George Lorio, Cut hereOpening Reception: Thursday, April 13 from 7pm to 9pm
McLean Project for the Arts will open its Spring Solo Exhibitions on April 13, 2023. Featured works include Industry Standards: Works by Chris Combs; Concerns: Sculpture by George Lorio; and With My Face Against the Future: Paintings by Josh Whipkey. The exhibition will run through June 10, 2023, with an Opening Exhibition Reception on Thursday, April 13, 2023 from 7-9pm. RSVP here. (https://tinyurl.com/springsoloopening)
“We are pleased to offer these three outstanding artists—selected from an open call for proposals—solo exhibitions at MPA,” said MPA Curator and Artistic Director Nancy Sausser. “Solo exhibitions are hard to come by, and MPA is happy to be able to offer artists this important opportunity to show a significant body of their work, particularly in light of how many exhibitions were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Industry Standards: Works by Chris Combs
Chris Combs’ sculptures are made from reclaimed or surplus industrial components. Pulled together to both perform a task (of the artists’ making) and draw the viewer in aesthetically and technically, the pieces seem almost familiar and yet strangely new. While addressing themes of technology, surveillance and the destruction of the environment, Combs creates sculptures which are at once ominous and distinctly playful.
Concerns: Sculpture by George Lorio
In George Lorio’s sculptures, tree-like forms are presented as metaphorical references to the possibility of healing and regeneration. Built from a combination of plywood armatures and found bark and twigs, the works exemplify a partnership between human effort and the natural world. Exuding a calm beauty, and both complexity and simplicity, these sculptures inspire a meditation on the necessity of valuing our environment.
With My Face Against the Future: Paintings by Josh Whipkey
Josh Whipkey’s paintings explore anxiety from physical, experiential, and philosophical perspectives. His smaller abstractions are full of high frequency color and dynamic geometric lines and shapes. Energy is built both within the edges of each individual painting and in each painting’s relationship to another. The exhibit features both smaller works that are more compressed compositions to recent paintings that are larger, more spacious and leave room for thoughtful philosophical contemplation upon the nature of reality itself.
The MPA Atrium Gallery will be available for viewing during McLean Community Center operating hours. The Emerson Gallery will be open for visitors Tuesdays through Fridays from 1-4pm and Saturdays from 10am – 3pm.
MPA’s 2023 Spring Solo Exhibitions are funded in part by ArtsFairfax.
About MPA
MPA Exhibits, Educates and Inspires
McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) is one of the mid-Atlantic region’s most respected contemporary visual arts organizations. MPA provides high-quality art exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, educational programs, art classes, MPAartfest, summer art camps, and ArtReach, an award-winning program serving students in grades K – 12, seniors, and individuals with special needs. For more information, visit www.mpaart.org.
McLean Project for the Arts Emerson and Atrium Galleries are located at 1234 Ingleside Avenue, McLean, VA.
