Wild

May 9 to June 15, 2025

Wayne Paige

Middle Street Gallery, Washington, Virginia

Animal Kingdom was a pet shop a short walk from where I lived as a child in the Logan Square section of Chicago.  At the time, it provided a wealth of insight to an eight-year-old who enjoyed drawing real and imaginary animals. Initially, it opened as a conventional pet shop selling puppies, kittens, and tropical fish. Over several years, the shop expanded, and more non-traditional and exotic animals were added—Monkeys, tigers, bats, and exotic birds joined Dogs, cats, and goldfish. During this period, they were confined to cages and other restricted forms of captivity. This eventually ended with an outcry from an enlightened public. Nevertheless, I imagined them in the wild, uncaged, untamed, and drew them as such.

Since then, I moved around, living in urban, suburban, and small-town locations. Eventually, I moved to Flint Hill, Virginia, where much time was spent observing the rural nature of Rappahannock County. The land, the creatures, and the overall environment stoked my imagination, and much time was spent capturing this wild essence in ink and paint.

Now, after a seventy-plus-year hiatus and unforeseen events, the animals of my youth returned. Under moonlit skies of imaginary comets, mountains, waterways, and woodlands, untold stories are featured, populated by bipedal beings, spiritual entities, squirrels, bears, and a host of other creatures interacting with each other. By tapping into my childhood memory, the content of my artwork has expanded and remained consistent with the overall focus of my previous work, which is creating art that embraces conflict, dreams, and humor.

My career as a Washington area artist extends back to the early-1970’s and includes thirty-plus solo and duo exhibitions, numerous gallery inclusions, and museum exhibitions that include The Corcoran Art Gallery and The Anderson Gallery in Richmond, Va., along with four exhibitions at American University Museum at the Katzen Center: “Elizabeth French Collection”, “Remember Marc and Komei”; “Washington Art Matters ll: 1940s – 1980s;” and “Communicating Vessels.” Awards include First Prize in The Fairfax Art Council awards, First Prize in The George Washington University Alumni Competition, Arlington Alliance, and a Special Recognition award from The Virginia Commission of the Arts. Collectors of my work include American University, George Mason University, George Washington University, Marymount University, the Elisabeth French Collection, Gudelsky Collection, Radio One, and Prudential.

Currently, I am employed as an adjunct art professor at Laurel Ridge Community College in Warrenton, Virginia, and live and work in Washington, D.C.