Banner Photo Caption, from L to R - Brett LaGue, Anna Wentworth, Dan Henderson, Sharon Mirtaheri

The Grandin Theatre Foundation is elated to welcome back to the walls of our Mezzanine Gallery, the art and photography of the "Four of Thirty" artists group from Roanoke's own Market Gallery.  Featured paintings from Brett LaGue, Anna Wentworth, and Sharon Mirtaheri; and the black and white photography of Dan Henderson, will make their home here at the Theatre through the end of January 2015.  Make sure that you view the exhibit prior to your movie experience, or just come on in during business hours even if you are not seeing a film!  

Remember, like movie passes, art makes a wonderful holiday gift!  Keep in mind, purchasing a piece from this exhibit also guarantees a percentage goes to The Grandin Theatre Foundation.  A piece for a loved one, remuneration for a gifted artist, and a cut for your favorite local, nonprofit cinema house - sounds like a win, win, WIN!   Join us as we welcome Brett, Anna, Dan, and Sharon for the holidays! Below you will find a brief bio on each artist. 

Biographies 

Brett LaGue - For over 25 years Brett LaGue has exhibited his paintings and energetic works on paper across Virginia in dozens of solo and group presentations. In addition, his art has been included in a number of national juried exhibitions in Virginia, Georgia, Illinois, and Baton Rouge, selected by a number of prominent art professionals including Beth Grabowski (UNC Chapel Hill), Helen C. Frederick, founder, Pyramid Atlantic, and curators from the Hirshhorn Museum, DC, and Carnegie Mellon University. In 2010 he was selected to receive the prestigious professional fellowship grant from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and was juried into the 2010 Biennial exhibition at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA. LaGue’s work is held in such key corporate collections as Carilion Health Care System (Roanoke, VA) and Stonewall Jackson Hospital (Lexington, VA), as well as private collections across the United States, and in England.

LaGue studied graphic design and illustration at the Ringling College of Art + Design. He is an active member of the artist coops The Market Gallery (Roanoke), and Nelson Gallery (Lexington), VA. LaGue lives and works in Fincastle, VA.

Anna WentworthAnna's interest in art started early.She was sick a lot as a child and to entertain her, her mother used to draw stories for her about her own childhood; that is probably where her interest in art began. Anna started drawing at an early age, often on walls and her mother's books (which is why her parents began supplying her with lots of paper). Originally, she wanted to be an illustrator-to tell stories through her art; and she thought storytelling through art is still what she is after, even if the stories themselves are only in her own mind.

Anna is fascinated by people and the lives she imagines for them, by abandoned dwellings and barns, and any landscapes that seem to have a story behind them. She works in acrylic, oil and watercolor and have several exhibits planned. She has studied with Peyton Klein, Vera Dickinson and Ann Glover.

Dan Henderson - In Dan's words, "I am a photographer. Making that statement gives me great satisfaction. Looking back from this particular vista, I realize that I have flirted with photography over the course of my life. Armed with my little Kodak Instamatic, I was the "official" photographer of family vacations while growing up. I remember experiencing the alchemy of the high school darkroom as I watched my first print appear from the developer, and experimenting in that "dark chamber" to produce an unusual image that made the inside cover of the yearbook. As a young adult I began a mail-order course with the notion of becoming a professional photographer. But like many flirtations, these came to nothing more than that temporary flush of exhilaration that we all feel from time to time in our lives. Lack of time, money, or perseverance left no room for them to flourish. But like an old flame, photography reentered my life several years ago in the form of a 35mm camera loaded with color film, an interesting art deco power plant, and a clear blue sky. Since that day, I've educated myself in two photography programs, taken a number of seminars with well-known photographers, spent as much time I could among other not as famous but still very good photographers, showed work in several exhibitions, and even made a little money along the way.    Most importantly, though, I discovered that unlike many other facets of my life, photography is something that I can do as well as I choose. I have no limits except for ones that I place upon myself. My success or failure depends on no one but me. If I continue learning my craft and developing my way of seeing the world around me, I can continue to grow as a photographer. If I get lazy, or distracted by other things, then my photographs will be just pictures. I am inspired by Monte Zucker, a great portrait and wedding photographer, who followed the philosophy that "good enough" really wasn't.  He said that he went about his career in photography always trying to be the very best that he could be, never settling for less.

I am a Photographer. To me, that means that every exposure that I make, every film that I develop, and every photograph that I print and finish, will be the absolute best that I can do."


Sharon Mirtaheri In 2010 Sharon graduated Magna cum Laude and with honors with a BA from Hollins University. Her major was Studio Art with a concentration in Printmaking. She minored in Creative Writing and for seven semesters was in the Batten Leadership program. Not ready to give up being a student, Sharon completed all coursework for a Masters of Liberal Arts degree with thesis in progress. Her unofficial thesis in art for the MALS degree was a body of extended and integrated work in encaustic wax collage for an independent study class with Professor Nancy Dahlstom, which culminated in a show at Hollins University that sold twenty- two of thirty- eight pieces during the show. “I pretended it was my thesis and gave it everything I had!” she states.

The body of encaustic wax collage was built around nature themes that Sharon sees as harmonizing with the encaustic wax medium. Her work makes strong use of natural materials such as natural fibers, paper, grasses, and dried plant materials, as well as recycled material such as discontinued wallpaper sample books and fabric swatch books, paper and items from trash cans, magazines, tattered books, and maps. The subject matter borrows heavily from the arboreal. Use of small vertical substrates reflects the dominate sub-theme of growth and forces the viewer to a closer inspection of the layered nuances of the wax. The repeated avian and entomological references capture the ecological and environmental concerns that are central and consistent part of Sharon’s life and work.

“When I was a child my favorite things to play with came from trash cans. Old pills bottles made for pharmacy play and junk mail was material for playing postwoman. I delivered it to all the underwear drawers throughout the house! Found objects and items that otherwise would take up space in a landfill always gives me great inspiration for making art!” she exclaims.

Sharon’s work includes oil painting, monotype printmaking with solar plate technology and collographs, etching, and encaustic wax collage. She plans to continue in encaustic wax collage and explore all of its possibilities, prior to further exploration with a press.