Andrea Way: A Delicate Crossing

Brian Gross Fine Art is pleased to announce A Delicate Crossing, an exhibition of new works on paper by Washington, D.C. artist Andrea Way, opening Saturday March 3, with a reception for the artist from 4-6pm. On view will be ten mixed media drawings exploring image making through layers of systematic patterning. By accumulating overlays of abstract networks, Way creates intricate arrangements that perfectly balance structure and beauty. A Delicate Crossing will be on view with April 28, 2018.

A continuation of her rule-based drawings of interconnected marks and configurations, Way’s latest works explore looser systems of patterning while returning to the use of rich colors to illuminate her work. In opening up her patterns, Way allows more organic forms to enter her compositions in such works as Coney Island Skies, A Delicate Crossing, Heart Strings, and Secret Seeding. In other works, Way expands on the linear patterning of previous series by mining further complexities from geometries and grids. In several works, Way has also added glass beads to the surface of the drawings, imbuing them with added texture and radiance.

Way begins each drawing with a distinct pattern and lets the boundaries of the paper determine the direction of her lines. As the layers accumulate, they both reveal and sometimes conceal the record of her activity. Her intricate mosaic-like fields, small circles, and subtle contours recall labyrinthine paths and cellular arrangements. Inspired by the natural world, Ways drawings exemplify a balance between methodical precision and spontaneous fortuity.

Andrea Way received her B.A. from Indiana University, Bloomington, in 1971. Way has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States. In 2012, her mid career retrospective Andrea Way: Retrospective 1982–2012 was held at American University Museum in the Katzen Arts Center in Washington D.C.

Andrea Way’s work can be found in the public collections of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Achenbach Foundation, Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, CA; Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.; and the Library of Congress, Washington D.C., among others. This is Andrea Way’s fifth solo exhibition at Brian Gross Fine Art.