“Home sweet home” means different things to different people and practically nowhere can contrasting concepts be better seen than what’s on the walls now at the Falls Church Arts gallery in a new exhibition simply called, “Home.”
Dr. Mark Dreisonstok, arts and theatre reviewer for the Falls Church News-Press was the sole juror for the show who chose an oil, “Rome Sweet Home” by Dony Mac Manus as the winning entry from 58 submissions. It’s probably the largest work in the show and depicts a life sized Swiss guard in full regalia modeled from a skeleton.
In a statement, Dr. Dreisonstok wrote he chose “Rome” because of its “artistry, scale, and realism” and for “the various and complex definitions of home” which can be “an adopted home” like Rome was for Mac Manus who lived in Italy for several years and like it has been for the Swiss Guards for 700 years.
“With the memento mori theme introduced by the skeleton,” Dr. Dreisonstok continued, “we are reminded that ‘man goeth to his long home’ (Ecclesiastes 12: 5), that our home is ultimately not our earthly abode.”
Interviewed at his Falls Church studio, Mac Manus, an Irish transplant, described his life as an artist, including when he was kicked out of art school in Dublin which “was more into deconstructive art” as opposed to figurative art which Mac Manus wanted to pursue.
“Absolutely!” he was glad to be kicked out of school.
That left him to follow his heart and begin casting bronzes, four of his life sized statues now standing at the Catholic Information Center in Washington.
In the Falls Church show, artists used bright colors and pastels in their vast array of watercolors, acrylics, mosaics, oils, photographs and even metals to light up interiors, landscapes, and seascapes.
Keith Thurston, gallery manager and volunteer, gave a walk through preview of the show and noted how “people love seascapes.
“They leave a placid feeling” and who doesn’t like placid in our topsy-turvy world?
Psychologists say proximity to water is beneficial in many ways which may explain why it was the choice by several of the 38 artists to highlight.
Tony Neville’s watercolor, “Virginia Sunset” and Zan McKelway’s photo, “Sorrento Sunrise” in Maine are calming any day.
Mara Flynn finds peace near water at a shore’s sunset in her acrylic “Light at the End.”
John Valenti photographed “Last Light” at the Outer Banks. Bob Wentworth submitted two watercolors which each show a dwelling and water covering half of the renderings.
The Potomac River and its surrounding area is Jennifer Tallarico’s “extended home” which she used for a peaceful oil, “Hot Hazy and Humid at the Marina” at Founders Park in Alexandria.
Other artists who drew or utilized water were Lizzy Javier, Kimia Foroughi, Maria Kinnane, Gini Moore, Nancy M. Patrick, Celia Slater, Joyce Turk and Amy Woodhouse.
The immense talent in and around Falls Church is evident, and given the global community, it’s not surprising that many artists portrayed homes across the sea.
Scenery in Tunisia, Spain, New Zealand, Peru, India and Germany are up, including Erica Thibault’s photograph “Mid Day Nap” of two lionesses sleeping in their tree home in the Serengeti desert in Africa.
Amy Woodhouse’s father’s search for identity in his new U.S. home led her to combine a Salvador Daliesque collage and photos of Great Britain and the U.S. in “Tea Time.”
Local residents will recognize “Cherry Hill Farmhouse,” Suzanne Updike’s linocut and notable symbol of the Little City, her home for longer than anywhere else she’s lived.
Elin Whitney-Smith entered a computer painting “Brooklyn Bridge Snow” of a couple bundled up for winter crossing the bridge, anticipating home and a cozy fire with warm drink.
Eileen O’Brien designed a contrasting mosaic of bright colors in “Summer Shade,” a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Chicago.
On one wall at the exhibition, Daisy Hill’s and Caroline Cherry’s similarly styled vivid kitchens suggest gatherings of friends and family in impressionistic styles reminiscent of Mary Cassatt paintings (without people).
Heather Widener’s digital painting is a colorful table set for “Sunday Brunch.”
Thurston explained: “We wanted the artists to have as much breath as possible which makes the exhibition more interesting, otherwise, we’d have a bunch of houses on the wall and who’s going to buy a picture of someone else’s house?”
Each work comes with an adjacent artist’s statement and a price (from $60 to, for the prize winner, $3,000).
The “People’s Choice Award” will be announced September 21, chosen by visitors who vote at the gallery. The awards are made possible by a donation from the Foxcraft Design Group, Inc.
“Home” is on view through September 29 at the Falls Church Gallery, at 700-B West Broad St. in Falls Church Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a. m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free and the show may also be seen online at fallschurcharts.org.
