Exhibitions 2026-2027
Payne Gallery’s New Director: Robert Sparrow Jones
September 24, 2026
6–8 p.m.
View event flyer
Moravian University’s Payne Gallery is entering an exciting new chapter and we invite you to be part of the celebration. Please join us in welcoming Robert Sparrow Jones, MFA, the new director of Payne Gallery, for an evening of art, conversation, and community.
Jones will share a selection of his recent paintings and offer a look into his past exhibitions and curatorial projects that have shaped his creative vision. This informal gathering is an opportunity to meet our new director, experience his work, and hear how he sees Payne Gallery continuing to grow as a space for storytelling, creativity, and connection.
About the Director
Robert Sparrow Jones is an artist, curator, and writer whose work explores memory, place, and the quiet psychological narratives embedded in everyday life. Working primarily in painting, he creates atmospheric interiors and landscapes that invite sustained looking and contemplation.
Jones recently joined Moravian University as Director of Payne Gallery, where he oversees the gallery’s exhibitions, collections, and public programming. Prior to joining Moravian, he served as Senior Gallery Director at Penn State’s HUB-Robeson Galleries, curating exhibitions that brought together emerging and established artists while fostering interdisciplinary dialogue across the university community.
He received an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a BFA in Painting from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Early in his career, he served as painting assistant to artist Dale Chihuly in Seattle, an experience that deepened his understanding of large-scale studio practice and collaboration.
Alongside his visual practice, Jones is also a fiction writer whose work has appeared on shortlists and in literary publications. His artistic and curatorial practices share a common interest in storytelling, inviting viewers and readers to engage with ambiguity, memory, and the emotional resonance of place.
He lives and works in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Bill Needs: A Visual Journey Through the History of the Moravian Church
October 23–December 18, 2026
Opening Reception & Artist Talk: November 11, 6–8 p.m.
Payne Gallery, in conjunction with the Institute for Moravian History and World Heritage, presents an exhibition of more than 30 works by Moravian alumnus and artist Bill Needs ’62.
In 2017, at the age of 78, Needs joined an educational tour through Central and Eastern Europe exploring the historical roots of the Moravian Church. Traveling with a sketchbook, he began imagining and recording the people, places, conflicts, and moments that shaped the history of the Unitas Fratrum. What began as a journey to explore Moravian history became a deeply personal artistic undertaking, bringing together his curiosity as a traveler, his fascination with history, and his gifts as an artist and storyteller.
The resulting body of work traces the development of the Moravian Church across centuries—from its early Central European roots through periods of persecution, the Reformation, the establishment of missions, and the movement of Moravian communities across Europe and the Americas.
Combining historical research with artistic imagination, Needs approaches the past as an artistic “time traveler,” imagining the people and places behind the historical record. Each work invites visitors to encounter Moravian history through a distinctly personal and visual lens.
Curlee Raven Holton
February–March 2027
Payne Gallery presents an exhibition of work by Curlee Raven Holton, bringing together approximately 20–30 works from the artist’s studio, spanning his recent practice and earlier work.
A painter, printmaker, and founder of Raven Fine Art Editions, Holton has spent more than 25 years exploring the complexities of human experience through painting, drawing, and printmaking. His work draws deeply from his African American heritage and engages questions of race, class, poverty, politics, isolation, and cultural memory through symbolism and provocative figurative imagery.
The exhibition offers an opportunity to consider the breadth and evolution of Holton’s practice and his sustained engagement with personal and cultural history.
The Trotsky Family Collection
February–March 2027
Payne Gallery presents The Trotsky Family Collection, an exhibition celebrating the recent gifts of Joann Trotsky to Moravian University’s permanent art collection.
The exhibition brings together newly acquired works by contemporary artists, including Curlee Raven Holton, alongside works that reflect the breadth of Trotsky’s collecting interests and her longstanding commitment to supporting artists and expanding the cultural resources of the University.
Among the featured works by Holton are works by Faith Ringgold. Together, these acquisitions represent an important addition to Payne Gallery’s permanent collection and provide new opportunities for teaching, research, and public engagement.
Moravian University encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the Art Department at art@moravian.edu.