Theme & Variations - We Thought COVID Would Be Over By Now
A group show by Brightpoint watercolor students of Michael A. Pierce.
February 9-May 1, 2022
Artspace Satellite Exhibition at CVA / U-Turn Inc.
2101 Maywill Street, Richmond, VA 23230
Artspace, a nonprofit contemporary art gallery in Richmond, VA is pleased to announce the beginning of a partnership with the Collaboratory of Virginia / U-Turn Inc., jointly located at 2101 Maywill St., Richmond, VA 23230. Artspace has agreed to manage the curation of artwork exhibitions at this shared use facility in Henrico County beginning with a group exhibition of artwork by students from John Tyler Community College (soon to be known as Brightpoint).
The show includes work from John Tyler Community College (becoming Brightpoint) Fall Semester Advanced Watercolor Classes, instructed by Michael A. Pierce. The following artists have created bodies of work for this exhibition:
Elaine Harris
Linda Hollett-Bazouzi
Hannah Jones
Roni Kingsley
Nishchay Patel
Sallie Lupton Rugg
Janet Scagnelli
Jeanette Wermuth
Michael A. Pierce, Fine Arts Instructor at JTCC, and curator of the exhibit says: "The work you see here is personal, authentic, distinctive, and surprising. Each of these artists has their own clear point of view and their own story to tell… In these works, the artists share their experiences of pain and rage, beauty and ugliness, realism and abstraction, science and spirituality, order and chaos, color and darkness, symbolism and documentation, but most of all there is real magic here. I hope that you find in it a sense of wonder for yourself."
Untitled detail from “Sledgehammered” series by Janet Scagnelli. Photo credit: Margaret Buchanan
Linda Hollett-Bazouzi - I think of my work as being documentary in nature. Under normal conditions this means I am painting an image of a field scheduled for development, or summer on the James River. But more than just a generic pretty scene, I want the viewer to feel present in a specific moment. These miniatures are testimonies to what I witnessed happening in my city of Richmond, Virginia to confederate monuments following the murder of George Floyd in 2020— specifically the Robert E. Lee Monument on Monument Avenue. The graffiti changed many times during the period I took photographs, from June 2020 to December 2021. The writings on the pedestal literally flipped the focus of the monument upside down. Among the curses and attacks were many messages of hope and support: Vote, I Love You, Do Better, No Hate. At first, I thought of this project as a wild departure from my norm; but now that I think about it more deeply, I see that it is not so different at all.
Elaine Harris - I have an open-ended approach to my work, relying on intuitive prompts to guide my decisions. Color is primary and my starting point. I am drawn to techniques that allow for surprises and the unexpected – the way a potter loses control once the pots are in the kiln, or the way dyes bleed in resist dye techniques such as shibori. I enjoy getting lost in the process. My work is about surrendering and letting go of control.
Jeanette Wermuth - In this series of artwork, I’ve connected us with the fairies and their concern over nature. Fairies care deeply about this world and the creatures that live in nature. My hope is you will let the fairies into your heart and love for nature will then grow and spread. Come away oh human child! To the waters and the wild. With a faery, hand in hand. For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand. — William Butler Yeats
Janet Scagnelli - Sledgehammered. It’s been a time of extremes.
Sallie Lupton Rugg - I’m exploring female stereotypes and archetypes – Madonna/harlot complex, shadow, caretaker, and crone – through self-portraits. Since self-portraiture is a revelation of the self to the self, each painting has had something to tell me, either in words or content.
Hannah Jones - Nocturnes is a series of watercolor abstractions painted by artist Hannah Jones in autumn of 2021. Nocturnes examines the beauty in brokenness, solitude, and quiet as the artist reflects on broken dreams. The paintings were created in silence, to evoke the feeling of the deep night and dreamtime. Themes in Hannah’s artwork include exploration of memories, nostalgia, daydreams, and dreamscapes of a life curiously traveled. Heartbreak, loss, lessons learned, homesickness and ultimately acceptance and the joy of vulnerability are concepts the artist reflects on again and again. Bold colors, textures, patterns, and abstractions are inspirational themes that weave her life experiences and represent a reminder for the artist that experimentation, contribution, growth, and change are always possible.
Roni Kingsley - During my career as a scientist, I used techniques to visualize physiological mechanisms. I wanted to actually see processes happen. Now, as I immerse myself in art, I still want to see the process but also want to express what I am feeling and experiencing during the process. Observing and understanding the natural world is part of who I am and is in my art. In particular, I have always been drawn to the ocean and will be continuing my lifelong exploration of it, now using paints and brushes, rather than chemistry and microscopes.
Nishchay Patel - Art is something that unveils an artist’s emotions, thoughts, and feelings. These characteristics are transformed by an artist into their work. Being brought up in a cultural and religious environment, my artwork depicts those styles and characteristics. Interpreting from what I see surrounding me, to visualizing designs in my thought, helps me depict something physical.