Pop Art / Sway
Through May 5

The weather is beautiful today to usher in our April exhibits at The Art League Gallery, “Pop Art” and “Sway.” The opening reception is tonight, Thursday, April 10, at 6:30 pm. Join us to meet the artists behind these exhibits!

The “Pop Art” exhibit, juried by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts deputy director Robin Nicholson, asked artists to look to the pop artists of the sixties through the lens of the 21st century. Mass production, artificial color, and contemporary life and culture all feature in the multilayered exhibit. It’s the third in our 60th anniversary exhibit series, following “Abstract Expressionism Revisited” and “ColorField.”

Artwork from “Pop Art” will also form the creative seed for seven new cocktails debuting at Art on the Rocks on April 30. Local mixologists are coming in to select their inspiration.

“Sway,” the new exhibit by solo artist Natalie Shudt, combines sculptures and installations for a fresh environment in the gallery. Shudt uses silk, steel, and wood to create botanical forms that float, sway, and bring the space to life.

The juror for “Pop Art” is returning later this month for a free gallery talk. You can register here:

Pop Art and Beyond

The Art of Tom Wesselmann
Thursday, April 24, 7:00–8:30 pm

Robin Nicholson, deputy director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, will discuss well-known pop artist Tom Wesselmann. In the 1960s, Wesselmann (1931–2004) — along with Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg, and Jim Dine — formed the core of the Pop Art movement in the United States. Long after Pop Art’s crest, in a career spanning more than four decades, Wesselmann continued to create a highly original and accomplished body of work. Nonetheless, he is the last of this group to have a major U.S. exhibition and is perhaps the least known of these artists.  Following on from the successful retrospective at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in 2013, this talk explores the artist’s diverse career and inspirations.