New GRACE Exhibit Connects People and Nature

Greater Reston Arts Center welcomes a new exhibit to the gallery beginning Thursday.

CARINS: Works by Pam Rogers uses abstract works on paper as well as sculptural installations that utilize plants and soil pigments, to show a direct connection between events, relationships and materials.

Rogers' work addresses the relationship between individuals and nature, exploring cultural issues related to sustainability and growth. She works with a wide variety of organic materials, including sculptural installations assembled from vegetation in various stages of bloom or decay.

GRACE curators say her use of natural materials reinvents the classic still life and landscape traditions, placing a contemporary spin on the concept of beauty within decay, death within life.

Rogers uses the concept of cairns, or markers, as the exhibition's binding theme. An old Gaelic term, cairns were man-made piles of stones that functioned as landmarks. Today these structures are most commonly used to mark trails, serving as silent sentinels marking a journey.

“I am always intrigued with presenting beauty with elements that challenge the viewer to question what lurks beneath," says Rogers. "In examining the relationship between people, plants and place, I continually try to weave the strings of art and agriculture and myth and magic, healing and hurting into an inquisitive whole that calls us to look at the germination of a sustainable future, individually and collectively.”

Rogers  received an M.F.A. in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design, and a B.A. in art history from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she was also the Curator of Visual Resources. She exhibits her work in both solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally and also serves as an independent illustrator with the Anthropology Department of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

CAIRNS: Works by Pam Rogers runs through Jan. 5, 2013.

GRACE has some special events planned in conjunction with the opening:

*Reception and Gallery Talk with the Artist, 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 16 at GRACE.

*Family Weekend Workshop with Pam Rogers, 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Nov. 17.

Artist Pam Rogers will lead the group on a tour of her nature-based exhibition in the gallery.  Then you will explore your own ideas about nature and art as you create your own "personalized plant paintings."  The paintings of "created plants" are made by printing leaves then expanding details through drawing or painting with natural paints. 

Geared for children ages 8 and up. Parent/caregiver must stay with children and are welcome to participate. 

Weekend Workshop with Pam Rogers is sponsored by Reston Community Center.  Registration is available through the Reston Community Center website or by filling out a registration form and returning it to Reston Community Center or GRACE. Day of event sign-up subject to space limitations, so register early. Use registration number 402577-3A.

Fees:  $5 per person members/residents $10 non-residents