McLean Project for the Arts To Showcase Spring Exhibitions

MCLEAN, VA — Art enthusiasts can look forward to the next McLean Project for the Arts opening, the spring solo exhibitions on April 14. Three artists' work will be featured in the exhibitions running through June 11.

The three exhibitions include "Collide of Scope: Paintings by James Stephen Terrell" and "Where Do We Go From Here: New Paintings by Matt Pinney" in McLean Project for the Arts' Emerson Gallery and "Labor and Leisure: Lightboxes by Melanie Kehoss" in the Atrium Gallery. An opening reception is planned for 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 14.

"We are delighted to offer three wonderful solo exhibitions this year,” said Nancy Sausser, curator and artistic director for McLean Project for the Arts. "The artists were chosen from our first-ever call for Spring Solo proposals. We were delighted to receive over 130 fantastic exhibition proposals, so of course it was very, very hard to choose!"

James Stephen Terrell, a DC-based multi-disciplinary artist, seeks to "contemplate and document our humanity in these singularly turbulent times" with the exhibition. The art moves between abstraction and realism, as well as electric color interactions and geometric patterning. Terrell's influences include quilt design, stained glass techniques and Joseph Albers’ color blocking, Terrell’s dynamic and colorful paintings project energy and life.

Matt Pinney, a DC-based multi-media artist, has created a recent work called "Where Do We Go From." This exhibition demonstrate the artist's progressions growth through the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with paintings about isolation and escape to smaller, faster works.

Melanie Kehoss, an Arlington-based artist and art instructor, created lightboxes that examine historical narratives to show how cultural phenomena originated. The works show snapshots from activities that started as work and transformed into recreation. Each is illuminated and has its own unique environment to "draw the viewer deep inside, offering a chance to experience the past in a new light," according to an MPA news release.

McLean Project for the Arts is located at the McLean Community Center, providing art exhibitions, art classes, summer camps, the annual MPAartfest and more. The Atrium Gallery is available to view during community center hours. The Emerson Gallery exhibits will be open Tuesdays through Fridays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Online exhibitions will be available starting April 21, and a virtual artist talk is planned for May.

For more information, visit www.mpaart.org.