Falls Church Arts: Kamalieh’s ‘Autumn Breeze I’ Wins People’s Choice Award in Vivid! Show

The artist with the keenest eye captures life’s rhythmic pulsations. 

For her artwork “Autumn Breeze I” – a 12”x16” vertical acrylic-and-ink-on-paper depicting compressed begonias rendered in ink against vividly pulsating splashes of late fall sky, sunset and foliage tones – Iranian-born painter Susanne Kamalieh has received Falls Church Arts’ People’s Choice Award in the gallery’s Vivid! exhibition.

Kamalieh’s winning piece, available at FCA’s gallery for $450, was chosen directly by visitors to Falls Church Arts as the People's Choice Award-winner, the prize sponsored by Lavender Organizes. With the self-explanatory theme Vivid!, the show runs through Jan. 5.

“I used layers of transparency with lines, colors and shapes to create an impression of the atmospheric energy, while capturing the empty or negative space,” Kamalieh says about her artwork. “The parallel lines flowing and traveling through space visualize various energies of light, sound, electromagnetic, Wi-Fi, as well as the energy-lines connecting objects and bodies. These waves colliding, reflecting and refracting create secondary lines and shapes that are organic, ephemeral, transient, in motion – lifelike. In the process the negative space becomes the positive space and determines the subject matter of the artwork. The space that seems to separate us becomes the medium that connects us.”

On her artist website, Kamalieh, who resides in Ashburn, describes herself as “an Iranian-American artist residing in Northern Virginia,” and a “graduate of New York University with a masters degree in studio arts,” majoring in painting. “Her work has been exhibited in the United States as well as in Europe and Iran, and owned by private collectors.”

Kamalieh’s style “has evolved throughout the years from hyper-realism (human figures and cityscapes, oil on canvas) to abstract expressionist (acrylics and pastels),” her bio continues. “Her current work with line and color reflect a culmination of her past experiences carried into new exploration of the natural elements and informed by her spiritual as well as environmental concerns.”

In a recent League of Reston Artists USGS Exhibition, Juror Bettina Brunner described how she was moved by one of Kamalieh’s pulsating pieces. “I was drawn to the undulating 3-D patterns in this work, which reminded me, in rapid succession, of fabric, cells, tree roots and sound waves. I appreciated the stark simplicity of the yellow background and black ink lines. The thoughtful artist statement highlighted a multi-year exploration of empty space, revealing a body of work pushing the boundaries of the unseen and unexplored. Upon reading the artist’s statement, I viewed the work with even greater appreciation, visualizing the waves transforming from straight lines to undulating patterns and shapes. While the work is simple, its themes are complex and meaningful.”  

The gallery of Falls Church Arts is at 700-B West Broad St. (Route 7), Falls Church, and is open Tuesday-Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Artworks can also be viewed online at www.fallschurcharts.org. Art pieces can be purchased at the gallery or on the website.

By Christopher Jones