THE LAB: Portraits of Percussion

Portraits of Percussion
by Lyudmila Tomova & Gregory Whitt

September 2-22, 2016
Opening Reception: September 2nd, 6-10pm

CREATIVELY CONNECTING PEOPLE.  To art.  To ideas.  To others.  That’s the idea, but in an art gallery there’s some invisible line that separates people from the work.  You may not see it, but you know it’s there.

“LOOK, DON’T TOUCH”; You’ve heard it your whole life.  Lyudmila Tomova and Greg Whitt want to challenge that in VAE’s LAB where they’ll inspire participants rather than patrons.

Greg will facilitate interactive music experiences using percussion.  You don’t need any experience to join his band.  Within minutes, you’re creating the groove, in rhythm and harmony with everyone around you.  

Lyudmila’s talent and speed with water colors capture the moment.  No photography here — real paint and brushes flying across the page create portraits and cover art that gets pinned to the wall — right here, right now.  

You’re not listening to the music.  You’re making it.  

You’re not looking at art. You’re the subject.  

We’re the artists, and you’re working with us.

Collaborators.

 

ARTIST BIOS

Lyudmila Tomova is a rising star on the Triangle, North Carolina art scene. Her recent watercolors have attracted much attention locally, nationally and internationally with the expressive brushwork, color, line and a stylized flair that emphasize movement bringing the images to life. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her masterfully executed work which uniquely merges abstract and realistic elements together creating mood and energy.

Originally from Sofia, Bulgaria, Lyudmila immigrated to the US twenty five years ago and lived in New York City being a full time painter, editorial illustrator and designer, exhibiting nationally and abroad. Her strong education in Classical realism from the Sofia’s Academy of Fine Arts and later from FIT in New York where she studied Illustration, as well as her diverse artistic experience of over 20 years has helped her establish herself as one of the most versatile and prolific artist in the Triangle. She was recently nominated as an Emerging Woman 2016 and was personally recognized at the NC Museum of Art where the first of her “Butterfly Women” series was unveiled.

Her work was recently juried into the 1st International Watercolor Society Biennale in Vancouver, Canada and the 41st Annual Western Federation of Watercolor Societies Exhibition in Denver, Colorado. She was also accepted into the North Light Books’ latest watercolor competition Splash 18: Value | Light + Dark.

Greg Whitt believes life is richer when we communicate, cooperate, and collaborate with one another and with the world around us.  Because he believes this, he facilitates programs to help people live, work, and play well together.  He works with people -- in corporations, congregations, communities, and classrooms -- for the sake of creating more-meaningful connections.  He just happens to do it with a van full of drums and percussion from around the planet, bringing them to your place so that everyone can join in.

Greg owns a team building and arts education consultancy called Drum for Change. He's a world traveler learning from cultures across the planet.  Greg has twice received Regional Artist Project Grants for folkloric study of music of the African diaspora in the Caribbean.  His programs are actually applied philosophy designed to highlight indigenous values. Concepts like balance, celebration, connection to nature, gratitude, inclusion, positivity, respect, ritual, service to others, and unity all serve as positive examples for healthy, happy, and productive lifestyles for modern society.  

Greg holds a graduate certificate in Transformative Leadership from the Maryland University of Integrative Health and a BA in Communication from North Carolina State University. His experience as a US Air Force veteran makes him a uniquely qualified speaker on leadership and teamwork.  Greg has been facilitating interactive rhythm programs since 2001.