Field Guides will open First Friday, January 3, 2020, with artists talk at 6:30pm.
Exhibit run: January 3rd - February 20, 2020, Craddock-Terry Gallery at Riverviews Artspace.
Gallery hours are Wednesday - Sunday from 12:00pm to 5:00pm, or by appointment. Riverviews Artspace’s exhibitions are free and open to the public.
After being displaced from their home in 2015, artists Nikki Brugnoli, Josh Whipkey, and their son Finnegan, moved into a converted horse stable on a farm in Warrenton, Virginia. Since then, Brugnoli and Whipkey created art to process, document, and heal through the devastating change in their lives. In their upcoming exhibit at Riverviews Artspace, Field Guides, both artists aim to share their experiences of loss, transformation, re-evaluation and memory. Using a variety of media, these artworks will guide viewers through the artists’ change in environment by depicting photographed, drawn and monoprint landscapes, bold paintings, and the recreating of their walking trails in the gallery. “Every walk that cuts through the landscape is a drawing in space, similar to the receding lines of contrails left by airplanes, or the invisible lines of flight of great flocks of birds” states Brugnoli, recalling daily walks with her son at the farm and the inspiration for her work.
About the artists:
Nikki Brugnoli (b. 1981 Pittsburgh, PA) artist, educator, and curator, received her BFA from Seton Hill University (2004) and her MFA from The Ohio State University (2007). Beginning in August, 2018 Brugnoli joined the faculty at the Flint Hill School in Oakton, VA. She runs the studio art program in the Upper School. Previously, she served on the faculty at George Mason University and was the Assistant Graduate Programs Coordinator and Graduate Advisor in the School of Art. In addition, she helped coordinate Visual Voices and the Visiting Artist Program at GMU. Nikki was the Exhibitions Coordinator for the Art Lab at the Lorton Workhouse, Lorton, VA and currently serves on the Hillyer IA&A Advisory Council, Washington D.C.. Nikki has also taught at The Ohio State University, the Northern Virginia Community Colleges, and The Renaissance School in Charlottesville, VA. Brugnoli’s work is included in many private collections across the United States and in Europe, and is featured in national academic and public institutions. A complete CV can be found at: www.nikkibrugnoli.com
Josh Whipkey (b. 1975, Connellsville, PA), artist/maker, received his BFA from Seton Hill University (1997) and his MFA from the Pennsylvania State University (2004). Josh has been living and working in and around the DC metropolitan area for the last 10 years in various creative roles, and more has recently been exhibiting his art work throughout the Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. area. He is currently working as a project manager for a small custom build company in Warrenton, VA. Prior to that, Josh ran his own custom furniture company and was an exhibitions designer/installer at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH. In 2018, Whipkey had a one-man exhibition at the Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA; Anxiety/Agency. Whipkey’s work is included in many private collections across the United States, as well as the public collection at INOVA Hospital of Fairfax. In 2016 Brugnoli and Whipkey co-founded The Portable Art Museum with fellow DC artists and academics, Maria Barbosa and Helen Frederick. This group aims to critically and creatively engage in discussions about contemporary art and cultural issues discovered within different communities. More can be found at:www.joshwhipkey.com