Come to my group show Autumn Glory Sept 9- Nov11, 2016
Reception Thursday Oct. 6, 2016, 7:00 pm- 8:30 pm
Artist Talk Sunday Oct. 9 2016, 12:00 - 2:00 pm
Kentland Mansion 320 Kent Square RD, Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Local artists gathered to display their work in the annual Glen Echo Art Show at Glen Echo Park's Spanish Ballroom. COURTESY PHOTO
GLEN ECHO – During the holiday weekend, local artists displayed their work at the Glen Echo Labor Day Art Show at the historic Spanish Ballroom.
Now in its 46th year, the show is a lightly-juried festival that displays artwork in a variety of different media.
A percentage of revenue from artwork sold at the show supports the park’s educational programs.
“There’s a long history in the show of artists who are affiliated with the park, and also sometimes they are instructors or resident artists or they take lessons here, and some are just community members,” said Meredith Forster, Education program manager for Glen Echo Park.
“I think in the last few years, we’ve also seen even more artists from the region participating. What’s neat about this is that this is one time, where, for a full weekend, the Spanish Ballroom is given over to visual arts, which I think is evocative of what the park is now as an arts and cultural center.”
Patti Francis, a Mississippi native and self-taught who has lived in the area for 25 years, displayed work for the first time this year.
Francis created two multimedia 3D collages, one of a Civil War-era southern house and another of the Sears shadow box house in the Palisades neighborhood in which she and her family reside.
Francis created two multimedia 3D collages, one of a Civil War-era southern house and another of the Sears shadow box house in the Palisades neighborhood in which she and her family reside.
“I didn’t even know you could exhibit here,” Francis said. “My kids grew up coming here all the time, and eventually I found out about the show and decided to submit.”
Cindy Renteria, a Derwood resident, also displayed a depiction of a former home.
Renteria relocated to the area from New Orleans in the aftermath of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She lived near the bayou for nearly 20 years.
Her painting “Before the Storm” represents an of old house in Louisiana as the water begins to rise.
“Art is a wonderful way of coping with tragedy,” said Renteria, who studied at the Museum of Modern Art and Buffalo State College.
“I’m very impressed by the level of talent on display here,” said Sharon Van Pelt, a first time visitor to the show. “There’s so much to choose from, but I think I’m zeroing in on the piece I want to buy.”