EDGES OF WHAT I FEEL
/Edges of What I Feel By Healing Artist Collective
Curated by Peter Winant
June 2 - August 26, 2023, @ Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Announcement: Gallery Closure Dates @ Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Kindly take note of the adjusted hours for the upcoming change: Friday, August 25: Gallery open from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your understanding.
Thank you for your continued support.
About the Exhibition
The Healing Artist Collective exposes the raw discomfort of the day-to-day struggles posed by mental health issues as a result of chronic pain, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
While the exhibit "Edges of What I Feel" expresses the personal and intimate accounts of each artist and expands on the collective's desire to grapple with the complexities of mental health, we find ourselves functioning within an era of interpersonal isolation. Mental health statistics are increasing while access to proper mental resources consistently decreases, impacting those who rely on an insufficient mental healthcare system. This disruption significantly affects our daily lives, creating a global sense of instability and fear. The newfound crisis has thrust mental health and chronic illness into global consciousness.
As a result, now more than ever, people are realizing that the existing resources and dialogue about mental health are simply not enough. Mental healthcare is inequitable, especially in marginalized communities where factors such as class, race, ethnicity, gender, ability, and sexual orientation can hinder access to healthcare. Social stigmas further impede daily life for individuals struggling with mental health, affecting job promotions, education, government assistance, and more. Unfortunately, the systems in place are often restrictive and fail to consider the needs of these individuals. Consequently, this creates additional barriers that impede access to care, leaving them feeling frustrated and hopeless.
The discussions surrounding mental health often revolve around toxic positivity and neglect the practical and deeply emotional challenges that people face when seeking care for themselves.
CJ Davis, God’s Gonna Cut You Down, 2023, 30” x 40”
This exhibition invites the viewer to become comfortable with being uncomfortable as the artists of the Healing Artist Collective speak candidly through their art, sharing the realities they face with their own mental and physical health challenges. These issues are sometimes so visceral that they cannot be explained through words alone. The artists communicate through the universal language of art, offering the viewer a deeper understanding of their personal struggles and triumphs. Using their chosen mediums, the artists bridge the gap between what can be expressed and what remains unsaid. They invite the viewer to establish a profound connection with their healing processes, fostering a greater collective healing within the shared wound.
Participating Artists
Abdulrahman Naanseh : Syrian artist Abdulrahman Naanseh (b. 1991) learned Arabic calligraphy with the support of his father, a self-taught calligrapher. Naanseh has excelled in this field with three solo exhibitions during his residency at George Mason University, exhibitions with Arneli Art Gallery in Beirut, murals at Damascus University, solo exhibitions in Syria in 2002 and 2005, and national Arabic calligraphy competitions. Naanseh is an Artist Protection Fund Fellow and the 2022 Artist-in-Residence at George Mason University’s School of Art. The Artist Protection Fund (APF) fills a critical unmet need by awarding threatened artists and placing them at welcoming host institutions in safe countries where they can continue their work and plan for their futures.
Artist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_naanseh/
Adrian Scalzo: Adrian Scalzo (He/Him) is a mixed-media sculpture artist who, having grown up with an artistic family in the Washington DC metropolitan area, spent a good portion of his childhood experiencing the rich offerings of the many cultural institutions in the region. Recently, he and a group of fellow like-minded artists have established the Healing Artist Collective. Adrian Scalzo graduated in the Spring of 2021 with a BFA in Sculpture from George Mason University where he was also awarded the Academic and Artistic Achievement for Studio Arts of his graduating class. Adrian has shown work with Mason Exhibitions “Sleeping Beauty” in the Gillespie Gallery in September of 2021; with Mason Exhibitions “Art and Design Senior Show” Online May of 2021; with Torpedo Factory “The Late Shift: Art on the Horizon” April 2019; and with George Mason University School of Art “Off the Wall” in February 2019. Adrian Scalzo will be working as a Sculpture Open Studio Instructor for the Spring of 2023.
Artist Website : https://www.adrianscalzo.com/
Artist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrianscalzoart/
Alanna Rivera : Alanna Rivera is a half-El Salvadoran and half-white artist born in and currently living in Arlington, Virginia with her hound dog, Isa. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Spanish Literature from the University of Virginia in 2013 and her Master of Fine Arts in Community Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2017. She received a Governor’s Citation from the State of Maryland in 2016 for her work with her students on the Bottle Cap Mural Project, a permanent installation in Baltimore, MD celebrating the Latino backgrounds of students in the Highlandtown neighborhood. Alanna works as a fine artist in the Washington, D.C. area and is an Artist Pro Tem at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town, Alexandria. She is the founder of the Cherrydale Holiday Art Market in Arlington, VA.
Artist Website : http://www.alannarivera.com
Artist Instagrams: https://www.instagram.com/ariverastudios/
CJ Davis: CJ Davis is a Mexican American painter living in Northern Virginia. She is currently a BFA student concentrating in interArts at George Mason University's School of Art. In 2021, she was chosen to do a Tedx talk with George Mason University, on how there is a lack of diversity in the art world, and how to resolve it. ‘Art Looks Better in Color’ is her breakout Tedx talk. One of her major debut exhibitions was from the show she curated with UndocuMason, “Establishing Roots and Resisting Illegality”. This show illuminated the importance of advocacy within art. Davis grew up in a unique cultural mixing bowl, with a southern American father and an immigrant Mexican mother. The stark realities between family identity and political affiliations left her ashamed and confused about her identity. At the age of 12, she began to immerse herself into art. By the age of 17, she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disease that sends false pain signals to the nervous system. She had to grapple with giving up her art, due to the immense pain it caused her. She lost 60% of the strength in her arms and hands. By 18, she was able to overcome it, and regain her strength, as well as finally accept her Mexican identity. Later on, Davis was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 and PTSD due to traumatic events between the ages of 16 and 20. These events inspired her to advocate on campus for others who had been in similar situations. She wanted to advocate for mental health, especially for those who are in BIPOC communities. Davis makes paintings that respond to the intersectionality of her identity and her struggles with mental and physical health, as well as trauma. She is very inspired by how intersectionality affects perspectives, and how important it is to empower others who are struggling with very real issues that are invisible to the human eye.
Artist Website: cjdavisart.com
Artist Instagram: www.instagram.com/cjdavisarts
Liz Louise: Liz Louise is a photo-based artist residing in the NOVA area. She earned her BFA in 2019 with the “Graduating Senior” award. She was also the recipient of the Larry H. and Gail Miller Enrichment Scholarship as well as a Talent Award to study photography. She completed a photography internship in Sydney, Australia and studied museum curation in Riga, Latvia. Her BFA had a strong emphasis in historical photo processes such as tintypes, photogravures and cyanotypes. Liz has worked as a tech in college darkrooms since 2013 and since 2019 has run the B&W darkroom lab at George Mason University in the School of Art. She is also a second-year MFA candidate at GMU.
Artist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizlouise_johnson/
Michelle A. Smith: Michelle A. Smith is a sculptor from the DC Metropolitan area and a surviving military spouse. Her work carefully positions the viewer within her personal narratives, focusing on confronting and expanding the emotions of grief and loss. She invites her audience to experience the edges of what she feels using sculpture and installations that encompass a variety of media including metalwork, ceramics, painting, photography, and poetry. Smith received the Tidewater Community College Award of Excellence, the Northern Virginia Community College Phoebe Saperstone Award, the George Mason University Gillespie Research Fellowship, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Graduate Fellowship, and a Technical Assistantship in Ceramics at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Michelle earned her BFA in Sculpture from George Mason University and held the position of Ceramic and Sculpture Studio Manager at the Northern Virginia Community College before beginning her MFA candidacy in Studio Arts at James Madison University. Her sculpture Protective Nature was featured in the Peace of War: Intertwined through Art exhibition and is now a part of the Honfleur Gallery’s permanent collection in Washington, DC. Michelle A. Smith is also a founding member of the Healing Artist Collective (HAC) based in Northern Virginia. HAC is a group who believes that creating art has the power to help heal and open an honest dialogue about mental health. Michelle whole-heartedly asserts that creating art helps to bridge the gap between what is said and unsaid.
Artist Website: www.michelleannsmith.com
Artist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelleannsmith11/
Moe Lewis: Moe Lewis is a mixed media artist with strong affections for digital, colored pencil, fiber arts, printmaking, and sculpture. Born in California, he moved to Virginia when he was five, and lived there throughout most of his life. Upon graduation, he moved to Maine for a year, before returning to his college town, where he currently resides and works. He dreamed of being an artist throughout his childhood, and was constantly doodling, drawing, and making crafts, receiving ribbons at the Virginia State Fair for several years for his different works. He received a small scholarship from George Mason University’s School of art, where he would later graduate with honors and receive a BFA in New Media with a Concentration in Animation in 2021. He is working to branch his professional works into different, more unconventional mediums in hopes of expanding the public's understanding of art as well as blurring the lines we use to separate handicraft and art.
Artist Website: www.moelewis.com
Artist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moe_ink
Steven Luu: The wounds of combat have had a profound impact on Steven Luu. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he is a survivor of the Communist oppression, escaping to freedom on a small boat. After completing high school in 1995, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served for 20 years as a combat medic. During his numerous deployments in the Middle East, he witnessed many violent deaths, and those experiences have had a profound psychological impact on him. He was first introduced to art by the intensive treatment program provided by Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Steven recognizes that art allows him to present his feelings comfortably and focuses on expressing traumatic experiences creatively and non-verbally. As someone with a background in the medical field and a wounded veteran himself, he relates deeply to many service members that return home suffering from the aftereffects of deployment, such as feeling guilty or isolated. He creates his art both to help and communicate with others, focusing on mental health-related matters. As an artist, he is an advocate for veterans. When the opportunity arises, he guides and encourages many fellow wounded veterans to find a new language to express their pain and emotions – the language of art. Steven is well known for producing serialized artwork; he believes the repetition method helps dedramatize his past and is a form of discipline to understand the materials.
Artist Website: www.stevenluuart.com
Artist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/4art4food4travel/
Tessie Van Dyke: Tessie Van Dyke graduated from George Mason University’s School of Art in the spring of 2020, as Covid-19 began to change the world as we knew it. Stuck in a strange limbo of unemployment and unfinished college plans, they turned to art as a form of therapy. After a year, they managed to find a position working as an urban farmer, setting them off onto their current path of growing and working with the Earth. In February of 2022, they decided to come back to dance to further improve their health after having been admitted to the hospital the previous fall. Though it took another hospital visit, they now pole-dance as their main form of artistic expression. Tessie has previously shown with Mason Exhibitions “Art and Design Senior Show” online in May of 2020. In their time at university, they created many large sculptural objects out of plaster and textiles, including whimsical pieces such as “Nose Salon”, and “Backpack Boy”.
Artist Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekidpoles?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://instagram.com/tessievandyke_art?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
INSTALLATION VIEWS
Photo Credit: Sophie Bae / Mason Exhibitions
Exhibit Images
Outdoor Media Installation
Additional programming supporting the exhibition:
All events will take place at Mason Exhibitions Arlington and are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
The exhibition and events are free and open to members of the media and the public.
Weekly Workshops:
Join us at Mason Exhibitions Arlington for a unique opportunity to meet the artists! Interact with the artists and create your own work as we host weekly artist talks, discussions, performances and workshops. Every Friday from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM and Saturday from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM, you can dive into a variety of art forms and discover new ways to express yourself. Simply step through our doors during opening hours and immerse yourself in a captivating experience. These workshops present an excellent opportunity to learn from talented artists and nurture your own creative abilities.
JUNE EVENTS:
FRI 6/9 - Artists’ Book Workshop with Steven Luu and Patrick Kot
SAT 6/10 - Artist Talk with Patrick Kot
FRI 6/16 - Artist Talk with Moe Lewis
SAT 6/17 - Workshop: Accordion Style Artist Book Creation with Adrian Scalzo
FRI 6/23 & SAT 6/24 - Artist Talk and Fiber Arts Workshop with Tessie Van Dyke
FRI 6/30 - Artist Talk with Michelle Smith
FRI 6/30, 7 - 10PM - SOFAR MUSIC NIGHT
You’ll see two or three short sets of incredible performers from all musical genres, spoken word, comedy, and dance.
JULY EVENTS:
SAT 7/1 - Clay Emotions Workshop with Michelle Smith
SAT 7/8 - Dance Performance and Discussion with Tessie Van Dyke
FRI 7/14 & SAT 7/15 - Calligraphy Workshop and Artist Talk with Abdulrahman Naanseh
FRI 7/21 - Comic Creation with Moe Lewis (Cancled)
SAT 7/22 - Artist Book Creation with Adrian Scalzo
FRI 7/28 & SAT 7/29 - Book Reading and Discussion with CJ Davis
AUGUST EVENTS:
FRI 8/4 & SAT 8/5 - Intuitive Ceramic Carving and Texture Workshop with Derek Farino
FRI 8/11 & SAT 8/12 - A Brush with Stories workshop with Liz Louise
FRI 8/18 - Make your own comic! with Moe Lewis
SAT 8/19 - Artist book creation and Artist Talk with Adrian Scalzo
FRI 8/25- Poetry Reading and Discussing Writing Processes with CJ Davis