Image courtesy of the artist
From May 2-28, 2025, New City Arts presents one hand washes the other, a solo exhibition by Vibha Vijay.
Vibha Vijay (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Charlottesville, VA, whose work delves into the dynamic interplay between desire and physical materiality. Drawing on a diverse array of mediums, including fiber, plastic, and hair, Vijay crafts pieces that challenge conventional notions of art objects and their relationship to access, formality, and function. Her creative practice is deeply influenced by a fascination with collecting and display, as well as an interest in granting objects an existence and agency that transcends personal ownership.
Exhibition Statement
This exhibition gathers the quiet power of materials passed down, offered up, and stitched together across generations. Using secondhand, gifted, and borrowed fabrics and adornments, many from my grandmother, one hand washes the other meditates on inheritance, reciprocity, and the everyday gestures of devotion.
Throughout the work, Hindu iconography and myth weave through domestic craft. Yashoda and Krishna appear not as distant deities but as familiar figures of care and mischief. The tactile language of Tanjore painting, hand knitting, and sewing becomes a devotional act in itself—a way to touch memory, labor, and belief.
At the soul of the show is a collaborative gesture: a knit piece that invites you to stretch, hook, and shape it on the wall alongside me. In this act of interaction, the show extends its premise—a world where nothing is made alone, where every hand is met with another.
New City Arts' Welcome Gallery
114 3rd St. NE, Charlottesville, VA 22902
First Friday Opening Reception
April 4 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
Craft Circle & Communal Making | May 17 | 1-4PM | Bring a project of your own or join in on a collaborative piece at this free, drop-in event.
Thank You
This exhibition is supported by the Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.
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!