Through February 19: Mike Weber’s “Homestead” is at  Longview Gallery, 1234 9th Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos).

From Alden Leonard. Contact him at alden@borderstan.com and follow him @aldenleonard on Twitter.

Last weekend I went to see Longview Gallery’s current exhibition, Mike Weber’s “Homestead.” The show features around 20 of the former DC artist’s mixed media pieces exploring themes of spirituality and ancestry. Many of Weber’s past locales make their way into his art, either in the form of the DC flag or a dilapidated rural landscape.

Weber’s process is part of what makes the end product so compelling. Each painstaking step – from painting and drawing to pasting and tearing – is apparent in the rich layers and textures of the finished artwork. The mixture of subject matters and mediums gives each piece the hazy, ethereal feel of a dream or a memory, yet the final presentation is quite clean thanks to a thick resin top layer that brings everything together.

“He really has to babysit the piece until it’s done,” gallery director Drew Porterfield remarked about the tedium of drying the lacquer. Much like the abandoned homes it portrays, Weber’s art tells a story.

Come peruse Weber’s memories. “Homestead” runs through February 19 at Longview Gallery, 1234 9th Street NW.

Check out our gallery listing around Borderstan.