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Pattern and Place

Maryamm Abdullah & Gloria Ann Shows

Tephra ICA at Signature

June 25 – September 26, 2026

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Introduction

Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art (Tephra ICA) presents a two-person exhibition of work by Maryland-based artists Maryamm Abdullah and Gloria Ann Shows. The exhibition explores the use of pattern to evoke a sense of place across the distinct mediums of ceramics and printmaking.

Tephra ICA at Signature, located at the Signature apartment building (11850 Freedom Dr, Reston, VA) is an innovative satellite gallery space that presents a year-round schedule of exhibitions featuring work by local and regional artists as selected by Tephra ICA curatorial staff. Visitors are welcome Wednesday–Saturday, 11am–5pm. Free and open to the public.

Tephra ICA at Signature is provided in partnership with BXP and Bozzuto, and generously sponsored by Reston Community Center.

Pattern and Place - Exhibitions - Tephra ICA

Courtesy of Maryamm Abdullah

Pattern and Place - Exhibitions - Tephra ICA

Maryamm Abdullah

In my work as a ceramic artist there is an Aesthetic I was hesitant to approach and it begins with the Flamenco Dress of all things. During the Barcelona, Spain Olympics I became infatuated with this country as a teenager. After high school I earned a degree in Fashion Design, and my love for the fashions of Spain had spurred my interest in this field. I only focused on the fashions, unaware of the stunning art & architecture of Spain. A PBS documentary later in my 30’ was my introduction and I was astounded by the beauty of The Grand Mezquita Cordoba, and the Al-Hambra Palace. Fast forward to the COVID-19 Pandemic, I took an online pottery class, and revisited ceramics after a 20 year absence. My new found skills needed a surface  treatment, and suddenly Spain beckoned me back. I began to approach the Moorish Aesthetic that was full of dazzling mixed patterned tiles, carved plaster, and archways. My approach couldn’t be precise like the traditional Moorish art, so I developed a Gestured Geometry to capture the essence of these exquisite places. Imagine freehand Geometry, how contradictory. I found my wings and my voice, as a Ceramic Artist.

Pattern and Place - Exhibitions - Tephra ICA

Courtesy of Gloria Ann Shows

Pattern and Place - Exhibitions - Tephra ICA

Gloria Ann Shows

Gloria Ann Shows is a print-focused artist and educator who transforms fragments of memory and place into layered landscapes. Through the slow, tactile processes of printmaking and collage, she explores the porous border between the outer landscape and the inner world.

Her work has been featured nationally at venues including Pyramid Atlantic Art Center (MD), Urban Arts Space (OH), ARTSPACE at Untitled (OK), and Flood Plain (MO), and is held in the collections of the Kohler Art Library (WI), the Zuckerman Museum of Art (GA), and the Southern Graphics Council International Archive. Shows has received support from the Ohio Arts Council and The Ohio State University, and was named a Momentum Spotlight Artist by the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.

Shows has received support from the Ohio Arts Council and The Ohio State University and was recognized as a Momentum Spotlight Artist by the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. Beyond the studio, she is deeply engaged in her community through teaching, collaborative print projects, and public commissions, including participatory works for the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Shows holds an MFA in Printmaking from The Ohio State University.

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