Center For The Arts - Caton Merchant Family Art Gallery

The Caton Merchant Family Gallery, located on the first floor of the Candy Factory building, shows nine art exhibits each year. The exhibits feature regional artists as well as works by world-renowned artists such as sculptor Joseph Henry Lonas. The Center sponsors a yearly juried youth art exhibit, featuring artwork created by local high school students. With an open floor plan, the gallery also accommodates a wide range of other activities, including art lectures and music recitals.

Current Exhibit

June 17 – July 29, 2009
Quilters Unlimited – Arlington Chapter
Quilters Unlimited which was founded in 1972 exists to promote the knowledge and understanding of this traditional art form. The Arlington Chapter, one of twelve chapters of the Northern Virginia Organization, plans a unique exhibit designed for the Caton Merchant Family Gallery. Based on the perfect symmetry of the gallery, the participating quilters demonstrate a progression from traditional works to innovative quilt styles.

Upcoming Exhibits

August 3 – September 14, 2009
Don Depuydt & Kelly Nelson
Printmakers and professors, Don Depuydt and Kelly Nelson, contrast images in a dynamic representation of the abstract and organic against the fluid and geometric. Don, from Northern Virginia Community College Loudoun Campus explores images from the sacred and the ritual as history. Kelly, from Longwood University interprets familial relationships and personal identities.

September 18 – October 30, 2009
Rose Rushbrooke & Judy Townsend – Fractal Quilts
Unusual threads would be ideal way to begin to describe the art of fractal quilts. Based on mathematical fractals, self-repeating patterns which describe nature and infinity, Rose Rushbrooke turns technology or computer generated models, into organic art quilts. Judy Townsend works in watercolor also creating mathematically inspired pieces. The two artists create complementary inspired work with a strong sense of color.

November 4 – December 17, 2009
Lu Wyer Harris & Catherine Hillis
Lu Harris has visually referenced the inherent charms of many places she has traveled to create a vibrant body of multi-media works. From people, places and things, Lu’s colorful work is light in spirit and full of its own captivating charms. Catherine Hillis works primarily in watercolor to also create works of people, places and things with a complexity in execution and an eye for unique detail.

December 23 – January 29, 2010
Off the Wall
It’s no longer a surprise, the quality and reflected thought that is on view in the artwork displayed by our area high school students. This 6^th annual PWC student exhibition Off the Wall will be no exception when showcasing the best from students in Prince William County, Manassas, Manassas Park and surrounding areas. Check back here later in 2009 to click on our Call for Entries for instructions on how to enter.

May 1 – June 12, 2009
Paula Golden & Heather Beaman
Paula Golden and Heather Beaman present their thesis exhibitions in culmination of requirements for an Interdisciplinary degree from VCU. Artist, quilter, teacher, Paula Golden has many years of experience sharing her professional talents. Expanding her formal education, she has now rounded her portfolio and the depth of her artistic experience. Heather Beaman is also an evolving artist, moving from the idea of overlapping events to using one isolated moment to begin her compositions that employ traditional photography and printmaking techniques.

'Voices of the Morning Calm' - HMAA/Han-Mee Artist Assoc. of Greater Washington, DC
March 19 – April 28, 2009
This group exhibition reflects a fine aesthetic in traditional culture and materials as well as bold contemporary compositions. Member artists from this organization create works that reflect skillful construction, strong expression and most often, subtle nuances. Look for symbolism, energy and the sublime when visiting this exhibit.

Ann Marie Coolick (Ferramosca)- Contemporary Impasto Seasonscapes
February 4 – March 16, 2009
Many of us in the Manassas area know this artist as Ann Marie Ferramosca and a 1998 graduate of Osbourn Park High School. A Summa Cum Laude graduate in Studio Art and Marketing Management from Virginia Tech, she is now a Resident Artist at Arlington Arts Center, establishing her voice with a strong expressionist style.

Taking scenes from our Mid-Atlantic landscape, Ann Marie Coolick creates Contemporary Impasto Seasonscapes using a thick sculptural palette technique that brings life to each canvas. With thick texture, rich color and a multi-dimensional feel her seasonal landscapes are lively and engaging, reflecting her connectedness to particular places that have become her visual inspirations.

Off the Wall
Dec. 24, 2008 - Jan 30, 2009
Exhibit Opens Dec. 27
Open House - Jan. 10, 3-5pm
Snow Date - Jan. 17
Sponsored by Lockheed Martin
There's no better way to start off the New Year than with the 5^th annual PWC student exhibition Off the Wall. This year expect to see a continual evolution of young artists putting their minds, hearts and energies into their unique visual expressions. This is a must-see exhibit if you want to renew pride in the quality of what our area youth can do when put to the artistic challenge. Open to high school students in Prince William County, Manassas, Manassas Park and surrounding areas.
(all images copyrighted, ownership of the artists)

The Center for the Arts/Caton Merchant Family Gallery (CFA/CMFG) in support of the mission of the Center for the Arts, serves to enrich the quality of life among all the populations in our area through diverse educational and presentational arts programming of the highest quality. Exhibitions are selected on the extent to which they enhance the Center’s mission and the exhibition policy of the CFA/CMFG.

The Center for the Arts/Caton Merchant Family Gallery will review for the purpose of exhibition all contemporary artists, in any medium, who submit a proposal. By committee, each exhibit will be determined and selected artists will be notified. Any proposal that must be returned to the artist should be labeled as such when submitted along with sufficient return postage. Proposals must be submitted with images for review, these may include slides, CD, photographs or high quality laser printed sheets.

Due to the sensitivity of an adapted re-use building the CFA/CMFG will hold restrictions on size, proportions, weights of objects and installations. Installations will be considered on a very limited basis.