For Immediate ReleaseFor More Information, Contact
October 10, 2007
PIO# 254-07		Jennifer Harris, Communications Officer, at 703.838.5078


Alexandria Commission for the Arts
Sponsors First Show in the Beatley Central Library

The City of Alexandria Commission for the Arts will sponsor a new gallery exhibition at the Beatley Central Library, 5005 Duke St., from Saturday, October 13 through Monday, December 31. The exhibition features work by painter Marian Van Landingham and sculptor Mirella Monti Belshé. The exhibition opens with a reception on Saturday, October 13, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

“We are excited to feature two well-known Alexandria artists as our kick-off show in the architecturally exciting library named after the late Mayor Chuck Beatley, a strong supporter of the arts,” said Pat Miller, Chair of the Alexandria Commission for the Arts.

The exhibition begins in the library’s entry rotunda, where visitors are greeted by “Syncretism,” a seven-foot sculpture by Belshé. “Syncretism” is a cast resin and alabaster dust, two-sided figure that is “a reconciliation of two divine mothers.” On pedestals are “Shy” carved from Blush Pink Verona marble invoking a shy Eastern woman, and “Ecstasy” inspired by Bernini’s Saint Teresa of Avila, the Spanish visionary, carved from the same pure white Statuario Carrara marble that he used.

On the library’s spacious walls are eight large landscapes by painter Van Landingham that appear like windows into European and American worlds. Quiet and evocative, they invite the viewer to enter and explore a scene, follow a pathway.

Both artists have studios in the Torpedo Factory Art Center which the late Mayor Beatley supported. “The first time I mentioned the concept of the Torpedo Factory to Mayor Beatley, he could say more good things about it than I could,” says Van Landingham, the founder of the Art Center and later State Delegate for 24 years.

Monti Belshé, a native of Italy, also maintains a studio in Pietrasanta, Italy. Before moving to Alexandria and becoming part of the Torpedo Factory in 1974, she was an associate professor at the University if Hawaii and was an art critic for the Hawaii Observer and the Honolulu Star Bulletin. She has shown her work in Italy, Russia, Turkey, Zimbabwe, Canada and throughout the United States

The Alexandria Commission for the Arts is administratively supported by the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities. For additional information, or to learn about other programs and services offered, call Cheryl Anne Colton, Cultural Arts Administrator, at 703.838.6348 or visit www.alexandriacommissionforthearts.org.

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the City’s Human Rights Code and the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation or to request materials in an alternative format, call Cheryl Anne Colton at 703.838.6348 (TTY 703.838.4902) or e-mail at cherylanne.colton@alexandriava.gov.
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