CLIFTON FORGE — Two new exhibits are currently on display at the Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center, featuring the works of Joni Pienkowski and Nancy Newhard.
Pienkowski, a nationally renowned artist, has had more than 130 one-person exhibits in the United States, including at the Smithsonian, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Butler Institution of American Art.
Her work is in many museums and private collections. Pienkowski, who has been painting for half a century, has taught at Virginia Tech, the University of Wisconsin and Radford University.
Newhard’s fanciful and colorful acrylics are also on display in the gallery.
“These things, the physical act of painting and learning to see both what is within myself and what is in the world around me, to discover and respond to it all makes me want to paint more and more,” said Newhard. “It may not change the world, but I know it changes me.
“I began painting in the mid-’70s with watercolor and oil,” Newhard continued. “Sometime in the mid-’90s, I began to switch to acrylics, and it opened up a whole hotel room full of new doors.”
“Come see how both of these collections in the gallery will relate and speak to one another as you enjoy this free exhibit,” said Connie Baker, executive director of the Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center.
Both exhibits will be on display through Friday, Aug. 28.
The Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center is located at 439 E. Ridgeway St.
Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Sundays from 1-4 p.m.
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Works by artists Joni Pienkowski (ARTICLE PHOTO) and Nancy Newhard (THUMBNAIL PHOTO) A are currently on display at the Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center in Clifton Forge. The works will be on display in the gallery through Friday, Aug. 28. The Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center is located at 439 E. Ridgeway Street in downtown Clifton Forge. The exhibit is free to the public. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. (Photos Courtesy Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center)