Perhaps it's fitting that fashion designer Ahni Sallaway is back to focusing on art.
After all, she got her start in fashion more than two decades ago only because she ran out of things to paint on. With no other materials left in her Paris apartment, Ahni, who was in France teaching art, grabbed a piece of gold cloth and painted faces on it. She then decided to sew it together and make a skirt. When the garment caught people's attention, she turned her attention to fashion design, launching a 23-year career.
Ahni grew her business into a million-dollar empire, serving more than 1,000 replica watches K stores on the wholesale side, as well as operating her Annapolis retail shop. But with more and more time devoted to fashion, the St. Margarets resident had less and less time to paint. So, when she hit 50 she decided it was time for a change.
Ahni curtailed the wholesale part of her business, just keeping her retail store, and concentrated on art. Nearly two years later, the results are on display at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in a show appropriately titled "Ahni Sallaway - New Energy."
More than 100 of the women who attended the opening earlier this month wore clothes made by Ahni, a tribute to the woman who is known by just her first name. (She changed it at age 19 from Anne to give herself a more distinctive identity).
"Ahni is inspirational," said Maryland Hall's Executive Director Linnell Bowen, who continued the trend by wearing two of Ahni's pieces, a silver top and black jacket, when she stopped by the gallery a few days ago.
"The transition from successful clothes manufacturer/designer to visual artist is inspirational to me. As you reach new decades, you reach new heights. We want people to come see this spectacular exhibit."
The show, which fills the Chaney Gallery and the adjoining hallway, features 39 of Ahni's works in a variety of media, from oils and acrylics to ink and spray paint. They run the gamut from big, bold portraits of women to vibrant abstracts.
"I had to be subtle with clothing," Ahni explained. "I had to make it wearable. With paintings, I can be bold. Art is what's inside me and I'm not worried about people buying it (now). People will buy it in the future. I need to get out the passion."
Many of those depicted in portraits are family members, including her two children and four of her sisters. But aside from her teenage son, and a "sexy guy" she dubbed "Rocky," all of the people whose faces grace the gallery are women.
Ahni said she paints women because she is a woman - and understands their struggles, their power and their beauty.
"I find the medium isn't important, what you say is important," she explained. "I try to convey some feeling through the eyes and faces."
Selma Nettles, a former Annapolis resident who now resides in Florida and just purchased her third Ahni painting, said the artist has a way of capturing a woman's soft side while also depicting "the strength underneath."
"There isn't a woman who looks at her paintings that doesn't see a little bit of herself in them," Nettles said.
Sigrid Trumpy, director of exhibits at Maryland Hall, said visitors "are struck by the boldness and confidence" of Ahni's exhibit. She went on to explain that the portraits and abstracts, though visually different, are tied together by the colors used and how they're applied.
"I feel very fulfilled
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