The Franz and Virginia Bader Fund

• December 29, 2010
• December 6, 2009

December 29, 2010

For Immediate Release

The Franz and Virginia Bader Fund has awarded a total of $55,000 to three artists. The recipients of this year’s Bader Fund grants are Brian Dickerson of Philadelphia, Penn., Renée Stout of Washington, D.C., and Hadieh Shafie of Baltimore, Md.

Dickerson makes three-dimensional paintings on wood. Combining wood, oil paint, and sometimes wax, his layered assemblages are quiet, luminous explorations of remembered landscapes. Dark apertures in his constructions give them a compelling sense of mystery.

Stout, one of Washington, D.C.'s most distinguished artists, explores the human condition in a wide range of two-dimensional media, as well as in three dimensions. Her use of different alter egos, expressed in the writing that she includes in much of her work, gives it a narrative dimension with a cumulative impact.

Shafie, who was born in Iran, writes “eshghe,” the Farsi word for love, over and over, along strips of paper that she rolls tightly. She colors the edges and mounts the rolls together, edge on, calligraphy concealed. Shafie’s brightly colored paper scrolls, like the dance of the dervishes to which they refer, are acts of meditation.

The Fund has given away $460,000 in grants, since beginning its grants program in 2002. Last year the Fund awarded four grants totaling $65,000.