FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 12/26/08

Morgan Arts Council • Berkeley Springs, WV
Press Contact only: Anne Larsen -- 304-258-6006

ARTWALK LAUNCHES COLLABORATIVE GALLERY SHOW AT ICE HOUSE

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV ---- Celebrating collaboration between artists,
the gallery exhibit, "Duets," opens at the Ice House on Friday, January
16 at 7:30pm. The gala opening is preceded by an Artwalk with a
reception at Mountain Laurel Gallery beginning at 5pm. Curated by
metalsmith, Anne Larsen, and produced by the Morgan Arts Council (MAC),
the show is displayed through March 1.

Mountain Laurel Gallery, located at the corner of the downtown square,
is a nationally recognized shop which showcases two floors and five
rooms of fine American arts and crafts.

For "Duets," Larsen sought out work created by more than one artist.
"Working alone limits an artist to the skills they possess
themselves," she says. "This show celebrates how artists with
complementary skills can overcome this limitation."

More than two dozen artists are involved in the show including several
from the area. The collaborators range from sisters, spouses and a
mother and son to business partners and independent professional
colleagues. In some cases two people produce all the output of their
studio together; in other cases, the collaborations produce a single
piece of work. Sometimes the skills are interchangeable; other times
the skills combined are dramatically different.

The end product of Ileana-Olympia Andruchovici and her son, Alex
Stanciu is wearable art. Illeana-Olympia designs and makes elegant
garments and accessories from fabrics ornamented by her son, who
digitally manipulates images and then transfers them full scale onto
lengths of fabric so the entire garment is covered in a seamless,
full-color image. Michael Banner is famous for his tea services, and
his wife Maureen is renown for her jewelry and enameling. The pair of
silversmiths contribute their respective skills to shared work while
also creating their individual pieces.

The show exhibits work in a wide range of media, including the first
exhibition of calligraphy on stone to be displayed at the Ice House.
The elegant work is created by Tracy Mahaffey and Adam Heller, business
partners who own Samaritan Carvers, Inc. in Foster, RI. Other media
range from exquisite wooden boxes and rugs to jewelry, enamels and
knives. A trio of artists collaborated on a door commissioned for a
home in Middleburg, VA. Chris Mann did the woodwork, Beverly Kipphan,
the stained glass and Glen Horr the hardware. Larsen's work in the
show combines her silversmithing and enameling techniques with the
die-making expertise of Taos, NM master goldsmith G. Phil Poirier. She
also created a jeweled closure for a silk scarf woven by Kim Potter.

In addition to the art work, each display includes images and text
about the nature of that particular collaboration, and often about the
unusual processes used. There is also a display with an historical
perspective on famous collaborative studios such as Faberge, Tiffany,
and Roycroft.

Funding for special exhibit gallery shows at the Ice House is provided
by the National Endowment for the Arts, West Virginia Commission on the
Arts and hotel/motel tax revenues from Morgan County and Bath.

The Ice House is located on Independence and Mercer in downtown
Berkeley Springs. Gallery hours for seeing the show are Saturdays and
Sundays from 11am to 5pm. For more information on the Morgan Arts
Council, call 304-258-2300 or check online at www.berkeleysprings.com