Harrisonburg: Smith House Galleries to open two new exhibitions during First Fridays

An opening reception will be held for two new art exhibitions at Smith House Galleries on Aug. 2 during First Fridays of the Valley.

The reception will be held from 5-7 p.m. and will feature both artists, light refreshments and live music.

The new exhibits include:

• Whimseys by Judith Anderson, features collage and oil/cold wax paintings
• Vycinanka. Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Volha Palunisa, includes collage, mixed media, and vycinanka – Belarusian traditional paper cut

Anderson has been a high school English teacher, a television journalist and an attorney, but her first love has always been art. After retiring from her law practice in 2001, Anderson began to devote more time to painting taking courses at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Visual Arts Center in Richmond and participating in Nimrod Hall Art Camp in Bath County. Anderson was an active member of Artspace, serving as president for two years and maintains a wall at Crossroads Art Center in Richmond. Anderson’s oil paintings have variously been generated en plein air, inspired by trains and influenced by vintage photos. Most recently, Anderson has enjoyed experimenting with imaginative composite images, abstract paintings she affectionately calls Whimseys.

Born in Maladechna, Belarus, Palunisa graduated from Restoration and Art School in Mir and Yanka Kupala University in Hrodna, where she specialized in teaching fine arts, drawing and national and world culture. In 1997, she joined the Belarusian Union of Masters of Folk Art. During this time, she was a republican scholar in the field of culture and art and received the honorary title of People’s Master. Palunisa authored the practical manual “My vycinanka,” printed postcards and calendars, metaphoric cards and artistic sketches of vycinanka for various fields from graffiti to embroidery on clothing. She has participated in national and international exhibitions, competitions, seminars and symposiums and is the founder of the first museum of vycinanka in Belarus. Since 2020, she has been a member of the Guild of American Papercutters.

Both exhibitions run through Aug. 30. The gallery is open Monday-Friday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on the Second Saturday, Aug. 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Smith House Galleries is located at 311 S. Main St. in Harrisonburg.

The exhibitions will also be available online.