51�鱨վ

On view Dec. 6 - 14
Opening Reception: Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6 - 8 p.m.

Free and open to the public.

The BFA graduating class of fall 2024 presents The Prologue, opening at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Galleries on December 5th from 6 - 8 pm. The show will run from December 6th - 14th. The Prologue encompasses works from 10 artists exploring an array of media and themes:

Jason Agnew is a Photographer and Multimedia Artist, born in Virginia Beach in 2002. His work uses photography, film, and digital manipulation to explore themes of the human experience, identity, American culture, and human nature. His work creates compelling narratives about the romance of the idiosyncrasies of life in America. Agnew is completing his BFA with a major in Photography at 51�鱨վ in December 2024 and plans to pursue residency opportunities after graduation to continue honing his craft.

Peymon Aleagha was born in North Carolina in 2001 and grew up in Suffolk, Virginia. Peymon’s paintings and drawings are primarily narratives based on fantasy and dystopian dreams from childhood. After graduating with a major in painting and drawing, Peymon will pursue his career in illustration, writing books, and commissions. Mya Alexander was born and raised in Hampton, Virginia. Working in acrylic paint and digital media to describe her experience living with ASD, and interest in anime. She will receive her BFA majoring in Painting and Drawing in December of 2024 and plans to pursue a career in digital art commissions.

Kenya Gary was born and raised in Hampton, Virginia in 2001. An interdisciplinary artist graduating this semester, their work addresses themes such as identity through the intersectional lens of a Queer Non-Binary Black Woman in America and the connection between femininity and nature in regard to a shared strength and resilience. Gary’s work has been exhibited in juried exhibitions at the Barry Art Museum and the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries at 51�鱨վ. They are currently living and working in Norfolk, VA and plan to pursue licensure in early art education to teach K-3 youth.

Charles Haines was born in Culpeper, Virginia in 2001. What he describes as a “wonderfully unsupervised” childhood instilled a deep sense of independence found in his work today. His photography focuses on the complexities of personal health and self-reliance while advocating for sustainability and resilience. After completing his BFA in December, Charles will start an organic market garden, putting into practice many of the ideas that inform his work.

Avery Keys was born in Tennessee in 2002 and raised in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. Now living in Norfolk VA, her painting, drawing, and ceramics are informed by childhood experiences growing up with an alcoholic father. She aims to piece together a narrative to create a space of processing and healing for what is too often a shared experience. She will complete her BFA from 51�鱨վ in December and plans to attend graduate school to pursue a career in Art Therapy.

Isabelle Moore was born and raised in Virginia Beach in 1995. Her large scale portraits and still life paintings focus on the people, objects, and events that hold sentimental and symbolic value in her life. These subjects include family members, friends, cultural artifacts, and simple everyday items that have inspired her artistic expression. She will earn her BFA majoring in Painting and Illustration this December, and plans to pursue a career as a freelance artist or concept designer.

Julian Robbins was born in Yokosuka, Japan in 2002 and now resides in Virginia Beach. Since the purchase of his first camera, Julian approaches photography as a means of channeling his feelings of not belonging throughout his adolescence, resulting in a decline in his mental health over the years. As of today, Julian uses his visual language to put a spotlight on mental health, presenting his interior and exterior world to the viewer. Julian will complete a BFA with a major in photography at the University of Old Dominion this upcoming December. Once graduating, Julian plans to relocate and continue his photography career freelancing, while having a day job within the field.

Bryce Ross was born in Philadelphia in 2000 and grew up in Woodbridge, VA. His extensive traveling and exposure to various cultures through sports and other ventures has made him develop a unique and spiritually coordinated outlook on life. Fashion has become of great interest to him as well. Now a multidisciplinary artist, intricate drawings and abstract sculptures have become an extension of his curious creative ethos. Currently residing in Norfolk, VA he will graduate in December, and plans to further explore the world.

Cáelainn Dazie Robertson a visual media artist was born in Bethesda, Maryland in 2001. With oil paints, ceramics, textiles, and found objects, she recontextualizes the identities that sculpt her as an artist and folk practitioner through painting. Her works explore the natural habitat around us and the entangling generational trauma, us as humans inherit and pass to one another. The latest series of pieces she has worked on have discussed matrilinear trauma in her personal life and the emotional and physical complexity of child caretaking within a specific cultural identity. Robertson is completing her BFA with a major in Painting and Drawing and a minor in French. Currently based in Norfolk, she hopes to spend the next several years creating and traveling in and around France before pursuing an MFA.

For more information, please visit  or call the Gordon Galleries at 757-683-6271.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.