Retrospective by Bassett Native on Display at Piedmont Arts

Piedmont Arts is pleased to announce the exhibition ...from then until now by Los Angeles-based artist and Bassett, Virginia native Christopher Barbour. An opening reception and artist talk will be held Saturday, September 15 from 5 – 7 pm, and the show runs until October 27, 2012.

Barbour's imagery represents his search  for himself, for understanding, for sight. He seeks balance in the hectic modern world, observing it through his lens while challenging the viewer to slow down and view it with him. His hallmark ethereal images carry the expression of life moving constantly, captured in one small frame.

the unheard intensity of the sound of a whisper

Of his work, Barbour says, "I don¹t necessarily mean to be nostalgic, or imbue sentimentality, but most of my work comes from an intuitive sense of feeling and emotion, and these markers are often construed as I contemplate connection."

Deeply interested in the concepts of wabi-sabi, of temporality, and of the mechanism discerning sight to consciousnessŠ our ability to be presentŠ Barbour is influenced by many art forms, including painting, drawing and music, as well as his years of study in yoga, qigong and Eastern philosophy.

"I strive to make images cataloging my experience as if looking underneath rocks for new discoveries just as I did as a young boy. Now, I look underneath moments, thoughts, places. Looking for simplicity within the complexities of our human existence."

...from then until now will feature over 100 works from Barbour's different series, including: a new site-specific installation of unraveling the tapestry, a project based on the concept of memory; liminal echoes, a series about the place of threshold; and nightswimming, a typological study cataloging the energetic signatures within moment, place and time as related to the artist¹s own past struggles with depression. He will also debut a new
series, 519 central ave, and his first video installation, as I was falling I was thinking of you.

Barbour was born and raised in Bassett, Virginia, and graduated from Virginia Tech. He is a nationally exhibited artist who currently resides in Los Angeles.

Works by Carole Bryant will also be on display in the Lynwood Artists Gallery.

A members-only reception will be held in conjunction with these exhibits on Saturday, September 15 from 5 – 7 pm in the Piedmont Arts galleries. Piedmont Arts members and guests are invited to attend. Babysitting is available at this event for $5 per child. Please RSVP attendance here or by calling 276.632.3221 or