It’s not in the Richmond region, but it’s worth the drive and it’s currently featuring Richmond region artists. It’s Chroma Projects Art Laboratory – a two-year-old gallery in Charlottesville’s downtown mall. I was there on December’s First Friday (12/2/12) to see artworks by 15 members of the Richmond-based ONE/OFF Professional Printmakers.

That exhibition is in Chroma’s entrance gallery and is spectacular, but an added treat is Chroma’s collection of other artworks and artists in its warren of rooms and hallways and sub-level spaces. My favorite piece is one of the smallest: a tiny oil canvas, perhaps 6x7 inches, by Robin Braun, that depicts a subtly rich sky and sea traversed by one dark wave – almost like one of those blurry photos of Scotland’s supposed Nessie. I looked at that little painting a long time, and I think I could live with it. In a way it’s like the 22x28-inch painting that’s above my office computer: a simple treescape traversed by a subtly dark passageway. It’s by Kihohito Hihara - one of my Georgia students from 30 years ago – and it continues to provide me with daily fresh intrigue.