September 5, 2019–January 7, 2020
Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) presents Hidden Histories , a solo exhibition featuring work by painter Maremi Andreozzi (b. 1971, Alexandria, Virginia; lives and works in Mount Vernon, Virginia), on view September 5, 2019–January 7, 2020, 2019 at Greater Reston Arts Center at Signature, an innovative satellite gallery that presents a year-round schedule of exhibitions of local artists selected by GRACE’s curatorial staff. An artist talk and opening reception will be held on September 12, 6–8pm.
Hidden Histories will feature paintings inspired by the patterns, objects, and biographies from art and art history of overlooked female artists. An avid researcher, Andreozzi makes symbolic portraits of women artists and the female politicians, ambassadors, and patrons who influenced their lives. Each portrait appropriates imagery from the subject’s own body of work and period-specific details of cultural production. The innovative portraits from her Painted Lady series focus on several lesser-known artists from the Renaissance through the 19th century. By depicting the artists as artifacts in the still-life tradition that they were known for, Andreozzi examines the challenges these women faced to be recognized in their artistic professions and the legacies they left behind.
The exhibition will feature Andreozzi’s largest painting to date, The Archduchess as Painted by Clara Peeters (2019), in which she creates a new narrative by combining the history of artist Clara Peeters with objects that represent the Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia an underappreciated and politically savvy sovereign ruler who was instrumental in ushering in the Dutch Golden Age.
Andreozzi’s History Adorned series, represents wealthy regents from the Renaissance era. The artist adapts the imagery from recognizable portraits but employs the silhouette tradition, where only the shape of the subject is delineated with rich ornamentation, to emphasize the timeless fascination with haute couture and celebrity. The exhibition will also feature a diptych inspired by the scientific illustrations of another pioneering Dutch artist, Maria Sibylla Merian, renown for her expansive study of the natural world and relentless work ethic.
Andreozzi received a BFA from Cornell University an MFA from Clemson University. She has had solo exhibitions at Glen Echo Park, The Rachel M. Schlesinger Art Center/NOVA, The Torpedo Factory, Radford University, Glenview Mansion, Rockville Arts Place, Ritz Carlton Georgetown, and The Stimson Center, to name a few. Her work is in the collection of Restaurant Eve, JD Marriot, DC Commission for the Arts, Arlington County Arts Commission, and many private collectors. She recently completed an international artist residency in Greve in Chianti, Italy.
EVENTS AND PROGRAMS:
Artist Talk and Opening Reception
September 12, 6–8pm
Food and wine provided by Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market.
All exhibitions and opening receptions are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 11am–5pm, Tuesday–Saturday. The Signature at Reston Town Center is located at 11850 Freedom Drive, Reston, VA 20190.
For more information please visit restonarts.org
Pictured at top: Maremi Andreozzi, The Archduchess as Painted by Clara Peters, 2019
