VMFA’s Lake Elster and Beyond Exhibition Opens at RIC

RICHMOND, Virginia (February 8, 2016)

An exhibition of photographs by Virginia-based artist William Connally, called “Lake Elster and Beyond,” opens today at Richmond International Airport (RIC). The show will be on view in the first level of the terminal through July 2016.

Like short stories in a collection, each photograph in this series is a portrait of a character in transition as recounted by an unreliable narrator and resident of Lake Elster, Wade Lagarde. The objects in the photographs allude to stories and act as attributes of, or symbols for, characters who are physically absent from the images. The inclusion of flat, stage-like painted elements heightens the fictional nature of the narrative and questions the believability in the photographs. The original stories contained in the images, as remembered by Wade, get further distorted with each new interpretation.

Connally lives in Richmond, Virginia, where he teaches art at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), and is the recipient of a 2013 VMFA Professional Fellowship in Photography.

2015 marked the 75th anniversary of VMFA’s Fellowship Program. This exhibition is a celebration not only of this landmark but also a celebration of this selected VMFA fellow who has made impressive contributions to the arts in Virginia.

About Richmond International Airport (RIC)
Richmond International Airport (RIC) is one of the most modern, well-equipped airports in the eastern United States, offering nonstop flights to major domestic destinations and connecting service to points around the globe. More than three million passengers and 100 million pounds of cargo travel through RIC annually, utilizing more than 100,000 square feet of warehouse/office space and 1,000,000 square feet of ramp space. For more information, please visit www.flyrichmond.com.

About the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)
With a collection of art that spans the globe and more than 5,000 years, plus a wide array of special exhibitions, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is recognized as one of the top comprehensive art museums in the United States. The museum’s permanent collection encompasses more than 23,000 works of art, including the largest public collection of Fabergé outside Russia and one of the nation’s finest collections of American Art, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. VMFA is home to acclaimed collections of English Silver and Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, British Sporting and Modern & Contemporary art, as well as renowned South Asian, Himalayan and African art. In May 2010, VMFA opened its doors to the public after a transformative expansion, the largest in its 75-year history. Programs include educational activities and studio classes for all ages, plus fun after-hours events. VMFA’s Statewide Partnership program includes traveling exhibitions, artist and teacher workshops, and lectures across the Commonwealth. VMFA is open 365 days a year and general admission is always free. For additional information, visit www.vmfa.museum.

CONTACTS:

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Jenny Harding
(804) 204-2685
jenny.harding@VMFA.museum

Richmond International Airport
Troy M. Bell, C.M.
(804) 226-3022
tbell@flyrichmond.com

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