"In Unison" showcases work of 20 D.C.-based artists

"In Unison" features monoprints by 20 Washington D.C.-based artists who created their works in George Mason University's print studios. The gallery is on display in the Mason Hall Atrium until March 6 (Photo by Walter Martinez).

On Wednesday Feb. 6,  George Mason University’s Mason Hall Atrium Gallery buzzed with excitement as artists, art students and art aficionados visited the opening reception for the final exhibition of the art series "In Unison" that featured work by 20 Washington, D.C.-based artists.

In 2010, Millennium Arts Salon sponsored these 20 artists to collaborate and create a series of monoprints in the print studios at Mason. As a result, In Unison was born. 

Monoprints are works of art between painting and printmaking. In this process, artists use fairly slow-drying ink as they  rub or wipe the paint onto the canvas. Before the ink dries, the image must be printed directly onto the canvas through a press or by hand.

However, looking around the gallery, these pieces possess far more than what a simple process may convey.

Over 100 pieces of art are featured in the exhibit from the work of 20 featured artists ranging in both style and materials; some artisits used different fabrics on their works while others had stitching right into the canvas. Each print is made in a totally different way as no two prints are alike. This makes these extraordinary works even more captivating as  additional creative spirit is needed to invent new ways of creating works of art.

Some of the artists from this collaboration attended the opening reception of the gallery  on display from now until March 6. The gallery features work by a variety of artists including Claudia "Aziza" Gibson-Hunter. A dedicated printmaker since 2005, Gibson-Hunter is known both in Washington, D.C. and nationwide as a sought after printmaking artist. 

Visitors to the gallery can gain a sense for its title as they walk around seeing a true embodiment of the entire project. It is clear that the artists featured take pride in their locality to the Washington area, saying that the vividness of their work comes from the rhythm of the city.

“It is a wonderful thing to see magic happen,” said Juanita Hardy, the executive director of Millennium Arts Salon. “When people realize there are so many common links and common ground and this is what we can create and this is what the artists have created.”

This exhibition, on its third year as a traveling tour, is dedicated to one of the artists who participated in this project,Tom Green, who recently passed away.

“In Unison: 20 Washington, D.C. Artists” will be exhibited in the Mason Hall Atrium Gallery Feb. 4-March 6.

C2M Entertainment Editor Helena Okolicsanyi contributed to this piece.