Patience: an installation

Patience, a new installation by Bridget Conn is now on display in the Pack Place Gallery in the Pack Square Building. The exhibit is open during business hours. Get there between 3:30 - 4:30 and find Conn seated in a cave of vellum scrolls, at work writing the word "patience" over and over.

"I enjoy repetition as a means of art-making, in the ways it relates to prayer, and in the ways it references methods of learning that I embraced as a child," she writes on her website, www.countingbirds.net.

Also exhibited are Conn's two-dimensional works that incorporate systematically arranged organic materials and textures -- grains of rice laid out painstakingly into rows, for example. It is clear that every creative choice has been made with intention and care. The effect is soothing- something like memories that happen in slow motion.

A closing reception for the installation is planned for Saturday November 13th, 2-4pm.

Spices, rice, tea, seeds and honey, are just some of the ingredients that go into Conn's mixed media works. "Food growing on trees is my inspiration. Reconnecting with such basics makes sense. It transforms my artwork into my own personal alchemy of creating order, understanding, and magic in the mundane."

"Ritual is a means of elevating the importance of simple gestures and observations. Every decision in ritual is imbued with an intent."

"I may not know the stories of my ancestors, but I know historically what the women of my family did in their daily lives. I question why the nature of their work became associated with inferiority."

See more of Bridget Conn's work at www.countingbirds.net

Haunted: Photography by Sebastian Collett

These images are ambassadors from my ever-growing ocean of images;

they form the tip of an iceberg of perceptions, thoughts and feelings about the world.

Emissaries from the unseen, they are cresting now for just a moment before their inevitable disappearance. ~ S. Collett.

It's been a few years since photographer Sebastian Collett has exhibited his photographs in Asheville. For the month of November his photos will once again be on display at The Chase Gallery located in the NC Stage Company lobby, 15 Stage Lane in downtown Asheville.

His show, Haunted is an installation of images he has taken across the country and in Europe.

Says Collett: "I am haunted by these photographs, as I am by the times they represent.They simultaneously reveal and conceal me. Some depict places literally haunted – by what's happened or by the anticipation of what's to come."

Opening Reception is Saturday October 30

6 - 7 pm

The show hangs thru November 30th.

To see more of Collett's work visit wellseen.com

Ladylike: art imitates life

"Exploring the dark side of female relationships" is the theme of Ladylike, a group art show currently on display at Satellite Gallery in downtown Asheville. Guest curator Alli Good came up with the idea when she found a box full of letters passed between her friends in high school, and realized that women's relationships with each other aren't as sugar and spice as they appear to be.

What I find most interesting about the Ladylike exhibit are the thoughtful collaborations that ensued between artists. Gallery owner, Bill Thompson really did a great job hanging the work by allowing each art piece to speak for itself and compliment neighboring pieces.

As a participant, I am honored to exhibit my paintings in conjunction with the amazing work of 10 other female Asheville artists. It was a pleasure -- and admittedly awkward at times -- to get together with this group for planning sessions. I would go to to the meetings with the theme of the show front and center in my mind -- amused and self conscious of my own behavior with these women. In this case life was imitating art that imitates life.

Ladylike will be on display until November 21st at Satellite Gallery located at 55 Broadway.

Read more about the show: Frenemies Like These, written by Alli Marshall for The Mountain Xpress.

Installation by Alli Good. Drawing by Kreh Mellick

Detail of note created by Alli Good

R. Brooke Priddy and Nicole McConville collaboration.

R. Brooke Priddy and Kreh Mellick collaboration

Ceramic figurines by Sarah Danforth. Paintings by Ursula Gullow

Video by Megan McKissack. Photography by Drea Jackson

Mixed media piece by Sarah Cavalieri

Collaborations by Nicole McConville, Julie Armbruster, Alli Good and R. Brooke Priddy

Detail of installation by Tara Jensen

Photograph by Meg Reilley

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.

Asheville at SECCA

A recent movement in art-making is fusing seemingly disparate elements of history painting and collage with graffiti, video gaming, folk, anime, advertising and film. ~Steven Matijcio

The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art presents
North Carolina New Contemporary

A vivid cross-section of cultural expression from across the state.

Curator Steven Matijcio has selected four Asheville artists to be included in this show:
Sean Jinx Pace
Taiyo La Paix
Gabriel Shaffer
Brian Mashburn

Opening Friday, Oct. 8, 2010, 7 pm - 10 pm

The show will run 22 weeks until March 13th

The South East Center for Contemporary Arts is located at
750 Marguerite Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27106

www.secca.org for more information

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.)

Wikipedia fails to mention visual arts of Asheville

Dustin Spagnola as photographed by Zen Sutherland.

Everyone always talks about what an arts Mecca Asheville is, but today when I consulted the Wikipedia on Asheville there was not one single mention of a visual art scene or even a craft scene going on here. According to Wiki, Asheville has no galleries or art museums though it does have a hot busking scene, weekly drum circle and The Smashing Pumpkins played at the Orange Peel in 2007. Even the performing arts were given a nod, (but just barely.)

The commercial tourist sites tell a different story, and rightfully so since the arts attract so many visitors to the area: Exploreasheville.com gives links to all the hot and happening art spots downtown, the monthly gallery walks, the festivals and The River Arts District. The homepage of the Asheville Chamber of Commerce reads: "Come for the abundant natural beauty, friendly atmosphere, wealth of year-round outdoor activities, rich history, and lively local arts and music scene etc.."

The visual arts are commonly overlooked for music events, but I'm still really surprised that whoever wrote the Wiki entry failed to mention any visual art or craft scene in Asheville. Perhaps there weren’t any city records of grants or awards or state funded studios or contributions to non-profit visual art organizations to draw statistics from...? One can only guess.

In any case, yesterday visual artists made their presence known by setting up their easels around downtown for a day of painting and networking. As artists we tend to hole up in our caves to produce our work and there can be a sense of isolation. Yesterday's event affirmed our shared experience and really was a celebration of the visual arts.

The City of 1,000 Easels is the first public project from Graham Hackett, newly appointed program director at The Asheville Area Arts Council. I’m hoping this is an indication of better things to come from the AAAC and a louder voice for the visual arts community of Asheville.

Here's some great photos by Zen Sutherland of the event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zen/sets/72157624945187142/show/

Ashvegas: Asheville transformed into city of 1,000 easels

ursulagullow.blogspot.com to see the painting I made during the event