Torpedo Factory Art Center Prepares For 2017 Post-Graduate Residents

From Torpedo Factory Art Center: For the third consecutive year, the Torpedo Factory Art Center prepares to welcome four new Post-Graduate Residents. Fumi Amano, Nakeya Brown, Jay Hendrick, and Samantha Sethi were juried into the program by Kayn Miller, director of exhibitions at the Arlington Art Center.

Starting in January 2017, these four emerging artists will each occupy Studio 12, located in the center of the Torpedo Factory’s first floor, for a quarter of the year. Therein, they can create and sell work, interact with the public, and network with other artists, gallerists, and collectors.

“We are inviting some of the region’s most promising emerging artists into our high-visibility space and providing them with practical resources and professional development opportunities,” said Leslie Mounaime, director of Target Gallery. “This gives them a chance to define their practices and establish a network outside of an academic context. My hope is that we continue to have a dynamic exchange of perspectives, techniques, and ideas throughout 2017.”

Launched in 2015, this three-month residency is a competitive program that provides meaningful support to recent graduates who have recently completed master’s of fine arts degrees. It is unique program in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for addressing the critical post-graduate juncture in an emerging artist’s career.

The announcement came on Thursday, November 10, during the reception for the current Post-Graduate Residents exhibition which was on view October through November, 2016. Just as in the current year, the 2017 program will culminate in a group exhibition in Target Gallery, October 21 – November 26, 2017. The reception will take place during Second Thursday Art Night, November 19, at 7 pm.

Jay Hendrick
January – March
George Mason University
Jay Hendrick questions the value of value in his work. He creates paintings, then analyzes their importance, worth, and merit by exposing his work to different methods, such as digitization, duplication, and performance. His visual vocabulary is based on grids, a stable and reliable form, and color to assess the form’s value. His sundry palette draws from high and low culture, bringing together pop-music pink with cave-born ochers.

During his residency, Hendrick hopes to emulate the processes of other contemporary artists in the greater Washington, D.C. region in an effort to understand why other painters do what they do. He will interview each participating artist and document the project on his blog and organize a round-table discussion about painting.

Based in Fairfax, Virginia, Jay Hendrick has shown work in the U.S., England, and Japan and his work was featured in New American Painting. In 2015, Hendrick received his master’s of fine art from George Mason University. He completed his undergraduate degree with Abilene Christian University in Texas with degrees in applied studies and a bachelor’s of fine art. He teaches at Northern Virginia Community College in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Photo courtesy of Torpedo Factory Art Center