Gordon Galleries Past Seasons

2022 - 2023 Season

ALLiGATER HELLHOUND

On view Aug. 30 – Dec. 17

This exhibition features selections from hundreds of self-taught artworks in the permanent collection of the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries. With many works made from found and repurposed materials, and with their visual commentary on communities and the hellish costs of social ills, they support the theme of sustainability—social, environmental, and economic—during ODU’s themed semester this fall. The exhibition likewise includes several candidates for future display across campus as public art.

Accompanying the 50 artworks on view are selections of folk and traditional music reflecting communities in areas where the artists have lived and worked. Social inequality and civil rights, spirituality, celebration and poverty, love and death, and longing and protest all are part of the everyday lives expressed here through sight and sound.


DesignHer: Works by Contemporary Women Graphic Designers

On view Aug. 30 – Nov. 12

DesignHer is an exhibition of contemporary graphic design focusing on women practitioners. Highlighting how women have been at the forefront of defining and challenging the conceptions of design, the exhibition presents a sampling of the various purposes design is put to in our culture and the motivations that prompted its use. Participants range from younger artists building a reputation to internationally renowned leaders in the discipline, and works range from individually crafted objects to mass media campaigns.

Nothing to See Here

On View Dec. 2-17, 2022

Nothing to See Here features works by students graduating from the Art Department of Old Dominion University. The show represents engagement with emotions relating to nostalgia, history, and identity, and the disciplines spotlight drawing and design, print and photo media, painting, and 3D media. Featured artists include Kate Bradley, Kayla Cochran, Ray DeJesus, Dottie French, Alison Miller, Jedara Reyes, Mackenzie Shreves, Brenden Thompson, and Ashlee Webb. Students will give a gallery talk during the reception.

Sam Bartlett: Low Stakes, Plywood Cutouts & Everyday Comix

On View Feb. 3 - May 6, 2023

Sam Bartlett is an American folk artist, public-art instigator, cartoonist, performer, musician, and composer. 

As an artist, Sam specializes in painting and cutting sculptures from salvaged wood. He derives inspiration from the naturally low stakes involved in using free materials. 

Sam does virtually no planning or sketching for his artwork, preferring to try to harness the energy of a first take. Common themes in his work include complex physical relationships between people, things on top of other things, things being bitten and eaten, old-time and Irish music communities, and mortality. He has been strongly influenced by artists Peter Schumann, Howard Finster, and Gustav Vigeland.

2023 Juried Student Exhibition

On view Mar. 3 – Apr. 8, 2023

In this exhibition of ODU’s art students, we can see the attention to material, a sensitivity towards ecology, and complex emotional registers. These works spin thread lines that tie to one another, engaging ideas of the self, environment, memories, commodities, shared anxieties, and longings. The work is looking outward at the broader world yet mediated through unique perspectives. Through this extreme interiority, we can see a sort of ‘entangled precarity.’ This phrase coined by anthropologist Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing explains the “open-ended assemblages of entangled ways of life” and particularly, the many ways we as humans live in vulnerability with one another and with non-human species. Chaos ensues all around us, evidenced by the extreme changes of climate, animal extinctions, and further spurned on by free-market capitalism. What we find despite these uncertainties is not a fragility, but a self-assertion. There is power in being vulnerable with each other. We can connect and create our own webs and networks of support the way these artists have done. These works seem to converse amongst themselves. In what ways do they speak to you?

– Chelsea Pierce, Juror & McKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Chrysler Museum of Art

Spring 2023 Senior Exhibition: Liminality

On View April 28 - May 6

The Baron and Ellin Gordon Galleries present Liminality, an exhibition of works by the spring 2023 candidates for Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees at Old Dominion University.

Liminality refers to a transition between two states. We stand at the threshold of our professional careers and reflect not only on our education but the uncertainty of both art and humanity. As we envision our futures as artists, we invite viewers to enter this space and experience our impressions of the world.

Featuring ceramics, fibers, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and video, by participating artists including:

  • Kweku Asafu-Adjaye
  • Rianna Chaney
  • Tyarria Duncan
  • Danielle Guertler
  • Kim Hardy
  • Gabriel Harris
  • Carr Knight
  • Heather Mitcham
  • Harrison Parker
  • Amber Pierce
  • Victoria Risbon
  • Paris Rose-Coleman
  • Sarah Thompson
  • Fredrick Towler
  • Joey Volpone
  • Ann-Claire Wood

Follow @liminality23 on Instagram for artist previews and information on upcoming events.

ALLiGATER HELLHOUND

On view Aug. 30 – Dec. 17

This exhibition features selections from hundreds of self-taught artworks in the permanent collection of the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries. With many works made from found and repurposed materials, and with their visual commentary on communities and the hellish costs of social ills, they support the theme of sustainability—social, environmental, and economic—during ODU’s themed semester this fall. The exhibition likewise includes several candidates for future display across campus as public art.

Accompanying the 50 artworks on view are selections of folk and traditional music reflecting communities in areas where the artists have lived and worked. Social inequality and civil rights, spirituality, celebration and poverty, love and death, and longing and protest all are part of the everyday lives expressed here through sight and sound.


DesignHer: Works by Contemporary Women Graphic Designers

On view Aug. 30 – Nov. 12

DesignHer is an exhibition of contemporary graphic design focusing on women practitioners. Highlighting how women have been at the forefront of defining and challenging the conceptions of design, the exhibition presents a sampling of the various purposes design is put to in our culture and the motivations that prompted its use. Participants range from younger artists building a reputation to internationally renowned leaders in the discipline, and works range from individually crafted objects to mass media campaigns.

Nothing to See Here

On View Dec. 2-17, 2022

Nothing to See Here features works by students graduating from the Art Department of Old Dominion University. The show represents engagement with emotions relating to nostalgia, history, and identity, and the disciplines spotlight drawing and design, print and photo media, painting, and 3D media. Featured artists include Kate Bradley, Kayla Cochran, Ray DeJesus, Dottie French, Alison Miller, Jedara Reyes, Mackenzie Shreves, Brenden Thompson, and Ashlee Webb. Students will give a gallery talk during the reception.

Sam Bartlett: Low Stakes, Plywood Cutouts & Everyday Comix

On View Feb. 3 - May 6, 2023

Sam Bartlett is an American folk artist, public-art instigator, cartoonist, performer, musician, and composer. 

As an artist, Sam specializes in painting and cutting sculptures from salvaged wood. He derives inspiration from the naturally low stakes involved in using free materials. 

Sam does virtually no planning or sketching for his artwork, preferring to try to harness the energy of a first take. Common themes in his work include complex physical relationships between people, things on top of other things, things being bitten and eaten, old-time and Irish music communities, and mortality. He has been strongly influenced by artists Peter Schumann, Howard Finster, and Gustav Vigeland.

2023 Juried Student Exhibition

On view Mar. 3 – Apr. 8, 2023

In this exhibition of ODU’s art students, we can see the attention to material, a sensitivity towards ecology, and complex emotional registers. These works spin thread lines that tie to one another, engaging ideas of the self, environment, memories, commodities, shared anxieties, and longings. The work is looking outward at the broader world yet mediated through unique perspectives. Through this extreme interiority, we can see a sort of ‘entangled precarity.’ This phrase coined by anthropologist Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing explains the “open-ended assemblages of entangled ways of life” and particularly, the many ways we as humans live in vulnerability with one another and with non-human species. Chaos ensues all around us, evidenced by the extreme changes of climate, animal extinctions, and further spurned on by free-market capitalism. What we find despite these uncertainties is not a fragility, but a self-assertion. There is power in being vulnerable with each other. We can connect and create our own webs and networks of support the way these artists have done. These works seem to converse amongst themselves. In what ways do they speak to you?

– Chelsea Pierce, Juror & McKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Chrysler Museum of Art

Spring 2023 Senior Exhibition: Liminality

On View April 28 - May 6

The Baron and Ellin Gordon Galleries present Liminality, an exhibition of works by the spring 2023 candidates for Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees at Old Dominion University.

Liminality refers to a transition between two states. We stand at the threshold of our professional careers and reflect not only on our education but the uncertainty of both art and humanity. As we envision our futures as artists, we invite viewers to enter this space and experience our impressions of the world.

Featuring ceramics, fibers, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and video, by participating artists including:

  • Kweku Asafu-Adjaye
  • Rianna Chaney
  • Tyarria Duncan
  • Danielle Guertler
  • Kim Hardy
  • Gabriel Harris
  • Carr Knight
  • Heather Mitcham
  • Harrison Parker
  • Amber Pierce
  • Victoria Risbon
  • Paris Rose-Coleman
  • Sarah Thompson
  • Fredrick Towler
  • Joey Volpone
  • Ann-Claire Wood

Follow @liminality23 on Instagram for artist previews and information on upcoming events.

  • Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow
  • Betwixt Intermixed / Luminescent Effervescant Iridescent / Tandem and ‘tween
  • Sauce: The 2021 ODU Arts Alumni Exhibition
  • OTW IRL: The Fall 2021 Senior Exhibition
  • Art from Guantanamo Bay
  • TGIF2F: The 2022 ODU Art Department Faculty Exhibition
  • 2022 Juried Student Exhibition
  • Best If Used By: The Spring 2022 Senior Exhibition

  • Jennifer Little: Divided States of America
  • Alone|Together: Fall 2020 Senior Exhibition
  • Andy Harris: Bikes, Brands, Words, and Wheels
  • 2021 Juried Student Exhibition
  • Sanguine: Spring 2021 Senior Exhibition

  • Geometric Aljamía: A Cultural Transliteration
  • Recent Acquisitions: Works by Yuki Hiyama
  • The 22nd Annual Banjo Gathering
  • Let Them Eat Cake: A Second Helping
  • Eye to Eye: ODU Portraits by Glen McClure
  • Fall Senior Exhibition
  • To Life! Works by Lorraine Fink
  • Juried Student Exhibition
  • Graphic Design Exit Review
  • Spring Senior Exhibition

  • Art Department Faculty Exhibition
  • Black Gods of the Metropolis: The Drawings of J. Alan Cumbey
  • Shift, Sift, Swoosh Bods: Levester Williams
  • Fall Senior Exhibition
  • Drifter History: Works by Chris Mahonski
  • Juried Student Exhibition
  • Graphic Design Exit Review
  • Spring Senior Exhibition
  • Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Artmobile
  • Banksy's Haight Street Rat
  • Graphic Design Exit Review

  • Antiquary: Works by Morgan Herrin
  • The Art of Trains
  • Transit: The Art of Revelation in the Paintings of Susanna Coffey
  • Fall Senior Exhibition
  • Flux: Works by Colleen Toledano
  • The Jules Olitski Project
  • Graphic Design Exit Review
  • Spring Senior Exhibition
  • Juried Student Exhibition

  • Encore: Alumni Exhibition
  • PRESSing Matters: Cross-Collaborations and Explorations in Literature, Art, and Politics, in conjunction with the 39th Annual Literary Festival: Strange Bedfellow: Politics and Literature
  • Landscapes of the Collector: The Best of the Baron and Ellin Gordon Collection of Self-Taught Art
  • Affairs of State: Photography by Tim Davis and Michael Mergen
  • Fall Senior Exhibition
  • Continuum: Works by Anne Smith, Melissa Hill, and Sarah Irvin
  • Broken Land | Still Lives: Eliot Dudik
  • Graphic Design Exit Review
  • Spring Senior Exhibition
  • Glass &
  • Juried Student Exhibition

  • Faculty Exhibition
  • Canvas of My Soul: Paño Drawings by Chicano Prisoners
  • House not a Home: An Installation by John W. Ford
  • The Orthodox Icon: A Variety of Ways to Depict a Sacred Image
  • Fall Senior Exhibition
  • Water Stories: Conversations in Paint and Sound - Paintings by Anne Neely, Soundscape by Halsey Burgund
  • Juried Student Exhibition
  • Shakespeare and the Americas: A Look Back to the World of "The Tempest"
  • The Art of Derek Webster: Selections from the Marilyn Houlberg Collection
  • Graphic Design Exit Review
  • Spring Senior Exhibition
  • Slavocracy

  • Borderland: Works by Kent Michael Smith
  • Food, Family, and Feelings in the Book of Sarah: The Visual Autobiography of Sarah Lightman, in conjunction with the 37th Annual Literary Festival: The Hungry Heart is Telling You
  • Out of the Vault: Seldom-Seen and Unseen Treasures from the Self-Taught Collection
  • Shaped Polarities: Works by Fiona Ross and Alan Rosenbaum
  • Fall Senior Exhibition
  • The World Outside
  • Visions of the Sacred and the Profane
  • Juried Student Exhibition
  • Spring Senior Exhibition
  • Passerby: An A.B. Jackson Retrospective
  • Summer Senior Exhibition

2013 - 2014

  • The Big Story: The Art of Levent Isik, Ronald Sloan and Derek Webster
  • Kindred Spirits: ODU Art Faculty in collaboration with the Chrysler Museum of Art
  • Fall Senior Exhibition
  • Between Lagan and Derelict: Sculpture by David McQueen
  • Fire and the Resurrection of Mr. Imagination
  • Juried Student Exhibition
  • Spring Senior Exhibition
  • Adjunct Faculty Exhibition
  • Unclassified: The Military Kid Art Show
  • Summer Senior Exhibition

2012 - 2013

  • The Combat Paper Project
  • Mother, Maiden, Courtesan: Woman and Her Image in Art
  • Photographs With Teeth, in conjunction with the 35th Annual Literary Festival: Words With Teeth
  • East/West: A Survey of Contemporary Printmaking
  • Fall Senior Exhibition: XVI
  • David Page: God and Lunchmeat
  • Monumental Ideas in Miniature Books
  • The Big Story: Work by Levent Isik, Ronald Sloan, and Derek Webster
  • Juried Student Exhibition
  • Mount
  • Spring Senior Exhibition: Amalgamation
  • Making and Meaning: ODU Art Department and Chrysler Museum Collaboration

2011 - 2012

  • Into the Mainstream: Chrysler Museum Collaboration
  • Lebende Bilder: New Photography by Yola Monakhov
  • Faculty Exhibtion
  • Katie Hudnall: The Texture of Imperfection
  • Issues of Style in Self-Taught Art
  • Fall Senior Exhibition: Spectrum
  • Juried Student Exhibition
  • 30 Americans
  • The Face of the Ghetto: Pictures of Jewish Photographers from Lodz Ghetto 1940 - 1944
  • Andrew Breitenberg: SELAH

2010 - 2011

  • Robert McCullough: A Retrospective Exhibition
  • Lori Nix: The City and Other Stories
  • War: Armed Conflict and its Legacy in Contemporary Self-Taught Art
  • The Green Canvas: The Artist as an Environmental Activist - Posters by Hoseob Yoon
  • "Magic Dirt" National Juried Exhibition
  • Big Print Show
  • Self-Taught Artist in Context: Influences of American Culture
  • Juried Student Exhibition
  • Beyond the Veil: New Work by Domenica Arcuri Webb
  • Now and Zen: Recent Work by Lorraine Fink and Janet Shaughnessy

2009 - 2010

  • Michel Ryan: On the Road at the Water's Edge
  • Faculty Exhibition
  • Wild Things: The Outrageous, Wonderful, Hilarious, and Untamed
  • Dormitorium: An Exhibition of Film Decors by the Quay Brothers
  • Recent Acquisitions
  • String Monuments: An Installation by Annette Lawrence
  • Margo Blank
  • Repurposes
  • Book of Daniel
  • Juried Student Exhibition
  • One Hundred Birds in Homage to the Phoenix: Chinese Screen

2008 - 2009

  • Stories from the Earth: Voices of Contemporary Ceramic Artists
  • Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States
  • Uncommon Power: The Eye of the Self-Taught Artist
  • Stefan Sagmeister
  • Graduate Student Thesis Exhibition
  • Tannaz Farsi: Echomaker
  • Nikki Blair: Recent Works
  • In-Depth: The Hand of the Self-Taught Artist
  • World War II International Posters
  • Juried Student Exhibition
  • Jogakbo: Traditional Korean Patchwork
  • Vetri//Alt: Glass Alternatives

2007 - 2008

  • Faculty Exhibition
  • Collective Wisdom
  • Stephen Cartwright: Perigree
  • Greta Pratt: American Identity
  • Kenneth FitzGerald: The Kenneth FitzGerald Album (Extended Play)
  • First Annual Juried Student Exhibition
  • Virginia Governor's School Exhibition
  • Origins: Select Paintings by Fay Zetlin