Donna K. McGee opens Room For Blue at Foundry - Nov 2
Bethesda-based artist, Donna K. McGee, will exhibit a collection of her abstract works at Foundry Gallery in Dupont Circle through December 2. The show begins on October 31; an opening reception will be held on Friday, November 2 from 6 until 8 pm and a closing reception will be on December 2 from 2 until 4 pm.Â
While most of McGee’s art is created using acrylic on canvas (she manipulates a pumice to create texture in these paintings), some of her pieces are mixed media. One in particular, titled “Shedding Anew,” incorporates snakeskin, rice paper and bronze paint.
“I have been more involved in the texture and the combination of how the light eliminates the total piece,” said McGee when describing the piece. “The gold and bronze is eloquent, yet the snake skin is very organic and symbolizes a process of shedding.”
However, most of the pieces in the show at Foundry focus on the color blue, which McGee uses as an organic influence.
 “Most of my first abstract paintings were all earth colors,” said McGee, who will exhibit a mix smaller pieces and large wall pieces at Foundry. “I still like the earth colors, but I'm working on a blue palette and keep finding new ways to be drawn to it.
McGee explains how the use of color, and especially blue, is especially significant as we are on the brink of the Presidential election.
“Blue is so much in nature, yet it also evokes other types of symbolism,” said McGee, while explaining how colors are used as markers for identity.
McGee, who has been a full-time artist for fifteen years, became interested in art at an early age. But instead of pursuing an art degree in college, McGee chose to study Early Childhood Education.
When she went on to teach, most of the courses McGee instructed were connected to the arts and creativity. McGee even went on to author “The Whole Collage,” an art book for aesthetic education and “Creativity and the Child: Training Modules For Teachers.”
McGee, who is inspired by nature and artists such as Rothko, Monet, Matasse and Turner, describes her work as “meditative” and “engaging to the viewer.”  She is actively involved in OUTLOUD, a collective of DC-based abstract artists, and she continues to study at the Yellow Barn of Glen Echo.
The Foundry Gallery is located at 1314 18th Street NW. Those wishing to contact the artist can do so at [email protected].
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