The Byrne Gallery is proud to announce THE HAPPINESS of COLOR II, its new exhibition for the month of May 2025. Five artists will present their interpretation of color and the hope that Spring brings each year. These abstracts explore the energy and vibrancy of the season of renewal when joyful color bursts forth once again.
The artists participating in this show are Richard Binder, Joe LaMattina, Sharon Pierce McCullough, Carolyn Marshall Wright & Susan Yennerell. Their paintings and sculpture illustrate the powerful impact color has on our emotions and its ability to transform our mood and outlook. Without the context of a fixed composition, it is color and form that drives the work, creating a positive feeling in the viewer and hopefully a smile as well. This exhibition celebrates the ability of color to uplift and give joy.
And, in designing our homes, our most intimate environment, we want to surround ourselves with joy, colors and patterns that make us happy. Color provides positivity to a space, it makes us feel uplifted, happy, energized, and invited. Choose happiness, choose color! The exhibit will be on display from May 1st – June 1st and is open to the public. Everyone is cordially invited to attend.
A reception will be held on Saturday, May 10th, from 4 to 7 p.m.
Richard Binder
Dr. Richard Binder is a sculpture artist and retired oncologist. “Color, particularly red, lets the devil in me express myself and use different forms and shapes that enhance the drama of my creations.” Dr. Binder creates sculpture using steel as the medium, in part because its permanence and resistance to decay: “Life is transient, and steel has permanence!” Please join us in celebrating the happiness of color and life.
Joe LaMattina
Joe loves to experiment and play in developing the “sense of lightness and fluidity” in his colorful abstract works. Much of his current work is mixed media, with paint, collage, and unusual non-traditional materials. He views art as a journey and, regardless of subject matter, he loves to “present works with open-ended narratives” and leave the affect and feeling to the viewer.
Sharon Pierce McCullough
Sharon Pierce McCullough is a visual artist engaged in a multidisciplinary practice that includes painting, drawing and sculpture. An “ecologically conscious” artist, her work is constantly evolving. Her art career attests to her experimental spirit in exploring colors, shapes and textures in many of her ongoing series of paintings and sculptures. Taking a cue from early Minimalism and Color Field painters, McCullough hones her multicolored palette through a process where color defines “whether a work is good or great." Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the country and her collector base is international.
Carolyn Marshall Wright
Carolyn is a favorite of the Byrne Gallery. Her abstract paintings are an emotional response to the world which, in their turn, evoke a positive and enduring emotional response in the viewer. She seeks to “Paint from the inside out” – to quote painter George De Groat (1917-1995) founder of Chromatic Expressionism. She is a signature member of the Virginia Watercolor Society, a member and past president of Potomac Valley Watercolorists and a frequent exhibitor in juried exhibitions in the Mid-Atlantic region. Her work has been hung in the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, in the World Bank, and is in numerous private collections around the world.
Susan Yennerell
Susan Yennerell is an abstract artist inspired by nature’s fluidity and life’s transformations. Her journey took a pivotal turn five years ago when she returned to Virginia, fueling her fascination with change, color, and light. With a background in graphic design, murals, and teaching, Susan explores the balance of movement and stillness in her layered, expressive compositions. She collaborates with interior designers to create commissioned works that enhance spaces, with pieces featured in homes from North Carolina to Massachusetts and inside Amazon H2Q,
National Landing, VA. Influenced by Henri Matisse, she embraces bold simplicity, using color and form to evoke emotion and connection. Beyond painting, she cherishes time with her family and is dedicated to community art projects and teaching in Fairfax, VA.
