Women Painting Women (R)evolution

In September, the 14 artists who exhibited last year in The Expedition and Beyond are returning to Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA for another Women Painting Women exhibition, and each of us have invited another artist to show with us. In addition, four gallery artists will be joining the show.

Considering that I'm more of an evolutionary than a revolutionary, and more of a humanist than a feminist, you may ask why I'm excited to be part of a show with revolution and women in its title. Well, I'm excited because I want to encourage change, and because I believe that the work of male and female artists should be seen and taken equally seriously.

The way I see it, WPW is kind of like Affirmative Action. Affirmative Action is considered necessary by some people as a way of eliminating racism--yet it offends other people because by definition it is racist, and how can we get rid of racism by establishing a racist situation? Affirmative Action is an experiment. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't. The ultimate goal is to get to a point where there is no need for it.  I see WPW as similar to Affirmative Action in that it gives women artists venues in which to show work, separated from the work of men, with the ultimate goal being not ghettoization, but inclusion, on equal footing, with male figurative artists. Women Painting Women gives accomplished, professional female painters the chance to show the world what they can do, to increase representation of female artists in galleries and museums. I'm all for a level playing field.

Just to make it clear, I cringe when I see art shows entitled "Five Women Painters," or "Three Women Paint the Figure." To me, the fact that all the painters are women is not enough to make a valid theme for a show. I have a method for testing these titles out: in my head, I change the titles to "Five Man Painters" and "Five Men Paint the Figure" and see if it sounds strange. It does. Mentioning the sex of the artist doesn't add anything to the title, in fact it detracts from it because it distracts from the point that shows like this really should have nothing to do with the sex of the artist.

But Women Painting Women has a valid, worthwhile, and interesting theme. A few years ago, the WPW blog was born from the question asked by Sadie Valeri, Alia El Bermani, and Diane Feissel: (to paraphrase) "Do women paint women differently than men paint women? Let's find out!"

Three or so years later and several shows later, we have 32 female artists exhibiting their paintings of women at Principle Gallery, and that question can be asked, pondered, and maybe even answered by the people who see the show. I believe that the viewpoints of women painters need to be recognized and valued. Shows like this not only raise the profiles of the artists involved, but also, by doing so, they enlarge our portrayal and understanding of the woman as subject in art.

Here are two of the three paintings I will be showing:

The Grandmothers, oil on linen, 40" x 34"

Year at Sea, oil on linen, 69" x 46"

Women Painting Women (R)evolution opens September 20th, 6:30-9:00 p.m.
The Principle Gallery
208 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-739-9326   info@principlegallery.com

LUCKY 13: Expedition & Beyond Opening this Friday Evening

13 is a significant number (lucky, too), at the Principle Gallery this Friday. Not only is the date April 13th, but also 13 artists are featured in a group show called Women Painting Women: The Expedition & Beyond. I'm honored to be part of this group, and excited to be in this show.

The 13 artists are: Diane Feissel, Linda Tracey Brandon, Terry Strickland, Rachel Constantine, Sadie Valeri, Alia El-Bermani, Shannon Runquist, Mia Bergeron, Catherine Prescott, Kate Stone, Stefani Tewes, Cindy Procious, and I.

Each artist will be exhibiting three paintings: one small study done on location during our original week-long painting trip to Charleston, SC, and two paintings completed since the expedition.

The only distinction I can claim is of having the only painting of a 1) man and 2) an elderly woman in the entire show. Here they are:

Elemental Balance, oil on linen, 46" x 42"

Hot Enough, oil on linen, 36" x 36"

Hot Enough, detail

My third painting is a plein air study, painted at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston SC. I became fascinated with the southern plants, especially live oak trees--their forms, and the colors and textures of bark and mosses growing on them.

Live Oak and Monument, Magnolia Cemetery, oil on paper on board, 9.5" x 11.75"

You have probably already seen some of the work by these artists online, but I encourage you to come see the show if you are able to get to Alexandria. I saw some of it when it was being delivered, and it is VERY DIFFERENT (much better, IMO) in reality. The impact of the size alone is unexpected, and the color is often quite different, plus the paint quality and texture are usually invisible in an image, but significant when you see the real painting.

All the artists in the "Expedition" hope you can make it to Principle Gallery on Friday!

Expedition and Beyond Catalogs available!

The opening date (April 13) of The Expedition and Beyond group show is fast approaching, and I'm delighted to report that show catalogs are now available for online purchase. Click here to order, or to preview. The 29-page book includes lots of color photos of our "expedition" in Charleston, SC, images of the 13 artists' work, and an essay by John O'Hern. The show opens April 13 at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.