ALLEN HIRSH
THE ABSTRACT GARDENER
A SHORT BIO
My interest in being an artist comes from growing up in a close-knit community in Central New Jersey in the early 1950s as the son of Jewish chicken farmers turned landscapers. My parents’ switch to horticulture was a true gift to me, nurturing a fascination with exotic plants and gardens beginning in my elementary school years, an attachment that has remained with me to this day. Indeed, it is photographic images of the plants that I grew in my own exotic garden that serve as the basis for much of my digital art. I genuinely love to look at and cultivate plants and admire their beauty, but even as a very young child I also had a passion for math and science that sealed my commitment to science at a very early age. Today, I am a practicing biophysicist, but I have also developed as a mathematical artist due to a seminal family tie. My brother Gene is a classically trained artist in oils and watercolors, and by the late 80s he had also become a digital artist, using available tools such as Photoshop and Painter to create elegant representational paintings from photographs. When our first child came in 1992, he urged me to try fractal style painting with the computer because I am good at math and he said it might relax me. Up to that point I, like a lot of biologists, was an indifferent computer programmer. Now I had a second chance, and I dived into learning proper structured programming by initially building screen saver painting programs. I soon switched to working every night on digital imaging problems my brother gave me, until I finally turned exclusively to scientific programming at the turn of the century, and this focus on computer programming proved invaluable to my professional scientific work. Yet in the years since, slowly cooking in my subconscious was a scheme for a very large and complex color and space manipulation engine. It took me years to finally sit down and write the code, and I am continually expanding it, but it has been fully operational for several years, allowing me to create a wide array of representational, impressionist, surreal and abstract images purely through the use of mathematics.
Shows and Awards
AWARDS
- In September 2013 I received an honorable mention in the “Art in the Garden” juried show at Greenspring Gardens in Annandale, Virginia.
- In the June, 2014 MAA show at The Civic Center in Friendship Heights, MD my piece "Pink Camellia Fish" was awarded best in show in abstracts by juror Christine Lashley, resident artist and instructor at The Yellow Barn Art Center in Glen Echo, MD.
- I have won a second prize berth in The IV International Juried Competition at The Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, September 11-October 4th, 2014. The show was juried by Nancy Meyer, assistant curator of contemporary art at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Max Presneill, Director and Curator, Torrence Art Museum.
- I won honorable mention for my abstract “A Wolf’s Kiss” at the MAA’s annual Kensington Labor Day Show, juried by prominent local artist Glenn Kessler.
- Won 1st prize at The Winter Members Show, 2016 at MFA Circle Gallery in Annapolis, MD
- I won a Best in Show award at The Fall Members Show, 2017 at MFA Circle Gallery in Annapolis, MD
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- March 2013 I was juried into Washington DC’s oldest artist’s cooperative, The Foundry Gallery, at 2118 8th St. NW in downtown DC.
- April 2013 I was invited to hang 5 pieces at the Hang The Halls Nature Based Exhibit at the new Capitol Arts Network at 12276 Wilkins Avenue in Rockville, Maryland . Simultaneously I hung 4 pieces at The Washington School of Photography’s Hall Exhibit in the same building.
- June 2013 I was invited into the Story of the Creatives exhibit by the See.Me organization in NYC. The show is being held at the See Exhibition Space from July 29th to September 10th at: 26-19 Jackson Avenue, New York, NY 11101. This is in Long Island City in Queens just across the East River from midtown Manhattan.
- In September 2013 I received an honorable mention in the Art in the Garden juried show at Greenspring Gardens in Annandale, Virginia.
- In November 2013 I had two pieces juried into the mathematical art exhibition at the joint mathematics meetings of The Mathematical Association of America and The American Mathematical Society, the world’s largest annual gathering of mathematicians, held in January 2014 in Baltimore, MD.
- In January, 2014 I was invited to submit a manuscript about my technique to the peer reviewed journal Mathematics and The Arts
- In March and April 2014 I was the featured artist at the local restaurant, The Daily Dish in Silver Spring.
- In May 2014 I hung a solo show in the Kefa Café, on Bonifant St. in downtown Silver Spring, with a flower theme in honor of spring.
- In March 2014 I had a piece juried into the Art on Paper show at the MFA Circle Gallery in Annapolis, MD. This was juried by Dr. Eric Denker, The Senior Lecturer at the National Gallery of Art, who chose 80 pieces out of 1040 submitted.
- In March 2014 I was juried into the Second Garrett Park Invitational Exhibit in April 2014. My painting was one of 20 accepted pieces out of over 200 submitted.
- In March 2014 I was the featured artist at the Montgomery Art Association’s gallery in the Wheaton Mall.
- In May and June 2014 I was the featured artist at the Hedgerow Theatre, the oldest continuously operating repertoire theater in the U.S., in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania
- In May 2014 I was juried into the MD Art @ College Park show juried by Ann Shafer, Associate Curator at the Baltimore Museum of Art, one of 107 accepted artists out of 697 applicants.
- An article about my work has been published in the arts section of The Jewish Daily Forward in New York. The article, by the noted arts journalist Menachem Wecker, can be found at:
http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/202947/mystical-gardening-and-digital-art/.
- In the June, 2014 MAA show at The Civic Center in Friendship Heights, MD my piece "Pink Camellia Fish" was awarded best in show in abstracts by juror Christine Lashley, resident artist and instructor at The Yellow Barn Art Center in Glen Echo, MD.
- I am now an online member of Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. I have been juried in to the online division of this lovely contemporary gallery in Scottsdale. You can by my art through their website. My pieces in their gallery will not be sold through my site, but will be a distinct set. The URL is: www.xanadugallery.com/Art/ArtistGallery.asp?ArtistID=5359
- I had two works in the Invitational Mathematical Art Exhibit at The University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg VA. The exhibition dates were September 4- October 5, 2014 at the Ridderhof Martin Gallery of the university.
- I had a piece juried into the 2014 Botanicals Online exhibit at the Light, Space and Time online gallery. It was my piece "Clematis 'Lion's Mane'" and the url is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnydbrEQPTw&feature=player_detailpage&list=TL-Y3s80KXuSdpBmHszJH4QbODlHKJzw9w#t=216
- I was juried into the 2014 MFA Circle Gallery Landscapes show. With more than 653 total entries from 202 artists, I was one of 66 artists selected by Peter Van Dyke, Assistant Professor, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, juror for MFA’s open-juried American Landscapes Exhibition. My piece, Mike's Red Barn, is prominently displayed on my website under buildings. The show ran from August 15 through September 14, 2014 at the MFA Circle Gallery in Annapolis, MD.
- I was juried into the 23rd Annual ISEA International Art Exhibition in San Pedro, CA. My artwork is titled "Passionate Buckeyball". The exhibit ran from September 13th to October 12th 2014 at the National Watercolor Society (NWS) Art Gallery, 915 So Pacific Ave, San Pedro, CA 90731. The exhibit was juried by Linda A. Doll, painter, digital photographer, graphic artist, instructor and juror. A teacher of workshops and seminars throughout the US, Mexico, Canada, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Ireland and Bali, she is the President (2012-2014), a Past-President and Life Member of the National Watercolor Society, a Past Board Member and Juror of the American Watercolor Society, and a past Board Member of Watercolor West . She is a Life Honorary Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and an Elected Life Member of the San Diego Watercolor Society. Her paintings and drawings are included in many books and have been used by several magazines for their covers. Linda is included in many of the Who's Who Publications including Who's Who in American Art and Who's Who of American Women.
- I won a second prize berth in The IV International Juried Competition at The Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, September 11-October 4th, 2014. The show was juried by Nancy Meyer, assistant curator of contemporary art at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Max Presneill, Director and Curator, Torrence Art Museum.
- I won honorable mention for my abstract “A Wolf’s Kiss” at the MAA’s annual Kensington Labor Day Show, juried by prominent local artist Glenn Kessler.
- As of October 14 I have three pieces juried into the online Science exhibit at Linus Gallery in Pasadena, California.
- In April of 2015 I had 3 pieces juried into the show at the Bridges International Conference on Connections between Art and Mathematics at The University of Baltimore, July 2015
- In April of 2015 I had 2 pieces juried into the show at the University of Md, Towson Mathematical Art Exhibition in June and July 2015
- In April of 2015 I had 1 piece juried into the Special Mathematical Art Exhibit at The 100th Anniversary Conference of the Mathematical Association of America
- I had one piece juried into the Unconventional Means show at Las Lagunas Gallery in Laguna Beach, California from June 4 to June 27, 2015.
- My piece Shadow of a Flame was juried into the 24th Annual ISEA International Art Exhibition in Traverse City Michigan in September 2015
- I have three pieces in the online exhibit at Museum of Digital Fine Arts (MoDFA)
http://modfaxhibitions.wordpress.com
https://modfaxhibitions.wordpress.com/2015/07/19/summer-of-extraordinary-art-the-modfa-2015/
- I had a piece juried into ArtKudos 2015, an international online exhibition
- I had two pieces juried into the Anything Goes Show at the Crystal Molle Gallery in Baltimore in October 2015.
- Won 1st prize at The Winter Members Show, 2016 at MFA Circle Gallery in Annapolis, MD
- Was juried into the Spring Members Show at MFA Circle Gallery in Annapolis, MD 2016 by Crystal Molle
- Sold two large pieces at the annual Washington Project for the Arts Gala Art Auction and reception, April 2016.
- In May 2016 I was selected by juror Adam Davies for inclusion in the online exhibition, Watering Holes at the MFA Circle Gallery in Annapolis MD
- I had two pieces invited into the July-August 2016 International Electron Salon Show at Rex Bruce's Los Angeles Center for Digital Art
- I had two pieces invited into the September-October 2016 International Electron Salon Show at Rex Bruce's Los Angeles Center for Digital Art
- I had two pieces juried into the Global Landscapes 2016 Show at the MFA Circle Gallery in Annapolis MD
- I had six pieces invited into the December 2016 International Electron Salon Show at Rex Bruce's Los Angeles Center for Digital Art
- I had one piece invited to The Studio 26 Show at Kentlands Mansion, December-January 2016-2017
- I had one piece invited into the December 2016 Show at Studio 26 in Greenwich Village, NYC
- I had one piece juried into the 2017 Winter members show at the MFA Circle Gallery in Annapolis
- I had one piece juried into The Focal Point 2017 show at the MFA Circle Gallery in Annapolis
- I had two pieces invited into the January 2017 International Electron Salon Show at Rex Bruce's Los Angeles Center for Digital Art
- I had one piece juried into Exhibitions Without Walls' Free For All 2017 online exhibition
- I had one piece juried into MFA Circle Gallery's American Landscape 2017 show
- I had a show at The Gaithersburg, MD Art Barn in October, 2017
- I had a show at Gallery b in Bethesda , MD in November, 2017
- I had one piece juried into Collage and Digital Madness Show at Las Laguna Gallery in Laguna Beach CA Sept 2017
- I had a piece juried into the art show at The International Digital Media and Arts Association in Washington DC October 2017
- I had one piece juried into the 25th Annual ISEA International Art Exhibition in Sanibel Florida
- I had a May 2018 show in Gallery 505 in Frederick MD
- I have been juried into the International Top 40 2018 show June-July 2018 at Rex Bruce's Los Angeles Center for Digital Art curated by Rebecca Matalon, Curator at MoCA, Museum of Contemporary Art
- I had a piece juried into the 48th Annual Labor Day Art Show at Glen Echo Park Sept 2018
- I have the inaugural solo Show at the Trigraphics Gallery in Rockville, MD, Jan-Feb 2019. 4 pieces sold (~$8000 total)
- I am a represented artist at Rex Bruce's Los Angeles Center for Digital Art ,March 2019
- One piece in the April 2019 members show at Los Angeles Center for Digital Art
- Juried into the June 2019 Art on Paper Show at the Long Beach Island Foundation, Loveladies, NJ
- One piece juried into The Pennsylvania Center For Photography's TRANSFORMATIONS 2019 Digital Exhibition
Allen Hirsh
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
www.theabstractgardener.com
