Culture

Stacey Evans captures ephemeral perspectives from a window seat

Stacey Evans began taking photos from trains more than 20 years ago. What started casually, with a couple of images snapped on a trip, evolved into a serious body of work produced over 44 separate train journeys, along 14 different routes. “Passenger: Riding the Rails” at Second Street Gallery features photographs taken by Evans along […]

Sarah Sargent | December 17, 2025

Arts Culture

Acclaimed artist Wolfgang Buttress designs a community treasure

Known for his large-scale immersive installations that incorporate sculpture and technology to explore environmental themes, British artist Wolfgang Buttress’ reputation was established with 2015’s “The Hive,” a bee-centric work that won 27 awards and is now permanently installed at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London. Thanks to a generous gift to University of Virginia’s […]

Sarah Sargent | November 5, 2025

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

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

Arts initiative

January 29 marks the start of Karen Elizabeth Milbourne’s tenure as the J. Sanford Miller Family Director of The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia. Milbourne comes to UVA from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., where she was senior curator and acting head of knowledge production. A […]

Sarah Sargent | January 31, 2024