Arts of the Albemarle will debut three art exhibitions during next month’s First Friday ArtWalk, including two that feature the works of two local artists who’ve passed away in the past year.
“Very Mary Art” will commemorate the life and work of painter Mary Crutchfield, who died earlier this year; “Doug Lane: A Memorial Retrospective” celebrates the multi-media work of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard veteran Doug Lane, who died last spring; and “Charmed by the Water Sprites” showcases the oil and acrylic works of Cary artists Andrea Frank and Sarah Redpath. All three will open at AoA on Friday, June 7.
“Very Mary Art’’ will feature more than 100 of Crutchfield’s original works, including 20 framed paintings in AoA’s Jenkins Gallery, plus numerous unframed photographs and paintings for sale, AoA said in a press release.
Crutchfield, who died in February, was an “internationally recognized artist whose commitment to art and community will continue to endure long past her life,” AoA said.
A practicing artist for more than three decades, Crutchfield was a co-founder of The Studio Gallery in Elizabeth City, a member of watercolor societies in North Carolina and several other states, and belonged to organizations such as the Southern Watercolor Society, the International Society of Acrylic Painters, Arizona Aqueous, and the International Association of Experimental Artists. She also taught art, including classes at College of The Albemarle.
Crutchfield was also a “passionate advocate” for victims of domestic violence and abuse, AoA said. Getting involved with the issue on a state level in the 1980s, Crutchfield became known as one of the “mothers of Albemarle Hopeline,” the victims advocacy agency first known as the Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck Task Force on Crimes Against Women.
“She went on to support Hopeline in many ways, sharing her time, contacts, and resources, becoming one of the first members of its advisory board, and donating art to make the (women’s) shelter more inviting for those it housed,” AoA said.
Crutchfield’s family chose to honor her legacy through the exhibition “Very Mary Art,” and proceeds from any sales of her works will be split evenly between AoA and Albemarle Hopeline, the arts group said.
“Doug Lane: A Memorial Retrospective” will feature works from Lane’s “multifaceted” artistic pursuits in photography, graphic design, ceramics, drawing and woodworking, and be exhibited in AoA’s Everist Gallery.
A member of the Elizabeth City Photo Club, Lane is “remembered for his home studio and classroom, where he often invited community members to collaborate and learn,” AoA said, adding that the display of his work in the Everist Gallery will “highlight the breadth of his creativity and the footprint he left behind.”
AoA’s exhibit of Frank and Redpath’s oil and acrylic paintings, “Charmed by the Water Sprites,” will be displayed in the Gutman Gallery.
“The pair’s distinct but complementary styles take the viewer on a whimsical journey of the power and charms of the water, which they’ve likened to an almost-spiritual experience,” AoA said.
Commenting on their works, Frank and Redpath said, “We have been charmed by the water sprites, the sirens’ songs, and we hope you will be too.”
All three exhibitions will be on display through July 31. Admission is free during gallery hours, Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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