Art Features


Natural detachment: Ress cuts through what's precious Published on May 9th, 2011 0 comments Richmond’s 1708 Gallery recently showed a series of riveting photographs by Kimberly Witham, who collects road kill to take back to her studio, where she shoots close-ups of the deceased animals in...
Wolf on the horizon: McCarthy channels Kahn landscapes Published on May 2nd, 2011 0 comments “There's nothing new under the sun” and “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” are two sayings repeated whenever an artist’s work is deemed derivative. Any creative type— whether a painter,...
Assembly lines: Bill balances control and chaos Published on Apr 25th, 2011 0 comments Every year when the Charlottesville/Albemarle High School Art Show goes up, I'm wowed all over again by Randy Bill’s students at St. Anne’s-Belfield School. Her pupils’ work expresses a mature...
Starry eyed: Bennett and co. harness the heavens Published on Apr 18th, 2011 0 comments Between giant sun flares and the recent “super moon,” not to mention new theorizing that life on earth sprang from space fungus, the cosmos has been making news lately. (And let’s not forget the...
Subject-object agreement: Students express visual vocabulary Published on Apr 11th, 2011 0 comments Along with tulips and baseball’s return, the annual Charlottesville/Albemarle High School Art Show is one of the best things about spring. Currently on view in the McGuffey Art Center’s upstairs hall...
Life lines: Holston shapes a colorful view Published on Apr 7th, 2011 2 comments Reading the paper, cutting up vegetables, playing chess in the park, or just sitting on a fence— these are the everyday moments Joseph Holston abstracts in his etchings and paintings. But the...
Structural psychology: Payne investigates delusions of grandeur Published on Mar 28th, 2011 0 comments The Villages at Staunton— such an inviting name for the hillside of grand brick buildings rising on the left as Rte. 250 approaches downtown Staunton. Now an upscale enclave of condominiums, the site...
Reading into things: Chroma artists have a way with words Published on Mar 21st, 2011 0 comments “Show, don’t tell.” Every author knows this dictate by heart (whether choosing to comply or not). The visual artists showing work in Chroma Projects’ current exhibition, “Anthology: One Thousand...
Under the influence: Moore lays it on thick Published on Mar 14th, 2011 0 comments Several small blocks sit stacked beside cigar-box dioramas depicting itty-bitty galleries, complete with tiny paintings, in one corner of Dave Moore’s exhibition, “These Things I Do,” currently on...
Bugging out: Braun finds splendor in the grass Published on Mar 7th, 2011 0 comments Most people know local painter Robin Braun for her realistic and evocative seascapes. Now and then, though, she returns to painting tiny scenes, viewed at ground level, where insects are the actors....
That '70s show: UVA paints an era Published on Mar 1st, 2011 2 comments No artist works in a vacuum. Whether consciously or un-, artists constantly respond to a host of factors: exposure to other artwork, the immediate environment, ideas discussed with creative types,...
Southern (dis)comfort: Photographers expose their roots Published on Feb 21st, 2011 0 comments “You don’t have a southern bone in your body,” a friend recently remarked. She meant it as a compliment, but the truth is I consider myself quintessentially southern. I was born in Lexington, to...
Bodily fluids: Pierce abstracts anatomy Published on Feb 14th, 2011 0 comments Bethany Pierce is one of those people who make the rest of us— okay, I’ll just speak for me— look like talentless slackers. Not only is she the author of two critically acclaimed novels, but she’s...
Grotesque arabesque: Eichorst fancies the fantastic Published on Feb 7th, 2011 0 comments After watching Aaron Eichorst’s art evolve over several years, a few things have become clear. He finds the natural world compelling, from animals to flowers to bugs. He loves color. He doesn’t shy...
Culture- ART FEATURE- Published on Nov 27th, 2008 0 comments The latest Back Gallery exhibit at the Virginia Discovery Museum is not what people expect to find in a children's museum. In fact, the folks at the Smithsonian Institution, who created New Harmonies...
Culture- ART FEATURE- Shock of the new: Ruffin Hall brings all things arty to all Published on Sep 4th, 2008 0 comments If you haven't driven on Culbreth Road recently, you're in for a visual shock. Where once an empty hillside overlooked a little-used amphitheater, a 560-space parking garage now looms. Meanwhile,...
Culture- ART FEATURE- Seri-al thriller: Pamer's graphic executions Published on Aug 28th, 2008 0 comments Take a second to imagine the typical rock poster stapled to kiosks around town. What do you see? Let me guess– an image of a band, photographed from either above or below, artfully posed in...
Culture- ART FEATURE- Les Yeux nouveaux: Opening eyes on West Main Published on Aug 21st, 2008 0 comments When it comes to misfortune, some people believe in the "rule of threes": one unexpected death foreshadows two more, and plane crashes always seem to happen in triplicate. Certainly, the rule held...
Culture- ART FEATURE- Abstract influences: Guyer and Hurt on the horizon Published on Aug 14th, 2008 0 comments Recently, while discussing a painting exhibition that didn't thrill me, someone dismissed my opinion by saying, "Well, of course, you don't like it— you only like representative work." I burst...
Culture- ART FEATURE- Split personalities: Artists switch hit at PVCC Published on Jul 31st, 2008 1 comments Last winter, in one month Rob Tarbell was showing tongue-in-cheek porcelain sculptures at Second Street Gallery, and the next he was displaying ethereal smoke drawings at Les Yeux du Monde. No doubt...
Culture- ART FEATURE- Abandonment issues: Goldfarb looks into the overlooked Published on Jul 24th, 2008 0 comments When you walk into the New Dominion Bookshop, take a minute to notice the black and white photograph in the left window. A quick glance yields nothing special– just a white cat sitting beneath...
Culture- ART FEATURE- Assembly line: Lewis re-collects the past Published on Jul 17th, 2008 8 comments When I was little, my mom kept a large pair of red-handled scissors hanging on the side of a kitchen cabinet next to the refrigerator. I'm pretty sure they're still at my dad's house in Lexington,...
CULTURE- ART FEATURE- Excess baggage: Thruston overpacks at McGuffey Published on Jul 10th, 2008 0 comments IMAGE COURTESY Jeff Thruston "Murder your darlings." Every writer knows British journalist Arthur Quillen-Couch's famous dictum. Florid passage? Slice it. Clever but extraneous idea? Slash it. Good...
CULTURE- ART FEATURE- Shock and awe: Witkin's photographic phantasmagoria Published on Jul 3rd, 2008 0 comments Sometimes an artist simply needs to get out of the way of the work. That's the conclusion I reached after listening to Joel-Peter Witkin discuss his imagery during the Festival of the Photograph....
CULTURE- ART FEATURE- The rite stuff: Mark's captivating prom dates Published on Jun 26th, 2008 0 comments Publicity photo A teenage prostitute wearing a veiled Jackie O. pillbox hat. A young Indian circus performer gazing out from between her own feet. Photographer Mary Ellen Mark's most celebrated...
CULTURE- ART FEATURE- The rite stuff: Mark's captivating prom dates Published on Jun 26th, 2008 0 comments Publicity photo A teenage prostitute wearing a veiled Jackie O. pillbox hat. A young Indian circus performer gazing out from between her own feet. Photographer Mary Ellen Mark's most celebrated...
CULTURE- ART FEATURE- This tragic moment: Nachtwey bears witness Published on Jun 19th, 2008 0 comments Publicity photo The second time I viewed photographer James Nachtwey's exhibition, "The Unvanquished," I was alone in Les Yeux du Monde, save for a Festival of the Photograph worker re-hanging a few...
CULTURE- ART FEATURE- McGuffey melting: Jacobson's old-school transformations Published on Jun 12th, 2008 0 comments IMAGE COURTESY THE ARTIST When giant whales swim through the trees on the Downtown Mall, it can only mean one thing: the Festival of the Photograph is back in town. The next few weeks offer the...
CULTURE- ART FEATURE- Dot matrix: Modern dreaming in Aboriginal art Published on Jun 5th, 2008 0 comments Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri, Family Moon DreamingIMAGE COURTESY Kluge-Ruhe In Charlottesville's recently roiled art world, here's a bit of good news: John Kluge, benefactor extraordinaire, has...
CULTURE- ART FEATURE- Take a seat: Dr. Berman unveils stool samples Published on May 29th, 2008 1 comments Irwin Berman, MondrianPUBLICITY PHOTO Readers who turn your nose up at crass puns, turn the page! Consider yourself warned. As many of you know, since the end of last year, the s**t has hit...