MFA offers our artist members the opportunity to exhibit at local restaurants around Annapolis. Currently, we work with Paul’s Homewood Café, a restaurant blending Chesapeake staples with traditional Mediterranean cuisine, and 49 West Coffeehouse, Winebar & Gallery, a place that brings art, music, and community together with great food and drink in an ambiance inspired by the traditional European coffeehouse. Please email info@mdfedart.org if you are interested in purchasing a piece of art.
View Artwork For PricesNow exhibiting at 49 West through November 28, 2023:
Lauren Litwa and John Hanou
Reception at 49 West October 1, 2023 from 5 – 7 PM
Lauren Litwa
About the Artist
Lauren is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. She was awarded the Cresson Scholarship Award which allowed her to spend three months traveling throughout Europe visiting many museums including the Louvre, Prado, and the Van Gogh Museum.
She spent most of her life in Wawa, Pennsylvania, where she raised her family and painted in her studio. She’s a proud mom and grandma to a son Jordan and a daughter Carley and two beautiful granddaughters Harper and Ruby Moon.
Lauren has exhibited her spiritually inspired watercolors and oil paintings extensively including The Pennsylvania State Museum & The American Embassy in Brussels, Belgium, Noyes Museum, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and The Delaware Art Museum. She received a Fellowship from The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (formerly Creative Artists Network) in Philadelphia and has been a member of Assemblage an artist collective which exhibited at the Delaware Art Museum in 2017. Lauren received The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant for painting which helped her fund her first studio. She attended residencies at the Margo-Kelb Dune Shack in Cape Cod and La Villa Arrigo in Florence, Italy.
Artist Statement
“I am very passionate about the environment and protecting our oceans and all animals inhabiting this planet. I hike in the woods and spend time exploring local cold spring creeks in the mountains where I love doing plein air paintings. Connecting and grounding in nature helps me to create my spirit based work.”
Lauren lives and paints in Rockville, Maryland, and Trout Run, Pennsylvania. Studio visits are available by appointment where visitors can see and purchase her original oil and watercolor paintings. Private commissions are accepted.
John Hanou
About the Artist
I am an avid photographer who has been creating art and taking photographs for as long as I can remember. I like to create unique images from my vast and wide subject matter. I try to capture the world as we know it, and offer it in a manner that we have not thought of. I strive to create photos that sometimes transcend reality.
My fine art photos have appeared in numerous publications and have been purchased by various clients. Over the years, I have shown my work in many galleries and have entered and won several competitions. In 2015 I had best in show in an arts competition at the Mitchell Gallery in Annapolis.
I am a published photographer and writer. My first book, “A Round Indiana, Round Barns of the Hoosier State” was published by Purdue University Press in 1993 and again in 2020. The book was a culmination of many years of work and research documenting the history and photographing Indiana’s remaining round barns. My current work has been documenting and photographing the round and multi-sided barns of North America. Currently, the University of Tennessee Press is reviewing my manuscript The Round and Multi-Sided Barns of North America for possible publication in 2024.
I have also published eleven photo books through blurb.com. These are: Having Fun at 35,000 Feet, Terminals, While Waiting, Through, (with their lives), Modern Visions of the Crucifix, Upskirt Mannequin, Broken Dreams, Light is Life, Angel of Angel Hill, Mourning Blooms, Vols. 1 & 2 and Lilly’s Wake. I have several more planned.
Initially working with 35 mm, then large format B&W photography, the recent development of the digital process has allowed my vision to grow exponentially, both in color and B&W. I work exclusively with Nikon equipment. My current camera of choice is the Nikon D800 and D850 with a variety of Nikkor lenses. My computer is my new darkroom: the use of Adobe Camera Raw, Adobe Photoshop, and other software has allowed me to reconnect and share my vision of the world.
I am self-taught in the field of photography. Major influences: George Tice, Walker Evans, Ralph Steiner, Paul Strand, Fred Picker, and David Hill of Hill Gallery, Denver, CO.
http://www.blurb.com/user/nhojuonah
Lauren and John’s work is on display at 49 West located at 49 West St, Annapolis, MD 21401. Open daily.
