THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 8, 1995 TAG: 9506080036
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
ONE OF VIRGINIA'S most significant painters, Ashland's Nancy Camden Witt, will be present tonight at an opening for a rare local show of her work.
A collection of her recent oils on canvas goes on view at 5:30 p.m. at Zeitgeist Gallery in downtown Norfolk. At 6:30 p.m., Witt will speak briefly about her unique style. The free, public reception continues until 8.
For decades, Witt has dubbed her approach ``metarealism.'' She has said that she goes after ``that kind of reality where you see chairs and windows and oceans, but you see them in a different relationship. I call it metareality. And it's a reality that runs alongside the chair-and-window reality.''
Witt began studying Jungian psychology and classical mythology, and utilizing the wisdom of the unconscious in her work, at least a decade before author Joseph Campbell popularized the idea.
In 1978, she exhibited a series of paintings in a Norfolk gallery inspired by Psyche, the mythological mortal who married Eros, Greek god of love. The point of the series was to celebrate the emergence of women.
Witt's crisp, realistic technique and sheer, luminous palette is reminiscent of Jan Vermeer, the 17th century Dutch master. Played against her realism is an irrational twist with metaphysical implications: A window may, upon close inspection, turn out to be a painted canvas. A Biblical figure may be wearing running shoes.
The exhibit continues through July 18 at Zeitgeist, 132 Granby St. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Call 622-2517 for more information.
Your name in lights
Looking for a no-rejection-guaranteed exhibition opportunity? Take this chance to boost your creative self-esteem: The Peninsula Fine Arts Center is initiating ``The Peoples' Gallery.''
Starting Saturday, one of the region's top nonprofit galleries has set aside wall space for anybody with the guts to show. There is no charge, no jurying process.
But there are lots of rules, written chiefly to save the center's tiny staff from insanity.
An artist may submit as many as five works of reasonable size, and up to two pieces if the dimensions exceed 5 feet. Seven feet is the maximum size.
It's a first-come, first-served deal. Peoples' Gallery exhibits last a month, beginning and ending on the first Saturday of each month. An artist may not show for two consecutive months.
On Saturday, works may be brought in from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. On July 12, exhibitors must pick up their artwork by 4 p.m. or the arts center will consider the art their property - ``to dispose of as deemed appropriate,'' the rules sternly read.
Offensive art featuring gratuitous violence or sex will not be exhibited. All work must be completely prepared for installation. The center will not insure the art. If art sells, the center takes a one-third commission.
For more information, call 596-8175. The center is at 101 Museum Dr., Newport News, adjacent to The Mariners' Museum. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Nancy Camden Witt's ``Fire Lillies'' is among her oils on canvas at
Zeitgeist Gallery.
by CNB