Tuesday, February 24, 2015

The Nuances of the Human Figure: Francesca Di Lorenzo

Sculptor Francesca Di Lorenzo
Visitors to Gallery Underground are frequently stunned by the beauty of Francesca Di Lorenzo's divine, compelling sculptures. Francesca is our featured artist for the month of February. 

Francesca began sculpting in the 1990s, when she discovered she loved working with clay and sculpting figures from life. Her love of sculpting, with its many challenges when creating a realistic sculpture, has evolved into a second career path after spending many years in the workplace. Francesca works mainly in water-based clays and favors sculpting from life using live models.  More recently she has been sculpting figures from the animal kingdom. 
Francesca Di Lorenzo "Lost in Thought," Terra Cotta 

Says Francesca of her work: "The human figure is quite fascinating, with its many nuances speaking out to define its three-dimensional characteristics." In creating a sculpture working with a live model, Francesca looks to capture the inner being and character of the model, which she hopes is reflected in her final piece. She finds that this challenge of capturing these nuances is most satisfying.

Francesca has studied at The Art League School in Alexandria, VA, taking classes and workshops with various instructors throughout the years. She has also participated in a number of sculpting workshops in the United States and in Italy. She has been juried into various venues throughout the Northern Virginia region, and has received several awards for her sculputres; her works have been acquired by art enthusiasts both in the United States and in Europe. In addition to Gallery Underground, she is also a member of  The Loft Gallery in Occoquan, Virginia.


Francesca Di Lorenzo, "Woman," Hydorcal

--Sandi Parker, Gallery Underground Co-Director

Francesca Di Lorenzo, "Tracker," Terra Cotta



Thursday, February 12, 2015

Got Diebenkorn?

"I'm really a traditional painter, not avant garde at all. I wanted to follow a tradition and extend it."

Richard Diebenkorn
These are the words of artist Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993), who came to define the California school of Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s. This month, Gallery member artist Jackie Afram suggested that member artists challenge themselves to paint in Diebenkorn's style. Many artists rose to the challenge, resulting in a "Diebenkorn Corner" with gallery artists displaying their versions of Diebenkorn-inspired paintings.
"Seawall" by Richard Diebenkorn (1957)



Although he moved back and forth between making abstract and figural paintings throughout his career, Diebenkorn's version of Abstract Expressionism became an important counterpoint to the more well-known brand of the movement popularized by artists such as Jackson Pollack and Willem De Kooning. During the 1950s through the 1960s, he was noted for developing a unique form of Northern California Realism, now referred to as the Bay Area Figurative School. His later work (best known as the Ocean Park paintings) were instrumental to his achievement of worldwide acclaim. In turn, Diebenkorn's Ocean Park paintings were said to be highly influenced by Henry Matisse's paintings French Window at Collioure and View of Notre Dame

Visitors to the gallery this month have been fascinated with what our artists submitted in the Diebenkorn style, and the artists loved the chance to stretch their artistic muscles and try something new.
"Los Lobos Pines," Jackie Afram 

"Vertical Spectrum," Parvaneh Limbert
"Beach Bound," Bryan Jernigan


--Sandi Parker, Gallery Co-Director