ARTS Pick: C’ville Holiday Craftacular

Gift-giving season inspires the creativity in all of us, though Pinterest DIY fails are a painful reality for most. Discover talented local crafters at the C’ville Holiday Craftacular, a two-day show featuring handmade gift items by regional artisans. Unique items from hand-woven chainmail and forged jewelry to homegrown herbal beauty products and handbags, as well […]

Dean Dass’ works evoke a beautiful loneliness on earth and above it

The “Dean Dass: New Paintings and Works on Paper” exhibition on view at Les Yeux du Monde offers the double pleasure of Dass’ luscious landscapes paired with his more mystical media-rich works on paper. A professor of printmaking at UVA, Dass took up landscape painting in 1994 while on sabbatical in New Hampshire. He was […]

This week finds aliens in the club and gifts in the forest

Throughout last year, I kept hearing the name Guardian Alien. At first I wasn’t at all curious. The band name led me to the assumption that it was “some sort of dubstep or chillwave thing,” and its record sleeve—a watercolor drawing of an alien with dreadlocks, holding a repeating version of the record itself—was easily […]

The Charlottesville Mural Project unveils a tribute to the Rivanna River

On a chilly Friday in late November, Ross McDermott of the Charlottesville Mural Project gathered a large group on the railroad crossing at First Street to dedicate the organization’s newest mural, designed by local artist Kaki Dimock. The mural’s theme is the Rivanna River, a subject originally proposed by Rose Brown of the organization StreamWatch, who […]

Millicent Young seeks a new mythology through primordial totems

I was completely captivated by Millicent Young’s radiant show at Chroma Projects. Composed of horsehair and found wood, Young’s work thrums with nature and speaks to ancient mysteries that our modern selves can only dimly grasp. “The known, the unknown, and the unknowable is a trinity that has been with me a very long time,” […]

C’ville Art Blog: Clay Witt at the Garage

The Garage is primarily recognized as a fun offbeat downtown music venue. However, if you squint and peer behind the lead guitarist, or stumble past on your way to your car on First Fridays, you discover the space also curates monthly art shows. While its shows are fairly difficult to access (the space is closed […]

ARTS Pick: Artisans Studio Tour

Craft lovers, get ready to hit the road for the 19th Annual Artisans Studio Tour, a self-guided visit to local studios exhibiting artists works and processes around Charlottesville and the surrounding counties. Showcasing 38 of Virginia’s finest artisans, the tour includes demonstrations, opportunities for hands-on experience, and displays of pottery, furniture, weaving, jewelry, stained glass, […]

Johanna Leech builds a mini-museum of collectables that tell a local story

“I’m an artist…but I’d also identify myself as a collector,” said Johanna Leech. It is precisely this vocation that brings Leech to Charlottesville to participate in The Bridge PAI’s new artist-in-residence program. The 28-year-old native of Belfast, Northern Ireland has spent October scouring the area for kitsch objects, unusual stories, and local hearsay, myths and legends. […]

November First Fridays Guide

Angelo 220 E. Main St. “Recent Paintings by Michael Fitts” on scrap metal panels. 5-7:30pm. The Bridge PAI 209 Monticello Rd. “Virginia is for …” by Johanna Leech. 5-8pm. Boutique Boutique 411 E. Main St. Day of the Dead celebration and Mexican art. 5-8pm. Chroma Projects 418 E. Main St. “Known/Not Known,” with sculpture by […]

C’ville Art Blog: The Whimsical World of Jessie Meehan

The Firefish Gallery is currently showcasing a collection of works by local artist Jessie Meehan that approaches painting in a refreshing and imaginative way. The body of work, titled “Tiny Lights,” is united by many elements, including the use of white pin points, stars or “tiny lights” that show up in each piece. The artist […]