Opening this month at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is an exhibition that highlights photography⁳ role in South Africa⁳ complex transformation from apartheid to integration. ⁄arkroom: Photography and New Media in South Africa since 1950,†will open August 21 and run through October 24 at the VMFA and the Visual Arts Center of Richmond.

Debuting in a new venue on a new date, the annual antiques show sponsored by the Vermont Antiques Dealers†Association offered collections by 60 dealers as the show combined with the Green Mountain Antiques Show.

Summer Magic, the pared down edition of the spring and fall Rhinebeck Antiques Fair, battled extreme heat on July 23. ýｔhe crowd was down, but the hardy shoppers were there as always and several were buying heavily,ý＠said promoter Bruce Garrett.

Former bicycle repairman and preacher-turned-artist, the Reverend Howard Finster (1916-2001) was truly one of a kind. A minister in paint and a self-described ⁍an of Visions,†this energetic and ambitious self-taught painter created more than 46,000 pieces of art in his effort to spread the word of God. Believing his mission was to use art to alert people about how to save their souls from the horrors of hell, he referred to himself as ⁇od⁳ last red light on the planet Earth.†Astutely blending preaching skills, marketing savvy and appealing artwork, Finster became a larger-than-life personality and a national celebrity. Arguably, after Grandma Moses, he is perhaps the best-known American folk artist of the late Twentieth Century. The saga of Finster⁳ life and art is comprehensively covered in a welcome and revelatory exhibition, ⁓tranger in Paradise: The Works of Reverend Howard Finster,†on view at the Chicago Cultural Center through September 26.

Guyette & Schmidt, Inc conducted its annual summer decoy auction on July 29 and 30 at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel. As was the case in the firm⁳ April auction, prices remained steady with the auction grossing $1.4 million.

These are exciting times in East Tennessee as new discoveries in pottery manufacturing and cabinetmaking are making their way into the public forum.

Visitors to the Birchwood Manor Antiques Show can count on finding fine specimens of antiques across the board here, while enjoying a welcome respite from the summer⁳ oppressive heat.