Arts & Entertainment
VMFA adds diverse selection of over 1,200 new works into its permanent collection
The new acquisitions include an Andrew Wyeth portrait and a 15th-century Chinese gilded statue, among other works.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) has announced that a compelling and diverse group of new acquisitions has recently been added to its permanent collection. More than 1,200 works of art were purchased by or gifted to the museum in Richmond during the fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2022.
“We are overjoyed to continue expanding our comprehensive collection of nearly 50,000 works of art, which will enrich the lives of our visitors for generations to come,” said Alex Nyerges, VMFA’s Director and CEO. “Some of the new works will be showcased in the museum’s new wing, which is slated to open in 2027 and includes expanded galleries for African, American, Native American, and 21st-Century art.”
Highlights of the acquisitions include significant additions to the museum’s American art holdings. In particular, the VMFA says in a release that it is excited to welcome works by notable 20th-century American artists Andrew Wyeth and Guy Pène du Bois. Erickson’s, painted by Wyeth in 1973, epitomizes the artist’s exploration of the human condition through one of his most recognizable subjects, his neighbor George Erickson. Given Wyeth’s status as “one of the most lauded and avidly collected artists of the 20th century,” according to Dr. Christopher C. Oliver, Bev Perdue Jennings Associate Curator of American Art, “VMFA ultimately intends to feature the work as a cornerstone of the museum’s new wing.” Visitors do not have to wait to see the painting; however — it is currently on view in the James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Wing.
Guy Pène du Bois’ 1929 painting Approaching Storm, Racetrack serves as an equally significant addition to the museum’s American art holdings. The work is “arguably one of the three best and most important canvases” made by the artist, acclaimed for his contributions to American Modernism, according to Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane Curator of American Art Dr. Leo G. Mazow. “Approaching Storm, Racetrack is as visually stunning as it is culturally evocative,” said Mazow.
VMFA’s efforts to broaden the scope of its holdings by living artists are evident within a group of multifaceted works new to its contemporary art collection. One such accession is Gravity and Grace, a large-scale installation crafted from aluminum bottle tops and copper wire that was made by the Nigerian-based Ghanaian artist El Anatsui in 2010. Through the artist’s simultaneous use of abstraction and unconventional materials, as well as traditional Ghanaian Adrinka imagery, the work marries modernist impulses with classical West African sensibilities. The artist pushes viewers to ponder the intersections of persisting global issues by interrogating “the legacy and residual effects of colonialism in African countries like Ghana and Nigeria by using materials rooted in consumption, waste and the environment,” according to Valerie Cassel Oliver, Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. “Through used and discarded objects, Anatsui addresses the postcolonial ramifications upon former colonized nations. However, it is the artist’s manipulation of these very materials into magnificent works of art that speaks to African communities’ resiliency and beauty, emphasizing transcendence past limitations,” added Cassel Oliver, who looks forward to installing the 37-feet wide work in the museum’s new wing.
Another noteworthy acquisition to VMFA’s contemporary holdings is Armour Skirt IV, a 2017 sculpture by renowned Pakistani artist Naiza Khan. The work, which alludes to structural female undergarments in its form, meditates on the politicization of the public female body in Pakistan amidst the ongoing cultural conflict between Islamization and feminist activism that began in the 1980s. “The sculpture is the first work by a Pakistani woman artist to enter VMFA’s South Asian collection,” noted Dr. John Henry Rice, E. Rhodes, and Leona B. Carpenter, Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art.
VMFA is also delighted to add esteemed photographer Carrie Mae Weems’ 1990 breakout body of work, The Kitchen Table Series, to the photography collection. The series questions the role of racial and gender power dynamics within family relationships through 20 photographs and 14 text panels. “Acquiring such an iconic body of work expands our extant holdings of photographs by this important artist and complements our rich collections of work by artists like Louis Draper and members of the Kamoinge Workshop,” said Dr. Sarah Kennel, Aaron Siskind Curator of Photography and Director of the Raysor Center for Works on Paper.
Rounding out the museum’s new acquisitions are exciting additions to VMFA’s holdings of European art and East Asian art, including a historically significant painting by French Romantic master Théodore Géricault and a 15th-century Chinese gilded statue. Portrait of An African Man, painted by Géricault in 1819, epitomizes the artist’s embrace of “established conventions of history painting in the service of marginalized or oppressed groups and causes, including abolitionism,” said Dr. Sylvain Cordier, Paul Mellon Curator and Head of the Department of European Art. The painting depicts a survivor from the infamous 1816 Medusa shipwreck, wherein the doomed ship’s captain left lower-ranking members of the crew, particularly those of color, to die, opting to save only himself and his senior officers. The portrait, which is believed to be a preparatory study for Géricault’s 1819 masterpiece The Raft of the Medusa, depicts one of the painting’s main protagonists, an African man whose tragic heroism transforms the scandalous incident into a “monumental scene” imbued with abolitionist political intent.
The museum’s East Asian Art collection welcomes the addition of Chen Yanqing’s Seated Figure of Yuanshi Tianzun (Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning), a stunning early 15th-century Chinese gilded bronze statue of the preeminent Daoist deity. Through “the work’s exemplary exploration of Daoist aesthetics and concepts, the statue will serve as one of VMFA’s most important pieces of Chinese art,” said Li Jian, E. Rhodes, and Leona B. Carpenter, Curator of East Asian Art. One of only 12 surviving bronzes by Chen Yanqing, this work joins three others that are held outside China, all in North American museum collections. The sculpture, which was acquired at auction at Sotheby’s, New York, in March 2022, will be exhibited later this summer.
In the process of expanding and transforming VMFA’s collections over the last 12 months, the museum’s 15 curators have sought to “address the historical under-representation of African, African American, Islamic, Latinx, LGBTQIA+, Native American and women artists,” said Dr. Michael Taylor, Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Art and Education. “These efforts are evident in the works the museum added to the collection over the past year, and for the seventh year in a row, VMFA has spent more than 30 percent of its endowed acquisition funds on African and African American art in line with our strategic plan.” Through these efforts, VMFA hopes to fulfill its “profound commitment to representing and serving all of the state’s diverse communities,” Dr. Taylor added.
For more information about the permanent collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, visit www.VMFA.museum.
Arts & Entertainment
Author Sadeqa Johnson discusses The House of Eve on June 8 as part of the Library of Virginia’s 2023 Carole Weinstein Author Series
Johnson is an international best-selling and award-winning author of five novels. Her novel Yellow Wife, which won the Library’s 2022 People’s Choice Award for Fiction, follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia.
The Library of Virginia’s 2023 Carole Weinstein Author Series continues with a talk by best-selling author Sadeqa Johnson on The House of Eve, the historical fiction follow-up to her award-winning novel Yellow Wife. The free talk will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 8 at the Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond. A book signing will follow the talk.
The House of Eve continues Johnson’s tradition of confronting timeless questions that have no easy answers. In this moving work of historical fiction set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., the stories of two women collide in unexpected ways as they both make decisions that shape the trajectories of their lives. The book explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal. The House of Eve was an instant New York Times best seller and was selected by Reese’s Book Club as the February 2023 pick.
Johnson is an international best-selling and award-winning author of five novels. Her novel Yellow Wife, which won the Library’s 2022 People’s Choice Award for Fiction, follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia. Johnson is a Kimbilo Fellow, a former board member of the James River Writers and a member of the Tall Poppy Writers. She also teaches fiction writing for the MFA program at Drexel University.
The Carole Weinstein Author Series supports the literary arts by bringing both new and well-known authors to the Library of Virginia. Free and open to the public, the series focuses on Virginia authors and Virginia subjects across all genres and is made possible through support from the Carole Weinstein Endowment for Virginia Authors. This year marks the Library’s 200th anniversary, a special occasion for spotlighting the Library’s role in bringing attention to talented Virginia writers and fascinating Virginia subjects.
To see the series schedule and register for events, visit www.lva.virginia.gov/public/weinstein. For more information, contact Elizabeth Kaczynski at [email protected] or 804.692.3536.
Arts & Entertainment
Double the fun: Maymont kicks off summer with two nights of music under the stars
Music under the stars at Maymont is a special way to kick off the summer. Maymont is doubling the fun this year with two nights of music for the annual Summer Kickoff Concert on Friday, June 16, from 6–10 pm, and Saturday, June 17, from 5–10 pm.
Four talented local bands will showcase Richmond’s vibrant and eclectic music scene: On Friday, enjoy jam-infused bluegrass from South Hill Banks, along with country-bluegrass combo The Wilson Springs Hotel opening the show. On Saturday, yacht rock icons Three Sheets to the Wind will get the crowd dancing, after Allman Brothers tribute band Skydog opens the show.
Music fans of all ages are invited to bring a blanket and camp chairs to spread out on the Carriage House Lawn for one or both nights. Guests can enjoy a craft beer or seltzer from Starr Hill Brewery, plus wine and a selection of tasty food truck cuisine. Between sets, watch the sun set over the rolling hills of Maymont.
“Maymont is just made for outdoor fun,” said Parke Richeson, Maymont President and CEO. “We are so happy to welcome the community to enjoy a very Richmond experience: Music under the stars on the lawn of this beautiful 100-acre space by the James River.”
Two-day passes are $30 for adults, $15 for children (ages 12 and under); single-day passes are $20/$10. Two-day Maymont member passes are $15 for adults and $7 for children; single-day member passes are $10/$5. One-day passes are available in advance or at the gate; two-day passes may only be purchased in advance (here). Participants in Museums for All may purchase tickets in person by showing an EBT card at the gate or in advance at The Robins Nature Center or Stone Barn Welcome Center on Fridays–Sundays from 10am–5pm.
Event proceeds support Maymont. The event is rain or shine and ticket purchases are non-refundable, except in the case that Maymont cancels the event for severe weather. No tents, coolers, dogs or outside food/beverages.
On Friday, June 16, the gates of the Historic Estate Entrance, 1700 Hampton Street, will open for concert-goers at 6 pm, and the first band plays at 7 pm, followed by the second band at 8:30 pm. On Saturday, gates open at 5 pm, and the music starts at 6:30 pm. Event parking is available at the Historic Estate Entrance and The Robins Nature Center, in addition to on-street parking. The Farm entrance and parking lot will be closed for the events. Maymont will be closing early both days for event set-up.
Arts & Entertainment
VMFA announces two upcoming exhibitions highlighting works by abstract artist Benjamin Wigfall and contemporary artist Whitfield Lovell
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is excited to announce that two comprehensive exhibitions of works by two critically acclaimed artists will open this summer at the museum. One ticket will enable visitors to see Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village and Whitfield Lovell: Passages at VMFA from June 17 through Sept. 10, 2023.
“We are delighted to bring attention to the works of these remarkable artists,” said Alex Nyerges, VMFA’s Director and CEO. “Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village celebrates Wigfall, who hailed from Richmond’s Church Hill neighborhood, and his life’s work as a barrier-breaking abstract artist, educator and mentor to future artists. Visitors to Whitfield Lovell: Passages will be captivated by the erased histories, including the stories of individuals from the city’s important Jackson Ward neighborhood, intimated by Lovell’s profound works.”
To purchase tickets and to learn more about these two exhibitions and related programs, visit VMFA.museum.
Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village
The first retrospective of works by Benjamin Wigfall (American, 1930–2017) will showcase art and related archives spanning from the beginning of the artist’s career in Virginia in the 1950s to his founding of a neighborhood community art center and printmaking studio, Communications Village, in Kingston, New York in the 1970s.
Born and raised in Church Hill, Wigfall began his career as an abstract painter and printmaker in the 1950s. He achieved two VMFA student fellowships to study at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) in 1949 and 1951, followed by a fellowship from an anonymous donor in 1952 to fund his final year at the university.
In 1951, VMFA acquired one of Wigfall’s early abstract works, the painting Chimneys, also among the museum’s earliest acquisitions of a work by an African American artist. Painted when he was just 20 years old, the accession made Wigfall the youngest artist to have work in the museum’s collection. VMFA later acquired his abstract painting Corrosion and Blue in 1958.
Following his graduation from Hampton Institute, Wigfall attended graduate school before returning to Hampton to teach from 1955 to 1963, finishing a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University’s School of Design in 1959.
Wigfall moved to New York state in 1963 to accept a position at the State University of New York at New Paltz, where printmaking became his central medium. To more fully root his artistic practice within the Black community, he sought a space to convert into a printmaking studio in nearby Kingston, locating an old livery stable in the heart of Ponckhockie, an African American neighborhood.
As he renovated the building, he made it accessible to the young people around him and Wigfall’s practice as a printmaker quickly merged with his philosophy as an art educator. In 1973, he officially founded Communications Village. In addition to offering multi-generational printmaking and photography workshops, he invited leading African American artists of the era to engage with the local community while experimenting with printmaking as an art form.
Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village is organized by the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art in partnership with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition is co-curated by Dr. Sarah Eckhardt, VMFA’s Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, and Dr. Drew Thompson, Associate Professor of Visual Studies and Black Culture at Bard Graduate Center. A major exhibition catalogue published by VMFA will accompany the exhibition.
Comprising nearly 90 works of art, 12 printing plates and blocks and more than 50 archival objects, Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village is a retrospective of Wigfall’s work, which also explores Communications Village through works by the impressive community of artists he welcomed as advisors or visiting artists. Included in the exhibition are works by Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Robert Blackburn, Betty Blayton, Ernest Crichlow, Jayne Cortez and Melvin Edwards, Ernest Frazier, Charles Gaines, Diane Hunt, Pat Jow Kagemoto, Mary Lou Morgan, Mavis Pusey, Joe Ramos and Rose Tripoli.
More than 50 works in the exhibition were recently added to VMFA’s permanent collection as a major acquisition from the Wigfall estate, which enabled the museum to expand its representation of the artist beyond his early works, Chimneys and Corrosion and Blue. In addition to 36 works by Wigfall, the acquisition included 19 prints by artists who visited Communications Village.
The story of the artist’s development and legacy will be enhanced through the inclusion of letters, photographs, sketchbooks, printing plates and ephemera recently donated by the Wigfall family to VMFA’s Margaret R. and Robert M. Freeman Library.
“Wigfall’s belief that traditional art and daily activities could function together as powerful communicative and aesthetic expressions served as the foundation for Communications Village,” said Eckhardt. “We hope that his art and model of mentorship will inspire others in their own communities.”
Whitfield Lovell: Passages
The most comprehensive exhibition to date of works by the renowned contemporary artist, Whitfield Lovell: Passages contemplates the ordinary lives and extraordinary journeys of the anonymous African American individuals Lovell depicts, while raising universal questions about identity, memory and America’s collective heritage.
Whitfield Lovell: Passages is organized by the American Federation of Arts in collaboration with the artist and is curated by Michèle Wije, PhD. This exhibition is presented at VMFA by Alexis Assam, Regenia A. Perry Assistant Curator of Global Contemporary Art.
Whitfield Lovell (American, born Bronx) is an artist who works across a variety of media. His exquisite drawings are inspired by photographs of unidentified African Americans taken between the Emancipation Proclamation and the civil rights movement. These subjects allow the artist to focus on the Black stories that have been lost throughout history.
Lovell creates vivid assemblages imbued with metaphorical associations by pairing his drawings, on paper or on salvaged wood, with found objects. These works are sometimes presented as enigmatic stand-alone tableaux, rich with symbolism and ambiguity. Visitors to the exhibition will be entranced by the assemblages in the artist’s acclaimed Kin series (2008–2011) and two more recent series, The Reds(2021) and Card Pieces (2018–2022).
Lovell further pushes the boundaries of the visitor experience when he incorporates his assemblage works into immersive installations. Two such works, Deep River (2013) and Visitation: The Richmond Project (2001), begin and end the exhibition experience.
The multisensory installation Deep River is a monumental work composed of video projections, sound and everyday objects. Documenting the perilous journey freedom seekers took by crossing the Tennessee River during the Civil War, the installation addresses that struggle for freedom and its inherent themes of abandonment, death, life and hope. Through Deep River, Lovell further invites viewers to contemplate the larger human quest for equality and the pursuit of a better life — themes that transcend time and geography.
Visitation: The Richmond Project is a profound homage to Richmond’s Jackson Ward neighborhood. The installation includes locally sourced objects that the artist collected with the help of Virginia Commonwealth University students. Through this moving installation, Lovell pays tribute to the lives, names and faces that were the people of Jackson Ward, giving the country’s first major African American entrepreneurial community its rightful place in the history of this nation.
“Visitors to Whitfield Lovell: Passages will find the exhibition powerful and compelling,” said Assam. “The exhibition transports visitors through time, moved by the resonant collective memory of the shared African American experience.”
Two Artists, Two Exhibitions, One Ticket
One ticket will enable visitors to see the two unique exhibitions of works by two artists, Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Villageand Whitfield Lovell: Passages. Combined tickets are now available at www.VMFA.museum: $12 adults, $10 for seniors 65+, and $8 for youth 7–17 and college students with ID. Museums for All participants can purchase combined tickets to these two special exhibitions at the reduced price of $2 each with a limit of four tickets per Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card.
Combined tickets to Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village and Whitfield Lovell: Passages are free for VMFA members and children ages 6 and under. As a participant of Blue Star Museums, VMFA also provides free tickets for all active duty, National Guard and Reserve military personnel and their immediate families.
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