Virginia Bryant is a lyric abstract artist painting in upstate New York. A fifth generation San Franciscan, descended from artists, she has lived, painted and exhibited in San Francisco, Cedar Pines Park, New Orleans, Naples Florida and now Troy New York.
She worked professionally as a designer in San Francisco for twelve years, which originated from employment previously in costume rooms in the early 70’s in Eugene Oregon and then San Francisco. Her first design job was the tree for a feminist version of Waiting for Godot.
San Francisco is arguably the most international city on the west coast and so her work was and is influenced by African, Asian and Hispanic culture which have strong presences in the city. Her first art exhibit, large sewn and painted wall hangings were shown on Haight Street in 1978.
Her affinity with gestural mark making derives from earlier dance and choreographic experiences of the 1970’s and early 80’s & includes choreography for Stravinsky’s Ragtime and the play Caligula by Albert Camus. Her work as a designer then, under the auspices of pi squared also informs her processes.
Her paintings have been included in exhibitions in the Holter Museum, Louisiana State University, the Baker Museum, and Albany State Museum. Her solos include exhibits at Thomas Aquinas College & Florida Gulf Coast University, among others.
In combination with curatorial projects of 1986 through 2004, working with some of the most celebrated artists of our time, she has published art writing in dailies and lectured on related projects for the West Wing Art Project, Edison College, Florida Gulf Coast University and the Renaissance Society.
Awards include a George Sugarman Award, a CHANGE Award, two Haven Foundation grants, an award from max’s kansas city and an honorarium for founding the West Wing Art Projects.
Her most recent solo exhibition projects include Fugue States in 2018 and Preludes & Fugues in 2019. Her last solo exhibition, Practice & Composition, was her second exhibition at the Chapel Cultural Center in 2020.
At present she is working under the auspices of Mutant Fusions, combining disparate elements into harmonious wholeness. The focus is, as always with this artist, informed by musical structures.