***The Schlesinger Center is happy to introduce artist talks, a discussion series that gives artists a place to discuss their artwork with other artists, students, inquiring minds, art lovers and admirers. Check back and follow us on social media for updates on these events.***
Terminal Flux by John M. Adams
2 p.m.-4 p.m.
Wednesday, April 19
The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria Campus was thrilled to offer regional artist John M. Adams the opportunity to be the very first artist to draw directly on the walls of our building. As a result, John created the site-specific, graphite wall drawing Terminal Flux which has been a hit with NOVA’s students, faculty and staff as well as community members.
In previous years, John has created and installed site-specific wall drawings for the Reston Arts Center and the McLean Project for the Arts. At more than 20 feet tall and 30 feet wide, Terminal Flux is John’s largest site-specific drawing to date. The drawing took a week to complete and officially opened in January 2017. The drawing will remain in place in the atrium of the Schlesinger Center through the year.
On Wednesday, April 19, John will lead an art talk from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. to discuss his creative process and inspiration for the drawing. This event is free and we invite all students, faculty, staff and community members to join us.
John was born in Hampton, Virginia, and grew up in rural Gloucester, Virginia, surrounded by the open water and tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Fine Arts from James Madison University. He currently lives in Reston, Virginia, and maintains a studio in Arlington, Virginia.
For additional information or to see more of John’s work, visit his website.
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At the Seams by Lina Alattar
Theme & Variations by Sally Canzoneri
The Reverence of Water by Cheryl Edwards
Moderator: Mary Welch Higgins
2 p.m.-4 p.m.
Saturday, April 8
The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria Campus will host an artists talk discussion with current exhibiting artists Lina Alattar, Sally Canzoneri and Cheryl Edwards from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 8. Lina, Sally and Cheryl will be discussing their unique current exhibits At the Seams, Theme & Variations and The Reverence of Water.
Lina received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Middle Tennessee State University where she studied painting and graphic design. She continued her education in Gubio, Italy, through an Art Study Program where she trained with painters who encouraged an experimental and process-based approach to painting. Lina is the recipient of the 2016 Art Bank Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. She has participated in several solo and group exhibitions in the D.C. metro area, New York City and London.
Sally grew up in rural Vermont and has previously lived in Minnesota and Illinois. She now resides in Washington, D.C., with her husband, daughter and their three-legged dog. She studied with internationally-recognized book artists including Hedi Kyle, Keith Smith and Cristina Balbiano d’Aramengo. Since 2013, she has shown her work in a number of group and solo shows in the D.C. metro area and Vermont.
Born in Miami Beach, Florida, Cheryl has lived in Washington, D.C., for 23 years. She started her work in art in 1988 in New York City during a class at the Art Student League taught by the late Ernest Crichlow. Cheryl has exhibited her work in a number of shows in the D.C. metro area as well as in New York, Virginia, Maryland, Florida and Hong Kong. She is currently represented by Susanne Junggeburth Gallery in Germany.
Those in attendance will have the opportunity to speak with the artists about their recent artwork and creative processes. The conversation with these ladies will be very insightful and a lot of fun. The artists talk is free and open to the public.
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Current Interrupted by John M. Adams
(IN)MATERIAL by Matthew Grimes
Moderator: Mary Welch Higgins
1 p.m.-3 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 22
The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria Campus will host at Artist Speaks with current exhibiting artists John M. Adams and Matthew Grimes from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. John and Matthew will be discussing their work and their exquisite current exhibits Current Interrupted and (IN)MATERIAL.
In addition to Matthew’s multimedia collages, we will be displaying his ceramic series Pliant on the second level of the Schlesinger Center. You will have the opportunity to hear about John’s upcoming site-specific drawing that is in the planning stages for early 2017 at the Schlesinger Center while enjoying his forum gallery exhibition Current Interrupted.
The conversation will be dynamic, a lot of fun and certainly insightful. This event is free and open to the public and the Schlesinger Center looks forward to seeing you there.
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Blueprints: Recent Drawings by Raye Leith (@RayeLeith)
Évoluer: Paintings and Drawings by Tanya Ziniewicz (@t_zinny)
Moderator: Mary Welch Higgins
4 p.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 11
The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria Campus is happy to host an Artists Speak event from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11 with artists Raye Leith and Tanya Ziniewicz. Raye’s show Blueprints is currently on display in the first-level Forum Gallery and in the second-level Passage Gallery. Tanya’s show, Évoluer, is on display in the second-level Margaret W. & Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery.
Tanya’s Évoluer collection is inspired by her recent artist residency experience in France. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing from the Cleveland Institute of Art and a Master of Fine Arts in printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Raye has been painting and drawing for five decades. She’s fueled by a basic desire for connection and communication. Leith is an eclectic artist who also has experience in theatre design. She received her Bachelor of Arts in ceramics from Hamilton College and a Master of Fine Arts in painting from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has exhibited in New York, Washington, D.C., Italy and Germany.
The galleries are hosting this event to close out both shows. The Artists Speak event will include a walking tour of all three galleries and a discussion about the artists’ current works.
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Dear Suburbia: Mixed Media Works by Jessica Kallista
(@dearsuburbia)
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 21
The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria Campus will host an Artist Speaks event from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21 with artist Jessica Kallista whose current show, Dear Suburbia, is on display in the upstairs Margaret W. and Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery.
Kallista is an artist, poet and curator living in Northern Virginia. She received her M.F.A. in 2002 in creative writing with a concentration in poetry from George Mason University in 2002. In 2014, she founded Olly Olly, an alternative art space in Fairfax, Virginia, in order to create a place for local art and artists with a focus on experimental, conceptual and performance art. Dear Suburbia is an extension of Kallista’s blog, “Dear Suburbia: Letters of Love to a Strange Land.”
During Artist Speaks, Kallista will speak about being a creative entrepreneur, her creative process, and the inspiration behind Dear Suburbia. Artist Speaks is free and open to the public. The discussion will take place in the seminar room at the Schlesinger Center across from the Fisher Gallery where Kallista’s work is currently on display through April 24.