Nora Harrington: PRESENCE OF PLACEPaintings from The Farm at Sunnyside

Artist Nora Harrington

R. H. Ballard Gallery will be exhibiting new work by artist Nora Harrington, Presence of Place:Paintings from the Farm at Sunnyside, from October 20 – November 11, at 307 Main St. Washington, VA.  An opening reception, which features a gallery talk and live music, will be held from 4:30 – 7:00pm on Saturday, October 20^th.

As part of this special opening event, Nora Harrington and Nick Lapham will speak briefly about The Farm at Sunnyside, it's mission and how this exhibition of paintings, created at The Farm, relates to this mission. Live music with Lorraine Duisit will also be provided, and award-winning wine from Rappahannock Cellars will be served along with light fair from our new cafe in town, Tula's Off Main.

Nora Harrington was born in London, England in 1974. She graduated from an arts high school, Suitland Center for the Arts, and received a BFA with honors from the Cooper Union School of Art in New York City. While in New York, Harrington taught painting to high school students and worked at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 1998, led by her passion for painting outdoors, Harrington moved to rural Rappahannock County, Virginia. She resides in a restored cabin on the Farm at Sunnyside as an Artist in Residence, along with her husband and son. Her paintings are in private and corporate collections throughout the United States and in Germany, England, Spain, and Italy.

Nora says about this group of paintings: “I share with The Farm at Sunnyside a deep reverence for the natural world and a desire to find and create balance in our environment. As an artist I intuitively seek balance for aesthetic reasons- between man made and natural forms; between individual elements and their larger context; between what is evanescent and what is enduring. The Farm at Sunnyside is working with issues of balance in the landscapes they create as well; it is the fulcrum of their work within the worlds of agriculture and conservation...

The title of this body of paintings 'Presence of Place: Paintings from the Farm at Sunnyside' also plays on the phrase “presence of mind” because the landscapes on the farm both come from, and foster, an amplified awareness of these places. Paintings are monuments to what we admire and value as a society. I proffer that the places I have painted in this series should be honored for the character and sense of balance they exemplify.”

This exhibition is our second in our series of three Virginia Artist's this Fall. For more information visit the www.rhballard.com or call 540 675-1411.

Here are few of Nora's beautiful new paintings from her upcoming show. You can also visit her website: www.noraharrington.com

Pond-Side Plants, Summer Evening, oil on canvas, 12x16

Goldenrod, oil on canvas, 12x16

Harris Hollow Loop from Skyline Drive, Summer Morning, oil on canvas, 12x24

Orchard View, oil on panel, 12x24

The Peak and Harris Hollow from Skyline Drive, Early Spring, oil on canvas, 12x16