The University of Mary Washington Galleries is hosting two exhibitions: “Van Gogh, Lichtenstein, Whistler: Masterpieces of World Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts” through Friday, December 2 at the Ridderhof Martin Gallery; and “Super-Sized: Large Scale Drawings” through Friday, December 2 at the duPont Gallery.
The opening reception for “Van Gogh, Lichtenstein, Whistler” was Thursday, October 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Ridderhof Martin Gallery. Cliff Edwards, professor of philosophy and religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, presented the lecture “Mysteries of ‘The Night Café’: Hidden Key to the Spirituality of Vincent Van Gogh” at the gallery on Sunday, October 30 at 2 p.m. On Sunday, November 13 at 2 p.m., Jeffrey Allison, Paul Mellon Collection Educator at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, will present the lecture “Jasper Francis Cropsey: The Hudson River School and a True American Landscape.” Both lectures are free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required.
The opening reception for “Super-Sized” was held on Thursday, October 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the duPont Gallery. Admission is free to the lectures, receptions and exhibitions.
“Van Gogh, Lichtenstein, Whistler” is a traveling exhibition organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts with support from Altria Group in celebration of 75 years of sharing art statewide. Two highlights of the exhibition are landscapes by Vincent van Gogh and Eugène Boudin. The exhibition also includes works of American art by Jasper Francis Cropsey, Robert Henri and James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 20th-century paintings by Ernst Kirchner and Roy Lichtenstein and a print by Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige.
“Super-Sized” showcases the work of seven artists from across the country, including Patricia Bellan-Gillen of Burgettstown, Penn.; Joshua Bienko of College Station, Texas; Patricia Brentano of Westfield, N.J.; Karen Brummund of Ithaca, N.Y.; Ray DiCapua of Storrs, Conn.; Dennis Jones of Plymouth, Mich.; and Ben Tolman of Washington, D.C. The exhibition explores ways in which artists involved in the drawing medium employ scale in their process of creating works of art and how that use of scale affects the impact of the work. The drawings in this exhibition vary greatly in the artists’ choices of materials and methods, ranging from graphite, ink or charcoal to the blade of a knife and with some combining drawing with other media, such as acrylic and oil or digital printing.
Both galleries are located on College Avenue on the Fredericksburg campus and are open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. The galleries are closed during university holidays and breaks. Free parking for gallery visitors is designated in the lot on College Avenue at Thornton Street. For directions and more information, call (540) 654-1013 or visit http://galleries.umw.edu.
