Arboreal Show at the ADKINS ARBORETUM

NEWS RELEASE For more information,contact: Jodie Littleton Communications Consultant jlittleton@adkinsarboretum.org

(RIDGELY, MD—July 2, 2024) Arboreal, Twenty five oil paintings by Judith Peck, on View Through August 15 at Adkins Arboretum A slim woman lies tucked between the roots of a huge sycamore tree in Judith Peck’s haunting oil painting “Give Me Shelter.” Why she is there is a mystery, but a compelling story slowly unfolds in Peck’s exhibit, Arboreal, on view at Adkins Arboretum’s Visitor’s Center through August 15. There will be a reception to meet the artist on Sat., July 13 from 2 to 4 p.m. The woman appears in many of these paintings, but it’s actually the sycamore that is the central character. Peck has painted it in summer and winter, in sunlight and mist, during floods and when fire threatens. She visits it frequently at Riverbend Park on the Potomac River near her home in Great Falls, Va., and readily admits it has become something of an obsession. “Anyone who passes this tree on the main trail notices it immediately,” she said. “I feel this tree has elements that can represent many trees—the bark has varied textures and colors, the tree has old dying parts as well as young shoots, the roots are prominent and it is fun to paint. However, I am not painting about a tree, I am letting the trunk and roots stand as an allegory for the climate challenges we are facing.” An allegory is a story or narrative that can reveal larger meanings, and Peck is using the tree to explore both life’s vulnerabilities and its tenacity. Lovingly rendering its gnarled roots and trunk,the pinkish wounds left by impacts of debris when the river was in flood and new green leaves sprouting from slim shoots near its base, she captures the aliveness of the tree. You can practically feel the texture of its bark and smell the earthiness that surrounds it. As an allegorical realist who uses her considerable skill as a painter to convey the tree’s sturdy power and detail its colorful nuances, she evokes the rich symbolism of trees as representatives of strength, endurance, resilience and growth, all intimately connected with the natural cycles of life and death. The woman is always shown close to the tree, as if seeking refuge there. Her gestures and the twists of her body echo the shapes of the sycamore’s trunk and roots, but her face and positions tenderly disclose apprehension and distress, even as she seems to be drawing strength from the tree itself. “Artist models are employed to help me convey an idea or narrative,” Peck explained. “Often, I use the same model for a whole series. I feel this ties the ideas together and helps the narrative to flow. I’ve used this same method with my tree series. This tree is shown in drought and flood conditions, standing tall despite all that it has endured, with a model seeking its shelter, protection, food.” Not only a noteworthy painter whose work is exhibited frequently and included in collections internationally, Peck is a consummate storyteller, adept at capturing the subtleties in the woman’s face and gestures so that they speak volumes. Likewise, she conveys the tree as a strong, enduring persona that has persevered through all weathers and seasons. An allegory can be far more powerful than dry facts, and Peck’s paintings have a way of telling stories that get under your skin before you even realize their import. Although these paintings never make any overt statements, they convey a complex narrative about the relationship of humans and trees, compellingly bringing to mind the multiple threats imposed by looming climate change. “I see this tree as a microcosm of earth as well as a symbol of our lives,” Peck said. “Trees are said to be the lungs of our planet. Their importance cannot be underestimated. They are beautiful to look at and we need them.” This show is part of Adkins Arboretum’s ongoing exhibition series of work on natural themes by regional artists. It is on view through August 15 at the Arboretum Visitor’s Center located at 12610 Eveland Road near Tuckahoe State Park in Ridgely. Contact the Arboretum at 410-634-2847, ext. 100 or info@adkinsarboretum.org for gallery hours. A 400-acre native garden and preserve, Adkins Arboretum provides exceptional experiences in nature to promote environmental stewardship. * * * * * Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 100. Adkins Arboretum 12610 Eveland Road Ridgely, MD 21620 410.634.2847 adkinsarboretum.org info@adkinsarboretum.org

New Shows in 2024

Cataloged June 2- September 8th 2024 RECEPTION JUNE 9TH 3-5 pm 2024 3501 University Boulevard East Adelphi, MD 20783-8000 My painting won Best in Show!! “Coastal Communities” 40x30 inches in oil.

Tickets on sale now for the June 16th multimedia performance at the Kennedy Center featuring with my painting, Steeled (now in the Permanent Collection of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities). https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/vocal-choral-music/2023-2024/gay-mens-chorus-dc-portraits/ PORTRAITS PROJECT The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC (GMCW) will present an original commission titled PORTRAITS to be premiered on June 16, 2024 at the Kennedy Center, Washington, DC. PORTRAITS will represent through visual art, music, and dance, the spectrum of sexual, gender, racial, ethnic, and cultural identities. My painting, Steeled and eight other paintings selected from artists around the world will be used as projections as part of a live performance, brought to life aurally by music, and visually by GMCW’s 17th Street Dance ensemble.

ADKINS ARBORETUM SOLO SHOW July 2nd-August 15th 2024 Reception Saturday July 13th 2:00-4:00 pm 12610 Eveland Rd Ridgely, MD 21660 (410) 634-2847

DC Art Now

DC ART NOW! Reception Oct. 19 6-8 pm Sept 15- December 15, 2023 200 I (Eye) Street Galleries SE Washington, DC

People and Planet

PEOPLE AND THE PLANET Opening reception Saturday August 5th 4-7pm August 2 - August 27 2023 Touchstone Gallery 901 New York Ave. NW Washington, DC 20001

Panel Discussion Opening Reception

Please join me at the Washington County Museum of Fine Art opening reception and panel discussion for the Cumberland Valley Artists and Photographers Exhibition 2-4pm on February 11, 2023 Washington County Museum of Fine Arts 401 Museum Drive Hagerstown, MD

MASTERWORKS 33 Contemporary Gallery March 2023 Feature in American Art Collector Magazine-March 2023

ADKINS ARBORETUM JURIED 2023 Reception -March 11th 2-4pm March 1-April 29 2023 Adkins Arboretum Gallery 12610 Eveland Road Ridgely, MD 21660

Upcoming

 35th Annual McNeese National Works on Paper Exhibition

The exhibition will be on view March 24 - May 6, 2022 in the Grand Gallery, Shearman Fine Arts Annex, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA. An opening reception will be held on March 24th from 6 - 8pm, with a juror's talk and awards presentation at 7pm.

FINAL FRONTIER

Curated by Jan Anders Nelson

Catalogued-Hashtag Magazine

33 Contemporary Gallery

1029 W 35th St, Chicago, IL 60609

Feb. 12 - April 16th

https://www.artsy.net/show/33-contemporary-final-frontier?sort=partner_show_position

THE FRAME REMAINS THE SAME

Arcadia Contemporary Invitational

421 W Broadway, New York, NY 10012

New York, NY

Opens May 13th 2022

ADAH ROSE GALLERY

June 4th Opening reception

May 27th- June 30th 2022

3766 Howard Ave, Kensington, MD

Portraits Project

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC (GMCW) will present an original commission titled PORTRAITS to be premiered in June 2024.  

PORTRAITS will represent through visual art, music, and dance, the spectrum of sexual, gender, racial, ethnic, and cultural identities. My painting, Steeled and eight other paintings selected from artists around the world will be used as projections as part of a live performance, brought to life aurally by music, and visually by GMCW’s 17th Street Dance ensemble to be presented in June 2024.

https://www.gmcw.org/portraits-project/

“My painting ‘Steeled’ is about the isolation you feel while being cast as the other. My model and I had a conversation about some specific incidents in our lives that made us feel that when it happened again, next time we would be more prepared, steel ourselves to the situation. The overall grayness of the palette, the turbulent sky, the jagged rock outcropping as well as the cocoon-like pose wrapped up in a shawl are intended to contribute to this feeling. I feel that the broken shards embedded in the gesso layer work to assist the idea of a broken trust in a broken world but the figure representing humanity has the ability to bring those pieces together.  My idea to make this work as diptych was to have the landscape contained in one painting and the figure in another, kind of boxing the figure in and opening it up to a landscape as well.”

 

QUEST FOR THE MODERN FIGURE 2021 

Exhibition Dates: November 5th to December 31st, 2021

           Jury panel: Jim and Jennifer Seale, Samuel Peralta, Steven Assael, and Gina Ward.

                                      Curated by Sergio Gomez and Didi Menendez

                                     Artist’s Reception: November 19th from 6-9 pm

                                                33 Contemporary Gallery
                                                    1029 W. 35th Street
                                                      Chicago, IL 60609

https://www.artsy.net/show/33-contemporary-quest-for-the-modern-figure?sort=partner_show_position

                                                     DC Art Now

 

          Closes Dec. 10th 2021

Commission on the Arts and Humanities

Government of the District of Columbia

200 I (Eye) Street SE

          Washington, DC. 

ARTIST SUNDAY

Nov 28th, 2021

Free shipping from my studio to your home includes all available work.

CELEBRATE ART

MVA Gallery

Dec 10-Jan 16th 2022

35 E. Elizabeth Ave

Bethlehem, PA 18018

MONUMENTAL 2021

Dec. 1- Jan 31 2022

www.sergiogomezcurates.net

Art on Paper New York Art Fair

Sept. 9-12 2021

https://thepaperfair.com/ny

                                        Inside Outside Upside Down

                                       State Collapse    20x16 inches   Oil on panel

This juried invitational celebrates dynamic work across media by 64 artists of the greater DC region, Inside Outside, Upside Down makes vivid the turmoil, strength, and resiliency of the human spirit in the face of the past year’s global covid-19 pandemic and social upheaval.

My personal artist statement for this piece:

"When the virus came here, it found a country with serious underlying conditions, and it exploited them ruthlessly. Chronic ills—a corrupt political class, a sclerotic bureaucracy, a heartless economy, a divided and distracted public—had gone untreated for years," wrote George Packer for The Atlantic in June of last year. The outbreak of COVID-19 revealed an emperor with no clothes in the United States: a nation whose response to a devastating crisis was more akin to that of a failed state than a superpower. The subject of State Collapse, with heavy-lidded eyes and body curled, is as if rendered immobile beneath the weight of this failure, buried by the helplessness and isolation so many Americans felt throughout the pandemic.

JULY 17-SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

The Phillips Collection
1600 21st Street, NW 
Washington, DC

MASTER COPIES/INTERPRETATIONS

Rogier van der Weyden, 1399 or 1400 – 1464
Crucifixion Diptych, c. 1460, oil on oak panels. Philadelphia Museum of Art

Dream It Can Be Oil on panel 24x30

July 17th -August 15th

The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences

120 Long Beach Blvd.,

Loveladies, NJ 08008

TFAA Regional Painting Competition 2021

July 23-August 22

Opening Reception July 29th 6:30-8:30pm

Torpedo Factory Artists @ Mosaic

105 District Ave.

Fairfax, VA

The Golden Mean - oil and gold leaf on paper

ART ON PAPER NEW YORK

With Alida Anderson Art Projects -Booth E23

September 9th-12th, 2021

Pier 36, Downtown Manhattan
299 South Street
New York, 10002

Three Upcoming Shows

Celebrating 100 Years of Women Artists

July 21- Sept 6 2020

Groh Gallery

Museum of Fine Arts Washington County

401 Museum Drive

Hagerstown, MD

Real People 2020 Sept. 3rd-Oct 31st     The Old Court House         Woodstock, IL 

And 


Cincinnati Art Club's Viewpoint 52  Sept 11-Sept 24 

Art Design Consultants Cincinnati, OH

Solo Museum Show

One Person Show

June 26-August 2nd 2020

Garrett Museum of Art

100 S. Randolph Street

Garrett, IN

Art on Paper NY

Please join me at the

Art on Paper Fair NY 2020

Alida Anderson Art Projects

Booth E23

March 5-8

Pier 36 Downtown Manhattan

299 South Street, New York, NY 10002

https://www.judithpeck.net
https://thepaperfair.com/ny

Upcoming Exhibits

2013-Solo Show        

CW GALLERY 65   

1374 Chain Bridge RoadMcLean VA 22101
703-356-6345
http://cwgallery65.com

Cover and feature Article in Elan Magazine- December issue 2013
http://www.elanmagazine.com













Galeria Obra-Alegria
301 Calle de la Cruz , Old San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901
Telephone: (787) 723-3206 
Hours
Tuesday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Interpretive, The Portrait Today-November 2013
Galeria Obra Alegria- San Juan, Puerto Rico

Aqua 13 Art Miami

at the Aqua Hotel

with Mayer Fine Art

1530 Collins Avenue

Miami Beach, FL 33139                      

http://www.aquaartmiami.com
Dec. 4th-8th, 2013

Art critic Brian Sherwin (Editor of The Art Edge) selects artwork that has been featured on the FASO Daily Art Show http://faso.com/fineartviews/68634/staff-picks-from-the-faso-daily-art-show-

Old Town Crier- Gallery Beat 
Written by: F. Lennox Campello
http://oldtowncrier.com/2013/12/02/gallery-beat-december-2013/

Paintings featured in Theater J's production "The Argument"

http://washingtondcjcc.org/center-for-arts/theater-j/on-stage/13-14-season/the-argument/

Read the latest issue of Poets/Artists Magazine on-line:

Featuring my painting, "Blue Monday" in collaboration with the poets, Sam Rasnake and Robert Lee Brewer.

http://www.poetsandartists.com/blog/2013/10/19/d1jy28seegv06jk8yj028t45ecea2d

Artisan Series


October 12 - October 26, 2013

International Visions GAllery

629 CONNECTICUT AVE. N.W.

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20008

E-MAIL: Intvisionsgallery@gmail.com

4th Annual Juried Show
Florida Museum for Women ArtistsJuly 20, 2013-Sept 28, 2013
Opening Reception 
Friday July 19
5:30-8:00 pm
100 N. Woodland Blvd.
DeLand, FL 32720
386.873.2976


(e)merge Art Fair
with Alida Anderson Art Projects
Capitol Skyline Hotel
10 “I” Street,SW                                        
Washington D.C., DC 20024

http://www.emergeartfair.com

Featured interview in Catapult Magazine    
Issue 24
http://catapult-mag.com/?page_id=1426



Metro Montage XIII
Marietta/ Cobb Museum of Art
July 20- September 17, 2013
Friday, July 19- Open Reception 5:30-8:00 p.m.
Saturday Sept.28 Artist Talk 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
September 28, 2013 show closes at 5:00 p.m.
30 Atlanta Street SE
Marietta, GA 30060