Gallery Exhibitions
Previous Exhibitions
Sitar Arts Center’s The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Gallery hosts on-going exhibits of both professional and student work. Artists are selected through a submission process.
15th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition: Reflections
On View: March 4 – April 25, 2025
Sitar Arts Center’s Cafritz Gallery is excited to present its 15th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition: “Reflections.”
Established in 2010, this annual juried exhibition honors Sitar Arts Center’s namesake and deepens the Center’s commitment to fostering a creative community of learning and belonging. It provides emerging artists with a valuable platform to showcase their work and engage with an audience that celebrates the transformational power of the arts.
This year’s exhibition features more than 30 artists exploring the theme of “Reflections” through a dynamic range of media, including paintings, photographs, drawings, collages, a ceramic sculpture, digital art, an interactive digital portrait installation, and a video submission. Through these works, artists invite us to consider the ways reflections—both literal and metaphorical—shape our identities, perceptions, and journeys.
“Reflections” will be on display March 4 – April 25, 2025. The Cafritz Gallery is located at 1700 Kalorama Road NW, Suite 101, Washington, D.C., and is open Monday through Friday, from noon – 6:00 p.m., and Saturdays, from 10:00 a.m. – noon.
This exhibit and Sitar Arts Center’s 2024-2025 Gallery Series are supported by the Corcoran Women’s Committee.
Sharing the Love: Fighting Hate with Art by Jeffrey Felten-Green
Exhibition Dates: November 6 – December 5, 2024
Sitar Arts Center’s Cafritz Gallery is excited to present “Sharing the Love: Fighting Hate with Art,” a powerful new series by local artist Jeffrey Felten-Green. Join us as we celebrate his inspiring body of work, dedicated to promoting peace and love amidst the challenges of today’s world. This series serves as a testament to the transformative power of art in fostering unity and compassion.
Jeffrey Felten-Green is an award-winning visual artist based in Maryland. A passionate creator, his work reflects personal interpretations of art, unconstrained by conventional labels or moods. Felten-Green’s pieces span from playful and satirical to introspective and serious, offering glimpses into both everyday life and imaginative realms. Each piece tells a unique story, designed to evoke emotion and ignite conversation. Explore his vibrant new series and let his art stir something within you—perhaps even inspire your own creativity.
This exhibition and Sitar Arts Center’s 2024-2025 Gallery Series are supported by the Corcoran Women’s Committee.
Introspective by Héctor Rafael
Exhibition Dates: September 26 – November 1, 2024
Sitar Arts Center Cafritz Gallery is proud to celebrate the incredible work of Héctor Rafael, a talented artist hailing from Puerto Rico. His series, featuring graphite drawings and oil paintings, delves deeply into themes of mental health and self-identity. Each piece offers a profound exploration of the human psyche. Immerse yourself in the many layers of “Introspective”.
“The exhibition is a series of self-portraits that invites viewers to reflect on anxiety, depression, body image, and self-acceptance. While the starting point of the series is deeply personal, it touches on experiences that are universally relatable. Through these works, I aim to open a dialogue about mental health and the complexities of self-perception, encouraging others to confront and embrace their own struggles.” – Héctor Rafael
This exhibit and Sitar Arts Center’s 2024-2025 Gallery Series are supported by the Corcoran Women’s Committee.
About Héctor Rafael
The past two years have been pivotal for Héctor Rafael, marked by overcoming a series of hardships and moments of self-discovery. His irrational imagery evokes the unconscious mind, sparking conversations about gender, sexuality, spirituality, and mental health. Héctor Rafael’s series redefines masculinity, aiming to foster dialogue about mental health and utilizing the creative process as a path to wellness. His work not only challenges traditional norms but also invites viewers to engage with their own inner experiences.
His art style can be described as Caribbean Queer Neo-Surrealism, blending queer perspectives with contemporary surrealist techniques. This style reflects a profound exploration of identity and the human experience. At a crucial point in his life, Héctor took time for personal growth, and it was during this period that he found the inspiration to bring this transformative series to life. His unique vision offers a refreshing and thought-provoking approach to contemporary art.
Héctor Rafael earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in Painting from the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, and a Master of Art Education from Universidad Ana G. Méndez in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is currently the Head of the Art Department at Colegio Católico Notre Dame in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
To learn more about Héctor Rafael and his upcoming shows be sure to check out his website.
Chain Reaction
“Chain Reaction,” a captivating 100-piece art exhibit by the 14-member International Online Art Collective (IOAC), was on display in our Cafritz Gallery May 24 – June 22, 2024 . Two years in the making, “Chain Reaction” is the collective’s most ambitious project yet. Starting with just one piece, a chain of artwork inspired by each other culminated in 100 pieces assembled into one multi-media installation.
Founded in the spring of 2020, IOAC artists reside in eight different countries. Operating entirely online until recently, as their name implies, the International Online Art Collective is now embarking on a series of live exhibitions around the world, with Sitar Arts Center hosting their second in-person show.
“Chain Reaction” and Sitar Arts Center’s 2024-2025 Gallery Series is supported by the Corcoran Women’s Committee.
14th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition
We proudly presented our 14th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition. On display in our Cafritz Gallery from February 26 to April 24, 2024, the exhibition featured over 30 curated works from local, national, and international artists, including entries from California, Florida, Illinois, Portugal, and Switzerland. This exhibition’s theme, “Life in Color,” invited artists to explore emotion, play with dimensions and reimagine daily life with color. A variety of artistic media, ranging from photography to painting will be on display.
Winners of the 14th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition:
Ages 22 and older
1st Place:
Ting Wang
2nd Place and People’s Choice Award:
Jeffrey Felten-Green
Young Adult
1st Place:
Kai Dixon
2nd Place:
Sophia St. John
In The Company of Trees, Martina Loncar
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 9, 2023 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Exhibition Dates: November 8 – December 2, 2023
Sitar Arts Center is proud to celebrate artists of various backgrounds and communities. Join us as we showcase the marvelous work of Martina Loncar. Winner of the 13th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition.
Sitar Arts Center is proud to celebrate artists of various backgrounds and communities. Join us as we showcase the marvelous work of Martina Loncar. Winner of the 13th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition. Her work explores the connection between trees and humans to their environments through deep-rooted networks of care. Loncar describes her series as an ode to our silent companion citizens. We encourage you to explore the roots of her solo exhibition, In the Company of Trees.
Multi-media artist, Martina Loncar explores themes revolving around the intricate relationship between trees and humans within their environments, described as a “deep-rooted network of care.” Specifically, her work uses the quiet interdependency of roots as a model for how humans may better support one another through times of hardships and uncertainty.
Lithographic crayon on mixed media collage
Over the last few months, she has dedicated the time to further refining her series In the Company of Trees. Loncar views nature as a nurturing and humbling force from which humans can learn valuable lessons. Her expansive practice includes sculpture, paper-cutting, drawing, collage, video, and installation. In addition, Loncar writes and displays poetry in conjunction with her artwork. When asked about her initial spark and fascination for trees, she explained, “I am drawn to trees due to their tendency to live in communities and ability to support one another through their root systems”
Loncar obtained her undergraduate degree from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, and completed her Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art at the American University in Washington, DC. Previously, her work has been exhibited at Clifford Art Gallery in Hamilton, N.Y., Goodwin House in Alexandria, VA, DC Arts Center, and the Anacostia Arts Center in Washington, DC. Loncar’s artistic endeavors have even garnered attention from the Washington Post. You can also find her work in the permanent collection of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center.
This exhibition is an ode to our silent companion citizens. Like humans, trees form deep and intricate bonds with one another and thrive in community settings. Their rooted networks, concealed beneath the ground, can serve as a model for how humans can better support one another through times of hardship and uncertainty. Created through a laborious process of cutting, tearing, and repairing paper, the collages capture quiet scenes of interdependency and encourage us to reflect on how we, too, can nurture the bonds that tie us together.
In the Company of Trees by Martina Loncar
This exhibition is an ode to our silent companion citizens. Like humans, trees form deep and intricate bonds with one another and thrive in community settings. Their rooted networks, concealed beneath the ground, can serve as a model for how humans can better support one another through times of hardship and uncertainty. Created through a laborious process of cutting, tearing, and repairing paper, the collages capture quiet scenes of interdependency and encourage us to reflect on how we, too, can nurture the bonds that tie us together.
To learn more about Martina Loncar and her upcoming shows be sure to check out her website.
The exhibition “In the Company of Trees” displayed at the Sitar Arts Center’s Cafritz Gallery from November 8 through December 2, 2023.
13th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition
Sitar Arts Center celebrated art in the community with our 13th Annual Juried Exhibition. This Exhibition aims to feature work from emerging local artists, including members of our Sitar community, in a variety of mediums. The exhibit ran from March 2 – April 8, 2023.
2023 Theme: UNITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
We live in a world full of countless faces, spaces, cultures, and ideas that help inspire understanding and appreciation. These environments shape us into unique individuals which helps set the foundation for our future. The purpose of this exhibit is to give artists the space and platform to express themselves and represent an environment that calls for a voice.
The theme does not solely focus on the environment but on how unity also plays a role. We encourage you to participate and take advantage of this opportunity to illustrate your views and values on the perplexing relationship between environment and unity. We are excited to see the story your art will tell.
Winners of the 13th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition – UNITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT!
Ages 22 and older
1st Place:
Martina Loncar
2nd Place:
Gene Kluesner
Young Adult
1st Place:
Taylor Banks
2nd Place:
Claire Perry
People’s Choice Award:
Josh Tetzlaff
EXISTENCE, Isiah Gatheright
Exhibition Dates: November 7 – December 1, 2022
Sitar Arts Center presented EXISTENCE – a solo presentation including wax and oil-based paintings by Isiah Gatheright. This work displays the use of mixed media and hidden objects through abstraction, allowing Gatheright to test the limits of his artistry. His work evokes emotions while engaging its audience as they discover a world waiting to be explored.
Oil-painting, wax, canvas, found objects
Throughout his life, Gatheright has always been surrounded by secondhand items, taking inspiration from the concept of repurposing found objects. He used the juxtaposition of various materials to explore the possibilities of encaustic art. Gatheright used wax to embed objects into his pieces in order create movement and accentuate focal points. When asked about his choice of materials, Gatheright explains, “I always let the subject matter guide me to the material and methods used.” According to Gatheright, “curiosity first led me to encaustic art, but the versatility of the wax medium kept my interest. Wax allows for vertical hierarchy and an added dimension of depth.”
As a firm believer in the natural order, Gatheright drifts with the flow of life and embraces entropy. All things are moving towards chaos, then eventually back to order. Observing these cycles has been essential to his existence and explorations as a young adult. For EXISTENCE, Gatheright explains that “the goal is to present chaos in arrangements that express the ever-changing tides of emotion while covering themes such as identity, consumerism, and value. The overall composition and the use of additives help draw viewers in, inviting the viewers to ponder the purpose, question its worth, and embrace a little disorder.
12th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition
Sitar Arts Center celebrated art in the community with our 12th Annual Juried Exhibition. This Exhibition aims to feature work from emerging local artists, including members of our Sitar community, in a variety of mediums.
2021 Theme: EMOTION
The complexities of emotions are evident in its spheres of expression, perception, and awareness. Therefore, emotions are expressed and perceived differently. This exhibition gives the artist the opportunity to express various experiences, feelings and emotions through context such as image, composition, color and form.
Winners of the 12th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition – EMOTION!
Ages 22 and older
1st Place:
Isiah Gatheright
2nd Place:
Sarah Renzi Sanders
Young Adult
1st Place:
Claire Perry
2nd Place:
Be’Len Rice
People’s Choice Award:
Jessica Leskin
