1708 Gallery in the city’s downtown Gallery District recently opened a show of new works by Richmond artist John Henry Blatter.  Blatter, who teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University, uses sound, video and environment to create his installations, which are customized to the space in which he is working.

The Whitley Gallery, a new art gallery in Shockoe Bottom, recently opened its inaugural show, “Seeing Beyond the Bars.“  Lawyer Angela Whitley opened the gallery, which specializes in art that explores criminal justice. Her goal, she said, was to combine her passion for law and art as well as the rehabilitative possibilities of creating art.

For Art’s Sake gallery recently opened a show of new works by gallery owner Anne Chaddock and other artists.  Chaddock works in a variety of media, including watercolor, pastel, acrylic, oil and graphite, said studio manager Diana Robinson. Her subjects are equally wide-ranging.

“Spark of Life,“ a show of abstract acrylic-on-canvas paintings by Richmond artist Sabrina Cordovana, is on display at the Science Museum of Virginia.  In her artist’s statement, Cordovana said, “These paintings are inspired by that everlasting question, ‘How did life begin?‘ “

Chop Suey Gallery in Carytown is showing collaborative works by Charlottesville-based artists Dave Moore and Corey Kitzke.  Both artists had a hand in creating all but a couple of the show’s pieces, which combine painting and collage.  In explaining “Folly,“ the show’s title, Moore said, “Aside from the different contexts ‘folly’ can take, Folly Island, South Carolina, is an actual place that Corey and I once visited. The landscape there is strangely reminiscent of Egypt and the Nile, so a lot of the works in the show are a response to that.“

There’s still time to see “New Works,“ a show featuring art by Leslie Millar, Dragana Crnjak and James Stroud, at Page Bond Gallery.  “The exhibition shows works by three very unique artists, with three well-defined themes,“ said gallery assistant director Allison Fiebert.

“Breathless,“ a show featuring images by Australian photographer Annie Hogan, will soon end its run at Artspace Gallery.  Light in a dark room is the common theme for the mural-sized prints, some of which feature solitary-confinement cells in penal institutions.

Windemere Art Gallery in Mechanicsville recently opened “Home Place Creations of Mother and Son,“ a show of oil-on-canvas paintings by artist Chris Harman and his mother, Joyce Harman.  Chris, who became a quadriplegic in 1977 after a swimming accident, works with a paintbrush held between his teeth. He started painting about a year ago; Joyce has been painting for more than 50 years.

ArtWorks in Manchester recently opened its second annual “A DOGmatic CATasTROPHY!,“ a juried all-media show of artworks featuring dogs and cats.  Half the proceeds from the sale of the art will help support homeless animals. Last year, the gallery raised more than $1,000 for the Richmond SPCA.

“Available . . .  Views of a Field Whose Days Are Numbered,“ a series of paintings of a field in North Side Richmond, recently opened at The Crossroads Art Center.  “It began as a fascination with the color of the tall grasses, and how they changed with the seasons, the lighting and the weather,“ Linda Hollett-Bazouzi explained in her artist’s statement. “A sale sign went up, and part of the field was plowed under. Construction began. A second sign announced that the rest of the field was ‘available.‘ Tick tock, tick tock . . .  “

“Poe’s Playground,“ an art exhibition inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, is showing at Linden Row Inn.  The show, organized by 1708 Gallery, features work by Edgar Allan Poe Museum curator Chris Semtner, Caryl Burtner, Jamie Burwell Mixon, Mark Chatterley, Kathryn Henry-Choisser, John Moser, Amie Oliver and Noah Scalin.

Art Works gallery in downtown Richmond recently opened “Landscapes of the Soul,“ a show of tapestries woven by Peruvian artist Maximo Laura. Laura is a third-generation weaver from the Peruvian district of Ayacucho. Each of his works tells a story, drawing on Andean mythological themes from Peru’s cultures, ranging from the Incas to the Quechua Indians, descendants of the Incas.

The Library of Virginia in downtown Richmond recently partnered with the Poe Museum to open a major exhibition in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe.  The exhibition, “Poe: Man, Myth, or Monster,“ examines the life of the legendary writer. It features more than 100 digital and original items and three interactive stations: “Poe’s Words” offers readings from Poe’s works, “Poe in Film” spotlights the 1928 silent film “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “Fact or Fiction” allows visitors to test their Poe-related knowledge.

Red Door Gallery’s “2009 Group Exhibition,“ featuring works by 11 Richmond artists, opens tomorrow with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m.  “It’s a smorgasbord of art,“ said gallery manager Meredith Timberlake. “There are all kinds of media, all very affordable.“

Main Art Gallery in the Fan District recently opened “Limited Edition: Exploring Printmaking at the University of Mary Washington.“  The exhibition features art by Jesse Kopp, Andrew Sniffin, Molly Mathusa, Justin Owens and Molly Cambell. The works were created during two semesters of courses taught by Rosemary Jesionowski. The students explored printmaking and its various techniques, from monotypes to intaglio as well as traditional processes and modern, digital processes.