Today we're surveying some of the many fine art galleries and museums in the Triad with the artists and curators who bring it all to life.
Reynolda House
Reynolda House is one of the top museums of American art in the world right here in our own backyard. Two years ago, Curator Allison Slaby sized up the collection there and came up with "Virtue, Vice, Wisdom and Folly: The Moralizing Tradition in American Art." The original exhibition drew mainly from the museum's amazing collection of genre art. 200 years earlier genre art was also alive and well in 17th century Holland, and the complimentary exhibition of Dutch prints from that era "Moralizing in the age of Rembrandt: Dutch prints from the Aukland Art Museum" displayed concurrently for several months. So what exactly is genre art and how did it reflect the tenor of the times? David Ford dropped by the Mary and Charlie Babcock Wing for a tour and his guide Allison Slaby had the answers to those questions and many, many more. Reynolda is currently planning its new exhibition: "Things Wondrous & Humble: American Still Life." It opens August 10th and runs through December 8th. The exhibition will feature some of the finest examples of still life from collections all across our state.
****
Delta Fine Arts Center
For more than 40 years Winston-Salem Delta Fine Arts has been enriching lives by stimulating interest throughout the entire community in American arts and humanities, with a special emphasis on the contributions of African-Americans. The Chittlin Circuit Review is a series of brightly colored often large scale oil paintings based on “blues music” by acclaimed Athens, Georgia native, artist Rik Freeman. His work recently graced the walls at Delta Arts, and each of his paintings is his visual interpretation of the early history of this great music. The Chittlin Circuit was the collective name given to performance venues throughout the eastern and southern United States that were safe for African American musicians to perform in from the late 1800s to the 1960s. In Rik's review, he portrays the social and political realities of African Amercians in the Deep South. He spoke with David Ford by cell phone from his home in Washington D.C.
****
Oscar Munoz
Contemporary visual artist Oscar Munoz lives and works in Cali, Columbia, but his work is spreading fast with shows all across Europe and the United States, including the incredible Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem. SECCA's 2011 spring exhibit was titled "Oscar Munoz: imprints for a fleeting memorial", and it showcased the artist's ingenious use of water, fire, mirrors, sifted charcoal dust and sugar cubes to create simple and sincere forms of memorial. With these fleeting materials Munoz testifies to the tensions found in the cycle of life. Munoz curator Jose Roca and SECCA's outgoing Curator of Contemporary Art Stephen Matisjio spoke with me about Oscar Munoz and his work.
****
Elsewhere Artist Collaborative
Elsewhere Artist Collaborative in downtown Greensboro is run by Directors George Scheer and Stephanie Sherman. In the 1930s George's grandmother, Sylvia Gray, ran a furniture business and eventually a thrift store in an enormous three-story building at 606 S. Elm Street in Greensboro. Sylvia ran the store until her death in 1997. Six years later George and Stephanie took a spring break to see the place. With their shared interests in critical theory, philosophy, and American surplus culture, a “Nothing is for sale” sign was quickly put up and The Carolina Sales Company was transformed into Elsewhere the living museum. Elsewhere explores creative collaboration through educational initiatives, projects and events, and innovative artist residency programs. David Ford caught up with Stephanie and George at their living museum, Elsewhere.
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad