On Friday, July 7th from 5:00pm-7:00pm, we are thrilled to host a First Fridays Gallery Opening at The Depot featuring artist Karen Wangare Leonard! Karen is a talented artist who specializes in mixed media, poetry, and writing. Join us to view her powerful exhibition entitled “How to Live With it” and to enjoy food, refreshments, and community. RSVP for this event on Facebook here.
Below see the statement on accessibility of the event, and Karen shares more about her work and journey as an artist.
Accessibility statement and Content Forecast:
This gallery showing has themes that may be triggering or uncomfortable to folks. Self harm and violence are a continual theme. You are empowered to take care of yourselves gently as you engage with this work.
When in the gallery and gathering areas, masks are preferred. We want to do our part to protect everyone in the vicinity that are sensitive to the on-going COVID pandemic. Masks will be provided at the door if you do not have any.
There are single person bathrooms available for any gender to use despite the labeled signs on the doors.
This building was previously restored from a fire. The elevator shaft is currently not functioning and there is an absence of ramps in the space. Because the show is on the 2nd floor, this may pose an issue for those who have mobility needs. We are aware of this need and we apologize greatly if this changes your ability to attend.
Bio:
Karen Wangare Leonard is a young, disabled contemporary mixed media artist born in Kenya. Now currently living in perpetual migration, Leonard draws from a deep well of experiences to explore identity and storytelling through her work. In 2017 she suffered a serious arm injury that left her dominant arm disabled, forcing her to work with her other arm until that arm also became disabled from overuse. Determined to keep creating, Leonard’s style adapted to heavily utilizing her feet and mouth to create, abstracting her work and taking after background in visual journaling. She says, “these days I do not use an eraser on my canvas as much as I used to. I am more concerned with making what I can with what I’ve done rather than attempting to correct the past. Art, as it pertains to life, is full of yesterdays. Every line stays. What a terrifyingly incredible thought. How can I face each action in acceptance and opportunity?”
“How to Live With it” artist statement:
At its core, this is a story about a body that has been maimed beyond complete repair but remains insistent on creating by any means necessary. This is my story and my disabled body figuring out what happened to us, what we did to ourselves, and how we are meant to heal. In 2017 during a mental health crisis I intentionally harmed myself and unintentionally permanently disabled myself, losing the use of my dominant arm. My art teacher gave me a choice: drop AP Art Studio or ‘embrace the shake’ and create with my other arm. She said no one would blame me if I left the class but I knew I wasn’t finished making art. So I stayed. I cultivated an abstract contemporary style that incorporated mixed media and drew from a visual journaling background. Shortly after finishing the school year I gained an overuse injury in my left hand, making both my hands disabled and threatening my ability to make art.
This gallery is my first large public facing work since I started experimenting with utilizing my feet and mouth to create my pieces. I am discovering that working larger is easier on my body than smaller. And I am learning to let go of what my art used to look like in order to make space for what I can do now. Following in the inspiration of Phil Hansen, I embraced my disabilities and cultivated a practice of accepting them instead of fighting against them. Influenced by Wangechi Mutu, Kara Walker, and Akwaeke Emezi, my art primarily focuses on exploring identity through portraiture and storytelling. I understand art only depicts fragments in time and the artist gets to pick what is seen and what is left out but I also know that each fragment is vital in the grand scheme of things. Everything leads us to now.
This is a body that I am finally bringing to the light. The canvas is a welcoming space on which to put my life. A life which I am committed to staying soft in by creating art as opposed to being constricted. I want people to wrestle and engage with themselves as they encounter this resemblance of embodiment. I don’t want to be praised for “overcoming my disability.” I didn’t overcome anything but rather I live with it daily. After years of embarrassment, I’m choosing to take a hammer to the shield of shame that often results from disabilities born of self-harm. While I hope you all are not able to fully understand what this art means, for those who do, this is for us. Lastly, I want everyone to know that I had a life before this disability and I still have a life now that I’m learning to love.
You are invited in. Welcome.
Stay as long as you want. Leave as freely as you must.
This event is free and open to everyone. Snacks and refreshments will be served and we look forward to seeing you there! See the event page and RSVP here.
Each month we host a new artist in our building’s 2nd floor gallery at the Chesapeake Western Depot at 141 W. Bruce St. (second floor entrance is on Chesapeake). Artwork will remain on exhibit through the month. Come view the show anytime and get a tour the Depot! We will have food and drink available!
Just ANNOUNCED: The Gaines Group Celebration on June 2nd will now feature music duo Clymer & Kurtz as a third artist at our event! (See blogs for other artists Asha L Beck and Veronica Horst). Their music will fill our outdoor area for the ribbon cutting and celebration, and you can see Asha Beck’s and Veronica Horst’s art galleries upstairs. You do not want to miss these gifted musicians who are lauded by how they weave beauty through their lyrics and unique blend of folk-rock style. Join us for food, drinks, artists, music, and community!
Folk-rock singer-songwriter duo Clymer & Kurtz seamlessly blends intense and gentle melodies textured with harmonies, agile and inventive guitar playing, piano, and sometimes percussion. Based in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Maria Clymer and Christopher Kurtz have collaborated for decades, crafting music that is at once simple and rich, emotive and unique.
Inspired by Over the Rhine, Indigo Girls, The Proclaimers, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Diamond Rio, Alison Krauss, Donna the Buffalo, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, and many others, their music has been called “freshly original” … “outside the usual run” … “subtle and always imaginative. ”They have performed at the Sipe Center, Sing Me High Music Festival, the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival’s Spring into Bach 2021, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg First Night and Best Weekend Ever events, coffee shops, private dinners and parties, farmers markets, house/lawn concerts and various community events. Clymer & Kurtz recordings include Keep Me Around (2022), Coffee & Cake (2021), Here Comes the Moon (2020), and a debut release Clymer & Kurtz (2019). Their former band’s recordings include Snow on Snow on Snow (2018), Rain (2014), and Arms Uncrossed (2012).
Gaines Group Architects Celebration
This event is free and open to everyone. Snacks and refreshments will be served and we look forward to seeing you there! See the event page and RSVP here.
Each month we host a new artist in our building’s 2nd floor gallery at the Chesapeake Western Depot at 141 W. Bruce St. (second floor entrance is on Chesapeake). Artwork will remain on exhibit through the month. Come view the show anytime and get a tour the Depot! We have food and drink available year-round!
On Friday, June 2nd from 5:00pm-7:00pm, we are thrilled to host a First Fridays Gallery Opening at The Depot featuring artistAsha L Beck! Asha is a talented artist who is also on staff here at The Gaines Group Architects as the Office Manager/Marketing Team Leader. Join us to view her powerful photo exhibition entitled “The Earth On Our Backs” and to enjoy food, refreshments, and community. Also don’t miss our other featured artist, Veronica Horst for her own exhibition “Stitched In Place”.
Below Asha shares more about her work and journey as an artist, and you can view the online gallery and expanded artist statement here. Contact her if interested in reading her full length thesis.
A local from the nearby Linville area, Asha L Beck (she/her) is a recent graduate of Eastern Mennonite University with a Bachelor’s in Digital Media & Communications. She also currently works as the Office Manager/Marketing Team Leader for The Gaines Group Architects and spends many of her evenings painting the mural in the EMU Science Center. Asha loves to dabble in a wide range of art forms including watercolor, ink sketches, ceramics, photography, graphic design, and dance. She is drawn to art forms again and again as a way of expression and story-telling.
“The Earth on Our Backs” weaves bodily experience with natural forms to create a definition of beauty that is rooted in inherent power from the earth. It exposes beauty as an interplay between forms that are more similar than we might imagine. Instead of seeing ourselves in nature or seeing nature in us, we can see that nature is us and we are nature.
This event is free and open to everyone. Snacks and refreshments will be served and we look forward to seeing you there! See the event page and RSVP here.
Each month we host a new artist in our building’s 2nd floor gallery at the Chesapeake Western Depot at 141 W. Bruce St. (second floor entrance is on Chesapeake). Artwork will remain on exhibit through the month. Come view the show anytime and get a tour the Depot! We will have food and drink available!
On Friday, June 2nd from 5:00pm-7:00pm, we are thrilled to host a First Fridays Gallery Opening at The Depot featuring artistVeronica Horst! Veronica is a talented artist with experience in a wide range of mediums. Their exhibition ‘Stitched in Place‘ brings together embroidery, watercolor, pen and ink, 3D canvas elements, and interviews to create interactive portraits that tell the story of each individual’s connection to a space. Join us to welcome Veronica and to enjoy food, refreshments, and community. Also don’t miss our other featured artist, Asha L Beck for her exhibition “The Earth on Our Backs”.
Below they share more about their work and journey as an artist, and you can view the online gallery and expanded artist statement here.
Veronica Horst (they/she) graduated in May 2023 from Eastern Mennonite University with Bachelor’s degrees in Art and Psychology. Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, they have enjoyed living in Harrisonburg and exploring the Shenandoah Valley. Veronica values experimentation as part of the artistic process and has utilized mediums including ceramics, stained glass, wire, fabric, charcoal, paint, and stitching. They created and displayed their first mixed media series entitled “Stitched in Place” this Spring as their senior thesis project at EMU. Although the pieces being displayed are not for sale to the public, commissions are open for anyone interested in a map portrait of their own!
This event is free and open to everyone. Snacks and refreshments will be served and we look forward to seeing you there! See the event page and RSVP here.
Each month we host a new artist in our building’s 2nd floor gallery at the Chesapeake Western Depot at 141 W. Bruce St. (second floor entrance is on Chesapeake). Artwork will remain on exhibit through the month. Come view the show anytime and get a tour the Depot! We will have food and drink available!
On Friday, May 5th from 5:00pm-7:00pm, we are thrilled to host a First Fridays Gallery Opening at The Depot featuring artist Bill Del Gallo. Bill is a talented artist, specializing in acrylic paints and pours of cosmic colors. Join us to welcome Bill and to enjoy food, refreshments, and community. You do not want to miss the dazzling array of colors in his artwork. Below he shares more about his work and journey as an artist.
Dozer’s Cosmic Creations is an art experience created by Bill Del Gallo, a local to Harrisonburg, VA growing up in the Broadway area.
Dozer’s Cosmic Creations specializes in fluid art using various techniques such as Flip Cup, Open Pours, Dutch Pours, and Swiping. All acrylic paints are mixed with latex-based pouring mediums, then applied to canvas and manipulated by tilting, spinning, and even through use of a blowtorch to achieve these exquisite cosmic and psychedelic inspired pieces. Many pieces are also UV reactive or glow-in-the-dark to give them more depth and reveal alternate images within each creation.
Bill took up this hobby in preparation for double heel surgery and was taught by his good friend Brad Robbins of Louisa, Virginia an independent artist in his own right. Since 2019, Bill has been a featured artist online, at local breweries, and in art festivals. He does commissioned work and sells his own private creations as well.
This event is free and open to everyone. Snacks and refreshments will be served and we look forward to seeing you there! See the event page and RSVP here.
Each month we host a new artist in our building’s 2nd floor gallery at the Chesapeake Western Depot at 141 W. Bruce St. (second floor entrance is on Chesapeake). Artwork will remain on exhibit through the month. Come view the show anytime and get a tour the Depot! We will have food and drink available!
First Fridays Downtown has been going strong all year, and we are excited to feature artist Joey Truxell for our first gallery opening of 2023 at the Depot on Friday, April 7th, from 5:00pm-7:00pm. Join us in welcoming this multi-talented artist. He shares about his work and journey as an artist below:
Joey Truxell is a father, husband and philanthropist who resides in his hometown of Waynesboro, Virginia. His passion is creating art that aims to make people reflect, reminisce and challenge the way they see art.
He began his journey as a young artist in 1974. Joey has worked as a graphic designer, muralist, fashion illustrator, wedding dress designer, book illustrator, freelance illustrator and painter. He graduated from VCU with a Bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 1991 with a focus in figurative illustration.
The gallery “FACES and PLACES”:
“Working primarily in acrylics, it is my goal to capture the light. It is the light that tells the whole story. In a matter of minutes a brightly colored landscape can become a dark silhouetted mass framed by the setting sun. When it comes to people or animals the light is inside them. As an artist, pulling the light out of each subject is the focus. I use color, shadows and imagery in my pursuit to find the light in every piece.”
“Art should both challenge and inspire the viewer.”
Joey Truxell
This event is free and open to everyone. Snacks and refreshments will be served and we look forward to seeing you there! See the event page and RSVP here.
Each month we host a new artist in our building’s 2nd floor gallery at the Chesapeake Western Depot at 141 W. Bruce St. (second floor entrance is on Chesapeake). Artwork will remain on exhibit through the month. Come view the show anytime and get a tour the Depot! We will have food and drink available!
