McCollum
Past and Future
A Year of Color
ARTWORKS BY ASHA COLQUITT McCOLLUM
February 15, 2015 from 3:00pm - 5:00 p.m
Art Matters Gallery, the exhibition project of Art Works Now, is hosting the opening reception of Asha Colquitt McCollum’s art exhibit “A Year of Color.” February 15th through March 15th, gallery hours 9:30am - 5:30pm. McCollum’s paintings and mixed media pieces range from pure abstract explorations of color and texture, to landscape and narrative work.
A Hyattsville resident, 24 year old Asha has a radiant smile and an affinity for glitter, nail polish and the color pink. When you meet her you wouldn’t know she also struggles with a medical condition called Sturge Weber Syndrome type 3, a rare neurological disorder. She has seizures that are sometimes quite serious, and have caused some residual weakness on the right side of her body. Luckily she’s a lefty and doesn’t let her condition get in the way of her creativity. “Art makes me not think about the pain that I go through.” She uses art as a way to keep herself well, to use all parts of her brain, and to stretch her physical abilities. In fact, she remembers “one time I got sick right after painting these sky paintings. When I could talk again, I asked my mom for my paintings so I could test my sense of touch.”
Asha has been attending Art Works Now for a year and a half, but she is a lifelong artist. One of her first memories of making art was when she was 7 years old going to the east wing of the National Gallery of Art and being transfixed by the huge Calder mobile in the lobby. She sat down in the middle of the floor and drew it. “I was thinking "wow, I want that!" Asha’s art is intuitive, spontaneous – she doesn’t plan ahead of time, but thinks as she goes. And the color often reflects her mood: “Purple and yellow are passionate and happy. Blue, I felt calm. Green, I felt a rush of energy.” In fact, an infectious energy is something Asha and her paintings radiate.
The public will have an opportunity to meet McCollum at the opening reception on February 15th from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at Art Matters Gallery located at 3711 Rhode Island Avenue, Mt. Rainier, MD 20712.
JULIANA MOLINAFEBRUARY 1, 2015
