A blog by staff and others about the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Into the Mystic: Heart of Glass with Paul Marioni
January 8, 2013
Heart of Glass, to be shown this Friday, Jan 11, 6:30 – 9PM, at VMFA, is arguably Herzog’s most intriguingly eccentric motion picture and that takes into consideration his oeuvre that is packed with exzentrischen Kino. Made in 1976, when Herzog was at his risky apex exploring the potential of feature-length narrative, the film’s extremes…
VMFA’s newest acquisition
December 14, 2012
Ladies and gentlemen, meet our newest acquisition. This painting by Beauford Delaney was approved by the VMFA Board and Art Acquisitions committee yesterday. It has been on loan to VMFA for the past five months, but is now a part of the permanent American collection. Beauford Delaney painted this iconic portrait of the acclaimed American…
In honor of Hanukkah
December 7, 2012
Though he was born near Venice, Giovanni Battista Piranesi is rightly most often associated with ancient Rome, whose glories he depicted in a series of etchings and engravings. Piranesi’s work as printmaker was multifarious. He produced both real views and imagined views (Capricci). Of the latter, the most famous are the Prisons (Carceri,1749-50), hallucinatory views…
The magic of glass blowing
November 27, 2012
There was a chill in the November air but the furnaces glowed red-hot at Ryan Gothrup’s mobile hot-glass studio in VMFA’s Robins Sculpture Garden. As an intrigued crowd gathered ‘round, Gothrup, an adjunct professor of glass at Tidewater Community College, demonstrated how twirling a molten glob of glass at the end of rod can be…
VMFA Blog: Politics with a side of art
November 6, 2012
As this highly charged election season nears its end, a quietly reflective look at some topical and historical American art currently on view in VMFA’s galleries seems in order. This 1856 print after George Caleb Bingham’s Stump Speaking is a great place to begin. The image may be understood as a personal expression of the…
Take time to stop and eat the roses
October 26, 2012
Take time to stop and eat the roses. While you may have heard of dandelion wine and maybe even sprinkling flower petals on a salad, the closest you probably get to having blossoms on your dinner table is as the centerpiece. But on Thursday afternoon, at the Edible Flowers event (part of the special exhibition…
Chihuly inspires great video coverage
October 19, 2012
Dale Chihuly gave a tour of his installation to working media at VMFA. Some beautiful and informative videos resulted. Which is your favorite? Richmond.com did a wonderful job, as always. A new group, Suggested Serving, has made a great entry into our local media and social media community. The Glass Master Arrives: Chihuly at VMFA…
Judith Godwin was inspired by dance
October 4, 2012
As I listened to Dr. Sarah Eckhart, the Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, and Robbie Kinter, from VCU’s Department of Dance and Choreography, discussing the relationship between modern dance and Judith Godwin’s paintings, I felt a real connection with Ms. Godwin. Sarah and Robbie made her come alive just like her oversized canvases. …
Fellowships: Free money for Virginia’s artists and art historians
September 27, 2012
When did you last come across a chance to win free money, and be recognized for your talented work at the same time? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right? Well, it’s a reality with the VMFA Visual Arts Fellowship program! For the past 72 years, the Fellowship has given away thousands of dollars each…
Better Than the Eiffel Tower
September 26, 2012
My husband and I took our eleven year old granddaughter to Paris this past summer. When asked what she wanted to see, she quickly responded– the Eiffel Tower. We couldn’t argue with that. Who doesn’t like the Eiffel Tower? Loving French cuisine, we next focused on lunch. A friend recommended the Jules Verne restaurant, located…