Margot S. Neuhaus
Between the Lines - work on paper and wood

Ward Schumaker
Books and drawings

Meridian Gallery opens its 2008 exhibition series with two solo shows by Margot S. Neuhaus and Ward Schumaker.

The first floor Center Gallery will feature Between the Lines - work on paper and wood by Margot S. Neuhaus. Neuhaus, a Washington, D.C. based artist describes her process of art making, "I find my way between the lines..." Neuhaus' works reflect this journey in the mindfulness of their delivery. Often working with natural materials, she opens herself up to inspiration-from her surroundings, her materials-and sets out to discover a natural order, an organic form and rhythm. The result is profound, spontaneous, and inspired. Her work conveys a deep reverence for the materials she uses as well as an undying curiosity and devotion to creativity. Mary McCoy, art critic for the Washington Post writes, "...it is the quest itself that is the subject...Neuhaus presents the entire process with straightforward, refreshing simplicity, as evidence of the flux of life."

Born in Mexico City, Margot S. Neuhaus studied art at the Escola de Artes Visuais in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is also a trained psychotherapist, having studied at the University of Illinois, Urbana, and the University of Chicago. She has exhibited internationally and nationally, including commissions from the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C.

www.margotneuhaus.com

The work of Ward Schumaker exudes a similar spontaneity. Books and Drawings, shown in Meridian's second floor Drawings Gallery, features some of his recent large-scale hand-painted books and other works on paper. Schumaker uses text in an intuitive combination with expressionistic painting. The text, coming from a variety of sources, is layered on the painting, sometimes partially obscured. The dynamic between text and painting reveals no implicit narrative, but often invokes a spiritual content.
Schumaker stopped painting at the age of 22, in 1965, when one of his paintings was deemed obscene and he was forced to remove it from a competition. Ten years ago he began painting again and while only recently begun exhibiting, has now shown locally, nationally, and internationally.

www.warddraw.com