About This Exhibit:

Charlottesville artist, Valerie Sargent, will present a collection of abstract paintings that explore movement, emotion, memory, and the subtle currents that shape our lives. For more than two decades, Valerie has worked as an intuitive practitioner, hypnotherapist, Akashic Record reader, and energy healer. Her exploration of consciousness, intuition, and the unseen aspects of human experience naturally found its way onto the canvas.

Sargent's path to painting was anything but traditional. Her paintings range from quiet and contemplative to bold and energetic, reflecting the full spectrum of human experience. Some pieces evoke a sense of mystery, while others pulse with movement and transformation. Each invites viewers to bring their own stories, emotions, and interpretations to the work. While creativity has always been present in her life, painting arrived unexpectedly later in adulthood and quickly became an essential form of expression. What began as curiosity took root as a calling, evolving into a vibrant body of work that continues to surprise and inspire her.

Working primarily in acrylic and mixed media, these paintings were created without a predetermined destination. Each began with curiosity rather than certainty, allowing intuition, chance, and relationship with the material to shape what emerged. Though the visual language changes from piece to piece, they share a common invitation: to slow down, notice more, and discover what becomes visible when we stop trying to force an outcome.

"My work is not concerned with depicting the visible world," says Sargent. "I am interested in what lies beneath it—the emotions, energies, memories, and possibilities that are often difficult to put into words. I begin without a destination and allow the painting to reveal itself. In many ways, I witness the work as much as I create it."

At the heart of Sargent's creative process is a belief that we are all connected to a deeper source of wisdom and creativity. Years spent exploring what many traditions describe as the field of consciousness have taught her to trust intuition and allow that intelligence to guide the work.

"I believe we all carry dormant gifts within us," Sargent says. "Sometimes they emerge quietly. Sometimes they arrive unexpectedly and change the course of our lives. Painting was one of those gifts for me. It appeared when the time was right and asked a simple question: Do you want to play?"

Sargent is the creator of The Fig Leaf Studio Art. Contact info: thefigleaf444@gmail.com.