At the Fralin, Sky Hopinka’s video art explores memory and place

An autumn visit to the Fralin Museum of Art offers a chance to consider landscape through moving images. Sky Hopinka’s Mnemonics of Shape and Reason is on view at the University of Virginia museum through January 3, 2027.

The exhibition, which opened August 29, presents the artist’s video exploration of memory, land and people’s relationships with both. The museum places it within a series examining independence, place and history during the United States’ 250th anniversary year.

A different way to look at landscape

Hopinka, born in Ferndale, Washington, is part of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians. The museum’s exhibition account describes an approach centered on Indigenous perspectives, with views of land, water and sky.

For visitors, that makes this a reason to leave time for the moving-image work rather than treating it as a passing gallery stop. The exhibition is curated by Karen E. Milbourne with Ariel Ankrah.

The Fralin’s current exhibition listings also include presentations focused on Narcissa Chisholm Owen and Georges Adéagbo. Check the museum’s visitor information before traveling, and explore more Virginia arts coverage.