Tag: Fine Arts

C-VILLE Weekly’s fine arts coverage consists of previews, reviews, gallery listings, and interviews with local fine artists.

Arts Culture

November Exhibitions

Post author By C-VILLE Writers
Post date October 30, 2024

Artisans Studio Tour Various locations. A self-guided tour of artisans studios in central Virginia. Free and open to the public, with a passport program for audiences to earn store credit from participating creators. Map and directions available at artisanstudiotour.com. November 9 and 10, 10am–5pm.

The Center at Belvedere 540 Belvedere Blvd. “Landscapes and More,” featuring paintings and pastel works by artists Matalie Deane, Joan Dreicer, and Julia Kindred. Through November 15.

Matalie Deane at The Center at Belvedere.

Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. “The Culture of the Earth,” landscapes by Isabelle Abbot, Fenella Belle, Lee Halstead, and Cate West Zahl. Through November 29. “Aggie Zed: The Close and Holy Darkness.” Through December 20.

City Clay 700 Harris Street #104. The annual Holiday Sale featuring locally made decorations and functional pottery for your holiday gifts, gatherings, and table. November 15–December 19. Opening reception November 15, 5–7pm.

Create Gallery at InBio 700 Harris St. “Pushing the Boundaries,” textile works by members of the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective, including Jane Fellows, Marijke Durieux, Robin Hamill-Ruth, Marcy George, Margaret Griffiths, Ellen and Moira MacAvoy, Mary Martin, Rozanne Oliver, C. Ann Robertson, Jo Lee Tarbell, and Alda Vidrich. Through November 30.

Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. Two-dimensional works depicting everyday scenes united through unique contour lines and a calm, earthy palette by Megan Davies. Mixed-metal jewelry inspired by movement and light and small abstract paintings by Anita Fontaine. Through November 12.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Views from the Vineyards,” plein air oil paintings by Meg West. November 1–30. First Fridays reception with the artist 5–8pm.

Dovetail Cabinetry 1740 Broadway St. Ste. 3. Monoprints, watercolors, and acrylic paintings by Judith Ely. October 9–December 30. Reception with the artist November 2, 3–6pm.

The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Barbara Hammer: Evidentiary Bodies,” features an immersive multichannel video installation. Through January 26, 2025. “Structures,” a selection of 20th- and 21st-century works exploring the ways that art can speak to or question the formal, physical, environmental, social, and institutional structures of our world. Through July 20, 2025. “Celebration” features works by five African American artists highlighting the ways these artists honor history, culture, and heritage through various media. “Vanity,” black and white photography by longtime UVA arts instructor Holly Wright. “Conversations in Color,” new print acquisitions curated by M. Jordan Love. All shows run through January 5, 2025 unless otherwise noted.

The Gallery at Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Pieces Of Color: A meeting of color, texture and time,” works by Kim Boggs and Rachel Thielmann. November 1–December 29. First Fridays opening reception 5–7pm. Artist talk November 21, 5–6PM.

Grace Estate Winery 5273 Mount Juliet Farm, Crozet. “Painting Along the Way,” oil and pastel works by Julia Kindred. Through November 30.

Hello Comics 211A W. Main St, Downtown Mall. “Picture Show,” a cash and carry show of original drawings and digital prints by Todd Webb. November 1, 2024–January 8, 2025. First Fridays reception with the artist 5pm. Additional works available at Hello Comics Uptown location.

Infinite Repeats Gallery 1740 Broadway St. “Party Wave,” works by Pino Supay, Jon Del Rosario, and Anthony Childs. November 1–28. First Fridays opening reception with a book release party for Pino Supay 6–9pm.

IX Art Park 522 Second St. SE. “The Looking Glass,” an immersive art space featuring a whimsical enchanted forest and kaleidoscopic cave. Ongoing. “Art Mix at Ix,” a fun night of painting, music, and cocktails at the outdoor art park. First Fridays, 6pm. Ticketed mini fairy house painting workshop 6:30–8pm.

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA 400 Worrell Dr. “Shifting Ground: Prints by Indigenous Australian Artists from the Basil Hall Editions Workshop Proofs Collection,” curated by Jessyca Hutchens, featuring work by 22 Indigenous Australian artists. Through March 2, 2025. “Our Unbroken Line: The Griffiths Family,” screenprints on textiles, ceramic works, and paintings curated by Dora Griffths. Through December 8.

Karen Mills at Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA.

Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. In the Contemporary Gallery, “Beyond Boundaries: The Sculpture of Alice Wesley Ivory,” metal sculptures of animals by an award-winning African American artist. Through December 14.

Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Small Works,” featuring interdisciplinary artworks from more than 40 artists. November 15–December 15. Opening reception November 15, 5–7pm.

Loving Cup Vineyard 3340 Sutherland Rd., North Garden. BozART presents pastel, acrylic, and photographic works by Judith Ely, Brita Lineburger, and Andy Stafford. Through December 15.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the First Floor Gallery, “Dia de los Muertos – Day of the Dead,” memorial altars created by individuals, families, friend groups, artists, and non-artists. Organized by Lua Project. November 1–17. In the Smith Gallery, “Bodies of Work,” large-format photographs of body paintings by Russell Richards. In the Second Floor Gallery North, “Fragments Beneath: The Drift of Time and Tech,” mixed-media works reflecting on our relationships with outdated technology and the environment by David Borszich. In the Second Floor Gallery South, “House Party,” mixed-media works explore the chaos, joy, and hardships of being a full-time caregiver by Heather Owens. In the Associate Gallery, “Landscapes,” a group show of works from MAC associate art members. All shows run October 4–November 17, unless otherwise noted. First Friday reception 5:30–8pm.

New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. In the Welcome Gallery, “The Value of Dirt,” large paintings and an installation of dirt and abstract wood sculptures by Autumn Jefferson. November 1–20. First Fridays reception and artist talk 5–7:30pm.

Phaeton Gallery 114 Old Preston Ave. “Soundings,” an exploration of the intersection of creativity and spirituality, featuring pastels, photographs, and mixed-media works by Donna Ernest, Blakeney Sanford, and Daniel Tucker. Through November 15.

The PVCC Gallery V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Dr. “Those Who Teach Can: Practicing Artists Who Teach in Charlottesville City Schools and the PVCC Art Department.” An interdisciplinary exhibition of works by local arts educators. Through November 5.

Quirk Gallery in The Doyle Hotel 499 W. Main St. “Color As Language,” oil paintings by Jennifer Esser. Through December 29. This is Quirk Gallery Charlottesville’s last exhibition before the space is repurposed by The Doyle.

Ruffin Gallery UVA Grounds, Ruffin Hall, 179 Culbreth Rd. “New Growth: Ten Years of ArtLab at Mountain Lake Biological Station,” celebrates the mission and history of UVA’s ArtLab residency, merging art and science. Featuring interdisciplinary works by Nancy Blum, Sara Bouchard, Gregory Brellochs, Rob Carter, Zehra Khan, Meredith Leich, Chris Mahonski, Nathalie Miebach, and Ash Eliza Williams. Through December 6. Artist panel discussion, November 8, 4–5pm. Opening reception November 8, 5–7pm.

Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “Out of Context,” paintings and drawings that underscore visual art’s ability to communicate as a unique language, featuring works by Paul Brainard, Miriam Carothers, Hyunjin Park, Jean-Pierre Roy, Michael Ryan, and Amber Stanton. Artist talk November 2, 10:30am. In the Dové Gallery, “What’s Coming Is Already On Its Way,” oil paintings depicting a subculture of queer autonomy by New York-based artist Barnaby Whitfield. Both shows run through
November 22. First Fridays reception 5–7:30pm.

Jean-Pierre Roy at Second Street Gallery.

Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “Leaving My Eyelids Behind,” interdisciplinary works by Ali Eyal. November 8–December 13. Opening reception November 8, 6pm.

Images courtesy of the galleries and/or artists

Tags Fine Arts, galleries, gallery exhibitions

Arts Culture

TechnoSonics Festival 2024

Post author By C-VILLE Writers
Post date October 16, 2024

Electronic music and intermedia art collide at the annual TechnoSonics Festival. With the theme of immersion, the 2024 iteration explores aspects of the world that envelop minds, bodies, and spirits. Sounds that surround, and environments that encapsulate, are all fair game at events on UVA Grounds and at Visible Records. The featured work in electronic music, intermedia, and sound art comes out of UVA’s composition and computer technologies program. Special guest artist Rohan Chander—aka BAKUDI SCREAM—offers a presentation covering his creative process on Friday afternoon, followed by performances on Friday and Saturday nights.

Thursday 10/17–Saturday 10/19. Free, times and locations vary. music.virginia.edu/technosonics-2024

Tags Fine Arts, Live Music, Performing Arts, Picks, TechnoSonics Festival

Arts Culture

‘Picasso, Lydia, & Friends, Vol. V.’ at LYDM

Post author By CM Turner
Post date October 16, 2024

“Picasso, Lydia, & Friends, Vol. V.,” on view at Les Yeux du Monde through October 27, features works by William Bennett, Anne Chesnut, Dean Dass, Rosemarie Fiore, Lydia Csato Gasman, Sanda Iliescu, Megan Marlatt, Pablo Picasso, David Summers, and Russ Warren. Photo courtesy of Les Yeux du Monde.

Opportunities to see works by a modern master of art in an intimate gallery setting do not often arise in our part of the world. Les Yeux du Monde provides just that with its current exhibition, “Picasso, Lydia, & Friends, Vol. V.”

The show brings together six prints by Pablo Picasso with contemporary works from eight artists influenced by the aesthetics and academic contributions of the Spanish artist and the acclaimed Picasso scholar Lydia Csato Gasman, respectively. The collected work functions as a way to share world-class masterworks with the Charlottesville public, while also honoring the legacy of Gasman, LYDM founder Lyn Bolen Warren’s late mentor.

“Apart from Picasso—whose work is included in the exhibition, given it was the focus of Gasman’s scholarship—each of the exhibiting artists personally knew Gasman, many having been her colleagues in UVA’s art department,” says Les Yeux de Monde Director Hagan Tampellini. “Each credits Gasman or Picasso with influencing their work or thought in some way, which can be felt in the experience of the show.”

Picasso’s prints present the viewer with unexpected images. Three still-life lithographs—atypical examples from the artist’s oeuvre—depict fruit, flowers, and glassware, with evidence of the artist’s hand used to manipulate the ink. Two lyrical etchings, illustrating Picasso’s muse Marie-Thérèse Walter with delicate line work, flank a visually heavy aquatint portraying a goat skull. The juxtaposition of youth and vivacity is striking against the weight of inevitable decay.

Installation view from “Picasso, Lydia, & Friends, Vol. V.,” on view at Les Yeux du Monde through October 27. Photo courtesy of Les Yeux du Monde.

The goat skull is complemented by Russ Warren’s “Faces,” a large-scale acrylic painting featuring dozens of skull-like visages. The notion of death is echoed again in Gasman’s “The Angel of History,” which employs thick impasto, gestural marks, and a saturated palette of colors. A sheet of aluminum serves as both the sky and a stand-in for aircraft engaged in wartime bombings. The depiction of angels is carried over in a suite of elegant ink drawings by Sanda Iliescu, which also connect beautifully to Picasso’s etchings through similarity in line weight and simplicity of form.

Another exciting example of curation occurs between print and painting, where David Summers’ “New Light on Picasso’s Snack, plus Water” hangs next to Picasso’s “Pommes, Verre, et Couteau” (Apples, Glass, and Knife). Here we see how the artists attune to the same subject matter: Summers the painter traffics in the representation of light, while Picasso as printmaker is far more concerned with form.

Throughout the show, pops of vibrant color punctuate the visual rhythms produced by monochromatic prints, drawings, and paintings—alluding to acts of both love and violence. LYDM presents a balanced exhibition design keeping the viewer engaged, and seeking out both formal and thematic connections, in the disparate yet related works that grace the welcoming gallery space.

Tags Fine Arts, Last Look, Les Yeux du Monde, Picasso

Arts Culture

JSAAHC adds highly detailed Black spaces exhibition to its permanent collection

Post author By Sarah Sargent
Post date October 9, 2024

Through deep examination of documents, oral histories, and extensive research, “Toward a Lineage of Self” offers a detailed, interactive look at the prosperity, vibrancy, segregation, and discrimination of Charlottesville’s Black community. Image courtesy of Jordy Yager.

“Toward a Lineage of Self” is the latest addition to the “Pride Overcomes Prejudice” permanent exhibition at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. Featuring an interactive digital map, the exhibition uses deed records, oral histories, documents, and photographs to show how Charlottesville’s historically Black neighborhoods came to be, the struggles they faced when confronted with racist civic policy, and the community’s response.

With photographs and descriptions, the map breathes life into the past, enlivening the facts it lays bare. The map has three categories: community, civil rights, and discrimination—and what emerges is a picture of a vibrant, well-organized, and prosperous community that supported its members, and when discriminatory practices were introduced, joined the fight for civil rights.

“They structured their lives within this space of legalized apartheid. There’s no other way to describe it,” says JSAAHC Executive Director Dr. Andrea Douglas. “It says in the minutes of the City of Charlottesville … ‘This will accomplish racial segregation in our city.’ You can’t get past those documents and those are the things that are important as we start to think about what is equitable.”

“The minute that African American people leave enslavement, they begin to shape Charlottesville,” says Douglas. “They begin to purchase property, they begin to create their home places, and they begin to build around those places the ancillary needs—the grocery store, churches, and community aid societies … and they’re doing it in the built landscape and they’re doing it at a rapid rate, facilitating this ascendancy for each other—that is what ‘Toward a Lineage of Self’ really articulates.”

One example is John West, a successful barber and the first Black man elected to Charlottesville’s Town Council. He was responsible for more than 600 property transactions between 1870 and 1927. As a landlord, he offered reasonable rates and made home-buying possible for many African Americans.

Similarly, the Piedmont Industrial Land Improvement Company was formed by nine residents, who pooled funds to buy more than 50 properties in its 26-year history, providing both affordable housing and economic returns to its investors. And the fact that Charlottesville’s Black community managed to build seven churches between 1864 and 1919 is a testament not just to its faith, but also to its prosperity.

“The whole of Charlottesville’s center was Black-owned,” says JSAAHC Director of Digital Humanities Jordy Yager. ”This had never been articulated before. We talked about all these different neighborhood pockets like Vinegar Hill, Fifeville, etc., but once you look at it in its entirety, you really start to see how large the center of Charlottesville is as a Black space.” The area totaled some 800 acres.

Yager, a journalist and Charlottesville native who’s written about Vinegar Hill and the gentrification of the 10th and Page neighborhood for this publication, has accumulated hours of taped recollections for C-VILLE Weekly stories, which he offered to JSAAHC for its oral histories archive. Out of this came an initiative, supported by a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, to collect interviews about what it was like growing up Black in Charlottesville.

An offshoot of this, Mapping Cville, began around the same time as the Unite the Right rally in August 2017. “After that we had a reckoning in Charlottesville in terms of [the city’s] history,” says Yager. “It was then we realized, we really didn’t know that history. We knew that racist housing policies were enacted, but we didn’t know where and we didn’t know how.”

Armed with a Charlottesville Area Community Foundation grant and with the cooperation of city and county clerks, JSAAHC digitized an astounding 300,000 pages of property records. Then, using optical character recognition software, the racial covenants were extracted.

More than 2,000 community members helped log the information to create what Yager says is “The first complete database of every single racially restricted property in Charlottesville that’s ever existed.”

“Toward a Lineage of Self” spells out the retaliatory discriminatory practices—land seizures, racial covenants on deeds, intentional lack of city services, like water and sewage, that were instituted by local and state governments alarmed or offended by the progress—their affluence and their successful voter campaigns, which, among other things, helped elect James T.S. Taylor to the Constitutional Convention of 1868—made by Black residents.

The uncomfortable truths revealed by the research must be dealt with. These truths are not lodged in the distant remove of ancient history; you only have to look around Charlottesville to see the fallout of this civic-endorsed inequity.

“Toward a Lineage of Self” operates on both a micro and macro level, providing a vivid road map for descendants of the people who formed Charlottesville’s Black community, while at the same time revealing the larger ramifications of systemic racism and inequality.

“We can give people their histories, but we can also engage in a conversation about repairs,” says Douglas. “We can also engage in a conversation about present-day housing practice. In this age when the truth is contestable, the forensics are not, the paper trail is not contested.”

Tags Fine Arts, Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, the works, Toward a Lineage of Self

Arts Culture

October Exhibitions

Post author By C-VILLE Writers
Post date October 2, 2024

Barnaby Whitfield at Second Street Gallery.

The Center at Belvedere 540 Belvedere Blvd. “Landscapes and More,” featuring paintings and pastel works by artists Matalie Deane, Joan Dreicer, and Julia Kindred. Through October 31.

Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. In the micro-space on the main floor of Vault Virginia, “Teetering,” watercolor works by Trish Crowe. In the Great Halls of Vault Virginia, “The Culture of the Earth,” interpretations of gardens and landscapes by Isabelle Abbot, Fenella Belle, Lee Halstead, and Cate West Zahl. Through October. First Fridays reception 5–7pm.

City Clay 700 Harris Street #104. The Fall Provisions Show & Sale, featuring everything warm, cozy, and handmade. October 4–31. First Fridays reception 5–7pm, featuring a pie baking contest to benefit the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

Create Gallery at InBio 700 Harris St. “Pushing the Boundaries,” textile works by members of the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective, including Jane Fellows, Marijke Durieux, Robin Hamill-Ruth, Marcy George, Margaret Griffiths, Ellen and Moira MacAvoy, Mary Martin, and C. Ann Robertson. October 1–November 30. First Fridays opening reception 5–7pm.

Dovetail Cabinetry 1740 Broadway St. Ste. 3. Monoprints, watercolors, and acrylic paintings by Judith Ely. October 9–December 30. Reception with the artist November 2, 3–6pm.

The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Barbara Hammer: Evidentiary Bodies,” features an immersive multichannel video installation. Through January 26, 2025. “Structures,” a selection of 20th- and 21st-century works exploring the ways that art can speak to or question the formal, physical, environmental, social, and institutional structures of our world. Through July 20, 2025. “Celebration,” features works by five African American artists highlighting the ways these artists honor history, culture, and heritage through various media. “Vanity,” black and white photography by longtime UVA arts instructor Holly Wright. “Conversations in Color,” new print acquisitions curated by M. Jordan Love. All shows run through January 5, 2025 unless otherwise noted.

Ellsworth Kelly at The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA.

The Gallery at Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Origin,” paintings exploring patterns of similarity in nature, love, and conflict by Howell Burnell. October 4–27. First Fridays opening reception 5–7pm. Artist talk October 24, 5–6pm.

Infinite Repeats Gallery 1740 Broadway St. “Feeling Out,” prints and paintings by Ryan Trott. October 4–28. First Fridays opening reception with music by the artist 6–9pm.

IX Art Park 522 Second St. SE. “Poseidon’s Cove,” a new interactive installation by Sigrid Eilertson inside “The Looking Glass.” Opening October 4, 8pm. “The Looking Glass,” an immersive art space featuring a whimsical enchanted forest and kaleidoscopic cave. Ongoing. “Art Mix at Ix,” a fun night of painting, music, and cocktails at the outdoor art park. First Fridays, 6pm. Ticketed pumpkin decorating workshop 8–9:30p.

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA 400 Worrell Dr. “Shifting Ground: Prints by Indigenous Australian Artists from the Basil Hall Editions Workshop Proofs Collection,” curated by Jessyca Hutchens, featuring work by 22 Indigenous Australian artists. Part I through October 6. Part II October 12, 2024–March 2, 2025. “Our Unbroken Line: The Griffiths Family,” screenprints on textiles, ceramic works, and paintings curated by Dora Griffths. Through December 8.

Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. In the Contemporary Gallery, “Beyond Boundaries: The Sculpture of Alice Wesley Ivory,” metal sculptures depicting animals, birds, and fish. Through December 14.

Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Picasso, Lydia & Friends, Vol. V,” organized to honor the memory of acclaimed Picasso scholar Lydia Csato Gasman. Featuring works by Pablo Picasso, Lydia Gasman, William Bennett, Anne Chesnut, Dean Dass, Rosemarie Fiore, Sanda Iliescu, Megan Marlatt, David Summers, and Russ Warren. Through October 27.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the First Floor Gallery, “Vastly Empty and Infinitely Full: A Portrait of the Ocean,” paintings exploring complexity as it relates to the ocean by Carolyn Capps. October 4–27. Artist talk October 19, 2–3pm. In the Smith Gallery, “Bodies of Work,” large-format photographs of body paintings by Russell Richards. In the Second Floor Gallery North, “Fragments Beneath: The Drift of Time and Tech,” mixed-media works reflecting on our relationships with outdated technology and the environment by David Borszich. In the Second Floor Gallery South, “House Party,” mixed-media works explore the chaos, joy, and hardships of being a full-time caregiver by Heather Owens. In the Associate Gallery, “Landscapes,” a group show of works from MAC associate art members. All shows run October 4–November 17, unless otherwise noted. First Friday reception 5:30–7:30pm.

Mudhouse 213 W. Main Street, Downtown Mall. “The Willowers,” paintings, sculpture, and mixed media works by Tim Burgess. Through October.

New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. In the Welcome Gallery, “Small Stories about a Woman Named Barbara,” encaustic collage work created from found and original photographs, text, and found-object assemblage by Mimm Patterson. October 4–23. First Fridays reception and artist talk 5–7:30pm.

Mimm Patterson at New City Arts Welcome Gallery.

Quirk Gallery in The Doyle Hotel 499 W. Main St. “Color As Language,” oil paintings by Jennifer Esser. Through December 29. First Fridays opening reception 5–8pm. Please note, this is Quirk Gallery Charlottesville’s last exhibition before the space is repurposed by The Doyle.

Ruffin Gallery UVA Grounds, Ruffin Hall, 179 Culbreth Rd. “The Threat, The ,” an indoor and outdoor exhibition that examines and rewrites spatial, material, sonic, and performative languages of security, sovereignty, and revivalism in the global north by The Institute for Improvisational Infrastructures. Through October 4.

Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “Out of Context,” paintings and drawings that underscore visual art’s ability to communicate as a unique language, featuring works by Paul Brainard, Miriam Carothers, Hyunjin Park, Jean-Pierre Roy, Michael Ryan, and Amber Stanton. In the Dové Gallery, “What’s Coming Is Already On Its Way”, oil paintings depicting a subculture of queer autonomy achieved through regenerative agricultural practices by New York-based artist Barnaby Whitfield. Both shows run October 4–November 22. First Fridays reception will take place in November.

Top Knot Studio 103 Fifth St. SE. “Finding Joy,” works in acrylic, gouache, ink by Suzanne Allard. October 4–31. First Fridays reception 5–7pm.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charlottesville 717 Rugby Rd. “Lighting the Darkness,” sculpted paper artwork and evocative paintings by Flame Bilyué. Through October 31.

Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “Aesthetics of Care,” fiber-based and mixed media works by Vibha Vijay and Virginia Gibson. Through October 25.

Images courtesy of the galleries and/or artists

Tags Fine Arts, First Fridays, galleries

News

IX Art Park Foundation reports financial turnaround

Post author By Catie Ratliff
Post date September 11, 2024

Ewa Harr has served as executive director of IX Art Park Foundation since December 2023. Photo by Matt Dhillon.

One year after announcing a major restructuring of staffing and offerings due to a budget shortfall, the IX Art Park Foundation has found its footing financially, according to a September 3 press release. With the stabilization, the nonprofit hopes to bring back some offerings in the upcoming months, but it still needs community support.

“We really refocused on our sources of revenue and how we can collaborate with other organizations, partners, and just community members … to support the programming that we want to offer [in] an affordable or free way to the community,” says Ewa Harr, executive director of the IX Art Park Foundation.

The nonprofit has hit roughly 80 percent of its grants fundraising goal this year, according to Harr; public donation progress has been slower, currently sitting at 20 percent of the annual goal. IX Art Park Foundation hopes to rally community support with its PhoenIX: Rising Together fundraising campaign, which hopes to raise $10,000 and officially launches on the park’s 10th anniversary at LOVEFEST on September 21.

“Our revenue sources are our signature events, tickets to The Looking Glass, and events and private rentals that we do here,” says Harr. “We’re [otherwise] dependent on grants, private and public donations, and corporate sponsorships to make the magic happen here.”

The most recent tax filing from the foundation was filed on November 14, 2023, but it pertains to fiscal year 2022. In the filing, the nonprofit’s 990 form shows a negative net income of more than $57,000 and a massive decline in contributions and grants compared to the year prior—down from $2,051,905 to $874,073.

No tax filings pertaining to the nonprofit’s revenue or net income post-restructuring are publicly available at press time.

While IX has continued its signature events since cutting back operations, offerings including summer camps, IX Flix, and community outreach efforts have been paused. The nonprofit hopes to resume some previous programming on top of new events in the months to come, with expanding hours for The Looking Glass at the top of the list.

According to Harr, the interactive museum could move to four-days-a-week operations as soon as January.

“We definitely want to bring back some of our educational and community programming,” she says. “Summer camps were very successful here; the kids really enjoyed it. … My goal is to be able to bring some more of our free art-making out into the community. Not everybody can make it to IX Art Park, but maybe we can bring some of our inspiration out to the community as well.”

Bringing back offerings may also financially benefit the nonprofit. In its 2023 impact report, IX Art Park Foundation reported 24 percent of revenue came from museum tickets, with an additional 10 percent from summer camps and workshops. A majority of the foundation’s revenue comes from signature and weekly events (35 percent).

Beyond financial contributions, Harr says the nonprofit is also looking for volunteers and collaborators.

“So many people have been so supportive of this renaissance that we’ve experienced,” says Harr. “A lot of people have been donating their time and talent, and we are just waiting here with open arms for anybody that has ideas [and] creative concepts—that wants to get involved and collaborate and contribute.”

Tags Fine Arts, IX Art Park, Performing Arts

Arts Culture

Teeny Tiny Trifecta 7

Post author By C-VILLE Writers
Post date September 4, 2024

Art collectors big and small cheer Teeny Tiny Trifecta 7, an exhibition and fundraiser to launch the 51st season of Second Street Gallery. The show features more than 181 artists who contribute three works each that do not exceed 8 inches x 8 inches. With hundreds of choices, and each piece priced at $100, SSG broadens access by allowing more collectors to take home a bite-sized work of contemporary art. Outreach programming, a family studio day, and artist-led workshops accompany the annual celebration.

Friday 9/6-9/27. Free, 5:30pm. Second Street Gallery, 115 Second St. SE. secondstreetgallery.org

Tags Fine Arts, Second Street Gallery, Teeny Tiny Trifecta

Arts Culture

September Exhibitions

Post author By C-VILLE Writers
Post date September 4, 2024

The Center at Belvedere 540 Belvedere Blvd. “Americans Who Tell the Truth,” 20 portraits by Robert Shetterly of Americans who have courageously stood up for social justice, environmental stewardship, and the preservation of democratic ideals. September 3–21. “Landscapes and More,” featuring paintings and pastel works by artists Matalie Deane, Joan Dreicer, and Julia Kindred. September 3–October 31. Reception October 9, 4–6pm.

Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. “Meridian Drift,” explorations of land-mapping processes by Giselle Gautreau and “The Culture of the Earth,” interpretations of gardens and landscapes by Isabelle Abbot, Fenella Belle, Lee Halstead, and Cate West Zahl. Through September. First Fridays reception 5–7pm.

Create Gallery at InBio 700 Harris St. “Et in Arcadia Ego,” acrylic paintings referencing Christian Mysticism, Sufism, and Buddhism by Will Grover. September 4–27. First Fridays opening reception 5–7pm.

Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “Whimseys,” paintings by Judith Anderson and “Simple, Graceful and Purposeful Pottery,” ceramic works by Becky Garrity. Through September 30. Meet the artists event September 14, 11am–1pm.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Living On A Whim,” silhouette jewelry by Dana Masters. Through September. First Fridays opening reception 5–7pm.

The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Barbara Hammer: Evidentiary Bodies,” features an immersive multichannel video installation. Through January 26, 2025. “Celebration” features works by five African American artists highlighting the ways these artists honor history, culture, and heritage through various media. Through January 5, 2025. “Structures,” a selection of 20th- and 21st-century works exploring the ways that art can speak to or question the formal, physical, environmental, social, and institutional structures of our world. Through July 20, 2025.

Armando Mariño at The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA.

Ix Art Park 522 Second St. SE. “The Looking Glass,” an immersive art space featuring a whimsical enchanted forest and kaleidoscopic cave. Ongoing. “Art Mix at Ix,” a night of painting, music, and cocktails at the outdoor art park. Workshops by Art by Blossoms and Paint It Orange. First Fridays, 6pm.

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA 400 Worrell Dr. “Shifting Ground: Prints by Indigenous Australian Artists from the Basil Hall Editions Workshop Proofs Collection,” curated by Jessyca Hutchens, featuring work by 22 Indigenous Australian artists. Part I through October 6. Part II October 12, 2024–March 2, 2025. “Our Unbroken Line: The Griffiths Family,” screenprints on textiles, ceramic works, and paintings curated by Dora Griffiths. Through December 8.

Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “Toward a Lineage of Self,” a map-based exhibition presenting origin stories of historically Black Charlottesville neighborhoods using the JSAAHC’s extensive property and oral history archive. Opens September 21 and is ongoing.

The Local 824 Hinton Ave. Paper collages made from vintage books by Campbell Bright. Through September. Reception September 8, 2:30–4pm.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Smith Gallery, three concurrent shows entitled “Aaron Farrington: Wet Plate Portraits,” “Charlene Cross: Enamel Glass Artist,” and “Charles Peale: Collage.” In the First Floor Gallery, “Sugah: Black Love Endures,” presented by the Charlottesville Black Arts Collective. In the Second Floor Gallery North, “Gallery Wizardry Behind the Scenes—The Art of the Cast that Makes it Happen,” a group exhibition featuring Gallery Committee members from 2023-2025. In the Second Floor Gallery South, “Ann Cheeks and Friends,” a group exhibition featuring Ann Cheeks and artists from The Center at Belvedere. In the Associate Gallery, “Portraits,” a group show of works from MAC associate art members. All shows run September 5–29. First Friday reception 5:30–7:30pm.

Mudhouse 213 W. Main Street, Downtown Mall. “The Willowers,” paintings, sculpture, and mixed media works by Tim Burgess. Through October. First Fridays opening reception 6–8pm.

New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. In the Welcome Gallery, “fallow,” A group exhibition featuring work by 2024 New City Arts Fellows Eboni Bugg, Brielle DuFlon, Elena Yu, and M. Pittman. September 6–25. First Fridays reception 5–7:30pm.

Northside Library 705 Rio Rd. W. “BozART in the Library,” a group show featuring works by the BozART Fine Art Collective. Through September.

The Paramount Theater 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. The Third Street Box Office Project. “Ascending Light,” an exhibition by Nick Brinen. Through September 17.

Phaeton Gallery 114 Old Preston Ave. “Soundings,” an exploration of the intersection of creativity and spirituality, featuring paintings by Donna Ernest and Daniel Tucker alongside photography by Blakeney Sanford. September 6–October 6. First Fridays opening reception 5–7pm.

The PVCC Gallery V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Dr. The 2024 Student Art Exhibition, celebrating the accomplishments of student artists from the latest academic year. Through September 7.

Quirk Gallery 499 W. Main St. “Funny Money,” an exhibition of Stacy Lee Webber’s found-object based works, including hand-stitched paper currency and hand-sawn coins, curated by Diana Nelson. Through September 29.

Ruffin Gallery UVA Grounds, Ruffin Hall, 179 Culbreth Rd. “The Threat, The ,” an indoor and outdoor exhibition that examines and rewrites spatial, material, sonic, and performative languages of
security, sovereignty, and revivalism in the Global North by The Institute for Improvisational Infrastructures. Through October 4.

Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “Teeny Tiny Trifecta 7,” featuring over 181 artists and 543 works of art. September 6–27. VIP presale party and fundraiser September 5 from 5–8pm. In the Dové Gallery, “Curiouser and Curiouser: A Dialogue in Abstraction with William Bennett and Carol Barber,” showcasing sculpture by William Bennett and painting by Carol Barber. September 6–27. Artists in Conversation and gallery tour with William Bennett and Carol Barber September 25, 5:30–6:30pm. First Fridays opening reception 5:30pm.

Studio Ix 969 Second St. SE. “Part of the Process,” prints and objects examining the intersection of tactility, memory, nostalgia, and relationships in an embodiment of soul and self by Catherine Stack. September 6–29. First Fridays opening reception 5–7pm. Artist talk September 26, 5–6pm.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charlottesville 717 Rugby Rd. “Lighting the Darkness,” sculpted paper artwork and evocative paintings by Flame Bilyué. September 4–October 31.

Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “Aesthetics of Care,” fiber-based and mixed-media works by Vibha Vijay and Virginia Gibson. September 6–October 25. First Fridays opening reception 6–10pm.

Images courtesy of the galleries and/or artists

Tags Fine Arts, galleries, September Exhibitions

Arts Culture News

The Charlottesville Black Arts Collective creates and engages community

Post author By CM Turner
Post date September 4, 2024

Local artist Somé Louis has found space for exploration and expression by participating in CBAC exhibitions. Photo by Eze Amos.

When you want to initiate change—real change—it’s hard to do it alone. The time, effort, versatility, and resources it takes to affect progress as an individual requires a level of passion and privilege most of us cannot afford when there are children to raise and bills to be paid. But when change needs to happen, people have a tendency to step out and find each other.

When you’re part of a collective, you’re part of a democratic collaboration of efforts. You find ways to work together, to do what’s best for everyone involved. You embody gestalt, and organize yourselves into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, enabling the collective to achieve advances that extend beyond itself.

This is exactly the kind of work the Charlottesville Black Arts Collective is achieving: initiating change for the betterment of our community, and for Black creatives throughout the commonwealth. The drive to open up opportunities that explore and evoke the essence of Black culture is on full view in the CBAC’s upcoming exhibition “Sugah: Black Love Endures,” which opens at McGuffey Art Center on September 6.

Community commitments

The story of the Charlottesville Black Arts Collective began in 2020, with another artist-run cooperative, the McGuffey Art Center. Two members of McGuffey’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee reached out to Black creatives in the area, seeking individuals interested in curating an exhibition of works by Black artists. Instead of an individual taking the helm, a small group coalesced and agreed to curate the show together. The process served as a catalyst for the creation of the CBAC, which debuted “Water: The Agony and Ecstasy of the Black Experience” in 2021, its first curatorial effort at McGuffey.

“Love is in the Hair,” by “Sugah: Black Love Endures” exhibiting artist Cherrish Smith. Image curtesy of the CBAC.

Since then, the CBAC has partnered with the arts center to mount exhibitions each year, including the 2022 show “Lay My Burdens Down,” and 2023’s “Blackity Black Black,” an embrace of quintessentially Black aesthetics. In this relationship between hosting venue and curatorial collective, McGuffey sponsors the shows, while the CBAC creates open calls, curates the exhibitions, and works directly with the exhibiting artists. McGuffey members help with the art installation process, publicity, and—crucially—provide gallery space for the shows to take place.

“This partnership allows us to help amplify Black art and provide a means of sharing Black art with McGuffey members and visitors as well as helps broaden the diversity of work and artists showing work at McGuffey,” notes CBAC member Kori Price. When asked about the partnership between the CBAC and MAC, Bill LeSueur, operations manager at McGuffey Art Center, added, “It’s mutually beneficial. The search for inspiration is continual. MAC will continue to support CBAC and open up opportunities for underrepresented artists. This establishes a model for future partnerships and additional collaborations.”

Progressive partnerships

As an untethered, volunteer-based collective of artists and art enthusiasts, the CBAC seeks out this type of community partnership to facilitate opportunities for artists in and around Charlottesville, centering Black voices and their creative work. While these opportunities most often take the form of exhibitions geared toward showcasing and selling artwork, the CBAC also aims to support artists by providing workshops to share skills and learn from each other, as well as critiques to provide feedback to creatives, and social gatherings such as community cookouts to strengthen existing relationships and foster new connections.

Tori Cherry, Leslie Taylor-Lillard, Kori Price, Benita Mayo, Kweisi Morris, Tobiah Mundt, Derrick J. Waller, and Mavis Waller currently make up the member roster of the Charlottesville Black Arts Collective. The CBAC is adamant about forming connections with community partners to expand the reach of Black artists throughout the greater- Charlottesville area—in addition to McGuffey, the group has established partnerships with Alamo Drafthouse, New City Arts, Second Street Gallery, and Studio Ix—creating platforms for their experiences to be shared through “a Black lens with clarity and creativity,” as Price puts it.

How sweet it is

Since its inception, the CBAC has focused on curating exhibitions and experiences around ideas that are unique or essential to Black culture. Themes that encourage the expression of Black joy have become especially important to the collective, like 2023’s “Blackity Black Black” and “Black Eyed Peas, Greens, and Cornbread”—an exhibition in celebration of new beginnings and the future—mounted at Studio Ix earlier this year. “Black love seemed like a natural next step for us,” says Price. “We all felt that the way in which love is expressed within the Black community was unique and were curious to see the ways in which artists might choose to depict and communicate love through their art.”

Richmond-based artist P. Muzi Branch’s “Bi-Cultural,” on exhibit in “Sugah: Black Love Endures.” Image curtesy of the CBAC.

Featuring works from P. Muzi Branch, Lizzie Brown, Chris Green, Jae Johnson, Leslie Lillard, Somé Louis, Tobiah Mundt, Maiya Pittman, Kori Price, Joshua Ray, Dorothy Rice, Cherrish Smith, and JaVori Warren, “Sugah” (pronounced SHU-gah) explores aspects of love related to the familial, the romantic, the self, and the cultural. Paintings, photographs, fiber arts, and mixed media works depicting affectionate embraces, acts of service, and cultural expressions define the look and feel of the exhibition.

Exhibiting artists Dorothy Rice and Cherrish Smith both chose to explore external identity markers in their respective works, “The Sisters Braid Love” and “Love is in the Hair.” In her exhibition application, Smith—the youngest artist in the show and a repeat participant in CBAC exhibitions—explained, “Black hair is art in itself … Black hair is love, and it helps me freely be me no matter how I choose to wear it!”

Drawing inspiration from Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss,” Lizzie Brown’s contribution to “Sugah” explores romantic love with a nod to art history. As the artist explains, “The intimacy, peace, and security shared between the two lovers is further emphasized through the use of circular motifs, which are symbolic of the wholeness and intricacies of their connection.”

Lizzie Brown’s “Intimacy: The Forehead Kiss” will be exhibited in “Sugah: Black Love Endures.” Image curtesy of the CBAC.

Local artist Somé Louis, who previously showed with the CBAC in “Blackity Black Black,” presents “Gestures of Play,” an embroidered handkerchief that captures the energy of childhood exuberance, documenting dance-like movements. The depiction of dance is “an act that binds me to my cousins and aunties in the Caribbean, who all studied dance, and understood movement through dance in a variety of ways,” Louis wrote in her exhibition application. Speaking on her experiences with the CBAC, Louis says, “It’s always great to find a space that allows for expression and exploration as an artist, which I have found as part of the CBAC exhibitions.”

Richmond-based artist P. Muzi Branch is also showing with the CBAC again after his inclusion in “Blackity Black Black.” Expressing the importance of the opportunities afforded by the collective, Branch asserts, “The CBAC group, through presenting thematic exhibitions, is affirming Black American visual art as a legitimate cultural genre that speaks for, informs about, and undergirds the Black community. African American visual art has unique ethnic norms, ideological themes, and aesthetic qualities that set it apart from all other culture-based art. The term ‘Black art’ is a cultural designation, not a racial one.”

Call and response

The affirmation of Black art and the expansion of cultural understanding and appreciation is at the heart of CBAC endeavors like “Sugah: Black Love Endures.” The benefits of this work extend beyond individual accolades and artistic achievements, impacting not just Black creative communities, but the entire Charlottesville community. As Price confirms, “The art in our shows is for everyone and provides a wonderful opportunity for patrons to explore new art and discover new artists.”

New exhibition opportunities attract new talent, enticing artists to show work in this area for the first time, or to show their work for the first time period. New artists bring new ideas, new expressions, new aesthetics to bear, and we all benefit by getting to see and experience novel examples of art and entertainment. New works creating stronger impacts on audiences bring new attention to an art scene. Viewers come to discover artists and works that resonate with them. New audiences strengthen creative communities by investing their time and resources into galleries and venues, which in turn use those investments to strengthen their programs that benefit artists and audiences, creating a mutually beneficial cycle of cultural and capital exchange.

It’s through this lens that the full scope of the CBAC’s efforts can be understood. The message behind many of the works in “Sugah: Black Love Endures” is that to feel love is to feel safe, secure, supported. When we show up for Black artists, we offer our support. We offer a sense of security and commitment to culture and community. We offer love, and may that love ever endure.

Tags CBCA, Charlottesville Black Arts Collective, Featured, Featured Arts, Fine Arts, McGuffey Art Center

Arts Culture

Artist Nym Pedersen’s small-scale works leave a big impact

Post author By Sarah Sargent
Post date August 14, 2024

A celebration of Nym Pederson’s life and work begins on his birthday, August 17, and continues through the rest of the year at different venues. Find more info at nymaroundtown.com. Supplied photo.

In the years leading up to the pandemic, artist Nym Pedersen could often be found on the Downtown Mall, peddling his small paintings, drawings, and collages, which he dubbed “art snacks.” Much like Steve Keene, Nym felt that art should be within everyone’s reach and priced his work accordingly. Nym died on March 9 at the age of 64 after a brief bout with cancer.

Nym came to Charlottesville in 1997 from Portland, Oregon, to join his sister, theater maven Boomie Pedersen. Nym (his nickname a combination of Norman and “him,” thanks to Boomie) grew up in New York City, where he attended the Collegiate School and Columbia University. The Pedersens lived on Central Park West just across the street from the park that became their playground and sanctuary.

It was not an easy childhood. The Pedersens’ father was the director of education at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Heeding the 1960s’ call to “Turn on, tune in, and drop out,” he abandoned his young family for points west, creating years of financial insecurity for those he left behind.

The burden created feelings of low self-worth; in Nym’s case, they helped mold him into someone who was self-effacing and introverted. The trauma showed up in his work, where he expressed the angst of the abandoned child. “I think my brother painted to resolve his relationship with our father,” says Boomie. “That’s where he worked out the torments going on inside him.” This is not to say Nym’s was an unhappy existence. In addition to his family, he had a close circle of friends he valued and who cherished him.

Remarkably prolific, Nym focused on the human form and, in particular, faces. Some of these, generally his pen-and-ink works, are delicate figures in repose, while others, paintings or collage, are grotesques with wild eyes and scar-like grimaces. Nym could also be scathingly funny and much of his art occupies the same absurdist world as Paul Klee’s work.

Nym took studio classes at Columbia and The Art Students League of New York and worked in different media—drawing, painting, collaging, sculpting. Drawn to collage for its ability to suggest layers of meaning, in some works he assembled bits of paper narratively to create startling portraits and in others he employed it as a visual device to provide texture and spatial ambiguity. In several pieces, he even mimicked the effect of collage with paint.

In addition to his artistic practice, which remained a constant throughout his life, Nym worked as a copy editor for McGraw Hill in New York. In Charlottesville, he was employed at Harvest Moon Catering and also as a relief copy editor at C-VILLE Weekly.

Through his marriage to Allegra von Studnitz, whom he adored, Nym became a devoted stepfather and step-grandfather to her biological daughter, two adopted sons, and grandson. The couple would go on to adopt two more boys, and Nym loved being a father and living a pastoral existence in the country surrounded by a large and varied menagerie.

It was this happiness that helped resolve his demons. Allegra describes the sea change: “Some years back Nym reached a breaking point. He felt deep despair about life, his past, the art world,” she says. “He made the decision that his outlook on life would become an introspection on life. He became the kindest, most loving human being, filled with humility. … And with that, he departed.”

Tags Fine Arts, In memoriam, nym pedersen