Sigrid Vollerthun – Bio

Sigrid Vollerthun

Biography

Sigrid Vollerthun was born and raised in Tilsit, Germany (currently known as Russia) in 1935. All her life she has had an interest in visual arts and design. From 1972-1979 she was active in the Committee of the Art Society of the International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC.

Ms. Vollerthun’s interest in photography began during the early 1990s when she joined two very active camera clubs. After attending numerous workshops and seminars (a. o. by renowned Canadian photographer, Freeman Patterson, photographer and educator, Joseph Miller, and photographer, artist and author, Theresa Airey), Sigrid knew she had found her passion and her pursuit of becoming a fine art photographer began.

Nature is the subject of many of Ms. Vollerthun’s photographs; however, digital fantasies, abstract imagery and dreamscapes are a major part of her repertoire.

Sigrid is a self-taught photographer, who is the recipient of several prestigious photographic awards including a coveted winner’s trophy in the International Photography Contest of NATURE’S BEST Photography Magazine in 2003 and 1998. She has participated in many juried exhibitions. In 2004, her photographs were featured in the documentary series entitled “Photographers of Northern Virginia” produced by Channel 10, Public Access Television.

Ms. Vollerthun’s photographs have gained the attention of art critics. In May, 1999, Nancy Ungar of the Gazette Entertainment wrote, “For Sigrid Vollerthun color itself is the subject. Vollerthun pulls her camera in so tightly on an iris that the identification of the object as a flower is almost lost and the iris becomes a color abstraction.”

In July, 2003, Claudia Rousseau of the Gazette Entertainment wrote, “…In her triptych, “Bird of Paradise”, the echo of the jewel-like colors of the tropical flower and its natural habitat are expressed in overlapping elongated forms. Flame-like, they almost appear to be swaying. The very large “Santa Fe Mood” recalls Georgia O’Keefe’s New Mexico landscapes without imitating them. In “Red Calla Fantasy” and “Calla Meditation”, Vollerthun analyses the lily’s forms simultaneously graphic and organic abstractions.”

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James Williams-Statement

James Williams II

Art | Video | Statement | Resume

Statement

My work explores the experiences of childhood, at once personal and universal. I am creating a story set in the United States during the 1930’s, centered on the protagonist Little Rooster, a young energetic boy who lives with his mother and father. It is through his bodyguard, Red Rooster, that he learns how to fulfill the role of a hero.

I connect with the past through imagery inspired by artifacts from popular culture: vintage comic books, their bright color palettes and stylized figures; newspaper advertisements, selling items with distinctly dated promises; and finally, children books, with their lasting moral lessons.

The approach of my work is not to remake vintage elements but to transform them into my own meaningful world. My oil paintings invoke a sense of dramatic intrigue and reveal my appreciation for contemporary figure painting.

I narrate stories that depict personal moments or experiences in my life. It is through my work that I express my thoughts, my desires, my feelings and my fears. My paintings of Little Rooster parallel many scenarios from my life. Despite his longing to remain a child, events force him to confront the burdens of adulthood. An adult often sees the world as gray and monotonous, but a child sees color and endless possibilities.

Elsa Gebreyesus – Bio

Biography

Elsa Gebreyesus lived in Ethiopia, Kenya, and United States before going on to receive her BA from Brock University in Ontario, Canada. After Eritrea won its independence from Ethiopia, she lived there for five years, working as a Project Officer with an indigenous women’s organization. After leaving Eritrea, she came to the U. S. where she’s been pursuing her career and her lifelong passion for art.

In addition to her work and art, she also volunteers with organizations involved with human rights issues especially in Africa. She continues to learn from artists she admires and has been greatly influenced by modernist painters from both Africa and the West.

Elsa Gebreyesus currently lives with her husband and two children in Fairfax, VA.

Elsa Gebreyesus

Each of my paintings starts with a loose sketch, landscape or object and is built up with layer upon layer of paint. Often it will be in a state of chaos before the process of adding and subtracting begins. I do not start with an end in mind when I begin a painting, instead the challenge is to find the end. This process to me is a type of meditation – an intimate conversation between the materials and myself.

I am drawn to abstract compositions because they require us to stop and reflect, to ask questions. Abstract art is also open to multiple interpretations. Each viewer will bring his or her own experiences into play as they contemplate the work.

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James Williams

James Williams II

Art | Video | Statement | Resume