Rhonda Smith and Cathy Wilkin at TAG/The Artists Gallery

Aug. 30—TAG/The Artists Gallery will feature work by artists Rhonda Smith and Cathy Wilkin in September.

Their exhibits open on Sept. 2. A reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 3, when visitors can meet the artists and hear live music.

The 12 monotypes in Rhonda Smith's show, "Portraits of Persistence," honor the students of Storer College. The linoleum-printed images are not photographic strive for individual likenesses. Wallpaper and hand-cut backgrounds add additional texture and color.

After the Civil War, the college in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, welcomed students of all races and genders. Former enslaved people and their sons and daughters of found a welcoming environment on the hills overlooking the Shenandoah River. After Storer College closed, some students sought to complete their education at Shepherd College.

"While at Storer, students had been supported and encouraged to be themselves while on campus," Smiths says. "Shepherd proved challenging because Black students were denied the safety of an educational community. After being refused service in the cafeteria, one such student spent time between classes in her car rather than where other students congregated."

Cathy Wilkin's intricate collages are featured at TAG in her show "I Shut My Eyes and See."

"Picasso said, 'Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working,' and work I did," Wilkin says. "These six pieces were executed this past year. I felt like there had been a tear in the universe, and navigating this world had never been more challenging. ... I felt I was dredging up emotions that required a deep dive into my thoughts. This journey had me reminiscing about long-ago memories, about people and places that have come and gone, about the complex layers going through one's life and seeing that personal opera play out."

Wilkin will give an artist talk from noon to 1 p.m. Sept. 4.

Smith will demonstrate her printing process on the same day from 1 to 3 p.m.

Dawne Raines Burke will give a lecture on the history of Storer College at 4 p.m. Sept. 18.

The shows run through Sept. 25.

TAG is at 501 N. Market St., Frederick. See theartistsgalleryfrederick.com for more information.