This photo of guitarist Woody Guthrie is part of the VMFA’s exhibition “Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art.” (Photo courtesy Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
Paintings aren’t musical, except when they are, and you’ll find out how in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibition “Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art,” opening Oct. 8.
The presentation includes 125 works spanning 200 years by such artists as Romare Bearden, Thomas Hart Benton, William Eggleston, Jacob Lawrence, Annie Leibovitz and Charles Wilson Peale. Also on display are 35 guitars made by Fender, Gibson, Gretsch and Martin. Amid the audiovisual kiosks of performances will be a recording studio created in collaboration with Richmond's In Your Ear Studios, allowing visitors to observe musicians lay down tracks. Videos of their performances will be released on the VMFA’s website and YouTube channel.
The exhibition is curated by Leo G. Mazow, the VMFA’s Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane Curator of American Art, who himself enjoys playing the guitar.
“Without sounding too mystical,” Mazow explains, “the guitar allows us to hear stories, all kinds of them, and in large part this comes from the instrument’s affordability and portability. The guitar can reach people in profound ways, and I’m not saying other instruments can’t, but the guitar can go nearly everywhere with almost anyone.” T he exhibit is $16 for adults. For more details, visit vmfa.museum.
EXHIBITION PREVIEWS
Museums and Art Centers
At the University of Richmond’s museums are three noteworthy shows. Through Nov. 18, the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art has “The Portraitist,” featuring Duane Michals’ photographic portraits.
“Therefore I Am: Portraits from the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center” runs through July 7, 2023, at the Modlin Center for the Arts atrium, showcasing portraits from the 16th to the 21st centuries. Richard Waller, former executive director of UR’s museums, curated “Swan Song: Celebrating the Permanent Collection” (Nov. 3-April 21, 2023). The exhibition highlights notable acquisitions of the past 44 years. The museums are free and open Sunday-Friday, 1 to 5 p.m. For more details, visit museums.richmond.edu.
An image from dana washington-queen's "Resume at the Point of Interruption" at the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU (Photo courtesy Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU)
Across town, the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU strives to keep to the moment. Among its upcoming shows is “Resume at the Point of Interruption” (Sept. 9-Jan. 8, 2023), featuring work by poet/photographer/filmmaker dana washington-queen and curated by Enjoli Moon. The artist, who prefers her name be written in lowercase, grew up playing sports, and the exhibition’s title is from a NBA regulation stating that while a game can be halted for special circumstances, play must resume at the ball’s last position. Here, washington-queen examines the qualities of freedom.
Among the ICA’s other shows are Naima Green’s multimedia “I Keep Missing My Water” (Sept. 9-Jan. 8, 2023), presenting the fluidity of experience while along bodies of water, and a yearlong commissioned work by Cuban American artist Rafael Domenech, “The Medium Is the Massage,” that turns art-making and exhibition preparation inside out with the presentation of materials and research. Visiting the ICA is free. For more details, visit icavcu.org.
In the Fan District, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, which for 60 years has celebrated creativity, hosts “Community Build” (Sept. 9-Oct. 21) with a group of multidisciplinary artists, Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo, Valeska Populoh, and Lil Lamberta and the All the Saints T heater Company. All three use puppetry, performance and procession to create collective and personal moments of celebration, resistance and reflection. This exhibition culminates in the All the Saints annual parade. Additionally, VisArts’ 58th annual Craft + Design Show returns to Main Street Station Oct. 14-16. For more details, visit visarts.org.
At Manchester’s Art Works from Sept. 23-Oct. 22, “Up From Ashes: A Life in Clay” presents examples of Lee Hazelgrove’s 35 years as a ceramic artist, while “Trains” presents elements of the locomotive life and a “Train Day” event on Sept. 24, in conjunction with the nearby Richmond Railroad Museum. Chris Semtner’s “Phantasmagorium” runs Oct. 28-Nov. 19, and the Poe Museum curator, author and artist presents paintings influenced by delving into the dark and mysterious. For more details, visit artworksva.com.
At the Galleries
The artist-run nonprofit 1708 Gallery turned a significant corner in its 43-year history with the recent purchase of its building on West Broad Street. Through Oct. 9, Leila Weefur’s “Play Prey,” co-curated with the Afrikana Film Festival, offers a multichannel film work about the experience of a queer Black child in the Christian church. An exhibition featuring works from throughout the long career of the late Myron Helfgott, who made immersive art before it was cool, runs Oct. 21-Dec. 4. T he gallery goes outside Nov. 18-19, with the 15th annual site-specific InLight this year taking on Bryan Park with combinations of illumination. For details, visit 1708gallery.org.
The recent move of Artspace to the Stratford Hills Shopping Center meant another transformation for the 34-yearold gallery. Highlights of the ensuing season include the photography exhibition “Reflections,” through Sept. 17, showcasing work by Elisabeth Flynn-Chapman and inaugurating a gallery space in her name. The theme for the member’s biennial is “Watershed,” and it runs Nov. 11-Dec. 18. Beyond art, this effort will include excursions, walks and talks about the James River watershed. For more details, visit artspacegallery.org.
The contemporary Reynolds Gallery and its two locations, 1514 W. Main St. and 401 Libbie Ave., enter with several shows. At Main Street, the two artists in “Vital Signs,” through Oct. 2, include Richmonder and multidisciplinary maker Unicia Buster, and Petersburg-based Hugh Lightbody, with large-scale abstracts that double as portraits and metaphors. This is followed, Nov. 4 through Christmas, by a group show of some 10 artists, including Corydon Cowansage, Clare Grill, Alison Hall, Matt Phillips and Katia Santibañez, At Libbie, Oct. 21-Nov. 23, the work of Virginia Beach painter and photographer Barry Purcellis is showcased. For more details, visit reynoldsgallery.com.
Gallery Guides
Sept. 2–Oct. 22
Candela Gallery: “All the Orchids Are Fine” presents work by multimedia artist Nadiya Nacorda, a child of immigrants and political refugees. Nacorda’s work addresses matters of intimacy, affection and identity. candelagallery.com
Sept. 15–Nov. 13
The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen: At the Gumenick Family Gallery, “Kaleidoscope: Rekindling a History” showcases a variety of quilts from the Kuumba African American Quilting Guild ranging from reimagining traditional patterns to modern renditions of textile art. artsglenallen.com
Nov. 17-Jan. 22, 2023
The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen: OMA, a Scripps intergenerational art program for people living with dementia, presents “Opening Minds Through Art (OMA),” featuring work by those remaining creative through their challenges. artsglenallen.com
Sept. 15–Nov. 13
Quirk Galleries: The musical abstract geometrics of Robert Walz are in the Main Gallery, and the floral still lifes of Jeanie Keys are in the Pink. quirkgallery.com
Sept. 16–Nov. 20
Perkinson Center for the Arts and Education: “Confluence” features work by the faculty of Virginia State University’s Department of Art + Design. perkinsoncenter.org
From Sept. 23
Eric Schindler Gallery: Work by Kyle Phillips, the Brooklyn, New York-based painter of both the figurative and abstract, is on exhibit. ericschindlergallery.com
Opens Oct. 6
The Branch Museum of Architecture and Design: “Characters” showcases work by typographer Tre Seals. branchmuseum.org
