VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

amie potsic: MIDNIGHT MASS

This virtual exhibition is based on Amie Potsic’s Midnight Mass installation at
The Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington, Delaware. Exhibition essay written by Kathrine Page.

Midnight Mass exhibition essay by Kathrine Page | Gretchen Hupfel Curator of Contemporary Art
at The Delaware Contemporary

Working with the expansive industrial architecture of The Delaware Contemporary, Potsic strives to punctuate the height, scale, and proportion of the interior space. With over 250 linear feet of silk, Potsic has designed a monumental site-specific installation involving panels suspended on wires in the atrium plenum. The semi-translucent silk with photographic imagery of silhouetted tree branches weave and dance throughout the space in sweeping, graceful, abstract lines. By grafting the panels into the space and extending them from the entrance at a lower level and upward toward the clerestory windows, Potsic's work not only enhances the museum's architecture, but also affirms how art is intrinsically related to the existential human experience as viewers gaze at the billowing, twilight forest canopy overhead.

Potsic's work investigates the idea of woodland reveries surrounded by evocations of deciduous trees in winter, as though the landscape itself has been pulled from the earth and the nave at Midnight Mass replanted in the lobby. Like medieval basilicas that were designed to confer a cosmological concept of the dome of heaven, Potsic festoons her silk in single point perspective to conjure the grand processions during Midnight Mass. The sheer immediacy of the work evokes a sense of triumph and joy; the vast array of willowy draping in cobalt blue creates the illusion of a dome of heaven thus serving as a metaphor for celestial realms. Further, the dramatic sweeping arms symbolize a welcoming gesture for the viewer. As such, Potsic strives to awaken and nourish the divine mysteries of liturgical space. In its presence, her work challenges viewer's notion of a forest sanctuary as an invitation to contemplate the immensity and sublimity of nature and their place in it.

As an observer of the natural world, Potsic's composition of undulating elliptical arches rests within a hemispherical stage, which point to a global call for action. Her work is not only breathtakingly beautiful and enchanting but underscores the urgency of climate change and the need for environmental protections. By creating both a visceral and cerebral connection to trees and the natural world, Potsic's panoply of silk hold a double entendre: they offer a metaphorical protective covering, while drawing attention to universal deforestation and the loss of the earth's essential protective layer.

MIDNIGHT MASS

Amie Potsic: Artist Statement

“My work references the sensory experience of being within the forest while encouraging us all to appreciate and preserve its future. Incarnate environmental explorations, my photographs and installations invite you to connect with your own perception of nature in a manner that is both intimate and enchanting. I focus on the beauty and mystery of the forest to share my sense of wonder, develop our connection to trees, and encourage environmental protections. Personal experience underscoring the urgency of climate change, I draw attention to deforestation by creating visceral and cerebral connections to trees and the natural world.

Midnight Mass is a site-specific installation created from over 250 feet of silk. The semi-translucent silk with photographic imagery from the forest weaves its way through the air to arch, bend, and arabesque in the sky. The panels extend from the entrance reaching up toward the looming windows behind to be backlit like stained glass. The installation fills the space in graceful, abstract lines and draping, drawing the eye up toward the apex of the room. Looking up at the illuminated silk, a conjured sense of our own scale, akin to what we feel in a cathedral or looking up at the forest canopy, enhances the experience of the artwork and museum’s architecture.”

- Amie Potsic

Click here to access the full Midnight Mass press kit.

RECENT PRESS

Constance McBride interviews Amie Potsic on Art Watch Radio about her new solo installation Midnight Mass at the Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington.

Amie Potsic

MIDNIGHT MASS

January 24 - April 25, 2020
Reception: Friday, February 7th, 5:00pm - 9:00 pm

Working with the expansive industrial architecture of The Delaware Contemporary, Potsic drapes the museum lobby in a celestial ambiance.

https://www.artforum.com/artguide/the-delaware-contemporary-2333/midnight-mass-177205

CITY SUBURBAN NEWS

https://issuu.com/citysuburbannews/docs/csn_1_22_20_issue

https://www.delawarepublic.org/post/arts-playlist-midnight-mass-delaware-contemporary

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

pia de girolamo: THE MOUNTAIN SERIES

This virtual exhibition is based on Pia De Girolamo’s Mountain Series exhibit
at the Musei Di San Salvatore in Rome, Italy. Exhibition catalogue essay written by Amie Potsic.

The Mountain Series: Quiet Magnitude

Catalogue essay by Amie Potsic | CEO & Principal Curator, Amie Potsic Art Advisory, LLC

Pia De Girolamo's colorful, subtle, and abstracted Mountain Series paintings are forged from the interaction of being in a singular landscape and the memory of that experience. Her shapes, colors, and compositions mirror the tectonic shifts and geologic marvels of the stunning landscapes she has explored. Using a bold visual language, she recalls the intensity and elation of her adventures. Influenced by American Modernists of the 20th century including Milton Avery, Arthur Dove, and Georgia O'Keefe, her work harnesses paint and shape to express space and time in the landscape. De Girolamo’s paintings are a celebration of the breathtaking and relentless landscapes of the Canadian Rockies, Patagonia, Iceland, and the American Southwest.

The physical acts of hiking in the mountains and painting in the studio lyrically commingle in her Mountain Series. During challenging explorations in the field, she makes color sketches and visual notes. Then, while painting in the studio, she retraces her steps reaching the summits again in mental and physical memory. She creates abstracted and composite landscapes that are bold, nuanced, and enliven the senses. De Girolamo’s brushstrokes reveal the physicality of her painting style, which is quietly attuned to a visceral natural world.

Underlying this sensuality, her color palette and elemental shapes speak to the metaphysical. Addressing the landscape from the perspective of how one feels in its presence is central to the emotive quality of De Girolamo’s work. Rather than depicting the mountain range before her, she paints the essence of being in the landscape faced with the impossible magnitude of its peaks and valleys. A strength of voice and unique point of view are created through composition, color, and gesture.

It is a pleasure to take in De Girolamo’s paintings as one does an impressive vista - with curiosity, appreciation, and gratitude. Her Mountain Series is an unsentimental yet loving recognition of the geological formation of the earth as well as our ability to experience its majesty in our own lives and minds.

THE MOUNTAIN SERIES

Pia De Girolamo, Blue Towers, Acrylic on canvas 40” x 60”, Private Collection — Pia De Girolamo, *Blue Towers*, Acrylic on canvas 40” x 60”, Private Collection

Pia De Girolamo, The Horns (Los Cuernos), Acrylic on paper 22.5” x 30” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *The Horns (Los Cuernos)*, Acrylic on paper 22.5” x 30”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Glaciers/Mountains, Acrylic on Canvas, 40” x 30” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *Glaciers/Mountains*, Acrylic on Canvas, 40” x 30”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Distant Towers, Acrylic on paper 22.5” x 30” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *Distant Towers*, Acrylic on paper 22.5” x 30”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Lago Grey, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 48”, Private Collection — Pia De Girolamo, *Lago Grey*, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 48”, Private Collection

Pia De Girolamo, Patagonia Vista, 40” x 60”, Acrylic on canvas, Private Collection — Pia De Girolamo, *Patagonia Vista*, 40” x 60”, Acrylic on canvas, Private Collection

Pia De Girolamo, Mountains and Cows, Acrylic on canvas, 40” x 60”, Private collection. — Pia De Girolamo, *Mountains and Cows*, Acrylic on canvas, 40” x 60”, Private collection.

Pia De Girolamo, Blue Mountain, Lake and Forest, Acrylic on canvas, 22”x34.5” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *Blue Mountain, Lake and Forest*, Acrylic on canvas, 22”x34.5”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Far Ranges, Acrylic on canvas, 30”x40” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *Far Ranges*, Acrylic on canvas, 30”x40”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Open Road, Acrylic on paper, 22.5”x 30” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *Open Road*, Acrylic on paper, 22.5”x 30”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Southwest Vista, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x48” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *Southwest Vista*, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x48”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Big Blue Sea Cliff, Acrylic on canvas, 36”x48” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *Big Blue Sea Cliff*, Acrylic on canvas, 36”x48”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Green Waterfall and Cliffs, Acrylic on canvas, 57” x 78” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *Green Waterfall and Cliffs*, Acrylic on canvas, 57” x 78”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Lake in The Forest, Pink Sky, Acrylic on canvas 40” x 60”, Private Collection — Pia De Girolamo, *Lake in The Forest, Pink Sky,* Acrylic on canvas 40” x 60”, Private Collection

Pia De Girolamo, Pink Bluffs, Acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *Pink Bluffs*, Acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Mountain and Waterfall, Acrylic on canvas, 30”x40” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *Mountain and Waterfall*, Acrylic on canvas, 30”x40”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Mountain Hike, Acrylic on canvas, 30”x40” For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory — Pia De Girolamo, *Mountain Hike*, Acrylic on canvas, 30”x40”
For all sales inquiries or commissions contact Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Pia De Girolamo, Dyrhólaey, Acrylic on canvas, 36”x48”, In museum collection of the Musei di San Salvatore in Lauro, Rome. — Pia De Girolamo, *Dyrhólaey*, Acrylic on canvas, 36”x48”, In museum collection of the Musei di San Salvatore in Lauro, Rome.

Pia De Girolamo, Green River, Midnight Blue Mountain, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 48”, Private Collection — Pia De Girolamo, *Green River, Midnight Blue Mountain,* Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 48”, Private Collection

Pia De Girolamo: Artist statement

I love being in the mountains and places with dramatic geological formations. The key word in that sentence is “being”. All the senses are engaged as I pocket smooth stones, sketch a mountain, smell the thyme and clover, taste the tartness of wild plants and listen alternatively to the sounds of nature as well as its silence. When I go hiking in the mountains, exhilaration arises both from the physical effort as well as from acknowledging fear and overcoming it. The body hums with the energy of exertion and alertness.

In the studio, I explore what makes these mountainous places beautiful and mysterious and create paintings in which massive forms, the surrounding emptiness, and the sense of gravity dictate how I use color and shape. As I work, the paintings evolve, and while some refer to real places, others spring from composite memories of shapes or vistas. All are a record of what is for me of the essence in these landscapes, whether they are in Iceland, the Canadian Rockies, the American Southwest or Patagonia.

In October of 2018 I had the honor of presenting my Mountain Series, a collection of large-scale paintings based on abstracted mountain landscapes and geologic forms, at the Museo Mastroianni, part of the Musei di San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome, Italy. I have ancestral roots and close ties to Italy, and Rome has been a “home away from home” since childhood. This was my first international exhibition. My painting, Dyrhòlaey was selected to remain in the museum’s permanent collection.

Biography

*Mountain Series exhibit at the Musei Di San Salvatore in Rome, Italy.*

Pia De Girolamo is an accomplished painter living and working in the Greater Philadelphia area whose recent work includes a series of large-scale paintings based on abstracted mountain landscapes and geologic forms. She has had eleven solo exhibitions, most recently at 3rd Street Gallery and Cerulean Arts Gallery in Philadelphia, and shown extensively in group exhibitions regionally. DeGirolamo has a BA in Art History from Barnard College, Columbia University and an MD degree from the University of Rochester. She lectures on the relationship between art and medicine as well as the connections between art, nature, and health.

Her awarded work has been acquired for collections by PNC Bank and Thomas Jefferson University and has been highlighted in Hollywood feature films. Most recently, De Girolamo had a solo exhibition of her Mountain Series paintings at the Museo Mastroianni, within the Musei di San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome in October of 2018.

Virtual Exhibition: Midnight Mass featuring artist Amie Potsic

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

amie potsic: MIDNIGHT MASS

MIDNIGHT MASS

Amie Potsic: Artist Statement

RECENT PRESS

Amie Potsic

MIDNIGHT MASS

CITY SUBURBAN NEWS

Virtual Exhibition: THE MOUNTAIN SERIES featuring artist Pia De Girolamo

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

pia de girolamo: THE MOUNTAIN SERIES

THE MOUNTAIN SERIES

Pia De Girolamo: Artist statement

Biography

FOR ALL SALES INQUIRIES and commissions

CONTACT Amie Potsic Art Advisory.

info@amiepotsicartadvisory.com | (01) 610.731.6312

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION﻿

amie potsic: MIDNIGHT MASS

MIDNIGHT MASS

Amie Potsic: Artist Statement

RECENT PRESS

Amie Potsic

MIDNIGHT MASS

CITY SUBURBAN NEWS

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION﻿

pia de girolamo: THE MOUNTAIN SERIES

THE MOUNTAIN SERIES

Pia De Girolamo: Artist statement

Biography

FOR ALL SALES INQUIRIES and commissions

CONTACT Amie Potsic Art Advisory.

info@amiepotsicartadvisory.com | (01) 610.731.6312

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION