Name That Tune explores the visual interpretation of music. In this interactive exhibition, viewers are tasked with guessing the song that inspired a work of art. To help solve the mystery, visitors are given the song titles on a sheet of paper as they walk around the gallery inspecting each piece of art for clues. For example, the acrylic painting above by Carol Joannette is titled "Goo Goo g'Joob" and features a huge walrus with a little bird sitting on top. Is the bird singing? The artist gives just enough clues to name that tune!

This juried exhibition was curated by the Virginia Beach Art Center and guest juror Lynette Andrews. Lynette is a life-long lover of music, who plays and teaches violin, and has served as the executive director of Symphonicity since 2017. 

Name That Tune is on view from June 2nd to July 2nd and concludes with Artists Talk, a casual conversation between exhibiting artists and friends on July 2nd from 1:00-2:00. The exhibition and talk are both free and open to the public.

by Jaimie Kelley Choi

If you were to close your eyes and allow your mind to go to a peaceful, centered place, what would you see? Artists explore this very idea in the juried exhibition, My Happy Place. The exhibition, on view May 5-28, features familiar places of serenity such as painterly landscapes and nature photography but also renders more abstracted concepts like book reading, playing an instrument, or pulling a childhood memory into view.

The exhibition was juried by Mac Houfac, an avid gardner, who has served on the board of Norfolk Botanical Gardens and as president of the Virginia Beach Garden Club. Mac selected the award winners for the show.

My Happy Place is on view May 5 - 28 and concludes with an Artist Talk on Sunday, May 28, from 3:00-4:00 pm.

As we walk deeper into spring and celebrate Earth Day this month, we invite you to take a look at our planet through the lens of art. Mother Earth is a juried exhibition featuring the artwork of regional artists from the Hampton Roads area. Artists were asked to explore both the inherent beauty of our environment and the way it suffers at the hands of its inhabitants.

This juried exhibition features a multitude of works from textiles, ceramics and paper sculptures to watercolor, acrylic, and oil paintings. We love to see the variety of approaches artists take to explore our monthly exhibitions.

Here are the winners of Mother Earth 2023.

Mother Earth is on view April 7 - 30 and concludes with an Artist Talk on Sunday, April 30 from 3:00 - 4:00pm.

Each year, we open our gallery walls to contemporary artists from across the United States in a national exhibition. This year, Show Off! asked artists to submit their best work to a juried exhibition. We ended up with a stellar show of over 80 works of art from artists from 18 states and Washington DC. 

Show Off! was juried by Lloyd DeWitt. Mr. DeWitt is an Irene Leache Curator of European Art and the Chief Curator at the Chrysler Museum of Art​. The selection process included an awards ceremony that can be viewed on our Facebook page. Here are the winners.

Show Off! is on view March 3rd through April 2nd and concludes with an Artist Talk on Sunday, April 2nd from 3:00-4:00pm. The Artist Talk is free and open to the public. All works on view are also available for purchase. ​

Written by Jaimie Kelley Choi

​Fabulous Forgeries is a recurring exhibition that asks local artists to reimagine famous works of art with their own spin. This year, we saw interpretations of works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Homer, Cezanne, Rembrandt, Gauguin, Warhol, Basquiat, Monet, Manet, O'Keefe, Escher, Hilma af Klint and many more. Artists were asked to recreate or reimagine masterworks in a different medium or size and add a modern twist. Some went subtle, some added humor, and others took off in a whole new dimension.

Click to enlarge images and see captions.

Opening night was standing room only with hundreds of visitors braving the cold for an evening of fine art, good conversation, and inspiration.

Winners of this juried exhibition were selected by renowned oil painter and teacher, Thomas Murphy.

Fabulous Forgeries: Reboot is on view February 3-26.
The exhibition will conclude with an Artist Talk on February 26 from 3-4pm.

Photos by Chris Tolton and Jaimie Kelley Choi.