Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) has announced the Mary B. Howard Invitational: An Excellent Thought About a Quality Idea, on view now through February 6 via the exhibition’s online viewing room. The group exhibition features new work by Rahne Alexander, Matthew Mann, Omolara Williams McCallister, Zia Palmer and Mojdeh Razaeipour. 

The artists were selected by Guest Curators Zoe Charlton and Tim Doud, the co-founders of ‘sindikit, alongside GRACE Associate Curator Erica Harrison, according to a press release from the arts center. 

Artists were invited to submit a proposal for the exhibit using its title as a prompt, in alignment with the project’s commitment to supporting studio research and experimentation emphasizing gender, sexuality and race, according to the release. Artists explored and developed concepts, receiving feedback from the curators. 

The ‘sindikit project is a self-funded endeavor that values collaborative practices as artists and educators. The platform includes artist projects and creative community conversations between cultural activators, visual artists and their co-conspirators, said the release. The project was founded on the discussion of socio-political and cultural issues affecting art and artists.

According to the arts center, the exhibit honors the memory of Mary B. Howard, an artist, long-time board member and supporter of GRACE. 

GRACE remains closed to the public. For more information, readers can visit their website. 

Art by Rahne Alexander/GRACE Online Viewing Room

A new art exhibit at the Greater Reston Arts Center uses collaged photographs to explore the memories of refugees living in Vietnamese internment camps.

“Day Dreams” by Khánh Lê will be on display from now through May 26, according to the webpage. Works in the collection explore concepts such as home, country and safety, according to the event page, which added that many pieces feature bits of his Vietnamese heritage and culture.

More from the Greater Reston Arts Center on the exhibit:

Lê creates dazzling compositions based on deteriorating photographs and collective memories of his and his relations’ experiences as refugees living in Vietnamese internment camps in the 1980s. Through the collaging of materials such as acrylic paintings, glitter, prints, and sparkling plastic craft jewels, Lê merges narratives–both horrific realities and idyllic fantasies–that are filled with tension as he explores notions of home, country, and safety.

The artist will be at the Greater Reston Arts Center (11850 Freedom Drive) on Thursday (Feb. 6) from 6-8 p.m. for an open reception and presentation.

People wanting to visit the display should arrive on the Freedom Drive side of the building and wait for the concierge to buzz them in, the event page said.

The hours for the exhibit are from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

Image via Greater Reston Arts Center/Facebook

A local artist will debut her floral quilts and fiber art at a new exhibit in Reston next week.

Anne Smyers is the creator of “Sat It With Flowers,” an art installation that embodies her “love of flowers and propensity to work with botanical images,” according to the Reston Community Center event page.

The installation opens Monday, Sept. 16, and runs until Oct. 31 at RCC Hunter Woods (2310 Colts Neck Road).

“Her work is informed by interests, including gardening; a lifelong practice of tai chi chuan, which is a Chinese meditative movement series; and her artistic eye that looks for the best arrangement of a given set of elements,” RCC said.

A free reception will be held from 2-4 p.m. next Sunday, Sept. 22, at RCC Hunter Woods. Smyers will speak at the event, where there will be refreshments for attendees.

Photo via Twitter/Studio Art Quilts

An upcoming exhibit at the Jo Ann Rose Gallery is looking to make a lasting impression on its audience.

The exhibit called “LASTING IMPRESSIONS”  features acrylic and oil paintings and mixed media by Karen Danenberger, a former painting teacher at Reston Community Center at Lake Anne.

“‘LASTING IMPRESSIONS’ is about those images that evoke personal memories,” according to the exhibit’s description. “From depictions of the Reston paths to scenes in the kitchens of friends and family, these paintings represent places that have meaning in my life and show what I have noticed about the world around me.”

Most of the paintings in the exhibit were created in the last five years, according to the description.

The exhibit opens Monday (July 1) and runs through July 29. An opening reception will be held next Sunday (July 7) from 2-4 p.m.

Photo via Karen Danenberger’s website

D.C.-based artist Stephanie J. Williams is bringing an exhibit of objects that apparently don’t have names to Greater Reston Arts Center.

Williams’ work includes animation, sculptures and costumes and “explores themes of identity through omission and inclusion,” GRACE says. Williams’ recent Instagram posts showcase pink, animated objects with meat-esque appearances.

“Things That Don’t Have Names” opens next Saturday (April 20) at 12001 Market Street, Suite 103. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, April 27, from 5-7 p.m.

Photo via Facebook

Finalists’ photographs for a contest have their work on display at ArtSpace Herndon starting today (Feb. 5).

The 10th Annual Fine Art Photography Exhibit features nearly three dozen finalists in the Fine Art Photography Competition.

A sneak peek at the artwork on ArtSpace Herndon’s website and Facebook shows some of the vibrant, colorful and dramatic photographs in the exhibit.

“These photographers show how a group of artists with a range of themes and skills can be brought together to exhibit work ranging from whimsical digital collages to realistic black and white prints to colorful abstract images, into one spectacular exhibit,” according to ArtSpace Herndon’s description of the exhibit.

Photographer Mary Louise Ravese is the competition’s judge. She selected the 45 photographs from more than 180 submissions from 93 professional and amateur photographers in Virginia, Maryland, D.C. and Pennsylvania.

Locals who visit the exhibit will see art by some Reston-area artists. A handful of members of the League of Reston Artists have their work showcased, including Vladimir Grablev, Maureen Costantino and Sandy Gherardi.

Ravese will announce the winners during the free awards reception from 7-9 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 9) at 750 Center Street.

The exhibit runs until March 2.

Photo via ArtSpace Herndon/Facebook 

The Cotting Quilters’ second quilt show opens today (Feb. 4) in the Jo Ann Rose Gallery at Reston Community Center Lake Anne.

The group brings together Reston and Herndon quilters who focus on traditional and modern designs.

“Through The Eye of The Needle II” showcases full-sized quilts, art quilts, wall hangings, table runners and other fabric art, according to the Reston Community Center.

The exhibit features the following quilters:

• Dora Anderson
• Ruth Grubb
• Hannah Hamilton
• Barbara Happ
• Anita Lowen
• Nicky Moering
• Connie Wright-Zink

The show will run until March 3.

Photo via Reston Community Center

Polls open for the special election — Voters will decide today who will replace Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton for the 33rd District seat in the State Senate. Democrat Del. Jennifer Boysko, currently representing the 86th District, is running against Republican Joe May, who represented the 33rd District as an Independent delegate from 1994 to 2014. [Virginia Department of Elections]

Bollywood dance class — Get in shape with a fitness class from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Reston Regional Library. [Reston Regional Library]

“Invisible Listeners” exhibit ends — Today is the last day to see Rahshia Sawyer’s photography at the Greater Reston Arts Center at Signature before it closes. [Greater Reston Arts Center]

But a new exhibit opens — The “Three Moves to Divine” exhibit opens today at ArtSpace Herndon to provide a photographic memory of Ghana by Randy Preston, along with written and read work from guest poets. [ArtSpace Herndon]

What is the spice of life? One artist delves into that topic with a new exhibit of paintings titled “Variety – The Spice of Life.”

Lassie Corbett, a Reston artist, will have her paintings on display at RCC Lake Anne’s Jo Ann Rose Gallery (1609-A Washington Plaza) starting tomorrow (Jan. 8).

“Corbett captures a mood, glowing light, subtle color and — above all — the chi, or spirit, in her paintings,” the Reston Community Center posted. Corbett draws on nature and outdoor scenic locations for her art with watercolor as her main medium, the post says.

Inspired by a two-year stint as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines, Corbett’s art has taken her around the world — from painting in Greece to sketchbook journaling in Turkey. She has taught painting workshops in Ireland, England, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Peru and Hawaii.

She has also taught locally with acrylic painting, collage, Chinese brush painting and watercolor painting classes at the Herndon Community Center.

The exhibit runs until Feb. 4. A reception will be held on Sunday, Jan. 27, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Images via Reston Art Gallery

The Reston Historic Trust & Museum has raised $965 in three weeks with its fundraising campaign to reinstall the iconic, quirky pharmacy icons from the Lakeside Pharmacy.

The GoFundMe campaign launched on Nov. 8, Alexandra Campbell, the executive director of the Reston Historic Trust & Museum, told Reston Now.

The fundraising target of $15,000 will pay for repairs, cleaning and reinstallation of the icons in a new permanent exhibit in the plaza. The new exhibit will be unveiled during the organization’s annual Founder’s day event on April 6.

“We’ve still got a long way to go,” Campbell said. “We have some time to get to the $15,000.”

Most of the 22 donations have been small, individual donations — seven people have given $25, while others have donated amounts between $10 to $100.

The icons served as advertisements for the Lakeside Pharmacy, a legacy Lake Anne Plaza store. Designed by Chermayeff and Geismar, a New York-based graphic design firm, the icons were inspired by 1960s pop art and Reston’s founder Bob Simon’s wish for whimsical art at Lake Anne Plaza.

The Lake Anne of Reston Condominium Association donated the icons to the Reston Historic Trust & Museum after they were removed in July to make way for new businesses in the pharmacy’s former location.

“We’re really glad to help preserve and keep them here,” Campbell said about the icons.

If you could do anything, what would that be?

The Greater Reston Arts Center selected five artists based on their answers to that very question for an upcoming exhibit called “STRETCH.”

The exhibit, slated for Dec. 15 through Feb. 9, will present new work by James Huckenpahler, Monroe Isenberg, Katie Kehoe, Melanie Kehoss and Harry Mayer.

The website provides a glimpse into what some of the artists plan to create.

Huckenpahler, a D.C.-based artist who works mainly in digital media, will make large digital prints of a three-dimensional landscape of his X-rayed laptop.

Isenberg, a sculptor and installation artist who mostly uses wood and steel, will create an immersive installation that “investigates the relationships that become apparent in the space between the spirit world and ourselves.”

For the exhibit, Kehoss, who focuses on light boxes, plans to explore the “origins of food-related phenomena related to the history of sugar.”

While specifics for the exhibit are not available yet, the website says Kehoe is currently diving into ecological concerns in places that are expected to go underwater due to climate change. Kehoe, who works in performance, interdisciplinary sculpture and drawing, documents herself carrying or wearing hand-made life-jacket, life ring, bodyboards and buoys made from salvaged materials.

Lastly, Mayer, who draws upon mundane experiences and humor to create his sculptures from construction materials, “proposes to give the viewer a visceral experience that encourages a sense of playfulness.”

“STRETCH” is curated by Don Russell, a guest curator, and Erica Harrison, the associate curator and festival director of the art center. This exhibit marks Greater Reston Arts Center’s third biennial exhibit with a guest curator supporting local artists.

The Greater Reston Arts Center plans to host a reception — free and open to the public — from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15.

Photo via Greater Reston Arts Center website

The Greater Reston Arts Center‘s newest exhibit opens this Saturday (Sept. 29) and features the work of DC-based artist Caitlin Teal Price.

Price’s work, displayed with the exhibit title “Green is the Secret Color to Make Gold,” explores the theme of daily routine and ritual. Her latest work offers depictions of objects, many of whom she collected with her son on walks they take together. The exhibition will also feature Price’s first large-scale drawings.

She received her MFA in photography from the Yale School of Art. Her work has been displayed at the National Portrait Gallery, the Fotografiska in Stockholm and the Photography Festival and Australian Center for Photography in Sydney. She also received a fellowship from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in 2016 and 2017.

An opening reception, which is free and open to the public, is set for Saturday (Sept. 29) from 5-7 p.m. at GRACE. Price will discuss her work on Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. at the National Gallery of Art and she’ll return to GRACE to offer some comments on her work on Nov. 10 from 3-5 p.m.

Photos via GRACE