Visual Arts

The Gallery in the Viar-Christ Center for the Arts houses one major exhibition each semester of the academic year and supports the educational goals of the Visual Art program, the Fine Arts Department, and Hampden-Sydney College. Exhibitions include work of visiting artists, faculty, and students.

Newly Renovated Facilities for Visual Arts

• Painting Studio
• Design Studio
• Drawing Studio
• Gallery
• Mac Lab with Photoshop CC,Epson printers, and scanners
• "Wet" photography darkroom with multiple format Beseler enlargers, film changing rooms, and film development room
• Photography classroom and studio with hot lights and strobes
• Seminar and print and drawing storage and study

The requirement for a major in Visual Arts is a minimum of 34 hours, to include: Visual Arts 200, 202, 220, 498, 499. Five classes from the following: Visual Arts 221, 222, 223, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 361, 423, Theatre 401. Two additional classes from the following: Visual Arts 201, 204, 205, 208, 210, 360, Philosophy 218. Note: Visual Arts 360 and 361 are courses that may be taken more than once for credit, as the topic rotates.

Students interested in majoring in the Visual Arts should meet with the Visual Arts faculty before or during their sophomore year to devise a course of study. They are strongly encouraged to complete VISU 220 before the end of their sophomore year and VISU 200 and VISU 202 before the end of their junior year. The Visual Arts Division of the Fine Arts Department must approve Visual Arts courses taken at other institutions and presented for major credit.

The requirements for a minor in the Visual Arts are 15 credit hours from the Visual Arts courses listed below, including at least one studio, one lecture, and two 300-level courses. Lecture courses should be chosen from the following: Visual Arts 200, 201, 202, 204, 205, 208, 210, 360. Studio courses should be chosen from the following: Visual Arts 220, 221, 222, 223, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 361, 423.

updated 8/30/22

Each semester, all art history classes go to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.

2022-23

Ray Kleinlein—a Painting Exhibition
October 18-December 2, 2022 | 9 AM-4:30 PM
Professor Ray Kleinlein is currently teaching art at Hampden-Sydney College. His award-winning paintings are in hundreds of corporate and private collections throughout the world and in several museum collections in the United States. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the country and at art fairs such as Art Chicago and Art Miami.

2021-22

Glimpses—Photographic Processes and Techniques
February 17 - April 1, 2022
The show coincides with American Photography, a course taught by Pam Fox. It includes examples of photograms, cyanotypes, daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, albumen prints, silver prints, lanternslides, cameras, halftones, and photogravures. Artists include Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, Frank Gohlke, Willie Anne Wright, Pam Fox, alumni, and students.

Fall Student Art Exhibit
December 6-11, 2021 | 8:30 AM-5 PM
Student research talk: Joseph Kelly ’22: Queer Art in the Contemporary World | 6 pm
With works from Art and Ecology, Seeing with the Camera, and Digital Photography classes

Brian Grogan: Documenting the Cultural Landscape
October 14 – November 23 | M-F, 8:30 AM – 5 PM
For more than thirty years, Brian Grogan has engaged in photographic documentation of historic sites and landscapes independently and for the National Parks Service. He shares a representative sample of his work at The Gallery in Brinkley Hall this semester, including views of Hampden-Sydney College, of which he is a 1973 graduate.

The Visual Arts Department is part of the Fine Arts Department at Hampden-Sydney.