What happens when you bring together a yearning at RCWMS to showcase someone’s art, a gorgeous venue, and the idea that a day should be designated to celebrating women in the arts? “Masks & Mirrors,” that’s what. “Masks & Mirrors: Works By Mary Jane Rivers & Friends,” which opened on March 15 at Cassilhaus, a home and gallery between Durham and Chapel Hill, NC, is sponsored by RCWMS and Cassilhaus.
Mary Jane’s abstract forms reflect a vibrant conversation between the conscious and unconscious. Her paintings portray the dialogue between the masks we present to the world and the vulnerabilities that peek out from behind those masks. Her works are mirrors of an interior landscape. This exhibition features a selection of her work, along with paintings by Marcy Litle and wildlife sculptures by environmental artist, Bryant Holsenbeck.
During the planning stages, and inspired by the model of SWAN (Support Women Artists Now), scheduled each year in March, Mary Jane determined that this celebration of her work should also showcase the work of local artists in other media. To include more friends, as it were. This decision blossomed into a series of associated events, including a rousing concert featuring Randa McNamara on March 19, an upcoming evening of readings by local writers, and a participatory jazz improvisation during the show’s closing.
The opening on April 15 and performance on the 19 brought out lively and enthusiastic crowds. You can find photographs from the exhibition and some of the events on the RCWMS Facebook page.
The exhibition runs through April 19, with gallery open hours on afternoons of March 19, 26, April 2, 8, and 16. (Please contact masks.mirrors@gmail.com if you need directions.) Mary Jane Rivers and Marcy Litle will be present during gallery hours, happy to chat or to leave visitors alone to contemplate the artwork.
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