Art Exhibit With a Little BITE At Greater Reston Arts Center

presents their summer exhibit entitled through July 29. The show, with paintings, sculpture, and video exhibits, is strikingly bold and provocative.

The artwork was chosen by juror Jefferson Pinder, a DC video artist. His selections, by eighteen different artists, are pieces where Humor and Identity are explored with a bite, or an edge.

 “For this exhibition, artists were asked to use irony, sarcasm and wit to shed light on issues of personal struggle in mainstream society.” writes Pinder in the introduction to the show.   

“I sought individuals who deal with honesty and angst in both beautiful yet clever ways,” says Pinder.

Erica Harrison, gallery manager at GRACE, says the response to this show has been energetic.

“People are excited by the variety and the complexity of the artwork.” said Harrison.

One recent afternoon, three young brothers entered the gallery and laughed aloud at the oversize image Cake Eaters by Ed Bisese. The children respond to the colors and vibrancy of the show, even when they might not understand the other levels of the message. (Three more Bisese paintings dominate the back wall of the gallery.)

But that’s actually true for adults as well. 

“Beyond the colors, there is more here. “ says Harrison.

A quick tour of this exhibit would mean visitors may not give Bathing Independence by Gwynneth VanLaven the time it deserves or not linger over the video Fear by Charles Sessoms and miss its power.

Barbie is a long way from her dream house in this show. In BITE, the film Traveling explores the dark DC drug scene in the 1990s using Barbie dolls. Paintings by Justyne Fischer also feature the iconic doll, in less familiar ways. The Disney Princesses also eerily reveal their true selves in Princesses by Linda Hesh.

A trio of paintings by Alan Simensky will make one smile in recognition.

On Monday, July 11, The Pink Line Project's Philippa Hughes, a renowned DC Arts supporter, will be leading a dialogue with the artists and the audience in attendance.

“Philippa is really good at creating an informal space to ask questions of artists and involve the audience. She enables everyone to feel at ease and demystifies the ‘secret’ part of art and talk about the sensitive, personal topics of the art,” said Harrison.

Harrison welcomes young adults to join the discussion, since so many of the artists pull from experiences they had in their formative years. She feels that having a connection with the artists, through the conversations makes the exhibit that much more rewarding as a participant.