The Grasshopper Gallery at the Lost River Trading Post was inaugurated on Saturday, June 14th, 2014. We support local artists and craftspeople in their vision, and hope to share their art in Wardensville, West Virginia and beyond.
Lost River Trading Post, opened in 2013 in the Appalachian Mountains of WV, is a previous feed store on Main Street in historic Wardensville, WV that has been turned it into a "modern mountain general store" featuring American-made and locally crafted products along with a bakery and full-service espresso bar. Late in 2014, the Grasshopper Gallery, located inside the store, was inaugurated to showcase local artists.
GRASSHOPPER GALLERY
at Lost River Trading Post
FEATURING: ABBIE CHESSLER
MARCH 15, 2024 - MAY 6, 2024
ARTIST RECEPTION: Sunday, April 24th from 1-3pm
HOME + AWAY | ABBIE CHESSLER
The inspiration for my painting has come from a deeply rooted sense of place in the mountains of West Virginia. Last fall, 2023, I was an Artist in Residence at the Vermont Studio Center. For this residency I was away from my place, so "AWAY" became my theme.
In the misty Vermont mornings I would go exploring along the rivers taking photos that inspired my painting. I was in Johnson which is surrounded by mountains with rivers flowing through the town. Rivers and water emerged as my subject to explore.
This show includes paintings from my time in Vermont along with new work painted back here at home in West Virginia.
My work has been shown in galleries across the mid-Atlantic. For the latest work and events you can follow me on Instagram @archessler or go to www.abbiechessler.com.
BIOGRAPHY
Abbie Chessler is coming back to making art after many years of channeling her creative energy into her career as a museum exhibition designer.
She graduated from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design where she began with an interest in printmaking, and by the time she left she was immersed in conceptual and installation art. Early in Chessler’s career she created a number of temporary public art installations and exhibited in group shows, including the 1982 Maryland Biennial at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Most recently she has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Maryland as well as in West Virginia, where she spends time in the studio at her cabin in the mountains.
PAST SHOWS
UPCOMING 2025 GALLERY SHOWS
Christy Dunkle | January-February
Susan Feller | March-April
Ginger Danz | May-June
2024 GALLERY SHOWS
Ashley Sauder Miller | Somewhere Down the Line
Stephen Willey | Read the Wind
Abbie Chessler | Home + Away
Carolyn Hill x Robin Quinlivan x Tim Wohleber
Kelly McQuain | Ways of Seeing
Neil Stavely | In and Out of the Trees
Jonathan x Meg Hamilton | Hand In Hand
2023 GALLERY SHOWS
Ginger Danz | Sensate
Neil Stavely | Birds + Beasts
Nevada Tribble | Trails + Tributaries
Christy Dunkle | Mind the Gap
Ashley Sauder Miller | Somewhere Down the Line