Gumenick Family Gallery

Hours : Monday-Thursday: 9am-9pm; Friday 9am-5pm

Gallery hours may vary if a private event is in the gallery. Please call 804-261-2787 to confirm the gallery is open to the public.
Artwork exhibited in the Gumenick Family Gallery and Slantwall Gallery may be available for sale.

Art in Building 5

January 12-March 11, 2012

The Workhouse Arts Center is a project of the Lorton Arts Foundation. The expansive complex, once a correctional facility and now a center for arts, culture, and history, has a rich past and an exciting new presence.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned the purchase of a large tract of land in Virginia for the creation of a workhouse for Washington, DC’s non-violent criminals. Roosevelt’s progressive era vision was to provide prisoners with fresh air, natural light and structured, purposeful work as the basis for their rehabilitation. Agricultural operations began at the Workhouse in 1912 and the prisoners created a brick plant where they produced bricks to construct the permanent buildings that now make up the Workhouse Arts Center.

Over the years the workhouse-style correction facility became a medium security prison, and watch towers, cells and wired fences were installed. By the 1980’s, overcrowding had become an issue and the buildings were in a state of severe disrepair. In 1997, DC prison officials were ordered to begin transferring prisoners from the Lorton facility in preparation for its closing after more than 80 years of operation.

In July 2002, Fairfax County received the title to the land that included the former Workhouse. The transfer of the land to the county was made possible through the Lorton Technical Corrections Act. This act required that the county develop an adaptive re-use plan for the land and the former prison facilities. The Lorton Arts Foundation put forward a plan to transform the former prison facility into a cultural arts center and, in July 2004, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the rezoning of a 55-acre portion of the former correction’s facility to become the Workhouse Arts Center.

The artists of Lorton Workhouse Arts Center's Building 5 are bold and edgy and a little "out there." Witness their works in everything from acrylics to watercolors, abstraction to realism, porcelain painting to Oriental works and feel the buzz of creativity that is the energy of Building 5.

Slantwall Gallery

February

The Truth We Find in Nature

Jeromyah Jones

   

Artist Statement

At this period in my life I feel that it is my duty to be a leader in life and in the world of art. As a painter, my mission is to portray and define the true essence of beauty. I believe art is the universal language that has the power to speak to the hearts and minds of the young and old. I hope people will recognize the love, the hunger, and dedication that I have for creating. I want my work to inspire, enlighten, and uplift those who have the courage to look beyond the technique, the images, and the colors that unite the physical composition. There is a personal yet universal message that lies beneath the surface of each work of art.

Biography

Jeromyah Jones is a 2011 graduate of Hampton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comprehensive Art. He a visionary for justice, a writer of truth, a painter of life, and a poet of love. Since he was three years old he has had the opportunity to meet and know some of the most famous celebrities, politicians, and athletes of our time. For many years he traveled around the country with his mother and father, Jerome W. Jones, Jr., a nationally renowned artist who was commissioned by a number of these celebrities to do portraits for their homes. Just being around these successful people helped inspire him to want to be on the top of his field as well. Jeromyah is now an established artist following in his father’s footsteps. He has done numerous art exhibits throughout the state of Virginia. This artist has been commissioned to do art for Hampton University and Virginia Union University as well as private commissions.
His paintings portray life's Breath-Taking Beauty and make the "CLASSICAL FASHIONABLE." Furthermore, they transcend time, race, and place. Beneath the surface of each oil painting is a deeper message that captures the heart, soul, and spirit of his subjects. His mission is to teach the truth of the Master Artist and Creator, YAH. He will begin a new movement called the “21st Century Renaissance of Excellence.”

Selected works for sale. Purchases can be done at the information desk (804) 261-2787 or
gift shop (804) 261-6204. Purchase unique artwork for your home or office!

 

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