Photos, fiber and stone
From June 27 through Aug. 3, the Middle Street Gallery in Sperryville exhibits works by member artists Paula Endo, Ann Currie and Robert Bouquet. The show, “Photos, Fiber and Stone,” combines two-and three-dimensional works of art spanning a range from natural organic materials to digital creations. Currie says of her works, “Highly beaten flax fibers create a pulp with unique properties of shrinkage and translucency, and I have chosen this pulp to create three dimensional forms. [My works] include the forms and the paintings inspired by them. Oil paint, gouache and encaustic, found papers and handmade paper are employed to complete the expressions.” Bouquet, a sculptor, will show work using his favorite stone — black soapstone — which is quarried in central Virginia. “As a very soft stone, it lends itself to the the use of hand tools — chisels, files and abrasives,” he says.
Photographer Endo provides a visual contrast between her experiences from having lived in Egypt in the early 1990s and a return to the region (Israel and the Palestinian territories) in 2011. “I want to share the feeling of tone and mood — my own perception contrasting the physical, personal and emotional realities of these two experiences in the Middle East,” she says.
An opening reception for the artists and the public is 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 12. At 3 River Lane in Sperryville’s Rappahannock Central complex, the gallery is open 10 to 5 Friday-Sunday. For more information, visit middlestreetgallery.org or call 540-987-9330.
Old Rag Gallery, next door at River District Arts, also holds a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. this Saturday (June 28) for a show by members Geoff Archer, Ray Boc and Joyce Harman of domestic animals — mostly horses, cattle, dogs and other creatures of Rappahannock County. The show runs through the month of July. All beverages at adjacent El Quijote restaurant, hot and cold, are discounted 20 percent during the reception.