Calmness and serenity fill the galleries of the McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) - with a new exhibit of works from three different yet complementary artistic styles.
The MPA held an opening reception and gallery talk late last week by artist Fiona Ross, with over sixty art patrons in attendance. The three artists’ works evoke “simplicity and complexity…layers of simple materials...an evolving wheel of originality, ideas and influences,” said Nancy Sausser, Exhibitions Director of the MPA.
The spacious Emerson Gallery features the works of Fiona Ross in “Traces of a Moving Point.” From afar, her drawings seem to ebb and flow, with bodies lifting out of the fluid groundswell. Other drawings have people seemingly trapped behind fractionalized lines or caught in a labyrinth.
All of the artwork is created by one sinuous continuous line, curving back and forth creating intricate patterns. Ross said, “We are all in our own labyrinth…The labyrinth is a place you go to find awareness…If you follow the line you are guided through the experience from beginning to end.”
The walls of the Atrium Gallery are filled with works of McLean photographer Bill Prosser in “Unseen Extracts.” The majority of the black and white photographs were taken in and around McLean. Making the ordinary extraordinary, the artist focuses on a reflection in a tide pool, a small window in a church, a leaf. The swirls and shapes, the gentle cascades of water create simultaneously a calmness and excitement in the viewer. As Prosser states, he wants his pictures to induce “motion, mystery and texture.”
The third exhibit, “Point of Origin.” featuring the works of Kristin Reiber Harris, is hung in the Ramp Gallery. The artist’s large-scale kaleidoscopic drawings are inspired by both Asian and Islamic arts, and are infused with bold colors and intricate patterns.
The center of each piece is a circle which Harris states “is found in every aspect of our experience and reflects our search for balance and harmony.” Harris spends much of her time outdoors and her love of nature is apparent in its influence in her work. Her bass wood block prints depict gently flowing water with lily pads and leaves displayed in a calming pearlescent palate of colors. The drawings feature shells and leaves and phases of the moon. Reiber’s images radiate “peace, tranquility and stability.”
The reviews of some at the opening:
Mary Houdek, McLean, VA: “I think it’s wonderful – very talented artists.”
Elizabeth Whitely, Washington, D.C.: “The works of the three artists go together very well…cohesive. Superb draftsmanship…meditative.”
Bob Spann, Washington, D.C.: “The photographer [Prosser] was very interesting and creative…Very good black and white photography – more creative than color.”
Brian Joseph Legan, artist, Gainesville, VA: “I like the installation…I enjoy Fiona Ross’s smaller studies, intricate and well-conceived.”
Jean Marie Barrett, artist, Vienna, VA: “I just think that all the shows lend themselves well to each other…especially Fiona’s work and Harris – a nice contrast between them…meticulous detail in both of their work…ties into Prosser’s photos.”
All works of art are for sale ranging from $63 - $4,750.
Where: McLean Project for the Arts, McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave. McLean.
When: April 14 – June 4, 2011 Additional Information: www.mpaart.org
