2022 AUGUST—OCTOBER FELLOWSHIP VIRTUAL GALLERY
2022 MAY —JUNE FELLOWSHIP VIRTUAL GALLERY
2022 JANUARY VIRTUAL GALLERY
Welcome to our February Fellowship Virtual Exhibition featuring the work of PAFA Alumni of the Pennsylvania Academy of the fine Arts. This virtual show is featuring the work of Maureen Drdak from her recent January Exhibition at the Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia.
Scroll down to view the works; click the Audio arrows to hear Maureen’s descriptions of her various series
ATMAN 7, 2021, copper repoussé elements, abraded acrylic and 23.5K gold on archival cradled wood panel, 36 inches in diameter x 1D
ATMAN 6, 2021, abraded acrylic and 23.5K gold on archival wood panel, 24 inches in diameter x .5 D; Private Collection
ATMAN 5, 2021, abraded acrylic and 23.5K gold on archival wood panel, 24 inches in diameter x 1D
ATMAN 4, Terma, 2021, abraded acrylic and 23.5K gold on archival cradled wood panel, 36 inches in diameter x 1D
ATMAN 3, 2021, abraded acrylic and 23.5K gold on archival cradled wood panel, 30 inches in diameter x 1D
INNER PERCEIVER 5, 2021, abraded acrylic and 23K gold on archival cradled wood panel, 36 inches in diameter x 1D
INNER PERCEIVER 4, 2015, abraded acrylic with 23K gold on archival cradled archival wood panel, 30 inches in diameter x 1D
CANTOS HELIOS, 2018, L to R: Sunrise, Noon, Sunset. 23.5K gilded copper repoussé elements, mineral particles and acrylic on archival cradled wood panels. Each 60 H x 34 W x 1.75 D inches. Total width 102 inches, spacing variable
ARDENS MUNDI 4, Tempestatis, 2019, copper repoussé elements, acrylic and mineral particles on archival cradled wood tondo, 48 inches in diameter x 1.5 D
ARDENS MUNDI 3, Dessico , 2018, copper repoussé elements, abraded acrylic and mineral particles on archival cradled wood panel, 48 inches in diameter x 1.5 D
ARDENS MUNDI 1, Inferno, 2017, copper repoussé elements, abraded acrylic and mineral particles on archival cradled wood panel, 48 inches in diameter x 1.5 D
PRAYER FOR KHALED AL ASAAD, 2016, abraded acrylic and mineral particles on archival cradled wood panel, 22 inches in diameter x 1D
ORACLE, 2016, copper repoussé elements, mineral particles, and abraded acrylic on archival cradled archival wood panel, 26 inches in diameter x 1D
Maureen Drdak travels widely in pursuit of her visions; her research has taken her to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, India, Nepal and the Himalayas. Her work explores the continuities and relevance of the Past in Present, encompassing universal paradigms of mythic archetypes and endangered material practices. A graduate of the both the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia – Drdak is the recipient of numerous honors, including the 2011-2012 U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar Award for Nepal; her Fulbright work, The Prakriti Project, pioneered the first synthesis of repoussé metalwork and contemporary painting; the exploration and evolution of this new material synthesis is the focus of her present work. This congress of materials—the first of its kind—was pioneered by the artist during her Fulbright fellowship to Nepal where she studied with the finest historic masters of this elite and endangered practice; her resulting work was described by the late eminent scholar Dr. Mary Slusser of the Smithsonian Galleries as "revolutionary." Drdak received the personal support of H. F. Lenfest and the late Eugene V. Thaw, and her work is found in numerous public, private, and university collections within the US and abroad, among them art collectors Berthe and John Ford, Shelley and Donald Rubin (The Rubin Museum of Art), Lynda and Stuart Resnick, Emir and Sheikha Mozah of Qatar, and her work resides in the Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art, the Michener Museum and and Yad Va Shem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. Her exhibition history includes numerous solo and group exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad, international arts festivals, and museum and academic conferences and lecture venues by invitation. Her published works can be found in academic journals, and cultural periodicals, among them the highly respected international arts and cultural magazine, Marg. Described by the late eminent scholar Dr. Mary Slusser of the Smithsonian Galleries as "revolutionary," her work provides both model and catalyst for contemporary artists in their exploration of the interstitial spaces between culture, process, and material, evidencing the exciting expressive potential inherent in vanishing traditional aesthetic practices--and by extension—aids in their preservation.