Smith House Galleries opens three photography exhibitions with April 1 reception

Arts Council of the Valley will exhibit work by three area photographers – Bob Adamek, Greg Versen and Cara Walton – next month.

The Smith House Galleries exhibitions open with a reception, sponsored by King Photo, during First Fridays of the Valley, April 1, 5-7 p.m.

April exhibitions are:

• Wildlife: An Intimate Portrait by Bob Adamek
• Water: Its Iterations and Locations by Greg Versen
• The Danse Macabre by Cara Walton All three exhibitions run through April 29, with in-person visits Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The galleries will also be open Second Saturday (April 9) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A virtual album for each exhibition will also be available at valleyarts.org/current-exhibition.

Smith House Galleries is supported in part by ACV’s 2022 Cultivating the Arts Platinum Sponsors Kathy Moran Wealth Group, Matchbox Realty, and Riner Rentals.

Adamek, known locally for his work at James Madison University and Harrisonburg City Public Schools, started a journey into wildlife photography several years ago.

“I want to bring subjects of the natural world closer for people to see, in the most artistic way possible. he explained. “That will allow for the discovery of nature’s intricacy and inspire an emotional connection to that world. It is hard to beat watching the natural world wake up with a camera in your hand.”

A Mississippi native, Versen is an award-winning photographer who has taken thousands of images over 50 years.

“I have come to appreciate the power of the photograph,” Versen said. “It becomes a time machine that can instantly transport one to a time and place years distant. It can be a precious gift given to a loved one. It becomes a recording of one’s life and the world in which one lives.”

Walton explained her exhibited work: “In a life before COVID-19, I was teaching about the Bubonic Plague and its impact on medieval art, how there was so much death that it came to be felt in the art and culture of the era. This genre became known as The Danse Macabre, or the Dance with Death.

“I thought it would be interesting to put a modern twist on this ancient idea,” she added. “I had friends volunteer for hours of makeup and I photographed them as Death in various scenarios, some funny and others less so. As a student and teacher of history, it has been fascinating and horrifying watching the parallels between this ancient plague and our modern one. I wonder if our modern version will inspire its own genre of art.”