at 7-Eleven stores in Sterling. [Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office]
Search Underway for Missing Herndon Woman — Local police are seeking the public’s help to find a woman who went missing on Nov. 9. Joey Sitek, 28, is 5’5” and roughly 120 pounds. Police believe there is an immediate concern for her well-being. [Herndon Police Department]
Tephra Hires New Associate Curator — The Tephra Institute of Contemporary art has hired a new associate curator and festival director. Hannah Barco had a similar position at the School of Art Institute of Chicago. [Tephra]
Photo by Majrorie Copson
Finding Safe Streets — The county’s ActiveFairfax Transportation Plan is working on a safe streets proposal. Tow community meetings are planned next month to address systemic issues with transportation. [Fairfax County Government]
Virginia Gets High Marks for Vaccines — The state ranks 10th among all states for the percentage of its population that’s fully vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 82 percent of people age 18 and above have received at least one dose. [Northam]
A Message of Healing by Local Artist — Julia Malakoff’s soli exhibition — Good Jujue — is in its final week at Reston Art Gallery and Studios. The artwork includes references to challenges caused by the pandemic. [Reston Patch]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
A Reston resident and former South Lakes High School parent is using her interest in photography to fundraise for the school’s next public art sculpture on Lake Thoreau’s spillway.
Mary Prochnow, who recently retired from a career in systems engineering, has donated her nature photographs, for a calendar that can be purchased to help raise money for the students’ work. Each year, students from the school’s Science, Technology Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) club create a public art piece on the spillway.
“Knowing that funding this project is always a challenge and that it is entirely independently funded, I was looking for an easy way for anyone who enjoys the artwork to be able to help support the effort,” Prochnow said.
All proceeds from calendar purchases will go toward pushing materials for the sculpture, which will likely be installed in the summer of next year. Lake Thoreau Entertainment Association and Red’s Table, a restaurant, will cover the costs of printing the calendar.
Phoebe Avery, Public Art Reston‘s public art manager, said her organization was humbled by the support of Prochnow, her husband who runs the entertainment association and Ryan Tracy of Red’s Table, for supporting the students’ work.
“Along with our program partners at Reston Association, we have been gratified to watch the STEAM Team grow from four participants to more than 30 students each year,” Avery wrote in a statement.
Two SLHS students — Nava Mehrpour and David Raw — joined Public Art Reston’s public art committee to handpick several of 72 photographers by Prochnow for the calendar.
Marco Rando, an art teacher at the school and the STEAM teaam’s program advisor, said he was ecstatic that Prochnow offered to help fundraise for the effort.
“Using art to support art could not be a more appropriate concept. In addition, the suggestion to engage in an aesthetic gathering with STEAM students to choose her photos for the calendar was a beautiful layer of educational collaboration,” he said.
Rando and Public Art Reston did not immediately return requests for comment on what next year’s public art will look like or where the project is in the development phase.
Residents have until Oct. 31 to donate to the project in order to receive a calendar gift. A minimum donation of $20 is suggested.
The STEAM team has brought public art to life on the spillway, with projects like Spectrum in 2019 and Simon in 2016.
Photo via Public Art Reston
New art in Reston envisions a scenario in which the U.S. Capitol Grounds is taken over by a swamp and vegetation even entangles the historic building itself.
The exhibit by Andrea Limauro, a D.C. city planner who has worked on flood resilience efforts for the district, is being shown in Reston Town Center at the Signature apartment building (11850 Freedom Drive).
“So much of the work in this show is inspired by my daytime work looking at flood plains and sea level rise in the District and imagining a not so far fetched future scenario where the capital is taken over by water and a new tropical fauna and flora,” he said in an email. “I do not believe these are inevitable outcomes but I like for my paintings to provide the alarm.”
The artwork started being on display earlier this month, and an opening reception will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 22. An in-person reception and brief artist talk will be held at the outside courtyard, noted Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art, which hosts and selects exhibits in its satellite gallery at Signature.
Tephra described the art with the following:
Through his attentive and laborious process of screen printing and careful painting, Limauro’s works bring into focus the looming nature of disasters due to the effects of climate change. Through the employment of striking color combinations, metal leaf, patterns, and minute details, the illusion to a dystopian future of the DC region entices the eye.
D.C’s Office of Planning further notes that Limauro has served as the point of contact on “sustainability and climate planning for the Neighborhood Planning Division.”
The centerpiece of the show, “A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats,” is a 12-foot-long “dystopian painting about the increased risk of flooding due to climate change in Washington, D.C.,” the artist notes on his website, where rising water affects historic sites from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial and beyond.
Visitors can view the paintings Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Face masks are required but reservations aren’t.
A new art show and sale at Lake Anne Plaza’s Reston Art Gallery and Studios (RAGS) will benefit COVID-19 relief efforts in Nepal.
More than 50 works from Ugandan and Nepali artists will be on display and on sale starting tomorrow (Wednesday) through Thursday (Sept. 2) with a reception tomorrow at 5 p.m.
The show is being presented by Scott DeLisi, the former U.S. ambassador to both Uganda and Nepal, and his organization Engage Nepal. Proceeds will go toward funding a pediatric intensive care unit in a Nepal hospital that will help care for young COVID patients.
“Nepal has been devastated, so we are doing all we can to help,” DeLisi wrote in the press release. “This includes the sale of these wonderful paintings and photos donated by a variety of artists, including many from Uganda who truly wanted to help the people in Nepal in a time of need. I met those artists when I served as Ambassador in Uganda and was so touched by their kindness and concern.”
Currently, the hospital has constructed the ward with beds, and the local government has provided two ventilators, DeLisi elaborated to Reston Now in an email.
“But much remains to do,” he noted.
The show and fundraiser are being held in Reston thanks to local artist and former Foreign Service officer Rosemarie Forsythe, whose month-long show “Illuminations” is set to debut at the Reston Art Gallery on Sept. 3.
“I learned about Engage Nepal through a former Foreign Service colleague who is on the board of directors,” Forsythe said in the release. “I spent over a decade as a Foreign Service officer in the late 1980s to late 1990s. I like to think that this event is my way of showing appreciation for the time I enjoyed traveling, hiking and mountain climbing in Nepal.”
RAGS Director Pat Macintyre said she is “honored” to host the event.
“All artists are world artists, and we are honored to host this event and help raise awareness of this global concern,” Macintyre wrote. “We hope that our community of Reston and beyond will enjoy Engage Nepal’s art show and support the work of this important organization.”
Artworks that will be featured in the show include a painting of the African Cape buffalo, Ugandan wooden sculptures, and works from artist Lima Mugalu.
“[She’s] one of the most active female artists in Uganda,” DiLisi told Reston Now. “She paints women celebrating weddings, at introduction ceremonies, and in other social interactions using mixed media, acrylics and fabrics.”
Prices range from $50 to $850. Monetary donations will also be accepted.
DiLisi says that he’s touched by the gallery’s willingness to host the show and sale.
“I have to say…that the community spirit of everyone associated with Reston Art Gallery has touched me,” DiLisi said. “Their willingness to act to help kids in need in Nepal has been heartwarming.”
A new exhibit at Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art in Reston is set to highlight how great art can still be created even in the midst of intense political and social upheaval.
The Reston Town Center-based local arts organization, which re-branded earlier this year from Greater Reston Arts Center, is debuting “3AM: Time Sensitive” next month, a collection of performance-based works from a Myanmar artist collective.
“There’s a lot that we can learn about how people express themselves, how people create art, and how people organize in their communities in the face of volatile political times,” says show curator Adriel Luis. “Often times what can be missed is how much we can learn about…these issues happening in the United States when we actually look at things from a global lens.”
The exhibit will feature three video-based works showing lived-in experiences of the artists, particularly the impact of globalization, political turmoil, and the complexities of queer life in Myanmar.
This is the first time that work of the three artists that make up 3AM — Ma Ei, Ko Latt, and Yadanar — is being shown in the United States. The exhibit at Tephra will run through early January 2022.
One piece, says Luis, features still images of the artists holding objects that are commonplace in Myanmar, some traditional and some clearly imported from the west.
“There are places in this world that are actively going through civil war, but yet art persists and people continue to express themselves,” Luis says.
The exhibit is in-person only at the moment, but the display will also be shown out the windows of Tephra’s gallery at 12001 Market Street for those who are not comfortable coming inside.
Despite a pandemic, Tephra has had several notable exhibits and displayed works over the last few months including Quantum Shift, which is still on display until August 7, as well a monolith sculpture that was erected in D.C. back in May.
Luis says he and Tephra as a whole made it a priority to work with international artists not only to grow as an institution, but also to provide a look into what’s going on in other parts of the world.
Luis, who is also a curator at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, says his career has been about bringing artists from across the world to local galleries and communities.
“The hope is to demonstrate how showing an international artist can actually resonate deeply within a local community, as opposed to sticking out like a sore thumb,” he says.
He believes Reston’s size will give community members a closer connection to the message that these artists are trying to make.
“There’s a lot of reasons why somewhere like Reston is so much more similar to the environment that these artists are used to than a bigger city like D.C.,” he says.
Under normal circumstances, the artists would be here to introduce and answer any questions about their work, but between the COVID-19 pandemic and upheaval in the wake of a military coup in Myanmar, that isn’t possible for 3AM. Luis and Tephra are still trying to figure out a way to have the artists be available for a conversation about their works.
Either way, the message that Luis hopes audiences take away from this, no matter the circumstances, is one that is universal.
“The message is ‘what does it mean to be true to ourselves?’,” Luis asks. “We’ll definitely see how it lands once it’s shown, but that’s the hope.”
Courtesy Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art
Public Art Reston has a new executive director.
The nonprofit announced last week that Trinity Villanueva officially took over the role on April 26. She succeeds Anne Delaney, who served as executive director for 11 years before stepping down on July 31.
Villanueva says that she plans to focus on making art more accessible and inclusive. Citing Reston founder Robert E. Simon’s belief in art as a necessity, she says she is “thrilled” to know it is such an ingrained principle in Reston’s culture.
“Art is a connector. It fosters a strong climate and elevates voices on the spectrum of agency,” Villanueva said. “We will continue to cultivate accessibility and equitable art, already embedded in Simon’s guiding principles.”
Villanueva comes from the Carlos Rosario International Charter School in D.C., where she founded and led the arts integration and culture department for more than a decade.
She’s also the co-founder of Mixt Collective, which supports marginalized artists, and she’s a graduate of multiple institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.
Public Art Reston Board of Directors Chair Maggie Parker noted how Villanueva’s energy has already impacted Reston, complimenting her “zest for living and her unlimited view of what public art can do for a community.”
“She has already injected joy and enthusiasm into Reston and will be a wonderful collaborator and thought leader in the community,” Parker said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has kept the art world on the sidelines in recent months, shuttering venues and limiting many events to online spaces, but Villanueva feels it has also spotlighted the need for art to take on a more primary role.
“The constraints of these times have further shown that you do not need to go into a building to engage in art,” Villanueva said. “Your direct involvement is what makes art transformative, and this next chapter for Public Art Reston will set that tone.”
As Public Art Reston’s executive director, Villanueva will oversee the continued implementation of the Public Art Master Plan for Reston that the organization adopted in 2008.
“I look forward to gathering the Reston community to collectively define public art,” said Villanueva. “It is a wonderful time to recharge and regenerate what public art means, across disciplines, and positively impact Reston’s current and future growth.”
Photo via Public Art Reston
The Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art is expanding its reach to downtown D.C., where it is installing a sculpture by California artist Gisela Colón.
Titled “Parabolic Monolith Iridium,” the sculpture will be located at the top of James Monroe Park near the National Mall, and it will be on view starting this Saturday (May 8). It is Colón’s first public sculpture by in the D.C. region.
“We’re thrilled to bring Gisela’s work to Washington,” Tephra ICA Executive Director and Curator Jaynelle Hazard said. “The Parabolic Monolith Iridium is an object that speaks to the future, to transformation, and especially to hope. It’s symbolism is very much aligned with how we aim to position ourselves and our perspective as an institution.”
Tephra, which was previously known as the Greater Reston Arts Center, is currently hosting Colón’s D.C.-area debut solo exhibit, which features acrylic and carbon-fiber artwork made using “advanced aerospace technology,” according to the institute’s website.
The Quantum Shift exhibition will remain on display at Tephra’s gallery in Reston (12001 Market St.) through May 29. In-person visits are limited to 30-minute appointments made in advance, but it can also be viewed through a virtual tour.
The monolith that will be on display in D.C. was part of the solo exhibit. A native of Puerto Rico who currently works and lives in Los Angeles, Colón says she wanted to explore the relationship between humans and the earth through her sculptures.
“While their outward appearance is high-tech, space-age, and futuristic, [my Monoliths] are also visceral, primitive, and reminiscent of ancient cultural artifacts,” Colón said.
The “Parabolic Monolith Iridium” project is being sponsored by Leidos and the civil engineering firm Charles P. Johnson & Associates. Tephra partnered with the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District on the display.
As part of its sponsorship, Leidos has committed to making a donation to the Puerto Rican nonprofit Hogares Teresa Toda, which provides shelter, education, and other supports to adolescent girls.
“As a leading science and technology company, creativity drives our pursuit of knowledge and solving problems for our customers,” Leidos Senior Vice President Melissa Lee Dueñas said. “We are excited to team up with Ms. Colón on this new exhibit and we look forward to partnering with her to help empower girls and young people in Puerto Rico.”
Photo courtesy Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art
Reston Association Board Election Ends Tomorrow — Voting in Reston Association’s Board of Directors election will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 2. There are four candidates seeking two at-large seats, along with one person running for the South Lakes District seat. Reston Now ran profiles of the at-large candidates earlier this year. [RA]
Major Development Coming to Innovation Center Station — Developers are planning to bring 4 million square feet of development to the Innovation Center Metro station. The latest proposal focuses on Loudoun County but was made possible by the sale of the Center for Innovative Technology campus in Herndon [Washington Business Journal]
Virginia Adopts First State Voting Rights Act in U.S. — “Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday approved the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, which aims to eliminate voter suppression and intimidation in the state.” [CNN/WTOP]
South Lakes Students Install Public Art at Lake Thoreau — Students on the South Lakes High School STEAM Team finished installing their Part and Parcel art exhibit at Lake Thoreau earlier this week. The work took nearly 17 months to put together and was developed through a partnership between Reston Association and Public Art Reston. [@SeahawkBoosters/Twitter]
FEMA to Help with COVID-19-related Funeral Costs — “Beginning in early April, residents may apply to FEMA for financial assistance to help cover funeral costs incurred by COVID-19-related deaths. This assistance will be available to all residents…who incurred expenses after Jan. 20, 2020, for a death attributed to the virus.” [Fairfax County Health Department]
Leidos Wins Multimillion-Dollar Navy Contract — The Reston-based contractor Leidos has been awarded a contract with an estimated value of $149.2 million to provide engineering, technical, and management services for the U.S. Navy’s Naval Array Technical Support Center. [PR Newswire]
Photo by Ray Copson
Monday, March 29
- Draw Nature (4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m) — Get out your pencils and get ready to draw the trees, sky, and birds around you. Join naturalist and artist Margaret Wohler on the trails of Fairfax County’s Huntley Meadows Park. Learn basic skills, color theory, perspective, shading, gesture, contour and realistic rendering. This is a four-week class.
Tuesday March 30
- Storytelling, Roots of Resistance (6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.) — Explore the role of folktales in resistance with local storyteller Diane Macklin. She’ll talk about the history of storytelling as a means of liberation and introduce the audience to American folk hero High John. This virtual event is presented by the Fairfax County Public Library.
Wednesday, March 31
- Scrawl Books Trivia (8:00 p.m.) — Experience another version of virtual literary trivia, hosted by Scrawl Books in Reston and emcee Kate Clark. This time, though, there will be new competitors looking to take the prize from Twice-Told Tales New and Used Books in Kansas.
Thursday, April 1
- Egg-stravaganza (10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.) — Join the Reston Association for a woodland walk to find all the Easter Bunny’s eggs. Start the journey at Walker Nature Center and search high and low for those eggs. At the end, grab a selfie with the Easter Bunny or the nature center’s mascot, Walker the Woodpecker. Face masks and social distancing are required.
Friday, April 2
- Movie Under the Stars (7:00 p.m.) — Grab a blanket and chair to take in a Hollywood blockbuster under the stars. “Lego: Batman” is the first in a series of movies presented by the Reston Association at Hunter Woods Park. Concessions will be available to purchase, but a threat of rain will cancel the event.
Saturday, April 3
- Dino Safari (9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.) — Take a trip back in time and see dinosaurs. Head to National Harbor for a drive-thru adventure across a Jurassic safari populated by robot T-Rexes and lost Spinosauruses.
- Anime Movie Days at the Wharf (3 p.m. & 7 p.m.) — Cherry blossoms aren’t the only symbol of the U.S.’s and Japan’s friendship. Come to downtown D.C. to watch one of Japan’s most loved exports — anime movies! Over the next 10 days, a series of popular anime movies will be played outside on the 20-foot LED screen at the Wharf.
Photo by Annie Spratt
Monday, March 22
- Get a Book, Return a Book (10 a.m.) – For the first time in a year, all Fairfax County libraries are reopening for express service. All visits will be limited to 30 minutes and capacity is reduced. Users can pick up a book, drop one off, and use the computer. Masks, of course, are required.
Tuesday March 23
- Astronomy Webinar (7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) – Have you ever wondered what’s out there among the stars? Take this astronomy webinar through Colvin Run Mill Park in Great Falls and maybe you could get closer to some answers.
Wednesday, March 24
- Forest Bathing (12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m) – Take a bath in the forest, no water needed. Join Smithsonian Associates and certified forest therapy guide Melanie Choukas-Bradley to learn about the meditative, Japanese practice that will re-connect you to nature.
Thursday, March 25
- Women in History(7:00 p.m.) – Celebrate Women’s History month with best-selling nonfiction author Marie Benedict, the writer behind The Mystery of Mrs. Christie about the mysterious disappearance of the famed author. Buy a signed copy of the book from One More Page Books in Arlington and check out the online talk through Fairfax County Public Libraries.
Friday, March 26
- Animal Sleepover (5 p.m.) – Drop off your best stuffed friends to Scrawl Books at Reston Town Center for stuffie sleepover where they’ll dance, snack, and play games. Then, at 7:30 p.m., join all the furry pals for a reading of That’s Not a Dog Toy.
Saturday, March 27
- Peter and the Wolf (7:30 p.m.) – Start streaming Manassas Ballet Theater’s newest production. Peter and the Wolf was first composed in 1936 as a way to introduce children to orchestral instruments.
- Underwater Egg Hunt (12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.) – The Easter Bunny has lost hundreds of eggs, but somehow they’ve been found… floating in Reston Community Center’s pool. Kids from six months to nine years old are invited to take a dip and find those eggs.
Sunday, March 28
- Art in Bloom (any time) -The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a mix of in-person and hybrid activities this year. Head to National Landing to gander at a series of five-foot-tall bloom statues created by a host of local artists, including a few from Northern Virginia.
The Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art will welcome its first new exhibit under new branding tomorrow.
The institute, formerly known as the Greater Reston Arts Center, will present the work of light and space artist Gisela Colon. The exhibition, which is on display through May 30, is the artists first solo exhibit in the DC area.
The exhibit features artwork that is made from carbon fiber using aerospace technology. Here’s more from Tephra on the exhibit.
Gisela Colón (b. 1966) introduces mutable, transformational qualities in her practice using a unique sculptural language of Organic Minimalism. Colón produces objects that are seamless, featuring little to no edges, lines, or place for the viewer to rest their eye, nodding towards an energy of constant fluctuation and growth. Made from carbon fiber material using advanced aerospace technology, the “Pods,” “Monoliths,” and “Elliptoids,” are light weight yet durable objects, both from this earth and not of this earth, birthed from a symbiosis of high art and high science.
An opening reception and artist talk is set for March 18 at 6 p.m. In addition to in-person viewing, the exhibit can be visited via an online viewing room, a video walkthrough and a series of public programs. More information on these offerings is expected soon.
Photo via Tephra
A new international art show at Gallery B in Bethesda features work from eight Reston artists.
Organized by local creative co-op Art4Us, the show is entitled “CounterCurrent” and features paintings, sculptures, drawings, photography, and literature from about 30 artists across the globe – a number of which call Reston home.
Antonella Manganelli is the co-curator of the show (along with Grazia Montalto) and she describes the show as “as everything that goes against the current.”
“It’s about challenging yourself, trying a different technique,” she says. “Unfollow the rules, whatever was taught to you. Don’t be afraid to be unconventional.”
She’s also an artist herself and heavily involved in Reston’s art community. Manganelli is a long-time board member at the League of Reston Artists.
Due to her local roots running deep (though, she’s originally from Italy) is why many Reston-based artists sent in submissions to the open call.
Artists also from France, Canada, and Brazil also provided work for the show.
CounterCurrent is also being juried, with awards being given for visual arts and literature excellence.
The literature awards are being judged by Mike Maggio, former Northern Regional Vice-President of the Poetry Society of Virginia.
Manganelli’s work is also in the show and she says that she took it as a challenge to try unfamiliar techniques.
“I’m a surrealist and like to create different meanings in my paintings,” she says.
CounterCurrent was also reviewed earlier this month in the Washington Post, which called the show “as sprawling and diverse a show as the compact Gallery B can contain.”
The show opened on February 4 and closes on the 28th of this month.
Gallery B at 7700 Wisconsin Ave E in Bethesda is open for in-person visits from Wednesday through Saturday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Masks must be worn and the space is limited to ten people at a time.
Manganelli says the idea is for artists to not hold anything back with their work in the show.
“Just speak your mind,” she says. “Be outspoken in anything you think and anything you do.”
Photo courtesy of Antonella Manganelli
