BRCC’s Fine Arts Center Gallery is currently featuring ABSTRACTICA: A WONDERLAND, an exhibit of mixed media oil paintings by award-winning artist Leslie Banta. The exhibit will be on display at BRCC until September 24, and there will be an opening reception on Tuesday, September 4, from 4-6pm. The reception is free and the public is invited to attend.

These works included in this exhibit, “explore the paradox of enclosure: the canvas is broken up through numerous color blocks and collaged elements,” explained Banta. “I enjoy color and texture in my abstract paintings. I aim for an overall “togetherness“ in each piece, but I seek solace in small nuances of thick paint or hidden collage images.”

Ms. Banta exhibited for nine years in the Washington, DC metro area before moving to the Shenandoah Valley in 2005. She earned a BFA in Painting from Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama, and has studied with other artists including Northern Virginia abstract painter Joyce McCarten, fellow Alabama native Bill Christenberry and collage guru Mindy Weisel.

The gallery at BRCC is open Monday-Friday, 9am-4:30pm.