All four of the images chosen by Warner and his curatorial staff showcase the natural beauty of Benjamin Walls' Appalachian home.
Four Benjamin Walls images have been selected for exhibit in the offices of Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia. Wall's art will be part of the senator's Art on Loan program for 2015. This exhibit will hang in Warner's offices in the Russell Senate Building in Washington D.C., for one year. A highly selective annual program, Art on Loan allows Warner to offer the state's most talented artists a national platform for their work.
In a letter of support for Walls' work, Senator Warner says, "I first became acquainted with Walls' work when I toured his gallery on State Street in Bristol, Va. I'm convinced that this young artist, who has won so many national and international accolades in his mid-30s, is truly an artist to watch." Warner deems Walls a "cultural, environmental and artistic ambassador."
Asked how he felt about being selected for this honor, Walls said, "I have a deep passion for my Appalachian home, so to have images that represent the beauty of our region recognized by Senator Warner is a true honor. We all need the inspiration, peace and refuge that are found in our wild lands. I can only hope that this opportunity will allow more people to see what an incredible place we call home."
All four of the images chosen by Warner and his curatorial staff showcase the natural beauty of Walls' Appalachian home. Grace, a black-and white image, features a single shaft of sunlight breaking through a bank of clouds over the mountains; Appalachian Light, a color image, shows the deep blues of the Blue Ridge in silhouette and the quilt of fall foliage on the closest mountainsides. On a more intimate scale, Beyond the Branches offers the lush greenness of summer vegetation near a mountain stream, and Appalachian Mosaic captures the glowing brilliance of autumn leaves in an Appalachian forest.
To date, Wall's work has been selected for juried exhibits in more than 50 museums in 12 countries. He is a four-time Smithsonian exhibitor and a two-time exhibitor at the Natural History Museum of London. His signature gallery and base of operations is in downtown Bristol. www.BenjaminWalls.com
