Photo by Ash Daniel
Who: Steve Hedberg
Exhibit: "Confluence: An Artist and the James River Merge"
Where: Glavé Kocen Gallery
When: Nov. 2-Dec. 1
Richmond artist Steve Hedberg took off down the full length of the James River in a kayak named Animal last year, a mostly solo voyage to gather material for his next art project. He carried a camera, packaged food, a tent, a lighter, rope, water and one luxury — Blanchard’s coffee.
A graduate of VCU’s School of the Arts, Hedberg has worked as a creative director for several publications (including Richmond magazine for 17 years until 2017), and he returned to painting about 15 years ago. Many of his paintings are photorealistic portraits of nature and street scenes — you may recognize a snowy day in Forest Hill or a small market in The Fan — chiefly using acrylic paint. He’s also delved into more abstract work and in recent years combined the two styles. Earlier this year, Hedberg worked with fellow Richmond artists Ed Trask and Matt Lively on a 34-by-32-foot mural in Loudoun County near Dulles Airport.
“Flight on the James #1,” acrylic on wood panel, 14 by 14 inches
In 2010, Hedberg traveled U.S. Route 1 from Maine to Florida, photographing storefronts, fields, signs and people, then using them to create paintings for an exhibit. The James River project has some parallels, although Hedberg says he made fewer plans, trusting that he’d be able to create art while paddling and camping.
It turned out that wind and currents created a lot more work than he had anticipated, but Hedberg still captured some amazing moments, including too many bald eagle sightings to count, a swimming black bear and a stunning night sky at Balcony Falls near Glasgow.
“You could see the Milky Way, but the moon was behind the mountain,” he says. “I woke up to a train at 1:30 a.m. It was almost a full moon. I painted what I remembered. I kind of enjoyed doing that.”
“Ruins at Rocketts Landing,” acrylic on wood panel, 24 by 36 inches
But soon enough, the work of paddling and unpredictable conditions began to wear on Hedberg. “I actually pulled myself off of the river,” he says. “I called [my wife] Debbie, and she came and picked me up reluctantly. I pulled myself off the river for just two days to gather myself. I was out of water, I was out of phone charge, I was out of everything — and mentally just drained.”
Right before leaving the river, though, he saw something in the water, first thinking it was a dog. “I started paddling and paddling to get closer, and I see that it’s a bear. It’s a swimming bear! I got my lens out.”
In Hedberg’s studio, there’s an early draft of the moment. “It took me a while to think of it: I was the black bear. He was completely out of his element. He was in the water. He’s just trying to stay above water. That black bear was very symbolic for me.”
Hedberg's work from the trip will be on display at his Nov. 2-Dec. 1 exhibit at Glave Kocen Gallery, “Confluence: An Artist and the James River Merge.”
B Millner's “The National,” 2017, oil on canvas-wrapped panel, 24 by 32 inches
Don't Miss: B Millner’s “NOCTURNE” exhibition at Page Bond Gallery. The realist painter focuses on nocturnal street scenes in Richmond, emphasizing reflected light and the abstract quality it lends to otherwise realistic renderings. Nov. 2-Dec. 1. 1625 W. Main St., 804-359-3633 or pagebondgallery.com.
