Arts

Baker Gallery

Nina Ozbey
Paintings and Drawings 
On display in the Baker Gallery of the Walker Fine Arts Center
May 1 - June 6, 2021
 
Nina Ozbey is originally from Oklahoma City. She graduated from Oklahoma State University with a teaching degree, and later received a master’s degree in education from the University of Virginia. She currently lives in Earlysville, VA.
 
When she started making art, she was a representational painter working in watercolor. However, she was drawn to a more expressionistic and abstract style. As she recounts, "By letting go of subject matter and switching to oil, the process of painting became more enjoyable. I take pleasure in making marks. These marks create spatial relationships by virtue of their color, weight, texture, and value. My work is intuitive; beginning with one stroke of the brush, leading to another and another and another. I want the opportunity to explore where the painting takes me rather than where I take the painting. As I paint, I think about the composition of the piece and how each mark relates to and energizes the others."
 
She also has found success using the mediums of pastel, charcoal and graphite. Pastel allows her to proceed in much the way the oil does with respect to color; however, in charcoal and graphite the absence of color and the interplay of black, white, and gray presents its own unique challenges. 
 
These works are available for purchase - prices are on the labels. To inquire: email: elena_kritter@woodberry.org  -or -  nozbey@embarqmail.com




Close to Home created by the Firnew Farm Artists' Circle

Paintings and Sculpture by John and Lena Murray 

Paintings and Sculpture by John and Lena Murray   
January 26 - March 5, 2021
 
Baker Gallery, Walker Fine Arts Center, Woodberry Forest School

John Murray studied painting and sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Upon graduation, he worked in the Bureau of Printing and Engraving as a banknote designer. His painting of Abraham Lincoln can be seen engraved on the five-dollar bill. After sixteen years at this government agency, he decided to pursue art full-time. In addition to painting and sculpting, he taught at the Corcoran College of Art + Design, and worked on many restoration projects of historic landmarks in the DC area. 
 
Lena Murray grew up in Russia. Although interested in art as a child growing up in St. Petersburg, she pursued other interests. She came to the United States in 1989 as a student just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. She received a full scholarship to study political science and finance at the University of Colorado - Boulder. Upon graduation, she went on to earn an MBA at Johns Hopkins University. While working briefly in the business sector in New York City, she decided to make a career change and pursue fine arts. She began her studies in sculpture and painting under several noted Russian artists who passed along their many years of training in the arts and a passion for artistic creation. 
 
Lena met John in Alexandria, VA at a solo exhibition of his work. They were married in 2000. Pooling their talents and years of training, as well as their passion for painting and sculpture, they opened their own school in New York in 2001, the Bridgeview School of Fine Arts. They expanded the curriculum to include Art Camp France, providing many children and their parents the opportunity to tour and paint in France. The Bridgeview School is currently open and continues to thrive. The Covid-19 pandemic has temporarily paused Art Camp France, but it will resume when conditions for travel become more favorable. John and Lena began to travel in search of an area rich in history and natural beauty. Discovering Orange County, the couple found the ideal place, and moved to a house in the town of Orange this past November. Since arriving, they have conducted landscape painting classes and plan to open an art gallery in their home. 
 
The exhibition features paintings by both John and Lena Murray, presenting a range of subjects including landscape, still-life, figure studies, and portraiture, as well as several works of ceramic figurative sculpture. Due to current restrictions necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the gallery is not open to off-campus visitors. Although it is not possible at this time to visit physically, we share this virtual exhibition for your enjoyment.

To learn more about the artists and see more art, visit their websites art: www.johnfrancismurray.com and lenamurray.com. The works are available for purchase. For more information, please contact John and Lena Murray at lenak@lenak.digitalspacemail8.net.
 
 
Woodberry Forest, VA 22989
Phone: 540-672-3900
Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.