The Byrne Gallery is proud to present Champagne & Flowers 2024!  An exhibition for the month of May by five talented local artists: Craig Arnold, Suzanne Lago Arthur, Caroline Hottenstein, Jeffrey Kibler and Carolyn Marshall Wright. Celebrating Flowers, Gardens and Spring, this exhibition will feature a range of artistic media.  The artists will present works in oil on canvas, watercolor on paper, acrylic on canvas as well as graphite on paper.  Please come enjoy their paintings which welcome the return to a season of joy and vibrant color.

The exhibit will be on display from May 1st through 31st. There will be a reception for the artists on Saturday, May 11th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  In addition, a Gallery talk will be presented on Saturday, May 18th from 2 to 4 p.m.  The exhibition and reception are both open to the public and everyone is cordially invited to attend.

 Craig Arnold

Craig Arnold is currently retired from the University of Maryland, College Park having worked there as an Assistant Director/Academic Advisor for the School of Music. While having enjoyed his administrative work at the university, his passion has always been for painting and drawing, which has occupied his spare time over the years in addition to running marathons and traveling the world. He has shown his work at the Byrne Gallery in 2023, Artomatic’s May 2009 show and at Touchstone Gallery’s August 2013 Minisolo show. Mr. Arnold has two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Maryland: 1981 BA General Studies, and 1990 BA Studio Art.

Craig writes about his art, “I have turned my eye from the outward vastness to the inward minute intricacies of nature, specifically that of delicate flowers. I began painting large 36” x 36” paintings of a single flower with the intent of highlighting the detail of its parts, the subtle gradation of color and light, and the delicate texture of the petals.  By enlarging a single flower to a grand scale, it becomes the object of greater scrutiny and adoration. I was often asked whether I was emulating Georgia O’Keeffe. While I certainly find her work inspiring, I did not set out with that intention. And yet in this journey, I have become mesmerized with the fleeting beauty of the flower and have worked at capturing its essence in several other configurations.”

Suzanne Lago Arthur  

Suzanne Lago Arthur is a local painter, born in Puerto Rico to Cuban-American parents.  Through her paintings Suzanne explores the themes of beauty, transience and memory. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally in such venues as the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Art Museum of the Americas in Washington DC, Booth Museum of Western Art in Cartersville, GA, the United States Interests Section, Havana, Cuba and in art galleries across the United States. She holds a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art and an MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University and teaches painting locally in the Washington DC area at the Arts of Great Falls and Faith Chapel Gathering Place in Lucketts VA.Suzanne was mentioned by name for the Havana exhibition in the New York Times article, “Lighting Matches in Cuba on the 4th” by Fred Bernstein and most recently in U.S. Ambassador Huddleston’s memoir on her service in Cuba, entitled Our Woman in Havana: A Diplomat's Chronicle of America's Long Struggle with Castro's Cuba.

Caroline Cutrona Hottenstein

Caroline Cutrona Hottenstein is a native Northern Virginian. At an early age, art was part of her life.  Her mother was a fashion illustrator in the 1940’s, and her grandfather was a sculptor.  She has an AA ’71 from Marymount University, a BA ‘73 in Graphic Design and an MFA ’76 (thesis in etching), both from American University. A free-lance artist since 1973, she has worked in various media. Caroline has taught in the Fine Art and Fashion Merchandising programs at Marymount and free-lanced at National Geographic’s Book Service Department. 

As a botanical illustrator since 1986, her artistic observations have been expressed through traditional watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite techniques. Other artistic interests include landscapes, still life, historical and nature subjects. She has taught classes, lectured and presented programs related to art and textiles. Caroline is represented in Carnegie Mellon’s Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.

Jeffrey Kibler 

Jeffrey Kibler is an award-winning designer that has been in the graphic arts field for 47 years. He graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1975. Jeff was working at ad agencies and design studios in the New York metropolitan area before moving to Washington, D.C., in 1994 as a Senior Art Director with The Magazine Group.  Retired since February 2020, he is now focusing on his fine art, which is primarily oil paintings in a contemporary realistic style.

Two years ago, I painted my first flower, an Iris from our garden. I love Van Gogh’s Iris paintings, so this was a natural to do first. I have continued to paint more paintings concentrating on the intricate details of each flower. Flowers are short lived and beautifully delicate with many variations in color and texture … a painting captures that image in time forever.

Carolyn Marshall Wright

Award-winning watermedia artist Carolyn Marshall Wright is known for her versatility, working in watercolors, acrylics and collage.  Her work is infused with a sense of joy, evidenced by her expressive brushwork and exuberant use of color.   Impressionistic and imaginative, from representational to abstract and everywhere in between, her art inspires and uplifts the viewer.  

Carolyn exhibits frequently in juried shows in the Mid-Atlantic region, including the Martha Spak Gallery at the Wharf in Washington, DC, the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, and the Athenaeum in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a signature member of the Virginia Watercolor Society, and a member and past president of Potomac Valley Watercolorists.
In addition to receiving numerous awards in regional and national juried art exhibitions, her work has been profiled in Artist’s Magazine (May, 2020, “Finding Spontaneity in Still Life”) and in Watercolor Artist magazine (August, 2020, “Falling Down and Painting Again”). Her painting “Tuesday Morning Interior” was chosen as one of the winning works for “Best of Acrylic 2020” by American Artist and Artists Magazine.