The Works: Stuart Robertson’s work shines at Second Street.

Friday 3/4

music

FarAwaySongs. Live music at the indoor tasting room. Free, noon. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwood farmandwinery.com Full Moon Fever. The Richmond-area musicians have a love for learning and performing the music of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. $10-65, 7pm. Pro Re Nata, 6135 Rockfish Gap Tpke., Crozet. prnbrewery.com Luchadora. Appalachian surf trio. $3, 6pm. The Pub at Lake Monticello, 51 Bunker Blvd., Palmyra. lmoa.org Southern Culture on the Skids. Experience the therapeutic powers of foot-stomping, butt-shacking rock ‘n’ roll. $18-20, 8pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com

stage

The Legend of Georgia McBridge. An outrageous, campy, and heartfelt valentine to drag queens, and a celebration of divas and difference. $25-30, 8pm. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. livearts.org

words

Friday Night Writes: A Reading Series for

Emerging Writers. Featuring short stories, poetry, and music. Free, 7pm. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. ndbookshop.com

etc.

Paramount at the Movies Presents: The Big

Lebowski. A hilariously quirky comedy-thriller about bowling, avant-garde art, nihilistic Austrians, and a guy named The Dude. $8, 8pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

Sip & Shop featuring Darling Boutique

and Eastwood Farm and Winery. Purchase a glass of Eastwood wine (21+) to enjoy while shopping Darling Boutique’s curated consignment and artisan products. Free, 5pm. Darling Boutique, 115 First St. S. shop atdarling.com

Saturday 3/5

music

Berto & Vincent. Brunch with lively Latin guitar. Free, 11am. Tavern & Grocery, 333 W. Main St. tavernandgrocery.com Beleza Trio. Samba soul. Free, 6pm. Pro Re Nata Farm Brewery, 6135 Rockfish Gap Tpk., Crozet. prnbrewery.com Sue Harlow. Live music at the indoor tasting room. Free, noon. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarm andwinery.com

stage

The Legend of Georgia McBridge. See listing for Friday, March 4. $25-30, 8pm. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. livearts.org

words

Jennifer Niesslein (Dreadful Sorry). Celebrate the release of Jennifer Niesslein’s new book, Dreadful Sorry: Essays on an American Nostalgia. Free, 7pm. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St. ndbookshop.com

outside

First Saturday Bird Walk. An early morning bird walk with a leader from the Piedmont Virginia Bird Club. Free, 7:30am. Ivy Creek Natural Area, 1780 Earlysville Rd. ivycreek foundation.org

Forged like metal

Stuart Robertson shines in his first solo exhibition

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

“Stuart Robertson: A Suh Wi Dweet” is at Second Street Gallery through March 25.

By Luke Williams

arts@c-ville.com

Despite the chilly February evening, Second Street Gallery was filled with warm energy for the opening of “Stuart Robertson: A Suh Wi Dweet.” The exhibition offers a never-before-seen collection of portraits by Robertson, a Jamaican artist. The patois title translates roughly to “This is How We Do It,” foregrounding Robertson’s love of music, which can be seen—and heard— throughout the show. Created between 2021 and 2022, the vibrant paintings blend figurative and abstract elements to capture intimate moments of Black life.

The artist’s mixed-media paintings render friends and family in a luminous medley of metal, domestic debris, and textiles. Effectively, Black skin is made to shine like bling, emphasizing Robertson’s dedication to a Jamaican and Afro-diasporic dance hall aesthetic. We are prompted to imagine the futuristic possibilities of metallic skin, and to marvel at the technique used to harness upcycled debris into luminous shapes and textures. By reflecting, refracting, and warping the light, these paintings challenge viewers to engage with the importance of the surface and the power of shine.

While Robertson is intentional about the formal and theoretical questions his work proposes, he also values the power of representation. “It’s amazing to receive comments from people who feel uplifted by the work,” he says. “It’s amazing to see the psychological, emotional impact of putting people into things that are valuable and prominent.”

In his work, Robertson celebrates some of the Black folks in Charlottesville who hospitably welcomed him into their community for his first solo exhibition. In “To Derrick, Power Link link Power Figure (2022)” Rob-

“We are invited to admire the beauty of the shine, but we are also prompted to ask why armor is necessary when showing Black

people.”STUART ROBERTSON

ertson uses mixed media to pay homage to Charlottesville-based photographer Derrick Waller in a dazzling array of vibrant paints and cool metallic surfaces. The portrait frames a portion of Waller’s face, forming a contemplative moment between artist and subject. Similarly, “Pree Bee an’ di young G! One hand cyah clap…(2022)” is both an object of celebration and a signal for collaboration to illuminate artist Marley Nichelle, whose exhibition “Ghana to Gullah” catalogs a travel narrative of expert photographs in Second Street’s Dové Gallery. Both pieces topically and materially reflect Charlottesville’s Black arts community, itself full of intricate ability and outstanding energy.

SSG Executive Director and Chief Curator Kristen Chiacchia, who worked closely with Robertson to curate his first solo exhibition, sees great promise in the artist. “I really see his work taking off,” she says. “It’s not only the quality of the work and the great aesthetics…it’s his ethics and his personality. He is true to himself, and when the work is so personal it comes through as an artist.”

“A Suh Wi Dweet” is, above all else, personal. The show softly reflects the care Robertson holds for each of the subjects in his portraits, and it comes through in how thoughtfully he approaches the double-edged sword of Black representation.

Just as the skin of Robertson’s figures glitters like jewelry, it also seeks to protect the wearer from violence. We are invited to admire the beauty of the shine, but we are also prompted to ask why armor is necessary when showing Black people.

It is impossible to see Black portraiture and not think of the endless cycle of Black people killed by the police. (While writing this piece, Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man killed by the police in Minneapolis, is in the headlines.) Their portraits circulate on social media, T-shirts, and murals, creating an interminable association between anti-Black violence and Black portraiture. So while it can be exciting to see more Black folks on the walls in a gallery, the specter of violence looms in the background.

Robertson responds to the often ambivalent position of being seen while being Black by shifting the focus away from the faces of his portraits. He says, “People would be excited and say, ‘Oh, that could be my aunt. That could be my sister. Oh! That’s my mom’ all the while knowing it’s not them.” In this case, the refrain of mistaken identity is meant to celebrate the position of Black people on the gallery’s walls. Yet, nearly 10 years ago to the day, the same sentiment was expressed by President Barack Obama about Trayvon Martin: If I had a son, Obama said, he would look like Trayvon Martin. It is an acknowledgment that Black people, no matter their age, gender, status, or ability, need to be protected from violence.

Seeing these portraits of Black community created within an ethic of care, we are challenged to hold two important values simultaneously: celebration and protection. In “A Suh Wi Dweet,” we are invited to imagine such a community formed in intimate moments like gardening or getting a haircut, but sustained by a cultural resilience forged like metal. When asked how it’s possible to hold two such difficult realities simultaneously, Robertson laughs quietly and shakes his head, smiling as if to reflect the shine of his portraits. A suh wi dweet.