Tag Archives: northern virginia

New and Continuing Must-See Art Exhibitions in Fairfax, Virginia

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I am thrilled to see and be a part of so much local art happening in Northern Virginia. Suburbia is fast becoming the place to see and experience a fascinating variety of thoughtful, innovative, edgy, and avant-garde art. This weekend Fairfax will have two engaging art exhibitions on view as Ephemeral continues at Olly Olly and CAPTIVE opens Saturday, June 27, at Epicure Café.

Ephemeral, inspired by the elusive here and now, and the role of delicate forms of reality at play in the understanding of emotion, life, and meaning making, features work by Bita Ghavami, Jay Hendrick, Samantha Sethi, and Lisa Marie Thalhammer. The artists of Ephemeral create situations of opportunity for the viewer to experience the fragile and temporary nature of art and life. Destruction becomes a powerful mode of creation through processes that utilize objects of the everyday. Wood, metal, ice, concrete, paper, paint, band-aids, memory, and the performance of bodies embrace and transform fleeting moments of existence in order to call into question systems, functions, and transitory relationships of space, place, and time. In case you missed our opening or just want another peek at Ephemeral at Olly Olly, here’s a video snapshot of the reception. Stop by Olly Olly soon to see it for yourself.


CAPTIVE marks the 3rd collection of local art curated by The Bunnyman Bridge Collective in 2015. It also happens to be the 6th exhibition I’ve curated or co-curated this year so far. Featuring work by artists Jason Davis, Toni Hitchcock, Nathan Jones, Jessica Kallista, KeyHan Lee, Alejandro Padilla (Atomic Blowfish), Javier Padilla, Matt Riegner, Mojdeh Rezaeipour, and Kelli Sincock, CAPTIVE investigates multiple modes of capturing a moment, being bound, feeling trapped, experiencing oppression, finding oneself captivated by emotion, beauty, lust, or otherwise subdued, and also contemplates forms of breaking free from the ties that hold us against our will. The opening party for CAPTIVE at Epicure Café will also include live music by Basswood, a local acoustic duo whose style combines punk, folk, bluegrass and rock.

I’ve also been working on a new series of collages, and a few of them will be on view for CAPTIVE. Oh, and yes, I’m still dropping free art around Northern Virginia, so keep an eye out. I’ve been super busy with all of these art endeavors–and I love it! I have no plans to slow down. I’ll be at Olly Olly Saturday, June 27, from 11am-4pm and then at Epicure Café from 8pm-midnight. My life is non-stop art. I feel extremely blessed, lucky, and grateful to have a life filled with fabulous art and brilliant artists. Thank you. Hope to see you this Saturday.

xoxo

Olly Olly, located at 10417 Main Street, 2nd Floor, in Fairfax, VA, is open Mondays 10am-4pm, Tuesdays 6pm-9pm, Wednesdays 10am-4pm, Thursdays 6pm-9pm, Saturdays 11am-4pm, and by appointment. Ephemeral will be on view at Olly Olly through July 18, 2015.

Epicure Café, located at 11104 Lee Highway in Fairfax, VA, is open 7 days a week from 5 – midnight. CAPTIVE will be on view at Epicure Café from June 27, 2015 through August 15, 2015.

“Subliminal” Opening Reception at Epicure Café Saturday February 7

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Epicure Café is pleased to present a new art exhibition entitled Subliminal. Curated by The Bunnyman Bridge Collective, Subliminal brings together an eclectic group of artists working in a variety of media. Saturday, February 7, from 8pm to midnight, spend an evening with artists David Barr, Abner (A. J.) De Jesus, Justyne Fischer, Toni Hitchcock, Richard McMurry, Javier Padilla, Veronica Perez, Matt Riegner, Julia Rivera, and Asad ULTRA Walker.

Below the threshold of our conscious minds lives a world of images that flow and flash but are left only partially processed or entirely unprocessed by our psyche. Subliminal tempts you to delve into concepts of perception, imagination, play, consumption, and memory through an enveloping new collection of art. The artists of Subliminal invite you to inhabit a world immersed in inspiration from pop culture, dream-life, myth, religion, deep memory, and everyday lived experience.

Music for the evening will be provided by The Shadow Girl Sound Collective. A foursome with an affinity for sharp corners and crooked lines, The Shadow Girl Sound Collective begins with a charcoal hologram of a post-jazz, post-hip-hop, pre-apocalyptic world and arrives at off-axis melodies, pulled by the leash of an insatiable groove and delivered with the essential sting of a horn.

Epicure Café, located at 11104 Lee Highway in Fairfax, VA, is open 7 days a week from 5 – midnight. Subliminal will be on view at Epicure Café from February 7, 2015 through April 18, 2015.

Make Local Art Happen with Olly Olly

By Posted in Art, Art Collecting, Art Gym, Art Studio, Collaboration, Crowdfunding, David Barr, Diana Adams, Eames Armstrong, Fairfax Art, Fairfax Virginia, Jackie Hoysted, Jessica Kallista, Mojdeh Rezaeipour, Olly Olly Tagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Big, big love and gratitude to everyone who helped make our first month at Olly Olly such a huge success! Thank you! Together we can make local art happen in really big ways!

Olly Olly opened on January 1, 2015. We hit the ground running by hosting Art Gym Studio Nights and providing full time studio spaces for three local artists – Diana Adams, David Barr, and myself. Seeing all of the art being created at Olly Olly is a constant inspiration. The open collaborative atmosphere is often electric and overflowing with ideas, and with artists spurring each other on towards new projects and creations.

Our first major event of the year, the opening reception for the art exhibition Bodylore on January 24, 2015 was packed with amazing art, artists, and art lovers. I am so very grateful for everyone’s support, encouragement, enthusiasm, and generosity! Olly Olly is a dream being realized with every artist and art lover who comes through the door!

For more opportunities to support local art and Olly Olly, from purchasing Art Gym memberships, jumpstarting your art collection with incredible local art bundles, to booking private dinner party events hosted by local artists, or even if you’re just feeling particularly philanthropic, please visit the Support Olly Olly page on our website. Thank you! xoxo

Gratitude for an Art Filled Life

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I’m blessed to be surrounded by incredible artists and gorgeous art. This past year has been filled with nonstop art and constant love, and I’m truly grateful. Creating art continues to teach me that, with a solid set of supplies, imagination, community, collaboration, love, persistence, patience, and dedication, magic can be made. We have the power to co-create our lives and our world.

Every day I’m meeting talented local artists. Opportunities to experience and create art are overflowing everywhere–including right here in suburbia. I’m grateful to be making and showing more art than ever before. Coming up just this week my work will be included in two exhibitions.

Thursday, December 11, from 6-8 pm join me for the opening reception of 5 x 5 x (5), an all media exhibition featuring small works, at Target Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia. I love little pieces of art that leave an impression far beyond their size. The exhibition features the work of over 30 artists from the U.S. and abroad.

Bunnyman by Jessica Kallista

On Saturday, December 13, from 8 pm-midnight, join me for a night of art and music at Epicure Café in Fairfax, VA for the opening reception of Divine. Curated by The Bunnyman Bridge Collective, Divine brings together 11 local artists, from across the DMV, working in a variety of media from stencil art, calligraphy, poetry, painting, drawing, mixed media, textiles, and more. Spend an evening with artists Jason Davis, Abner De Jesus, Michael Fischerkeller, John Grunwell, Matin Haji, Toni Hitchcock, Hks181, Joseph Nicolia, Javier Padilla, Mojgan Yaghmaei and me. Music for the opening reception will include the ever so transcendent and intoxicating jazz sounds of Dreamsville. You’ll want to be a part of this art and music filled event!

Heartmind by Jessica Kallista

Before you know it the new year will be here, and with it even more art. In January 2015 I will be opening a new alternative art space in Fairfax, VA called Olly Olly. Stay tuned for more news about exhibitions, open studios, and art events–all right here in suburbia.

Olly Olly

Total love and gratitude to all of the artists and art lovers who fill my life with art, love, and magic. So many awesome people. Thank you!

Learning to Let Go

By Posted in Art, Community, Fairfax Virginia, Free Art Friday, Free Art Friday NoVA, Gratitude, Jessica Kallista, Transformation Tagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

This week marks the one year anniversary of my very first Free Art Friday drop. Letting go of that first piece was an anxiety filled experience. I honestly did not believe I would ever put another piece of free art out into the world. The entire process stirred up so many questions and debates within myself (and a bit of debate outside of myself as well). Would this helpless little piece of art be safe? Would it find a happy art loving home? Am I crazy to keep giving away art? Who owns art? What is ownership? How are artists connected to the communities in which they live and work? Can the surprise of finding a piece of free art on a sidewalk or a park bench disrupt the isolation experienced by many people living in suburbia? Soon enough, however, the second piece was out there in the world, and then the third. I kept making the pieces. I remained determined and dedicated to placing these pieces out in the world for anyone to find. Through the year my world changed in ways that I never could have imagined. With more than 50 art drops over the past year, I am grateful for all of the love and art, for the amazing friends I’ve met along the way, and for the incredible opportunity to learn about chance, interconnectivity, love, and surrender.

To celebrate my one year Free Art Friday anniversary, today in Fairfax I’ll be placing three of my little lovelies out in the world for anyone to find. Keep a look out! Happy Free Art Finding!

 

Free Art Friday One Year Anniversary Drop

 

And I also have to say, I have immense love and gratitude for all of the awesome Free Art Finders. Here are a few of them. Please post photos if you find a Free Art Friday piece. Here’s to another year of Free Art Friday NoVA! xoxo

 

Awesome Free Art Finders Awesome Free Art Finders