Winter Chill: Abstracts for the Quiet of Winter

The Byrne Gallery is proud to present Winter Chill: Abstracts for the Quiet of Winter, our exhibition for February 2023. These abstract paintings explore the quietude of winter, when one can enjoy daydreaming and slower living. The color palettes of the works represent the chilled atmosphere of the winter season and evoke the beauty that is ever present despite the barren landscapes.

Artists Mark Dassoulas, Andy Hill, and Carolyn Marshall Wright are showing their abstract pieces. The exhibit will be on display from February 1st - February 26th. The exhibit is open to the public and everyone is cordially invited to attend.

Mark Dassoulas

Mark Dassoulas' evolution as an artist has been moved by a deep-seated need to explore new territories. Largely self-trained in studio art, his career has encompassed several styles; each defined by a painterly command of color and carefully conceived spatial organization.

His earliest works in the 1980’s focused on crisp, detailed figurative, still life, and floral subjects, created in the manner of 17th century Dutch masters. A fascination with landscape followed, studying the luminous works of the Hudson River School.  Eventually, the elements of traditional realism gave way to contemporary compositions, where figures and objects were contextualized only by light and shadow.  His view of nature broadened, first into tonal imagery, then into abstraction; depicting visionary horizons of subtle yet powerfully modulating color.

 Mark’s work is in the permanent collection of Northrop Grumman, General Foods, Troutman Sanders, Holland & Knight, and many other famous corporate and private collections. His work has been pictured in Architectural Digest in the home of Washington, D.C. designer Thomas Pheasant.

Andy Hill

Andy Hill creates “art that opposes indifference.” Andy hopes to create paintings that evoke strong passion and that deviate from the norm. Heavily influenced by his love of music and his time spent working in the music industry, Hill’s work embodies a fluidity that carries the viewer through the painting. He values the process of creating the work over the final product and views his finished works as completed performances.

Hill’s art strikes a balance of nostalgia and contemporary aesthetics by combining neons with neutrals and metallics on canvas and wood panel.

Hill’s work has been featured in the Venice Art Crawl and is on display in several commercial locations in downtown Washington, DC, as well as private collections around the world. Most recently, Hill was commissioned to create a work for the newly renovated 2000 Penn lobby in Washington, DC.

Carolyn Marshall Wright

After over twenty years of working with watercolor, Carolyn remains fascinated by this medium that conveys such luminosity and light. After reaching a certain level of mastery in watercolor, her explorations with color and structure then led her to begin working with acrylics and collage. Carolyn frequently melds the abstract with the representational, creating pieces that are expressionistic, playful and full of joy. Her paintings are an emotional response to the world around her. When she is astonished by beauty, she wants to acknowledge it--not by precise representation, but by creating space for the viewer to have their own encounter with beauty through her work . 

Carolyn 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. She has been profiled in “Artists Magazine” and “Watercolor Artist”. Her work has hung in the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, in the World Bank, and is in numerous private collections around the world. 

Please come visit the Byrne Gallery to see and enjoy Winter Chill on exhibit for February 2023. The Byrne Gallery is located at 7 West Washington Street in Middleburg, Virginia. Gallery hours are Monday and Tuesday by appointment only, Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Contact the Byrne Gallery for more information at (540) 687-6986 and byrnegallery@aol.com.