Prada Gallery is the newest space for Contemporary
and local artists in Washington, D.C.
ORIGIN AND THE LANDSCAPE
"Origin and the Landscape" - a solo exhibition of drawings and silkscreen monoprints by the celebrated Washington, DC-based artist, master printmaker and poet Lou Stovall - opens at Prada Gallery on January 3 rd . The exhibit runs through February 28 th .
" Origin and the Landscape is a collection of work that embodies the art of a master printmaker as well as one's love and appreciation of nature. The beauty of flowers and the serenity of fields are achieved through the artist's use of abstract colors. Colors layered over one another help to create the sense of the wind blowing through an open field, or a stream flowing over the countryside. His pencil drawings showcase Lou's skill as an artist. The flow, the shape, the direction, and the gradation of each of his lines all create a work of art that can only be described as beautiful and masterful. Eric Key, The Kansas African American Museum."
Stovall's duality is a constant factor in the creation of his artwork, a perfect correlation between mind and soul. The artist explains it when he says "Whether through the idea of composition or color, the nature of my thinking leads me to make an image that is simultaneously pleasing to the eye and an image that carries a serious moral, social and emotional message... The themes of my prints and drawings are usually closely related to literature and social causes that hope to improve our quality of life."
Lou Stovall was born in Athens, Georgia in 1937 and grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and at Howard University (B.F.A.). Since 1962, he has lived and worked in Washington, DC. His drawings and silkscreen prints have brought him grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Stern Family Fund, as well as numerous other awards and accolades.
His recognition as a master printmaker has earned him commissions to print works of art for such noted artists as Josef Albers, Peter Blume, Alexander Calder, Elizabeth Catlett, Gene Davis, David Driskell, Sam Gilliam, Lois Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Robert Mangold, Mathieu Mategot, A. Brockie Stevenson and James L. Wells.
Among his special commissions, he designed the Independence Day invitation for the White House in 1982 at the request of Mrs. Ronald Reagan. In 1986, at the request of Mayor Marion Barry, he made the print American Beauty Rose for the Washington, DC Are Host Committee 1988 Democratic National Convention. In 1996 he designed and made the print Breathing Hope to honor Howard University's incoming president H. Patrick Swygert.
Stovall's own prints and drawings are part of numerous public and private collections throughout the world. Though his craft is that of a master printmaker, Stovall's passion for art extends beyond a single medium. He gives the same care and attention to his framing and furniture construction as he does to his two-hundred-color prints and intricate drawings.
The hub of Stovall's creative energies is Workshop, Inc., his studio founded in 1968. Through Workshop, he has made a unique effort to build a community of artists in Washington, DC and to encourage, by his own example, service in the community.
Prada Gallery is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 am - 6:00pm , and Mondays by appointment only. It is located in the heart of Georgetown in Washington DC, at 1030 Wisconsin Ave., NW .