From far and near, fine art

Art show set for UMW.

Date published: 2/7/2008

A new exhibit at the University of Mary Washington’s Ridderhof Martin Gallery is bringing radical and contemporary artworks to a town more typically known for tradition and history.

The 2008 Mid-Atlantic New Painting competition, featuring works from artists based in Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania, is a top-notch display of some of the best talents the region has to offer. The competition first began in 1997 and has since been held almost every other year.

“It’s a great opportunity for people in the Fredericksburg region to see cutting-edge art,” said Lynda Sharp, assistant director at Ridderhof Martin. “We live in a very historical area and it’s nice for people here to see work that is contemporary.”

Of the 33 works featured, five were produced by Fredericksburg artists. “Daily Correspondence,” a still-life oil painting that recalls the expressionistic virtuosity of American painter Alice Neel, won third place for local Heidi Reszies Lewis. Also included is Cliff Satterthwaite’s lonesome winter landscape, “Rose Hill,” which received an honorable mention; David Lovegrove’s impressionistic “The Proposed Relocation of Embrey Dam”; Joseph Di Bella’s “Neutralized–spl,” a selection of works from the artist’s extensive series of portraits of military personnel killed during the Iraq war; and Gabriel Pons’ “In The Coliseum.”

Pons’ painting—a vibrant rendering of an architectural classic—has become an icon of the show since being featured in the exhibit’s press posters.

Best in Show was awarded to a strikingly mythic painting of a Civil War landmark by Lisa Blas, who teaches at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in D.C. Blas’ “Fort Sumter” portrays a corrosive and ghost-like interpretation of the site where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.

Maryland-based artist Mary J. Arthur was awarded second place for her delicate yet impressive depiction of a twisting urban highway, titled “Aerial Symphony No. 2.” Fourth place was given to Stephen Ruszkowski of Delaware for his “Landseries 3,” an abstract landscape dominated by waves of the color orange.

Other standouts from the exhibit, which is on display through March 1, include Csilla Sadloch’s monochrome “Two Crows,” Steve Griffin’s archaeology-inspired “Strata #17,” Sue Johnson’s surreal “One Dozen” and P. Muzi Branch’s color-driven portrait of a performing hip–hop artist, “True Hip–Hop Culture,” an energetic testament to African–American music.

Ridderhof Martin Gallery is located on the University of Mary Washington campus, and is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Lauren Jurgensen ljurgensen@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 2/7/2008