The public is invited to a free opening reception for the exhibition “Material Differences: Collage and Assemblage,” featuring the work of Robert Cwiok, Lee Wayne Mills and Sherry Trachtman from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the Barry Gallery at Marymount University.
“It’s going to be a fun show,” said Judy Bass, a professor of fine arts and director of the gallery. “Though they all do collage and assemblage, they’re all very different in the materials they work with, their styles and the spirit of their work.”
Cwiok, Bass said, is a very meticulous artist who focuses on geometric patterns and works almost exclusively with material from the saved insides of security envelopes. The Alexandria resident worked for the National Gallery of Art for many years.
Bass called Trachtman’s work “almost 3D and very playful.” The artist, who retired from the fine art faculty of Northern Virginia Community College after 30 years of teaching, often adds random papers she’s written on, such as shopping lists, letters and syllabi, to add a degree of autobiography to her work.
Mills, a retired arts administrator, lives in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he served as interim executive director of the Rehoboth Art League and continues to work with its permanent collection.
“His work is the most abstract,” Bass said. “It’s very painterly, in a sense, and the largest in scale.”
The Barry Gallery, located in the Reinsch Library at Marymount, 2807 North Glebe Road, is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Admission is free.
The exhibit, curated by Bass and Trudi Van Dyke, will be on display through Oct. 22. For more information on the gallery, go to marymount.edu/barrygallery.
