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About this Exhibition
McAllister’s Les Gardiens du Jardin is a collection of French characters inspired by and fashionably dressed as French packets of garden seeds. They masquerade as landscape architects, run Soupe Populaire, teach tiny seed packets, and have been known to commit a prank or two. They are city (Paris) and country (South of France) characters and slip easily in and out of the worlds of gourmand and garden. Even in work, they experience a joie de vivre!
American artist and designer Mary Beth McAllister was influenced by a magical childhood garden, which became a muse for the worlds she creates in her paintings, sculptures and designer showhouses. McAllister’s work has been exhibited in numerous art exhibits on the East Coast and is in many private collections.
Les Gardiens du Jardin (2015) are gouache and ink, and are a collection of drawings relating to all things French, gourmand and garden.
About Mary Beth McAllister
Mary Beth McAllister is a designer, illustrator and sculptor who sees the world in technicolor. Since childhood when her garden turned magical, her experiences were unto themselves a creative genre in need of expression. A student of Fine Arts at Marymount College and Richmond College in Surrey, England, McAllister found her European wanderings, primarily through France, a natural inspiration for many of her later creations. After college she entered the glamorous world of publishing as part of the launch of Self Magazine and created a line of floral accessories presented by Vogue, Bergdorf Goodman and Henri Bendel under her own label. She designed promotional gifts for Oscar de la Renta Fragrances and painted murals in residential and commercial interiors from Nantucket to Key Largo.
In 2014, McAllister designed her 4th installation for the juried Mansion in May Designer Showhouse at Blairsden, Peapack, NJ. The concept for her balcony design space was a checkerboard of lettuce and moss populated with her sculptures, The Garden Keepers, based upon her original collection of drawings. Les Gardiens du Jardin are the French cousins of The Garden Keepers, and just maybe, they will become sculptures too.
Gallery Hours
Monday, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PMTuesday through Thursday, 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Friday and Saturday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Left Image: Raison d' Etre (charity auction) Center Image: It's a Wrap Right Image: #3 Lavender Linen, Natch
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Call for Artists
Our art exhibition program showcases local and international artists whose work has a connection with French and Francophone culture.
Whether you draw your inspiration from an artistic movement, a specific artist, a subject or a technique, you can submit your work for an opportunity to present your art to the public in our elegant brownstone's gallery in the heart of Back Bay, for month-long exhibitions from September through June.
Artists and projects are selected by a committee of art professionals, artists and art connoisseurs who meet twice a year. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
To submit your work please refer to the Call for Artists in which you will find a detailed description of requirements and conditions.
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