First Fridays: May 5
Lily Erb spends a lot of time outside, taking stock of the natural world for images, information and patterns to use in her steel sculptures, some of which are on view this month in “Epitaxy” at the Welcome Gallery at New City Arts.
Sometimes she’ll focus on abstracting a certain natural form—for example, she held the image of a bulbous, papery wasp’s nest in her mind while creating the piece “Growth Rings.” Other times, she’ll pull multiple forms together to see what the fusion summons from her subconscious—waves, symmetries, spirals and more.
“Many of the pieces are incubating spaces, hard shells with room for interior growth,” says Erb. “They emphasize the physical and emotional strength necessary to bring forth and sustain life.” For “Epitaxy,” Erb shares gallery space with cloth artist Annie Dunckel. The two artists collaborated on a pair of pieces for the show, and Erb says the juxtaposition of materials—the steel against the cloth—“more directly articulates the incubating spaces” that she aims to create.
What’s more, Erb often makes a piece out of several small, similar parts that are distinctly different from one another but clearly belong together. “I like making communities in my work. It’s reaching towards the joyful togetherness I feel when I’m surrounded by people I love,” says Erb.
FF Albemarle Cabinet Co. 309 E. Water St. An exhibit of oil paintings by Logan MacKethan. 5-7pm.
Art on the Trax 5784 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “Hidden Realm,” oil paintings and mixed media by Marissa Minnerly. Opens Saturday, May 6, 1-3pm.
BozART Fine Art Collective 190 Rockfish School Ln., Afton. “Color Vibrations,” works in oil, watercolor and acrylic, photography, photo transfer and cattle markers by Carol Kirkham Martin, Kelly Oakes, Caroll Mallin and other artists.
FF The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 209 Monticello Rd. “Macrocosmos,” Bolanle Adeboye’s immersive and interactive multimedia installation exploring the relationship between the inner voice and the vast universe that surrounds it. 5:30pm.
FF Central Library 201 E. Market St. An exhibit of work by mixed-media artist Sara Gondwe, who shaves crayon onto canvas and uses a household iron to melt, combine and shape the colors into a design. 5-7pm.
FF Chroma Projects Gallery 112 W. Main St., Ste. 10. “Nesting Materials,” sensitive bird paintings and mixed-media interpretations of avian activity by Suzanne Stryk. 5-7pm.
FF CitySpace Art Gallery 100 Fifth St. NE, Market Street Garage. “ArtQuest,” featuring work from Charlottesville City Schools’ art students. 5:30-7:30pm.
FF Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. Western Albemarle High School student art exhibit and sale, including clay, digital media, collage, photography and other media. Through June 1.
FF C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St. “Reflections of the earth from within and beyond,” featuring the work of glass fusion artist Mary Ellen Larkins. 6-8pm.
FF Fellini’s #9 200 Market St. “Portraits in the Color of Life,” oil paintings by Kelly Oakes. 5:30-7pm.
The Fralin Museum at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Collect, Care, Conserve, Curate: The Life of the Art Object”; “Grasping at the Ephemeral: Explorations on Change from the Permanent Collection”; “Imagining Antiquity: Italianate Prints from the Langhorne Collection” and “Oriforme” by Jean Arp.
Firefly 1304 E. Market St. “First Impressions,” a series of paintings and digital collage by Julia Spong.
FF The Garage 100 E. Jefferson St. “Field Notes,” mixed media explorations of line on paper by Laura Josephine Snyder. 5-7pm.
FF Graves International Art 306 E. Jefferson St. “Roy Lichtenstein & Company: Post War and Contemporary Art,” featuring handmade limited-edition prints and exhibition posters by notable artists such as Lichtenstein, Gerhard Richter, David Hockney, Keith Haring, Ellsworth Kelly, Josef Albers and others. 5-8pm.
Hot Cakes 1137 Emmet St. N. Ste. A. “Maine Scapes,” Karen Jaegerman Collins’ oil paintings inspired by the coast of Maine.
The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “Through Darkness to Light: Seeking Freedom on the Underground Railroad,” Jeanine Michna-Bales’ series of photographs that imagines an Underground Railroad route.
FF Kardinal Hall 722 Preston Ave. Ste. 101. Paintings by Dave Moore. 6-9pm.
Kluge-Ruhe Collection 400 Worrell Dr. “Body Ornaments,” objects by indigenous Australian ceramic artist Janet Fieldhouse; “Art and Country,” featuring works on canvas, paper and eucalyptus bark drawn from the museum’s permanent collection.
Leftover Luxuries 350 Pantops Center. An exhibit of paintings by Nancy Wallace.
Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. An exhibit of gestural abstractions painted by Peter Skinner. Opens May 12, 5pm.
Loving Cup Vineyard and Winery 3340 Sutherland Rd., North Garden. “Love the Virginia Landscape,” featuring oil paintings of central Virginia landscapes by Julia Kindred.
FF McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. “Broken Lines,” work by Renee Balfour in the Sarah B. Smith Gallery; “Diving Deep: The Cellular Patterns of Plant Life,” featuring work by Erica Lohan in the Lower Hall North; “As Time Goes By,” featuring work by Lee Alter in the Lower Hall South; annual high school art show featuring art from local high school students in the Upper Hall North and South. 5:30-7:30pm.
FF Mudhouse Coffee Roasters 213 W. Main St. “Looking Out, Looking In,” featuring mixed-media collage by Susan Greene. 6-8pm.
FF Piedmont Council for the Arts Gallery 112 W. Main St., Ste. 9. “Brought to Light,” large-scale moth portraits. 5-7pm.
FF Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. “By the Ton,” mixed-media collage by Kirsten Stolle; and “School of the Abyss,” mixed media by Steve Miller. 5:30-7:30pm.
Shenandoah Valley Fine Art Center 26 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. “Bumpy and Flat,” an exhibition featuring work from father/daughter artists Tom Elliott and Cheryl Elliott.
FF Spring Street Boutique 107 W. Main St. “Artists in Bloom,” featuring work by Trilbie Ferrell Knapp’s advanced art students. 6-8pm.
FF Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Interpret This,” featuring new, old and never-before- seen works by local artist and muralist Chicho Lorenzo. 5-7pm.
FF Telegraph Art & Comics 211A W. Main St. “Pantheon,” a series of four digital prints depicting figures of Greco-Roman mythology by Leslie Hung, Chris Visions, Sloane Leong and Chris Danger. 5-7pm.
FF VMDO Architects 200 E. Market St. “Murmurations,” photography from Robin Eshleman. 5:30pm.
FF Welcome Gallery at New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. “Epitaxy,” sculpture by Anne Dunckel and Lily Erb. 5-7:30pm.
FF WriterHouse Gallery 508 Dale Ave. An exhibit of paintings by Elyssa Zimmerman. 5-7pm.
FF WVTF & Radio IQ Studio Gallery 218 W. Water St. “hurtsmyeyes,” featuring mixed media work by Nina Frances Burke. 5-7pm.
FF First Fridays is a monthly art event featuring exhibit openings at many downtown art galleries and additional exhibition venues. Several spaces offer receptions.