Opening Reception at Floyd Artisan Center – VMFA Fellowship Winners

The Floyd Center for the Arts is presenting an exhibition of work by seven artists who recently won Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowships. The opening reception is on Saturday, June 9, 5-7pm and is free and open to the public, refreshments will be served and a cash bar will be available. The exhibition continues through Aug. 4.

The works on display include photography, paintings, sculptures, and mixed mediums. Floyd artist Charlie Brouwer, who received a VMFA Fellowship in 2017, organized the exhibition. Institutions that are Statewide Partners of the VMFA (like the Floyd Center for the Arts) are eligible to be host venues for exhibitions of Fellowship winners.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts selected 27 Virginia art students and professional artists from 771 applicants to receive fellowships. The program was launched in 1940 and since then, VMFA has awarded nearly $5.6 million to more than 1,325 professional artists, art students and graduate students from across Virginia in the largest fellowship program of any kind in the United States. Recipients must be Virginia residents and can use the award as desired, including for education and studio investments. Each year, professional curators and working artists serve as jurors to select fellowship recipients.

The artists included in the exhibition are:
Everitt Clark, Alexandria,
Brian Davis, Springfield,
Ryan Conrad Sawyer, Richmond,
Kyle Falzone, Gloucester
Tyrone Turner, Arlington
Kelly Queener, Henrico
Kristin Skees, Williamsburg

In the Center’s Falcon Gallery, Starroot presents her show, Then and Now, a collection of paintings and giclée canvas prints of her most recent works displayed alongside older pieces, showing her progression as an artist throughout the years. In the downstairs Breezeway, young artists from Floyd County High School also have their artwork on display. So no matter where you are in the Center, you can view awesome artwork.

Starroot is a self-taught visionary folk artist from Southern Germany. She creates original art and music in her secluded Floyd county Blue Ridge Mountain Home. Starroot paints mostly with acrylics on canvas. Her style draws from a fusion of nature, ancient symbols, and wild imagination. Hundreds of Starroot’s originals have been purchased by private art collectors in the US and Germany. Her work is also in the permanent collection of the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.

For more information about The Floyd Center for the Arts: FloydArtCenter.org or call 540-745-2784. The Center is located at 220 Parkway Lane South in Floyd, ½ mile south of the stoplight on Route 8. Regular hours are: Monday – Saturday, 10AM – 5PM.