Art Program

A museum's major role is to make itself accessible to varied audiences in its exhibits, public programming and physical space. The goals of the Science Museum of Virginia's (SMV) art program are to have the explicit function of enhancing the physical space within the museum, establish a relationship between the community and SMV and help develop a link between art and science. To this end, the committee is dedicated to bringing high quality art into the museum.

SMV’s exhibits span a range of subjects providing visitors with an opportunity to select areas of interest. The art program will complement SMV’s exhibits by offering a broad range of themes and subjects.

The art committee will be composed of seven SMV staff. The Director of Exhibits is the point of contact between the museum and the community.

Criteria

  1. Art must be appropriate for all ages.
  2. Art must be suitable for SMV’s environment, i.e. not fragile, or in need of special exhibit conditions.
  3. SMV will not sell art. Visitors who inquire about purchases must contact the artist directly.
  4. All artwork will be displayed for a minimum of 3 months.
  5. Artist must be able to deliver and pick up the artwork.
  6. Artist must supply a brief explanation of work and how it relates to science.
  7. Artist name, the size and title of work, and its proper orientation must be clearly marked on each slide.
  8. All slides should be in a plastic slide sheet.
  9. All artwork must be ready for display.

Submission of Art Work

Artist will submit slides of their work with a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Slides submitted without this envelope will be retained by the museum. The art committee will review the slides provided. If selected, a committee representative will then contact the artist to set up the details of the exhibition.

Gallery Wall Dimensions (PDF 5kB)

For further information about this program contact the exhibits director at (804) 864-1494, or lcorona@smv.org

Send all submissions to:
SMV Art Program
c/o Exhibits Director
Science Museum of Virginia
2500 West Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23220

Paintings by Lee Nixon

Feb 2 - May 1, 2008
Level 2 Gallery

Artist's statement

I am inspired by the skill and imagination abounding in the natural world. So, I have re-created the exquisite textured patterns found on trees, the intricate patterns of flowers and rolling hills with bundles of hay.

Several paintings were inspired by the application of natural elements such as: gravel and sand for ‘actual’ textures. Also, I have experimented with tissue paper to simulate the rugged textures of trees, to the solid mass of smooth rocks and stones.

By utilizing the science of optics, I often apply strokes of pure contrasting complementary colors to excite the viewer's eye so that the color appears to leap off the canvas.

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