Alexa Kleinbard’s artistic project for more than thirty years has been devoted to addressing issues surrounding the ongoing degradation and destruction of our natural environment. She has always taken the position that we are in and of nature, never accepting the concept of nature as something separate from and controllable by humans. She has studied animals and plants in their native environment for decades, producing strikingly unique and beautiful images that comment on the natural world. Her work presents dichotomies of good and evil, despair and hope, destruction and healing, with a lyricism, lushness of imagery, and sophisticated sense of color and form that underscores and makes bittersweet the issues we face with the ongoing degradation of our natural environment. Through three series, ranging from oil on shaped birchwood, oil stick and graphite drawings on paper, and intricate collaged animals in ink, paint, and pencil, this exhibition presents the dichotomies of despair and hope with a lyricism and lushness of imagery.
Vitreous Enamels brings together five master enamelists, Kristin Anderson, Chris Hierholzer, Carole Jayne, Mary Reynolds, and Kathleen Wilcox, each to whom has devoted 20-30 years to enameling and who specialize in a particular technique and have a unique style. Kristin Anderson plays with the duality of durable and fragile. Her work focuses on light and how it interacts with enamel. Chris Hierholzer creates beautiful enamel jewelry reminiscent of the Byzantine period. Carole Jayne works with the ancient cloisonné technique to make mixed media works. Mary Reynolds explores color and pattern and makes small jewelry/painting pieces. Kathleen Wilcox’s love of nature comes through in her enamel pieces.
Tallahassee based artist Linda Hall created a site-specific installation in the Munroe Family Community Gallery from various mixed media, including papier-mâché, clothing scraps, beads and sometimes, animal teeth. She gifts forgotten materials a second life in which they house the spirit of her work. With her installations, she seeks to explore the mystery between animal and human. Hall wants to remind us all of our relationship to the natural world and remind us of our roots.
Enjoy the first of four 2020 exhibitions from Gadsden Arts Artists Guild, now numbering 62 members! View work by Nancy Adams, Terrie Corbett, Karole Curtis, Sandy DeLopez, Tom DeLopez, Carole Fiore, Brenda Francis, Mark Georgiades, Terry Hawkins, John R. Isaacs, Michele Tabor Kimbrough, Pam McLean, Kent Putnam, Roger Raepple, Stephen Revell, Cheryl Sattler, Robert DeWitt Smith, Siroos Tamaddoni, and Joel Thornton. The Gadsden Arts Center & Museum Artists Guild was formed to provide an opportunity for local and regional artists to exhibit their artwork year-round, participate in educational seminars and critiques, and volunteer their time helping with Gadsden Arts fundraising events and educational programming. The Guild has over 60 members who live throughout the region and work in a variety of mediums including mixed media, fiber oil, acrylic, watercolor, encaustic, photography and pen & ink. Learn more about the Artists Guild here.
The 2020 Collection Exhibition, Recent Acquisitions, highlights some of the works donated to Gadsden Arts over the last couple of years, including work by Beth Appleton, Mose Tolliver, Dean Gioia, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Edgar Tolson, and Purvis Young. Thanks to the generosity of nine donors, the Collection grew substantially in 2019. Sixty works of art were accessioned, a record number, bringing the total collection up to 172 objects. Fifty-four of these were additions to the museum’s Southern Vernacular Art Collection, featuring work by celebrated American artists such as Thornton Dial, Sr., Lonnie Holley, Mose Tolliver, O.L. Samuels, and Purvis Young. A new artist was added to the Permanent Collection, a sculptor from Kentucky named Edgar Tolson, who like other Vernacular artists in the collection such as Mose Tolliver, took up wood carving full-time after an accident left him unable to work. Learn more about the Gadsden Arts Permanent Collection here.
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