Staff Show 2024: Painta

Meet some of the talented artists on The Phillips Collection’s staff, whose works are in the 2023 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show (on view through February 16, 2024).

Painta

What is your role at The Phillips Collection? What is interesting about your job?

My role at The Philips Collection is being a Museum Assistant. I work in the control room one day of the week.

Who is your favorite artist in the collection?

My favorite artist in the collection is Matisse, but my favorite painting is Van Gogh’s House At Auvers.

Vincent van Gogh, House at Auvers, 1890, Oil on canvas, 19 1/8 x 24 3/4 in., The Phillips Collection, Acquired 1952

What is your favorite space within The Phillips Collection?

My favorite space in the Phillips is wherever the Van Gogh and Matisse paintings are on view.

What would you like people to know about your artwork on view in the 2024 Staff Show (or your work in general)?

Other than the physical traits, size, and medium, the canvas is unstretched; I also made the frame. It was a fun process.

“You’ll never know unless you ask,” I had an idea hit me and with a little courage, I leaned on that quote. The next time I saw my boss (Dorothy Kosinski, former Vradenburg Director & CEO)—what I call my superiors at work—I asked if I could do a painting of her.

At the moment, I’m painting in red. I like the challenge, it saves me money, and I want the viewer to have a visual and emotional experience.

On view in the Staff Show: Dorothy Kosinski next to Matisse

About the artist:

Shawn Lindsay, also known as Painta, hails from Forestville, Maryland. An energetic and enigmatic spirit, Shawn has been interested in art and drawing since he was a child. He draws inspiration from his daily life including cartoons, hip-hop culture and social media. Shawn attended the Visual & Performing Arts program at Suitland High School as a young prospect and went on to receive a degree in fine arts at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

Staff Show 2024: Monica Cohen Lenoff

Meet some of the talented artists on The Phillips Collection’s staff, whose works are in the 2023 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show (on view through February 16, 2024).

What is your role at The Phillips Collection? What is something interesting about your job?
I am a Phillips museum educator. Besides facilitating school and adult tours, we also conduct professional development for educators and get to create workshops that I wish I had when I was an art teacher in the public schools here.

Monica Cohen Lenoff leading a school tour in the galleries

Who is your favorite artist in the collection?
It’s so hard to choose, but I am always drawn to female artists who had to push through boundaries to make it, such as motherhood and their careers. Artists like Alma Thomas, Helen Frankenthaler, and Barbara Hepworth, to name a few.

What is your favorite space within The Phillips Collection?
Honestly, the Family Gallery is the best secret room. It’s a small space with a couch and some art supplies so you can sit quietly and draw. It’s a great place to bring your kids and introduce them to the idea of what a museum is like.

The Family Gallery, located on the second floor of the Phillips House

What would you like people to know about your artwork on view in the 2024 Staff Show (or your work in general)?
I created these florals a couple years after giving birth, when I struggled with major postpartum depression and I was very drawn to flowers for some reason. I didn’t create art for almost two years and the florals helped me come back to my work, almost a way of growing out of this space. I wished people were able to come visit me with my newborn during the beginning of the pandemic when I was very isolated mentally and physically, so the flowers represent the care I needed and didn’t have.

On view in the Staff Show: Monica Cohen Lenoff, Morning Dew, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 in.

Monica Cohen Lenoff, Flamingo Dance, 2023

About the artist:

Monica is a native New Yorker who most recently found her way back to DC after living in the Midwest and Puerto Rico. She holds degrees in Visual Arts Education and Teaching Students with Disabilities. She is an artist and mother who draws inspiration from the world around her and from her personal experiences as a new mom during the pandemic. Since 2010, she has been teaching art to students of all abilities including the deaf and hard of hearing community in DC. She now teaches at The Phillips Collection, as well as privately in her home studio called The Arts Avenue Club.

See more of Monica’s artwork at: https://monica-cohen.com/

Meet Our Fall 2023 Interns

Meet our fall 2023 interns, who have just finished up their internships at the Phillips. Read about what they worked on over this past semester.

Fall 2023 Intern Cohort visits Phillips@THEARC

Divya Chhotani, American University

Divya Chhotani is the DEAI Intern. During her time at the Phillips, her primary focus has been conducting an intergenerational study of the staff and understanding the link between DEAI and guest services in the museum space. Through surveys and interviews, Divya assessed if the staff felt that their generation has helped them understand the world better or hindered them in the long run. Divya is from Austin, Texas, and is studying psychology, justice, and law at American University in Washington, DC. Divya enjoys hanging out with her friends and family in her free time, trying new restaurants in DC, and listening to music.

Zi Li, George Washington University

Zi Li is a second-year Art History MA student at the George Washington University. She gained her bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College in 2022 with Art History and Math double major. Her research interest falls in studying intercultural artistic communication and material culture, especially textiles and ornaments. In fall 2023, she worked at The Phillips Collection as a Public Programming intern with Head of Public Programs Ashley Whitfield in the Community Engagement Department. Zi helped with public events such as curator talks, book signings, and Phillips after 5. She researched and planned activities for the December Winter Solstice-themed Phillips after 5, which featured making holiday gift bows, paper lanterns, and origami wreaths. The activities were very popular!

Kelsey Limpert, Salisbury University

Kelsey Limpert is a fall 2020 graduate of Salisbury University, where she received a BFA and an Art History minor. Her thesis exhibition revolved around embroidery, seeking to push beyond conventional conceptions of it as a medium, while also being inspired by Medieval and Proto-Renaissance artwork. While at The Phillips Collection, she interned with the Advancement Department and worked alongside Corporate Relations Officer Miranda Burr. She researched prospective donors for the upcoming Bonnard’s Worlds exhibition, and used that information to draft letters for solicitation packets, which she also prepared and mailed. She also assisted with the project management for the African Modernism in America Stewardship Report, a packet to give to donors and members upon conclusion of the exhibition that highlights the success of the exhibition while also serving as a historical document. For the Membership Department, she combined three reciprocal benefits lists to provide ease of access for current and prospective members and the front desk staff.

Laura Pratt, University of Maryland

Laura Pratt is in the final year of her Master’s of Library and Information Sciences at the University of Maryland. She previously graduated from the College of Wooster with a Bachelor’s in history, specializing in Chinese History with a minor in Technical Theater. Since then, she has worked as an IT assistant at a K-12 school and interned at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, the National Archives, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and now The Phillips Collection as the Library and Archives Intern. In this role, she has been able to expand her experience with fine art archives, process collections of music pamphlets from throughout the institution’s history, and learn about the different departments of the museum. After the close of her internship, Laura will be joining the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park full time as an Archives Technician.

Fall cohort at the National Gallery of Art