Click collage for slide show: The opening reception for Paula Crawford at Long View Gallery was Thursday, December 9. Her exhibition runs through January 6. (Luis Gomez Photos)

Click on the collage above for photos from the opening reception at Long View.

From Luis Gomez

Several hundred people turned out for the opening reception Thursday night at Long View Gallery for New York artist Paula Crawford. Her exhibition, “New Work,” has a highly unusual theme with the collection of paintings reflecting her battle with Hepatitis C:

“Several years ago, on the threshold of an unusual sickness, Paula Crawford began painting walls of spherical forms. When she was finally diagnosed with Hepatitis C, her doctor showed her an image of the cells causing the disease. They were clustered spheres, almost identical to what she had been painting. Whether this was a case of tuned inner eye or pure chance we will never know. Crawford’s call to paint these forms has remained after a yearlong treatment and final cure.” Read more.

Crawford’s paintings are on display at Long View through January 6. The gallery is at 1234 9th Street NW, across from the DC Convention Center.