Media Releases

Nov. 8, 2017
‘Space Fashion’ by Naomi Christianson reveals beauty of artist’s internal journey

Naomi Christianson; Between Heart Beats; 40″x 60″x 1.5″; acrylic on canvas.

Regional artist Naomi Christianson will exhibit her vibrant artwork in the upcoming show Space Fashion which will be on display from Nov. 10, 2017 to Jan. 15, 2018 in the Forum Gallery of the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center. An artist’s reception is scheduled for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11.

After many years of living the corporate life in Australia, Christianson started to have dreams that encouraged her to make a change in her life. Soon after, she left her job, moved back to the U.S., adopted a sustainable lifestyle and started a community art space. Christianson explains that her work often creates and captures universal truths, and her work emerges from the belief system influenced by her previous dreams and spiritual messages that say all of the universe is conspiring on her behalf.

“I create art that reveals my own internal journey while creating universal truths and bliss out of the raw materials of color, emotion and physical experience. My art emerges from a belief system received in these messages, in which all of the universe is conspiring on my behalf: apparent coincidences, painful life events, the availability of experiences, opportunities and supplies all make themselves available to me in order to sustain a new value system and expression,” she said. “With the intimacy of a journal and the scope of myth, my work combines intense colors, fractured patterns and images to communicate to the viewer a pursuit of positivity, the criticality of intuitive knowledge, the celebratory power and strength of the feminine form and being and a joyful acceptance of the journey life puts in front of me.”

Christianson grew up in a riverside cabin in the midst of nature and surround by friends and family. In previous years, she has shown her work in various solo and group exhibitions all over the D.C. metropolitan area, New York City, Prague and London. Christianson owns and operate OMI Collective leggings and Art Lounge. She has also received the Director’s Choice Award for the Viridian Artists, Inc. 27th International Juried Exhibition.

The Forum Gallery is located on the lower level of the Schlesinger Center, which is located at 4915 East Campus Dr., Alexandria, VA 22311. The artist’s reception is free and open to the public. The galleries are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and during concert hall events. For additional information about art shows and concert hall events, contact the Schlesinger Center at 703.845.6156.

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Nov. 3, 2017
Passage Gallery to exhibit artwork by regional artist Lisa Rosenstein

The Passage Gallery at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria Campus is excited to present the work of Lisa Rosenstein in the art exhibition Daybook. The show will be on display Nov. 10, 2017 to Jan. 15, 2018 with an artist’s reception scheduled for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11.

Lisa Rosenstein, Untitled #1, 11×14 in , Micron pen, water soluble pencil on paper

After her third child was in school full time, Rosenstein took a watercolor class. She spent much of her class time drawing before painting. Realizing she needed to expand her art education, she signed up for classes at The Washington Studio School. These classes and her enjoyment of them prompted her to apply to the AFA program at the Corcoran College of Art and Design. Today, Rosenstein spends hours drawing – using her creativity to process what she feels and what she sees and hears around her.

“Life is a journey through oceans, mountains, and jungles of visual, auditory, and emotional information,” Rosenstein said. “Nearly every day I sit down and draw for an hour or two. This quiet wordless time is my way of processing what I see, hear and feel. What’s inside comes out in free-flowing lines and marks, becoming a visual illustration of my response to the world around me.”

For more than a decade Rosenstein has shown her work in group and solo exhibitions, art fairs, and festivals throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and New York.  Her work is also in many public and private collections.

The Passage Gallery is located on the second level of the Schlesinger Center outside of the Margaret W. & Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery. The artists’ reception is free and open to the public. The galleries at the Schlesinger Center are open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and during concert hall performances and public events. The Schlesinger Center is located at 4915 East Campus Drive, Alexandria, VA, 22311. For additional information about art shows and concert hall events, call the Schlesinger Center at 703.845.6156.

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Nov. 1, 2017
Artist transforms subconscious to conscious in new Fisher Gallery art show

The Margaret W. & Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria Campus welcomes the unique artwork of regional artist Kyujin Lee whose show Past Control, Pest Control will be on display from Nov. 10, 2017 to Jan. 15, 2018. An artist’s reception is scheduled for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11.

Kyujin Lee; Unbind; 73” x 53”; ink, watercolor, acrylic on canvas; photo courtesy of artist.

Lee explains that she works in the surrealist tradition. As she always does at the onset of creating new work, Lee started by making spontaneous gestural marks on paper or on canvas with water-based pigments. After some time, Lee returned to these marks to deliberately transform those incidental marks to create the final art piece.

“As I make my subconscious conscious, I transform incidental marks into defined images and compose psychologically-charged visual narratives that often deal with emotional stress like anxiety and depression triggered by childhood traumas,” Lee said. “In this process, I reach a cathartic state of mind and slowly begin to regain a sense of control of some of my past emotional hardships that seem sometimes so persistent, like a pest.”

Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea and now resides in Washington, D.C. In 1994, she received a Bachelor of Arts from Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul. She also received a Master of Fine Arts from the City College of The City University of New York in 1997 and a Master of Arts from Teachers College at Columbia University in 2000. Over the years, she has shown in solo and group exhibitions all over the world including in the Washington, D.C. area, Chicago, New York City, Florida, Vermont, New Jersey and North Carolina.

The Margaret W. & Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery is located on the second level of the Schlesinger Center. The galleries are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and during concert hall events. For additional information about art shows and concert hall events, call the Schlesinger Center at 703.845.6156.