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River of Earth: Meaning and Material in Self-Taught Art From Appalachia

September 5, 2025 - December 13, 2025

The Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries present works from the Self-Taught Art Collection that explore the materiality of self-taught art from the Appalachian region and the landscapes, spiritual currents, and folkloric traditions from which they emerge.

Parallel to the stream of millions of tons of coal that have flowed from the coalfields of central Appalachia to the Coal Piers of Lambert’s Point just south of the Gordon Art Galleries, this exhibition follows a metaphorical river of earth comprised of stone, clay, wood, fiber, plants, and animals that make up the landscape of the Appalachian Mountains.

Featuring works by Minnie Adkins, Bessie Harvey, S.L. Jones, Georgia Blizzard, Leroy Almon Jr., and over thirty other artists, the exhibition tells diverse and intersecting stories of the relationship between meaning-making and materials drawn from the mountain landscape.

The exhibition is free and open to the public, with an opening reception on Thursday, Sept. 4 from 6 to 8 p.m.

For updates, follow @oduarts and @gordonartgalleries on Facebook and Instagram, and learn more about the Gordon Art Galleries at odu.edu/arts.

Please join us for these special events in conjunction with the exhibition:

• Oct. 2-9, 2025: Exhibition of plein-air landscapes of the Lambert’s Point Coal Pier using , Barry Arts Building Rotunda
• Oct. 7, 2025: Reading with author and poet Crystal Wilkinson at the
• Oct. 8, 2025: Workshop “Writing Sense and(of) Place” with author and poet Crystal Wilkinson at the
• Nov. 20, 2025:  
   

Calligraphy, A Journey Without Destination

Works by John Chang

Opening Reception: Thursday, Aug. 28, 6 - 8 p.m.
On View: Aug. 29 - Nov. 15, 2025

�Թϱ���’s Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries present Calligraphy: A Journey Without Destination – Works by John Chang. Born in Shanghai, shaped by two systems: one of collective control, the other of consumer freedom. Neither fully his. Between them, John Chang found his path. Calligraphy, once a tool of obedience, now becomes a site of resistance. Every stroke carries memory—of repetition, of rebellion, of sacred force. In shu, the written word can shift the world. I reclaim that belief.

John Chang dreams in many worlds and brings back remnants. In his recent works, figures come and go—yet no one is seen. Migrators leave only shadows in the air and faint marks on the sidewalks. Their words and echoes drift through storms of sharp, black fragments flying in all directions. Drawing from his East/West identity, Chang explores memory and displacement, conjuring flashbacks from lives lived across many landscapes.

Born and raised in Shanghai, China, John Chang is now based in Southern California. His work has been widely exhibited at institutions including the Alexander Brest Museum at Jacksonville University (FL), Fresh Paint Art Gallery (Culver City, CA), Palm Springs Art Museum (CA), COOS Art Museum (OR), and the Massillon Museum (OH). His art has been featured in Pasadena Star-News, KTLA, Art in America, and Art Ltd.

Chang’s work is held in numerous public and private collections, including the San Diego International Airport, the San Diego Civic Art Collection, the Star Hotel in Sydney, Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, the Regis Hotel in New York, and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.

He holds an MFA in Visual Art from the College of Art and Design at Lesley University and a B.A. from the School of Art and Design at the Shanghai Institute of Technology. He also studied with renowned artists Xu Bing and Judith Barry.