Solo show: Andrew Wollner - "Made in China" - recent paintings (over)

	Untitled 07 (from Made in China), 2000/2001, acrylic, charcoal + graphite on unprimed canvas, dimensions variable

CONNERSMITH. CONNERSMITH. 1358-60 Florida Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 USA (city map) Send E-mail tel +1 202 - 588 87 50 www.connersmith.us.com

In the spring of 1999 painter Andrew Wollner received the first grant awarded to an American by the Chinese Government Scholarship Council to pursue fine art graduate study in China. For the next two years Wollner studied at the China Academy of Art in the Hang-zou province. Next month, in his second solo show, Conner Contemporary Art is pleased to exhibit selections from the resulting body of work and subsequent paintings influenced by the artist´s experiences - Made in China.

In Wollner´s earlier canvases, the focus was primarily on environment, using large blocks of theme-based saturated color to mimic experience. In China, the artist made a radical departure working on unstretched raw canvas, with charcoal and a very limited palette. "I had the intention to discover what it was I was trying to find underneath the top layers ( of color)," explains Wollner. "As I painted, I found that I was less interested in the colors of the environment … I was more intrigued by the shape of things, especially the repetition of shapes."

The artist´s experiences and insights in China are reflected in the sensitive stylistic refinement of this remarkable series of new work.

There will be an opening night reception on Friday, July 5th from 6-8pm. The artist will be in attendance.