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Local artist Mary Chiaramonte was raised the old fashioned way in
Harmony, WV, a remote town of no more than 100 residents.
Growing up there in the early 1980s, Mary and her siblings had
no TV. Her family lived off of, and worked on, the land. The
children were encouraged to entertain themselves with objects in
nature, thereby turning twigs into toys. As a result, Mary was
left with the workings of her imagination and her observations
of the world around her, which she translated into paintings and
drawings.
For as long as she can remember, Mary has been interested in
knowing about other people and the lives they lead. "There are
stories unfolding around me all the time," she explains,
"whether my own stories or those of people I come across. I feel
compelled to document those stories. If I can do that, I feel
like I have done something worthwhile; if I cannot, then perhaps
it just another moment lost to time."
Mary’s paintings are personal. They reflect both the emotions of
the persons she paints and the emotions she brings to the story.
Mary’s purpose in painting is to make the connection between the
viewer’s life experiences and those that she has sought to
capture. The stories she tells are purposely vague. Her cropped
figures and dark palette create an air of mystery that invites
interpretation. At first, her paintings often seem foreboding.
Take time with them, and you will begin to see the more positive
messages that she brings to them: hope, strength, affirmation.
In 2001, Mary became fascinated with an old photograph of artist
Camille Claudel. She committed herself to recreating that image
every day for a year. She did not stop at 365 but continued to a
thousand, using more than 50 different media. Currently Mary is
working on a collaborative project with Jessie Mann, both the
subject and the daughter of the celebrated photographer Sally
Mann. She is producing an ongoing series of portraits of Jessie
created from photographs she takes of her subject.
Mary has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions on
the east coast, and her work has caught the attention of many
local and national publications including New Art International.
In the Spring of 2007, she participated in Nevin Kelly Gallery’s
successful "Women’s Work" exhibition, a group showing of 5 young
women artists working in the Washington, DC area. That summer,
the gallery featured a solo exhibition of Mary’s work entitled
"Murmur," a series of 11 works showing the struggle to "overcome
life’s difficulties and limitations using the image of
individual attempts to escape from a box."
Mary resides in New Market, VA. In addition to Nevin Kelly
Gallery, she is represented by White Canvas Gallery in Richmond,
VA.
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| Jessie Mann VII (2006) |
19 x 11
mixed media |
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| Kings Evil (2007) |
22 x 17.5
mixed media |
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| Living Actors That
Play Dead (2007) |
SOLD |
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Lounge
(2007) |
14 x 18
mixed media |
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Sandman
(2008) |
20 x 15
mixed media |
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Two of Us
(2007) |
24 x 18
mixed media |
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Desert Floor
(2007) |
20 x 15
mixed media |
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