Block Gallery

Harmonic Chaos

Harmonic Chaos is a two-person show featuring the colorful works of artists Martha Thorn and Tonya Solley Thornton. Each artist approaches their work with different intention, but both have mastered their mediums. While Thorn’s painted layered method is a controlled chaos, it is in Thornton's chaotic approach to making where the similarities in their practices intersect.

Learn more about the exhibition

Past Exhibitions

Below are some of Block Gallery's past exhibitions. You can also view a list of past exhibited artists.

TURBULENCE: Birds, Beauty, Language & Loss

TURBULENCE: Birds, Beauty, Language & Loss is a solo exhibition at the Block Gallery by environmental artist Deborah Kruger. The exhibition focuses on Kruger’s current body of work, which is motivated by the extinction of bird species and the loss of Indigenous languages around the world. Human-induced climate change and habitat fragmentation contribute to these problems. 

Learn more about the exhibition

Learn more about the exhibition

plants, and birds, and rocks (and things)
April 15 through Aug. 23, 2024

plants and birds, and rock (and things) is an exhibition of artworks curated by Scott Hazard, a North Carolina-based artist and City of Raleigh Artist in Residence for Nature Preserves.

Learn more about plants and birds, and rocks (and things)

It Ain't All Black and White
October 4, 2023, through March 22, 2024

It Ain’t All Black and White was a photography exhibition curated by North Carolina-based photographer Leticia Clementina that encouraged viewers to consider emotions such as serenity, apprehension, yearning, and more. 

Learn more about It Ain't All Black and White

Voices of Oberlin
June 14 through September 22, 2023

Through portraits and oral histories from elders and community members, the Voices of Oberlin exhibition emphasized how special the Oberlin community was and still is.

Learn more about the Voices of Oberlin exhibition

Art Unblocked 2021

Arts Access, in partnership with the City of Raleigh's Block Gallery, hosted an exhibition titled Art Unblocked 2021, featuring works of art created by emerging and established artists with disabilities.

Learn more about Art Unblocked 2021

Creative Quarantine

In April 2020, Raleigh Arts released an artist call asking artists how they stayed creative during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. Over 150 submissions were received. Eighteen artists were selected, each receiving a $200 artist honorarium.

Learn more about Creative Quarantine

Gallery History

Managed by Raleigh Arts, Block Gallery was designed to serve as one of the City's premier exhibition spaces. Established in 1984 and dedicated in 2006 to honor community leader Miriam Preston Block, its marble walls and impressive staircase provide an ideal setting for art.

In accordance with the mission "to connect local artists to community through ongoing exhibitions and public outreach," Block Gallery fosters artists and artwork.