Featured Exhibition at Reston Art Gallery and Studios
September 5 – September 27, 2026
Rosemarie Forsythe’s new solo exhibition, Natural Wonders, runs from September 5 through September 27 (Saturdays 10-5pm and Sundays noon-5pm) at Reston Art Gallery & Studios at Lake Anne Plaza in Reston, Virginia. All are welcome to the reception to meet the artist on September 13 from 2-4pm.
The exhibition features elements of the natural world Rosemarie saw in her backyard in Virginia and in the far-flung places of her life living and working around the world. Leaping horses, bright parrots, leopards, and even an alligator roam through her paintings. Colorful, highly patterned fish swim through a magical, deep blue sea. Forests of lilies, ferns, and wildflowers reveal glimpses of owls, monkeys, deer, and foxes. Palm leaves sway elegantly in a Pacific breeze by moonlight. Rich landscapes range from southern sand dunes to crisp, northern winter scenes of graceful birch trees rising to the distant sun.
Forsythe’s artworks celebrate nature using acrylic paints and 23k gold leaf to evoke a sense of magic and mystery. Inspired by 15th century illuminated manuscripts, Forsythe’s distinctive style often features her trademark gold rivets that add texture and dimension to her work. She also incorporates math and physics equations related to, for example, the mechanics of a horse’s movement or the speed of a leopard.
Forsythe lived in seven countries and visited more than 60 countries during her past careers as a U.S. diplomat, policymaker, and international business executive. Self-taught in art, she found a way to combine her intellectual and prior work interests with her artistic sense and cultural influences to create a unique style of painting.
Beginning in 2017, the prestigious U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies Program sent several of Forsythe’s paintings to exhibitions in U.S Embassies in Austria, Jordan, and Bolivia. Many U.S. Ambassadors and diplomats own many of her paintings and display them in U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world. Her art was also chosen for the Brussels office of Rose Gottemoeller, then the Deputy Secretary General of NATO. Forsythe’s works are in private collections in Qatar, Jordan, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Togo, the U.K., and the U.S. Forsythe is a member of the Advisory Board and Director’s Circle of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She is a juried member of the Reston Art Gallery, and her work has been featured in dozens of solo and group shows around the world. Learn more about Forsythe and her art on Instagram, @rosemarieforsythefineart, or at her website, rosemarieforsythe.com.
Gallery visitors can meet Forsythe during her September 13 reception from 2-4pm. Natural Wonders can be viewed on Saturdays from 10am-5pm, Sundays from noon-5pm or any time by appointment through September 27 by emailing art@restonartgallery.com. Visitors can also enjoy works by all seven artists at Reston Art Gallery and Studios, 11400 Washington Plaza West, Reston, VA 20190, located down on the lakeside by the orange “ART” sign at historic Lake Anne Plaza. Neighboring the gallery are local restaurants with outdoor seating, and it is just steps away from Lake Anne’s Saturday morning Farmers Market.
Follow @RAGSReston on Facebook, @RestonArtGallery on Instagram, and find more information at RestonArtGallery.com.
About Reston Art Gallery and Studios (RAGS)
This artists’ collective is an inspiring source of beauty and creativity with new shows each month featuring the latest works created by the seven artists of RAGS – Pat Macintyre, Jennifer Duncan, Cindy Grisdela, Rosemarie Forsythe, Julia Tova Malakoff, Marthe McGrath, and Karen Rose Loehr. The unique variety of works displayed at RAGS – paintings in watercolor, acrylic and oil, mixed media artworks, photography, original prints, art objects, and more – are available for purchase. RAGS also offers free, themed Crafts for Kids every Saturday morning at the gallery, April through December, from 10am-12pm. RAGS is open to the public every weekend afternoon from noon until 5pm and by appointment. The orange “ART” sign at historic, scenic Lake Anne Plaza leads to the entrance of Reston Art Gallery and Studios, a Reston landmark established in 1987, located on the lakeside of 11400 Washington Plaza West, Reston, VA 20190. GPS: “Lake Anne Plaza” for directions to the parking area. Follow @RestonArtGallery on Instagram, and see more information at RestonArtGallery.com.
