As an artist member of the Artists2artists Social Network, I posted some of my work in their online gallery.
Their resident curator, Kristen T Woodward* saw my work and wrote about it. She has allowed me to share her review.
Here is her review of my work:
It was a joy to discover your series of large-scale flower paintings on view this morning. Subtle Exuberance- Tree Peony held my attention the longest, with it’s delicately curling petals, and contrasts of value. The lower chroma hues within the areas of shadow- variations of brown and muted violets, are a surprising color scheme in the giant bloom. The colors beautifully contrast with the complementary yellow center’s delicate stamens, which provides striking textural variation against the smooth petals. The abstraction of the flowers presented in large format grants them an otherworldly quality. I find the peony works, including Worth the Wait are particularly effective in their restraint of color. Thank you for sharing your work. I look forward to viewing more over time.
My name is Kristen T Woodward, and I am the official resident curator for Artists2artists. Please view my short bio below:
A Professor of Art at Albright College in Pennsylvania, I have exhibited my mixed media paintings in over 200 venues since 2000. I currently teach introductory through advanced levels of undergraduate printmaking & painting, including oil and water media, and encaustic. I have also team taught interdisciplinary courses on Latin American graphic art, and gender and the visual arts. Currently, I am collaborating with a biologist to explore tropical ecosystems in Central America.
Opening reception: Thursday, June 17, 2021, 5:00-6:30 PM via Zoom.
For more information about how to join the reception, please email: office@thenawa.org.
The invited artists for this exhibition are:
Toni Truesdale, Pamela Cook, Pam Krimsky, Barbara Bell, Laura Bronzini, Maxey Medolin, Linda Snider Ward, Judith Carlin, Nancy Jacey, Joanna Coke, Lucinda Abra, Barbara Williams, Joan Menschenfreund, Victoria Elmer, Mary Ahern, Joanna Biondolillo, Lily Braff, Meredith Beattie, Kathleen Zimmerman, Arlene Robbins, Mary Bell Steffen, Elena Zelenina, Merill French, Julie Rothblatt-Amrany, Sandy Dimke, Carol Branton, Melinda Welker, Meredeth Turshen, Julie O’Conner, and Barabra Stahl.
“Pat’s Passion” is a painting I created of my friend Pat Sayers who is a daylily hybridizer. You can see her website here: Whispering Hills Garden
About NAWA:
Over 800 professional women artists comprise the national membership. The National Association of Women Artists holds juried group exhibitions, solo exhibitions, workshops and fundraising events throughout the year promoting visibility for women artists across the country. Artists are also recognized through a variety of awards given by NAWA.
Established in 1889, NAWA is the first established professional women’s art organization in the U.S. NAWA’s documented exhibitions are archived within The Smithsonian Institution Archives; The Museum of Modern Art; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; the Zimmerli Art Museum; Rutgers University, the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago; the Library of Congress; the National Museum of Women in the Arts; the Frick Art Reference Library; and the New York Public Library.
This Art Angels 2021 celebrates the efforts of the generous women who have donated their time during the year to promote the work of all the Women Artists who have been accepted into this prestigious organization all across the country.
NAWA was the first official organization of professional women artists founded in this country. They’ve been supporting women’s creativity since 1889.
This online exhibition is featured until May 31, 2021
Proud to be a Member Guild Hall in East Hampton NY.
Our annual Members Exhibition live this year! How exciting in the time of Covid that we can begin once again view art in person. It’s a very different experience than seeing art online.
The in-person exhibition is on now through Saturday April 20, 2021
Guild Hall
158 Main Street
East Hampton NY 11937
You can book Covid compliant reservations by calling their office at 631-324-0506 M-F.
Drop-ins are also welcome though.
Due to the wonderful popularity of this exhibition, over 400 artists participate each year. In such esteemed company we were asked to limit the size of our artwork. To comply with their request I am showing my newly completed oil painting, “Waiting Patiently – Cherry Hibiscus”.
This year Guild Hall celebrates its 90th Anniversary and its 83rd Artist Members Exhibition, and we are thrilled to announce Gagosian Director and Curator Antwaun Sargent as the awards juror.
The first Artist Members Exhibition took place in 1938, shortly after Guild Hall’s inception in 1931. The exhibition is the oldest non-juried show on Long Island and one of the few non-juried exhibitions still running. Deeply rooted in the history of the East End artist colony, early participants included Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Alfonso Ossorio, Perle Fine, Bill King, James Brooks, Charlotte Park, John Little and many more, showing their support of Guild Hall and its role as their community Museum, Theater, and Education Center.
Due to the wonderful popularity of this exhibition, over 400 artists participate each year. In such esteemed company we were asked to limit the size of our artwork. To comply with their request I am showing my newly completed oil painting, “Waiting Patiently – Cherry Hibiscus”.
The National Association of Women Artists is the oldest art organization in the country. NAWA. Supporting Women Artists Since 1889.
This article about NAWA, published by the Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, focuses on this prestigious women’s art organization of which I am a juried-in member. I’m so amazed and delighted to be one of the artists whose work is featured in this article. Wow!
For NAWA member Mary Ahern, flowers represent a microcosm of the universe in their cycles of living and loving, families and relationships as well as their quest for survival and eventual senescence and rebirth.
It’s easy for some to forget that not that long ago in history, women had few opportunities for making art, much less becoming professional artists. Even today there are challenges, which is why it’s important to highlight the oldest women’s fine art organization in the country, the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA).
“NAWA was founded by a group of women artists not content to be kept out of salons, exhibitions and galleries open to male artists in the 19th century,” Amy Hutto, a juried member of NAWA, says. “While great strides have been made, women artists continue to be underrepresented and our work undervalued monetarily compared to our male counterparts still today. Our goals, among many others, are to educate, inspire, promote and celebrate the art work and accomplishments of women artists, our members in particular.”
NAWA member Lisa Daria Kennedy. Since 2009, she has committed to an on-going daily painting project. As a young adult cancer survivor, she discovered living is not just surviving. Each painting seeks to give a voice to the fiber of the everyday.
Hutto, a colorist whose subject focus is on domestic and wild animals, is from Austin, Texas, and currently lives in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
I had the opportunity to ask Hutto a few questions about the importance and benefits of NAWA, including a question that makes women in particular cringe.
Cherie Dawn Haas: Can you tell me a little about yourself please, and why you chose to join NAWA?
Amy Hutto: I chose to join NAWA because of its prestigious reputation, historical significance and its long history of spotlighting the under-represented art of women in a predominately male oriented profession.
I also wanted to connect with other artists across the country, and now I converse regularly with professional women artists in Colorado, South Carolina, and all over. I feel like I have my finger on the pulse of the art world in real-time.
CDH: What is your response when someone says, “They don’t have an association just for men?”
AH: I explain that the art world has traditionally been an association for men. Men have long dominated salons, galleries, and museums throughout history. Many women don’t even sign their full name on their work, just their initials, to remove any preconceived notions about art created by a woman. The National Association of Women Artists is working to change that narrative.
CDH: What are some of the ways in which men can support NAWA and women artists in general?
AH: NAWA does have many men who support us and we appreciate them a great deal! We have men on our Executive Board of Directors who support women artists. Men who are in the business of art whether as creators, gallery owners, curators, etc…acknowledgement; in-kind recognition and more inclusive practices that strive for more balanced representation; and additionally to support efforts for women created works of art to be monetarily valued as equal to that of men’s art.
Non-members of the art world can also show their support of NAWA through financial donations and endowments which allow us to grow our organization, hence increasing awareness of women artists and their contributions to the art industry.
NAWA member Joyce Byrnes is a pastel artist living in Rockland County, NY. In her paintings, she seeks to convey the light, color and textures she finds in nature.
CDH: What are some of the benefits of joining NAWA?
AH: There are so many benefits of joining NAWA; national exposure through NAWA’s website, the ability to participate in exhibitions that are exclusive to NAWA members both online and in exhibition spaces, the contacts one can establish with artists across the country, the support of other artists experiencing the same issues in our industry, access to a wealth of knowledge and expertise shared with other members on our social media sites, as well as having artwork listed in our catalogs and stored in the archives at Alexander Library at Rutgers University. I could go on and on.
I will add just one more thing. Being able to be a part of this historical organization whose sole purpose is to empower women artists, and to see my name alongside artist powerhouses such as Mary Cassatt, Faith Ringgold, and Judy Chicago is an enormous honor. Such a feeling of accomplishment is difficult to put in words.
CDH: Have there been any unexpected positive results for the artists in this association?
AH: Yes, having our organization featured here! Thank you very much for the opportunity to visit with you and share a little about NAWA and our artists. You never know where connections will lead, and you don’t make connections unless you reach out.
I reached out to join NAWA and once I was accepted, a whole world of opportunity opened for me. That’s what we want for our members; to show them that we value them as an artist by selecting them through a juried process to join our esteemed organization and by providing ongoing opportunities for education, inspiration and promotion of their work – connecting with them not only on a professional level, but personal level.
CDH: Does NAWA have any upcoming exhibitions?
AH: We currently have “The Resilience of Grief” and “Winter Small Works,” which are online exhibitions that will carry us into spring. They will be followed by “Special Women / HERstory” and an invitational exhibition, Art Angels which will lead into our first summer exhibition for our new members held in June.
One not to miss premier’s in October with NAWA’s 132nd Annual Members Exhibition. Our Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Florida Chapters are holding both virtual and live exhibitions. A complete list can also be found online at: thenawa.org.
Members and the public alike enjoy an exhibition of art from NAWA
CDH: Anything else you’d like to add?
AH: I’d like to mention that NAWA Headquarters recently moved into a new location. We are now privileged to call the National Arts Club building at Gramercy Park South in New York City our new home. This is a beautiful and historically significant building and when we are able to return to in person shows, we will have an incredible new space to host them in.
In the meantime, please visit our website www.thenawa.org and like our Facebook page @TheNAWA, to see what our incredible artists and the organization is doing. Lastly I want to thank you again for the opportunity to share a little about the National Association of Women Artists. Having a chance to highlight the issue of under-representation of women artists, is critical. Art is an ever-evolving form of expression that belongs to all of us. We each have the power to change the status quo for the betterment of not only ourselves, but the women artists who come after us.
Cherie Dawn Haas is the Editor of Realism Today, as well as the Online Content Manager for FineArtConnoisseur.com and OutdoorPainter.com (home of Plein Air Magazine). She is a “maker” who loves to write, dance, and explore various other forms of creative self-expression, including mixed media art.
The Firefly Artists announced the first juried exhibition in their *NEW* Darcy Center for the Arts on the second floor of their Northport gallery: “Out of Isolation.”
The Show Statement:
“In a world seemingly turned upside down, we have sheltered in our homes and expressed our feelings with creativity. “Out of Isolation” shares artwork created during the Covid-19 pandemic and the stories behind those expressions. As 2020 comes to a close, we are coming together to honor our experience and salute our resilience; celebrating the creative spirit and how we, as artists, adapt and respond to turbulent circumstances.”
The exhibition will run through February 14, 2021. The Darcy Center is located on the second floor of
The Members of The Firefly Artists Gallery of Northport have been invited to exhibit their artwork at the Harborfields Library Exhibition Space.
The Firefly Artists will be celebrating 9 years on Main Street in Northport Village this year. the group was established in 2011 to create a gallery setting for local artists. The goal was to provide a supportive space where artists could collaborate, learn, and develop. Artists can exhibit and sell their work in a professional gallery setting. The Firefly Artists seek to promote visual arts in our community by contributing to local educational efforts and supporting regional artists.
The Firefly Artists Exhibition
Now Through January 29, 2021
Harborfields Library
31 Broadway
Greenlawn NY 11740
