Nice review of my exhibit at Susan Calloway Fine Arts, Washington, DC. The exhibit remains on view until October 20 – drop by.
Washington Post Review of “Inner/Outer”
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Tag Archives: Georgetown
Opening Reception – “Inner/Outer”
Artist Leslie Nolan With Marily Mojica at Susan Calloway Fine Arts Opening
The opening of Inner/Outer at Susan Calloway Fine Arts in Georgetown brought out a lively, varied crowd on this special September evening. The show garnered interest from Ari Post writing for The Georgetowner, as well as, Mark Jenkins for the Washington Post.
Gallerist Susan Calloway and friends
Installation at Susan Calloway Fine Arts
Leslie Nolan (right) with Susan Calloway, owner of Susan Calloway Fine Arts in Georgetown
Yesterday we delivered ten beautiful, new paintings to Susan Calloway Fine Arts (SCFA) for my first solo exhibit at the gallery. Susan thoughtfully had a full staff on hand to unpack and hang all the artwork. Next thing I knew, one of my pieces was hanging front and center in the window overlooking Wisconsin Avenue – – it looks quite fine there.
It’s great to work with supportive and gracious professionals. The gallery staff really know their business and have a great eye for matching the perfect artwork with their client’s tastes and desires. It’s an honor to be associated with SCFA. And, a thrill to have a big show there.
Inner/Outer by Leslie Nolan at Susan Calloway Fine Arts, 1643 Wisconsin Avenue, Washington, DC in the heart of Georgetown on exhibit now. Opening reception September 18th, 6-8 pm.
Susan Calloway Fine Arts Presents “Inner/Outer”
“Getting Somewhere”
48″x48″ acrylic on canvas by Leslie Nolan, Washington, DC Artist
This week I deliver 10 new paintings to Susan Calloway Fine Arts in Washington, DC for my first solo exhibit,at this gallery, Inner/Outer. Packed up and ready for the 1/2 hour drive to the gallery, these canvases were specifically painted for this show and carefully selected by Susan Calloway herself. The show, all figurative work, depicts what is felt rather than what is seen. Each figure caught in a private moment of personal awareness suggests vulnerability — perhaps the essence of what it means to be human.
Like all my work, drips, re-stated lines, contrasting color and visible brushwork help convey tension and ambiguity.
The piece above, “Getting Somewhere,” was inspired by a photo I took a few years ago of a group of Italian teenagers on a field trip to some Roman ruins in Southern Italy. This young man was passing behind several teenage girls, affecting a very nonchalant pose while subtly aware of the girls’ presence. I just love his body language.
Stop by the gallery and join us for the free opening reception or check out the show any time.
Inner/Outer
Sept 16 – Oct 19
Susan Calloway Fine Arts
1643 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007–202.965.4601–callowayart.com
Opening Reception Friday September 18th, 6-8 pm
Corrected Vision #2
Corrected Vision #2
by
Washington, DC Artist
Leslie M. Nolan
One of three paintings in a series, Corrected Vision #2 relates to how we see the world and how the world sees us. There is more than what is known through the eye. Body language, scent, gentleness or violence all inform the real person behind the facade.
The great George Bridgman of the Art Students’ League in New York asserted, “The difference in drawing is in what you sense, not what you see. There is other than that which lies on the surface.” While Bridgman no doubt referred to musculature and skeletal structure, I expand the interpretation of his comments to mean the substance of who we are – our heart and soul.
I know some say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but I like to think that our minds — our ability to feel and connect — really count.
Inner/Outer @ Susan Calloway Fine Arts
Washington, DC Artist Leslie Nolan’s
“Choose To Walk Here”
36″x36″x2 1/2″ acrylic on canvas
In focusing on figurative paintings, I have been hinting primarily at emotions largely hidden in real life. This theme involves depicting what is felt rather than what is seen. In this new work the subject has been caught in a private moment of personal awareness. He claims his space, but remains alert. There and not there.
Inner/Outer, the title for my upcoming exhibition at Susan Calloway Fine Arts in Washington, DC, will feature this painting. It exemplifies the tone of the show. While distinct, each canvas suggests a kind of chaos which has just occurred, which could occur, or which is occurring. The outer facade may appear calm and controlled, yet the inner reality seethes with passion – courage, tenacity, rage, confusion, vulnerability, etc. Is that what it means to be human?
Big Yellow Painting
In the Studio of Leslie Nolan
Think this piece, 48″x48″, is finished. I like the mono-colored look and the horizontal strokes used for the background. Something different.
They say it takes two people to make an artwork: one to paint and the other to say when to stop. The process can be an interesting conundrum. It’s easy to constantly tweak, fix and improve, but the risk entails overworking an artwork to the point of weariness that was meant to be fresh and vital. Much better overall to try something new. Just go for it. Just own it.
More Corrected Visions
Leslie M. Nolan’s work in the studio
Washington, DC Artist Leslie Nolan’s “Corrected Vision”
These new paintings are meant to complement Corrected Vision, now on exhibit through August 1 at McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) in its curated and juried exhibit “Strictly Painting.” Curated by senior curator for modern and contemporary art at The Phillips Collection.
If you miss the MPA show, some or all of these will be in my solo exhibit in September at Susan Calloway Fine Arts, Georgetown.
I like the idea of playing with an idea and carrying it further. Kind of like expressing a different tone or meaning of the same subject matter. For these paintings, the subject revolves around one idea: young or old, it’s easy to develop a blind spot. Maybe that’s called survival. Maybe denial.
McLean Project for the Arts
1234 Ingleside Avenue McLean VA 22101 phone 703.790.1953 http://www.mpaart.org
New for Upcoming Solo Shows
Working on some new pieces for upcoming solo exhibits in September at Susan Calloway Fine Arts in Washington, DC’s Georgetown and at Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick, MD. While still pondering on an appropriately ambiguous title for the Calloway exhibit, the title for Delaplaine is “Mixed Messages.” I think it apt, because we send out the message we want people to receive, yet our body language or tone can communicate a completely different message. The recipient must draw his or her own interpretation of those sometimes “mixed messages.”
In the final analysis, aren’t we all a little confused from time to time?
New Work By Washington, DC Artist Leslie Nolan
Something Different In the Studio of Leslie Nolan
Smart Isn’t Enough
Smart Isn’t Enough
By Contemporary Figurative Painter Leslie M. Nolan
36″x36″ acrylic on canvas
Making one’s way through life is tough. Nikki Giovanni’s poem “Straight Talk” provided the feel and title for this new piece, because its words capture the image’s idea of moving forward despite uncertainty.
Full disclosure, this photographic rendering fails to capture the nuance and richness of the original artwork. I’m sure everyone on earth knows that computer monitors, as well as film, lighting, and digital manipulation all alter reality. Despite photographers’ best efforts, an image can never duplicate 100% the original. It can hint. It can titillate. It can encourage the viewer to go see the painting in a museum or gallery. For artwork, there is no substitute for the real thing – the brushwork, hints of uncovered color, a deep teal hue blending into a rich gray, punctuated by cadmium orange.
In that sense a work of art reflects life. A photo of Machu Picchu cannot begin to duplicate the feeling of being there in the mountains, the wind eratically bending grass, smells of foliage, tactile feel of rock work honed by the hands of citizens from an ancient, long gone civilization.
This one-of-a-kind painting will be at Susan Calloway Fine Arts in September 2015.
contemporaryimagesdotcom 