Lydia was larger than life. Her paintings, installations, lectures and scholarship were all intertwined, embodying her probing and profound intellect and her far ranging quest to decipher modern culture through the art of Pablo Picasso and other artists. Born into a Jewish family in Focsani, Romaniain 1926, Lydia Csato survived the German occupation of her country during World War II and went on to study art and the law at the University of Bucharest. By the 1950s, she was one of the most successful painters working in the Social Realist style mandated by Romania’s Communist … Continue reading Picasso, Lydia and Friends by Lyn Bolen Warren→
Roman Sirotin, a native of Saint Petersburg, Russia is a multi-media artist drawn to beauty in many realms. A dancer, painter and photographer now living in Columbus, Ohio, Roman moved to America over a decade ago. In 2010, he began a creative collaboration with Columbus artist and dancer Jennifer Gordon. Together, they dance, paint and photograph dramatic images, many of abandoned buildings and stark spaces in the U.S. and abroad. “Abandoned places appeal to me due to the beauty of its decay and the atmosphere it gives off. They allow for moments of transcendence … Continue reading Roman Sirotin: Abandoned Beauty…→
Artist Richard Crozier’s works are subjects of change…change of seasons, change of light, change of landscape and skyline. Over the past four decades, he has produced more than 3000 “portraits” of the Charlottesville area in transition. In 2011, Crozier retired as professor of studio art from UVa’s McIntire Department of Art, where since 1974, he’d taught beginning drawing and advanced painting and became known for his encouraging and engaging style. He continues to paint daily, producing up to five scenes a week. “The thing that interests me a lot are landscapes that are in … Continue reading Subject to Change: Paintings by Richard Crozier→
First impressions can be unexpected. Driving into Athens and looking at its poorer parts, my wife and I first thought of Mexico. When I went to see the Parthenon, it was soon clear I could never escape a crowd of tourists snapping pictures… I knew its significance, but felt alienated from its actual, physical presence. At a loss, I wandered into the ancient Theatre of Dionysus where the great plays were first performed in a rare moment when entertainment and a profound impulse to understand man and fate coincided. I found the … Continue reading Finding Greece by Lance Lee→
Julia Aurora Travers likes to mix it up. Her creative talent and social concerns combine in various venues—as artist, designer, writer and teacher. A native of Hampton, Virginia, Travers now lives in Charlottesville where she teaches preK classes and designs locally as well as a volunteer for CitySquare, an anti-poverty, non-profit in Dallas, Texas. She recently completed a graphic design internship with The Atlantic Post, an international online news journal. She and her husband, Jeff, have co-written and illustrated a new children’s book, Sylvie and Foster. Travers’ community art efforts span from an elementary school … Continue reading Mixing It Up… Art of Julia Aurora Travers→
The mystery will be solved on Saturday at six. The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) will unveil “The Commission” at Morven Farm in Charlottesville on Saturday May 10th. This year’s Commission — “Coming to Know What We’ve Always Known” — showcases a collaborative art installation created for one night only. Proceeds from the gala fund-raiser will afford future artists time at the VCCA working retreat in Amherst County. The 2014 winning Commission combines the imaginative work of VCCA Fellows, poet Sally Dawidoff and visual artist Georgia June Goldberg. Dawidoff’s poems have been published … Continue reading Mystery Revealed at Morven Farm→
Water pistols. Animal crackers. Twinkies. Paper airplanes. Dollar bills, paddle ball toys and boxes of popcorn. Fun and games, but maybe not the stuff of fine art. Unless you’re Virginia artist Michael Fitts. Fitts’s art not only elevates the unexpected, he does so using untraditional materials – scraps of sheet tin, copper and aluminum. Old metal—with all its worn and surprising surfaces—began to interest Fitts in 1989 after he’d graduated in graphic design from Virginia Commonwealth University. “I was in Richmond, and it was my first time living in the city. I began collecting things … Continue reading Elevating the Unexpected: Paintings by Michael Fitts→
Last week’s blog, “All Aboard!” sparked some fond memories of train trips of yore. Streetlight would like to share a couple such reminiscences. I was what they call a train “dead head” which means I could ride trains for free because my attorney father was employed by the Southern Railroad Association. I was a freshman in college (1957) riding the train alone from Columbia, SC to Boulder, CO where I was joining three friends to set off on a six week drive discovering the West. I had a Pullman room, those wonderful rooms that … Continue reading Riding More Rails…→
Recently scanning for a train schedule, I was surprised to discover an advertisement for “The much-anticipated Amtrak Writer’s Residency.” Amtrak as literary inspiration? Well their menu does include “Fresh Sandwich du Jour,” “Salmon with Chablis Sauce” and “Chicken Apple-Maple Sausage.” And, it seems that 24 writers can taste such treats while riding the literary rails and writing about it. Amtrak will pick up the tab for a long distance, round-trip ticket and provide the lucky writer with a private sleeper car complete with its own desk, bed and window to document America’s passing scene. Winning … Continue reading All Aboard!→
The closing of Charlottesville’s Chroma Gallery has me thinking about the business of art and the making of art. (recent blog: https://streetlightmag.com/2014/01/20/breathing-room/) For an artist, nothing replaces the value of being represented by a gallery, unless it is to have work chosen by a museum. It is a vote of confidence, a means to connect with an audience, and a way to earn money, when it works. You have a show, sell, and then go back to your studio, make more art, and show again. When a gallery closes, this ideal system goes away. But … Continue reading When Criticism Counts by Margaret Bardwell White→
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