Peel away the layers of new works by Forest Hills artist Deborah LaCroix, Oct. 23

Artist Deborah LaCroix, profiled by Forest Hills Connection in 2013, is inviting the public to view her latest series.

See “Skin, Shell, Petal and Peel: The Mask of Expression” in the LaCroix Gallery at 4625 30th Street NW. LaCroix is hosting an opening reception at her Forest Hills gallery on Friday, October 23rd from 6 to 8 p.m.

Her show runs through November 30th and can be viewed by appointment. Contact the artist at [email protected] and see more of her work at dcclacroix.com.

Listening to Birdsong, 2015, oil on canvas

LaCroix tells us:

I choose not to follow current trends. I make no apology that I am interested in pursuing and representing my vision of beauty in all its permutations. The paintings and drawings in this exhibition began as a celebration of the female form – not disfigured, but intact, not as myth, but as reality – strong, confident and proud.

This exploration occurred sadly, but I now think in direct reaction to, the worst months of my Mother’s multi-year physical decline and eventual passing. And as her world narrowed to an appreciation of the simplest pleasures of life, so did mine. Hence, joy in the sweetness of a plum, in the fragrance of a magnolia blossom, in the sheer abundance of an hydrangea bush, in a tasty omelette, in gladiolas climbing toward the sun. Shells protect but then are just the lovely remnants of the life once within.

Orhan Pamuk said, “Painting is the silence of thought and the music of sight.” I hope this body of work strikes a chord.

Magnolia Unfurled, 2015, oil on board