Sperryville artist Adam Disbrow isn’t interested in mimicking realism; after all, “a camera can do that,” he writes in an email. Instead, he communicates with his audience through abstract, minimalistic images, using layers of objective symbols to create a wholly subjective piece of art.
His latest exhibition, opening at the Music Resource Center on August 4, approaches a concept that’s as subjective as it gets: the perception of beauty. “A Portrait of Beauty” is a series of starkly simple paintings that explores the superficial draw toward beautiful things that defines us as humans.
The first portrait in the series, the show’s namesake, pares down a female profile to just thick black hair, an extended hand, a single eye and a pair of red, red lips. Even with just these basic features, she still has something to say to the viewer. “I believe in the power of symbols as a medium to convey feelings and information,” says Disbrow. —Julia Stumbaugh
Art on the Trax 5784 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “An Exhibition of Chair Drawings,” featuring chair sketches from local craftsman Joe Sheridan. Opens August 12, 4-6pm.
FF Central Library 201 E. Market St. “Gone,” featuring photographs of businesses, buildings and local landmarks that were lost to disaster or development and now remain only in photographs and memories. 5-7pm.
FF CitySpace Art Gallery 100 Fifth St. NE. “Rio+29 Small Area Plan,” a placemaking exhibit of maps and diagrams. 5:30-7:30pm.
Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “The Light Chaser: Plein Air Paintings of Virginia,” an exhibition of plein air landscapes celebrating the beauty of everything from Monticello to Skyline Drive. Opens August 12, 2-5pm.
FF C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St. “Birds and Bees, Flowers and Trees,” featuring ceramic jewelery inspired by the natural world from Jennifer Paxton. 6-8pm.
FF The Garage 100 E. Jefferson St. “Recent Work,” featuring acrylic and pencil on paper and canvas by Frank P. Phillips. 5-7pm.
FF Graves International Art 306 E. Jefferson St. “Roy Lichtenstein & Company: Postwar and Contemporary Art,” featuring handmade, limited-edition prints and exhibition posters by artists such as Lichtenstein, Gerhard Richter, David Hockney, Keith Haring, Ellsworth Kelly, Josef Albers and others. 5-8pm.
FF Fellini’s #9 200 W. Market St. “Historic Downtown Mall,” featuring watercolor paintings by Lois Kennensohn. 5:30-7pm.
Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “Private Spaces,” featuring a collection of personal images—this time taken on an iPhone instead of with extensive equipment—by professional photographer Yolonda Coles Jones. Noon-6pm.
FF Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Summer Perspectives,” featuring work by Isabelle Abbot, Sarah Boyts Yoder and Cate West Zahl. 1-5pm.
McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Sarah B. Smith Gallery, “Visions of Woven Color,” featuring the work of seven artists who employ color and diversity in their weaving; in the Lower Hall Galleries North and South and Upstairs South, a McGuffey members show featuring more than 50 artists working in a variety of media. 5:30-7:30pm.
FF Music Resource Center 105 Ridge St. “A Portrait of Beauty,” an expressionist series of works by Adam Disbrow on the perception of beauty. 5-7pm.
FF New Dominion Bookshop 404 E. Main St. A multimedia exhibition from BozART Fine Art Collective. 5-7pm.
Shenandoah Valley Art Center 26 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. “Sparks of Summer,” a mixed-media exhibition culminating in a collaborative work by seven artists. Opens August 5, 5-7pm.
FF Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Infinite Repeats,” featuring collage and silkscreen prints by Thomas Dean. 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.