Aline Feldman, "Whiteline and Watercolor: Recent Works" Dec. 2, 2006  - January 13, 2007* *Gallery will be closed from December 23 through January 2, for the holidays Press Release: In her fifth solo exhibition at the Marsha Mateyka Gallery, Aline Feldman continues to create distinctive woodcuts that are highly prized for their complexity, color and vitality.  Her work is recognized both nationally and internationally for its unique blend of Eastern and Western techniques.  Her prints are in many museum collections including the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC. Max Beckmann  was in residence at Washington University ( St.Louis ), when Aline was a young student there.  She was influenced by his use of woodcut medium and his approach to composition that  "filled the whole space".  After moving to the Washington DC area in the 1960's, she studied with Unichi Hiratsuka, a woodcut master, who later returned to Japan and was designated a "Living Treasure".  It was from him that she learned the ancient Eastern tradition of woodcut printmaking.  She then transformed the conventions of this tradition into her own singular exuberant style. Aline Feldman carves, paints, and prints her images from single panels.  The "whitelines" are the lines carved into the woodblock--the white of paper when the image is printed.  The printing is done with watercolor painted on the woodblock , one area at a time.  This results in an image that is more a unique watercolor painting/monoprint than one from an edition of identically colored images.  A detailed discussion of the evolution of Aline Feldman's technique and style is found in "A Graphic Muse: Prints by American Women" by Ruth E.  Fine, curator, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.* Aline Feldman's work captures a very American sense of optimism and individual expression.  Her subject matter alternates between landscape and cityscape.  This exhibition contains examples of both. Monet, in 1867, utilized his permission to paint within the  Louvre, to, in fact paint views of the city from the museum**.   Aline Feldman, traveling to museums worldwide, has worked in a similar manner.  From drawings and photographs of views from the museums, she has created a series of woodcuts.  A selection from this series of cityscapes is on view in this exhibition.  A second series of woodcuts, "Beyond the Trees", shares with Monet a fascination with the same landscape viewed at different times of day.   *Richard S.  Field and Ruth E.  Fine, " A Graphic Muse: Prints by American Women", published in 1987, Houston Hills Press, New York, pp.  76 - 78. **Ellen Williams, "The Impressionsts' Paris", published in 1997, by the Little Bookroom, Brooklyn, NY, pp.  24 - 31. For further information, please contact the gallery, 202 328-0088 or visit our website, www.marshamateykagallery.com.