Image courtesy of the artist
From December 6, 2024 - January 16, 2025, New City Arts presents Of the Earth, an exhibition of new work by Christen Yates and Jacqui Stewart Lindstrom.
Featuring wood sculptural work (Jacqui Stewart Lindstrom) and abstract landscape paintings (Christen Yates) and incorporating materials from thoughtfully harvested sources, this exhibit demonstrates how, when we put our hands to the wood and dirt of this earth, we are reconnecting ourselves to one another and our common source.
Exhibition Statement
“We have to put our hands in the earth to make ourselves whole again.” - Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
The natural world is a system in which nothing is wasted, everything is redeemed, death recycled back into life. Using materials of the earth in a way that is harmonious with this, caring for them is vital for a just and sustainable society. It is this understanding that shapes the sculptural work and abstract landscape paintings in Of the Earth. Both artists incorporate materials from local and thoughtfully harvested sources to honor the natural world they are celebrating. Jacqui uses scraps of wood left over from furniture makers, aiming to honor the materials by using even what is considered waste. For larger pieces, she sources wood as locally or regionally as possible. For Christen, celebrating the landscape through her paintings feels contradictory when using materials that are harmful to that very landscape as well as her own health. She has increasingly shifted to using paints which she hand mixes using sustainable, non-toxic pigments, and most recently, locally, hand-gathered pigments. Further, all of the frames for these pieces were hand made by her husband, Chris Yates, using local maple or walnut.
Kimmerer continues, “Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair.” As we literally put our hands to the wood and dirt of this earth, we are reconnecting ourselves to our common source. Not only do we find great healing there, we tap into the wonder and joy of creating and sharing these works within our community. Ultimately, we hope to invite a renewed attention to and celebration of the natural world around us.
New City Arts' Welcome Gallery
114 3rd St. NE, Charlottesville, VA 22902
First Friday Opening Reception
December 6 from 5-7:30PM; Artist talk at 6PM. Free and open to the public. All ages welcome. Exhibition opening sponsored by William Taylor and the Taylor Group of Truist Investment Services.
Gallery Hours
Wednesday-Saturday from 10AM-5PM
Exhibition Events
Arts & Crafts with the Artists | Dec. 18 from 10-11AM
Co-Working Day | Jan. 8 from 9AM - 5PM
Closing Lunch with the Artists | Jan. 16 from 12-1PM
About the Artists
Photo by Lauren Stonestreet
Christen Yates renders the emotional experience of the landscape through the use of layered oil paints creating compositions that border representation and abstraction. Incorporating pigments that are non-toxic and occasionally, locally foraged, lends a congruence to honoring the land she celebrates. Raised on the North Shore of Boston, Christen attended the University of Virginia and later completed graduate studies in theology, art & sustainable development in Vancouver, BC. Since moving back to Virginia in 2014, she has exhibited locally and in various venues from Cape Ann, MA to the San Francisco Bay area. She's held artist residencies on Vancouver Island and in the highlands of Texas. Her work has been acquired by the University of Virginia and is held in numerous private collections. Christen works out of her home studio on a small farm at the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains.
Photo by Juliet Bryant
Jacqui Stewart Lindstrom is a maker, artist, and designer working primarily in wood, incorporating metal and stone. Material and form give meaning to one another in her work. She is fascinated by the way in which each material holds its own unique properties of weight, texture, and time, and she uses materials in a way that attends to their specific structural and aesthetic qualities. The shapes and lines in her work nod subtly towards the forms of religious icons, exploring what we value and how we make meaning of the world and our place in it. Jacqui aims to facilitate, through the forms and functions of her pieces, connection and the sharing of stories between people, cultures, and the natural and made worlds in which they exist. Jacqui is from a surrounding county of Charlottesville, Virginia. In 2019, she received her BFA in Craft and Material Studies, with focuses in wood, clay, and metal, from Virginia Commonwealth University before returning to live and work in the Charlottesville area.
Available Works
Located at 114 3rd St. NE on Charlottesville’s downtown pedestrian mall, New City Arts’ Welcome Gallery supports artists who live in the Charlottesville area. Welcome Gallery exhibitions and programs are made possible by generous sponsors, donors, and grants. Interested in sponsoring an exhibition? Connect with us!