Staff Show 2017: Alanna Reeves

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In this series, Manager of Visitor and Family Engagement Emily Bray highlights participants in the 2017 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show, on view through September 17, 2017.

Alanna Reeves, “Picking”

Alanna Reeves. Photo: Rhiannon Newman

What do you do at The Phillips Collection? Are there any unique or interesting parts about your job that most people might not know about?

I work as a Museum Assistant within The Phillips Collection. My favorite job perk is access to the museum’s library. I love to do research via books and it’s an amazing collection of artist biographies and material study.

Who is your favorite artist in the collection?

I’m really enamored with Milton Avery. His works are very quiet and playful. After being part of the Phillips community for only a few months, I could see that his loose application of paint was beginning to influence aspects of my work. I see it contrast heavily with influences of Jacob Lawrence as well.

What is your favorite space within The Phillips Collection?

I love the rooms in the original Phillips house. Particularly, I am interested in the way contemporary artists have used the rooms for Intersection exhibitions. There are a lot of nooks and crannies to experiment with and I have found the rooms to be completely transformed into new environments when these artists pair their own work with that of works from the collection. I also appreciate that the Phillips has maintained these older spaces with their original architecture and can’t wait for them to reopen following the building enhancement.

What would you like people to know about your artwork on view in the 2017 Staff Show (or your work in general)?

This piece is one that I created after a trip to Jamaica, the birthplace of my paternal grandmother. I hadn’t been there in over a decade and it was an important return trip for me as I’ve recently been exploring ways in which hyphen-Americans regard and idealize their homelands. For me, Jamaica and my relation to it is an essential part of my identity and yet I am displaced from it, physically and otherwise. I try to reflect on ways my American identity affects my experience in Jamaica and how I can be a responsible visitor in a country that has a complex relationship in terms of its tourist economy. My piece Picking is an example of an idealistic environment and the instantaneous actions that occur within that space.

About the artist

Alanna Reeves was born in Washington, D.C., 1993. She is a recent graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design where she earned a BFA in Illustration and concentration in History of Art and Visual Culture. During her time there she participated in the institution’s European Honors Program. This semester-long program offers students who feel they have exhausted the pre-established curriculum the opportunity to conduct independent studio projects, all while in the heart of Rome, Italy. This study resulted in an intense focus on language, cultural perception, and origin. Having returned to her hometown, Reeves now engages with the District’s artist community via education and art administration with a particular interest in the non-profit sector. She currently serves as founder and editor of HUE: Culture, Color, Theory zine which has been accepted into university special collections.

The 2017 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show is on view August 3 through September 17, 2017.

Staff Show 2017: Kim Sandara

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In this series, Manager of Visitor and Family Engagement Emily Bray highlights participants in the 2017 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show, on view through September 17, 2017.

Kim Sandra, “Around Again”

Kim Sandara

What do you do at The Phillips Collection?

I work at the Admissions desk. It’s interesting seeing how often we get international visitors, as well as people who live right down the street. There’s a wide range of folks who come in.

Who is your favorite artist in the collection?

My favorite artists in the collection are Georgia O’Keeffe, Van Gogh, and Rothko. I really enjoy their use of color and flow of line work.

What is your favorite space within The Phillips Collection?

The gallery with the Jacob Lawrence series is certainly an interesting one to go through. I love sequential work and the history being told is so significant.

What would you like people to know about your artwork on view in the 2017 Staff Show (or your work in general)?

My work is about the translation of sound to visuals. I listen to a wide range of music and work in a stream-of-consciousness manner. I used to state what songs I was listening to but no longer want to put the audience under that subjectivity. I find it much more satisfying to hear what people experience when looking at my work. I like to think of it like cloud watching, there are no wrong answers, just lots of room for imagination.

About the artist

Kim Sandara was born in Falls Church, Virginia, 1994. In 2016 she graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, obtaining a BFA in General Fine Arts with a concentration in Illustration and Book Arts . She likes to explore all types of creating and design. In her time at MICA, she has taken classes in print making, painting, graphic design, animation, and illustration. Her practice is inspired by surrealism, abstract expressionism, personal narrative, fantastic story telling and the graphic and bold visual tendencies of street art. She also enjoys staying up until 4am writing, engaging in spiritual conversations and jotting down realizations about life that spastically enter her mind only at night. Kim Sandara’s work naturally explores stream of consciousness and perceptions of inner psyche versus outer persona. All of her work has an interest in psychology, stream of consciousness and she enjoys working in a sequential manner.

The 2017 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show is on view August 3 through September 17, 2017.

Staff Show 2017: Angela Silhan

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In this series, Manager of Visitor and Family Engagement Emily Bray highlights participants in the 2017 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show, on view through September 17, 2017.

Angela Silhan, Oblivion

Angela Silhan

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Angela Silhan. I am a student about to graduate from George Mason University, currently majoring in Art History. Art is a passion I have had since very young, that I hope to continue the rest of my life.

What do you do at The Phillips Collection? Are there any unique or interesting parts about your job that most people might not know about?

I am a Museum Assistant. A unique part of my job is learning about artwork in the museum every day and being able to relay that to visitors!

Who is your favorite artist in the collection?

Pierre Bonnard.

What is your favorite space within The Phillips Collection?

The Rothko Room.

What would you like people to know about your artwork on view in the 2017 Staff Show (or your work in general)?

My focus, in all of my artworks, is always women. I think the female form and face is one that offers diversity and a variety of options. My piece on display in the show, Oblivion, is one conveying emptiness and endlessness. The colors used are neutral, meant to make the viewer look deeper at the detail within the woman’s face.

The 2017 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show is on view August 3 through September 17, 2017.