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Judit Varga and Gregory Ferrand at Hillyer Art Space

March 8, 2009

Hillyer Art Space, a newish addition to the DC scene, is a project of International Arts and Artists. That sounds like some remote multinational mega-enterprise, but is a much more user-friendly non-profit. Located in the alley between the Phillips Collection and the Cosmos Club, Hillyer programs two series of exhibitions, alternating international with regional artists. The local programming is guided by a group of artists and curators who form its Artists Advisory Committee.

Gregory Ferrand

It's Hereditary, My Dear

Currently showing are Judit Varga and Gregory Ferrand. While this is apparently his first solo show, Ferrand’s paintings and drawing will be familiar to locals; he has been part of many group shows, including Artomatic, and his work is generally memorable. It’s cartoony, often noir, maybe a little twisted, usually telling a nasty/funny story. I find the black and white drawings, technically consummate, most compelling. The paintings are almost an overload of lurid.

Judit Varga

more Varga

Judit Varga’s sculptural clay pieces make good use of one of the most engaging aspects of the medium, that it is literally the most earthy of materials yet able to assume virtually any shape and color and to mimic any other material. Varga exploits this malleability quite intentionally, as she says she is “deliberately creating visual misinterpretation” to mimic the difficulty in communicating in spoken language between two cultures; her native Hungarian and the America to which she came as a adult. I love this work. It’s heavy and light at the same time, earthbound and ready to go.

Note to Hillyer: It would be terrific for you to use your ties to artists in other parts of the world to foster some more true collaboration with local artists.

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