Tag: exhibits

September 12 – October 4, 2008
Nicholas Colasanto Center; Alexandria, Virginia
Map and Gallery Info

Megan Coyle’s “The Artist from a Distance,” “Self Portrait Posed in Front of Pink,” and “Figure in front of Window” were on display in the Nicholas Colasanto Center for a self-portrait exhibition. The exhibition was a Del Ray Artisans all-member exhibition, featuring the work of several local artists whose work ranged from photography to painting. The artwork showcased many different interpretations of what makes a self portrait a self portrait.

One of Megan’s collages, “The Artist from a Distance,” won Best in Show for the exhibition.

Well Crafted Word Newsletter

August 6 – September 2, 2008
Art League Gallery; Alexandria, Virginia
Map and Gallery Info

Megan Coyle’s “Open Skies” collage was on dislpay in the Art League’s annual landscape juried exhibition. The group exhibition showcased the diversity in the approach to an old fashion subject matter – landscapes and cityscapes. Works ranged in materials, with mixed media pieces, paintings, photograhy, charcoal drawings, and more.

The exhibition was juried by Walter Bartman.

694 works of art were entered into the exhibition and only 158 were accepted.

The Art League created a juror’s statement with Walter Bartman. The statement included the following:

When Walter Bartman juries a landscape show, he seeks to select pieces that are atypical landscapes.  “If you’re going to paint landscape, you have to go beyond the obvious.”  Bartman felt that many of the pieces submitted were repetitive, ordinary renderings of water, sunsets, or trees.  He wanted to see more artists approaching “landscape” with a fresh, unanticipated point of view.

“I was looking for something unexpected, something surprising.  Landscape is all about the use of space.”  Pieces in which the artist uniquely used space, pattern, scale, and angles were some of the elements Bartman looked for.  In “Little Washington #2,” by John Mallos, Bartman was drawn to the play between abstraction and representation, scale, striking angles, and simplicity.

Unexpected color choices, like in Jane Hahler’s, “Before Dark, Lima Peru,” can add an emotional element to a work.  “In this painting, you can feel that you’re in the city and it’s a hot summer evening.”  The artist has succeeded in portraying a sense of mood. Awarded The Jay and Helen Risser Award, “Leftovers,” by Fred Markham, “is an example of a strong black and white piece, with strong tonal values that is beautifully done.  The perspective and angles in this piece are interesting.”

“North Shore Autumn,” by BJ Anderson, captured the Potomac Valley Watercolorists Award.  “This is a memorable piece.  Unique in perspective and scale, you don’t typically see landscapes like this.  Multiple layers of pigment were applied to achieve the intense saturation and vividness of color.  The artist was able to retain a sense of flatness which is interesting.”

Bartman has juried for The Art League several times, and has been critical of the work previously.  But this time he found the most variety of unique work he has seen at The Art League, and a group of highly competent artists.

He thought photography was among the weakest media, with many “snapshots” submitted and fewer abstracted, creative compositions presented.  However he did select and award an honorable mention to “New York Reflections” by Alexandra Scannell.  “I like the perspective and the break up of space in this piece,” he stated.

Bartman has worked in the Bethesda, MD area for over thirty years.  Nationally acclaimed landscape painter and instructor, he received his BA in Art Education from the University of Maryland and his MFA from American University.  He is the Founder and Director of the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery at Glen Echo Park in Maryland.

July 9 – August 3, 2008
Art League Gallery; Alexandria, Virginia
Map and Gallery Info

Megan Coyle’s “Figure Seated by the Counter” collage was on dislpay in one of the Art League’s monthly juried exhibitions. Megan’s portrait collage was awarded an Honorable Mention by the exhibition’s juror, Nan Haid.

627 works of art were entered into the July All-Media Membership Show and only 120 were accepted.

The Art League created the following juror’s statement with Nan Haid:

When jurying a show, Nan Haid first responds to composition and technique. Though Haid was drawn to and selected a variety of pieces for the July 2008 All-Media show at The Art League Gallery, many seem to have an introspective, contemplative feel.

“I have juried for The Art League on many occasions, and there is always a consistent strength to the work, particularly among the drawings and watercolors.” Haid comments that perhaps this proficiency is a nod to The Art League School classes. “This month, the prints also stood out as being strong and interesting.”

As an educator, she feels that artists have to understand the grammar, the structure, the language of drawing, painting, and creating before they can move on to working abstractly or subjectively. “You have to see, understand, and create works objectively before you can work subjectively.” For Haid, having a strong foundation in representational drawing is very important.

Haid selected “Nova Scotia Wetlands” by Frances Metcalf for The Larry Kirstein Award. “I like the fresh quality and the color in this piece. It has a sense of innocence and spontaneity. It is framed well – the mat and frame are in good proportion to the print.” The pieces awarded Honorable Mentions all have a charming, expressive, and subjective quality. Deron DeCeseare’s execution of “Coastal Pines IV,” “demonstrates his proficiency and know-how as an artist. To be able to successfully pull off a piece that has so few elements takes a lot of skill,” she remarks.

Haid avoided the selection of work with issues compositionally, technically, or with presentation. “Many pieces had overly prominent signatures. It’s a problem when a signature becomes so distracting for the piece, or when it become an element of the work,” she remarked.

“The quality of work at The Art League is always strong. Continue to believe in yourself as an artist and in your work. Continue to persevere. Confidence shows in your work.”

Haid last juried for The Art League in June 2006. Professor Emeritus of Art at NOVA’s Woodbridge campus, Haid has juried for many shows throughout the region. Her own work has been exhibited several times at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She exhibits extensively throughout the region.

July 3 – July 26, 2008
Nicholas Colasanto Center; Alexandria, Virginia
Map and Gallery Info

Megan Coyle’s “Dancing in the Nude” gestural drawing was on display in the Del Ray Artisans’ exhibition that was dedicated to the nude figure. Megan’s drawing created during one of the live model drawing sessions that the Del Ray Artisans holds on a weekly basis. It was a result of a series of quick five minute poses by the model – where Megan had just enough time to capture the basic shape and line of the figure’s body.

This exhibition was an opportunity for local artists to showcase their work. The show displayed artwork that ranged from photographs to paintings to collages.

The curators described the theme for this exhibition as follows:

“Since the beginning of time, artists have attempted to capture the human figure in all its diversity. Ancient drawings and sculptures may have been symbols of fertility or of great bravery. The human figure was depicted as deities and in religious rites. As time went on, artists drew, painted and sculpted the figure in ways that represented both the ideal and everyday life. For centuries artists and art students have studied the human figure, using the live model, as a way of developing their skills. Today, artists continue this tradition, as we use our art to explore the infinite variety and beauty of the body or to comment on the human condition.”

April 30 – May 23, 2008
Belk Galleries; Elon University, North Carolina

Megan Coyle’s “Samantha” portrait collage was on display in Belk Galleries. The show was run by and exhibited the artwork of senior art students. A select few artists were chosen for this exhibition, where they displayed one or two pieces of their artwork. The show had work that ranged from representational to abstraction and included two-dimensional pieces as well as three-dimensional sculptures and ceramics.

Megan created her collage portrait, “Samantha,” specifically for this exhibition. It gave Megan a chance to continue exploring the human form after completing the portrait study for her senior thesis exhibition.

April 20 – April 30, 2008
Elon Arts West Gallery; Elon University, North Carolina

From the beginning of the school year, senior art students met with a committee of professors to develop their ideas for their senior thesis exhibition. Megan worked on six collage portraits where she went through a process of intense editing for each one. This was Megan’s first cohesive body of collage work.

The senior exhibition featured the work of eleven artists who worked in a variety of media, including photography, ceramics, collage, and installation. The artists didn’t limit themselves to the media they studied—for instance, Megan was a painting major and she exhibited collages (although her collages have a heavy painting influence).

Megan Coyle’s senior thesis artwork was on display in Elon Arts West Gallery. Her thesis included the following collage portraits: “Benjamin,” “Jean,” “Bill,” “Bren,” “Scott,” and “Ali.” The exhibition lasted two weeks before it was taken down to make room for the second senior art exhibition.

The following was Megan’s artist statement for the exhibition:

I associate the people I’m close to with scenes in my mind, with memories and places that illustrate their personalities.  By bringing together the human form, and the associations that illustrate these people, a conversation is created between the work and its viewers.  The narratives form a story that others can imagine in their minds.  Each setting was made specifically for each sitter, relating to what kind of person he or she is.  For each portrait, the setting, shadows, everyday objects, and sitter’s expression, represents each figure’s personality as I see it.  The variations in the developed surface have reminded me of the complexities of the different planes and areas of muscles on the human face.  Thus collage works well in communicating the variety of forms and values seen when looking at people.

April 11 – May 24, 2008
Isabella Cannon Room; Elon University, North Carolina

Megan Coyle’s “Figure in front of Window” collage was on display in Elon University’s Isabella Cannon Room for an all senior art show. She created this collage portrait specifically for the “All Senior Art Show.”

The art show gave senior art students a chance to showcase artwork that represented their entire body of work for that year. Megan created a series of six collage portraits for her senior thesis, where she went through an extensive process of editing each collage. For the “All Senior Art Show,” she wanted to display a piece of art that represented her collage process. “Figure in front of Window” does just that—the collage has a partially finished look which emphasizes the shape of the magazine cut-outs that have been glued down. The original paper that the magazine cut-outs are on shines through a bit, as well as parts of Megan’s underlying sketch that was done before she started collaging. The portrait shows the transition of moving from a rough sketch to a representational collage portrait.

March 27 – July 27, 2008
Smithsonian’s Ripley Center; Washington, D.C.
Map and Gallery Info

In the summer of 2007, Megan interned at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG). After spending a summer paging through several old art catalogues, Megan became more familiar with NPG’s previous exhibitions and she became more interested in portraiture—she found herself focusing more on figures in her artwork. Her internship also inspired the work she did for her senior art thesis exhibition.

During Megan’s internship, she entered the Smithsonian’s annual juried community art show. Her collage, “Girl with Glasses,” was acceptedand displayed in the 2008 exhibition at the Smithsonian’s Ripley Center. Megan chose this particular work for her submission because she felt it represented her experience at NPG the best and it reflected the type of work the museum has—portraiture.

The exhibition showcased the work of several members of the Smithsonian community, including employees, interns, and volunteers. The work ranged from illustration to pastel work to mixed media sculpture.

The following was the introduction to the exhibition:

This juried exhibition, the Smithsonian Community Committee’s third art show, underscores the often hidden talents within the Smithsonian community. While we received over a hundred and seventy entries, only seventy could be selected for display. The subjects of these works and the materials from which they are made are as diverse as the people who comprise the Smithsonian family and the collections of the Institution itself.

Side by side are images and forms inspired by the lure of distant lands and the love of the familiar.  These creations of paint, canvas, paper, charcoal, pastel, ink, fabric, metal, stone, clay and light speak of the artists’ fascination with the world around them—objects, ideas, and people often encountered through their work with the Smithsonian. They are evidence of the inspired, after-hours activities of our staff, research fellows, interns, contractors, and volunteers. Their reserves of energy, imagination, and skillfulness enhance all aspects of our everyday work.

December 2007 – May 2008
Arts and Letters Gallery; Elon, North Carolina

Megan Coyle’s collages “Feeling Blue,” “Pink Flower,” “Orange Lily,” and “Girl with Glasses,” and her mixed media painting, “Abstract Trees,” were approved for an exhibition in the Arts and Letters Gallery. The art was put on display in the fall of 2007 and was taken down in the spring of 2008. The gallery was located in an artist community and Megan’s work was exhibited in the main entrance gallery space. This show gave Megan a chance to share her work with other artists in the area.

The collages she selected were her favorite pieces that she had done at this time. She hadn’t focused on collage in her art for a while, and this exhibition helped jump-start her creativity and fueled a bit of the inspiration for her senior thesis work.

November 5 – November 28, 2007
Elon Arts West Gallery; Elon, North Carolina

This exhibition was run by art students—they organized thesubmission process, advertising, installation, and hired an outside juror for the show. Megan helped with the marketing efforts—which included designing and posting flyers, painting a mural, and contacting numerous newspapers and local organizations.

Kate Kretz, a North Carolina artist, was the juror of the exhibition. Kretz is well known for her “Blessed Art Thou” painting that gained international recognition. Kretz is primarily a painter and fibers artist.

Megan’s mixed media paintings, “Associative Body,” “Woven Self-Portrait,” and “Fridge,” were accepted into the exhibition. Kate Kretz awarded Megan’s “Associative Body” the Juror’s Choice Award (Best in Show). All of Megan’s work for the exhibition was created with two canvases—one stretched and one unstretched. She collaged paper and used oil pastels on the stretched canvas and cut up pieces of the painted unstretched canvas that she then stitched into the stretched one.

The “Artists Leading Elon” exhibition featured Megan’s best multi-media artwork from that year.

Kate Kretz’s juror’s statement:

With extensive experience on both sides of the jury process, I have come to the conclusion that, despite any juror’s best efforts to remain impartial, selection of work is subject to the taste and biases of the juror. If a juror attends graduate school at a certain time or particular place, for example, they might have learned to value abstract art over figurative work, or think that “painting is dead”. As an entrant, you might find yourself in the unfortunate situation of entering work that reminds the juror of their ex-wife, or the background in your work is the color of the pea soup the juror was force-fed as a child. My point is this: do not be discouraged if your work was not chosen, as it is not a refection of the empirical value of your work.

My biases are as follows:

As this is a fine arts exhibition, I tended to avoid anything that looked too much like advertising… we all see too much of that, and unless you are using the language for a subversive purpose, I see no reason to make more of those images. There were some very eccentric choices, as I have a soft spot for kitsch, whether deliberately ironic or unintended. I was also drawn to work where you could feel the raw emotion, or the love, behind the making. Some pieces were chosen because they looked like one thing, but became something else upon further inspection. Some were beautifully executed, which allowed them to transcend the ordinary subject matter that they depicted. The very best pieces that I saw here had a personal voice. The unique language of these works drew me in to look at everyday things in a new way, to experience human vulnerability, or revel in pure visual delight.

My thanks to the students for sharing your work with me, and for “putting it out there” to be chosen by others (never an easy thing).