“Nepthenthe is the Greek term that broadly translates to ‘a place of no sorrow,'” shares gallery owner Carrie Garland, an Alexandria, VA native who graduated from William and Mary in 1990 and married her high school sweetheart, Jim the Framer, in 1995. Carrie worked in sales and marketing for Stonewall Vineyards, The Williamsburg Winery, and Perrier before leaving the workforce to stay home and raise their four children.
Carrie has volunteered at The Campagna Center in Alexandria for almost 30 years, first as a Junior Friend and more recently as Co-Chair of the Supporting Friends. She has served on numerous school and community committees and boards over the last 20 years and is currently a Trustee on the Muscarelle Museum of Art Foundation Board at William and Mary, where she also serves as Co-Chair of the Museum’s Capital Campaign Committee.
Even before Carrie and her team opened Nepenthe Gallery, 7928 Fort Hunt Road in Alexandria, VA, the special word was part of her family’s lore.
She explains: “In the 1960s, my parents visited a wondrous restaurant in Big Sur named Nepenthe, and in the early 1990s, Nepenthe was our buzzword while wedding planning. It was a prompt for frustrated parties to retreat immediately and calm down. A few years later, my Dad named his boat Nepenthe, and did not allow whining or crying on deck.”
Today, Nepenthe Gallery features works from a wide range of artists, including locals who are like family, to painters, sculptors, and photographers from around the world. Nepenthe also features critically acclaimed deceased artists whose work lives on at the gallery.
“We are honored to hang works from our family’s private collection of 19th-century and early 20th-century American art and offer gallery talks for those masterpieces,” she says, noting that the gallery features a rotating selection of iconic, fun and familiar prints and neon images, as well as various sculptures, objects and Nepenthe Gallery merchandise. There is also a frame shop on-site with a wide variety of custom frames and mirrors.
Carrie says she is proud of the work being done to serve artists and the community.
“We continue our family’s tradition, and we present Nepenthe Gallery to the Hollin Hall community in Alexandria, VA, to serve as a respite from the outside world and a place to enjoy the creative works inside.”
Stop by when you are in the neighborhood: Every Thursday from 6-7:30pm, the Gallery hosts an ART + WINE + CHEESE event that highlights an artwork, artist, special guest, or genre.
Contact Carrie: 703-856-5277 | carrie@nepenthegallery.com