The Art League’s annual Student/Faculty exhibit showcases the diversity and talent of our visual arts school in Old Town Alexandria, VA.

Award Descriptions:

1. John Foreman Award: Jennifer Sims, Gazelle

From a distance Jennifer’s work Gazelle just dominates the wall with such a presence. The woman in the piece embodies the power, proportionality, and epitome of the classical figure. Additionally, the way the figure is positioned within the composition exhibits such elegance and stature—which further emphasizes the use of such classical techniques.

2. Dee Gee Watling Memorial Award: Chris Thomas, Full Bloom

In this piece Thomas takes the risk of composing an organic vs. graphical composition. The biological depiction of the floral still life being broken up by these geometric shapes that vary in size is a very advantageous approach to this piece. Furthermore, the subtle play upon color theory and the dialog between the black & white and color makes for an overall interesting visual experience.

3. The Dennis Davis Award for Excellence in Ceramics: Chris Malone, I Just Wanted to Play Outside: Hands Up, Don’t Shoot

The conceptual and social awareness behind Malone’s work speaks to today. Moreover the fact that the piece is the size of a child has such realism. Between the use of scale and color the childlike mosaic statue exhibits a societal commentary. The child’s hands up and the hoodie on the head takes something so innocence as playing outside and casts the national turbulence on such innocence. Malone’s piece creates a dialogue between itself and the viewer.

4. The Potomac Valley Watercolorists’ Carolyn Grosse Gawarecki Award for Best in Show, Watercolor: Craig Brodfuehrer, The Veteran

The delicateness of the monochrome creates so much 3D weight. Brodfuehrer’s control of the medium with the use of positive and negative to shape the space makes it so well composed. The Veteran displays the fragility and the lack of durability that comes with life and aging.

5. The Jennie Lea Knight Creativity Award for Students: Kay Walsh, Finding Frida

Walsh’s Finding Frida is sculpture in a 2D plane composed of a broken and fractured plane. The work is risk and chaos with control that speaks to the viewer in a dynamic way. The movement through the plane celebrates cubism and its motion. Walsh does a fantastic job at incorporating two different periods of art history into the piece.

Equal Merit Awards

There was so much more I wanted to honor for the merit awards. The students here at the art league school exhibit a wide range of skills sets that should all be celebrated no matter what level.

• Stephanie Chang
• Thom Ciarniello
• Laura Klipple
• Chrissy Charboneau
• Begona Cathbury
• Christian Fisher
• Zohair Naghmi
• Kathy Sullivan
• Daniel Horowitz
• Teresa Oaxaca
• Donna Sturm
• Sue Canuteson
• Jane Thomas
• Thom Lowther
• Kirsten Zarembra
• Alina Tolkacheva
• Patricia McMahon Rice
• Noel Holmes