Image courtesy of the artist
From June 5-July 15, 2026 New City Arts presents a solo exhibition by Ruby Zielinski.
Ruby Zielinski (she/her) is an artist and landscape architect based in Charlottesville, VA. Through a multidisciplinary lens, Ruby explores the themes of beauty in our everyday lives. Her process helps provide an outlet for “noticing,” or paying close attention to the way the world is communicating with us–a surprise flower blooming in her garden, a strange bird that finds a funny perch, or sand patterns left by coastal grasses blowing in the wind.
Ruby holds an MLA from the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, a BFA from the Memphis College of Art, and currently manages the Tidelands project at the Natural Infrastructure Lab at UVA. She has exhibited in group shows, designed large-scale sculpture work for public parks, and led creative efforts for art and design conferences
New City Arts' Welcome Gallery
114 3rd St. NE, Charlottesville, VA 22902
First Friday Opening Reception
June 5 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
Co-Working at Welcome Gallery | 6/10 | 10AM-5PM | Free, public co-working day with coffee & pastries
Sensory-Friendly Second Saturdays | 6/13 & 7/11 | 10AM-5PM | Explore the exhibition with modifications made to ensure the space is accessible and inclusive for visitors with sensory sensitivities.
Photosynthesis: Cyanotype & Collage Workshop | 6/20 | 12-2PM | Workshop led by Ruby Zielinski. More information to come.
New City Reads | 6/24 from 6-7:30PM | Join us for a discussion of this month’s book selection. Learn more & RSVP here.
Stitching A Garden: Bookbinding Workshop | 6/27 | 12-2PM | Workshop led by Ruby Zielinski. More information to come.
Thank You
This exhibition is supported by The FUNd at CACF and the Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.
Artist Statement (courtesy of the artist)
Think Like A Gardener is a work in progress, explored through observation (noticing), sketching (listening), cyanotypes (learning), and painting (acting).
My sketchbook has become a companion for noticing. The drawings and objects within it are a collection of what I pick up throughout the day. These objects and vignettes are arranged on top of or next to each other, sometimes because they are noticed at the same time or in the same place, or because they share a similar theme. Even in their differences, they are married by using the same orange, pink, and blue colored pencils.
Cyanotypes help study form and composition, and incorporate natural materials into my practice. These, along with the sketchbooks, become the inspiration for the paintings. The paintings follow a layered approach - sometimes with smaller compositions inside of larger ones, or elements breaking into each other’s frames - to continue to suggest a blend of focus and information, and support the viewer in noticing details that are important to them.
This practice supports my journey to becoming a “gardener”. Defined in a broad sense of developing a relationship with natural systems - human and non-human - a gardener embraces serendipity, understands change over time, and, as artist and landscape architect, Gilles Clément, says in The Wisdom of a Gardener, “ensures that enchantment survives.”
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!