Fellowship Exhibitions

Reflections of our past 
Aaron Sanders (American, b. 1982)
Feb 25 – Jun 23, 2013  |  Richmond International Airport, Baggage Claims 1 & 6

On the banks of the James River lies the city of Richmond, Virginia. The streets of the original town, each with its own story, easily remind today’s visitors of the area’s important history. At Twenty-Fifth and Broad Streets, in Saint John’s Church, Patrick Henry delivered his famous speech, “Give me liberty or give me death.” A few blocks away the Old Stone House, built in 1740, serves as a museum commemorating the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe, who considered the city home. Everywhere, historical sites and structures, now set against towering skyscrapers, have preserved Richmond’s significant and unique past.

In these photographs, Aaron Sanders captures reflections not only of that illustrious history but also of the enduring spirit and continuing progress of the city on the James. Sanders lives and works in Richmond, Virginia, and was the recipient of a 2010 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Visual Arts Fellowship. 

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Richmond International Airport partner to present visual arts exhibitions throughout the airport. Designated or select displays feature work of VMFA Fellowship recipients or VMFA exhibitions that travel across Virginia. 

Recent work
Tanja Softic (American, b. 1966 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, )
Mar 8 – Jul 7, 2013  |  VMFA Amuse Restaurant and Claiborne Robertson Room 

Tanja Softic’s work explores the idea of cultural hybridity, and the representation of such vague and often problematic concepts like memory or spatial and temporal location. She explores such questions as: How are our histories recorded and how do they shape individual notions of identity? What is cultural memory and to whom does it belong? Through a visual vocabulary of landscape elements, microscopic life forms, architectural details, astronomical charts, and anatomical fragments, Softic aims to capture this sense of flux and displacement. 

Says Softic of her prints: “In my work, there is no discernible center of the image; floating elements come in and out of focus, anchoring and orbiting others, settling nowhere permanently. I hope that the viewer sees my work the way one sees a familiar thicket of weeds — in a particular moment or in an unusual light — suddenly awash in form and meaning.”

Softic lives in Richmond, Virginia, and is a Professor of Art at the University of Richmond; she was the recipient of a 2009 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Visual Arts Fellowship. All works courtesy of Reynolds Gallery, Richmond, VA.

A Common Light: paintings of Roanoke and Los Angeles
Ann Glover (American, b. 1950)
March 30 – July 21, 2013  |  Pauley Center Galleries

These paintings by Virginia artist Ann Glover contrast two American cities: her hometown of Roanoke, set in the mountains of southwest Virginia; and Los Angeles, a sprawling urban center defined by its international culture and varied topography, located on the Pacific Rim. Glover feels at home in both cities, having also lived in Los Angeles, where she maintained a home and studio during the late 1980s and the 1990s.

The unifying theme of these two series is the quality of light. Glover is drawn to that time of day, early or late, when the sun is just above the horizon and the warmth of light is intensified, offering a dramatic view of everyday subject matter. The artist explains, “The quality of light evokes a connection between both and blurs the differences in culture, location, and form.”

Glover lives and works in Roanoke, Virginia, and was the recipient of a 2010 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Visual Arts Fellowship.