About Krista

Bio

Krista graduated in 1994 from The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Arts focusing on painting and biology. She then studies for two years at an atelier, The Schuler School of Fine Arts, in Baltimore, MD. In 1998, she earned her Master of Arts from the Johns Hopkins University in Medical and Biological Illustration. After establishing herself as a medical illustrator, she returned to painting and studied with painters at The Art League School in Alexandria, VA and completed a yearlong apprenticeship with portrait and landscape painter, Edward Reed. In 2007 she moved to Charlottesville, VA and began showing her work in Virginia and Washington, DC. Her work has entered many private and public collections including the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University, University of Virginia Medical Center, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System, Martha Jefferson Hospital, The Country Club of Virginia, and more. 

Statement

My paintings are about my gratitude for nature. I take almost daily walks through my neighborhood and the mountains of central Virginia. I look at the gardens, shrubs, and trees in neighbor’s yards, at publicly maintained trails in the woods, and at my friend’s carefully curated wildflower meadow. I absorb and am soothed by the beauty and allure of nature. But I also question whose gardens are these? Humans don’t own nature as much as we stake our claim on plots of land. Humans can’t really control nature either, though we try. My favorite gardens are always the ones where the human who created it has lost control of it. The tangle of vines and sticks merge with flowers and grasses. The persistence of nature thrills and reassures me. In the end, she will win this game.

I believe that it’s not only our responsibility to tend to nature but our only option. On a personal and global level, working with nature is our path to longevity and survival. Not only does nature’s beauty bring personal joy and mental health, nature’s generosity feeds and supports physical health. To continue this symbiotic relationship, we have a responsibility to nurture her as much as she does us. And as I pause in awe and gratitude, I hope that my work encourages the same of my viewer.

On my walks, I document my experience with photography, then back in my studio, I put together compositions that explore these concepts. I find the most exciting part in a painting to be the dark recesses between the beautiful flowers or blades of grass. It’s not only where the painting begins by looking at the negative space between objects, but it’s the wonderment of what is in there. Whose home is that? Whose garden am I painting? I think about the ground and earth, the organic and inorganic that supports the lives of the plants, insects, birds, other mammals, and us.

My compositions focus closely on the plants and ground, zooming in on nature so that she dominates the canvas. I aim to demonstrate the power of nature to consume the space and continue to grow, to not be controlled. Nature pushes back and shows us that this garden does not belong to us.

Gallery Representation

CV

b. 1972 Augusta, ME
Lives and works in Charlottesville, VA

Solo Exhibitions

Understory with Nikki Hare, Phaeton Gallery, Charlottesville, VA, scheduled for March 2025

Big Wonder, Glavé Kocen, Richmond, VA, 2022

Second Nature, Phaeton Gallery, Charlottesville, VA, 2022

Small Wonder, Glavé Kocen, Richmond, VA, 2022

The Art of Being a Hero, Beverly Street Studio School Gallery, Staunton, VA, 2020

The Art of Being a Hero, Oxeye Vineyard, Staunton, VA, 2020

The Art of Being a Hero, McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA, 2019

Immersion, Glavé Kocen Gallery, Richmond, VA, 2018

The Virginia Landscape, The National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 2018

New Works, Glavé Kocen Gallery, Richmond, VA, 2016

Bridges, New City Arts Initiative, WVTF and Radio IQ Studio Gallery, Charlottesville, VA, 2016

New Works, Rick’s Custom Frame and Gallery, Richmond, VA, 2014

Urban Landscape, Angelo, Charlottesville, VA, 2014

The Figure, Derrier De Soie, Charlottesville, VA, 2013

Paintings, The Art Box, Crozet, VA, 2013

The Virginia Landscape, The National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 2012

Over The Moon Bookstore & Artisan Gallery, Crozet, VA, 2010

Select Group Exhibitions

Nichols Gallery, Barboursville, VA, scheduled for September - October 2024

Group 6, McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA, 2023

Seven Contemporary Women Artists, Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University in Roanoke, VA, 2022

The Academy Center of the Arts 2022 National Juried Art Exhibition, Lynchburg, VA, 2022
Juried by Janly Jaggard

Turn on the Light, Les Yeux du Monde, Charlottesville, VA, 2022

PANDEMONIUM! Postcards from the Edge, Chroma/Vault Virginia, Charlottesville , VA, 2021
Curated by Sarah Sargent

Homeward Bound, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA, 2021
Juried by Nandini Makrandi, 2021

Teeny Tiny Trifecta, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA, 2018 - 2023
Curated by Kristen Chiacchia

John Henley Photography Exhibit with John Henley, Glavé Kocen Gallery, Richmond, VA, 2020

Face-to-Face, The Bridge, PAI, Charlottesville, VA, Juried show, 2020

She’s In Monochrome, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA, 2020
Curated by Kristen Chiacchia

Pop-up at Carpediem, Charlottesville, VA, 2019

Configuration, Glavé Kocen Gallery, Richmond, VA, 2019 

Landscape Re-Imagined, Les Yeux du Monde, Charlottesville, VA, 2019

The Pond, Glavé Kocen Gallery, Richmond, VA, 2018 

Summer in the City, Glavé Kocen Gallery, Richmond, VA, 2018  

Riverviews Annual Juried Art Show, Lynchburg VA, 2017
Juried by Marta Staudinger

Current Art Fair, Richmond, VA, 2017

More Light, Les Yeux du Monde, Charlottesville, VA, 2017

One Hit Wonders, Glavé Kocen Gallery, Richmond, VA, 2017

Fab 4 with Karen Blair, Jessie Coles, and Priscilla Whitlock, The Art Box, Crozet, VA, 2017

RVA Architecture and Landscape, Juried Exhibit, Crossroads Art Center, Richmond, VA, 2016
Juried, Awarded Third Place

Yellow Cardinal Gallery, Charlottesville, VA, 2014, 2015

Member Show, McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA, 2010, 2013

Education

Apprenticeship with Edward J. Reed, Alexandria, VA, 2006-2007              

The Art League School, Alexandria, VA, 2000-2007

Master of Arts, Medical and Biological Illustration, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1996 -1998

The Schuler School of Fine Arts (an atelier), Baltimore, MD, 1994-1996  

Bachelor of Arts, The School of Art and Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University, 1990-1994

Honors, Awards, and Memberships

Semifinalist, Bethesda Painting Award, 2023

Children’s Hope Gala, Bon Secours, Richmond, VA, Featured Artist, 2020-2021

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellow, Amherst, VA, J & E Berkley Foundation Fellow, 2019

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA, Fellow, 2017

Women’s Initiative “Women in Art” Auction, Charlottesville VA, 2017-2022

New City Arts & The Haven Art Auction, Charlottesville, VA, 2016, 2019, 2022

Central Virginia Watercolor Guild, Charlottesville, VA, Juror, 2015

Piedmont Council for the Arts, Charlottesville, VA, Member, 2013-2018

McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA, Member, 2010-Present

Selected Collections

Country Club of Virginia

Dominion Energy

Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University

Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center at The University of Virginia

Inova Schar Cancer Institute

Miller Financial Services

Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital

Towne Bank

University of Virginia Medical Center

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System

Women's Center at Culpeper Medical Center

Bibliography

Sargent, Sarah, “Sense memory, Krista Townsend’s ‘Second Nature’ bursts with visual excitement”, C-ville Weekly, June 22, 2022

Richard DiCicco, In Charlottesville, Artists Disagree on How — or If — Art Can Heal the City’s Wounds, The Cl!ck, December 10, 2019

Sathe, Jane Dunlap, “Krista Townsend's new paintings at McGuffey explore strength in diverse forms”, Daily Progress, Oct 23, 2019

Gorey, CM, “In Living Black and White—with Shades of Gray: Colorless Expression Proves Lively in Second Street Gallery’s ‘She’s in Monochrome’”, Cville Weekly, October 17, 2019

Wright, Charles, “Check out Krista Townsend’s Artwork”, Voyage Dallas, May 1, 2019

Sargent, Sarah, "Immersion", Show Catalog, April 2018

Derby, Elizabeth, “Lightness of Being,” Cville Weekly, July 26, 2017, p. 33

Sargent, Sarah, “Warm Welcome Group show at McGuffey Invites Colorful Observations”, Cville Weekly, May 22, 2013

Community Work

Krista also believes in giving back to her community. Read about her public art work, medical illustrations, and community work.