Nancy Bass - Past Events

Venus
by Nancy Bass

“Nancy Bass: Abstractions of the Virginia Farm”
May 26- August 22, 2010



Abstractions of the Virginia Farm approaches farm animals with fresh eyes and a colorful palette. Nancy Bass abstracts the traditional landscape, literally or figuratively, to emphasize the personalities of her loyal farm animals. Bass says that her artworks, whether “bold bands of color or idyllic visions of the Virginia landscape reflect our agrarian past yet disrupt traditional animal painting and seventeenth-century landscape conventions.” Nancy Bass lives on historic Anchorage Farm in Southern Albemarle County, Virginia, where she and her husband have raised cows for 30 years. Known by their first names in the paintings, these beloved animals are the center of the artist’s works. Happy cows inhabit their Virginia farm.

This exhibition is comprised of three bodies of work that Bass has recently made the focus of her attention; the color field series, the herd series, and the farm series. The Farm Series is comprised of representational pieces hung in groups with the void between canvases serving as the abstraction to reinforce the discontinuity of herself and her animals to their natural surroundings. In the Color Field Series, Bass reflects on these changes and the misconceptions of farm life that many hobby farmers come to experience, as farming traditions erode and give way to a fragmented landscape. Yet, her paintings do not reflect harsh realities that struggling farmers face. Bass turns to her animals as subjects of inspiration in the Herd Series. She paints her stock in their best light, taking advantage of the range of expression that comes from working with these animals on a daily basis. Her subjects often make direct contact with one another and/or the viewer. They demand your attention, your consideration.

text by Amanda Mobley, Assistant Curator

Fetch a Cure's "Fetching Art Night" will be hosted by Glave Kocen Gallery to support the Companions in Crisis Fund. This fund provides the funds to treat pets who have been diagnosed with cancer but whose families cannot afford the necessary lifesaving treatments.
Artists chosen from throughout the United States who subject matter is various animals will be represented. This event will be catered with delicious food, wine, beer, spirits, and a delightful dessert.

The 2010 Academy of Fine Arts Annual Juried Exhibition has been juried by Kathleen Edwards the Chief Curator at the University of Iowa Museum of Art. The triptych  "Sublime Landscape #2" has been selected for the 2010 exhibition.

Three Graces has been awarded 3rd prize in the" For and About Women" National Exhibition at the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts.

The Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg, VA will host a solo exhibition of paintings- Color Fields- New Paintings by Nancy Bass  This new body of work will continue the artist's exploration of farm animals against fields of bold color inspired by Abstract Expressionism.

A nationally juried mixed-media competition considering the American Landscape and curated by Claudia Rousseau Ph.D., Professor of Art History, School of Art and Design, Montgomery College, MD.

Located on Charlottesville's historic downtown mall, Angelo showcases the artistic creations of modern jewelry designers and the works of regional artists.  This elegant, contemporary space is perfectly suited to the new paintings that will be presented in this solo show.