Dark Rococo / Ruth Bolduan

Magician, Detail, Ruth Bolduan 

Dark Rococo / Ruth Bolduan

with The Ripple Effect / Paintings by Matthew Fisher,
Maya Goldweber, Theresa Pfarr, and Jonathan Weston

October 8 through November 15, 2009
Gallery Talk: Sunday, November 1, 3 pm

In Dark Rococo, Ruth Bolduan finds a correspondence between 18th century painting and current aesthetic ideas, particularly the renewal of interest in the concept of Beauty. Her works are linked to history, to the feminine, and to an unbroken lineage of artistic creation. These paintings reveal a sense of global and political malaise beneath their light-hearted façade, just as the splendid flowering of the Rococo contained the seeds of its own collapse. The paintings in Dark Rococo were created shortly before, during, and after the economic collapse of September 2008.

The Ripple Effect, featuring the works of former students of Bolduan, is a manifestation of the subtle interplay between teacher and student, fragments and moments of perception, occasional anger, insight, and awe, which characterizes the relationship between older and younger artists throughout history. The exhibition presents the work of four former students: Matthew Fisher, Maya Goldweber, Theresa Pfarr, and Jonathan Weston.

Athenaeum
201 Prince Street
Alexandria, Va 22314
703.548.0035
nvfaa.org