Jon Murrill provides a contemporary perspective on the human spirit of the working class through the use of expression. Working in charcoal, Murrill captures photorealistic images, allowing his audience to interact with the personality of each portrait. His work does not represent an idealistic beauty, but rather, the spirit of working class individuals and the depth of character that they each possess.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, January 11, 2018 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Mood and Music: Paintings by Eric McRay
On display January 12 – February 23, 2019

Clarence Heinz
On display January 12 – February 23, 2019

The Magic of Glass
On display January 12 – February 23, 2019

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, February 21, 2018 • 5 – 7 pm

JONATHAN MURRILL, STRONGER, CHARCOAL AND WATERCOLOR, 2016

In Mood and Music, Eric McRay blends the verve, images and rhythms of the Bebop jazz age with the non-objective abstraction tradition of the New York School of the 1940s and 1950s. His focus is on subjective emotional expression with particular emphasis on spontaneous creative actions.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, January 11, 2018 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Drawing the Soul: A Collection of Portraits by Jon Murrill
On display January 12 – February 23, 2019

Clarence Heinz
On display January 12 – February 23, 2019

The Magic of Glass
On display January 12 – February 23, 2019

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, February 21, 2018 • 5 – 7 pm

ERIC MCRAY, SEBRENA'S SONG

The Magic of Glass features glass art by Aleen Wilson. Wilson works from her studio and shop, Gallery 22, in Uptown Martinsville. She is active in Lynwood Artists and was one of the original artists at Studio 107.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, January 11, 2018 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm • Piedmont Arts

Mood and Music: Paintings by Eric McRay
On display January 12 – February 23, 2019

Drawing the Soul: A Collection of Portraits by Jon Murrill
On display January 12 – February 23, 2019

Clarence Heinz
On display January 12 – February 23, 2019

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, February 21, 2019 • 5 – 7 pm

Robert Frank photographs Beat poet Allen Ginsberg hugging a tree, Imogen Cunningham poses Alfred Stieglitz standing in front of a flower painting by Georgia O’Keeffe, and Barbara Morgan captures modern dancer Martha Graham as she stretches her body into a dramatic form; these images convey more than a mere likeness of the artists portrayed. Instead they highlight the collaboration between photographer and subject when both are artists seeking to convey a unique persona.

Artists as Art: Photographic Portraits is on loan from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, March 8, 2019 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Nightfall: Prints of the Dark Hours
On display March 9 – April 27, 2019

Bettie Bowles
On display March 9 – April 27, 2019

VMFA on the Road: An Artmobile for the 21st Century
March 21 – 23, 2019

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, April 18, 2019 • 5 – 7 pm

ROBERT FRANK, ALLEN GINSBERG, 1959, GELATIN SILVER PRINT, VMFA (2012.4), ALDINE S. HARTMAN ENDOWMENT FUND

Bettie Bowles was introduced to art at a young age by her grandfather, Hampton Dyches – a graphic artist who also loved to paint family portraits. Bowles inherited her grandfather's love of painting and uses her talent to capture her subjects enjoying the simple things in life and the beauty of nature. Bowles also paints custom dog portraits. In fact, "dog" was her first word, so it was only natural that she would fall in love with painting man's best friend.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, March 8, 2019 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm • Piedmont Arts

Nightfall: Prints of the Dark Hours
On display March 9 – April 27, 2019

Artists as Art: Photographic Portraits
On display March 9 – April 27, 2019

VMFA on the Road: An Artmobile for the 21st Century
March 21 – 23, 2019

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, April 18, 2019 • 5 – 7 pm

This exhibition explores nocturnes–images that evoke the night. Luminous apparitions of the divine, dazzling fireworks, lamplit urban streets, and twilight’s soft glow over the natural landscape are all subjects that have intrigued and challenged printmakers across the centuries.

Nightfall: Prints of the Dark Hours is on loan from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, March 8, 2019 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Artists as Art: Photographic Portraits
On display March 9 – April 27, 2019

Bettie Bowles
On display March 9 – April 27, 2019

VMFA on the Road: An Artmobile for the 21st Century
March 21 – 23, 2019

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, April 18, 2019 • 5 – 7 pm

EDWARD HOPPER, NIGHT SHADOWS, 1921, ETCHING ON PAPER, VMFA (2009.356), GIFT OF MALCOLM B. BRADLEY

Offering an eclectic mix of styles and media, Expressions is an open-entry judged art exhibit featuring work by more than 140 regional artists.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, May 17, 2019 • 6 – 8 pm

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, July 18, 2018 • 5 – 7 pm

Encaustic artists from across the country take part in this comprehensive survey of the art form. Curated by artist and retired Virginia Commonwealth University Professor Reni Gower, this survey highlights new and exciting works by a variety of artists.

Reni Gower has over 40 years of professional experience in the fine arts. Her work has been showcased internationally in Qatar, UAE, Australia, Italy, Peru, Korea, Israel, Belgium, England, Moldova, and Moscow. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University, a Master of Arts degree from University of Minnesota-Duluth, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, August 2, 2019 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Ed Dolinger
On display August 3 – October 5, 2019

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, October 3, 2019 • 5 – 7 pm

RENI GOWER, ORIGAMI 4-SQUARE (DETAIL), 2006, ENCAUSTIC / COLLAGE ON PANEL, 15" X 18½" / FRAMED

In his works, Ed Dolinger seeks solutions to unsolvable problems: Purging logic from useful and practical images that originally relayed information as rational solutions or instructions. His "poetic puzzles" are a reaction to contemporary life that seems unnecessarily complicated, that thrives on complexity for the sake of complexity.

Dolinger has been an active member of the Virginia art community for years. He is a former recipient of a painting fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and has been shown, collected and involved in public arts projects throughout the country.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, August 2, 2019 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Encaustic Survey
On display August 3 – October 5, 2019

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, October 3, 2019 • 5 – 7 pm

ED DOLINGER, QUANTUM CARGO, 2013, ACRYLIC AND MM ON BOARD, 24”X24”

Barbara Kobylinska approaches her art with both a studied sense of design and an unapologetic intuition. Her large indoor/outdoor sculptures are adventurous and inventive. With humor and a sophisticated, playful intelligence, she invites the viewer to share her delight in the unexpected. Kobylinska's work has been exhibited in show's across the country and is part of many private collections. She is a member of International Sculpture Center, Washington Sculptors Group, Potter’s Council and Ceramic Designers Association.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, October 18, 2019 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Jill Jensen
On display October 19, 2019 – January 4, 2020

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, December 19, 2019 • 5 – 7 pm

BARBARA KOBYLINSKA, SPRING, 25" X 60" X 13", CERAMIC WITH RECYCLED METAL PARTS, FINISHED WITH OIL STAINS

Woodblock prints, found objects, bits of nature and other fragments and images are combined with color and texture in Jill Jensen's bold and powerful quilts. Living in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Jensen uses the region's beautiful vistas, striking sunsets and ever changing flora as inspiration for her work.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, October 18, 2019 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Barbara Kobylinska
On display October 19, 2019 – January 4, 2020

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, December 19, 2019 • 5 – 7 pm

JILL JENSEN, BLACK BIRD, 12" X 12" X 2", MIXED MEDIA

In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains there is an enclave of craftsmen who have solidified deep friendships as well as a network of creative, technical and professional support over the past 25 years. Drawn to the area by its beauty and tranquility, with much determination, they established working studios, vital careers and a way of life.

From the beginning they shared many common goals and apprehensions, offering each other feedback, assistance and courage. In the fall of 1998 this commonality blossomed into a formalized association called 16 Hands.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, March 27, 2020 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Davis Choun
On display March 28 – May 9, 2020

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, May 7, 2020 • 5 – 7 pm

SILVIE GRANATELLI, POTTERY

Davis Choun is a process-oriented artist/designer whose work is born out of an attraction to benign or discarded materials and a process of manipulations. His work relies on improvisation and continuity. As the work changes over time, the statements at the beginning of this paragraph may fall away from the truth.

Choun is a graduate of the NC State College of Design. He works out of Artspace in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, March 27, 2020 • 5:30 – 7:30 pm

16 Hands
On display March 28 – May 9, 2020

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, May 7, 2020 • 5 – 7 pm

DAVIS CHOUN, PINS 12, 2017, CLOTHESPINS, DYE, WOOD

Offering an eclectic mix of styles and media, Expressions is an open-entry judged art exhibit featuring work by more than 140 regional artists.

Related Events
Opening Reception
Friday, May 29, 2020 • 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Art at Happy Hour
Thursday, July 17, 2020