Opening this Friday

Touchstone Gallery is opening a show of new works by Lou Gagnon with an opening reception this coming Friday, September 9, 6-8:30pm.

Gagnon is not only a superbly talented artist, but also one of the area's hardest working ones; from the press release:

Believing Joy is always there for the making, this exhibition of recent pastels by Lou Gagnon, offers the joy that comes from Seeing, Working and Sharing. Bridging the methods of the ancient, old and modern masters with 21st century cognitive and visual science, Lou creates simple yet sophisticated color arrangements, inspired by his families’ farm, that move both visually and emotionally. The joy of seeing, working and sharing comes from focusing our attention beyond ourselves and connecting to nature. So much of our time is wrapped in thought… in navigating complexity. These pictures are a small space of peace.

Lou lives and works, with his wife and children, on their eighth generation family farm in Gainesville, Virginia. He studied art at Mary Washington College and has a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech. He practiced architecture, urban planning and environmental design for fifteen years in Washington, D.C., Portland, Oregon and Glendale, California. He has received regional, national and international awards for fine art and design including the 2004 IDEA Gold Medal for Environmental Design for Mission: Space at EPCOT, Walt Disney World. Lou was the Concept Architect at Walt Disney Imagineering for Mission: Space and the lead designer for Hotel MiraCosta at Tokyo DisneySea in Tokyo, Japan. While at Imagineering, Lou mentored with Disney Legend John Hench on color and design. He has also studied with Wolf Kahn.

In 2002, Lou and his wife Andrea, founded LynnVale Studios llc in an effort to preserve the family farm. LynnVale Studios llc is dedicated to cultivating creativity and the human spirit though alternative agriculture and fine art. There, they grow over 200 varieties of specialty cut flowers that they sell at farmers markets in they Washington metro area and offer floral design services for events. In addition to making art, Lou teaches art to home school children and through summer camps, coaches professional artists of color and design, facilitates corporate creative workshops and collaborates with Virginia Tech’s Masters of Architecture program.

This is his first solo show at Touchstone Gallery. He has shown at the the Lee Arts Center in Arlington, VA, Caton Merchant Center for the Arts in Manassas, VA, The Delaplaine Arts Education Center in Frederick, MD, Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel, MD. Architectural and urban design illustrations were exhibited at Portland State University in Portland, OR and The National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

Go see this show.