Brentwood Artist Selected for Art Exhibition in D.C.
A Brentwood artist is featured in an upcoming exhibition of political art in Washington.
John Paradiso, who manages Portico Gallery at Studio 3807 on Route 1, was selected for the show “Flower Power Redux” at Back End Studios in the Tenleytown neighborhood, organized by DC artist Michèle Colburn.
Paradiso’s piece is a small whole cloth quilt hand-stitched with custom pansy applique of two small flowers, created earlier this year. The title: “My Husband and I, Two Aging Pansies.”
He told the Hyattsville Wire that the artwork is “a layered piece about marriage equality, homophobic slurs, love, and growing old.”
Paradiso said he was first drawn to the Route 1 corridor 26 years ago because of the great local art scene, which includes dance, visual arts and music — “all within walking distance of my home.”
The exhibition will also feature a painting of orchids by Route 1 artist Elizabeth Ashe, a member of the Otis Street Arts Project.
Flower Power Redux opens with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4. The exhibition, at 4326 Chesapeake St. NW, will be on view Wednesdays through Saturdays noon to 4 p.m. through Sunday, Oct. 26.
Hello,
To be clear this entire exhibit includes 17 DMV artists and close to 35 contemporary artworks that include, collage, photography, paintings, prints, drawings, and mixed media. In addition, the exhibition includes works that are humorous, surreal, painterly, and some with nods to psychedelia, but they do not evoke protest or images of protests current or in the past.
Many works underscore the beauty and strength of the natural world or as symbolic references associated with certain types of flora, and therein lies their power. John Paradiso’s work was selected for its strength, beauty, and content. Elizabeth Ashe’s continued emphasis on the beauty of blooms in her oeuvre and their power to mark memory are also reasons for inclusion in Flower Power Redux.
For those who don’t know, the Flower Power Movement was peaceful at its core and roots, often with a chill and communal vibe, but it was heavily critiqued, mocked and something quite different eventually took its place. In fact, the Summer of Love was in 1968 and shortly thereafter was no more.
Michèle Colburn, Curator