‘Duet’ brings works of artist couple together for first time at Staunton Augusta Art Center

The Staunton Augusta Art Center will present “Duet,” a unique and deeply personal exhibition featuring the works of artists David Garratt and Barbara Bernstein.

“Duet” marks the first time the two have ever exhibited their works together. The show will open with a public reception on Friday, August 15 from 5 to 7 p.m.

While Garratt and Bernstein have shared a life devoted to art for decades, “Duet” is their first collaborative exhibition. The show reflects their individual voices while offering a glimpse into the creative exchange between two long-established artists who, until now, have never shown their work side by side.

The exhibition includes paintings, sculpture and furniture by Garratt, alongside collage, drawing and a site-specific installation by Bernstein. Each artist brings a distinct sensibility and body of work to the gallery, yet the show reveals a natural harmony.

Their shared story began at a gallery opening in California, an appropriately artistic beginning for two individuals whose careers have spanned continents and decades. In the years that followed, they exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally, while living in the U.S. and abroad. In spring 2022, they moved to Staunton, where they now live and work.

Garratt is largely self-taught, having apprenticed with sculptor Richard O’Hanlon at the University of California, Berkeley. He has received grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the HK Mellon/Pittsburgh Foundation, and was awarded a residency at the Künstlerhaus in Salzburg, Austria. In 2010, he was one of only two sculptors in Virginia selected for a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship. His work has been shown internationally, including at the Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale in Korea. Most recently, his collage appeared on the cover of “Kingdom,” a poetry collection by Guggenheim Fellow Joe Millar.

Bernstein has an extensive exhibition record and has completed numerous public art commissions throughout the U.S. She has been awarded grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the HK Mellon/Pittsburgh Foundation. Her residencies include the American Academy in Rome, the MacDowell Colony, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Bernstein’s public art installations can be found in Northern Virginia as well as at the Pearce Science Building, The Depot Grill and throughout the Staunton Augusta Art Center building. She is also a published writer and speaker on drawing and the intersection of art and science.

In “Duet,” Garratt’s and Bernstein’s works speak across mediums and decades of experience, inviting viewers to witness both the distinctness and the synchronicity of their creative lives. For two artists who have spent years creating in parallel, the exhibition is a long-anticipated meeting point.

“Duet” is free and open to the public. The Staunton Augusta Art Center is at 20 S. New Street in downtown Staunton.