Meet the 2015 Solo Artists!
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Meet the 2015 Solo Artists!

In October, a panel of two jurors selected artists to exhibit in The Art League Gallery’s solo artist room during the 2015 season. The eight selected artists will be spending the time between now and then finishing artwork and preparing for their exhibits.

To be selected, artists submitted their resumes along with images of five completed pieces and a proposal of what they envisioned for their exhibits. Where the monthly juried shows in the Gallery showcase the breadth and variety of talent in our artist membership, the solo exhibits spotlight a deeper, more coherent body of work by a single artist.

(For a preview of solo exhibits in the nearer future, you can look forward to the 2014 Solo Preview exhibit next month in the Gallery.)

Here’s a look ahead at the calendar for 2015, with selections from the images and proposals from the artists:

March: Claudia Cappelle

Claudia Cappelle - Winter's Passage
Winter’s Passage by Claudia Cappelle

“For me landscape is an of expression of what is interior to me. My purpose is not a re-creation or rendering of a specific place but a personal response to the shapes, patterns, and color. I abstract from nature.”

Claudia Cappelle’s large format, 34″ × 66″ acrylic paintings capture the landscape in an abstracted, dynamic form. Her exhibit, titled “Reconstructing the Landscape,” is inspired and influenced by the book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, and in particular Dillard’s description of a new way of seeing the natural world.

May: John Gosling

Jones Point Lighthouse by John Gosling.
Jones Point Lighthouse by John Gosling.

“My fascination with Old Town Alexandria as a subject matter derives from my recognition, as an urban planner, that Old Town is one of the premier examples of a successful, sustainable (250 years!), mixed-use community development in America. For me it is a very special place.”

John Gosling’s linocut prints reflect his interpretations of local scenes from his background as an architect and urban designer, focusing on people interacting with their environment. Gosling — whose linocut print of Old Town Alexandria, It’s All a Façade, can be seen in the Gallery this month — serves on the boards of The Art League and the Old Town Civic Association.

June: Maremi Andreozzi

Wind Turbines at Dush by Maremi Andreozzi
Wind Turbines at Dusk by Maremi Andreozzi

“Catching and painting ‘night fall’ or ‘day break’ feels like finding ‘good luck’ — mythical, hopeful, and timeless.”

Maremi Andreozzi’s series of “cloudscapes” has its origin in her three-year-old son’s fascination with the sky. This exhibit looks for contrasts and transitions in the sky — changing colors, passing time, and the expansive sky dwarfing distant structures.

July: Shiho K. Rice

Connection by Shiho Rice
Connection by Shiho Rice

“Having lived in both North America and Japan, my artwork is an expression of my own perspective of mixed cultures.”

Kirié is the Japanese artform in which a single piece of black paper is cut to create an image, resulting in a piece that can look at first glance like an ink drawing or a woodcut. Shiho Rice’s exhibit in the summer of 2015 will introduce the technique to a new audience. Recently, Rice has been experimenting with new ways to frame and light finished pieces to highlight the shadows cast by the paper.

September: Wijati Soemantoro

From Wijati Soemantoro's Ring of Fire series
From Wijati Soemantoro’s Ring of Fire series

“I witnessed the explosion of Mount Galunggung in West Java a long time ago. I am planning to explore the dramatic effects of the aftermath and how the victims and people within the vicinity react towards the disaster.”

Wijati Soemantoro’s series of abstract lithographs is her response to natural disasters, born from her time living in Indonesia. Soemantoro discusses the series and her artwork in general in this recent Q&A.

October: Sheila Harrington

Strawberries & Cream by Marilyn Harrington
Strawberries & Cream by Sheila Harrington

“The cyclical changes of life, how human beings respond to them, and the juxtaposition of the natural and the man-made, fascinate me, and I can’t help drawing and painting them.”

Sheila Harrington’s exhibit grows out of a series of “seasonal still-lifes” exploring the passage of time, a theme also explored in her blog. Harrington’s oil paintings on linen are limited to 6″ × 6″ so they can be completed before the perishable subjects change appearance.

November: MariAnne MacGregor

broken by MariAnne MacGregor
broken by MariAnne MacGregor

“Nowhere in the world that we inhabit reveals the boundless nature of time and space quite like standing at water’s edge.”

MariAnne MacGregor’s exhibit “On the Threshold” explores the anthropological concept of liminality, or the straddling of boundaries that occurs during a ritual. This series of black-and-white photographs on the edge of the water touches on the immensity of the natural world.

December: Kathlyn Avila

Out-Reach by Kathlyn Avila
Out-Reach by Kathlyn Avila

“My ceramic figures embody the personalities of familiar souls that all people may recognize regardless of where they grew up. Each figure is an expression of a unique personality that tells a story through adornment, symbolism and gesture.”

Kathlyn Avila’s “My Green Valley” draws on her own life and the memorable characters she has known. Avila, who also teaches ceramics classes at The Art League, hopes her instantly recognizable figures will “kindle visitors’ memories of personal histories, real, imagined and embellished.” You can read more about Kathlyn’s work in this recent artist Q&A.

You can keep track of all our upcoming exhibits here.

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