About the Exhibition
TCC's VADC spotlight a selection of artist from the Hampton Roads area that are a part of Virginia Museum of Fine Art's (VMFA) prestigious fellowship program. This exhibition illustrates the breadth and adversity of contemporary artistic talent being produced in the region and offers collaborative programming with the VMFA to out community.
Participating VMFA Fellows include:
Sheila Giolitti, 2023-2024 Professional, Painting
Kimberly McKinnis, 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
Nadia Msalek, 2023-2024 Undergrad, Painting
Amber Robinson Pierce, 2022-2023 Undergrad, Crafts
Alexander Sausen, 2022-2023 Undergrad, Mixed Media
Suzanne Stevens, 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
Scot Turner, 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
Morgan Williams, 2023- 2024 Graduate, Mixed media
About the VMFA Fellowship
As the largest stat-supported art museum in the country, VMFA has worked for more than 80 years with organizations around the commonwealth to share works from its collection of world art and to develop exhibitions that reflect the vigorous art scene in Virginia.
VMFA also supports Virginia contemporary artists through its Fellowship Program- the most generous of its kind in the US. The year 2020 marked the 80th anniversary of the Fellowship Program. Since its inception in the 1940 as a privately funded endowment, the program has awarded nearly $6 million to professional artists as well as students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in a particular discipline.
To learn more about the Fellowship Program, please follow this link.
Kimberly McKinnis, Norfolk, Va
Nature|Nuture|Naturally, 2020 Blown, found, and ass, and assembled glass
NFS
“This work is a three-dimensional collage of nature inspired sculptural forms that recall the desert terrain of my home state, California. I made this work during the pandemic, thinking about what "home" meant to me during a time I could not travel there to be with my family."
- Kimberly McKinnis
VMFA Fellowship: 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
www.KimberlyMckinnis.com
@BusyWashingMyHair
Kimberly McKinnis, Norfolk, VA
Breakfast in Bed, 2021
Blown glass, wood, and polymer clay
NFS
“This work was made in collaboration with West Coast artist Kazka Reitz McCray; during the pandemic we worked on several pieces, collaboratively by mail. This particular work reflects on the concept of 'home'- thinking about the bedroom and as an intimate space that is sometimes shared. Similarly, the simple act of sharing a meal can convey devotions, endearment and foster connection.”
- Kimberly McKinnis
VMFA Fellowship: 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
www.KimberlyMckinnis.com
@BusyWashingMyHair
Kimberly McKinnis, Norfolk, VA
Small Metals Projects, 2020-2021
Assorted metals
NFS
“These small metal projects kept my hands busy when I did not have access to the glass studio during the shutdown of the 2020 pandemic. They also mark a return to processes I learned in graduate school.”
- Kimberly McKinnis
VMFA Fellowship: 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
www.KimberlyMckinnis.com
@BusyWashingMyHair
Sheila Giolitti, Norfolk, VA
A Mothers Love, 2024
Acrylic, ink, gouache, & resin on panel
“This piece is highly personal so I do not feel comfortable being to specific. A mother’s love is many things and it is in constant flux. It can be at times, dazzlingly beautiful, full of grace and selflessness. It can also be cruel, selfish and dark. With time all relationships change, but a mother's love, whatever it may be, will always remain all-encompassing.”
- Sheila Giolitti
VMFA Fellowship: 2023-2024 Professional, Painting
www.sheilagiolitti.com
@sheilagiolitti
Sheila Giolitti, Norfolk, VA
Anthology of Memories #8, 2023
Anthology of Memories #6, 2023
Acrylic, ink, and gouache on yupo
$3,400 (each)
https://square.link/u/vaU0W4zz
https://square.link/u/nlKsQq1f
“All my pieces are streams of consciousness. The work always starts by floating ink allowing for some random uncontrolled expressions which I work to organize into a cohesive statement. I never work to music, leaving me alone to reminisce and reflect.”
- Sheila Giolitti
VMFA Fellowship: 2023-2024 Professional, Painting
www.sheilagiolitti.com
@sheilagiolitti
Scot Turner, Newport News, VA
Girl with the Gold Violin, 2024
Acrylic on Board
“Accidentally seen before the curtain is drawn, a mystery of song about to be heard.”
- Scot Turner
VMFA Fellowship: 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
www.ScotTurnerArt.com
Scot Turner, Newport News, VA
Sonny Moon, 2024
Acrylic on Board
“Inspired by a performer I saw on the street.”
- Scot Turner
VMFA Fellowship: 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
www.ScotTurnerArt.com
Scot Turner, Newport News, VA
Irony of a Blind Savant, 2024
Acrylic on Board
“Feel the energy of the music.”
- Scot Turner
VMFA Fellowship: 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
www.ScotTurnerArt.com
Morgan Williams, Chesapeake, VA
Furaha ya Milele, 2023
Digital Design (Motion Graphic Video Loop)
NFS
“To be in joy is a birthright. A right to live fearlessly in the present. Through the chaos of change, Joy is our eternal center.”
- Morgan Williams
Photograph taken at Buckroe Beach, Hampton, VA
VMFA Fellowship: 2023-24 Graduate, Mixed Media
www.mlonnaedesign.com
@mlonnae
Amber R. Pierce, Virginia Beach, VA
Born Wanderer, 2024
Ceramics, fiber
“Born Wanderer captures and reshapes my personal history, combining traditional mediums into unique mementos of a past I can't fully articulate.This self-portrait of a younger self explores the juxtaposition of hard ceramics and soft fibers to represent the duality within—the resilience and strength we develop alongside vulnerability and tenderness.”
- Amber R. Pierce
VMFA Fellowship: 2022-23 Undergrad, Crafts
www.amberpierce.art
@ambrpierce
Amber R. Pierce, Virginia Beach, VA
Which Wolf?, 2024
Ceramics, fiber
NFS
“Which Wolf? reflects my introspection on the source of self I bring into interactions. One side features a drawing of an inner child, while the other depicts two barking dogs.These visuals symbolize the dual forces we all carry within us— we are both victim and villain, innocent and guilty.”
- Amber R. Pierce
VMFA Fellowship: 2022-23 Undergrad, Crafts
www.amberpierce.art
@ambrpierce
Amber R. Pierce, Virginia Beach, VA
Shades of Blue, 2021
Ceramics, fiber
NFS
“In this vessel series, I am referencing a blue and white decorative style that is popular among cultures worldwide. With this in mind, I have created embroidered family photos which I stitch onto the ceramic vessel. My embroidery displays what I hold dear as an ornate, complex, and precious thing.I am critical of the oversimplification of a singular Black experience and strive to position my work within a more expansive space. One where nuanced everyday experiences and spiritual connections can be found within material and imagery.”
- Amber R. Pierce
VMFA Fellowship: 2022-23 Undergrad, Crafts
www.amberpierce.art
@ambrpierce
Alexander Sausen, Suffolk, VA
Rose Pompadour, 2022
Acrylic, gloss varnish, and extra heavy gel gloss on printmaking paper
“Driven by a childhood love for collecting fine porcelain and an ardent love for fabric drapery, this work is inspired by the color Rose Pompadour which was created by the French porcelain manufacturer Sèvres as a celebration of Madame Pompadour's support of their production. Her support eventually led to Sèvres becoming the official porcelain manufacturer of the court of King Louis XV. The initial pictorial content is a man in a suit/18th century gown combination in which the lines and brushwork reference the flow and movement of fabric as it cascades down the wearer’s body. Small dots of paint reference the ornamental, while gel gloss creates a slight shine in certain parts of the painting in the way that porcelain glaze affects a subtle polish.”
- Alexander Sausen
VMFA Fellowship: 2022-23 Undergrad, Mixed Media
alexandersausen.wixsite.com
@alexander_sausen
Alexander Sausen, Suffolk, VA
Untitled (Study), 2022
Acrylic, gloss varnish, and extra heavy gel gloss on printmaking paper
“This work marks a key point in my painting practice in which I began to create small investigative works in order to understand issues within larger paintings. For this particular piece I questioned the use of the paint brush and color to define pictorial content, opting for a mostly monochromatic color palette and relying on drypoint to carve imagery into the paint's surface. In this way, one must approach the painting closely and intimately to determine its intricacies and content of male nudes in a lush nocturnal landscape.”
- Alexander Sausen
VMFA Fellowship: 2022-23 Undergrad, Mixed Media
alexandersausen.wixsite.com
@alexander_sausen
Suzanne Stevens, Virginia Beach, VA
MOCA’s Garden, 2023
Pastel
“This pastel drawing was created for Earth Day’s artist in residence exhibit and demonstration at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. ”
- Suzanne Stevens
VMFA Fellowship: 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
www.suzannestevensartist.com
Suzanne Stevens, Virginia Beach, VA
Seachange, 2024
Pastel, watercolor
“This piece was made out of my concern over the ocean.”
- Suzanne Stevens
VMFA Fellowship: 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
www.suzannestevensartist.com
Suzanne Stevens, Virginia Beach, VA
Moonrise, 2024
Watercolor
“Imagination.” - Suzanne Stevens
VMFA Fellowship: 2020 Emergency Relief Fund
www.suzannestevensartist.com
Nadia Msalek, Virginia Beach, VA
Young Me, 2024
Oil on canvas
“Young Me is a painting of an image of me taken when I was four. It exists as an experiment in self portraiture, illustrating past states. Young Me references art history through its use of an underpainting that mimics grisailles, a technique employed by old master artists when painting a monochrome (usually gray) image first before slowly “glazing” on thin layers of color, one by one, to achieve a result most true to life. However, it deviates in its placement of colors, along with the colors itself. Instead of using paints straight out of the tube and layering them, shades are premixed to decrease their chroma, and selectively applied in squares to create an almost quilt-like grid. These softer, desaturated colors and fragmented images reveal a conversation of memories and nostalgia, and about how our minds retain images.”
- Nadia Msalek
VMFA Fellowship: 2023-2024 Undergrad, Painting
nadiamsalek.com
@nmaslek
Nadia Msalek, Virginia Beach, VA
Hind, 2024
Oil on canvas
“Hind was made as a companion to Young Me, after witnessing constant images and news of children being martyred in Gaza and the rest of Palestine. It questions who is allowed to grow old, and what really is the difference between Arab children growing up in the states, Arab children in the Middle East, and children who aren't Arab at all. What determines the outrage after the death of a child? Is it the safety of their upbringing, or perhaps the value of the land they inhabit? Hind specifically memorializes Hind Rajab, a six year old Palestinian girl living in the Gaza strip who was murdered alongside six of her family members and two paramedics coming to her rescue. Next to Young Me, it reminds us that nostalgia is a privilege.”
- Nadia Msalek
VMFA Fellowship: 2023-2024 Undergrad, Painting
nadiamsalek.com
@nmaslek
Nadia Msalek, Virginia Beach, VA
Soft Wall, 2024
Found fiber
$7,400
“In Islam, spaces are gendered in a way that labels public as masculine and private as feminine. Essentially, if a space is completely inhabited by women, it is considered private, but as soon as one man enters a space, it is public. This is why some Muslim women wear hijabs; it allows them to carry a private space with them to remain in. Islam also specifically lists those who are allowed in a private space that allows it to remain public, known as mahram. This includes close family members, children, and other women. Using the mahram and the idea of a metaphorical hijab, Soft Wall aims to illustrate a potential new mahram, in which maybe gender is not the main factor in what makes a space private and vulnerable. Perhaps this space instead is a closet, a country, a bathhouse, or a code switch. Soft Wall also explores what it means for a wall to be fabric; covering, but fluid and vulnerable. Does it invite invasion, and who are the invaders?”
- Nadia Msalek
VMFA Fellowship: 2023-2024 Undergrad, Painting
nadiamsalek.com
@nmaslek