When Georgia Webb draws, she tends to draw things that are close to her—her mother, Ali, her grandpa Jim or her friend Sidney. She draws her favorite cartoon characters, iconic items like Spam cans, and often reinterprets famous paintings, such as Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” in her own distinct black line-and-marker style.
A selection of Webb’s drawings is on view in the Upper Hall Gallery of the McGuffey Art Center this month, as part of an exhibition of work by artists from Innisfree Village, a local lifesharing community for adults with intellectual disabilities, or as McGuffey resident artist and show curator Christopher Headings prefers to say, a group of “friends who make great art.”
The show also includes sculptural stuffed animals made by Innisfree artists, and a series of trains in the snow drawn by artist Willy G. using pencil, colored pencil, pen and deliberate dots of white acrylic paint. Willy, who has been making art for a while and is a frequent visitor to First Fridays openings all over town, used to create the maquettes for Daggett Grigg Architects.
The mission of the McGuffey Arts Association is to support artists dedicated to practicing their art and to passing on the creative spirit, Headings says, and this show is well within that mission. Plus, he adds, “my goal is for people to not have a preconceived notion of [these artists], and to see this work for what it is—it’s art.”
Here’s what’s on view at galleries around town for the month of October.
Annie Gould Gallery 121 S. Main St., Gordonsville. An exhibition of work from more than a dozen regional and out-of-state artists.
Art on the Trax 5784 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “Blue Ridge and Beyond,” a show of work from six plein air painters. October 14, 6pm.
FF The Bridge PAI 2019 Monticello Rd. “Parlor of Horrors,” Matthew Gatto’s tribute to the golden age of Hollywood horror films. 5pm.
FF Central Library 201 E. Market St. “World Art Exhibit,” featuring work by refugees resettled in Charlottesville. 5-7pm.
FF Chroma Projects 418 E. Main St. “Purity,” somewhat autobiographical, complementary and contrasting color-field paintings by Jim Henry. 6-8pm.
FF City Clay 700 Harris St., Ste. 104 City Clay members show and celebration of the new studio space. 5:30-7pm.
FF CitySpace Art Gallery 100 Fifth St. NE. “Made In Charlottesville,” a photo exhibit celebrating businesses making products locally. 5:30-7:30pm.
Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “It’s the Little Things,” featuring Kathleen Mistry’s jewelry work inspired by memories of nature’s fleeting moments. October 14, 3pm.
FF C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St. “Nouveau Willow,” featuring Lynn Windsor’s stained glass meditations on life cycles. 6-8pm.
C’ville Coffee 1301 Harris St. “Everything Acrylic,” a collection of impasto palette knife paintings by Caroll Mallin.
FF The Garage 100 E. Jefferson St. An exhibition featuring work by sculptor and film artist Sandy Williams IV. 5-7pm.
Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “Karma,” featuring work by Lisa Beane. October 14, 6pm.
FF Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Land Patterns,” paintings by Susan Mcalister inspired by a love of the land and an admiration for abstract painter Cy Twombly. 1-5pm. Opening reception Oct. 5, 5-7pm.
FF McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Sarah B. Smith Gallery, “Les Desmoiselles,” an exhibit of Bob Anderson’s large-scale drawings. In the Lower Hall Galleries North and South, “All Rise: The Artist’s Voice in Contemporary Activism,” a group show exploring the role of the artist in intersectional activism. In the Upper Hall Galleries North and South, “Innisfree Village,” work by artists from a lifesharing community for adults with disabilities. 5:30-7:30pm.
Neal Guma Fine Art 105 Third St. NE. An exhibition featuring Elger Esser, Chris McCaw, Sally Mann and William Wylie.
Northside Library 705 Rio Rd. W. “Fall Favorites,” a multimedia group art exhibit featuring the work of Kelly Oakes, Richard Bednar and Carol Kirkham Martin of the BozART Fine Art Collective.
Piedmont Virginia Community College V. Earl Dickinson Building 501 College Dr. In the North Gallery, “Fish Out of Water,” paintings by Lisa Parker Hyatt. In the South Gallery, “Metadata,” a mixed-media exhibition by Laura Parsons, L. Staiger, Mara Sprafkin and James Yates.
Random Row Brewery 608 Preston Ave. “Waterscapes,” featuring watermedia paintings by Matalie Deane.
FF Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. “My Body is a Grave,” a selection of large-scale paintings and works on paper by Paul Brainard that explores themes of mortality, virtual reality and consumer culture; and “Solve et Coagula,” an exhibit debuting the abstract expressionist-style work of Peter Benedetti. 5:30-7:30pm.
Shenandoah Valley Art Center 26 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. “Germination,” a mixed- media exhibition featuring the work of Staunton’s Beverley Street Studio School.
FF Spring Street Boutique 107 W. Main St. “La Vie en Rose,” Parisian lifestyle photographs by Abby Grace. 6-8pm.
FF Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Forget Your Perfect Offering,” a mixed-media exhibit by Sarah Boyts Yoder that explores her search for a space to situate anger, frustration, hope and despair. 5-7pm.
The Women’s Initiative 1101 E. High St. A group multimedia exhibit featuring work from Terry Coffey, Julia Kindred and Carol Kirkham Martin of the BozART Fine Art Collective.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church 717 Rugby Rd. “Water Like Memory,” featuring paintings of water by Susan Willis Brodie.
Virginia Arts of the Book Center 2125 Ivy Rd. “Passato Prossimo,” Lyall Harris’ collaborative exhibition made from objects and ephemera of nostalgia donated by more than 40 people. October 4, 4pm.
FF VMDO Architects 200 E. Market St. An exhibit of landscape photography by Jamie Payne. 5:30-7:30pm.
FF Welcome Gallery 114 Third St. NE. “Improbable Figures,” collage on paper works by Lisa Ryan. 5-7:30pm.
White Hall Vineyard 5282 Sugar Ridge Rd., Crozet. A show featuring the work of Randy Baskerville and Carol Kirkham Martin, artists from the BozART Fine Art Collective. Oct. 7 and 8, 11am-5pm.
FF WVTF/Radio IQ 216 W. Water St. “Subtleties of Nature,” featuring work by Nancy Jane Dodge inspired by the covert hideaways of the natural world. 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.