The works of beloved Professor JeanAnn Dabb will be featured in one of two exhibitions to debut in the University of Mary Washington Galleries beginning Thursday, Jan. 14. The exhibition, “Awe and Wonder,” will be on display in the duPont Gallery. In addition, the works of 30 artists from eight states will be showcased in the “Mid Atlantic New Painting 2016” show in the Ridderhof Martin Gallery.
Opening receptions will be held in both galleries from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday. The exhibits will be on view through Feb. 26.
Awe and Wonder will highlight works bequeathed to the UMW Galleries by Dabb, who taught art and art history at UMW for more than two decades. Her collection spans her tenure at Mary Washington and comprises both student and faculty artworks.
Dabb came to UMW in 1992 after receiving her doctorate in art history from the University of Michigan. A distinguished scholar and teacher, she received the Grellet C. Simpson and the Mary W. Pinschmidt awards in 2009. The Simpson award is UMW’s most prestigious award for excellence in undergraduate teaching. The Pinschmidt award is given by the graduating class to the faculty member “whom they will most likely remember as the one who had the greatest impact on their lives.” She also served numerous terms as chair of the Department of Art and Art History. Dabb died in October 2015, after a long illness.
Viewers will be invited to interact and react to the works in the gallery by adding to the exhibition throughout its time on view. Materials will be provided to create new works of art, writing and other responses to the works on exhibit.
This exhibition will coincide with a celebration of life held in the foyer of DuPont Hall on Friday, Jan. 15, at 4 p.m.
The Mid-Atlantic New Painting 2016 biennial exhibition, established in 1996, is a survey of new painting from Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. From more than 120 applicants, 30 artists were selected for the show. No one style dominates the exhibition; rather, a variety of materials, styles and techniques explore the state of painting in the 21st century.
The exhibition was juried by Lauren Ross, who will give a juror’s talk from 4 to 5 p.m. prior to the opening reception. Ross is curator of the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has served as the Nancy E. Meinig Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and she was Donald R. Mullen Jr. Curator and Director of Arts Programs at Friends of the High Line in New York City.
Ridderhof Martin and duPont galleries are located on the Fredericksburg campus near the intersection of College Avenue and Thornton Street. They are open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 540-654-1013 or visit http://www.umwgalleries.org/.
