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Special Reception for Families and Friends of St. Catherine's School

Quirk Gallery will host a special reception and artist talk with Main Gallery artist, Diego Sanchez on Thursday, May 4. Diego serves as the chair of the art department at St. Catherine's School and welcomes students, families, faculty, and friends of the school to join him for this event. Light refreshments will be served. 

"The genesis for this body of work started about five years ago. My friend, Cindy Neuschwander, encouraged me to take a risk with my work and remove the representational elements from my paintings. We often talked about our work and exchanged ideas about painting that challenged us as artists. Sadly, a year later, Cindy passed away. Two years after her death, her husband, Jay Barrows, generously gave me her painting supplies. This kind gesture and the memory of my dear friend were the catalysts for this exhibition. This body of work reflects the gradual change that has been taking place in my work for the past few years.

At this point in my career, my paintings deal directly with formal concerns. At the beginning of each painting, my approach is purely an intuitive endeavour. Gradually, as I build the surface, textures, patterns and colors, relationships begin to emerge as the development of space begins to appear in the picture plane. I love the nature and the plasticity of the medium and how malleable it is. Non-representational painting to me is an act of faith and trust. Not knowing where I might end up and being open to learn from mistakes and failures reminds me that I must pursure honesty in my work. I hope that the viewer is able to experience it while he or she stands in front of my paintings.

I would like to dedicate this exhibition to the memory and adventurous spirit of my dear friend, Cindy Neuschwander."
---Diego Sanchez

Diego Sanchez was born in Colombia South America. He moved to Richmond to attend VCU and received an MFA from the Painting and Printmaking Department. He has been teaching at a variety of institutions including VCU, VUU, VMFA, and The Visual Art Center of Richmond. He is currently the chair of the Art Department at St. Catherine’s School. He has shown his work throughout Virginia and the Mid Atlantic region, and he is the first recipient of the Theresa Pollack Artist of the Year Award. His work is in several collections including: The Anderson Gallery, Sidney and Frances Lewis, Bill and Pam Royall, Media General, First Market Bank, Capital One, Markel Corporation, Phillip Morris, Federal Reserve Bank, University of Richmond, and College of William and Mary.

Earlier Event: April 29
Smidge Trunk Show