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Potomac River Life

A River Runs Through Me (Us?)

Cathy Abbott
(detail shot of artwork)
Mixed Media (Joomchi with mulberry & art paper, thread)
34” x 29”
$2,500

This tapestry, with its elements of joy and wonder juxtaposed with wounds and cuts of grief, contains both the darkness and the light. The repetitive actions of making the Joomchi paper and hand sewing become a ritual that transforms pain, suffering and loss into new life. Detail of larger tapestry.
The Waterfall Series and the River Tapestry celebrate the life-giving qualities of the Potomac River. During the pandemic, my young granddaughter and I would go on adventures to the Potomac to play “splash.” The water healed my broken heart and soothed my troubled spirit. A small waterfall at Turkey Run gave birth to the playful Waterfall Series, with its teaming life. The Waterfall series evoke memories of my family vacations to national parks and water’s role in the creation stories of many religious traditions. Water is the “source of life” and necessary for humans to thrive. These works have a playful quality, evoking the abundance of creation. Both works employ Joomchi, a traditional Korean paper manipulation process, which combines mulberry paper and water to create a fabric-like material. In Japan, Shinto shrines use paper to communicate the sacredness of nature, especially rocks and trees. Similarly, I use fabric and paper to convey the restorative power of water.

Indigo

Kim Abraham
Oil on paper
7” x 9.5”
$750

I have always been deeply influenced by the nature of place, and I often return to the direct study of nature. My observations have informed a perspective on landscape, and as I paint, I think less about capturing a passive pastoral view and more about framing an active concept of time and space. An exploration of what lies at the heart of a place is what concerns me most. I see a sometimes chaotic world with layers of meaning magnified in a drop of water, electrified through the energy of an insect swarm, or swirled about with distant timeless galactic images. I choose to explore and confront chaos as a constant that forms the underpinnings of life and most things we observe. We often crave order, finding celestial constellations and pursuing beguiling sunsets, but I seek traces of complexity that I cannot label or quantify, like the flight of a dragonfly. These traces guide me to explore new paths and inspire me to paint.

About the Show:

The Potomac River Life exhibition is a relevant and current commentary on the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act enactment and our interaction with one of the most prominent bodies of water in our region, the Potomac River. There are 40 participating local artists from DC, Maryland, and Virginia, whose work was selected from an open call. This exhibition is a collaboration with The Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRN). A portion of the sales commission from the artworks will go to this organization and its efforts to maintain a clean and sustainable Potomac River.

Interesting topics you can explore via artworks in this exhibit include:

Depiction of life in and on the Potomac’s water
Inspiring, motivational, and educational work regarding the importance of river health
The fragility of the Potomac River and its role in our regional ecosystem
Creative solutions for improving river cleanliness and sustainability
The beauty of the Potomac River and its surrounding natural environment

If you'd like to inquire about any of these works or if you're interested in purchasing them, please email veronica@nvfaa.org.

To view the exhibit, click on the arrows next to the images. Double click on the image to view the full artwork description.

Exhibition Events

We invite you to attend the Potomac River Life Exhibit Reception on Sunday, July 17 from 4 - 6 p.m.

On Wednesday, July 20th at 7 p.m. we will host a moderated conversation in the gallery with leaders from the Potomac Riverkeepers’ Network and the Potomac Conservancy to discuss the status and health of the Potomac, efforts to improve it, and the possibility of a swimmable Potomac in the near future.

Please also mark your calendar for the upcoming Potomac Watershed Puzzle Project Family Workshop, on Sunday, July 31, 1 - 3 p.m. These are all free events. For more information about the panel talk and the workshop, please visit our event page.

The exhibition runs through August 21, 2022.