Atlas Coffee 2206 B Fontaine Ave. “Spring Bouquets,” oil paintings by Kris Bowmaster. April 1–May 31.
Buck Mountain Episcopal Church 4133 Earlysville Rd. Paintings by Juliette Swenson. April 1–June 30.
Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “After the Blue Light,” works balancing realism and abstraction in oil and cold wax to capture the tranquility and energy of the natural world, by Kathy Belcher. “Gideon’s Pottery,” wheel-thrown ceramics reflecting the artist’s curiosity about form and function, by Gideon McCarthy. Both shows run April 1–30. Meet the artist event with Gideon McCarthy April 11, 11am–1pm. A one-day pop-up art show featuring works by student members of the Western Albemarle High School chapter of the National Art Honor Society takes place April 18.
C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Safe Arbors,” a 20-year retrospective of Flame Bilyue’s work, inspired by the strength and serenity of trees. April 3–30. First Fridays opening reception, 5–8pm.
The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “The World Between: Egypt and Nubia in Africa,” showcasing the deep cultural embeddedness of ancient Egypt in Africa, beyond merely acknowledging its geographical position on the African continent. “Pélagie Gbaguidi: Excavation and Knowledge,” a site-specific installation exploring the histories and tenets of faith that connect us all. “Crafted for Tea: Connecting Cultures with Teaware and Traditions,” exploring how the preparation and enjoyment of tea have traveled, transformed, and inspired across time and place, through images and objects. “Nakeya Brown: Refutations,” photographs honoring the complex entanglement of identity, memory, femininity, family legacy, and the marketing of cultural assimilation in the context of Black hair. All shows run through May 31.
The Gallery at Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Mt. Saint Cabbage,” new works exploring a fascination and fraught relationship with nature, questioning our effect on the earth as humans, by Allyson Mellberg and Jeremy Seth Taylor. April 3–May 31. First Fridays opening reception 5–7pm. Artist talk May 7, 5–6pm.
IX Art Park 522 Second St. SE. In the Public restroom art gallery, “The Array,” colorful mixed media pieces inspired by a lifelong devotion to seeing, shaping, and honoring the world around him by Bill Atwood. First Fridays opening reception, 7–9pm, featuring a “Meet the Artist Q&A” with muralist Jesse Jentzen. “The Looking Glass,” an immersive art space featuring a whimsical enchanted forest and kaleidoscopic cave. Ongoing.
Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “Swords into Plowshares: Recast/Reclaim,” original never-before-seen photographs documenting the dismantling and melting of Charlottesville’s Robert E. Lee monument by Ézé Amos and Kristen Finn. Through May 30. Permanent exhibition, “Pride Overcomes Prejudice,” exploring the history of peoples of African descent in Charlottesville. Ongoing.
The John P. & Stephanie F. Connaughton Gallery at the UVA McIntire School of Commerce Rouss & Robertson Halls third floor, East Lawn. “POINT OF VIEW,” a two-person show featuring paintings and mixed media works by Krista Townsend and Sue McCoy. Through June 19. Opening reception April 9, 4:30–6:30pm.
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA 400 Worrell Dr. “Ngiya Murrakupupuni amintiya Jilamara (My Country and Art),” painting, sculpture, and fiber art by Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni. Through July 26. Welcome reception April 2, 5–7pm. Gallery talk April 4, 1:30–2:30pm. Ochre workshop April 4, 3–4pm. “Color is Life: Women’s Work Today,” a group show of women artists featuring fiberwork, painting, printmaking, film, and sculpture. Through March 14, 2027.
Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Paradise Found: Where Heaven and Earth Meet,” a solo exhibition of works by Asa Jackson, including compositions made with deconstructed and dyed garments. April 10–May 24. Opening reception April 10, 5–7pm.
Loving Cup Vineyard and Winery 3340 Sutherland Rd., North Garden. “Landscapes,” oil paintings by James Moore and Kathleen Hutter. Through April 26.
McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In all galleries, the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Juried Show features diverse works from artists residing in Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. April 3–25. First Friday opening reception 5:30–8pm. Panel discussion with select artists from the Mid-Atlantic Show April 25, 3–4pm. Tom Tom Festival at McGuffey event, featuring open artist studios and co-create activities, April 25, 1–4pm.
New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. In the Welcome Gallery, “holding ground,” an installation of cast clay fired into ceramic and reconfigured with welded metal objects and armatures, by Stephanie Germosen Salazar, where sculptural works explore time, displacement, and instability in the present day. Through April 15. Extended First Fridays hours, 5–7:30pm. Chess and tea event April 4, 3–5pm.
Phaeton Gallery 114 Old Preston Ave. “Nature Studies,” reflecting artist Cate West Zahl’s attentive engagement with the quiet language of the natural world, translating observation into expressive compositions. April 3–26. First Fridays opening reception 5–8pm.
Ruffin Gallery UVA Grounds, Ruffin Hall, 179 Culbreth Rd. Thesis exhibitions by graduating students and fifth-year Aunspaugh Fellows. Through April 24, with receptions on Fridays from 5–7pm.
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charlottesville 717 Rugby Rd. “Joy of Creation,” acrylic and watercolor works by Adriana Nicholson. Through April.
Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “5000,” paintings and prints centered in Afrofuturism by Hampton Boyer. Through May 16. Sci-fi writing workshop April 18, 1–4pm. Closing reception May 16, 2–5pm.
Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge 250 Pantops Mountain Rd. An exhibition by The Charlottesville Camera Club showcasing a diverse collection of images created by members of one of the region’s most active photography organizations. April 1–May 1.
Friday 4/3 through Friday 5/22
Second Street Gallery presents two shows focused on natural beauty for the start of spring. In the Main Gallery, “Fine Art + Flowers” offers a curated exhibition of botanical paintings by seven celebrated women artists, all of whom live in Central Virginia or maintain strong ties to the region, including Karen Blair, Lee Christmas Halstead, Berkeley Hoerr, Krista Townsend, Priscilla Whitlock, Laura Wooten, and Cate West Zahl. During the exhibition’s opening weekend, an extraordinary display of flower arrangements created by florists, floral designers, and creative talents will fill the space in response to the paintings on view. A ticketed VIP preview party and fundraiser takes place April 2, 5:30–7:30pm. In the Dové Gallery, Giselle Gautreau’s solo show “Field Obscura” explores the convergence of memory, landscape, and ecology through layers of oil or encaustic paints, as well as charcoal and graphite drawings. An Artist in Conversation gallery talk with Gautreau and Lindsay Heider Diamond takes place April 23, 5:30–6:30pm. Both shows open to the public with a First Fridays reception April 3, 5–7pm. Second Street Gallery, 115 Second St. SE. secondstreetgallery.org
