W&L’s Staniar Gallery Presents ‘Terra Ignota: Land Unknown’ The show will be on view from Nov. 7-Dec. 9

By W&L News Office
November 4, 2022

Washington and Lee’s Staniar Gallery is pleased to present “Terra Ignota: Land Unknown,” a solo exhibition by painter Amanda Lechner. The show will be on view from Nov. 7 through Dec. 9. Lechner will give a public artist’s talk on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall’s Concert Hall. The lecture will be followed by a reception for the artist.

The exhibition and reception event are free and open to the public.

A spirit of experimentation and discovery permeates Lechner’s studio practice that is inspired by ideas from topics such as imagery quantum physics, alchemy and science fiction. This exhibition is organized around the notion of terra ignota (also known as terra incognita), which is Latin for “land unknown.” This phrase has been long used in cartography to indicate the unexplored, undescribed or uncharted. In our contemporary age, terra ignota is often used to refer to the unmapped immensity of outer space, the unknowns of the ocean floor or the complexity of the human brain. The show focuses on works in egg-tempera and improvisational fresco — processes that relate to the birth of scientific inquiry and the history of visual art.

Lechner earned a master’s degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been exhibited throughout the country with recent solo shows at Standard Space in Sharon, Connecticut and Axle Contemporary in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Based in New Mexico and Virginia, Lechner is an assistant professor of Studio Art at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

Staniar Gallery is located on the second floor of Wilson Hall, inside Washington and Lee University’s Lenfest Center for the Arts. When campus is open to the public, gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  For more information, please call 540-458-8861.