Join us for the First Friday opening reception on December 1, 5:30-7:30PM, as Second Street Gallery celebrates two new exhibitions! Both shows will be on view December 1, 2023, to January 19, 2024.
THE LABYRINTH, a solo exhibition of new works by Charlottesville-based artist Clay Witt, will be held in the Main Gallery. Immersed in the rich symbology of early American mourning art, Witt’s work reiterates the simple but enduring lessons of memento mori — reminders of the inescapable nature of death. His process is meticulous: his work consists of many-layered constructions of mineral-pigmented glazes that have been heavily abraded and destroyed, contrasted with the graphic edges of painstakingly cut Japanese washi paper. This deliberate, practiced decay grants his work a naturalistic feel, emulating the cycles of deterioration and regeneration in nature itself. This technique demonstrates both strong contrast and harmony within his work, juxtaposing the frailty and resilience of life.
The Dové Gallery will feature Under the Skin, a selection of paintings and works on paper by artist and UVA professor Akemi Ohira. Challenging the standardized perception of art, Ohira’s portraiture illuminates and teases stereotypes, first impressions, preconceived notions, and the daily anomalies that momentarily make us pause. Ohira draws the viewer’s direct engagement through the shattering and reassembly of forms in her portraiture, encouraging potential to alter the viewer’s perspective of their world. Through her work, she invites the viewer to dive beyond the obvious and immerse themselves attentively in their visual and emotional experiences.
Learn more HERE about the exciting chance to win one of the artist’s intriguing works during First Friday.
THE LABYRINTH is generously sponsored by The FUNd at the CACF, Charlotte and Ralph Dammann, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Under the Skin is generously sponsored by Brian Fox, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.