CRESTVIEW — When the Milanese MAD Gallery opens its Contemporary Art Exhibition Jan. 14, Crestview abstract artist Nicole Weaver will be among international exhibitors.
She shipped her paintings, “Trouble in Heaven” and an untitled work, off to Italy Nov. 30, with mixed emotions. A sense of completion, of satisfaction to exhibit in an international exhibition, and a sense of fear that the works might be lost or damaged in shipping.
“I had bad experiences in the past: two paintings lost!” Weaver said.
Still, she took a chance.
“Finally!!!” she texted when the paintings were dropped off at a local shipping company. “Fingers crossed but at least an international showing!”
MAD Gallery — its stands for Moda, Arte e Design, or “Fashion, Art and Design” — is a boutique gallery in Milan, Italy’s fashion capital. Its Contemporary Art Exhibition slogan is, “To join us you have to be MAD.”
“It's a small art gallery but they do good stuff for the artist,” Weaver said. That includes publicizing their artists’ works in print and online, holding critiques of the works, and having multi-lingual personnel who host art collectors and dealers to promote and sell the artists’ works.
Before Weaver’s works were accepted for the exhibit, she was required to submit a photo of the paintings and biographical information.
When she was notified in November that her works were accepted, she had to file a €100 fee — about $110 — and arrange and pay for her own shipping.
But to Weaver, who was raised in the Frankfurt, Germany, region, it is exciting to be exhibiting on her native continent.
“I want to see how (it) all works out,” she said. “We will see what happens! It's very exciting to be a part of something special.
"On the other hand, kind of sad, because Europe is more interested in my art (than) galleries here are.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview artist to exhibit abstracts in Italy