“Colleen Rosenberry: Journey From Grief To Art” remains on view at Studio Ix through June 30.
Image courtesy of Studio Ix.
Following the sudden death of her youngest son, Colleen Rosenberry revived a painting practice she had cultivated in her youth but that she had let wane as the responsibilities of motherhood and work mounted. Seeking solace in her grief, Rosenberry turned to artistic expression.
In the gallery at Studio Ix, Rosenberry presents “Journey From Grief To Art,” a collection of paintings with subjects including landscapes, interior settings, cityscapes, and architectural studies. The show is unified by the connecting threads of loss, memory, and peace, as well as the impressionistic style employed by the artist, who cites Monet and Van Gogh as inspirations.
The scene set in “Breath” evokes a vigil, with a single light burning in remembrance of a pictured subject. We see the outline of an empty chair, vignetted by lamp light. There is warmth, but it only extends so far. The painting holds a second vignette, as this interior scene is couched within a view of the cosmos. Here, we gain the sense of how a small slice of life fits into the greater design of existence. At 14 by 12 inches, the size of the painting is intimate, pulling the viewer to look closer, drawing one into the scene.
“Breath” by Colleen Rosenberry, on view at Studio Ix. Image courtesy of Studio Ix.
“Guide into the Blooms” reinforces the notion of light as a beacon. A single lamp hanging from a shepherd’s crook stand drives home the idea of guiding and tending, but behind the lamp, the viewer is drawn into an overwhelming sea of flora. Tension is built between the tight, flat rendering of the lamppost against the loose and impressionistic flowers that fill the picture plane.
A third piece trafficking in the theme of illumination, “Welcome into the Light,” offers a warmer composition dominated by yellow hues. There is warmth, but also an air of absence. The room is lit and inviting, but the table is empty; there are no dishes or silverware, no remnants of a meal or game of cards, just a solitary vase of flowers. The chair at the head of the table glows, perhaps alluding to a privileged position that will remain unfilled.
Together, these three works adeptly convey the presence of absence, where we see the trappings of habituation, but the inhabitants are nowhere to be found.
Other works in “Journey From Grief To Art” feature water and bridges, symbols of cleansing and “crossing over.” Still others focus on sunrises and sunsets, periods of transition and rebirth within a cycle of brilliance and darkness. Taken together, this collection of paintings is a strong illustration of the exhibition title, where raw emotion gives way to aesthetic understanding.
Dozens of local artists gather to draw and paint together in the heart of downtown at Gallery Rally 2024. Now in its ninth year, the creative-community-driven event affords art lovers the opportunity to meet artists, talk with them about their work, and witness acts of creation firsthand. Each of the works made during the rally is available to take home for just $100, which allows both fledgling and experienced collectors an occasion to celebrate.
Saturday 4/27. Free, 4pm. Second Street Gallery, 115 Second St. SE. secondstreetgallery.org
Rosemarie Fiore at Les Yeux du Monde. Image courtesy of the gallery.
May Shows
Artistic Remedies for Creative Hearts 8767 Seminole Tr., Ste. 101, Ruckersville. “The Birds and the Bees” by Sigrid Eilertson and “The Dream Weave—Everything We Dream About in Life and in Sleep,” an ARCH members exhibit. Opens May 14.
Baker Gallery Woodberry Forest School, 898 Woodberry Forest Rd. “INTO THE LIGHT” features works by 12 members of BozART Fine Arts Collective in celebration of the group’s 27th year. Through June 5. Artist reception May 22.
The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 209 Monticello Rd. “Nosotros” (us, we), a collaboration by Kris Bowmaster and Chicho Lorenzo. Through May 30.
Kris Bowmaster and Chicho Lorenzo at The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative. Image courtesy of the artists.
The Center at Belvedere 540 Belvedere Blvd. HE “ART” featuring Joan Dreicer, Matalie Deane, and Julia Kindred. Through June 30. .
Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. “High Wire,” a collection of new dimensional wall work by Kim Boggs. Through May 27.
Create Gallery at InBio Silk Mills Building, 700 Harris St. “Resilience of Humanity,” works from members of the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective. Through May 22.
Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd. “Shots from the Shenandoah,” a collection of photography featuring Shenandoah Valley-based landscapes, nature, and astrophotography by Erin Harrigan. Through May 31. Artist reception May 14.
Andy Stafford at Baker Gallery (left) and Allan Young at C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery (right). Images courtesy of the galleries.
C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Second Chances are Here,” whimsical and environmentally conscious works by tinkering guru, clockmaker, and upcycling artist Allan Young.
Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “Memory Quilts” displays nine quilts by Deloris Thomas that explore the relationship between color and form and utilize old patterns, some associated with the Underground Railroad. “Picturing Climate Justice” features photographs, artwork, and maps alongside interactive data tools to shed light on the nature of climate injustice in our region. Through June 4 and May 28, respectively.
Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Modern Alchemy,” works by Rosemarie Fiore and Ana Rendich. Through June 26.
Live Arts 123 E. Water St. “Confluence,” a series of small semi-abstract mixed media landscapes by Andrew Sherogan. Through May 31.
The Looking Glass IX Art Park 522 Second St. SE. Ste D. “Sanctuary” a new permanent interactive installation by Kathryn Wingate using conductive paint, UV paint, foam, and mixed media.
Loving Cup Vineyard & Winery 3340 Sutherland Rd., North Garden. “There is Beauty in Color,” works by Sara Gondwe using a melted crayon technique. Through May 29.
McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Smith Gallery, works by Klaus Anslem and Joan Griffin. On the first floor, works by Judy McLeod. On the second floor, “Water Works.” Through May 29.
McIntire Connaughton Gallery Rouss & Robertson Hall, UVA Grounds. “2 Plein Air Painters,” oil on linen, oil on linen panel, and oil on canvas by V-Anne Evans and Lee Christmas Halstead. Through June 13.
New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. “Sally Hemings University Connecting Threads (SHUCT),” an exhibition of work made by students of April Fellow Dr. Lisa Woolfork and Tobiah Mundt. May 6-7.
Piedmont Place 2025 Library Ave., Crozet. In the second floor hallway, “A Little Bit of This and That,” varied works by six members of BozART Fine Arts Collective. Through June.
PVCC Gallery V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Dr. The Annual Student Exhibition features a curated selection of works by student artists from the latest academic year. Artistic media include painting, drawing, ceramics, graphic design, digital media, sculpture, and more. Through September 9.
Random Row Brewing Co. 608 Preston Ave. “From Land and Sea,” works by watercolorist Juliette Swenson and digital photo collage artist TJ Drake. Through June 30.
Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “Pathways,” layered mixed-media paintings by Francisco Donoso. In the Dové Gallery, “Community Lost & Found,” a solo exhibition featuring new paintings by Christina Flowers. Through May 27.
Shenandoah Valley Art Center 126 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. In the Invitational Gallery, works by Gail Haile; in the Hallway Gallery, works by Dana Wheeles. In the Member’s Gallery, “White,” works by SVAC members in a variety of mediums. Through May 28.
Gaile Haile at SVAC (left) and Tobiah Mundt at Studio IX (right). Images courtesy of the galleries.
Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “WANDER and BLOOM” features works by self-taught fiber artist Tobiah Mundt as part of the Prolyfyck Exhibition Series. Through May 29.
Vault Virginia 300 E. Main St. “The Memories Won’t Fade Away,” a group exhibition featuring works by Brittany Fan, Lucy “Clare” Spooner, and Lauchlan Davis. Through July 15.
Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “Future Elsewhere: Dreams are transitory things,” an exhibition by Dana Washington-Queen.
Vitae Spirits Distillery 101 E. Water St. Photographs of vernacular architecture and innate cultural landscape context by Gary Okerlund.
Correction: This post was edited to correct the location of the show at Vitae Spirits Distillery.
Artisans Studio Tour Various locations in central Virginia. Local artisans are opening their studios for two days of self-guided tours. Featuring ceramic, fiber, jewelry, wood, glass, and metal artisans. November 13 and 14.
The Barn Swallow Artisan Gallery 796 Gillum’s Ridge Rd. “Movement Color Light” brings together a collection of large-scale works by Mary Stokes Crocker. Through November 30.
Mary Stokes Crocker at Barn Swallow Artisan Gallery.
The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 209 Monticello Rd. “all this stuff just bloomed around me” is a community-curated exhibition of the art of Steve Keene. Opens November 5.
Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. “The Land Between” features J.M. Henry’s paintings that incline toward landscape vistas without necessarily portraying landscape. Opens November 5.
J.M. Henry at Chroma Projects.
Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd. “Clay as Canvas,” ceramic works by Lynn Hilton Conyers. Through November 30.
Crozet Library 2020 Library Ave. “Homeward Bound: Landscapes” features work by Randy Sights Baskerville. Opens November 16.
Randy Baskerville at Crozet Library.
C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Joining Little Hands with Big Hands” showcases a collection of knit puppets from Mary Whittlesey. Through November 30.
The Guild Gallery Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. “Lost in the Maze” includes more than 60 works and installations from contemporary artist Bernie McCabe, from paintings, sculptures, and NFTs to pop- art on shoes and skateboards. Through January 14.
Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Signs of the Day” showcases work in a variety of mediums by Dean Dass. Through December 31.
McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. The McGuffey Art Center Holiday Show features two floors of art and holiday gift items. Opens November 22.
New City Arts Welcome Gallery 114 Third St. NE. “In Good Time,” a new exhibition of still life and figurative paintings by Tori Cherry. Opens November 5.
PVCC Gallery 501 College Dr. In the North Gallery, “Drawology,” by Frank Walker. In the South Gallery, “The Figure: Who We Are,” an exhibition by the Life Drawing Community of the McGuffey Art Center. Opens November 19.
Random Row Brewery 608 Preston Ave A. “Falling Up,” paintings by Judith Ely. Opens November 1.
The Ruffin Gallery 179 Culbreth Rd. “The Caterpillar Set (El conjunto oruga)” showcases the works of Christian Camacho. Through December 17.
Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “how strange it is to be anything at all,” by Josh Dorman. In the Dové Gallery, Caitlin McCormack and Dance Doyle’s “Dirty Mirror.” Through November 19.
Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. Work by Derrick Waller as part of the Prolyfyck Exhibition Series. Opens November 5.
Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “Witness to the Rain,” an exhibition by Fidencio Fifield-Perez, whose current work examines borders, edges, and the people who must traverse them. Opens November 6.
The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 209 Monticello Rd. “Dispatches From The Outpost” features Jennifer Almanza’s Old World collections and contemporary pieces, including glass, carved wood, shells, metal, and scavenged items, which showcase evidence of the existence of rare cryptozoological and alien lifeforms. Opens October 1.
The Center at Belvedere 540 Belvedere Blvd. “A New Rhythm” highlights work from 14 artists, including Sara Gondwe, Julia Kindred, Randy Baskerville, and more. Opens October 7.
Joan Dreiser at The Center at Belvedere.
Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. “Pandemonium: Postcards from the Edge” invited artists from all over the world to paint, draw, or mark up postcards to illustrate what we’ve all been through since the start of the pandemic. Opens October 1.
Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd. “A Colorful Mountain Life,” acrylic and oil paintings by Lori Leist. Meet the artist at 1pm on October 9.
Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival Crozet Park. Now in its 41st year, the festival welcomes over 120 artists, whose work includes jewelry, leather, art, photography, ceramics, sculpture, glass, and more. October 9-10.
C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Music for the Eyes,” works by felt maker Janice Stegall Seibert. Opens October 1.
The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Skyscraper Gothic” investigates the role of European Gothic architecture in 20th-century America through art.
Gallery at Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “The Route,” by Prolyfyck Run Crew member Mike Ryan, features representations of the crew’s mantras, the lines run, and the energy encountered. Opens October 1. Artist talk on October 28.
The Garage 100 E. Jefferson St. Photographer Matt Eich and poet and musician Doug Van Gundy present “Come As You Are,” a projection/poetry reading about their time together in Webster County, West Virginia. Opens October 1.
Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “Robert Reed’s Charlottesville” features works exploring the city through the eyes of the late Robert Reed. Through December 31.
Robert Reed at Jefferson School African American Heritage Center.
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection 400 Worrell Dr. “Boomalli Prints and Paper” showcases art by the Aboriginal Australian art cooperative Boomalli, and “Irrititja Kuwarri Tjungu” is a sampling of works from Papunya Tula artists. Outdoors, “Breathe With Me: A Wandering Sculpture Trail” is on display through October 17, and features pieces by students of sculptor Bill Bennett.
Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. Recent works from the collaborative team The Printmakers Left. Through October 10.
McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Smith Gallery, “Maker’s Show.” On the first floor, “Life Drawing,” and on the second floor, “ABSTRACTS.” Through November 21.
New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. “Situated Knowledge,” a new exhibition of sculpture by Marisa Williamson, Sandy Williams IV, and Patrick Costello, three artists who’ve spent formative years in Charlottesville. Opens October 1.
Northside Library 705 Rio Rd. In the lobby, Natalie Kohler’s paintings, which were done using sustainably harvested pigments. In the Quiet Room, landscape paintings by Nita Phillips.
PVCC Gallery 501 College Dr. In the North Gallery, “smoke or shadow,” animations by Jonah Tobias. In the South Gallery, the Annual Faculty Exhibition.
Quirk Gallery 499 W. Main St. Kristen Peyton’s painting series, “Ordinary Time.”
Kristen Peyton at Quirk Gallery.
The Ruffin Gallery 179 Culbreth Rd. “Wild Whimsey,” hand-cut and ornately layered installations by Emily Moores.
Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “how strange it is to be anything at all,” by Josh Dorman. In the Dové Gallery, Caitlin McCormack and Dance Doyle’s “Dirty Mirror.” Through November 19.
Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “A Whisper in the Night,” paper-cut and woven works by Sri Kodakalla.
Unitarian-Universalist Church 717 Rugby Rd. “Fancy and Carefree,” paintings by Sara Gondwe, on view digitally.
Sara Gondwe at Unitarian-Universalist Church.
Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “Is This The Place?” features works by Liz Zhang and Natalie Romero. Through October 30.
WTJU 2244 Ivy Rd. “We Hope This Art Finds You Well,” a community arts time capsule that features work made during the pandemic by several artists, including Eze Amos, John D’earth, Sri Kodakalla, and Harli Saxon. Open Friday and Saturday by appointment, through mid-November.
The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 209 Monticello Rd. “Pa(i)n(t)demic,” an exhibit from Jum Jirapan that explores art as therapy and painting as a way to begin anew.
Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. “The Frequency of Roses,” featuring nine egg tempera paintings by Susan Jamison that explore the relationship between roses and the divine feminine.
Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. Jewelry by Robert Turner and paintings by Trisha Thompson. Through June.
Sarah Kahle at Second Street Gallery.
C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “It’s All in the Open Air,” a show by plein air painter Meg West.
The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. Go online with The Fralin From Home for curatorial clips, art discussions, meditation practices, and more. uvafralinartmuseum.virginia.edu.
Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “Radiance from the Waters,” art by Adama Delphine Fawundu. Through August 28.
The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection 400 Worrell Dr. “My Land, My Dreaming,” a collection of works that feature contemporary Aboriginal Australian artists. Through November 28.
Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Evergreen,” featuring landscapes in oil and mixed media, as well as more abstract works, by Susan McAlister. Through August 15.
Madeleine Rhondeau-Rhodes at McGuffey Art Center
McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Sarah B. Smith Gallery, “Fairies Are Real,” collages by Madeleine Rhondeau-Rhodes; on the first floor, a show from the Incubator Residency Program; and on the second floor, a Summer Group Show featuring McGuffey Association Members. Through July.
Northside Library 705 Rio Rd. W. Multimedium works by Sara Gondwe.
PVCC Gallery 501 College Dr. PVCC’s 2021 Annual Student Exhibition is online only, displaying works by student artists in a variety of media. pvcc.edu/performingarts.
Sam Gray at Second Street Gallery
Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “Social Fabric,” works by Sharon Shapiro. In the Dové Gallery, “ROYGBIV,” a group exhibition that assigns one color on the visible light spectrum to seven participating artists. Thursday-Saturday, 11am-5pm.
Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. Experiments in sweatshirt alteration by Adam Crigger. Part of the Prolyfyck Run Crew series. Through June 27.
Adam Crigger at Studio IX.
Unitarian-Universalist Church 717 Rugby Rd. A collection of posters with social messaging created by Barbara Shenefield. Through June.
Welcome Gallery 114 Third St. NE. “Held Breath,” an exhibition by Tobiah Mundt that explores the flow of breath. June 23-27.
Growing up on the Torres Strait Islands of Australia, Brian Robinson drew on walls, windows, the kitchen table, the back fence. “Pretty much everywhere,” he told C-VILLE last month. “That creativity continued to grow and flourish” over decades of art-making, says the artist, who is now in his 40s, and has works in major public collections all over Australia, including the National Gallery of Australia.
About a dozen of Robinson’s recent linocut prints and etchings are currently on view at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection in “Tithuyil: Moving With the Rhythm of the Stars,” through May 31.
Robinson, who is of the Maluyligal and Wuthani tribal groups of the Torres Strait and Cape York Peninsula, and a descendant of the Dayak people of Malaysia, says his works take a look “at life in the Torres Strait, with a bit of a twist.” He writes in his artist statement that these pieces “present an intoxicating worldview, one where iconic works of classical art and popular sources from global culture”—such as the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars and the Tardis from “Dr. Who” in “Mapping the Cosmos” (above)—“are co-opted into the spirit world of the Islander imagination.”
The artist will be at the Kluge-Ruhe for the “Tithuyil” opening reception on February 20 at 5:30pm. —Erin O’Hare
Gabriel Allan while at work on his sculpture “The Messenger,” circa 2007. Image courtesy of the Allan family
An artist’s journey
The night Alp Isin heard that his friend and fellow artist Gabriel Allan passed away, he couldn’t stop thinking about Allan’s sculptures.
Though Isin had seen “a bunch” of Allan’s pieces, covering a range of times and places, he “wasn’t sure what the totality was. That day, that night, I got this overwhelming feeling that I would really like to see [all of] it,” says Isin.
This week, Isin gets his wish: “What Is To Give Light Must Endure Burning: A Retrospective of Gabriel Allan’s Artistic Evolution” is on view at McGuffey Art Center for the month of October. It’s a collaborative curatorial effort between Isin, Gabe’s father Freeman Allan, and artist Bolanle Adeboye.
Allan, who died in March of this year at age 37, was a fairly prolific artist, but he didn’t sell many of his pieces. He left the curators a lot of work to plumb for the exhibition (Isin imagines it’s most of Gabe’s oeuvre).
His most visible work, “The Messenger,” a larger-than-life bronze sculpture of a fire-winged man, will be moved from its spot at IX Art Park to welcome viewers to the show from the McGuffey front stairs. Inside, the show begins with a T-shirt that an 11-year-old Allan designed for a Free Union running event, and courses through some of the sketches and sculptures he made in high school (including his first, a bust painted blue and inscribed with a Khalil Gibran poem), before arriving at work he made while in school at UVA, and later as a working artist in Charlottesville. It will also include some of the photographs he took while traveling abroad.
Freeman, who was very close with his son, put together a timeline that accompanies the artwork to contextualize what was going on in Allan’s life at the time he made each piece.
“The Messenger” was cast into bronze fairly recently, at a Santa Fe foundry, and Allan exhibited the work at Burning Man before bringing it home to IX Art Park last year. Photo by Brian Wimer
Isin imagines that the show will be a different emotional experience for those who knew Allan, than for those who did not. But he expects all viewers to be deeply moved by the work itself, which he says deals with psycho-spiritual issues in “a very interesting way, a very deep way.”
What’s more, adds Adeboye, “seeing it all at once, in the same room,” whether the viewer knew Allan or not, “you’ll get a full picture of [Allan] and his journey. It paints the picture of life through art.”
Opening October 4
The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 209 Monticello Rd. “BEYOND: Virginia’s Enduring Exploration of The Mind,” half mini-museum and half art exhibit showcasing the ongoing exploration of human consciousness occurring within area organizations such as The Monroe Institute, The Association for Research and Enlightenment, The University of Science and Philosophy, and Yogaville. 5:30-9:30pm.
Chroma Projects InsideVault Virginia, Third Street SE. “The Asemic Landscape (a calligraphy of trees),” featuring paintings by Michelle Gagliano. 5-7pm.
CitySpace 100 Fifth St. NE. “Recent Paintings,” a show of new works by Warren Boeschenstein. 5:30-7:30pm.
Warren Boeschenstein at CitySpace
C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Pattern and Color Play: A Journey with Polymer Clay, Stone, and Wood,” featuring works by woodturner Floyd E. “Pete” Johnson and polymer clay artisan Judith N. Ligon. 6-8pm.
Eichner Studios Gallery 2035 Bond St. #120. A show of work by Julia Lesnichy and a number of local artists working in a variety of media. 6-8pm.
Fellini’s 200 W. Market St. An exhibition of landscapes in watercolor by Linda Abby. 5:30-7pm.
The Garage 100 E. Jefferson St. “Utility: New Paintings by Cate West Zahl,” highlighting the accidental and often overlooked beauty that can result when function consciously overshadows form. 5-7pm.
IX Art Park 522 Second St. SE. “1-2-3,” an exhibit of affordably-priced work by 12 local artists, in a variety of mediums. 5-8pm.
McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Sarah B. Smith Gallery, “The Art of BEING a HERo,” portraits of heroic women by Krista Townsend; in the Downstairs North Hall Gallery, “Room to Breathe,” rural landscapes from Maine to Florida by Lindsay Freedman; in the Downstairs South Hall Gallery, “Do You Live Here?,” paintings of Mid- Atlantic scenes by artist John Trippel; and in the Upstairs North and South Hall galleries, “What Is To Give Light Must Endure Burning: A Retrospective of Gabriel Allan’s Artistic Evolution.” 5:30-7:30pm.
New Dominion Bookshop 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Ars Combinatoria,” an exhibition of paintings and mixed-media sculpture by John Lynch. 5-7pm.
Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Dové Gallery, “She’s In Monochrome,” featuring works in grayscale by Pam Black, Jessie Coles, Gray Dodson, Sam Gray, Lou Haney, Krista Townsend, and Laura Wooten; and “Subculture Shock: Death, Punk, & the Occult in Contemporary Art,” featuring paintings, works on paper, sculpture, and mixed media by Jessicka Adams, Peter Benedetti, Paul Brainard, Eve Falci, Frodo Mikkelsen, Porkchop, and Tamara Santibañez. 5:30-7:30pm.
Spring Street Boutique 107 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Original Animal Paintings,” featuring acrylics on canvas by Lesli DeVito. 6-8pm.
Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Inspired by Van Gogh,” new works by members the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective, including Jo Lee Tarbell, C. Ann Robertson, Miriam Ahladas, and others. 5:30-7:30pm.
VMDO Architects 200 E. Market St. “Buy- O-Chromatic,” paper and waxed thread book art by Amanda Nelsen. 5:30-7:30pm.
Liz Zhang at Welcome Gallery
Welcome Gallery 114 Third St. NE. “Echoes,” a series of oil paintings by Liz Zhang in which the familiar, the family, becomes foreign. 5-7:30pm.
WriterHouse 508 Dale Ave. “Who We Are,” featuring acrylics on canvas by Chris Butler. 5-7pm.
WVTF Radio IQ 216 W. Water St. A joint show of work by Betty Brubach and Jim Cato. 5-7pm.
Other October shows
Albemarle County Circuit Court 501 E. Jefferson St. An exhibition of work by members of the Central Virginia Watercolor Guild.
Annie Gould Gallery 109 S. Main St., Gordonsville. “Evening Boaters,” featuring work by Linda Verdery, through October 6; and “Color Notes” by Lee Halstead, opening October 12.
Art on the Trax 5784 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “A Mind of Seasons,” paintings by Linda Verdery. Opens October 12.
Buck Mountain Episcopal Church 4133 Earlysville Rd., Earlysville. Oil and pastel paintings by John Kozloski. Opens October 5, 4-6pm.
Carpediem Exhibit 1429 E. High St. A rotating, expanding multi-media exhibit of works by local, regional and out-of-state artists.
Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. A show of work by Elizabeth Herlevsen of Red Mud Hen Pottery. Opens October 12, 2-4pm.
The Center 491 Hillsdale Dr. “Close to Home: Painting What We Love,” an exhibit of oil paintings by Randy Baskerville.
The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 RugbyRd. “Asian Art from the Permanent and Select Private Collections”; “Otherwise,” exploring the influence of LGBTQ+ artists; “Time to Get Ready: Fotografia Social”; “Of Women By Women”; and “Oriforme” by Jean Arp.
Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “Ernest Withers: Picturing the Civil Rights Movement 1957-1968,” a show of 13 works from the African American photojournalist best known for capturing 60 years of African American history in the segregated South.
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection 400 Worrell Dr. “Ngayulu Nguraku Ninti: The Country I Know,” featuring the work of Sharon Adamson and Barbara Moore; and “With Her Hands: Women’s Fiber Art from Gapuwiyak: The Louise Hamby Gift.”
Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Field Days,” a show of Susan McAlister’s multi- media works initiated “out in the field.”
Susan McAlister at Les Yeux du Monde
McIntire School of Commerce Connaughton Gallery Rouss and Robertson Halls, UVA. “Woodland and Sky,” featuring oil paintings by Kendall Cox and Linda Staiger.
Milli Coffee Roasters 400 Preston Ave. #150. A show of work by Georgie Mackenzie.
Mudhouse Coffee 213 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “People Other Than This One,” ashow of Greg Antrim Kelly’s smartphone photographs of friends, colleagues, and strangers.
Piedmont Place 2025 Library Ave., Crozet. “Landscapes and More,” a show of work in a variety of media by members of the BozART Fine Art Collective.
Shenandoah Valley Art Center 122 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. Featuring the work of five artists from the Beverly Street Studio School.
Summit Square Retirement Community 501 Oak Ave., Waynesboro. “Serenity,” featuring photography, watercolor, and mixed media works by Terry Coffey, Gail Haile, Shirley Paul, and Juliette Swenson.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church Unitarian-Universalist 717 Rugby Rd. An exhibition of perceptual paintings by Susan Viemeister. Opens October 13, 11:30am.
Georgie Mackenzie at Milli Coffee Roasters
University of Virginia Hospital Main Lobby 1215 Lee St. Landscape and wildlife photographs by George A. Beller.
Vitae Spirits Distillery 715 Henry Ave. “Lovely Landscapes,” a show of work by Julia Kindred.
First Fridays is a monthly art event featuring exhibit openings at many area art galleries and exhibition venues. Several spaces offer receptions. To list an exhibit, email arts@c-ville.com.
Michael "Doc" Doyle's show, "Drawings from Jail," is on view at the New City Arts Welcome Gallery during the month of October. Photo by Martyn Kyle
Michael “Doc” Doyle believes that the hardest thing you experience in life is your best chance to find out who you are.
For Doyle, a carpenter who studied metal sculpture in art school, that chance came in the form of jail time.
After battling addiction and depression, Doyle attempted suicide in such a way that he was charged with felony eluding, and because that act was considered a public danger, he was sentenced to more than a year in jail. He spent time in a psych ward, where a counselor introduced him to mindfulness. Upon returning to jail, he began meditating, practicing yoga, reading, and drawing. Art became part of his therapy—he’d ask the universe to send him an image as a means to understand and process what he was thinking and feeling, however difficult it was.
“These images feel gifted to me,” says Doyle of the few dozen pen-on-paper drawings exhibited in his show, “Drawings from Jail,” on view this month at the New City Arts Initiative’s Welcome Gallery. They are allegorical images of the psyche, exhibited semi-chronologically beginning to the left of the gallery’s entrance.
“Melancholia” is among the pieces on view in the show.
One of the drawings, “Melancholia,” was inspired by a 1514 engraving of the same name by German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. A huddled figure hugs his knees to his chest, his back to the viewer. He’s surrounded by a host of symbols: an hourglass (time), scales (justice, balance), a gavel (a sentence), a book (knowledge), a pencil and a drawing (creativity), a sphere (the mystery of life, always right behind you). In the near distance, a tombstone (death), a ladder (a way out), as well as a village (human connection), a radiant sun, and a rainbow—hope.
Many of the drawings Doyle made while in jail aren’t on display; he used some to barter for cigarettes, food, or coffee, and gave away others that meant something to someone.
For Doyle, the show is a final send-off to a finished chapter of his life; he’s ready to move on. He hopes the messages contained in these works will encourage people to stop avoiding and start talking about addiction and depression.
After all, Doyle says, “even though these images are deeply personal, they are universal.”
October 2018 Gallery Listings
FF Angelo Jewelry 220 E. Main St. “Out of Season,” featuring Mae Read’s oil painting meditations on permanence/impermanence, perceptions of beauty, and solitude. 5:30-7:30pm.
Annie Gould Gallery 121B S. Main St., Gordonsville. An exhibition of works by William Van Doren and Erica Lohan, focusing on distant and intimate points of nature.
FF The Bridge PAI 209 Monticello Rd. “Gallery of Curiosities,” a community-curated wunderkammer showcasing the unique, bizarre, fanciful, sacred, ill-defined, celebrated, historical, alternative, supernatural, and otherwise curious collections and creations of central Virginia. 5-9:30pm.
FF Chroma Projects 103 W. Water St. “Embodying a New Narrative: A Visual Discussion between June Collmer and Aidyn Mills,” an exhibition of photography in which Mills chose her own poses for Collmer’s lens. And in the back room, “Drawing Together: Five Bay Area artists Reunite in Charlottesville.” 5-7pm.
FF CitySpace Art Gallery 100 Fifth St. NE. The Feminist Union of Charlottesville Creatives hosts its premiere exhibit with visual art and live performances from a variety of artists, including Candice Agnello, Mihr Danae, Eileen French, Sam Gray, Sri Kodakalla, Sabr Lyon, Jiajun Yan, and others. 5:30-8:30pm.
Create Gallery at Indoor Biotechnologies 700 Harris St. “Faces at Work,” an exhibition of Blake Hurt’s 40 small oil-on-canvas portraits of people who work at 700 Harris St. Opens October 12.
Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “Copper Abstractions: Etched & Verdigrised Copper Art,” featuring work by Cathy Vaughn.
FF C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Fall Into the Arts,” a group show of original oil paintings, hand knit items, fused and stained glass, wood works, jewelry, and more. 6-8pm.
FF Dovetail Design + Cabinetry 309 E. Water St. “Blame,” featuring oil-on-canvas works by Adam Reinhard. 5-7pm.
FF Fellini’s Restaurant 200 Market St. “Italian Memories,” an exhibition of watercolors by Linda Abbey. 5pm.
The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Reflections: Native Art Across Generations”; “Excavations: The Prints of Julie Mehretu”; “Unexpected O’Keefe: The Virginia Watercolors and Later Paintings,” opening October19; “Highlights from the Collection of Heywood and Cynthia Fralin,” opening October 19; and “Oriforme” by Jean Arp.
FF The Garage 100 W. Jefferson St. “Black and White and a Little In Between: 2018 Abstractions,” an exhibition of work by Sarah Trundle that explores a constantly shifting process of obscuring and defining, of complicating and simplifying. 5:30-7:30pm.
FF Kardinal Hall 722 Preston Ave. An exhibition of work by Jesse Keller Timmons. 5:30-8pm.
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection 400 Worrell Dr. “Freshwater Saltwater Weave,” a series of glass works by contemporary urban-based Arrernte artist Jenni Kemarre Martiniello; “Beyond Dreamings: The Rise of Indigenous Australian Art in the United States,” revealing the ways in which, since 1988, Indigenous Australian artists have forged one of the most globally significant art movements of our time; and “Experimental Beds,” in which Judy Watson removes the whitewash from concealed histories.
Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Out of the Light Into the Light,” an exhibition of still-life paintings by art historian, critic, philosopher, and painter David Summers, closing October 5; and “John Borden Evans: Blue Moon,” an exhibition of Evans’ otherworldly landscapes, opening October 13.
Louisa Arts Center 212 Federicksburg Ave., Louisa. “Rhythm and Light,” featuring 2-D and 3-D works by amateur and professional artists.
Loving Cup Vineyard and Winery 3340 Sutherland Rd., North Garden. “Nippy Autumn Holidays,” an exhibition of work by the BozART Fine Art Collective.
FF McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Sarah B. Smith Gallery, “This Strange World,” an exhibition of wet plate photography of fairy tales, monsters, and retaining walls, as well as portraits from the ongoing “People of Charlottesville/Know Your Neighbor” project, all by Aaron Farrington; in the Downstairs North Hall Gallery, “The Bonnet Maker,” a series of live photographs by Will Kerner and Rochelle Sumner, conceptualized and installed to tell the narrative of an Old German Baptist Brethren woman; in the Downstairs South Hall Gallery, “A Retrospective on the Escafé Operas,” oil on canvas murals by Dominique Anderson; in the Upstairs North Hall Gallery, a group show of works created during McGuffey figure drawing sessions; and in the Upstairs South Hall Gallery, “Paintings and Sculpture: Recent works in 2 and 3 dimensions” by David Currier.” 5:30-7:30pm.
FF Milli Coffee Roasters 400 Preston Ave. Ste. 150. “The Mind Blossom,” featuring mixed-media photography and paintings by Frank Donato. 7-10pm.
FF New Dominion Bookshop 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. An exhibition of pencil drawings by Jane Skafte. 5-7pm.
FF Radio IQ 216 W. Water St. An exhibition of floral paintings and landscapes by Nancy Wallace, and Joe Sheridan’s pencil-and-charcoal drawings of the chairs he’s designed. 5-7pm.
FF Roy Wheeler Realty Co. 404 Eighth St. NE. An exhibition of intuitive process paintings by Shirley Paul that explore, among other things, suspension of fear, expectations, and the analytical brain. 5-7:30pm.
FF Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the main gallery, “water. poison. drink. dive.,” an exhibition of paintings, works on paper, and puppets by Lana Guerra, through October 19; in the Dové Gallery, “siren x silence,” paintings by Madeleine Rhondeau. 5:30-7:30pm.
Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital 500 Martha Jefferson Dr. An exhibition of five landscape paintings by impressionist artist Lee Nixon. Through October 9.
Shenandoah Valley Art Center 122 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. The 47th annual “Virginia Fall Foliage Art Show,” featuring work from about 150 artists from across the country. Opens October 13.
FF Spring Street Boutique 107 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. “The World of Color,” an exhibition of Christopher Kelly’s acrylic and mixed-media works on canvas and wooden board. 6-8pm.
FF Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. An exhibition of new work, mostly paintings focused on the human form, by Cate West Zahl. 5-8pm.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church Unitarian-Universalist 717 Rugby Rd. “Organic Geometry,” featuring paintings by Judith Townsend. Opens October 7.
FF Top Knot Studio 103 Fifth St. SE. “Keep It Like A Secret,” mobile photography by Chelsea Hoyt. 5-8pm.
FF Welcome Gallery 114 Third St. NE. “Drawings from Jail,” an exhibition of Michael “Doc” Doyle’s pen-on-paper works drawn over the course of a year spent in jail, exploring themes from isolation to redemption. 5-7:30pm.
FF First Fridays is a monthly art event featuring exhibit openings at many downtown art galleries and additional exhibition venues. Several spaces offer receptions.
Georgia Webb's drawings are on view at McGuffey Art Center during the month of October. Photo by Martyn Kyle
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.
FFCentral 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.
FFSecond 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.
FFSpring 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.
FFWVTF/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.
