Bridgewater Va. – After having to cancel the rest of the art viewing for the spring semester of 2020, the art department faculty anticipates what the spring of 2021 might bring for the Beverly Perdue Art Gallery, which is located in the first floor of the Learning Commons. 

The Beverly Perdue Art Gallery opened shortly after the library made its grand opening in the spring of 2020. 

After students were sent home in March 2020, the faculty in charge of selecting artwork for the gallery had no choice but to cancel the last two viewings that were scheduled for the end of the school year. 

“We had a lot of shows booked but we had to keep canceling them because the library was taking too long to open,” says Michael Hough, associate professor of art and the art gallery director “When the pandemic hit and I had to cancel the last two shows, the artists were nice and understanding about it.” 

Looking ahead, the Beverly Perdue Art Gallery is booked until October of 2021. Hough said he and the other art department faculty members in charge of selecting the art for the gallery are expecting more submissions for the months following October. 

The four faculty members who are working with Hough are Associate Professor of Art Nan Covert, Art Department Chair and Professor of Art Scott Jost, Assistant Professor of Art Eric Kniss and Practitioner in Residence of Art Ronald Alabanza. 

They look for artists that students of the art department can learn from, as well as artwork that other audiences can enjoy. 

Due to the pandemic and the guidelines the college has regarding visitation on campus, currently the viewing is limited to students and faculty and staff of Bridgewater College. 

In addition to selecting professional pieces for viewing, the art department will sponsor the Bridgewater College Juried Student Show.

According to Hough, this is a time where any student from the art department, first-year students to seniors, get to submit their artwork to be displayed in the art gallery. 

“In pre-COVID-19 times, we have had the student’s family, roommates and friends come in for a little refreshment while enjoying the artworks,” says Hough. “Obviously we can’t do that now, but we are still planning on having the student show.” 

The upcoming BC Juried Student Show is scheduled to be March 24 to April 7, 2021.

Currently, the Beverly Perdue Art Gallery is displaying a selection of artwork titled “Spaces are Meant to be Filled” by Brent Webb, an associate professor of art at Radford University. 

In his artist statement, Webb talks about his passion and goal for which he created his artwork. 

“Much of what lies beneath the surface cannot come out into the light; to this end, I create a space for the viewer to question their own experience of the paintings,” writes Webb. “The viewers own personal experience with these same fragments of personal myth, untruths and the short circuiting, the rapture to the rational that occurs when we become aware of our own remembering.” 

Several viewers left comments after looking at the artwork in the gallery. 

One wrote, “love it!” Director of Career Services Sherry Talbott wrote, “Makes me contemplate the subjects and titles for deeper meaning.” 

Webb’s artwork is up now until Feb. 9, after which a selection of artwork by Associate Professor of Art Nicole Santiago from William and Mary will be displayed.