top image: My Lunch with Booboo, 2009, pastel on sanded paper, 16 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches
lower image: Skyscape 6/29/09, 2009, pastel on sanded paper, 10 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches
JULY 18 - AUGUST 22, 2009
OPENING RECEPTION: WEDNESDAY, JULY 22 5-7PM
Washington, D.C. has no finer artist representative for quality and passion than Manon Cleary. For more than thirty years, Ms. Cleary's often disturbing drawings and paintings have brilliantly represented her personal world in provocative, unflinching and iconic terms. A 2008 exhibit at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts referred to Ms. Cleary as "one of the leading American figurative artists of the past three decades". This exhibit at Addison/Ripley pairs gentle sky "portraits" with pictures of strangely engaging white rats. Each of the works from Rats and Skies, is developed by hand on sanded paper with an unmatched mastery of materials and technique. In addition, the gallery will present earlier work by the artist, including examples from her "Movement Series".
Ms. Cleary was born in 1942 in St. Louis, Missouri and is included in museum collections from Washington, D.C. to New York, North Carolina, Virginia, Arizona, Wisconsin and the United States Embassy in Lima, Peru. In addition, the artist has exhibited throughout the world including such countries as Russia, Malta, Kazakhstan and Denmark. Her contribution to the art world in Washington is extensive and ongoing despite recent health issues that have limited her ability to work.
1670 Wisconsin Avenue, NW . Washington, DC 20007 . 202.338.5180 www.addisonripleyfineart.com
