Volunteer Spotlight: Mallory Verez

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Experiment Station

In this series, Education Specialist Emily Bray profiles volunteers within the museum. Phillips volunteers are an integral part of the museum and help in many ways: greeting and guiding guests through the museum, helping with Sunday Concerts, assisting patrons in the library, helping out with Phillips after 5 and special events, and so much more. Our volunteers offer a wealth of expertise and experience to the museum, and we are delighted to highlight several them.

Mallory Verez, Art Information Volunteer

Mallory Verez

What year did you start volunteering at The Phillips Collection?

I started volunteering in June 2017.

What do you see as the most valuable aspect of your volunteering?

I want each visitor to be able to leave with something, be that a newfound appreciation or knowledge. Sharing the history of The Phillips Collection and leading visitors to pieces they might like is so exciting. My favorite part is when visitors share their perspectives and understanding with me in return.

What do you do when you are not volunteering at The Phillips Collection?

I’m a full time undergraduate student, studying psychology, and an intern at Joy of Motion Dance Center, a non-profit organization devoted to making dance education and performance available to everyone. Being a part of that organization has been nothing short of incredible.

What is your favorite room or painting here?

My favorite room is easily the Rothko room; I feel like I could spend hours in there. My favorite pieces right now are any by Willem De Kooning.

If you had to choose one word to describe the Phillips, what would it be?

Encompassing.

Share a fun fact about you!

I recently got a shepherd-husky mix puppy, an absolute treasure, whom I named Mojo. She enjoys invading personal space and looking at herself in the mirror.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I am eternally grateful to The Phillips Collection for letting me spend time engaging with visitors and the art, and for opening my eyes to the possibility of a future in museum work.

Staff Show 2017: Kim Sandara

Posted on September 9, 2017 by Experiment Station

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.

15 Most Viewed Phillips Artworks in 2016

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Experiment Station

We took a look at which of our permanent collection artwork web pages were visited most often during 2016; here’s the top 15 pieces!

15. Pablo Picasso’s The Blue Room (1901)

14. Honoré Daumier’s The Uprising (1848 or later)

Honoré Daumier, The Uprising, between 1848 and 1879. Oil on canvas, 34 1/2 x 44 1/2 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Acquired 1925

13. Milton Avery’s Girl Writing (1941)

12. Jacob Lawrence’s Panel No. 1: During world war I there was a great migration north by southern African Americans. (1940-41), from The Migration Series

Jacob Lawrence, Panel no. 1: During World War I there was a great migration north by southern African Americans., 1940–41, Casein tempera on hardboard, 12 x 18 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1942

11. Mark Rothko’s Green and Maroon (1953)

Mark Rothko, Green and Maroon, 1953. Oil on canvas, 91 1/8 x 54 7/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1957 © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

10. Henri Matisse’s Interior with Egyptian Curtain (1948)

Henri Matisse, Interior with Egyptian Curtain, 1948. Oil on canvas, 45 3/4 x 35 1/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1950 © 2017 Succession H. Matisse/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

9. Vincent van Gogh’s Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles (1888)

Vincent van Gogh, Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles, 1888. Oil on canvas, 28 1/2 x 35 3/4 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1930

8. Vincent van Gogh’s The Road Menders (1889)

Vincent van Gogh, The Road Menders, 1889. Oil on canvas, 29 x 36 1/2 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Acquired 1949

7. Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas’s Dancers at the Barre (c. 1900)

Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, Dancers at the Barre, ca. 1900. Oil on canvas, 51 1/4 x 38 1/2 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1944

6. Pierre Bonnard’s The Open Window (1921)

5. Paul Cézanne’s The Garden at Les Lauves (c. 1906)

Paul Cézanne, The Garden at Les Lauves (Le Jardin des Lauves), ca. 1906. Oil on canvas, 25 3/4 x 31 7/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1955.

4. The Laib Wax Room (2013)

The Laib Wax Room. Photo: Lee Stalsworth

3. The Rothko Room

2. Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series (1941)

Visitors looking at Jacob Lawrence's The Migration Series (1941) at The Phillips Collection. Photo: Max Hirshfeld

Visitors with Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series (1941) at The Phillips Collection. Photo: Max Hirshfeld

1. Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party (between 1880 and 1881)

August Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1880-1881.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party, between 1880 and 1881. Oil on canvas, 51 1/4 x 69 1/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1923