Exhibit: Severn Eaton at PUSH Gallery

See What Inspired Me is the title of Severn Eaton's newest exhibit at PUSH Gallery in downtown Asheville. Known for his narrative paintings that reflect on the cultural milieu of neoliberalism, Eaton's new show heralds his familiar anti-consumerist perspective but contains no paintings. Instead, Eaton uses images and slogans cut from billboard advertisements to create an environment that is sensationally grotesque. At this close range the onslaught of bright colors and pixelated food is both horrifying and fascinating.

In the middle of the room two life-sized human forms made out of clear packing tape are connected to a box and breathe in and out when activated -- literally deflating and inflating each other. The kinetic rigging of this sculpture is pretty amazing and lends a compelling interactive element to the show.

Pop into PUSH Gallery and Skateshop at 25 Patton Ave and see for yourself before the show comes down later this month.

Read Kyle Sherard's review for the Montain Xpress: See What Inspired Severn Eaton

Visit www.severneaton.com to see more.

Shout-out to the Piedmont Triad

If you find yourself in the mood for a road trip and craving some good contemporary art, it's worth taking a trip to the Piedmont Triad --referring to the cities of Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point.

First off, stop off in Winston Salem and visit the South East Center for Contemporary Arts (SECCA.) This gem of a center always has some captivating exhibits. Out of Fashion, curated by Steven Matijcio, is one of the current shows and features work by local artists, R. Brooke Priddy (pictured above) and Libby O'Bryan. Admission is free! www.secca.org

The soft sculpture works of Margarita Cabrera are also on display at SECCA. From the website: "Turning crafts and their manufacture into the vehicle for socio-political consideration, she questions con-temporary applications of post-NAFTA Latin American labor. Drawing upon local communities, Cabrera orchestrates the manufacture of soft, vinyl sculptures resembling backpacks, bicycles, potted plants, domestic appliances, pianos, and full-sized automobiles."

Next, visit The Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro. The museum was established to aid the MFA program at UNC Greensboro and houses six galleries. Currently showing in the main gallery is Persona: A Body in Parts, curated by Xandra Eden, which presents the opportunity to see some of Nick Cave's soundsuits among other compelling work. Admission is also free! Hurry, the exhibit comes down December 11th. www.weatherspoon.uncg.edu

In another gallery at The Weatherspoon I positively swooned over the paintings and drawings of Tom Burckhardt.

Visit www.tomburckhardt.com to see more.

Here's a link to his show at The Weatherspoon

Lines and Lives of the Face

If you haven't yet been to Tryon, NC, there's at least a one good reason for you to visit this month. Tryon is located about an hour south of Asheville, near the border of South Carolina. It's a lovely little mountain town, slightly warmer in climate than Asheville, with a population of approximately 1,700. It happens to be the town where Nina Simone was born and it is also home of the impressive contemporary art center Upstairs Artspace.

Currently Upstairs Artspace is exhibiting Lines and Lives of the Face, a group show curated by Margaret Curtis and Nancy Holmes. Curtis is an amazing painter who recently took over the role of managing exhibitions at the Upstairs ArtSpace. This is exciting because her knowledge of contemporary art insures some quality exhibitions in the future. Holmes is an art enthusiast who recently supported a new exhibition at The Asheville Art Museum, Homage2.

For LALOTF Curtis initiated a collaboration between NYC artist James Esber and 24 regional artists, "non-artists" and children. For it, Esber provided a drawing of Osama bin Laden to be traced by each participant of the project. The different interpretations that occurred in spite of the standardized form, were astounding. Some artists chose to incorporate literal symbols in their work; others went a more formalized or intuitive route. (The video above does not include the drawings from Upstairs ArtSpace.)

"Pube Patch" and "Brillo Head" paintings by Alli Good

In addition to Esber's project, The gallery contains work by 14 artists -- each presenting their unique approach to the "portrait." There are realist paintings, and stylized interpretations in media ranging from sculpture, paintings, drawings and woodcuts.

"Chill" by Taiyo La Paix. I just love that DQ logo and those faux fur cuffs.

Kindergarten series by David Slone

Drawings by Phillip McGuire


My paintings

Exhibiting artists also include: Kevin Clinton, Mathew Curran, Paul Flint, Dawn Hunter, Francesco Lombardo, Brian Mashburn, Tim Speaker and Bob Trotman

Tuesday, November 1st a panel of artists from the show will discuss traditional vs. contemporary portraits and the appeal of the subject. 7pm

Friday, November 11 Regional writers will read their poetry and prose in the gallery. 7pm.

Line and Lives of the Face hangs until November 19th

Upstairs Artspace

49 South Tryon Street

828.859.2828

The gallery is open Tues - Sat. 11am - 5pm.

Lauren Gallaspy's delicate wreckages

I recently wrote an article for the Mountain Xpress about the latest installment of work at Blue Spiral 1 Gallery in downtown Asheville. In researching the gallery and it's artists I became deeply smitten by the work of Lauren Gallaspy.

Gallaspy puts the gore in gorgeous. (It's ridiculous to write that but I can't help myself.)
The intricacy of her illustrations add visual depth to her wonderfully visceral structures.

See more at: www.laurengallaspy.com

Surprise Discoveries: Blue Spiral 1 unearths Southeastern talents

Ceramic Sculptures by JoAnna Fireman

"The sculptures I create focus on many aspects of our wild instinctual psyche as articulated through animal and human forms. Stripped down to their bare bones, these creatures exhibit a primitive life force, both fierce and vulnerable."

"I approach the clay as I would an unknown animal, with my senses fully open."

"A creature may emerge in a recognizable form speaking of its plight or its magnificence."

"More often the form appears mysterious, inviting me to wonder about its nature, our nature, and our relationship."

See more of JoAnna Fireman's sculptures at joannafireman.com

Or visit Odyssey Clay Center to see the work in person.

DRAW: Sean Pace at Satellite Gallery

Sean "Jinx" Pace's point of view as an artist couldn't be clearer in his latest solo exhibition, DRAW, on view until September 26 at Satellite Gallery. Through his work Pace exhibits humor, social commentary, and creative zeal.

Combining mechanics and found objects Pace "repurposes" items into new things with very specific functions. Figurative elements, like arms or legs, are often added to the sculptures and there is an unrefined quality to the work that I find appealing. I like that they aren't glossy, perfected specimens -- sometimes they can be faulty in their operation, reflecting the imperfect quality of being human.

Below are some images from the show but they hardly represent the lively imagination that Pace displays. I recommend seeing and experiencing the kinetic aspects of this exhibit in person.

Write Makes Right

D-Raw Power

Develop This Mother Fucker

Scribbler ( I love that bucket of interchangeable colored pencils)

Spitball Painting Machine (Complete with a dispenser for napkins and straws.)

Three fun events this Saturday!

Marble sculptor Alexei Kazantsev will be working on a piece at 85 Patton Ave all day May 15th

May 15th promises to be a hearty day for art aficionados attracted to unusual art happenings.

One of them is Fanaticon at The Asheville Art Museum which will feature local comic book vendors, artists, panel discussions and special guests. Among the notable artists exhibiting work: Jessica C. White, Hope Larson, Gabe Shaffer, Brent Giles and a ton more.

Here's a great article about Fanaticon written by Miles Britton for the Mountain Xpress.

Another event is the Bountiful Cities Bird House Auction at the Arts Council on Saturday evening where birdhouses created by local artists will be auctioned off 4-7:30 pm. One of the artists is Melissa Weiss of the Clayspace Co-op who created a ceramic house especially for the event.

The third event I found out about randomly while strolling through downtown Asheville today. A handwritten sign taped to a new shop at 85 Patton Aveue called Rugs-n-More alerted me that marble sculptor Alexei Kazantsev will be in the shop all day Saturday working on one of his marble sculptures. This is a one-time event, and if you are interested in that sort of thing, it seems like a great opportunity to watch it in action.
Kazantsev does not live in Asheville, but according to the shop owner's wife, Sundae More (her real name) the artist found the shop appealing and asked if he could work on his sculptures in there. Sounds intriguing!
To see Kazantsev's work visit his website: www.aksculptstudios.com

Loren Schwerd: Mourning Portrait

1812 Tupelo St.

Do not miss the opportunity to see Lauren Schwerd's Mourning Portrait currently on display at The Center for Craft, Creativity, and Design in Hendersonville, NC. The intricate details and grace of each sculpture is magnificent, while the use of wig hair is as elegant as it is disturbing. The exhibit will remain until March 26th.

1317 Charbonnet St.

Mourning Portrait began as a series of memorials to the communities of New Orleans that were devastated by the flooding which followed Hurricane Katrina. Working from photographs Schwerd took of vacant houses from the Ninth Ward neighborhood, she creates metal armatures that act as the frameworks for weaving the hair into portraits of these homes. These commemorative objects are made from human hair extensions of the type commonly used by African-American women that the artist found outside the St. Claude Beauty Supply. The portraits draw on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century tradition of hairwork, in which family members or artisans would fashion the hair of the deceased into intricate jewelry and other objects as symbols of death and rebirth. This series venerates the city's losses, both individual and collective. Hair acts as the central metaphor to evoke a sense of intimacy and absence, and speaks to the racial politics that have paralyzed the city's recovery effort. READ MORE

Visit www.Lorenschwerd.com to see more work.

The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design is free to the public.

1181 Broyles Road, between Hwy 64 and South Rugby in Hendersonville, NC.

Gallery hours are 10am-5pm Monday through Friday

828-890-2050

www.craftcreativitydesign.org

Willie Little's Juke Joint at YMI

Asheville is very privileged to have Juke Joint -- a multi media installation by Willie Little-- on display at the YMI Cultural Center this month. The installation is a recreation of the grocery that Little's father operated in the late 60's. Viewing it is a rather haunting experience -- especially when you're by yourself, walking through the maze of walls configured out of remnants of the original Little's Grocery juke joint. Life sized characters in tattered garb swig gin, chain smoke, and dance around a jukebox that plays Otis Redding. Little neither romanticizes or vilifies his cast of characters and I think this is what I liked best about the exhibit.

Walking through the installation was also a bit discomforting -- like I was walking into someone else's story where I didn't belong. I thought about the fetishization of the African American experience, and the objectification of marginalized cultures. I thought about the fact that the only way I would ever get close to such a lifestyle is via a prefabricated experience in a gallery, or perhaps a video documentary.

Little writes:
Juke joints were an anomaly particular to the Black experience. During the day, my father’s place was known as Little’s Grocery. But when night fell, so did its mask of civic purpose. People stole in from across the county for a little gin, a little dancing, a little romancing. “The Store” was a physical metaphor for the masks upon masks that people of color have always had to wear in a country that actively relegated their existence to the darkest corners, the darkest hours.

To produce "Juke Joint" Little was awarded a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council. The installation has traveled and been exhibited nationally in places such as The Smithsonian Institution, Arts & Industries Gallery, Washington DC, and the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, Missouri

Learn more about the exhibit in this fascinating write up by Billy Kopp for the Mountain Xpress

You can find a more detailed explanation and pictures on this page of Little's website.

To see more of Little's artwork visit www.willielittle.com

The installation will be on display at The YMI Cultural Center on Eagle Street until March 28th.

Toys! at Satellite Gallery

Fifty nationally based artists have interpreted the blank wooden dolls designed by Cleveland artist Mike Burnett for a very entertaining show currently on display at The Satellite Gallery(55 Broadway).

A wide variety of people – from comic book lovers, to children and people who normally wouldn't consider themselves to be art aficionados – will likely find the show appealing, and the integrity of the work is top notch.

The imaginatively interpreted dolls are fun to observe, and the exhibit introduces the viewer to an assortment of quality artists such as Los Angeles painter Lola, whose delicately decorated little doll solemnly listens to headphones and holds what appears to be a dead possum.

The traveling show also features work from a smattering of Asheville artists, including Melissa Terrezza, who has placed her crowned doll inside of a toilet bowl, for her piece entitled "Royal Flush." Dustin Spagnola has created a scene of black-clad anarchists, and Bence Vetro has put a knife through the head of his doll that lacks a body.

Due to bad weather, Satellite was unable to host an opening for the show, so owner Bill Thompson has decided to celebrate with a closing reception on Saturday, Jan 23. Until then, the gallery will be open for public viewing during normal business hours.

Call 828- 505-2225 for more info.

Posted from "All Dolled Up" Artillery: Mountain Xpress 1/13/10

Art for the mass-querades

There I was checking out the Riverview Station and I came across Paul Hersey, creator of Organic Armor. He made me wear one of his headpieces while we talked and I fell in love with it. Hersey creates one of a kind costume pieces from latex. They are very wonderful. Check out more at www.organicarmor.com

You can visit Hersey this weekend if you are in Asheville for the River Arts District Studio Stroll

Tara Jensen and Lucky Fruit!

Asheville artist Tara Jensen will be traveling to Tokyo and Osaka, Japan next month to install her latest collection of multi media work entitled Lucky Fruit! Paper cuts, stuffed fruit dolls, paper mache and drawings are just some of the many elements comprising this visually exuberant installation.

Using bright colors and tribal-influenced designs she defines her work as "folkpop." Says Jensen, "I love the vibrant work of Paper Rad and can also get lost in the installation work of Louise Bourgeois. Much of my art depicts colorful fantasy worlds where I find the strength and positivity to work towards a real world that is just, lively and free from suffering."

This Friday, October 23rd Jensen will be having a going away party for all the artwork that she will be shipping to Tokyo and Osaka. Come and see her creations, learn how they were made, and celebrate the completion of Lucky Fruit!

The viewing party is located in Jensen's studio at Handcranked on Tingle Alley, and runs from 6-9PM. She will have art for sale priced at five and ten dollars.

Visit Tara Jensen's blog: www.frenemieglan.blogspot.com for more pics, and to read more about her process and creative insights.

For the Love of Marshall

Marshall NC is worth visiting not only for it's gorgeousness and gorgeousity, but also for it's low-key cultural hiptitude. Reasonable rents and a small population (900) are what lure many an artistic individual wishing to escape the confines of city life.

The Madison County Arts Council frequently exhibits interesting art shows and acts as a music venue most Friday nights. Currently Laura Marsico is displaying her site specific installation, 33. (pictured above.) Says Marsico: "'33' is a reflection of the dichotomy between resources and resourcefulness, roots and growth, space and imagination, pattern and organization...and, ultimately, the plasticity of nature. Within a forest of collected and altered throwaways, all of the aforementioned relationships bring to light the question of settling, hiding and wandering in this existence."
The show will be on display until October 2nd.

Across the river from downtown sits Marshall High Studios - an old high school that has been renovated into 25 artists studios. It is a must-see for visitors. Rumors have it that the school was slated for demolition but through heavy donations and investments a group in town was able to save it. The history and integrity of the original school have not been lost in the remodeling - it is an amazing accomplishment that such an institutional building has been put to good use by artists.
Read more about the Marshall High Studios and Laura Marsico's installation:
Marshall: The South of France of the South MtnXpress 08/26/09

RIP Cali: a site specific installation

Don't worry, the cat is not dead in this picture

After my beloved cat Cali heaved her last dignified breaths in the privacy of my apartment, I had to figure out where to bury her. Unsure about the laws regarding such matters, I enlisted my friend Courtney to help me dig a hole somewhere remote.

Our first attempt at this failed as the ground was too rooted and rocky to get deeper than one inch. Desperate, we decided to hit a public patch of land where we knew the soil would be softer and easier to get a shovel in.

As we were digging the hole I spotted one of those do gooder neighborhood-watch type ladies circling the property with her dog. They both had their eyes on us.

"I swear to god if she comes over here tell her we're doing an art project or something," I whispered to Courtney.

I put the shovel down and started walking to the car to retrieve my little corpse announcing loudly over my shoulder "I'm just gonna go grab the camera okay??"

From the backseat of the car I watched the woman approach Courtney. They exchanged some words and then the woman walked away.

According to Courtney the conversation went something like this:

Neighborhood Watch Lady: I see you're digging a hole.

Courtney: yup.

NWL: Whatcha gonna put in it?

Courtney: It's an art project for school

NWL: Oh! Like Andy Goldsworthy!

Courtney: yes. exactly.

The lesson of the story is: If you're in a sticky situation and don't know how to get out of it, just tell them it's art.

Sculptures by Jeff Bell

Rocker (2008) steel, wood, paint. 16 X 18.5 X 11.25 inches

For the Noise (2008) steel, wood, paint. 19 X 39 X 36 inches

Artist Jeff Bell recently exhibited work at FLOOD Gallery and unfortunately his show went under the radar in Asheville. "The Sled and the Blocks" - the title of the exhibition - was a collection of sculptures the artist produced with commonplace items reconfigured to produce familiar yet unidentifiable forms.

Bell lives in Durham, NC and has exhibited work through North Carolina including The Greensboro Art Museum.

My goal for each sculpture is to bring together elements from different backgrounds to create a new object that lives in the precarious area between the known and unknown. They allude to a variety of sources and concepts but never too literally. The finished work strives to be both more poetic and allusive. ~Jeff Bell

To see more of Bell's work visit: www.jeff-bell.com

Ari Richter

Mr. Precious cat hair on a cast concrete statue

The Cheekbiter the artist's cheek skin cast over a resin toy figurine

Pork Grind ground spicy and original flavored pork rinds

Beef Chart sewn leather

The play between material and subject is similar to the language in a pun; something can be at-once recognizable and unfamiliar. -Ari Richter
www.aririchter.com