Big screen premier of new documentary about David Riffle, Charleston artist! Featuring a live, post-film talkback with Riffle and filmmaker John Nakashima!

Join us under the newly refurbished vault of the Caperton Planetarium and Theater for the big screen premier of “Finding David Riffle, West Virginia Artist,” a new documentary from West Virginia Public Broadcasting! David Riffle is a Charleston artist whose paintings, drawings, and three-dimensional constructions invite the viewer to enter his world, a stylized environment full of twisting vines, mountains, streams, catfish, herons—and his artful home, a place of refuge.

The new documentary is a lyrical look at the world of David Riffle. Filmmaker John Nakashima, Senior Producer/Director at WVPB, shot and edited on the documentary for over a year, gathering archival material and interviews throughout the state. It features rare works from private collections, and works that Riffle hasn’t shown in decades. The one-hour documentary is a feast of colors and forms from Riffle’s fantastical world.

The release of the documentary coincides with the Clay Center’s Juliet Art Museum Invitational exhibition in which Riffle’s newest artwork is featured. On display through January 29, the exhibition includes Riffle’s painted relief carvings that ruminate on familial themes, underlying his concern for his loved ones during the pandemic.

Following the screening, Nakashima and Riffle will share remarks in the planetarium. Before and after the event, audiences are encouraged to view the Invitational exhibition and examine Riffle’s artwork. The event is free, but advanced registration is required at www.theclaycenter.org or 304-561-3570.

Riffle received his BA from West Virginia State College. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions across the state and country, and his work is held in the public collections of the Charleston Coliseum, Marshall University Graduate College, West Virginia State Museum, and Juliet Art Museum at the Clay Center. Riffle’s honors include a painting fellowship from the WV Arts and Humanities Commission, a visual art fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and three Purchase Awards in the West Virginia Juried Exhibition at the Culture Center, as well as a Best of Show in 1993.

Nakashima has won six regional Emmy awards for documentaries he’s edited. He has been honored with the West Virginia Filmmaker of the Year, the West Virginia’s Associated Press’ Lifetime Achievement, and the West Virginia Association of Social Workers Citizen of the Year Award for his documentary The First 1,000 Days. He has also independently released a two-hour, definitive documentary on his uncle, architect and designer George Nakashima.

Date:   Dec. 11, 2022
Time:   5-8 pm:
5:00 pm doors open (and exhibition open for viewing)
5:30 pm film
6:30 pm Remarks from Nakashima and Riffle
7:00 pm exhibition open for viewing, until 8 pm