I’ve heard about this upcoming exhibit, “Inside | Out” by Gibby Waitzkin, in Floyd County’s Sarvisberry Studio & Gallery, from a couple of sources. Here’s the official press release.

'Madonna and Child' by Gibby Waitzkin

Saturday, November 20th will be the exhibition opening at Sarvisberry Studio & Gallery of “Inside | Out,” new work by local artist, Gibby Waitzkin. The gallery is located 9 miles from downtown Floyd off Fairview Church Rd. The two-story Sarvisberry gallery has been transformed. Gibby’s new work transforms the gallery evoking the illusion of a gritty urban courtyard and warehouse, stunningly and surprisingly encountered in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Inside Out installation showcases a series of thirty-six sepia-toned photographs mostly taken during Gibby’s mid-70s graduate work in photography and printmaking. Decades later, these photographs are being exhibited for the first time.

The images, printed on Gibby’s handmade paper, are at once classical and surreal, whimsical and realistic. Looking through the salvaged framing, the viewer is unsure: Am I outside looking in? Am I inside looking out? What emerges are glimpses into the subjects’ most intimate moments exquisitely and evocatively captured. Gibby’s new work reaches out beyond the frames and glass drawing the viewer into the intimate moment. Inside Out explores the changing nature of home and environment by encompassing more than the art itself – incorporating the space that the work occupies, changing the environment and the viewer.

The work of creating the handmade paper on which the photographs are printed is done at the studio /gallery, here Gibby grows and harvests the plant fibers which she then shreds, cooks and beats to prepare her brand of handmade paper. Each piece is framed in locally acquired salvaged doors, windows and ironwork, creating a lens through which the viewer is given access to this environment. The use of these objects also highlights the artist’s commitment to sustainable use of materials and the importance of her own local community. Gallery will also be open November 26th and 27th the weekend of the 16 hands open studio tour. The exhibition will be on display at Sarvisberry Gallery and Studio through March 31, 2011, please call for an appointment to view the work (540) 745-6330 or email at gibby@sarvisberry.com . Gibby’s work is regularly shown at Troika – Contemporary Craft Galley in the town of Floyd, Virginia.