It seems appropriate that the current exhibit at the Artists' Gallery involves travel, because the gallery itself is getting ready to move from its longtime home in the American City Building in downtown Columbia to Main Street in Ellicott City.
By leaving the mostly vacant American City Building, the gallery hopes to attract many of the people exploring the shops, galleries and restaurants along historic Main Street, according to Artists' Gallery member Diane B. Dunn.
It's also a slightly larger space. Dunn said the present gallery location has around 400 square feet and the new location has around 600 square feet.
Dunn and fellow member artist Nancy Lee Davis are exhibiting in the present show, "Two World Views: Art Inspired by Travel." This exhibit will be followed by a farewell-themed group exhibit in the American City Building location in June. The Artists' Gallery re-opens in Ellicott City at a yet-to-be-determined date this summer.
This next-to-last exhibit at the present location features paintings by Davis and paintings and watercolors by Dunn. Both artists venture to places far beyond Columbia and Ellicott City.
There is a sense of exploration in Davis' "Hiking in Croatia," which depicts a single hiker on a narrow old street. This person is in the middle distance and also is seen from behind, so there is not really any sense of a distinct individual.
Instead, there is the more general impression of a lone explorer checking out somebody's town; indeed, there is a line of laundry hanging high above the hiker to reinforce the notion that exotic locations for us are mundane reality for others.
Davis also obscures individual-defining physical traits in "French Model," depicting a female figure who appears to be seated on a streetside curb. The melting painterly tones of purple, pink and white give an attractively soft sense of the depicted model.
Individuals are not always the subject matter for Davis. "Only in Cuba Car," for instance, has an antique vehicle at the center of a composition that otherwise has the backing landscape presented in blurry fashion.
Unpeopled or otherwise unoccupied landscapes are often seen in Davis' work. "Wishful Travel I" and "II" present similar views of single trees shown in isolation within intensely purple fields; for that matter, the clouds are also a vivid purple.
Yellow is deployed with equal assertiveness in Davis' "Romanian Sunflowers." It's an immense yellow field whose floral density is reinforced by the artist's application of thick dabs of paint.
Dunn's exhibited work includes an immersion in Moroccan society. The people depicted are so calm that they seem as if they could hold the same pose for centuries.
"Moroccan Mother and Child" presents a scene of maternal love so gentle that it seems apt to have a softening of the facial features and background.
Although they are playing instruments, the three white-robed "Berber Musicians" have a stillness to them, as do the two "Berber Wedding Guests" whose flowing gowns make a very quiet fashion statement.
Nancy Lee Davis and Diane B. Dunn exhibit through June 3 at the Artists' Gallery, in the American City Building at 10227 Wincopin Circle in Columbia. Call 410-740-8249 or go to www.artistsgallerycolumbia.com