Update: the exhibit has now ended. Click here to view paintings online and continue reading below to learn more about the collection.
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I am so excited to share that my solo show Seated will be opening at The Art League Gallery this week!
I have been working on this show all year and am so thrilled to finally be able to share it with you. Featuring 21 new paintings, the show is also accented by 5 chairs placed around the gallery in which the viewer can sit to fully immerse themselves in the exhibition.
Statement:
In the past I have created rooms and spaces of my own design with the focus on chairs. These spaces were very “me-centered”: they featured windows with my own studio view, walls with my own art, and objects that brought me happiness. But the past year has challenged me to think about what a chair is. What does a chair represent? What is the meaning of an open seat? What does an empty chair symbolize?
At its core, a chair is a functional object. It is a place for you to rest, to read, to think. If you see a chair you will sit; it’s just human nature. We are offered chairs by others to sit and spend time with one another. We have extra chairs in our homes available for other people to feel comfortable. They allow for gathering and lingering; they allow for resting and eating. A place to pause, allowing us to just be.
An empty chair is for someone who isn’t there… yet.
These pieces feature bold chairs in just a suggestion of a room. Paint, paper, graphite, and neocolor crayon are layered over wooden panel to create colorful, textured chairs, existing in their own spaces. They are open and welcoming, wistful and hopeful. The movement of loose brushstrokes and drippy lines, active marks and quieter moments all come together in the sanctuary of the chair.
Over the past year there have been countless open chairs that were not filled: in businesses, in restaurants, in offices, in parks, and in homes. The empty chair beckons: it needs a human. But it isn’t a symbol of vacant sadness. Rather, an empty chair is hopeful. It’s an invitation, just waiting for someone to sit.
An empty chair is waiting for you.
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Seated by Jennifer Allevato will be open from May 6 - June 6 at The Art League Gallery in The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia.
The exhibit is now closed. Thanks so much for an amazing show!
Recently I visited the house and gardens at Dumbarton Oaks, an historic estate hidden away in residential Georgetown in Washington, D.C. I was awe-struck by the grounds, so tree-covered among the hills that you forget you're not in the middle of the countryside!
I took several weeks in June and July and experimented with acrylics on raw canvas for the first time. I mostly work on wooden panel and paper in my current practice, and it's been years since I worked on canvas.
After nearly 4 years, I am finally re-exploring florals in a full collection!
