By Jimmy Keller
(Image above: Chris Charles artwork from “Don’t Look Far: Color and the Everyday”0

Welcome to Hive Highlights; a weekly exhibits roundup from The Buffalo Hive. This showcase is meant to point you to gallery openings, ongoing exhibits, closings, artist talks and happenings in the visual arts community of Western New York for the week/end ahead. These lists are not designed to be comprehensive, instead providing a keyhole into the creative hum of our region. 

1. Chris Charles: Don’t Look Far: Color and the Everyday, on view at WNY Book Arts Center
   OPENING, Friday May 30, 2025 5-8p
   468 Washington Street, Buffalo, NY 14203

Letterpress and block printing methods have been around since 220 AD. Today, Chris Charles takes this artistry to a contemporary yet vintage realm, exploring what they describe as “celebration of form, color and the charm found in the familiar.” Chris Charles is a printmaker, designer, and educator based in Rochester, NY

Learn More: https://wnybookarts.org/dont-look-far-color-and-the-everyday/

2. Carson Waterman: Art Saved My Life, on view at Burchfield Penney Arts Center
   LAST DAYS TO VIEW, through Sunday June 1, 2025
   1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14222

Well known western NY artist Carson Waterman, paints his culture of the Haudenosaunee people of the Seneca Nation, tying it with his life experiences. Through this exhibition, he opens up about his time as a drafted soldier during Vietnam and without his artistic skill, may not be here today. While art may have saved his life, his inspiring pieces continue to share a culture that must never be forgotten. This is a must see exhibition honoring a great prominent artist rich in history, culture, and character. Make sure to check it out before this Sunday.

Learn More: https://burchfieldpenney.org/exhibitions/exhibition:carson-waterman-art-saved-my-life/

3. From the Vault, on view at UB Anderson Gallery
   ONGOING, through Saturday July 26, 2025
   1 Martha Jackson Place, Buffalo, NY, 14214

A unique curation process took place through this exhibition, where the selection committee grew beyond one or two tastes.  With all of the pieces being from the UB collection, these artworks were selected by installers, maintenance workers, interns, and more! It expanded the diversification of pieces and leads the imagination to decide “what did that specific individual see in this specific piece?” International and regional artists featured in this exhibition include Antoni Tàpies, Louise Nevelson, Clayton Pond, Virginia Cuthbert-Elliott, Claes Oldenburg, Bonnie Gordon, Charlie Clough, Elizabeth Murray, Patricia Layman Bazelon, and more.

Learn More: https://www.buffalo.edu/art-galleries/exhibitions/2024-25/from-the-vault.html