June 7 - July 6, 2025
This exhibition presents the work of 11 painters from across the United States (Misato Pang, Scott Seebart, Ben Frederick, Sam Kelly, Jacob Janes, Lindsay Mueller, Brittany Gilbert, Colleen Kelsey, Emily Zuch, Emily Manning-Mingle and Grace Colletta) all of whom have participated in the Four Pillars residency program—an initiative of the Mount Gretna School of Art in Mount Gretna, PA.
Each summer, four artists from across the United States are selected to gather for four weeks, living and working in the serene surroundings of Mount Gretna. In collaboration with students, faculty, and staff, the Four Pillars artists engage in a dynamic, summer painting program that fosters both artistic development and a sense of community.
25% of all sales from this exhibition will benefit the Mount Gretna School of Art, which also offers a six-week intensive program featuring professional art faculty from across the country, lectures and critiques from visiting artists, and art trips to New York and Philadelphia. Thanks to the generosity of its donors, the school is able to provide both full and partial scholarships to students based on financial need, ensuring access to this transformative educational experience.
Curated by Megan Marden, who participated in the Four Pillars program in 2019. The Washington Art Association extends gratitude to Chris Zaima, Melody Asbury, and David Hoffman for their assistance in designing and installing this exhibition.
The Artists
Sam Kelly (b. 1987) is an artist and educator, currently residing in Dayton, Ohio. He earned a BFA in Painting from Wright State University in Dayton and an MFA in Painting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Sam has completed residencies at the Chautauqua School of Art in Chautauqua, New York, and Four Pillars in Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania. He has exhibited his work nationally and internationally, including the CICA Museum, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea; THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space, Venice, Italy; Surface Gallery, Nottingham, United Kingdom; and Blue Mountain Gallery, New York.
Brittany R. Gilbert is an artist exploring changes in the landscape through perceptual and sequential painting. She has an MFA from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and a BA in Studio Arts from Union College in Schenectady, New York. Recent solo exhibitions include Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina, and Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
Ben Frederick is a painter based in Dayton, Ohio. He earned his MFA in Painting from Edinboro University in Pennsylvania and holds a BFA in Painting and Ceramics from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Frederick’s work has been exhibited extensively across the United States, with recent solo exhibitions at Spectrum Fine Art in Seattle, Washington, and The Betty Gallery in Dayton, Ohio. He is represented by Spectrum Fine Art (Seattle) and Thomas Dean Fine Art (Atlanta, Georgia).
Misato Pang is a multidisciplinary artist whose work bridges personal narrative with broader cultural and political themes. Born in 1992 in Hong Kong to Japanese and Chinese parents, she relocated to the United States during her late adolescence. Pang earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Brooklyn College and later completed a Master of Fine Arts in Painting at the New York Studio School.
Scott Seebart received his BFA from the University of Minnesota, a Post Baccalaureate degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and his MFA with a minor in Printmaking from the University of Iowa. He has studied painting at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands and at the Scuola di Grafica in Venice, Italy. Seebart has taught at the University of Iowa, University of Missouri at Kansas City, The Kansas City Art Institute and the University of Central Missouri. Seebart has shown in group and solo exhibitions at the American Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lo River Arts in Beacon, New York and the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City, Missouri and the Prince Street Gallery in New York City. He has been a visiting artist at the Mount Gretna School of Art, The International Center for the Arts in Montecastello di Vibio, Italy and Studio Nong in Nanning, China. He lives and works in Saint Paul, Minnesota at Case Edgerton Studios, a 1902 church renovated into an artist space and gallery. Seebart lives with his partner, artist Jessie Fisher, and their five cats.
Lindsay Mueller is a landscape painter whose practice considers interconnection, perceptual ambiguity, and decay through her tactile, layered paintings. Mueller grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and currently lives and works in Arlington, Virginia. She received a BFA in Painting and a BA in Psychology from Boston University, and she completed an MFA in Visual Arts at American University. She has exhibited in group shows at MoCA Arlington, Virginia, and the American University Museum in Washington, DC
In 2023 Mueller received the Bethesda Painting Young Artist award, and she is a recipient of the Carol Bird Ravenal Art Award for artistic research from American University. In the summer of 2024, she was published in I Like Your Work’s MFA Catalogue
Colleen has showcased her artwork both nationally and internationally, participating in group exhibitions at the Carnegie Mellon Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center. She earned an MFA in painting at American University and an M.Ed. at Wright State University.
Colleen has received support from individual artist grants and attended artist residencies, including the NES Residency in Skagastrond, Iceland; the Four Pillars Residency in Mount Gretna, PA; and A.I.R. in Paducah, Kentucky.
Jacob Janes is a painter and cofounder of Janes and Pang Atelier in St. Louis. He is a lifelong wrestler, a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, and a mediocre skateboarder. Prior to earning his MFA from Marywood University, he also studied studio art at Lindenwood University and the Mount Gretna School of Art. His paintings are poetic portraits; playful, simplistic depictions of familiar subjects that are both primal and carefully composed.
His work has recently been included in exhibitions at Kiyoe Gallery Arishma, Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan, The Luminary in St. Louis, Missouri, and Lancaster Galleries in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Emily Zuch earned her MFA from the New York Studio School and her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work has been shown in solo and two-person exhibitions at Union Gallery (Staten Island), The Empty Circle (Brooklyn), Die BOX (Leipzig, Germany), and Liman Gallery (Palm Beach). She received a Fulbright grant in 2014 to study painting and printmaking in Germany and the Hohenberg Travel Award from the New York Studio School in 2011. Zuch has participated in residencies at Yaddo, Jentel, and the Vermont Studio Center.
Emily Manning-Mingle is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator. Emily was born in Manhattan and grew up in the suburbs of New York City. She attended Boston University's School of Visual Arts, completing a BFA in Painting (2009), an MFA in Studio Teaching (2010), and an MFA in Painting (2022).
Recently, her work has been exhibited at Abigail Ogilvy (Boston, MA), Katzman Contemporary (Dover, NH), and Morgan Lehman (NYC). She has received several awards, including an Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists' Residency Merit Scholarship, a 2024 Blanche E. Colman Award, and a 2025 Artist of the Year award from the Cambridge Art Association.
Grace Colletta received her MFA in Painting from Boston University in 2015 and her BA in Art Practice from the University of California, Berkeley in 2013. Her work has recently been featured in exhibitions at Gallery Mariposa and Gallery Also in Los Angeles, California, as well as Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her work is held in the collections of the Inside-Out Art Museum in Beijing, China, and the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.