Sean Scully, 8.27.93, 1993, watercolor on paper, 15" x 17-1/2". Collection of Luther W. Brady, M.D.
Sean Scully: Works on Paper
April 19 - June 24, 2011
Image © Sean Scully and courtesy of the artist.
Outspoken and erudite New York-based, internationally-known artist Sean Scully will display works on paper culled from the artist's own collection. Many of these works on paper will be shown
publicly for the first time in the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery. Twenty-seven works, spanning the years 1976-2008, in watercolor, drawing, and pastel convey the same structural composition and
mastery of color as his larger paintings, for which he is best known. A brochure with an essay written by Stephen B. Phillips (MA '92), Fine Arts Program Director at the Federal Reserve Board,
will accompany the exhibit. Scully spends part of the year in Barcelona, Spain and in Mooseurach, Germany, where he teaches and maintains a studio and home. His "Wall of Light" series, which
was exhibited at the Phillips Collection in 2005, conveyed a desire to dissolve a faŤade with a sense of spirit or emotion; Light representing a spiritual and emotional dialogue with painting.
The misty landscapes of his German rural retreat also affect the mood of more recent work.
Scully was born in Dublin and educated at Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Harvard University, Cambridge. He has had major solo exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; the Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; Whitechapel Art Gallery, London; and Galerie nationale de Jeu de Paume, Paris.
His works can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Walker Art Center,
Minneapolis; the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; the Tate, London among others. Scully has been the recipient of numerous honors, including fellowships from the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
and the National Endowment of the Arts, and honorary Doctorates from the National University of Ireland and the Massachusetts College of Art.
Works by Magda Watts and Malcah Zeldis
January 12 - February 25, 2011
L: Magda Watts, Dollmaker, c. 2000, mixed media. Courtesy of Deborah Vanderveer.
R: Malcah Zeldis, My Zeyda's Shul, 1984, oil on board. Courtesy of the artist
The Luther W. Brady Art Gallery is pleased to present the work of these two artists. Magda Watts, an Israeli doll maker, survived the Holocaust by making and trading dolls, made from scraps of
fabric, for food. Ms. Watt's character dolls have been shown in the Palace Doll Museum, Eliat, Israel and collected in Nuremberg, Germany. Malcah Zeldis is a renowned folk artist, Her paintings are
included in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Luce Center and the American Folk Art Museum in New York. A new work, created specifically for this exhibition by Ms. Zeldis,
featuring the university's namesake George Washington, will be on display for the first time.
Many of the works in this exhibition feature vignettes of Jewish life, including denizens of the shtetl (village) life, the Seder meal, the Synagogue and vintage New York scenes. Both Ms. Watts
and Ms. Zeldis have lived or currently live in Israel, and despite the hardships in their lives, have derived personal redemption through their artwork. Ms. Zeldis has described how she almost loses
herself in the work when she is painting, forgetting the time.
South Africa Kicks
November 17 - December 17, 2010
L: Ryder Haske, Cricket Stadium Fan Park, 2010, inkjet print, 23" x 36".
R: Ryder Haske, Auto Worker, Downtown Johannesburg, 2010,
inkjet print, 23" x 36".
Both courtesy of the artist
South Africa Kicks presents photographs and video documenting travels within South Africa during the recent FIFA World Cup. Ryder Haske, Gabriel Seder and Tyler C. Perry chronicled stories of
fellow travelers and locals from across South Africa, the first African country to host the World Cup. From Johannesburg to Cape Town to Durban, their captured material and written testimony weave a vivid perspective on the largest
soccer tournament in the world.
Fusing the cultural abundance of travel with the jubilation of soccer, South Africa Kicks presents the journey of three adventurers during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Selected photographs, video segments and writings illustrate their
With strong ties to both Washington, D.C. and to GW, the South Africa Kicks crew holds a diverse professional profile including videography, text and international affairs. The Luther W. Brady Gallery will showcase these
photographs and video features, along with writing about the project. Dr. Brady (B.A. '46, M.D. '48) provided partial financial support for the students' travels.
September 16 - October 29, 2010
L: John Safer, Sophisticated Lady II, 2003, polished bronze on Lucite base, 20" x 12" x 12".
R: John Safer, Dancer and the Dance, 1993,
polished bronze on white travertine base, 15" x 12" x 12".
Both courtesy of the artist
"The works of John Safer are an excellent symbol of the best that our nation can offer. They have balance, grace, strength and craftsmanship. The form is simple, the message profound."
- Henry E. Catto, U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain.
John Safer's public works today stand in over one thousand private collections and public sites and are exhibited in museums, galleries and embassies throughout the world. The Luther W. Brady Art Gallery will
be exhibiting twenty-one works by this celebrated sculptor and alumnus. John Safer (CSAS '47) received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from The George Washington University in 2009.
Mr. Safer's works on the GW campus are Limits of Infinity III, 1979; Golden Quill, 1996; and Null Space, 1979, installed at the F Street House on July 29, 2010. Also on view in the Gallery is a smaller version
of Ascent, a 75-foot high work that has been described as one of the great public sculptures of our time. The piece stands at the entrance of the Smithsonian Institution's Udvar-Hazy Center of the National
Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport.
Works in Lucite, bronze, and steel span Safer's career and will include early geometric works such as Cube on Cube, 1969 and lyrical forms that evoke the movements of athletes and dancers such as Serve,
1989 and Dancer and the Dance, 1993. Another side of Safer's work is shown in the works that have been commissioned to serve as awards such as Bird of Peace, 1989, created for the National Peace Foundation or
Symbol of Courage, 1986, given by the Georgetown University's Lombardi Cancer Center to a person who has faced cancer and who possesses the qualities of courage, dependability, discipline and honor; Lance Armstrong,
Scott Hamilton and Jack Pardee are all recipients.
Mr. Safer's sculptures will be shown with selected installation images of his public works and documentary photographs showing the creation and installation of a major public work,