Arts Culture

A dual show at Phaeton Gallery interprets beauty in layers 

Currently on exhibition at Phaeton Gallery,  “Understory” features works by Charlottesville resident Krista Townsend and Nikki Hare of Tewkesbury, U.K., in a dynamic artistic dialogue about nature. The title refers to the zone of vegetation that exists between the forest floor and the forest canopy. Townsend approaches this directly, producing work developed and centered on […]

Sarah Sargent | March 26, 2025

Arts Culture

Ruffin Gallery group show brings art alums together

The work of former University of Virginia students comes together in “A Continuous Storyline: Four Decades of UVA Painters” at the school’s Ruffin Gallery. In curating the show, UVA Professor of Studio Art Megan Marlatt chose artists with an active creative life who are developing, working, and making art.  Tori Cherry (’20), whose stunning self-portrait […]

Sarah Sargent | January 29, 2025

Arts Culture

Ten artists share repetition across mediums at Second Street Gallery

“That Feels Good! Labor as Pleasure” at Second Street Gallery brings together 10 artists working in a variety of media and styles whose work shares a labor-intensive, often repetitive, approach. For curator Francisco Donoso, the repetitions and effort yield not just interesting artwork, but also pleasure for the artist creating it.  Donoso cites as inspiration […]

Sarah Sargent | January 8, 2025

Arts Culture

JSAAHC adds highly detailed Black spaces exhibition to its permanent collection

“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 […]

Sarah Sargent | October 9, 2024

Arts Culture

Jefferson School spotlights sculptor who carved out a remarkable legacy

The story of sculptor Alice Ivory is a story of triumph against adversity, and the power of the creative drive. It is also an American tragedy of sorts, highlighting the dearth of opportunities afforded people outside the white, predominantly male, status quo. In “Beyond Boundaries: The Sculpture of Alice Wesley Ivory,” the Jefferson School African […]

Sarah Sargent | September 25, 2024

Arts Culture

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

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 […]

Sarah Sargent | August 14, 2024

Arts Culture

Mentor and student unite in artistic dialogue at Les Yeux du Monde

Artists Isabelle Abbot and Barbara Campbell Thomas met when Abbot was a student in the MFA program at UNC Greensboro where Thomas was a professor. Thomas became an important mentor to Abbot, helping her achieve a looser, freer painting style and chairing her thesis committee. “Influence + Conversation” at Les Yeux du Monde reunites the […]

Sarah Sargent | August 7, 2024

Arts Culture

Essential to the soul

“They’re more than art—they’re like the Bible, Google Maps, and ancestry.com all rolled into one,” says Henry Skerritt, curator of the Indigenous Arts of Australia at University of Virginia’s Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection. Skerritt is describing what bark paintings represent to the Yolŋu people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. It’s an […]

Sarah Sargent | May 29, 2024

Arts Culture

Pattern of success

The John P. and Stephanie F. Connaughton Gallery at the McIntire School of Commerce might not be on every Charlottesville art lover’s radar, but it should be. The gallery typically presents three shows each year with two artists per show who are invited to apply by McIntire Art Committee members. In most cases, McIntire purchases […]

Sarah Sargent | May 15, 2024

Arts Culture

Making a mark

Dathan Kane has just completed a month-long residency at Visible Records, an artist-run gallery and studio space that focuses on contemporary arts and empowering the community, and is located in the Belmont/Carlton neighborhood. Kane’s residency is part of a joint project with the Contemporary Arts Network of Newport News that will see two Visible Records […]

Sarah Sargent | March 13, 2024