Mona Wu and Mitzi Shewmake

August 28 – October 1,  2016
Gallery Hop. Friday, September 2, 7 – 9 p.m.
Meet the Artists Reception, Sunday, September 11, 2 – 4 pm

Artworks Gallery presents a two-person exhibit of new works by Mona Wu, Spirit of the Woods, woodcut and monotype prints and Mitzi Shewmake, Structures, drawings and sculpture.

Mona Wu is showing a series of multi-board woodcut prints focused on trees in her backyard in changing seasons. In these color prints she weaves together the towering and elegant tree silhouettes, the densely draped foliage, and the subtle ripples of water into many compositions as if inspired by the spirit of the woods.

Mona carves all the boards using hand tools. She uses the boards interchangeably, inks them in transparent and opaque colors, and prints them on papers through a press. Sometimes up to five boards are inked and printed onto a single piece of paper in order to achieve unique and complex results. Many of these boards are also on display at the show.

A native of China, Mona studied Chinese painting and calligraphy in Hong Kong. She immigrated to the United States in 1971. In 1996 Mona received her BA in Art History from Salem Collage. She has also studied printmaking at Wake Forest University for 16 years. She often incorporates her painting, calligraphy, and prints into her collage work. Mona was selected as Winston-Salem Artist of the Year award in 2003. In the same year, she became a member of Artworks Gallery. She currently teaches printmaking and collage classes at Sawtooth School of Visual Art.

Mitzi Shewmake was born in New York city but traveled back and forth from Woodstock, NY to Tucson, AZ during her childhood. She holds an MA degree from George Washington University and an MFA in Fine Arts from UNCG. She also studied at the Corcoran School of Art and The Cleveland Art Institute. Mitzi is emerta professor of art, Winston-Salem State University.

She was founder and first director of Diggs Gallery. In her sculpture she has drawn images from mythology and the landscapes of Arizona desert, the woods of New England, and wild life: mostly snakes that she finds very beautiful. Most of her sculpture is made of a kind of cement, but she also works in wood and terra cotta.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Mona Wu, " Willows on the Water”, Multi blocks woodcut, 20"x13", 2016
Mitzi Shewmake, "Doorways”, cement, 20 “ x 12”

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