Second Street Gallery is pleased to present a boldly optimistic and colorful exhibition of new works by Richmond, VA-based artist Sarah Hand, on view in the Dové Gallery from February 6–March 20, 2026. The exhibition will open to the public on Friday, February 6 at 11AM, with a special First Friday Opening Reception with the artist from 5:00–7:30PM.
In a series of images to inspire wonder and delight, Hand explores a benevolent conspiracy connecting all of us with luck, community, and glimpses of something more magical swirling in the periphery. Through representations of symbolic human archetypes, common luck charms, and fantastical scenes, Hand creates a temple to the goodness all around us, presenting a refuge from uncertain times and a joyful exhortation to seek the light.
This exhibition is a Season 52 Call for Submissions pick. Everyday Illuminations is generously sponsored by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Meet the Exhibiting Artist
Sarah Hand
@sarah.hand_art.and.wonder | sarah-hand.com
Sarah Hand is an artist, author, and teacher. Her works have been exhibited in numerous gallery shows, and are held in several private collections, including papier-mâché portraits that can be seen sprinkled throughout the Quirk Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. She is the author and illustrator of two craft technique books, Art Makers: Papier Mache and The Happy Book of Little Gifts to Make, published by Walter Foster Publishing. Hand teaches at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Studio School and the Visual Arts Center of Richmond (both Richmond, VA), and online through Domestika, a learning platform for art.
She lives with her family in Richmond, Virginia.
Artist Statement
What if there is a benevolent conspiracy connecting us with serendipity, community, and glimpses of something more magical swirling in the periphery, trying to get our attention with small signs, good luck charms, strange messengers, and the cross-pollination of care with all the people you’ve ever encountered?
I’ve envisioned a peek behind the curtain of that benevolent conspiracy with a series of images to inspire wonder and delight. I work with color and texture, using hand cut stencils and acrylic paint transfers to make bold, crisp shapes. Layer upon layer adds texture and complexity, with slivers of color that peek through here and there, adding to the history of each form. Faces, figures, and symbols mix and merge, interconnecting in ways that reward looking and wondering.
Uncertain and combustible times deplete our stores of optimism and hope, and it is all too easy to feel fully earthbound and stuck in the mundane. Everyday Illuminations is a boldly optimistic and colorful shrine to the goodness all around us—a refuge, and a happy exhortation to seek the light!
View available artworks from the exhibition (coming soon)
Programming for February - March 2026 for Sarah Hand
March Family Studio Day based on the work of Sarah Hand
Saturday, March 14, 10AM-2PM
Free and open to the community