Upcoming exhibits and events for Downtown and Uptown galleries

Meet the Curator: Caroline Cobb Wright at Visual Arts Center
On Tuesday, March 22, at 9:30 AM, Caroline Cobb Wright, Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s (1812 W. Main Street) new director of exhibition programming, will highlight her background as a studio art/ art history instructor and museum educator. Wright will share her vision for creating a craft-based exhibition program in a community arts center. She will also give a preview of the four upcoming exhibitions in 2011. Open to the public.

Adam Juresko at Ghostprint
An exhibition of new work by Adam Juresko, “Tomorrow Will Be Worse,” opens at Ghostprint Gallery (220 West Broad St.) on March 31st with a preview reception, held from 6-8 p.m.

Juresko takes black and white images from numerous sources and applies them to canvas in a “combination of pop art, creepy animals and creepy people doing weird things and exploding on one another.”

Juresko claims the animals he works with would probably terrify him in reality, but in his work he has no fear. “As pieces of paper, I can manipulate them.” While individual elements of each work have a childlike and playful quality (Charles Schultz is a favorite cartoonist), the completed images all have adult themes.

In his commercial work, Juresko recently created a series of spare and elegant film posters for Black Swan, The Virgin Suicides, The Shining, etc . One of his designs is currently featured on Mountain Dew’s Green Label Art bottles. Other commercial clients include RVA Magazine, several international record companies, and Shock Cinema.

Juresko has exhibited in group shows in San Francisco (CCRider), Portland, OR (Fontaine Gallery), Atlanta (Young Blood Gallery). Quirk Gallery, Gallery 5, j fergeson gallery and Metro Space are among the local galleries that have presented his solo exhibitions.

Juresko will attend both the preview reception (March 31st) and First Friday on April 1st, which runs from 7-10 p.m. The exhibition continues through April 30th.

Diane Clement at Visual Art Studio
Visual Art Studio proudly announces the opening of “The Intriguing Abstract Work of Diane Clement” May 6th at Visual Art Studio (208 West Broad Street), with reception from 7-10PM.

With no formal training, Clement simply paints using many products and techniques, mixing assorted paints, water, beer, wine, oils, alcohol,etc.

Self taught abstract Artist and Richmond, VA native, Diane Clement is known for her brilliant, heavily textured, and often, over-sized paintings. Diane started her fine art career in 2003 and has participated in over 30 juried art shows and over 40 gallery shows in which she was the solo or featured artist.

“I have been fortunate to have my work much loved and heavily collected, all around the United States. I am forever thankful and humbled.”

Diane Clement is a full time artist and mother of 4 children. She used to be a sign painter, graphic designer, publisher and she’s written TV commercials and designed logos.

This exhibition is free, open to the public and runs through Friday May 27th.

Spotlight Gallery to Feature Local Seniors in Exhibition
Local art lovers will have an opportunity to view artwork created by area senior residents at Richmond’s Spotlight Gallery in an exhibit hosted by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. The exhibit, titled “Continuing to Create! A Senior Group Art Exhibition,” will open with a reception from 6 – 8 p.m. on April 1 at the gallery, which is located at the department’s Pine Camp Arts and Community Center (4901 Old Brook Rd).

Gallery visitors will have the opportunity to meet the artists and purchase artwork done in a wide array of media. “Senior citizens in our community are displaying a lifetime of experiences in their beautiful creations,” said Shaunn Casselle, a recreation instructor for the department and co-curator of the show.

The exhibit will be on display beginning April 1 through April 29. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The reception is free to attend and open to the public.

Katherine McGinn & Andy Farkas at Eric Schindler Gallery
Currently on display “Of Course There’s Still Room” works on paper by Katherine McGinn and Andy Farkas at the Eric Schindler Gallery (2305 East Broad Street) runs through April 8th.

Husband and wife print makers, Farkas and McGinn, team up for the first time for the exhibition.

“I love working with wood and the results I’m able to get with it. Working with natural and non toxic materials bring me closer to the world around me. The results are by their nature effortlessly powerful and graphic, as well as retaining the presence of the ‘artist’s hand,'” says Farkas who is a nationally and internationally recognized print and book artist.

Vicki Bruner at Gallery5’s GallowLily’s Craft Gallery & Boutique
“Tailz of Mice and Dawg Men: A Solo Exhibition of Soft Sculptures by Vicki Bruner” opens on April 1st at Gallery5 (200 West Marshall St.).

The popularity and marketability of Vicki Bruner’s paintings and illustrations has been proven in a wide variety of commercial and cultural outlets. Since 1975 her work has captured numerous “best in show” and other awards in over sixty one-woman and group shows along the East Coast, including the famous New York Art Expo and the prestigious Coconut Grove Arts Festival.

Bruner has been selected as the illustrator for many commercial projects appealing to all types of audiences. Her artwork has also been featured in many national and local publications including Print Design Annuals. Vicki has been listed on the “Who’s Who in American Art” and in November of 1996, she was named by the U.S. Arts as “one of the leading whimsical artists in the country today.”

Michael Falls & Kevin Jones at 1708 Gallery
Opening on April 22 at 1708 Gallery (319 W. Broad Street), Michael McFalls’ “Recent Works” and Kevin Jones’ “Chemtrail” encourage gallery visitors to take a closer look at our environments and the objects within them.

Michael McFalls’ sculptures exist in the space between natural phenomena and the man-made. Using plaster and waste, he “combines and reassembles these mismatched materials into a synthesis that mimics nature while simultaneously capturing the uncontrived and natural appearance of the parts.”

In so doing, he invites the viewer to consider the lingering, or potentially novel, significance of used materials that now are taken for granted.

Through digitally produced images and a video installation, Kevin Jones examines systems found in scientific investigation, specifically the periodic table of elements. His video, “The Culture of Logic,” builds upon the structure of the periodic table and features a combination of images that when seen together fluctuate between meaning and nonsense.

By reconfiguring the methods society uses to understand and control its environment, Jones “seeks to question our understanding of the physical world and seeks to test and undermine scientific authority.”

An opening reception will be held on Friday, April 22nd, from 6 to 8 p.m. and will include a talk by the artists at 6:30 p.m., complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. The exhibitions will be on view through Saturday, May 28th.

Kate Woodliff’s “Stargazer” Show Opens at ADA in April
ADA Gallery (228 West Broad Street) kicks off April’s First Friday with mixed media artist and former VCU grad student, Kate Woodliff. The artist uses recycled and store bought fabric samples to create her unique collaged works. She was in the running for the big ARTPRIZE in Grand Rapids, MI last year, and has exhibited with ADA since about 2005.

The show runs through May 1st.