Richmond exhibition explores one man’s relationship with the James River.
Flight on the James
Hedberg at Balcony Falls.
Loneliness. Beauty. Fear. Steve Hedberg tackles these emotions and more in Confluence, his new exhibition at Glave Kocen Gallery in Richmond, which runs Nov. 2-30. The show is a visual reflection of Hedberg’s experiences traversing the 320 miles of Virginia’s James River in 2017 and 2018.
Hedberg, a visual artist and former creative director at Richmond Magazine, was inspired to do this exhibition after taking a trek down historic U.S. Route 1 from Fort Canton, Maine, to Key West, Florida. Doing a similar physical journey that focused on Virginia’s unique relationship with the James struck close to home. “It combines two things I love to do, which is travel and paint,” Hedberg says. “I was looking for something that was a little bit closer to me, and the James River is something that I really love.”
Hedberg hiked and kayaked along the James alone, carrying heavy equipment and becoming one with the Virginia wilderness. “I think one of the things that hit me midway through the trip was how much we shelter ourselves; you know, separate ourselves from nature and the elements,” he says. His interpretations of the landscapes and wildlife on the James capture the oneness that comes from releasing boundaries between man and nature. SteveHedberg.com
This article originally appeared in our December 2018 issue.
