Robert Bouquet, “Out of the Darkness” | Jim Ramsay, “Big Creek”

By any definition, Sperryville is small. Population, 352; zero traffic lights. But in one respect, this historic village is a giant: Art.

With the opening of The Third Dimension—Real and Imagined at Cottage Curator, Sperryville is emerging as an arts center of the Piedmont. Curated by Jackie Bailey Labovitz, The Third Dimension spotlights paintings, sculpture, photography, baskets, ceramics, glass, fiber, and fine studio furniture. 

Rosabel Goodman-Everard, “Inside Out/Outside In I (Diptych)”

Works by more than 30 artists fill the stunning space of Cottage Curator. These artists hail from as far away as Arkansas in the south and Massachusetts in the north, but more than one third live in Virginia’s Piedmont. Visitors to major museums will recognize many of the names: painters Kathy Chumley, Barbara Heile, Jim Ramsay; sculptors Nol Putnam, Robert Bouquet; photographers Jackie Bailey Labovitz, Matthew Black; fiber artist Dabney Kirchman; and furniture designers Lynn Pittinger, Craig Ernst, Balise Gaston, Jeff Saine.

Cottage Curator is adjacent to the Old Schoolhouse right off Lee Highway in Sperryville, in charming Rappahannock County. A former annex to the school, the gallery has been redone to maximize natural light. Visitors will be in awe of the interior beauty where the desks of first- and second-graders once sat. 

The Third Dimension is Labovitz’s second exhibition at Cottage Curator, but far from her first efforts at art curating. She spent most of her career amassing a portfolio of significant art collections installed in major corporate facilities and U.S. embassies worldwide. Two of those collections now reside in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art.

David Knopp, “Gingko”

With Virginia native Labovitz at the helm, Cottage Curator assists residential clients with the purchase and placement of works by local and nationally recognized fine art and craft artists, including her own.

In addition to curating the works of others, Labovitz is an accomplished artist herself. She focuses on often-overlooked subjects—tiny native plants and insects, for example—from a straight-on eye level.

Andy Smith, “Raku Fired”

As a curator, she is known as an emissary for American artists and bringing their work to light. 

The impressive artworks of The Third Dimension are certain to bring visitors into a new way of thinking and looking at the world around them — a new dimension to their lives.

Not a bad achievement for a tiny little town like Sperryville.

Cottage Curator is located at 12018A Lee Highway, Sperryville, Virginia, 22740

Friday–Sunday: 11 a.m.–5 p.m. 
Monday–Thursday: By Appointment

540-773-2700

Barbara Heile, “Woodland Joy”