Artist Creates New Mural on Torpedo Factory Art Center

PHOTO of "Beaded Curtain" by artist Erin Curtis by @lisaschumaler

_______________

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- If you're out near the waterfront this weekend be sure to check out a new mural by DC artist Erin Curtis.

Beaded Curtain is a playful interpretation by DC-based artist Erin Curtis of a beaded curtain, a beloved, though kitschy decoration for doorways. With some irony, this design in the loading dock doorway will lighten up the door’s presence, the Torpedo Factory noted in a news release about the project.

You can see the new mural on the side of the Torpedo Factory Art Center at 105 N. Union St.

“My work explores the intersection of architecture and decoration,” said Curtis. “I aim to create playful pieces that engage the public and celebrate color and pattern. It was important for me to design a work for the Torpedo Factory that would be approachable and readable by most viewers, while remaining true to my practice.”

The mural is being painted with acrylic paint, repeating multiple layers of beads using stencils. The process echoes the uniform nature of beads, but ultimately looks handmade. The surface texture of the door suggests the movement and shape of hanging beads.

About the Artist

Curtis is an artist currently living and working in Washington, D.C. Her work explores abstraction, repetition and ornamentation and their historical roots in weaving, architecture, ritual and body ornamentation. She attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2010 and been awarded fully funded residencies at Anderson Ranch, 2012, and Vermont Studio Center, 2014. In 2008-2009, Curtis was a Fulbright Scholar in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

In 2015, she was commissioned to create a two-story painting, by Art in Embassies for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. She has received grants from the Dallas Museum of Art, the Andy Warhol Foundation, the City of Austin and the District of Columbia. In the fall of 2015, Curtis had solo shows at Big Medium Gallery in Austin, Texas and at Flashpoint Gallery in Washington, D.C. In March of 2016 Curtis will be in residence at the Ucross Foundation in Sheridan, Wyoming. She graduated from Williams College with a bachelor’s in 1999 and received her master’s of fine arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007.

About the Torpedo Factory Art Center

Founded in 1974 in an old munitions plant, the Torpedo Factory Art Center is home to the largest number of publicly accessible working artist studios in the U.S. The organization’s mission is to foster connections between artists and the public that ignite the creative spirit. Just south of Washington, D.C., the Torpedo Factory Art Center overlooks the Potomac River in the Old Town section of Alexandria, Va.

Each year, a half million national and international visitors meet and interact with more than 200 Torpedo Factory Artists' Association resident and associate members in 82 working studios and seven galleries. The Torpedo Factory Art Center is also home to The Art League School and the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. For more information visit torpedofactory.org or follow the Torpedo Factory Art Center on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram via @torpedofactory.