Seeds of Inspiration Take Root at Brenda McMahon Gallery in Gulfport

Ceramic artist and gallery owner of Brenda McMahon Gallery in Gulfport, Brenda’s transformative five-week residency in Vallauris, France this summer offered her the opportunity to dive into work she says has been simmering inside for more than a decade. On Friday, October 4th, McMahon will unveil the first fruits of her residency at Inspirations from France: The Seeds of Vallauris Take Form, a breathtaking exhibition that marks her first solo show in her acclaimed namesake gallery. The event lasts from 6-9 pm at Brenda McMahon Gallery and will serve as the centerpiece of a monthlong fundraiser in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“Vallauris is where the seeds of my sculptural work were given time and attention, the creative equivalent of sun and water,” says McMahon. “What began to take form in my French atelier is being cultivated and refined, here in my Gulfport studio. It’s an honor to share my creative vision to help benefit a wonderful cause like breast cancer awareness.”

This will be the third consecutive year that Brenda McMahon Gallery applies its creative resources to assist those working to raise awareness and support of breast cancer awareness, prevention, and survivors during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As it has done since 2021, the gallery and its participating artists will donate 10% of the proceeds from all gallery sales for the month to the breast cancer awareness and prevention movement. This year’s partner recipient is the Sonia Plotnick Health Fund.

“We must be vigilant, as these are our sisters, mothers, friends and community, adds McMahon. “We know when women work together, the world changes and we want to be a part of that change.” 

McMahon’s saggar-fired vessels and sculptural wall art is featured in public and private fine art collections across the country. Her new work is explorative, and followers of her work eagerly await her new show.

Says McMahon of Brenda McMahon Gallery in Gulfport: “My new work is exploring 3 directions, sculptural vessels as well as figurative expressions. I understand this is the beginning, an opening which I have given myself permission to nurture.  A year from now, the work will be yet another lineage of the seeds of Vallauris.”

About the organization:

The Sonia Plotnick Health Fund provides financing to pay for women’s mammograms and breast cancer treatments as well as many other overall healthcare needs. The SPHF, named after Gulfport resident and lesbian activist Phyllis Plotnick’s mother who died of breast cancer in 1964, was established in 1997 and has served over 1,000 women and provided more than $220,000 in healthcare grants to women.