Fall of Freedom bills itself as “an urgent call to the arts community to unite in defiance of authoritarian forces sweeping the nation.” The organizers aren’t pulling punches: they argue that democracy is under attack, threats to free expression are rising, dissent is...
*This article originally appeared in RVA Mag #34, on the streets now at all your favorite spots. “The tension is there, but it is a good tension,” said street artist George “Mars” Kalapov as we toured Art Eye, the gallery he works from in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa. “There is energy: not like a constrained energy, not constrained by...
Welcome back, comic fans, to issue four of Comics X-Change! Your only bi-weekly, go-to news source for what's happening in comics and pop culture. The weather is cooling down quick, which means it is finally the time for cozy fires and stacks of books to read under a thousand blankets. This week I got to speak to Phillip Hills, owner of long...
The Board of Trustees governing the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) announced today that they will be repatriating a painting from their collection that was looted by top Nazi Reich official Herman Göring in 1940. The painting, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints Nicholas of Tolentino and Sebastian, was taken from the Goudstikker Gallery...
Swiss muralist BustArt has landed in Richmond, and his latest pop graffiti mural sits at the intersection of E Franklin St and N 18th St in Shockoe Bottom. Searching out a shady spot on the sidewalk during Richmond’s 85-degree heat, he sighed from relief on a break from working the wall. “Too hot for a Swiss guy,” he said. For the past few weeks,...
A leading artist of the 1980s “Lowbrow” movement is visiting Virginia, and his exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is his first solo show in almost a decade. Todd Schorr’s paintings are staples of pop surrealism, populated by classic cartoon and comic figures from the mid-twentieth century. Todd Schorr: Atomic Cocktail is...
A harrowing and vividly colored landscape serves as the backdrop for powerful commentary on climate change. This is the environment of Julie Heffernan's When The Water Rises, currently on display at Virginia Beach's Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. Heffernan’s oil paintings, such as “Camp Bedlam” (above), bring us into an alternative habitat...
Afternoon, comic fans! Welcome on back to issue #3 of RVA Magzine’s Comic X-Change. We are your biweekly comics information hub on what is new, and you need to keep your lazer focused eye on in the world of comics and nerd culture. This week I had the joy of talking to Kevin Smith from Third Eye Comics in Mechanicsville about what the hottest...
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time, now showing at Virginia Repertory Theatre’s November Theatre, is a curious case of a potentially good play being marred by a confusing set design. I saw it on opening night at Virginia Rep’s November Theater, and while appreciating the refreshing perspective and talented acting, some distracting...
Some could argue that Richmond’s art scene is its best-kept secret. To the local Richmonder, the murals that grace the sides of our buildings everywhere might get lost during your daily commute, but to out of towners like Jabari Graham, they established it was the perfect city and environment to host the touring arts and culture event he founded,...
