Tag: galleries

In the paint

For Kris Bowmaster, a painting is more than a single moment, captured on canvas. It’s a place to go. An event. A happening.

Over 25 years ago, while on a Peace Corps tour in Lesotho during the height of the AIDS epidemic, Bowmaster found painting. “The scope of the suffering was so huge and the days were full of tragedy,” he says. “Painting was the touchstone that I came back to every evening. I still think of painting as a place to go, not a thing to do. It’s a fight where no one gets hurt.”

Years later, along with the rest of the world, Bowmaster found himself surrounded by a public health crisis once more when COVID-19 hit. His new exhibition, “The Ecstasies of Commitment,” on display at The Local, features 10 paintings that he created during the first two years of the pandemic. 

“When starting the works that ended up in this show, I came across a series of images of dancers. One pair of dancers in particular caught my eye—they were so in tune with one another, it looked like ecstasy to me,” he says. “They were flying, jumping, catching, and being caught by one another. You can’t dance like that and be half committed.” 

The exhibition’s title work, “The Ecstasies of Commitment,” is a collision of color and bodies. Bowmaster started the painting when times were tough. “My supplies were low and, like many people, my income was interrupted.” After gathering up old, broken, half-empty spray paint cans, he used a nail to burst the color out onto the canvas, then smeared on thick layers of paint using a pallet knife he inherited from a lost loved one.  

This instinctive, spontaneous process was followed by a long period of intentional nurturing—slowly adding details with oil paints and gold leaf until it was done. The finished painting is full of movement. Sharp splatters of paint push up against fluid figures in a disjointed yet supportive embrace, so entwined it’s hard to tell where one starts and the other ends. 

“Commitments are personal, sometimes shared, and often a long time coming,” says Bowmaster. “Whether it be to a practice or a person, I think of a commitment as a new beginning, something that requires more from you or me than before. I think for all of us, in life, you’re gonna need something more than yourself to find your way.”—Maeve Hayden

April Shows

Artistic Remedies for Creative Hearts 8767 Seminole Tr., Suite 101, Ruckersville. “Women and Their Dogs” by Hope Wood, and “The Elements: Wood, Fire, Metal, Water, Earth and Air,” an ARCH members exhibition. 

Atlas Coffee 2206 Fontaine Ave. “Testing The Waters,” a joint show by Nathaniel Rogers and Kris Bowmaster. Through April.

Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. “Stillness” features works by Reni Gower. Through April 29.

Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd. “Artistry and Artisanship,” paintings and wire jewelry by Mae Stoll. Through April 30. Meet the artists at 1pm on April 9. 

Crozet Library 2020 Library Ave. “‘98 to ’22,”  paintings of acrylic, ink, and glass on canvas by Jerry O’Dell.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Natural Public Lands of Virginia,” works by landscape, wildlife, and nature photographer Ben Greenberg. Through April. 

Firefly 1304 E. Market St. Works by Dana Wheeles.  

High Tor Gear Exchange 1717 Allied St. “Close to Home—An Environmental Art Exhibit,” works inspired by environmental sustainability, with the intention of connecting artists and environmentalists alike to create conversations about the urgency of climate change.

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. “Turn on the Light!” is a memorial show in honor of Lyn Bolen Warren. The group exhibition features light-filled and Lyn-inspired work from artists Warren represented throughout her career. Through April 30.

The Local 824 Hinton Ave. “The Ecstasies of Commitment,” paintings by Kris Bowmaster. Through April. 

Loving Cup Vineyard & Winery 3340 Sutherland Rd., North Garden. “There is Beauty in Color,” works by Sara Gondwe using the melted crayon technique. Through May 29.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Smith Gallery, “redux: revisit, revive, remake,” ceramics by Rebekah Wostrel and fiber works by Lotta Helleberg. On the first floor, “Outflow” by Zoe Edgecom explores local wastewater treatment plants, and “Creation” features abstract paintings by Etta Harmon Levin. On the second floor, “INcompleteness” features photographs by Rob de Bara. In the Associate Gallery, “Gardens” showcases works by McGuffey’s Associate artists. Through May 1.

McIntire Connaughton Gallery Rouss and 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. “Diaspograms: The Symbology of Black Life,” a celebration of the Black experience distilled as imagery by Kweisi Morris.

PVCC Gallery 501 College Dr. In the North and South Galleries, the Annual Student Exhibition and Eighth Annual Chocolate Chowdown features works by student artists in diverse mediums, with decadent amounts of chocolate available to enjoy. Opens April 15. 

Random Row Brewing Co. 608 Preston Ave. A. “Old and New,” works by Julia Kindred. Through April 30. 

Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “Pathways,” layered mixed-media paintings by Francisco Donoso. In the Dové Gallery, “Daughterland” by Meesha Goldberg.

Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital 500 Martha Jefferson Dr. In the second floor Lab hall, paintings by Randy Baskerville. Through April.

Shenandoah Valley Art Center 126 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. In the Invitational Gallery, works by Paige Speight. In the Member’s Gallery, “Black,” by SVAC members in a variety of mediums. 

Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “The Prolyfyck Shape of Art” features works from student artists of the Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention Center as part of the Prolyfyck Exhibition Series. Through May 1. 

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Tandem Friends School 279 Tandem Ln. The Charlottesville Area Quilters Guild Quilt Show, with over 180 quilts on display, plus shopping and demos. April 9 and 10. 

Unitarian-Universalist Church 717 Rugby Rd. Paintings by Matalie Deane. Through April and viewable online. 

Vault Virginia 300 E. Main St. “Nature, Us, and The Future,” a female artists’ group exhibition with works by Christen Yates, Judith Ely, Karen Rosasco, Lesli DeVito, Phyllis Koch-Sheras, and Susan Patrick. Through April 15.

Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “On the Palette of Scarlet,” photographs by Fumi Ishino, and “Future Elsewhere,” an exhibition by Dana Washington-Queen. Through April 15 and opens April 22, respectively.

Poetic prints

Robert Schultz doesn’t need a camera to take photographs. The Roanoke-based poet and author uses a unique method of camera-less photography to create realistic-looking images on conventional and unusual materials.

Many of Schultz’s works are driven by an appreciation for nature and the arts. “My writing and reading life has influenced my art decisively, especially my deep involvement with poet Walt Whitman and the American transcendentalists for whom knowledge starts in the contemplation of nature,” says Schultz.

One of his camera-less photographs is of Whitman. It was created using a process called chlorophyll printing, a technique Schultz learned from Vietnamese-born photographer Binh Danh. Danh’s method of chlorophyll printing uses sunlight to bleach prints onto leaves before casting the leaves in resin to prevent further deterioration. The finished product is a high-resolution render of Whitman on a sheaf of leaves—an apt tribute to the 19th-century poet.

Schultz’s chlorophyll leaf print of Whitman is part of “Against the Dark,” Schultz’s new exhibition at Chroma Projects, and it is displayed alongside prints of many other influential writers and poets, including Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, and Henry David Thoreau. “My chlorophyll prints, and especially the portraits, enact Whitman’s central trope of leaves,” he says. “Death falls into the ground and life rises, renewed, from it.”

Also on display at Chroma are a series of scanography works that Schultz created over the course of one year during the pandemic. The images, which are captured using a flatbed scanner, are part of Schultz’s recently published photo journal, Specimens of the Plague Year. Accompanying each image is a journal entry Schultz wrote, reflecting on the state of the current world in and beyond his garden. “Composition with Magnolia Seeds” focuses on creeping, ominous roots surrounding new growth. “My specimen scans seek to acknowledge both beauty and terror, capturing ephemeral beauty against a deep black background,” says Schultz.—Maeve Hayden

February Shows

Artistic Remedies for Creative Hearts 8767 Seminole Tr., Suite 101, Ruckersville. “Celestial Bodies: Galaxies, Planets and Stars” features work from ARCH members. Opens February 5.

Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. “Against the Dark” showcases a variety of works by Robert Schultz, including camera-less photography and chlorophyll leaf portraits. Opens February 4.

Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd. “Mary Maveline Originals: Hand Painted, Hand Crafted, One-of-a-Kind Jewelry Line.” Jewelry that combines the talents of metalsmith Anna Lee and watercolorist Amy Snowden. Meet the artists at 1pm on February 12.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Fresh Perspectives” features work from four new members. Opens February 4.

The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Open Window: Emilio Sanchez on Paper” investigates the effects of light and shadow on architecture and landscapes across the globe.

Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “They Came to Play” traces the experience of Black sports in Charlottesville from the turn of the 20th century to its end. Opens February 26.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Smith Gallery, “Lay My Burdens Down,” works from Cville Black Arts Collective. Opens February 4.

Northside Library 705 Rio Rd. In the lobby, watercolors and acrylics by Jane Matthews. In the Quiet Room, photography by Bill Shaw.

PVCC Gallery 501 College Dr. In the North and South Galleries, “These Memories Can’t Wait,” lifetime artworks by former visual arts department chairperson Beryl Solla. Opens February 4.

The Ruffin Gallery 179 Culbreth Rd. “Counterpoint” by Sepideh Dashti, recent and new photography, textile, and video installation work. Through February 24.

Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “A Suh Wi Dweet,” mixed-media works by Stuart Robertson. In the Dové Gallery, “Ghana to Gullah,” photography by Marley Nichelle. Opens February 4.

Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital 500 Martha Jefferson Dr. In the second floor lab hall, paintings by Randy Baskerville. Through April.

Shenandoah Valley Art Center 126 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. In the Invitational Gallery, works from students of The Shenandoah Valley Governor’s School Arts and Humanities Program. In the Hallway Gallery, works from members of the Blue Ridge Virginia Art Education Association. In the Member’s Gallery, “Red,” works by SVAC members. Opens February 4.

Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Portraits of Running and Resilience’’ features work by Jill Meriwether as part of the Prolyfyck Exhibition Series. Opens February 4.

Unitarian-Universalist Church 717 Rugby Rd. “Ephemeral Spirits,” mixed media paintings by Dolly Joseph. Through February and viewable online.

Vault Virginia 300 E. Main St. “Nature, Us, and The Future,” a female artists’ group exhibition. Opens February 4.

Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “On The Palette of Scarlet,” photography by Fumi Ishino. Opens February 18.

The Wayne Theatre Exhibit Gallery, 521 W. Main St., Waynesboro. “Rhythm and Blues” by Barbara Coyle Holt. Opens February 24.

Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge 250 Pantops Mountain Rd. “The Joy of Color: A Multimedia Journey” showcases works from the BozArt Fine Art Collective. Opens February 2.

Shifting shape

“By studying art and making art, we place ourselves into a centuries-long continuum of observers and visual speakers,” says art educator and painter Susan Patrick. “We begin to understand previous and current cultures through drawn, painted, and sculpted images.”

Patrick, who is on staff at Village School, has decades of experience teaching art at public schools, and is a member of McGuffey Art Center, where her work is on display in the Smith Gallery.

Her new exhibition, “Connections: possibilities/impossibilities,” showcases a series of acrylic paintings on canvas. The series was a way for Patrick to explore a simple but intriguing shape—the triangle.

“I had seen an image of a painting broken into triangles, and liked the composition,” says Patrick. Triangles can be found scattered throughout her paintings. One of them, “December #2,” is a study of shapes where triangles are held inside the jagged edges of a square. “Everything is splintered and in full agitation. The triangles push into each other and pull apart—confined in their squares.” The paintings are calm, yet full of struggle. “The triangles are ill matched, not able to create their own square and unable to leave the square format.”

Patrick’s work also contains hidden messages. “These paintings are partially covering paintings made in the past,” she says. On the surface, “Sooner” looks bright and cheerful. Vibrant greens and blues color Patrick’s signature squares, rectangles, and triangles. But hidden underneath is a messy, emotional sprawl of words. “A poem, written over and over, densely covered the canvas with layers of words,” says Patrick. The poem was about leaving behind a difficult situation, and bits and pieces of it still shine through and can be seen in the finished work, memories of the past mingling with the present.—Maeve Hayden

January Shows

Artistic Remedies for Creative Hearts 8767 Seminole Tr., Suite 101, Ruckersville. “Flight of Fancy: All Things Winged and Windborne” features work from ARCH members. Opens January 8.

Baker Gallery Woodberry Forest School, 898 Woodberry Forest Rd. “From the Moment” showcases new paintings by Darrell Rose. Through March 5.

The Center at Belvedere 540 Belvedere Blvd. “Natural Public Lands of Virginia” features photography work by Ben Greenberg.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “The Studio Sale” features locally handmade, high-quality arts and crafts. Through January 31.

Eastwood Farm and Winery 2531 Scottsville Rd. “Roads to Eastwood” includes works by Jessica Livingston and Andrea Ruedy Trimble. Opens January 7.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Smith Gallery, “Connections: possibilities/impossibilities,” recent acrylic paintings by Susan Patrick. In the Hallway Galleries, “New Members Show,” featuring work from McGuffey’s latest group of artists. Through January 30.

New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. In the Welcome Gallery, “You can’t compromise my joy” features new works by Fall 2021 New City Artist-in-Residence, Kori Price. Opens January 14.

Northside Library 705 Rio Rd. In the lobby, acrylics by Ali Sullivan. In the Quiet Room, photography by Bill Shaw.

Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Marley in Wonderland’’ features work by Marley Nichelle as part of the Prolyfyck Exhibition Series. Opens January 7.

Top Knot Studio 103 Fifth St. SE. “Old Password” by Christopher Headings. Through January 31.

The Wayne Theatre Exhibit Gallery, 521 W. Main St., Waynesboro. “Find My Bearings” by Ashley Sauder Miller features works made from unconventional materials, paint, marker, and oil pastel. Through February.

Pieced with love

“It is a real thrill when someone sees one of my paintings and feels a connection,” says painter and collage artist Scheline Crutchfield. “It’s almost like we were in the same place at the same time.” Like many artists, Crutchfield was missing that connection during COVID closures. “I created a lot of new art during the pandemic, but there were no venues for showing it,” she says.

Things changed when Suzanne Owen, owner of Neroli Spa, expressed interest in creating a gallery space. Crutchfield jumped at the chance to share her work with the public again, and saw it as an opportunity to pay it forward. Ten percent of proceeds from the show will be donated to The Women’s Initiative, a local nonprofit that provides counseling, social support, and education programs to women in need.

Primarily known for her oil paintings on canvas, Crutchfield recently started “experimenting with collage as a method to plan out my oil paintings,” she says. “I liked it so much that I began to use [it] as a medium.”

Inspired by women who remained “beautiful, bold, and confident, sort of the opposite of how many women and girls were feeling during the pandemic,” Crutchfield says she was drawn to collage as a way to represent female power.

Her mix of paper, texture, and layering captures the beauty of her subjects. Crutchfield’s “Hip Chick’’ series uses recycled Starbucks K-cup boxes, and vintage wallpaper samples appear in many of her fashion-based collages. The finished products are small but mighty portraits of powerful women.

Perhaps the most meaningful piece in the show? A blank canvas that represents the challenges women may face when seeking help. “A blank canvas is intimidating. You never know if things will work out the way you want, but making that first mark sets you on a path toward progress.” —Maeve Hayden

December Shows

Artistic Remedies for Creative Hearts 8767 Seminole Tr., Suite 101, Ruckersville. “The Red Exhibit” features work from ARCH members. Opens December 4.

Baker Gallery Woodberry Forest School, 898 Woodberry Forest Rd. “Nothing in Particular” features large-scale photographs by John Berry. Through December 18.

Battle Building 1204 W. Main St. On the ground floor, viewable from outside, “The Bodice Project” is an exhibition of torso sculptures, some of actual women and men who have undergone mastectomies or reconstructive surgery. Through January 2022.

The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 209 Monticello Rd. “Give & Take” transforms the gallery space into a swap shop of rotating items. Coming in December.

Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. “Sugar Plum Dreams of the Anthropocene” showcases works by Brad Birchett and Aggie Zed. Opens December 3.

Create Gallery Inside Indoor Biotechnologies, 700 Harris St. “Rock, Pebble and Stone” is a group show by the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective. Through December 20.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Color My World” showcases Gillian Ruffa’s latest work in copper jewelry. Through December 31.

Invitational Gallery Inside Shenandoah Valley Art Center, 126 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. Pottery show and sale features affordable works from members. Through January 15.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. First Friday event with three floors of art and open studios. In the hallways galleries, the holiday show and sale features two floors of art. December 3.

Neroli Spa 507 W. Main St. Paintings and collages by Scheline Crutchfield. Through December 31.

New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. In the Welcome Gallery, “New City Artist Exchange” features works in a variety of mediums from 11 local artists. Opens December 3.

Northside Library 705 Rio Rd. In the lobby, acrylics by Camille Gerrick. In the Quiet Room, melted crayon and acrylic works by Sara Gondwe.

Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “Inside the Artist’s Studio,” a group exhibition. In the Dové Gallery, “The Third Mind.” Opens December 3.

Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. Features work by Marley Nichelle as part of the Prolyfyck Exhibition Series. Opens December 3.

Unitarian Universalist Inside the Sanctuary, 717 Rugby Rd. “Season of Light” showcases works by artists of all ages. Opens December 4.

Quirk Gallery 499 W. Main St. “Maybe/Sometimes,” large-scale works on canvas by Aimee Joyaux. Through January 16.

Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. The Visible Records Group Show. Opens December 17.