Art Seen Asheville: June 2011

Monday, June 20, 2011

A curator's journey through Asheville

Last week curator, archivist, and events producer, Jason Andrew visited Asheville to install an exhibition of Jack Tworkov paintings at Black Mountain College Museum. An online journal of the curatorial process was recorded, along with all the things he did around town. It's a really enlightening personal account of the sweat and tears that goes into installing a show. He also highlights some fun Asheville activities and people he met along the way.

Read Day 1 of Andrews curator's journal on hyperallergenic.com here: http://hyperallergic.com/27055/curator-diary-jason-andrew/
(Subsequent days are linked on the bottom of the page.)

Andrew will be coming back to Asheville later this summer to co-curate a dance performance at the Masonic Temple Saturday August 6th 8:00pm.

More info on the dance performance and The Accident of Choice: Paintings by Jack Tworkov can be read here.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Mark S. Holland

Journey to Jerusalem oil on panel 40 in x 50 in.

Andante acrylic on canvas 52 in by 44 in

I recently came across Mark S. Holland's paintings at Atelier 24 in downtown Asheville. His large floral paintings are breathtaking, and his narrative paintings are quite intriguing. I really like the visual density of his work, his limited color palette, and effortless brushwork.

On his website Holland writes: Archetypes, ancestors, recollection of things unseen, remembrance of the unknown and forgotten pervade my work. I find by painting my own history, desires and passions, I begin to understand myself, my hidden life. We all share similar experiences, much more in common with each other than we realize.

Visit marksholland.com to see more.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

City-sponsored Yarnstorming June 10th

Yarnbombed pothole by Juliana Santacruz Herrera

It's like graffiti, but with yarn.

There's something so benign about knitting, eg., tea cozies and winter scarves. But plenty of artists have done some pretty badass things with yarn. (check out this Facebook group for some neat examples.)

Now there's this thing called yarnstorming, (or yarn bombing): the act of wrapping public fixtures with sheathes of knitted or crocheted yarn -- kind of like a decoration that can be removed at any time. According to this wikipage on yarnbombing, "the practice is still technically illegal, though it is not often prosecuted vigorously."

On Friday June 10th the Asheville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Department will be conducting a FREE yarnstorming workshop 4-7pm at Amboy Park.

According to the event's flyer, no knitting experience is necessary. Instructors will be on hand to teach people how to knit, and install their knitted creations. There will be snacks and music too! It's almost too good to be true, (though I admit that I'm a little bummed to read that all installations will be removed by the city within a week.)

For more information, contact Diane Ruggiero, Superintendent of Cultural Arts, at 828-259-5815

Click here for directions to Amboy Road Park.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Strolling

Photo by Anthony Bellemare, courtesy of Verve Magazine

The River Arts District Studio Stroll weekend is upon us! While there are a host of new artists and studios to check out, be sure to pay a visit to Cleaster Cotton at the Pink Dog Creatives building on Depot Street, where she'll be showing her "contemporary primitive" mixed media work.

Though she relatively new to the area, Cotton's been involved in some mighty community work -- like teaching art to economically-disadvantaged kids. She makes her work using found materials saying, "The materials present themselves. they tell me how they want to be treated."

Read more about Cotton in this article written for Verve Magazine: 100 Percent Cotton

I'm also looking forward to seeing Margaret Couch Cogswell's newest project, Tiny Mailbox, a collection of mail art displayed in a mobile gallery at The Cottonmill Studios on Riverside Drive. Cogswell, a mixed media/book artist, put out a call for mail art several months ago in an effort to revive the waning custom of snail mail. I'm anticipating the results, of which, it appears, there were many. Read more about the project on Cogswell's blog.

See you at the stroll!