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my wounds and honey on my lips. Put your arms around me like a circle round the sun” is the long title of Afonin’s portrait of his mother saying a last goodbye to his brother Andre, who died with lupus, a chronic and debilitating tuberculous disease. Afonin captures a face free of twisted pain for the first time in 15 years and a parent facing the worst that life can bring, the death of a child.
Nabil Abed lives midst olive orchards 70 miles from Beirut. The rest of his family has escaped the battleground of Lebanon. He is the last and if he leaves, the family lands will be lost forever in the chaos. So he stays. His brother and sister-inlaw, a cousin of gallery artist Laurie Marshall, visited Abed and returned with his painting. In oil on glass, he shows a woman, her face with the great sadness of all people who must watch helplessly as their country is destroyed by war.
In all, 55 artists will participate in this show, a gift to and from the Middle Street Gallery.
“First, it’s a gift to our friends.” explained Ms. Marshall, who has been chosen this year by the Virginia Museum as one of the artists for its statewide workshop program. “It’s an opportunity to be in a show that they don’t have to pay for or be judged for.
“And it’s a gift to us - the gallery artists - because we get to see our friends’ work. For the past month, I’ve been getting packages in the mail: paintings, drawings, photos, collages,” she said. “Some of our friends we haven’t seen in years, and it may be years more before we do, but at least we get to see their art.”
Most of all, Artists and Friends is a gift to a small rural community. It is a gift that inspires, teaches and challenges, all at the same time. In a country setting noted more for its breadth of scenic vistas than its artistic breadth, this show presents an art scape as expansive as the view from Skyline Drive.
Artists and Friends will open at the Middle Street Gallery Artists Cooperative Saturday, April 2, with a reception from 4 to 7 p.m. In a celebration that echoes the theme of the show, more friends of the gallery artists will be playing music and giving dramatic readings.
The exhibit will continue through May 1. Gallery hours are 11 a. m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday, or through appointment by calling (703) 675-3440.
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