Welcome to our new "blog"! I had to go online to get a definition of the word….my trusty Random House Dictionary proved outdated.
A blog (short for weblog) is an online journal or diary of an individual's opinions and latest news that is updated regularly.
We will use this site to keep you up-to-date on happenings in the Gallery and to provide information on your favorite artists. I will endeavor to post materials on a biweekly basis but don't hold my feet to the fire on that one.
How did it get to be mid-January? If the last two weeks are any indication of the warp speed this year portends, we are all in serious trouble. January is usually our quiet month but we have been busy reorganizing the Gallery and trying to use the internet more effectively as a means of communication. Please sign-up for our email invitations by going to the website: www.massoniart.com and clicking on Information. All data will be protected by our security measures.
Museums in the area continue to benefit by the seeds we have planted. Marc Castelli's work returned from the Forecastle Gallery at the National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia last week. His twenty-four watercolors composed a one-man exhibition that graced their gallery for all of 2007. No sooner did we unload the van than we were packing up his painting - Opening Day/ Betty Jean off Cape Charles - one of the favorites from the Norfolk show and shipping it to Tangier Island where it was recently acquired by the Tangier Island Museum & Interpretive Cultural Center. 
Several of Castelli's America's Cup paintings will be headed off later this month to the Museum of America and the Sea at the Mystic Seaport for the 29th Annual Modern Marine Masters Exhibition opening in April 2008 at the Maritime Gallery. Marc tells me he's hard at work on paintings for his annual one-man exhibition at our Gallery in May 2008. I wonder how many of this year's paintings will be destined for museums? Or better yet, your collection!
The Academy Art Museum – Winter 2007/2008 magazine arrived two weeks ago with a full color rendition of Greg Mort's Universe Unfolding on the cover. The Academy located in Easton, Maryland announced a promised gift of thirty-three Mort paintings by long-time collector David Hickman. I have known David since our early days on Capitol Hill. I was a Senate intern and he was one of the bright young turks on the Judiciary Committee staff. David has been collecting Mort's work since 1984 when he bought his first piece – a simple watercolor of yellow leaves - from an exhibit sponsored by his law firm, Covington & Burling. The Gallery is proud to have been a part in arranging this very important gift. For more information: http://www.art-academy.org/ Selections from the David H. Hickman gift as well as other gifts from the community given in honor of the Museum's 50th Anniversary will be included in an exhibition in the fall of 2008 – the kick-off of the Museum's anniversary year. This will coincide with Greg's one man exhibition planned for November 2008.
As many of you might know, I have been spending more time in Washington, DC - a self-imposed sabbatical of sorts – to visit museums, attend lectures, meet new artists, and endeavor to bring a burst of energy to the Gallery. Last Thursday, I made my way to the Phillips Collection in the first real snowstorm of the season. Silver dollar size flakes – twisting and turning in the spaces between the buildings – transformed downtown Washington into a quiet village. The feeling of floating through time continued as I explored the old and new sections of the museum. In the front room was Francis Bacon's Figure in a Landscape, always a favorite of mine. The powerful grasses in the foreground instantly reminded me of the work one of our local Chestertown artists is producing. I've long admired Emmy Savage's paintings and we plan to feature several in the February show. Also on tap for February in the Lower Gallery will be work by Leigh Wen, Celia Pearson and Carol Rowan. Carol and I had wonderful visit in her new studio just up the street from the Phillips. She is producing some stunning new work in oil and in graphite and I selected three pieces for the exhibit. Check out the great article on Carol in the February edition of ChesapeakeLife. http://www.chesapeakelifemag.com/index.php/cl/features
You've already received your invitations in the mail for our planned February exhibition, Surface Tension, featuring the work of Larry Schroth and Mary Pritchard. They will take over the Main Gallery for February First Friday. These two artists are always pushing the envelope with their explorations. No sooner did Larry return from his trip to Greece than he was in the studio working collaboratively with his printmaker George Holzer to create a new body of work based on the continuation of his graffiti imagery. Larry will post information on his trip later today.
One of the highlights of the New Year has been the opportunity to bask in the success of our daughter, Anne Leighton Massoni. I gave birth to her, but others have nurtured her talent over the years. One such mentor is curator Lillian Fitzgerald who selected two bodies of Anne's work for exhibit in Washington, DC. My husband and I attended the opening reception and artist talk at Smith Farm Center for the Healing Arts where Anne and ceramicist Bill Mould are featured in an exhibit entitled Transformation. We were overwhelmed by their sensitive presentation and the work of Center's staff. Anne is exhibiting a very personal body of work – prescence.in – created especially for this venue. The exhibit runs through February 28. Fitzgerald also selected Anne's newest work – yours & mine – for a solo show at the National Institutes of Health through March 1, 2008. Visit Fitzgerald's blog to learn more about both exhibits. http://lillianfitzgerald.blogspot.com/2008/01/anne-leighton-massoni.html
See you on February 1, 2008!!
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