Staff Show 2018: Michael McSorley

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Experiment Station

In this series, Manager of Visitor and Family Engagement Emily Bray highlights participants in This Is My Day Job: The 2018 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show, on view through September 30, 2018.

Drivers by Michael McSorley

Tell us about yourself.

At the age of eight, I was allowed to take some photos with an old camera. My photos of bicycle wheels, sewage pumps, and other inane objects vexed my parents (film and developing was expensive), but predicted some of the art I now produce.

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’m a museum assistant. I help visitors with information and also protect the art. Before or after visitors arrive, I get to study the art, mostly looking at the value and color themes. I have found that the majority of paintings in the galleries use a complementary color scheme or a variation on that.

Mike McSorley

Who is your favorite artist in the collection?

Pierre Bonnard’s Children and Cat. I love the cool violet-blue light on the kids’ foreheads and the analogous color scheme.

What is your favorite space within The Phillips Collection?

The Goh Annex and Sant Building, second floor.

What would you like people to know about your artwork on view in the 2018 Staff Show (or your work in general)?

My process varies piece to piece, but on this painting the image was composed and drawn using graphite. Paint was applied, pulling the graphite into the paint and using it to darken and tone down the edges. This layer was thin and the ground of the board reflects back through. This increases color variety which was also enhanced by brushing, scraping, rubbing, using contrasts of color and other concepts. Sometimes the original lines are still visible in the finished painting, and at other times I redraw the edges with pencil to add strength. Initially I had drawn the tools lying down, but when that wasn’t working, I wiped out the drawing using turpentine. That left a dark stain, so I flipped the painting over, covered the stain with a velatura of white, and let the history of it show. I thought this added an interesting element.

This Is My Day Job: The James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show is on view through September 30, 2018. Join us for a reception in the exhibition on September 20, 5-7 pm.

Staff Show 2018: Gregory Logan Dunn

Posted on September 14, 2018 by Experiment Station

In this series, Manager of Visitor and Family Engagement Emily Bray highlights participants in This Is My Day Job: The 2018 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show, on view through September 30, 2018.

Decontrol by Gregory Logan Dunn

Tell us about yourself.

I create paintings by dragging multiple layers of paint one over the other in order to reveal the layers underneath through the tearing and fracturing of the layers above. It’s to achieve these small areas of color within the larger field that are saturated by the history of this layering. Occasionally the field becomes beautiful and then subsequently must be destroyed. Only through this method can the shallow graves of better angels be revealed.

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 at The Phillips Collection. I interact with visitors, provide information and directions, and frequently have conversations about the art. Sometimes I engage in these conversations less than two feet away from some very beautiful art. This usually means the person who I am talking to is standing too close to the art because they love it so.

Who is your favorite artist in the collection?

Gene Davis’s Red Devil is my favorite piece in The Phillips Collection. Sam Gilliam’s Petals is also a favorite. I love Bonnard.

What is your favorite space within The Phillips Collection?

I really love the third floor of the Sant Building, right next to the Goh Annex. It has so much space but it still draws you in and has a intimate feel overall. I love the skylight as well.

What would you like people to know about your artwork on view in the 2018 Staff Show (or your work in general)?

This is the first acrylic work I’ve completed in over a year, after spending 2017 and most of 2018 working in oil. I’m working on a number of pieces in acrylic right now and I’m very excited about the work. The speed at which I’m able to work is gratifying, but also exerting because of the dry time. I have less time to work so I am relinquishing some power over the work. That is the source of the title Decontrol. I am giving over some control in the inception of the work in order to foment its creation.

This Is My Day Job: The James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show is on view through September 30, 2018. Join us for a reception in the exhibition on September 20, 5-7 pm.

Staff Show 2018: Racquel Keller

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Experiment Station

In this series, Manager of Visitor and Family Engagement Emily Bray highlights participants in This Is My Day Job: The 2018 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show, on view through September 30, 2018.

I saw a dead bird flying through a broken sky by Racquel Keller

Tell us about yourself.

Bio – Racquel Keller creates painting, drawing, print, photography, sculpture and assemblage art. She constructs imagery inspired by the natural world and her collection of vintage objects, with an eye toward capturing the feeling of nostalgia they evoke. Racquel was born in Northern Virginia and has resided in Maryland since 2003. She earned her BS in Graphic Design, with a concentration in Fine Arts, from The American University and also holds a Certificate of Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University. Presently, she works as an Art Instructor and Artist. She is currently an instructor at the Greenbelt Community Center, the College Park Arts Exchange and for select art workshops at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. Her classes have included, among others, Plein Air Painting, Still Life Painting and Watercolor. She regularly offers workshops on a variety of mediums and subjects. She has been actively exhibiting her work in the DC Metropolitan area for decades and is a current Artist in Residence at The Greenbelt Community Center (Maryland, USA) and will be a visiting Artist in Residence at Chateau d’Orquevaux (Orquevaux, France) Fall of 2018.

Artist Statement – The aim of my work is to create an emotional resonance for the viewer through the exploration of nostalgia and what it means to us as humans. Through my painting, I work to explore the relationship between people, objects and the power of memories to transport us to a different time and place. Ultimately, it is an exploration of why people save certain things and perhaps more significantly, an exploration of why I save things. My work is grounded in my vast collection of natural and vintage household objects gathered over more than four decades. These objects are at once familiar and mysterious, containing stories we may never know. I paint in vibrant tones and often with a strong raking light. With carefully crafted composition and light, my paintings honor still life painting while simultaneously honoring abstract painting via an active abstracted background. While my still lifes are unmistakably modern, I paint everyday objects of daily life from a bygone era, striving to give them a deeper significance by creating a portrait which forces the viewer to see an object which they might otherwise overlook. The strength of my palette, light, and brushstroke are vital to a fuller understanding of my work.

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 one of the Museum Shop Supervisors. I think one of the interesting things people may not know about the museum shop is that it is a sensitively curated visitor experience which is designed to further connect the individual with the exhibition on display. Everything which Pete Bernal, our Museum Shop Manager, selects for the shop is carefully considered months in advance and then thoughtfully displayed in themed vignettes which make it more accessible to the visitor.

Who is your favorite artist in the collection?

I love Chaim Soutine for the vitality of his brush strokes and I love Sally Mann for the quiet dark mystery of her photographs. Both evoke emotion in totally different styles and mediums.

What is your favorite space within The Phillips Collection?

The music room. I love the early 1900s architectural details especially when juxtaposed with modern art like Alex Katz. The contrast is striking!

What would you like people to know about your artwork on view in the 2018 Staff Show (or your work in general)?

The aim of my work is to create an emotional resonance for the viewer through the exploration of nostalgia and what it means to us as humans. Through my painting, I work to explore the relationship between people, objects and the power of memories to transport us to a different time and place. The work reflects on memory, mortality and the cycle of life.

This Is My Day Job: The James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show is on view through September 30, 2018. Join us for a reception in the exhibition on September 20, 5-7 pm.