The Asheville Art Museum Current Events

Yanka Kostova Carolina Day School Award Winner

January 27, 2017 from 5:00-7:00 PM, 175 Biltmore Avenue (the "pop up" location during renovations and construction) in Asheville NC - The Museum On the Slope. Celebrate the official opening of the Slope Gallery with a reception. Enjoy snacks and drinks, browse the gift shop and be the first to view the award-winning student artwork on view in the 2017 WNC Regional Scholastic Art Awards exhibition. The exhibit continues through February 26.

With major construction happening at 2 S. Pack Square in 2017, The Museum has moved to a pop-up location. Free admission! Current hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10 AM-5 PM and Sunday 1-5 PM.  What’s there? Our Gift Shop is open, and our first exhibition opens January 28. We also have an education studio to hold some programming, and our staff offices have temporarily moved to this location.


January 27, 12:00 PM at the Asheville Art Museum On the Slope - Art Break: Multimedia Storytelling. Last fall the Museum collaborated with UNC Asheville as a case study for Multimedia Storytelling for Journalism students. Each student selected an artwork, artist, or topic related to the Museum’s Permanent Collection to profile in multiple media formats. Students researched story ideas, interviewed sources, designed compelling stories and produced narratives to connect people with art. View for a screening of the student’s videos and a Q&A with Dr. Sonya DiPalma, Professor of Mass Communications.

Kenneth Noland courtesy of Asheville Art Museum

Work of the Week: NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST by Kenneth Noland. Kenneth Noland (1924-2010) was born in Asheville, NC. He was exposed to art at an early age by his mother, who was an amateur musician, and his father, a painter. After service in the Air Force, he returned to Asheville and attended Black Mountain College, where he was introduced to Bauhaus principles and color theories. 

The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design Opening Reception and Tour

January 20, 2017    The Good Making of Good Things: Opening Reception and Tour at The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design    

A special exhibition tour to kick off the 2017 exhibition season. The Good Making of Good Things investigates Craft Horizons, a watershed publication, which ran from 1941-1979, and explores how the magazine documented and shaped the concept of craft as a movement, career, way of life, and cultural phenomenon. 6:30 - 8:30 PM, free and open to the public.  

The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design is located at 67 Broadway Street, in Asheville NC.

This Week at the Asheville Art Museum

SPACE IS EXTREMELY LIMITED! REGISTER TODAY

 
Art Travels  -  Arts of the Earth: Wood and Clay
Tuesday, October 18, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00  p.m.
Cost (includes transportation and lunch): $85 members; $95 non-members
Register online before the trip sells out, or call 828.253.3227

Michael Sherrill and Stoney Lamar

Join the Museum for this special half-day, small-group tour to visit the Western North Carolina studios of two master artists working in natural media, plus a delicious locally sourced lunch! The first stop is to the Bat Cave studio of Michael Sherrill, a materials-based artist experimenting primarily in clay, metal, and glass whose handmade objects explore the intersection of humans and materials in the natural world. Then participants head over to Saluda for a tasty lunch at The Purple Onion, known for its organic ingredients and simple, healthful Mediterranean-inspired menu. After lunch the group visits the studio of Stoney Lamar, whose unique multi-axial lathe work gives his wood sculptures a distinct sense of movement. Work by both Sherrill and Lamar is featured in the Museum’s and other public and private collections around the country.

Tot Time
Tuesday, October 18, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Free with membership or Museum admission (children under 5 always free)

Come discover the art of play in our interactive Art PLAYce! This monthly program for pre-school aged children accompanied by an adult occurs on the third Tuesday of each month, and features a fun activity designed especially for our young visitors plus time to explore the Museum galleries.

This Tot Time  will be your last chance to enjoy the original Art PLAYce before construction begins! Look for the Education team in your community presenting Tot Time at local libraries and community centers.

For more information, please email Sharon McRorie or call 828.253.3227, ext. 124.

ON VIEW IN THE ASHEVILLE ART MUSEUM GALLERIES 
Creating Change: Political Art from the Permanent Collection
Selections from the Permanent Collection: 140 Years of American Art
Vault Visible: Behind the Scenes at the Asheville Art Museum
Geometric Vistas: Landscapes by Artists of Black Mountain College
Community: Sharon Louden
Sol LeWitt: Creating Place

This Week at the Asheville Art Museum

Last Chance to Register for An Afternoon at Highwater Clays.  This exciting behind-the-scenes tour is next week. Wednesday, July 20, 1:30 - 3:30 PM. Museum Members: $20,  Non-members: $30.  Meet at Highwater Clays (600 Riverside Drive, Asheville 28801).  For over 30 years, Highwater Clays has been mixing fine clays for artists’ use. Raw materials convene on Highwater from around the country, and are screened, mixed, refined and bagged using state-of-the-art technology. Join artists, collectors and Highwater founders Brian and Gail McCarthy for a private tour of Highwater’s production facility and warehouse, as well as their personal collection of fine-art ceramics. Light refreshments are provided. Space is limited; pre-registration is required. To register, click here or call 828.253.3227, ext. 122.


July 15, 2016 at 12:00 PM - Art Break.  More Than a Moment in Time: Selected Photographs from the Museum’s Collection with Taylor Heasley, Education Intern. Drop in to this informal lunchtime Art Break that focuses on works in our Permanent Collection! Our Art Breaks are designed to both inform and engage you in dialogue with our curatorial and education staff, docents or special guests. Free with membership or Museum admission.


July 19, 2016 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM - Tot Time. Come discover the art of play in the interactive Art PLAYce! This monthly program for pre-school aged children accompanied by an adult occurs on the third Tuesday of each month, and features a fun activity designed especially for our young visitors plus time to explore the Museum galleries. For more information, email Sharon McRorie or call 828.253.3227, ext. 124. Free with membership or Museum admission (children under 5 always free)

Museum Shop Centerpiece Sale Ends Friday - A limited selection of beautiful works of art featured at the recent benefit NEXT are available for purchase in the Museum Shop...but sales end Friday, July 15.  For more information or to purchase, click here.

Currently on view in the Asheville Art Museum Galleries:

• Vault Visible: Photographs
• Vault Visible: Behind the Scenes at the Asheville Art Museum
• Selections from the Permanent Collection: 140 Years of American Art
• Appalachian Innovators: Women Makers in the Southern Highland Craft Guild, 1930-2000
• Community: Sharon Louden
• Sol LeWitt: Creating Place

Recorded Matter: Ceramics in Motion Exhibit at The Center for Crafts and Creative Design

Now - May 21, 2016; Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM at the Center for Crafts and Creative Design, 67 Broadway Street in Asheville NC: Recorded Matter: Ceramics in Motion showcases the work of eleven artists who effortlessly integrate video into their studio practice. Others use video to document a process that is perhaps more important to them than finished, fired objects. All of these pieces have a life of their own on the Internet, where they can be shared in ways that physical objects cannot.

Cover Image: Ben Harlecourtesy of CCCD

Associated events:

February 11, 6:30 PM: Showing/Making: Curator's Talk with Garth Johnson. This 60-minute multimedia lecture by Garth Johnson explores the work of a new generation of young artists who grew up with easy access to video and social media. Recent years have seen an explosion of work that uses video to not only document process, but to show the use (and abuse) of the work and extend their studio practice. Warning: THIS LECTURE CONTAINS AN EROTIC POETRY READING that may be unsuitable for some audiences. 

April 21, 6:30 PM: Artist's Talk with Thomas Schmidt. Discussion with Recycled China co-founder Thomas Schmidt.

AAAC_logo_colorRecorded Matter: Ceramics in Motion is organized and curated by Arizona State University Art Museum Ceramics Research Center Curator, Garth Johnson. This program is funded in part by the N.C. Arts Council’s Grassroots Arts Program through the Asheville Area Arts Council. 

Art Break Tomorrow at The Asheville Art Museum

March 18, 12:00 PM at The Asheville Art Museum, 2 South Pack Square in downtown Asheville NC - Make It Speak: Stories from the Vault. Free with membership or Museum admission 

Asheville Art Museum in Pack Square downtown

For this Art Break, Assistant Curator Carolyn Grosch will give a behind-the-scenes look at the Vault Visible exhibition and current curatorial projects leading up to the Museum’s major construction project. As the Museum undertakes the processes of inventory, packing and moving before the expansion, staff members are making new discoveries about the Museum’s collection every day. In this Stories From the Vault series, curators, educators and special guests tell tales of connoisseurship, conservation, collecting and conundrums as they delve into the recesses of the storage vaults.

Art Break at the Asheville Art Museum

January 8, 2016 at 12 PM at the Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square in downtown Asheville NC - Art Break: Cathryn Griffin. Free with membership or Museum admission.

Come visit the Museum for an informal gallery talk that will both inform and engage you in dialogue with special guest Jon Jicha, Exhibition Curator and Professor, from Western Carolina University. Jicha will discuss the exhibition, Somewhere Between Here and There: Cathryn Griffin. 

Weekend Events at The Asheville Art Museum

September 18, 12:00 - 1:00 PM  Lunchtime Art Break - Wegman The Museum presents Lunchtime Art Breaks, a series of gallery talks and presentations designed to inform and engage you in dialogue with members of our curatorial and education departments, docents and special guests. A member of the Museum's staff will give a gallery tour of William Wegman: Cubism and Other-isms. Free with membership or Museum admission.

September 19, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. Photo Experience at Hickory Nut Gap Farm   Join photographer Ken Abbott on a photographic exploration of the historic Hickory Nut Gap Farm. Abbott's own photos, taken at the farm, are currently on view in the exhibition Heritage and Home: Photographs of Hickory Nut Gap Farm and are featured in his recent publication Useful Work: Photographs of Hickory Nut Gap Farm. 

Abbott received his MFA in photography from Yale University School of Art in 1987, and spent 15 years as chief photographer for the University of Colorado at Boulder. He moved to Asheville with his family in 2002, and has pursued independent art projects including an extensive documentary of Mrs. Hyatt's Oprahouse, a gathering of musicians and devoted fans meeting weekly in the garage behind the house since the 1950s. Abbott also photographed businesses, people and buildings in the old Asheville stockyards area, prior to its recent transition into the new brewery for New Belgium Brewing Company. Abbott received an Artists Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council for the Hickory Nut Gap Farm Project in 2006. 

Participants should bring their own camera. Please dress appropriately for the weather and light hiking. To register call the Museum at 828.253.3227. $25 for Members; $35 for Non-Members.

Pianoforte Recital, photo courtesy of the Asheville Art Museum

September 20 at 3:00 p.m. Pianoforte Recital in Sol LeWitt Gallery    Pianoforte alumni John Cobb and Alexander Schwarzkopf will perform selections by Bartok, Cage, Copeland, Crumb, Gershwin, Ives, Schoenberg and Steinbach. While we have had the pleasure of having each of the pianists perform at Pianoforte recitals, this is the first time they will be performing together. Please call the Museum at 828.253.3227 for reservations. $8 + tax for Members ($7 children) $16 + tax (includes Museum admission) for Non-Members ($15 children).

The Asheville Art Museum is located at 2 South Pack Square in downtown Asheville NC.  

William Wegman Exhibition at The Asheville Art Museum

August 23, 3:00 - 5:00 PM at The Asheville Art Museum, 2 South Pack Square in downtown Asheville NC - Opening Reception for Cubism and Other-isms by William Wegman. The exhibition is on view August 22, 2015 through January 24, 2016. 

William Wegman, one of the world's most renowned photographers, has been working on a project he calls Cubism and Other-isms, where with his trademark wry humor he mines art historical precedents to create images of startling beauty. Beginning in the early 1990s while making videos and films with his dogs standing in as human characters, the artist placed his subjects on elevated platforms in order to shoot them at eye level. Over the years, props in Wegman's photographs have taken many forms, but none so consistently as the cube. 

William Wegman "Lean"to" courtesy Asheville Art Museum

Asheville Art Museum News: August Events at the Museum

August 7, 2015 from 5 PM to 8 PM at the Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square in Asheville NC: First Friday Art Walk. Free with membership or Museum admission. On the first Friday of each month, the Museum welcomes participants of the Downtown Asheville Art District's First Friday Art Walk. This is an excellent opportunity to explore the remarkable Asheville Art Museum.

August 13, 2015 from 5:30 - 7:00 PM: Lecture: Male Quilter Roger Winchell. Free with membership or Museum admission. Join a discussion and show-and-tell with local male-quilter Roger Winchell. Winchell has only been quilting for five years, but in that short period he won the Viewers' Choice Award at the Asheville Quilt Show with his very first quilt, which was later exhibited at the Folk Art Center. His quilts have won local awards and several have been accepted into national juried shows. Prior to his career in quilting, Roger was a computer systems analyst at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville. This event is held in conjunction with "Man-Made: Contemporary Male Quilters".

August 15 - 16, 2015 at 2:00 PM: Weekend Film Screenings - Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, Directed by Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein Free with membership or Museum admission. An Olympic athlete; a gay activist; a boy with hemophilia; a recovering heroin addict; a closeted Navy commander: five very diverse lives that shared a common fate. Their lives - along with thousands of others - are woven together in a giant memorial patchwork quilt that is solemnly unfolded in the U.S. Capitol to protest the government's refusal to respond to a growing epidemic. Common Threads tells the powerful story of the first decade of the AIDS epidemic in the United States. Not rated. 79 minutes. Screened in conjunction with Man-Made: Contemporary Male Quilters.

August 18, 2015 from 10:30 - 11:30 AM: Tot Time. Free with membership or Museum admission. Come discover the art of play in the interactive Art PLAYce for Children. Art PLAYce is open daily, but each month a fun activity is featured, designed especially for young visitors plus time to explore the Museum galleries.

August 22, 2015 10:00 - 5:00 PM - New on View: William Wegman. Free with membership or Museum admission. Opening Reception: August 23, 3:00 - 5:00 PM. The Museum is excited to present Cubism and Other-isms, an exhibition of works by one of the world's most renowned photographers, William Wegman. The exhibition is on view August 22, 2015 through January 24, 2016.

Over many years, Wegman has been working on a project he calls Cubism and Other-isms, where with his trademark wry humor he mines art historical precedents to create images of startling beauty. Beginning in the early 1990s while making videos and films with his dogs standing in as human characters, the artist placed his subjects on elevated platforms in order to shoot them at eye level. Over the years, props in Wegman's photographs have taken many forms, but none so consistently as the cube.

August 28,2015 from 12:00 - 1:00 PM: Lunchtime Art Break. Heritage and Home: Photographs of Hickory Nut Gap Farm, Ken Abbott, photographer. Free with membership or Museum admission. The Museum presents Lunchtime Art Breaks, a series of gallery talks and presentations designed to inform and engage you in dialogue with members of the curatorial and education departments, docents and special guests.

August 29,2015 from 5:00 - 8:00 PM:  Soiree at Hickory Nut Gap Farm. $30 for members; $40 for non-members. Enjoy a tour of the historic Hickory Nut Gap home and enjoy food and music while you immerse yourself in the surroundings of this beautiful farm. Heavy hors d'oeuvres catered by the Hickory Nut Gap Farm, as well as beer and wine will be served. This event is held in conjunction with Heritage and Home: Photographs of Hickory Nut Gap Farm, featuring the works of local photographer Ken Abbott. 

Asheville Art in the Park - a Favorite Asheville Art Market

June 27, 2015   Art in the Park    Artisans working in Glass, Ceramics, Wood, Jewelry, and metal show and sell in a public market setting in the center of Asheville NC in Pack Square Park. 

The event takes place on three consecutive Saturdays each June and October. Nationally known artists exhibit at this event and the best part is- they are local. 10% of the proceeds from the event will be donated to a local art non-profit organization.

Asheville Art in the Park this Weekend

June 13, 2015    Art in the Park   Artisans working in Glass, Ceramics, Wood, Jewelry, and metal show and sell in a public market setting in the center of Asheville NC in Pack Square Park. 

The event takes place on three consecutive Saturdays each June and October. Nationally known artists exhibit at this event and the best part is- they are local. 10% of the proceeds from the event will be donated to a local art non-profit organization.

Grovewood Gallery 16th Annual Charity Sale this Weekend

April 17 - 18, 2015   Grovewood Gallery's 16th Annual Charity Sale   10% of all proceeds from this 3 day event will go to benefit Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville. During the sale, customers will be able to save 10% on all regular priced crafts, including studio furniture and outdoor sculptures, and up to 75% on sale items. Everything in the gallery will be marked down. 

Grovewood Gallery, one of the premier galleries in the region, is located at 111 Grovewood Road in Asheville NC.

 

Asheville Art Museum Lunchtime Art Break Today

April 10, 12 - 1 PM at the Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square in downtown Asheville NC - Lunchtime Art Break: John Heliker: The Order of Things - 60 Years of Paintings and Drawings Cole Hendrix, Special Projects Curator . 

The Museum regularly presents Lunchtime Art Breaks, gallery talks and presentations designed to inform and engage you in dialogue with members of the curatorial and education departments, docents and special guests.

Get Creative at The Asheville Art Museum with April Workshops

The Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square in downtown Asheville NC,  is offering three April workshops, all taught by artist Pamela Lanza. The workshops explore the art of drawing, collage and altered books.

Drawing Faces 
Friday, April 10, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. $60 for members, $70 for non-members This workshop will teach simple and reliable steps for mapping facial features with proper placement and proportion. Participants will study the features individually, then practice steps for drawing faces in frontal and three-quarter view. Students will also learn about underlying anatomy and rules for shading faces, discover how to draw hair, explore expressive rendering and experience the empowering and proven magic of a master study. All materials and snacks are included in the cost. Class size is limited and advanced registration is required. Please register by contacting the Museum at 828.253.3227 or purchase tickets online. Reservation deadline is Sunday, April 5. 

Collage  
Saturday, April 11, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. $75 for members, $85 for non-members From Dada to Abstract Expressionism and beyond, collage has been a favorite tool of artists in all media. It is art for those who can't draw a line, as well as art for those who want to add a different technique to their artistic repertoire. In this workshop, participants will construct one large collage using spontaneity and intuition as guides, then isolate beautiful compositions from the bigger one. This workshop teaches proper use of adhesives and sealants, how to experiment with design in composition and encourages the spirit of discovery and the element of surprise. Participants will take home six to ten finished pieces, with two favorites mounted to wooden panels. Please bring cut-out collage images (please email the instructor for specifics: lalanza@earthlink.net); snacks and the rest of the materials are included in the cost. Class size is limited and advanced registration is required. Please register by contacting the Museum at 828.253.3227 or purchase tickets online. Reservation deadline is Sunday, April 5.

Altered Books 
Friday, April 17, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. $85 for members, $95 for non-members Combine art practice with recycling (and upcycling) by creating a work of art from a found or discarded book. Using collage, drawing and painting as the basic techniques, we will help participants transform found objects into a unique and fascinating artwork. The class will give participants the skills to explore the limitless possibilities of this alchemical art form in future projects. Students provide a small old book of their choosing (preferably with a sewn, not glued, binding and not too many pages, plus cut-out images for collage). Please email the instructor for specifics: lalanza@earthlink.net. We will provide everything else. Snacks and materials are included in the cost. There will be a one-hour break for lunch at noon. Class size is limited and advanced registration is required. Please register by contacting the Museum at 828.253.3227 or purchase tickets online. Reservation deadline is Sunday, April 12. 


ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Pamela Lanza has an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, and has taught at SFAI and UC Berkeley Extension programs for over 15 years. Her work has been exhibited at galleries & college campuses across the country, including The Graduate Theological Union (Berkeley), UNC Asheville, Florida State University, California Institute of Integral Studies (San Francisco), Stanford University, and Linn-Benton College (Oregon). Her work has appeared in Harper's Ferry Review, Paterson Literary Review, and Anatomical Venus by poet Meg Schoerke. She is currently represented by Sandra Lee Gallery, San Francisco. 

Opening Reception for Jack Tworkov Tonight at The Asheville Art Museum

March 27, 5 PM - 7 PM at the Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square in downtown Asheville NC: Opening Reception for Jack Tworkov: Beyond Black Mountain, Selected Works From 1952-1982. 

This exhibition revisits artist Jack Tworkov's (1900-1982) affiliation with Black Mountain College and includes a significant survey of the artist's career including important works spanning three decades.  A founding member of the New York School, Tworkov is regarded as one of the great American artists of the 20th century, along with Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline. 

Also attending the opening event is guest curator Jason Andrew. Andrew is the Manager and Curator of the Estate of Jack Tworkov and has organized many exhibitions of the artist's work, including the 2009 retrospective Jack Tworkov: Against Extremes, Five Decades of Painting. He is an independent scholar specializing in Post War American Art and is currently directing and editing the online Catalogue Raisonne Project of Works on Canvas by Jack Tworkov. In addition, Andrew is a prominent figure in the Bushwick, Brooklyn art scene and is the co-founder/director of Norte Maar, a non-profit now celebrating its 10th Anniversary encouraging, promoting and presenting collaborative projects in the arts. 

Free with membership or Museum admission

Ongoing Exhibit at the Asheville Art Museum Charts 140 Years of American Art

Selections from the Permanent Collection: 140 Years of American Art, is an ongoing installation at the Asheville Art Museum located at 2 S Pack Square in downtown Asheville NC.

The Exhibition, organized and curated by the Museum's staff, is presented  from a chronological point of view while highlighting works of great interest. Viewers may experience the evolution of American art from the late 19th century to the early 21st century, although there are a few notable art works from the 19th century showing the foundation for future works. 

From the American Impressionist to post-war Abstract Expressionism and through Pop Art, Optical Art, Minimalism and the second generation of Abstraction the exhibition provides a remarkable experience of significant American art. 

Get additional details and view selected works HERE.

 

Asheville Art Museum Lunchtime (Moz)Art Break this week

March 20, 2015:  LUNCHTIME (MOZ)ART BREAK at The Asheville Art Museum   Lunchtime Art Breaks are a series of gallery talks designed to inform and engage you in dialogue with members of staff. For Asheville Amadeus, Asheville Symphony Director David Whitehill will join with a member of the Museum’s curatorial staff to “dissect” works of art. Participants will learn how to analyze both a work of art and a musical work by Mozart. Free with membership or Museum admission

New Photography Exhibit at The Asheville Art Museum

March 13 through July 25, 2015 - Keep All You Wish: The Photographs of Hugh Mangum will be on exhibit at the Asheville Art Museum, 2 A Pack Square in downtown Asheville NC.

The Exhibit features a selection of images of early 20th century Southern society showing personalities as immediate as if they were taken yesterday. Photographer Hugh Mangum began establishing studios and working as an itinerant photographer in the early 1890s traveling by rail through North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Remarkable for his time, Mangum attracted and cultivated a clientele that drew heavily from both black and white communities. 
 

Opening Reception for "Taking Shape" at The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design

January 24, 5 PM - 7 PM, at The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design's Benchspace Gallery and Workshop, 67 Broadway Street in Asheville NC: The Center celebrates its new location with an opening reception for  Taking Shape: Celebrating the Windgate Fellowship at ithe Benchspace Gallery and Workshop.

This special exhibit is the first group display of Windgate Fellows' work which spans a range of approaches, media, and processes. Taking Shape features a selection of recent objects completed by Fellows awarded in years 2006-2010, revealing a cross-section of up-and-coming perspectives on craft.

Taking Shape was juried by Cindi Strauss, Assistant Director of Programming and Curator for Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts and Design at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. The show continues through May 3, 2014.