BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Gerri McCritty is a multidisciplinary artist.   She was born in Liberia, West Africa. She came to the USA on the Student Exchange Program then could not return home after Liberia erupted into a civil war that lasted many years.  She struggled to make a life here in the US, and eventually moved to Lancaster where she has lived and served in the Lancaster community for the past twenty plus years.   “I felt a continuous burning desire to satisfy and elevate my inner spirit and outer self by living the true artist that I believe I am.”  “I wanted to get my credentials as a professional artist, and I always dreamed of owning my own gallery.  I graduated from Millersville University with the Art degree I always wanted, and I am now the proud co-owner of PAVAA Gallery which has been in existence since 2015.”   Besides painting, she specializes in creating sculptures from wood, bronze, clay, plaster, and found objects.  She is also a professional DJ, and afro-percussionist and has always searched for a creative way to combine art, drumming, and music, and now she has!

 

INTRODUCING DRUM-BEATS-ART! 

A performance painting created with drumsticks, playing along with a musical mix created by Gerri that consists of various artists & genres. Drum-Beats-Art can also part of an interactive experience. Feel the joy of Gerri's ART BEATS DANCE by creating your own original painting while dancing with drum beats to music. Or just watch as others do.

• Monthly performances at PAVAA Gallery!  See more information on PAVAA Gallery's social media sites.

• Private bookings available for small group Arts Beats Dance sessions. 

Gerri's Drum-Beats-Art creations are awesome, unique, & one of a kind, and can be purchased through PAVAA Gallery's online store.  

 

GERRI’S ARTIST STATEMENT

The nature of my work is earthly and rhythmic, and it aims to bring out emotions we all feel globally in today’s world.   Africans celebrate the happiness & sadness of life with dance & rhythms. They say, “suffering but still smiling.” My work reflects the experience of my transitions, reflecting my West African roots and the rhythm of life in Lancaster, PA.  These two rhythms are deeply connected to me.

 

My work seeks to reveal racial injustices, promote environmental awareness, and bring out the emotions of happiness, sadness, discomfort, and the notion of elegance, dignity, pride and passion as notes to the rhythms using mixed media and found objects. 

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Gerri’s motto is:  Art + Music = Love

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Visit Gerri's Facebook page!

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Click here to browse & purchase Gerri's visual art or artful apparel!