Opening Reception And Curator’s Talk
January 6, 2012 at 6:30PM
Monroe House
Opening Reception January 6, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Curator’s Talk at 7:15 pm
Curator: Sandra Warren Gobar, studio arts faculty, The Smithsonian Associates; former faculty member and museum educator,
Corcoran Gallery of Art and Corcoran College of Art and Design.
Exhibition Dates January 6 to January 28, 2012
Monroe Gallery and Parlors
James Halloran: Still Life Paintings and Landscapes
James Halloran was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1983. Initially studying classical painting under his mentor,Mary Ann Doering, Halloran went on to receive a BFA, with a concentration in painting, at the University at Buffalo in 2005. After graduation, Halloran relocated to Northern Virginia. Working from his home studio, he exhibits his work both locally and nationally. As an instructor, he teaches a variety of classes for both children and adults. “When I begin a painting,” says Halloran, “I’m usually drawn to basic, simple forms; eggs, paper, trees, buildings. I look to create representations that are nonspecific, that have a quality of anonymity to them. Elements are often reduced to the most essential and details are sometimes eliminated. My paintings are not literal recordings of nature or the world around me; these works are private meditations on a specific moment.
Susan Vallon: Pastel Paintings
Susan Vallon has been an interior designer in Washington for nearly 40 years and has led a successful design business since 1976. She is a native of Boston and has studied at the Museum School and the New England School of Art. Vallon has been painting most of her life, specializing in pastels for the last eight years. She has taken workshops from pastellists Wolf Kahn and Richard McKinley, studied landscape painting with Sandra Warren Gobar at the Corcoran College of Art and Design. Vallon lives in Northwest Washington and is married to Washington Post columnist Andrew Beyer. Vallon notes her attraction to local subjects: “When we travel, we often come upon scenes that make us stop and take notice. However, in our busy daily lives, we seldom appreciate what is right in front of us. I am struck by the beauty of Washington and enjoy translating its poetic landscape through the soft lens of pastel.”
Kelly Passante: Landscape Paintings
Kelly Passante received a BA from the University of California, Irvine, a graduate credential from California State University, Long Beach, and attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena with additional studies at the Corcoran College. Her paintings have been exhibited at the Art Center College of Design, Corcoran College of Art and Design’s student exhibitions, Long View Gallery in the City, Corcoran Gallery 31, and Oatlands Plantation. Passante is drawn to landscape work because “The sky can be anything that you want it to be. There are no rules. It is only the earth that provides the structure and constraints. It is this horizon line that is the foundation for creating a landscape painting.”
Spilsbury Gallery
Paintings by Lorna Aldrich
Lorna Aldrich is the featured artist in this cooperative gallery displaying works in a variety of media by Arts Club members. Participating artists include: Peggy McNutt, Jenna Beebe, Ruth Bird, Jack Hannula, Vicki Doyle, Susanne Eisinger, Jan Hamilton, Edward Purcell, Leslie Sorg Ramsay, Wendy Garner, Jeanne Sullivan and Laura Wordlaw.