The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative

Get Involved | Contact & Directions

Gallery Exhibits Archive


Hello There! an installation and sale by Allyson Mellberg and Jeremy Taylor

Public Preview - Friday, Aug. 29th 6-8pm | SALE - Saturday, Aug. 30th, 10am-5pm

hello_there.jpg

Allyson Mellberg and Jeremy Taylor are working artists and JMU professors who have been living in and around the Charlottesville area for the last four years. Allyson and Jeremy’s work can be found at Cinders Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, Lump Gallery in Raleigh, NC, and Cerasoli Gallery in Los Angeles. Their work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at museums and galleries including the Atlanta Contemporary Art Museum, The Rose Museum, SECCA, The Milwaukee Art Museum, The Bayly Art Museum, The Bemis Center, and Third Drawer Down in Victoria, Australia.

The installation and studio sale at the Bridge PAI will feature works on paper, paintings, sculptures, and soft sculptures made within the last five years. As Allyson and Jeremy move into a new (and empty!) studio this fall they are looking to find good homes for their work. All of the pieces will be priced far below their market value; a portion of the proceeds from this show will go to benefit The Bridge PAI. All of Jeremy and Allyson’s work is made using ecologically responsible, recycled, and non-toxic art materials.


Chill Out! Chill Out? I Will Not Chill Out!

October 3rd-28th, with an opening Reception October 3rd.

colin_l.jpg

A Group Show curated by Colin L, featuring artists C.F., Sara Shapouri, Nick Kuszyk, Hillbilly Werewolf, dearraindrop, MOOSEJAW, Deya Ramsden, Shawn Thornton, John Fritz, Tom Hohmann, Sebastion Paulson, Heather Clark, John Erik Lawson, Meghan Eckman, and Thom Klepach.

Bursting from brilliant and battered art-addled brains, noise-damaged ears and hearts distended with love and hubris, this show will present a selection of contemporary art that promises to dazzle and disturb in a way that few art shows still do. The thread that connects these diverse artistic talents is Colin L, a musician/artist/ringleader of tormentors who some locals will remember as co-catalyst, with Usaisamonster bandmate and fellow artist Tom Hohmann, of Charlottesville’s legendary Pudhaus performance space. Colin’s energy and spirit once brought important wandering weirdos together for musical catharsis right here in Charlottesville, and this art show carries the seed of that spirit, gathering many artists whose lives intersected in that space back together for this important show.

The gallery will be crammed with art: video and ephemera that looks back at halcyon Pudhaus days in the small room, a survey of the present and future of brain melt from over 15 contemporary visual artists in the big room, as well as a merch table of prints, zines and music from the whole gang. The October 3rd opening party will also feature a lecture from Philly-based lord-of-flies Brandon Joyce and acoustic noise from Colin L. This will be so beautiful, it is scary.


New Works by Dave Moore and Andy Acquaro

September 5-28, with an opening reception on Friday, September 5

This September, The Bridge will host new works by local painter Dave Moore and local photographer Andy Acquaro.

andycard1.jpg

Read the rest of this entry »


Standard Operating Procedure: photos by Nubar Alexanian

From June 6-29 with Extended Gallery Hours during the Festival of the Photograph

Artist’s Talk at The Bridge on Friday, June 13th at 10am

nubar_alexanian_1.jpg

The Bridge PAI, in association with the Festival of the Photograph, is pleased to present Standard Operating Procedure, an exhibition of photographs by Nubar Alexanian.

The exhibition is the culmination of Alexanian’s ongoing collaboration with director Errol Morris, who he has worked with on the set of Morris’ films Fast, Cheap and Out of Control, Mr. Death, and the First Person series. In Standard Operating Procedure, Alexanian examines the notorious events at Abu Ghraib prison through the eyes of the American soldiers who participated in the abuses of power, and through actors who reenacted and dramatized the troubling events, which have since become indelibly written into our consciousness. Read the rest of this entry »


4th-Year Photography Students from UVa

Opening Receptions on Friday, May 2nd & Friday, May 9th.
For the third year running, The Bridge will host an exhibition of new photographic works from UVA’s graduating class. The exhibits showcase the images of 6 students and will be presented in two parts this May.

The first round, including works by Jamie McCelland, Vincent Mendiola & Uyen-Vi Tran, will open Friday, May 2nd and will be followed by a second exhibition of works by Liz Freer, Cecilia Steele and Jessica Schnittka on Friday May 9th.

The Opening Receptions for both exhibits will be held from 6-9pm at The Bridge on consecutive Fridays.

For photos and descriptions of the work, please read below.

schnittka.jpg Read the rest of this entry »


Steve Kelly / Recent Work

Opening Reception, Friday, April 4th 6-9pm

On display through April 27th, Thu-Sun, 12-3pm or by appointmentsteve_kelly.jpg

The work of St. Louis-based painter Steve Kelly explores the collision between the natural world and the so-called human world. His paintings explore the absurdity of that distinction. These playful and vibrant pictures coax viewers to look more closely at their connection and impact on the natural world and their relationship to it. His paintings will be shown at The Bridge from April 4th -27th, with an opening reception on Friday, April 4th. Read the rest of this entry »


The Bridge will be closed for Renovations

March 1 - 11
kevin_renovation.JPG

Our gallery space at 209 Monticello Rd. will be closed for the beginning of March for renovations — don’t worry, it’s nothing drastic, we’re just putting up some new walls and fixing a small leak.

We’ll re-open on the 13th with another cakes’n'ale performance; look forward to more exciting events happening at The Bridge and elsewhere in March.


The Generations Project

Thursdays-Sundays, 12-3pm (or by appointment), February 1-24

dsc_0181.jpg

Throughout the fall of 2007, The Bridge PAI hosted an intergenerational photography and audio documentary workshop called Generations.

Six high school students were selected to take part in a three-month workshop that paired them with senior citizens in nursing homes. The objective was for the students to listen and learn about the lives of the seniors, and to document their experience and stories through photographic and audio media. The workshop included weekly visiting sessions between the students and seniors, and editing meetings at The Bridge.

There will be an exhibition of their work at The Bridge, beginning with a guest reception on Friday, February 1 from 6-8 pm; the work will remain up throughout the month. Read the rest of this entry »


Audio January: Mac i

Saturday, January 20 - Sunday, January 27, 12-3pm

mac_i1.jpgJennifer Deer is an audio producer and graduate student living in Durham. Her work for radio has been heard on such nationally syndicated programs as NPR’s Day to Day and Weekend America, and she is the co-curator of Big Shed. Her Mac i installation will be an audio environment with video.


Audio January: ItSpace

Saturday, January 20th - Sunday, January 27th, 12 to 3pm

itspace1.jpgPeter Traub presents a series of short peices made from recordings of various objects around the artist’s house. The pieces exist on individual webpages, similar to the MySpace social networking site; this installation will bring ItSpace into the physical domain in the form of photographs of the objects, each accompanied by a button. Each button will trigger a several-minute-long generative composition based on that object; visitors to the gallery will be able to trigger multiple objects simultaneously, mixing sounds to create new and unique compositions.