Paintings by Michael Beckner
Exhibit runs April 5-June 4
Opening Reception April 16, 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Enterprise Hall, First Floor Gallery
44983 Knoll Square
Ashburn, VA 20147
Michael Beckner Biography
Bridges, roads, buildings, overpasses, and construction sites are Michael Beckner’s favorite subjects – all of which are a far cry from the lush country landscapes that usually depict Loudoun County. “We live in a concrete age and these are our landscapes,” he says.
Beckner paints in a loose, abstract style using minimal color and line. He works on several paintings at once with one painting, he says, leading to the next. “It’s not an intellectual thing,” he states, but those who view his work beg to differ.
For Michael, painting is a process. It begins when he drives by a scene that beckons his attention. “I’m always looking – at the light, at how the road goes, at the feeling it evokes.” Then, using a limited color palette of grays, blues, and highlights, he recreates bridges, trucks, overpasses, ships – large, powerful objects that shadow our everyday lives.
The artist earned his art degree from Berea College in Kentucky and taught art in Henry County, VA, elementary schools. He later attended Virginia Commonwealth University to pursue graduate studies in painting. Today, he is a Patient Advocate at Inova Loudoun Hospital Center and paints in his home studio in Leesburg.
The Regional Artist Series exhibit is a partnership with Gallery 222/Loudoun Academy of the Arts and The George Washington University Virginia Science and Technology Campus. For further information about the artist or his work, contact Gallery 222 at 703-777-5498.