Current/Upcoming Exhibits:

Poetry and Art: Saturday, April 20th, 6:00 p.m.

Poetry and art intersect in this event happening at the PAC during National Poetry Month. Poems were submitted, artists made their selection then created original artwork based on the chosen poem. On April 20 poets and artists meet to share their work with a reading and presentation of the art inspired by the authors.

This event is free and open to the public. Following the April 20 happening, the artwork and poems will be put on display in the Reception Gallery at the PAC.

On the Walls: Works by Pat Cross and Judy Foxx: May 5 - June 15, 2024

Opening Reception: Sunday, May 5 from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

“Most of my realistic paintings begin as memories from my own life, and my heart sings when observers say things like, ‘I used to have one of those.’ Those words are the validation of my existence as an artist.” — Judy Foxx

 “I create paintings and drawings that offer my viewers the refreshment I experience when exploring natural waterways, gardens, landscapes, and the human form.” —Pat Cross

Pictured below: Pat Cross with art work, "On to Greener Pastures" by Pat Cross, Judy Foxx with art works, "In the Beginning....GOD" by Judy Foxx

Art Is Life Life Is Art Exhibit: May 31st - June 15, 2024

Opening Reception: Friday, May 31st, 5-7 p.m.

Join Ginny Killian and her band of merry art makers in a celebration of the creativity of older artists. This show features the work of participants in the two sessions of Art Is Life Life Is Art class that brings individuals 55+ together to bond over their creative endeavors and to make some really cool stuff! This program was supported by an Individual Artist Grant through the West Virginia Department of Arts Culture and History.

Refreshments, snacks and music will be part of the fun on this evening!

The River: Biennial Juried Exhibit for Professional WV & OH Artists: June 23 - July 27, 2024

Opening Reception & Awards Presentation: Sunday June 23, 1-3 p.m.

Jurors: Alison Helm and Ardine Nelson

For more information about The River and how to enter this juried exhibit please click to view The River 2024 page.

Exhibit Sponsored by United Bank and WVU Medicine/Camden Clark Medical Center.

Transitory States: Photography by Ardine Nelson: August 9 – September 6, 2024

Opening Reception: Friday, August 9 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

From an early age Ardine Nelson had a strong interest in plants and flowers.

“Transitory States shows the visual beauty of plants as they go through their aging process and life cycle, to remind us that beauty exists outside of our perceived prime.”

“Our cultural emphasis on youth, freshness and perfection, misses the importance of experience, of life well-lived. I have come to embrace the aging process and look to a more mature appreciation of all stages of life.” – Ardine Nelson

Pictured to the right: Sample of work by Ardine Nelson

Imagining Democracy: August 9 - September 6, 2024

Opening Reception: Friday, August 9th, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. in the South Gallery

IMAGINING DEMOCRACY TIMELINE - this juried exhibit is open to artists 16 and up
Digital Submissions Due: July 4
Notification of Acceptance: July 16
Delivery: Accepted work delivered to PAC August 2-3
Opening Reception: August 9 5:30-7:30
Exhibition Closing: September 6, 2024 

Registration for submissions will open in June but you can start your creative engines now!

For more guidelines and information about Imagining Democracy and how to enter, please click to view Imagining Democracy page.

Threads: August 9 - September 6, 2024

Opening Reception: Friday, August 9th, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Doug Kreinik will show off his latest innovations.

Stay tuned for more information.

Allied Artists of WV: September 15 - November 9, 2024

Opening Reception and Awards: Sunday, September 15th, 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Allied Artists of West Virginia, Inc. is a non-profit, educational and cultural association whose mission is to encourage, nurture, and present the work of West Virginia artists to the community. Since 1930, AAWV has encouraged artists to show their work, fostered the development of new works, and furthered artistic interests in the community.

Bobby Rosenstock and Joe Rychebosche: November 22 - December 31

Opening Reception: Friday, November 22nd, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Extreme printmaking by the boys from OYO.

Check back for more information.

Past Exhibits:

Student Art Shows: March and April 2024

In March and April of 2024, all our gallery spaces will be turned over to art students from West Virginia and Ohio. These shows will include:

— February 27-March 9: WV Art Educators Statewide YAM Exhibit

WV AEA Awards and Closing Reception - Saturday, March 9 at 1 p.m.

— March 16-April 2: Wood County Art Expressions

Awards and closing reception - Tuesday, April 2

— April 6-13: Warren Local School District

Final day for Warren Exhibit: Saturday, April 13

— April 16-27: Art Cart Exhibit

Closing reception for Art Cart Exhibit - Saturday, April 27

Barbie and Friends Pop Up Exhibit: March 26th- April 27th

Open to the Public: Tuesdays, March 26th

Public Reception: Friday, April 5th, 5-7 p.m.

Welcome to the world of Barbie and her friends. We invite you to walk down memory lane with Barbie and to enjoy the holidays with her. We also have examples of unique toys through the decades . See what the Children’s Toy and Doll Museum has to offer.

All dolls and toys are part of the collection at the Children's Toy and Doll Museum in Marietta.

The Outlaw: Works by Billy Foster: January 26 - February 24, 2024

Opening Reception: Friday, January 26 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Guest Curator José Rizo

Billy Foster, a self-taught artist from Johnson Branch, WV, was incarcerated in Moundsville Penitentiary at the age of 18, where he was an inmate for the next 28 years. In prison, Foster created thousands of artworks, mostly pen and ink drawings and oil paintings.

Foster succumbed to cancer at the age of 64, unaware that his legacy of work would generate a fascination in American collectors two decades later.

Pictured to the right: Untitled by Billy Foster

West Virginia Watercolor Society: November 19 - December 22, 2023

Founded in 1984, the WVWS was organized to promote and insure the high standards of the art of watercolor painting in the state of West Virginia, and to guide students in this challenging medium.

This biennial exhibit at the Art Center always brings together the works of the most talented watercolorists in our State!

Pictured to the right: "Old Blue Truck" by Carol Hilleary

Vinyl REMIX! : November 25 - December 22, 2023

Take a Platter...and Make it Matter!

Regional artists used old vinyl albums as their base, and created works of art! They actually made the best art on record! These artful discs will be on display and for sale starting on Saturday, November 25! The sale will continue through December 22 with proceeds supporting the roof repair at the PAC. It isn’t glamorous but it is necessary:-)

 Thanks to the Habitat ReStore for supplying our records and to the regional arts community for supporting the PAC! ROCK ON!

Artist Trees 2023: November 25 - December 22, 2023

The Parkersburg Art Center’s Annual Artist Tree Display will kick off during our Holiday Open House & Artist Market on Shop Small Saturday.

What would Picasso’s Christmas Tree look like? This is the challenge we give our staff, volunteers, and school groups: trim a tree that represents a famous artist, or work of art. The results are always…astounding.

This is a community celebration of art and creativity. Bring some change and vote for your favorites!

Aphrolachian:Works by Newman Jackson: October 13 — November 11, 2023

“My father showed me how to draw a human leg (comparing it to a baseball bat) when I was 8. Later, my high school art teacher led me to famous black artists I could relate to, like Henry O. Tanner and Charles White. Years later, I earned extra cash while in the Navy by drawing my buddies and their girl friends.”

“All of my canvases represent tidbits from my personal Appalachian experiences—an episode of my youth, a wandering thought, or an event in the present.”

— Newman Jackson

Pictured to the right: Newman Jackson and "Moonshine and Pedicures" by Jackson.

Unique Ceramics: Works by Randy Selbe: October 13 — November 11, 2023

“Growing up in West Virginia, I have great love of the outdoors, travel and art. Life has granted me a great diversity of stimulation and appreciation for natural beauty, from my childhood mountainside home to the many unforgettable scenes of my life’s journey.”

“The look and texture of my pottery expresses my life: visions of home, travel, and many other indelible imprints and influences. My goal is to create pottery that balances uniqueness and appeal with true functionality and usefulness.”      

— Randy Selbe

Pictured to the right: Randy Selbe poses with one of her pieces, and "The Last Samurai" by Selbe

Transitional Living Program Art exhibit: October 17 - 31, 2023

Please join us for our 4th Annual Transitional Living Art Show featuring the art of our youth housing program participants.

Note: Children's Home Society Transitional Living Program assists homeless and at-risk youth ages 16-22 to find stable housing and learn life skills to be able to live independently.

The four west virginia regionalists: Depicting appalachia: September 15 - october 7, 2023

Tom Acosta / John Coffee / Frederick D. Hays / Robert Walker

Regionalism is an art term derived from Nationalism, a painting style that was popularized during the depression in the 1930s and 1940s. Artists at the time tended to paint whatever was outside their windows, focused on the hardships and struggles of the times, yet depicted with a sense of pride.

Curator José Rizo chose these four artists because he believes their work accurately reflects life in our region.

“The first time I saw work from each of these artists, they struck me as truly embodying what West Virginia really is," Rizo said.
"Each artist captures life here so accurately, yet in distinctly different styles.”

Ki No Kaze Bonsai Club Exhibit: September 15 - 30, 2023

The Ki No Kaze Bonsai Club will be having a special exhibit with an opening on September 15 in the South Gallery. The show will switch out plants after the first week and may migrate to the Mezzanine for a final show of horticultural ingenuity ending on September 30.  The exhibit opening reception is on Friday, September 15 from 5-7 p.m. in conjunction with the Rizzo Collection opening.

REGIONAL 2023: ROY G BIV: June 30 - August 18, 2023

The Art Center and United Bank welcome WVU Medicine Camden Clark as the prize sponsor for this biennial exhibit, open to all artists who live within 100 miles of Parkersburg. WVU Medicine Camden Clark’s mission and vision are led by the standards of behavior called the “4 Cs:” COMPASSION, COMMUNICATION, COMMITMENT and COMPETENCE. They seek to share these four “Cs” with our creative community—starting with COMMUNICATION—and challenge our artists to demonstrate the concept of communication through color. ROY G BIV, an acronym for a whole spectrum of color, gives artists the tools to go ‘way beyond Red means Stop and Green means Go. Can you rise to this challenge, and communicate your message in color?

Reception is free for artists and ONE guest.  Additional guests, $10 per person. Children under 12, no charge.

The show will remain on display through August 18 with free daily admission to the PAC Tuesday through Saturday thanks to our 2023 Admission Sponsor WVU Medicine Camden Clark.

Sandra King and Jerre Watkins Exhibit: May 19 - June 23, 2023

This exhibit will open on FRIDAY, MAY 19, 5 PM – 7 PM and will remain on display through June 23. The public is welcome to visit Tuesday through Saturdays between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission for 2023 is FREE thanks to the support of WVU Medicine Camden Clark

JERRE WATKINS
A native of Oklahoma, Jerre Watkins has a background in interior design. She entered the field of fine art in 1981, and has studied with many nationally known artists. She completed her MA degree in Fine Arts/Painting at Marshall University in 1995. Her paintings have won numerous awards and hang in many collections in West Virginia and other states.

Her works are usually inspired by nature with a strong emphasis on composition and design. Using her photographs as references, Watkins does a contour drawing of shapes focusing on including and often exaggerating the complex variations nature has to offer. The entire process is aimed at communicating a personal statement of the artist's feeling for the spirit of nature.

SANDRA KING
Sandra’s work is always inspired by her immediate surroundings, be it the arrangement of multi-colored roses in her garden, her family farm, the forest, mountains, rivers and streams that surround her West Virginia home. Many of her works reflect a longing to have a simpler life style on the river.

Her style has been classified as “modern realist;” paintings inspired by nature, imbued with intense color and exaggerated spaces. Her paintings are a result of direct observation and her unique personal vision. Her emotions, life experiences, fantasies and dreams are revealed in her oil and pastel works.