The current exhibit at the Nancy Thomas Gallery in Yorktown is an experience in color, creativity, and texture. The collection, created by Alabama-born Michael Banks, is a combination of dark, distinctive characters and tongue-in-check wit. A self-taught artist, Banks is currently considered one of the foremost up-and-coming members of the new American folk genre. 

“A boat is not a destination, or a conclusion, as a house or a piece of land might be, but a means to reach conclusions, and destinations that otherwise you could only dream of.” That quote, by Adam Nicholson (Seamanship), appears at the beginning of the Stationary Voyages: The Boat in Photograph exhibit at the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News. It’s also a very apt introduction into the exhibit and the out of the ordinary body of work currently on display. The result is a unique and surprisingly intriguing collection that the art lover and maritime enthusiast both can appreciate.

It’s not always easy to make the time to see all of the art exhibits that are so abundant in Hampton Roads. Since my time was limited (and seems to shrink day by day), I really wanted to see something that would make an impression and remind me of how much I love visiting our local art museums and centers. I chose to make my excursion to the Chrysler Museum to view their newest exhibition, From Goya to Sorolla, and hoped that it would live up to my expectations. After all, when you put together the high standards of the Chrysler Museum and a collection that has the phrase “masters” associated with it, I would expect it to be excellent. Thankfully, I was not disappointed.

Art has been used as a way to record the joys and struggles of life since the beginning of human existence. The current exhibit displayed at the Peninsula Fine ArtsCenter (Pfac), “Las Artes de Mexico,” is the embodiment of this idea. 

Initially, the Living with Art: Modern and Contemporary art of African-American exhibit at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center seemed rather disappointing. Only about a quarter of the work was appealing to me, and some of it was lacking the creativity or artistic quality that I feel art in galleries should possess. The day after attending, however, I realized that even though the majority of the art did not capture my heart, the collection itself did.