Nashville, TN – The Arts Company brings together a fascinating collaboration entitled Inspired, by artists (and strangers) John Welles Bartlett and Julianna Swaney.Having never met and living on opposite sides of the United States, the artists were asked by the exhibit’s curator Brian Downey to study the artwork of the other and create one piece, in their own style, inspired by the other artist. Bartlett is an East Coast printmaker and Swaney is a West Coast illustrator. How will each artist be “inspired” by the other?Find out when the works are shown together in this new exhibition at The Arts Company, opening during First Art Saturday September 4, 2010.
About the Exhibit
Curated by Associate Director at The Arts Company Brian Downey, Inspiredbrings together the work of artists John Welles Bartlett and Julianna Swaney.Bartlett, a printmaker from Brooklyn, NY, intricately carves detailed woodblocks to create his large-scale prints.His process is quite labor intensive, using ancient techniques, but is executed in a contemporary style.While similar in subject matter and medium (work on paper), Swaney’s illustrations have a life all their own.More intimate and small-scale, especially compared to Bartlett’s oversized prints, Swaney’s work evokes feelings of fantasy, folklore and nostalgia.
The show’s title, Inspired, has two meanings.First, each artist’s work is meticulous and the finished result is breathtaking.Their work is truly inspired.Secondly, curator Brian Downey asked each artist to study the body of work of the other artist and create one piece for the show that is inspired by the other.Both Bartlett and Swaney were equally excited to take on this challenge, but even more motivated to see what the other would create knowing the piece would be inspired by them.Although several pieces of work by each artist will be on exhibit, the highlight of the show will certainly be the “inspired” pieces.
About the Artists
John Welles Bartlett
John Welles Bartlett, originally from San Francisco, now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.He received a B.F.A. from the University of Oregon and a M.F.A. from Pratt Institute.His recent work has been large-scale woodcut prints on paper.His subject matter explores themes of myths, extinction, and the relationship between humans and nature.His work has also posed interaction between layers of antiquated technology, within the subject matter and printing processes.The imagery combines archaic means with telecommunications, genetic engineering and mass production.Many of Bartlett’s pieces have interchangeable parts, functioning individually, as well as serial components in larger assembled compositions.In addition to his large-scale prints, many of the original carved woodblocks will be displayed as well, as relief sculptural objects.
Julianna Swaney
Julianna Swaney grew up in Michigan.The child of “bird-watcher” parents, she would play in the woods behind her home on a daily basis, cultivating a love of nature and animals.The family would often take vacations to distant areas to study birds with exotic names.Swaney’s upbringing, surrounded by nature and animals, had a very obvious influence on her art.Even in adulthood, Julianna Swaney is influenced by nature, children’s stories, fairytales, and history.Looking at the world portrayed in her drawings is like looking into an illustrated story of contemporary folklore.Swaney now lives and works in Portland, Oregon, where her work is in constant demand.Her drawings have been featured in magazines, books, and album covers as well as being exhibited in several gallery shows all over the Unites States.
About the Exhibit Curator / Brian Downey
Brian Downey, a native Tennessean, started his professional life in advertising following completion of his B.A. in advertising at MTSU in Murfreesboro in 2001. However, he was quickly drawn to his other areas of study, art and film. Beginning as a buyer for a craft gallery, he established his own fine craft gallery, Artifex, in 2004 at The Factory in Franklin.
In 2006, he joined The Arts Company staff and soon became the Associate Director responsible for corporate exhibit development and gallery installations. Since then, Downey has carved a niche for himself as an inventive curator who designs creative installations suited to each artist’s work. When in NYC in March, he discovered John Bartlett’s large-scale wood block prints, accompanied by the original wood blocks in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue. This September exhibit will feature Bartlett’s printmaking on Nashville’s Fifth Avenue alongside another artist, Julianna Swaney, an illustrator, whom Downey discovered on the other coast, in Oregon, pairing them together in an exhibit he has titled “Inspired.” He has asked them each to make a piece of work inspired by what they have seen of the other’s work. His presentation will help make new connections between these two artists.
About The Arts Company / 2010
Established in December 1996, The Arts Company continues to be an arts cornerstone on Fifth Avenue in downtown Nashville and a prime destination for fresh, original, contemporary artwork in photography, painting, and sculpture, by artists from emerging to legendary. The gallery website, www.theartscompany.com, is available 24/7 for reviewing and previewing artist portfolios and gallery and outside exhibitions sponsored throughout the year by the gallery.The Company also maintains a series of Partners in Art relationships with non-profit enterprises such as the Nashville Film Festival, the Southern Festival of Books, and the Nashville AIGA group of professional designers; as well as business partners such as KVBPR, Nashville City Center, and Pinnacle Financial Partners.In addition, the Company has recently launched a new enterprise, The Arts Company Press, dedicated to developing and publishing art-related book projects. Information on FirstArtSaturdays is also available on the website, as well as regular entries on Facebook, Twitter, and our Blog.Regular gallery hours are: 10:00am-5:00pm, Tuesday-Saturday.
The Arts Company popular August tradition continues this year with the “14th Annual Avant-Garage Sale,” combined with selections from gallery archives and a personal series of photographs by Marek Bohemus, “The Majesty of the Horse,” featuring the family quarter horses from his Tennessee farm home. Opening during First Art Saturday, August 7, 6-9 pm at 215 Fifth Avenue, North, these exhibitions will continue through August 27, upstairs and down at 215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North.
August at The Arts Company Every August The Arts Company pulls together miscellaneous artwork, contemporary and vintage items, and art books and offers them at shockingly affordable prices. The avant-garage sale this year will be complemented by selections of artwork and other items from gallery archives to be presented in the upstairs galleries and an exhibit downstairs of Marek Bohemus’ study of the magnificent aging quarter horses who have been part of his family’s life for many years, “The Majesty of the Horse.” Some of the Summer Fresh Art from the July exhibit will continue through August as well—the elegant photographs of Judy Nebhut and the studies in glass mosaics by Deborah Wait.
About the 14th Annual Avant-Garage Sale Event And The Gallery Archives
The Annual Avant-Garage Sale is always a surprise, even to gallery organizers, who busily gather up whatever interesting items are available to include in the sale. This year, we have found some extra pairs of Obama beach shoes, Beethoven socks, plus tables, chairs, other gallery props, etc., etc., etc.
The Gallery Archives exhibit includes collectible folk art, random pieces of artwork from collections, a vintage drafting table, and an assortment of neat and affordable contemporary and vintage furniture, books, and objects, among many other items.
About Marek Bohemus’ The Majesty of the Horse Exhibit
Marek Bohemus, a native of Poland and a long-time resident of Nashville, bridges two lives—as a physician, his given name is Marek Kacki; as an artist, his chosen name is Marek Bohemus. He lives with his family in Nashville in an old farm house, and they share much of their time each year in Aubais, France, a small artist village near Montpellier. Marek’s artistic interests move from one medium to another. The current exhibit focuses on a long-term personal photograph study of the revered quarter horses who have been part of the family’s life in Nashville for many years. His work reminds the viewer of why we revere “The Majesty of the Horse.”
Summer Fresh Art Continues:A special installation of Joel Anderson’s Spirit of Nashville design boutique and selections from the photography of Judy Nebhut and the mosaics of Deborah Wait will continue through August as part of the gallery’s Summer Fresh Art series.
About The Arts Company / 2010
Established in December 1996, The Arts Company continues to be an arts cornerstone on Fifth Avenue in downtown Nashville and a prime destination for fresh, original, contemporary artwork in photography, painting, and sculpture, by artists from emerging to legendary. The gallery website, www.theartscompany.com, is available 24/7 for reviewing and previewing artist portfolios and gallery and outside exhibitions sponsored throughout the year by the gallery. The Company also maintains a series of Partners in Art relationships with non-profit enterprises such as the Nashville Film Festival, the Southern Festival of Books, and the Nashville AIGA group of professional designers; as well as business partners such as KVBPR, Nashville City Center, and Pinnacle Financial Partners. In addition, the Company has recently launched a new enterprise, The Arts Company Press, dedicated to developing and publishing art-related book projects. Information on FirstArtSaturdays is also available on the website, as well as regular entries on Facebook, Twitter, and our Blog. Regular gallery hours are: 10:00am-5:00pm, Tuesday-Saturday.
The Arts Company
presents
Summer Fresh Art: Chris Beck, Tony Breuer,
Judy Nebhut, and Deborah Wait
+Joel Anderson’s Spirit of Nashville and
Art and Soul of America Collections …and The Art of Brother Mel continues
Opening reception during
First Art Saturday July 3, 2010, 6-9 pm
The Arts Company July exhibition introduces a Summer Fresh Art showcase of art and artists new to the gallery—from the outsider metal work of Chris Beck to Tony Breuer’s space/time paintings; from Judy Nebhut’s elegant, staged still life photographs to Deborah Wait’s studies in glass mosaics—opening during First Art Saturday, July 3, 6-9 pm, along with a new gallery section devoted to Joel Anderson’s Spirit of Nashville and Art and Soul of America Collections. These artists will be presented alongside the continuing exhibit, “The Art of Brother Mel,” and other gallery favorites upstairs and down at 215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North. www.theartscompany.com
About the Exhibit Presenting SUMMER FRESH ART in July is an excuse to introduce cool new art and artists to Nashville, focused on all things Americana. The spirit of July 4th will prevail all month long with signed, numbered, limited-edition posters from Joel Anderson’s new series, Art and Soul of America, will be shown in full for the first time, alongside his popular Spirit of Nashville series. Two floors of galleries will be filled with art from the outsider tradition to photography and painting. This exhibit is a preview of things to come later from this group of diverse artists in diverse mediums and with diverse interests.
We ART Nashville
The Arts Company will continue through the summer to offer a “We ART Nashville” wristband in exchange for a $10 contribution to the Community Foundation Flood Fund. Anyone wearing the wristband will be offered a 10% discount on any purchase in the gallery during July.
About the Artists Chris Beck’s passion for outsider art and artists was fueled by Alabama’s wealth of outsider artists. Over the past four years, he has devoted himself to collecting and converting raw rusted tin into contemporary icons of items of clothing that hang on a wall as uncanny reminders of past eras, with a special interest in styles of the 40s and 50s. Like George Segal’s plaster sculptures, Beck’s tin clothing sculptures appear lived in.
Tony Breuer, a neurologist, has in recent years added a master’s degree in studio art to his other credentials, with a plan to retire from the practice of medicine and pursue a career in art full time. His particular passion is to find new ways to show how all things on earth live in perpetual movement in time and space. He selects common objects and places them in a continuum of time/space, adding his signature visual symbols of movement and depth. He offers a new way to see what’s around us.
Judy Nebhut began as a collector of fine art, but has found her place in photography. She learned quickly to see photographically. She styles each frame to structure a simple elegance of light, color, and composition to each subject she chooses. Echoes of her taste as a collector of modern art are brought to each photographic study of beauty and elegance that she produces. Her photographs are elegant and refreshing. Great for summertime viewing—or for the middle of winter. Her sense of order and elegance is reassuring in any season.
Deborah Wait is driven to working with glass and creating shapes, colors and movement in mosaics. Glass mosaics are not just about putting pieces together to form patterns, but for her, they are about structuring paintings with chunks of glass. As ancient as mosaics are, they are not prevalent in the contemporary world of art. For Wait, working with glass as a primary material for making art has become a personal passion. The result offers a new way of seeing modern shapes and colors made from simple pieces of glass. They invite touching and looking again and again.
About Joel Anderson’s SPIRIT OF NASHVILLE and
ART & SOUL OF AMERICA Joel Anderson’s poster designs have become legendary symbols of the Spirit of Nashville in recent years as he has documented a broad range of institutions and icons of the Nashville experience. In recent months, he has expanded his field of reference to The Art & Soul of America, now documenting outstanding cities and the personalities that distinguish each of them visually. Joel and his design colleagues who work under his direction have not only helped define cities, but he has insisted on presenting the work as posters in the spirit of Toulouse Latrec, keeping it affordable and readily available.
The Arts Company has added a gallery section to bring this artwork to a downtown venue where both Nashvillians and visitors can find artistic memorabilia to remind them of their favorite cities through the icons Joel has matched with each one. This will be the only venue where signed, limited-edition posters will be available for purchase. Additional special art-related merchandise will also be available.
About The Arts Company / 2010 Established in December 1996, The Arts Company continues to be an arts cornerstone on Fifth Avenue in downtown Nashville and a prime destination for fresh, original, contemporary artwork in photography, painting, and sculpture, by artists from emerging to legendary. The gallery website, www.theartscompany.com, is available 24/7 for reviewing and previewing artist portfolios and gallery and outside exhibitions sponsored throughout the year by the gallery. The Company also maintains a series of Partners in Art relationships with non-profit enterprises such as the Nashville Film Festival, the Southern Festival of Books, and the Nashville AIGA group of professional designers; as well as business partners such as KVBPR, Nashville City Center, and Pinnacle Financial Partners. In addition, the Company has recently launched a new enterprise, The Arts Company Press, dedicated to developing and publishing art-related book projects. Information on FirstArtSaturdays is also available on the website, as well as regular entries on Facebook, Twitter, and our Blog. Regular gallery hours are: 10:00am-5:00pm, Tuesday-Saturday.
Art Friends Helping Finer Things Finer Things Gallery Presented at The Arts Company
Friday, June 11 • 5pm – 8pm
Saturday, June 12 • 10am – 5pm
Nashville, TN – For one-weekend only, Finer Things Gallery will be configured in The Arts Company Avant-Garage Gallery on Friday, June 11, 5pm-8pm, and Saturday, June 12, during regular gallery hours. As a result of the destructive storms in May, Finer Things Gallery was forced to close its doors after suffering considerable loss at the location next to the Fairgrounds. This benefit event for the gallery and its owners Kim Brooks and Rusty Wolfe will showcase more than 100 pieces from the Finer Things Gallery collection, including large furnishings and original works of art, as well as smaller delights such as wearable art, crafts and gifts. Many of the artists represented by Finer Things have donated their work to be sold at this special benefit and 100% of all sales of work by Finer Things artists will go to support rebuilding the gallery.
More than 10 feet of water flooded Finer Things and the gallery grounds, sweeping away larger-than-life outdoor sculptures. Owner Rusty Wolfe’s studio was submerged with water, destroying the tools and equipment that he used on a daily basis to create beautiful furnishings and artwork (i.e. his livelihood). In addition, Rusty and Kim’s private living space and furnishings were also destroyed.
“Nashville is a community where art matters and this is an opportunity to support a 15-year-old art institution when it needs help the most to continue offering treasures to the public,” stated Anne Brown. “This is a time for art galleries to help art friends, and we are pleased to work with Kim and Rusty to recreate the special ambiance and artistic environment that is signature to Finer Things Gallery.”
ABOUT FINER THINGS GALLERY/KIM BROOKS & RUSTY WOLFE
Housed in a former furniture manufacturing plant just south of downtown, Finer Things Gallery was established in 1995 as the artistic self-expression of owner and artist Rusty Wolfe and his wife and partner Kim Brooks. For more than a decade, Rusty and Kim have taken great pride in discovering and displaying exceptional works of art. They have been active members of the arts community, a host gallery for Nashville CARES’ annual Artrageous fundraiser, Artists for Oasis and for an Arrowmont School of Craft Fundraiser. Kim has also served as an active board member of Artrageous, Nashville Film Festival, Mid-South Sculpture Alliance, Tennessee Association of Craft Artists, and Nashville Association of Art Dealers.
Art Friends Helping Finer Things Gallery
The Arts Company • 215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts/Downtown Nashville
Friday, June 11• 5pm – 8pm & Saturday, June 12 • 10am – 5pm
The Arts Company Presents Brother Mel Two-Day Event
The Art of Brother Mel: A Lifetime of Making Art
12th Annual Artistic Pilgrimage to Nashville
Featuring Recent and Signature Artwork
Book Signing with Brother Mel at Davis-Kidd Booksellers Friday, June 4, 7pm
Artist Reception and Birthday Celebration for Brother Mel’s 82nd Birthday
First Art Saturday, June 5, 6pm-9pm
Nashville, TN – The Arts Company presents Brother Mel’s annual artistic pilgrimage to Nashville in a two-day artistic event entitled The Art of Brother Mel: A Lifetime of Making Art. On Friday, June 4, at 7pm, Brother Mel will make an appearance at Davis-Kidd Booksellers to sign the book, Brother Mel: A Lifetime of Making Art. Anne Brown is the author of this 236-page study of Brother Mel’s life as an artist and as a Marianist brother in a Catholic community. She will join Brother Mel at the signing. During First Art Saturday, June 5, 6pm to 9pm, Brother Mel will be in attendance to celebrate his 82nd birthday showcasing his recent and signature artwork. The exhibit will continue through July 23. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm.
This year’s exhibit explores the diverse genres of artwork found in his book that tells the story of the thousands of works of art he has produced over a 50-year period. His artwork continues to span his special interests from sculpture to paintings to handmade paper. Of course, his artwork features sculptural experimentation with all kinds of ordinary materials, including rusted tools, wagon wheels, bicycles and M&M shapes, as well as with large bold abstract watercolors, and other pieces that defy description.
ABOUT BROTHER MEL
Sculptor and Painter Brother Mel Meyer, S.M., has been a member of the Marianists, a Catholic religious order of brothers and priests, since 1948 and a full-time artist since 1958. In the late 1960s, Brother Mel became the first Marianist brother to take on the vocation of artist as his full-time work. He was encouraged to form his own studio in St. Louis where he first made glass, frescoes, and icons for churches and chapels. Today, his celebrated sculpture and paintings are featured in private collections, public spaces and in large corporate buildings that have included 25 Adams Mark Hotels. Brother Mel received an undergraduate degree in English and History from the University of Dayton in 1951, and a master’s degree in fine art from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, studying with Jean Charlot, one of the Mexican Renaissance muralists alongside Diego Rivera, and Ivan Mestrovic, the sculptor whom Rodin described as “a phenomenon among sculptors.” He also studied with two European masters of stained glass—Jacques le Chevallier in Paris and Yoki Abescher in Fribourg—as part of a year of intense study, making art, and traveling on a motor scooter over 14,000 miles during that year. Over his lifetime, he has produced over 10,000 documented works of art, plus public and private commissions.
ABOUT ANNE BROWN
Anne Brown has been an innovative and influential arts leader for more than 35 years. She has led numerous artistic efforts to make the arts a more prominent part of public life in Nashville, including leadership positions in city and state arts commissions, initiating various citywide arts festivals and arts institutions, and owning a premier art gallery. In addition, she held teaching positions at Fisk University, Belmont University, and Vanderbilt University. In 2002, she developed and wrote the book, The Art of Doug Williams: Salvation and Beauty. She holds a Masters of art degree in English and history from East Texas State University and a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Arkansas, with additional fellowships and graduate study at Rice University and New York University. Dr. Brown resides in Nashville, Tennessee, where she owns and manages The Arts Company and The Arts Company Press.
ABOUT THE ARTS COMPANY/2010
Established in December 1996, The Arts Company continues to be an arts cornerstone on Fifth Avenue in downtown Nashville and a prime destination for fresh, original, contemporary artwork in photography, painting, and sculpture, by artists from emerging to legendary. The gallery website, www.theartscompany.com, is available 24/7 for reviewing and previewing artist portfolios and gallery and outside exhibitions sponsored throughout the year by the gallery. The Company also maintains a series of Partners in Art relationships with non-profit enterprises such as the Nashville Film Festival, the Southern Festival of Books, and the Nashville AIGA group of professional designers; as well as business partners such as KVBPR, Nashville City Center, and Pinnacle Financial Partners. In addition, the Company has recently launched a new enterprise, The Arts Company Press, dedicated to developing and publishing art-related book projects. Information on FirstArtSaturdays is also available on the website, as well as regular entries on Facebook, Twitter, and our Blog. Regular gallery hours are: 10:00am-5:00pm, Tuesday-Saturday.
Schedule of Events
The Art of Brother Mel: A Lifetime of Making Art
12th Annual Artistic Pilgrimage to Nashville
Featuring Recent and Signature Artwork
Book Signing with Brother Mel at Davis-Kidd Booksellers
Friday, June 4, 7pm
Artist Reception and Birthday Celebration for Brother Mel’s 82nd Birthday
First Art Saturday, June 5, 6pm-9pm
Continues through July 23
The Arts Company
presents
Celebrating the Art of Design: Jane Davis Doggett,
master design artist
Reception for the artist
First Art Saturday May 1, 2010, 6-9 pm
Continues through June 25, 2010
215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North
10-5:00 pm, Tuesday-Saturday
The TENN Show, sponsored by AIGA Nashville,
Hosted by The Arts Company,
will also be open to the public on May 1, 6-9 pm
Nashville, TN —Jane Davis Doggett, a Nashville native and pioneer in architectural and environmental design, brings some recent works from her acclaimed Talking Graphics Series, to The Arts Company on First Art Saturday, May 1, 6-9pm. “Celebrating the Art of Design: Jane Davis Doggett, master design artist” will feature a reception for the artist, who will be in attendance for a reception honoring her renowned achievements as a legendary graphic design artist. Though she is known for her distinguished career in creating graphic identities and way-finding systems for massive public spaces—most notably, major airports—this exhibition will feature her more recent intimate and bold series of colorful geometric images that visually express proverbs, quotations, and sayings from various cultures. Similar work acknowledging her as a distinguished graduate is currently being displayed at the Yale University Art Gallery. At The Arts Company, her work will complement The TENN Show, the bi-annual competition for graphic designers sponsored by AIGA, the professional association for graphic designers, hosted this year by The Arts Company. The Doggett exhibit will be extended through June 25 during regular gallery hours, Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5:00 pm. For information, 615 254 2040 or www.theartscompany.com.
About the Exhibit / Celebrating the Art of Design:
Jane Davis Doggett, master design artist
A retrospective of Jane Davis Doggett’s lifetime achievements as a graphic designer was developed and presented by the Tennessee State Museum last fall, and is currently on exhibit at the Yale University Art Gallery, extended recently through July 11, due to the university’s interest in presenting one of their most distinguished Yale MFA graduates (1956). That exhibit prompted the interest of The Arts Company to bring some of her recent series of Talking Graphics to a broader public to give direct access to the work of one of Nashville’s most distinguished artists. Ms. Doggett’s work has the earmarks of vintage 20th century modern art—bold, colorful, fresh—plus her flair for creating contemporary geometrical symbols to freshen proverbs from various cultures through creating striking visual images.
The Arts Company will be introducing a new gallery edition of Vector prints, signed and numbered by Ms. Doggett.
About the Artist / Jane Davis Doggett
Jane Davis Doggett studied with the modern masters who taught art and architecture in the modernist heyday at Yale University during her MFA years there in the 1950s. Of particular note was Josef Albers, the artist who set the tone for uses and interactions of colors and shapes in his artwork. Doggett first extended what she learned of color and shape into large-scale architectural enterprises. She also studied at Yale with Louis Kahn and Alvin Eisenman. More recently, she has brought her knowledge, experience, and expertise to bear on a smaller, more intimate scale, making it possible for people to have access at home or at work to stunning graphic statements of the wisdom by which cultures know themselves. The boldness in shape and color and the quality of the production of these works she describes as “panels,” not posters, steer clear of sentiment. To the contrary, they bring a new and distinctive visual life to familiar ideas. They also stand on their own as individual artworks, with or without the words.
Her work, like that of other Bauhaus-influenced modern artists, calls up classic art questions. What is the difference between artist and artisan? Can design—art with purpose—also be art in its own right? In the Bauhaus tradition, art typically has function as part of what it is. Doggett’s work offers an up close opportunity to consider some of these questions—questions straight from the 20th-century that are finding their way into the 21st.
Doggett’s early life was spent in Nashville, followed by a BFA from Newcomb College in New Orleans and an MFA with top honors from the Yale School of Art and Architecture. Her outstanding career is based significantly on creating thematic graphic identities and way-finding systems for large public spaces—including 40 international airport projects as well as other projects such as Madison Square Garden, the Whitney Museum of Art, and the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in Houston, among others. In 2007, she received the Outstanding Alumna Award from Newcomb College. In 2008, she was elected a Sterling Fellow of Yale. Most recently, she has created a series of images and books focused on Talking Graphics, a limited-edition series of graphic panels designed to combine art, design, philosophy, and literature.
Special Occasion: The TENN Show, sponsored by AIGA
The TENN Show, the bi-annual statewide design competition showcase being sponsored this year by AIGA Nashville, the statewide professional graphic design association, will be hosted by The Arts Company during FirstArtSaturday, May 1, 6-9 pm. This is another in a series of Partners in Art enterprises initiated by The Arts Company to highlight special art and business relationships between The Arts Company and selected other profit and not-for-profit businesses. The TENN Show exhibition will feature the winning entries from professionals and student groups across the state. For additional information, contact AIGA at www.nashville.aiga.org.
About The Arts Company / 2010
Established in December 1996, The Arts Company continues to be an arts cornerstone on Fifth Avenue in downtown Nashville and a prime destination for fresh, original, contemporary artwork in photography, painting, and sculpture, by artists from emerging to legendary. The gallery website, www.theartscompany.com, is available 24/7 for reviewing and previewing artist portfolios and gallery and outside exhibitions sponsored throughout the year by the gallery. The Company also maintains a series of Partners in Art relationships with non-profit enterprises such as the Nashville Film Festival, the Southern Festival of Books, and the Nashville AIGA group of professional designers; as well as business partners such as KVBPR, Nashville City Center, and Pinnacle Financial Partners. In addition, the Company has recently launched a new enterprise, The Arts Company Press, dedicated to developing and publishing art-related book projects. Information on FirstArtSaturdays is also available on the website, as well as regular entries on Facebook, Twitter, and our Blog. Regular gallery hours are: 10:00am-5:00pm, Tuesday-Saturday.
The Arts Company
Anne Brown, Owner & Director
215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North
Nashville, TN 37219 615-254-2040 / www.theartscompany.com
Nashville, TN— The Arts Company welcomes painter April Street’s return to the gallery for her annual exhibition of new paintings with this year’s “Souvenirs from Spinning.” April’s latest new work is much-anticipated by those who have followed her work over the years.She is a deft painter who moves across a canvas with purpose, passion, and original technique and subject matter.Opening with a reception for the artist during First Art Saturday, April 3, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm in the downstairs gallery, the exhibit will continue through April 24, during regular gallery hours, 10:00 pm-5:00 pm, at 215 Fifth Avenue, North.
About the Exhibit / Souvenirs from Spinning
April Street’s annual exhibits at The Arts Company are always a cause for celebration.Every year for almost a decade, she has premiered a new series of paintings to help benefit the Nashville CARES annual art event, Artrageous.Her paintings explore organic shapes and movements that are elegant and visually engaging to even the most casual observer.In this new work, she communicates a sense of movement and depth in an atmosphere of space and water.Known for her sense of form and figure, April Street is a painter with a passion and equal skill for making both abstract and figurative paintings that speak with visual elegance.
About the Artist / April Street
April Street continues to raise the bar with a new body of work each year, pushing her artistic skills and interests into new territories.For several years, April Street has worked in her studios in Bristol, Tennessee and in Los Angeles.She is emphatically a working artist, spending hours in her studio producing new work, often large scale work, typically mounting one to two major exhibits in Nashville and in Los Angeles in a year’s time.She has also exhibited in Chicago, New Orleans, and in Austin.Street’s educational background includes study at the Chicago Art Institute, East Tennessee State University (BFA), and bronze casting and art history in Italy.Her roots are in East Tennessee as a coal miner’s daughter.Her life and her work have taken her far and wide in her travels.Her work is widely collected throughout the Nashville and the southeast.
Special Occasion:Nashville Film Festival Preview
The Arts Company will also host one of their annual Partners in Art events, the Nashville Film Festival Preview, during the April 3 FirstArtSaturday.The Nashville Film Festival will present a selection of trailers of films, to be featured in the festival’s program this year, throughout the evening in the gallery’s popular Avant-Garage.
The Arts Company
Presents
“Snap Shots:
in poetry, painting, drawing, and photography” featuring Robert Michie, Anne Goetze, Denise Stewart-Sanabria,
and Pam Moxley
Nashville, TN—The Arts Company presents “Snap Shots,” featuring artists in poetry, Robert Michie; painting, Anne Goetze; drawing, Denise Stewart-Sanabria;and photography, Pam Moxley, with an opening reception scheduled during First Saturday, March 6, 6-9 pm, at 215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North.The exhibition continues through March 26, during regular gallery hours, 10-5 pm, Tuesday-Saturday.
About the Exhibit This exhibit fell into place in an interesting way, all beginning with the poetry of Robert Michie (1944-1990) and continuing with discovery of Denise Stewart-Sanabria’s series of large figurative drawings based on snap shots from vintage photography scrapbooks.We have added to that other new work just received at The Arts Company from continuing gallery artists Pam Moxley, photographer, and Anne Goetze, plein air painter.The work of all of these artists has the snap-shot feeling of specific moments in specific places.The presentation of these works together promises to make the gallery experience feel like walking through a photo album made of more than photographs.
About the Artists Robert Michie, Poet Robert Michie (1944-1990) was known as Tennessee’s Performing Poet in the 1980s, when he was assigned by the Tennessee Arts Commission as poet-in-the-schools throughout the state, receiving standing ovations from schoolchildren and adults alike.He was the Official Poet for the Summer Lights Festival for three years.His poems and the accompanying photographs of family, friends, and places he wrote about were presented by his estate as an exhibit in the Art in the Airport series in 1990.The Arts Company Press is working on a publication of a selection of his poetry later this year.The poems will take their place on gallery walls as literary snap shots from the work of a Tennessee poet.
Denise Stewart-Sanabria, figurative drawings
This is the first showing The Arts Company has presented of some of the work of this prolific Knoxville-based artist, whose body of work is vast and varied.The Company will be presenting different parts of her work over the next few months as a prelude to a body of work to be presented here in November.The “snap shot” drawings in this exhibit are derived from specific vintage photo albums.Some of them are framed within old window panes with people who lived there visible in the windows.Some of her stand-up life-size drawings will be included as well.
Pam Moxley, photography Pam Moxley, an Atlanta-based artist, focuses on children, objects, and flowers, translating them through her own inventive techniques and then enlarging them into dramatic, glamorous images of specific moments and objects in time.
Anne Goetze/plein air paintings
Anne Goetze’s plein air paintings of Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, show her love of the place itself, but also show her increasing looseness of style in the kind of quick draw painting that plein air painters specialize in.Lots of color and lots of looseness of technique characterize the paintings of this popular artist.It’s all fresh and of the moment.
The Arts Company
Presents
Steven Walker’s
new oil paintings,
“Nashville Town and Country”
Opening during FirstArtSaturday February 6, 6-9 pm
And a special showing of
“Jubilation: The Obama Inauguration,” photographs byLou Outlaw
During Art After Hours Thursday, February 4, 5-7 pm
Nashville, TN—The Arts Company welcomes February with new paintings by Steven Walker, “Nashville Town and Country,” opening during FirstArtSaturday, February 6, 6-9 pm; and a special showing of Lou Outlaw’s photography series, “Jubilation: The Obama Inauguration,” featuring a preview conversation with Outlaw about the journey from the Nashville Freedom Riders to the Obama inauguration, scheduled during Art After Hours, Thursday, February 4, 5-7 pm. The conversation begins at 6 pm. Both exhibits continue through February 26 during regular gallery hours, 10-5 pm, Tuesday-Saturday.
About the Exhibit
The Arts Company welcomes February with new paintings, a special exhibit of documentary photography, plus hot chocolate and Valentine chocolates by Olive & Sinclair, featuring their three new posters from Anderson Studio’s Spirit of Nashville series. Painter Steven Walker and photographer Lou Outlaw will both attend the First Saturday opening, and Olive & Sinclair will be ready with Valentines and hot chocolate for the occasion. February is a short month, but it promises fresh perspectives at The Arts Company.
An exhibition preview is scheduled during Art After Hours on the first Thursday, February 4, 5-7 pm, and will include a conversation with Nashville-based photographer Lou Outlaw at 6:00 pm.
About the Artists Steven Walkerbegan his art career as a free-lance illustrator, equipped with a degree in fine arts from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was also asked to teach art. In a few years, he decided to pursue his master’s degree in art at Marywood University, after which he focused his efforts on painting—urban and country landscapes in particular. The Arts Company asked that he produce a series of his oil canvases on the subject of “Nashville Town and Country,” which resulted in this exhibit of his newest artwork. From his vantage point as a visitor, he shows us our area in new ways, mixing urban and country landscapes side by side. About his passion for landscapes, he says, “Painting landscapes has changed my craft and outlook on life…for the better.” (For more information: Steven’s bio)
Lou Outlaw(aka Dr. Lucius Outlaw) has lived a double life for years—as an avid photographer and as Associate Provost at Vanderbilt. When The Arts Company saw the images and his perspective as one of thousands of people who attended the Obama inauguration last year, the gallery quickly went into action to persuade Dr. Outlaw to show the images and to agree to engaging in conversation with guests about his personal experience captured on film in a series of iconic images of that historic occasion, an occasion that he took personally through the lens of an artistic eye. He will also present a special collection of his portraits of Nashville’s Freedom Riders, who reconvened in Nashville a couple of years ago. (For more information: Lucius’ bio)
The Arts Company Presents HAPPYNEWYEAR2010
“Gallery Classics: Hot Chocolate. Hot Cider. Hot Art” opening Saturday, January 9, 2010 6:00-9:00 pm
with a preview and conversation
during Art After Hours Thursday, January 7, 2010 5:00-7:00 pm
FeaturingRod Daniel about his classic new series of black & white photographs
“Canyon de Chelly”
Nashville, TN—The Arts Company welcomes the New Year 2010 with a salute to “Gallery Classics: Hot Chocolate. Hot Cider. Hot Art.”, featuring classic black and white photographs of Canyon de Chelley by Nashville-based Rod Daniel, and presenting new versions of bronze and aluminum sculptures of divers and climbers by sculptor Bill Starke, opening Saturday, January 9, 6-9 pm, with a preview conversation with Rod Daniel scheduled during Art After Hours on Thursday, January 7, 5-7 pm.
About the Exhibit The Arts Company will launch its 14th new year during the First Saturday Art Crawl, scheduled this year for the second Saturday, January 9, 6-9 pm, because of the holiday calendar. The January exhibition is focused on presenting gallery classics—from hot chocolate and hot cider to hot art—specifically new black and white photographs by Rod Daniel and bronze and aluminum sculptures by Bill Starke. Other gallery classics will be on view throughout the gallery’s exhibition areas.
An exhibition preview is scheduled during Art After Hours on the first Thursday, January 7, 5-7 pm, and will include a conversation with Nashville-based photographer Rod Daniel at 6:00 pm.
About the Artists
Rod Daniel, a Nashville native, returned to Nashville a couple of years ago after retiring from 25 successful years as a Hollywood director, ready to spend time with his second career as a photographer. The Arts Company presented his first Nashville exhibit a couple of years ago, showing his “On the Road” series of black and white photographs of western sites and landscapes, his own version of Jack Kerouac’s road trip.
This year, the subject of Daniels’ series of photographs is Canyon de Chelly, a famed western landscape in Arizona. While his photographs are distinctly contemporary, the subject of this photographic series brings to mind the vastness of the landscape captured a century ago by Edward S. Curtis. Daniel will be available to have a conversation with guests at 6:00 pm about why he chose to discard all of his cameras and darkroom equipment in favor of digital cameras, digital printers, and archival inks.
Bill Starke, a Colorado-based sculptor, has had several exhibitions at The Arts Company. The gallery will showcase a variety of new and mostly larger versions of some of his earlier pieces such as divers, climbers, and ladders. He uses both bronze and aluminum in his work.
The Arts Company
Announces
A Change of Date for January 2010
The Arts Company has announced that they are joining with other galleries on Fifth Avenue of the Arts in changing the date of the January First Saturday Art Crawl to the second Saturday, January 9, 6-9 pm, to avoid the New Year’s holiday weekend that falls this year during First Saturday, January 2.
The January exhibit at The Arts Company will launch the beginning of the 14th year of The Arts Company gallery. For this occasion, a special exhibition, “Presenting Gallery Classics,” will feature new work by gallery artists and hot chocolate from Olive & Sinclair, a Nashville-based chocolate company.
The Arts Company
Presents
The 13th Annual
Holiday Arts Market Chock full of fresh art for the holidays
Opening during FirstArtSaturday
December 5, 2009, 6-9 pm Continuing through December 24
featuring
A book-signing with Bob Schatz and Christine Kreyling
New watercolor paintings by Jim Hubbman
A Forest of Christmas Trees by Brother Mel (+ his new book)
Artisan chocolates by Olive&Sinclair
Lots of new pop-up books for all ages
at The Arts Company 215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North
The Arts Company welcomes Bob Schatz
and Christine Kreyling
For a book-signing
And an exhibition of selected photographs from this new series of photographs by Bob Schatz
Nashville by Design: Architectural Treasures
Photography by Bob Schatz
Text by Christine Kreyling
During FirstArtSaturday
December 5, 2009, 6-9 pm
The Arts Company Press
Announces the Arrival of
Brother Mel:A Lifetime of Making Art
a new book on the life and artwork of Brother Mel Meyer, S.M.
Nashville, TN—The Arts Company Press, a new publishing company initiated by The Arts Company, will host a book-signing with Brother Mel Meyer, S.M., whose life and artwork are the subject of their inaugural publication--Brother Mel:A Lifetime of Making Art, on Thursday, December 3, 5-8 pm, at The Arts Company, 215 Fifth Avenue, North.The book-signing begins at 5:00 pm.At 6:00 pm, there will be a conversation with Brother Mel and guests about his life and work. A reception and more book-signing will follow at 6:30.
Developed and written by Anne Brown, whose Arts Company has represented Brother Mel’s artwork in Nashville for 12 years, the new 236-page, fully-illustrated monograph covers over 50 years of Brother Mel’s life as an artist and as a Catholic brother in the Marianist community.This prolific artist began producing artwork from frescoes, watercolor, and canvas paintings to sculpture in steel, wood, and stone during his time as a graduate student in fine art at the University of Notre Dame in the late 1950s, where he studied with master fresco painter Jean Charlot, an associate of Diego Rivera, and master sculptor Ivan Mestrovic, a protégé of Rodin.He works at art six days a week, 52 weeks a year, and has documented well over 10,000 pieces of art since then, not counting special commissions and 28 years of summer painting trips.
Brother Mel was commissioned to create 250 original book sconces for this new book, each one to be accompanied by a signed and numbered book.Brother Mel’s annual exhibitions over the past 11 years at The Arts Company have generated a large following eager to see each year what recent new work he continues daily to produce.
For additional information, contact The Arts Company at 254-2040 or check the website at www.theartscompany.com.
Nashville, TN—November is full of special occasions, new art and thoughts of the holiday season to come at The Arts Company, led by FirstArtSaturdayfeaturing All Things Nashville, with photographs of Nashville songwriters and musicians by Ed Rode and new oil on canvas paintings of Nashville by Steven Walker, opening Saturday, November 7, 6-9 pm.The monthly Art After Hours on first Thursday features the remaining sketches of legendary illustrator, Ernest Hamlin Baker, the TIME magazine cover artist, from 5-8 pm on Thursday, November 5.Following these two monthly events isArtrageous, the spectacular annual event that benefits Nashville CARES, scheduled for Saturday, November 14, 6-10 pm.Tickets required for this event may be ordered in advance from www.artrageous.org or at the door of any participating gallery.
About the Artists / FirstArtSaturday
Ed Rode’s photographs of Nashville’s Songwriters and Musicians include Chet Atkins, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Patsy Montana, and many others, all of whom sat for Rode to get portraits revealing their personalities.The accompanying notes add stories about each of the sessions between the subject and the photographer.
Steven Walker’s paintings of Nashville represent the eye of an outsider—he hails from Virginia and lives now in Ohio.His focus is on singling out iconic buildings and the countryside as he sees it.
About the Artist / Art After Hours
Ernest Hamlin Baker’s legendary illustrations have been a staple at The Arts Company for several years now, beginning with the first show that featured many of the original drawings for his 390 covers for TIME magazine in the 1930s and 40s.While none of that material remains, since much of that work resides now in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., a few of his original illustrations for FORTUNE covers will be included in this exhibit, which will feature miscellaneous drawings and illustrations remaining from his personal collection.
About the Artists / Artrageous
Jonathan Richter’s small oil sketches have become a staple for the Artrageous event.This year, new photographs of Nashville by Kimiko will be added, as well as new abstract paintings by Charles Ivey, new paintings by David Swanagin and new photographs by Pam Moxley and Bob Schatz.Bob Schatz will be signing his new book, By Design:Nashville’s Architectural Treasures, and Olive & Sinclair chocolates will be featured in an on-site simulated chocolate factory.
The Arts Company presents
By Design: Nashville’s Architectural Treasures, a new series of photographs by Bob Schatz
Soon to be published in book form
& New Narrative Paintings by Charles Keiger
Opening Saturday, October 3, 2009
Reception 6:00pm-9:00pm
With a Preview & Reception
for Bob Schatz during Art After Hours
Thursday, October 1
5-8 pm
Nashville, TN –The Arts Company offers a preview exhibition of Bob Schatz’ new photographic series, By Design: Nashville’s Architectural Treasures, opening during FirstArtSaturday, October 3, 6-9 pm, at 215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North, and continuing through October 31. Bob Schatz will be available to discuss the photographs and a forthcoming new book on the subject during Art After Hours, Thursday, October 1, 5-8 pm. For information, phone 615-254-2040, and through Twitter and Facebook updates.
The Arts Company will also present Charles Keiger, an Atlanta-based artist, in his fourth showcase of new paintings at the downtown gallery during FirstArtSaturday, October 3, 2009, 6-9pm, and continuing through October, 31 at 215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North. Charles Keiger will attend the First Saturday opening.
About the Artists / Bob Schatz
Bob Schatz, a native Nashvillian, is no stranger to producing books of his photographs capturing selected cities and locations in the south. Since 2005, he has published books on Tennessee landscapes (with an introduction by Tipper Gore), Nashville, Asheville, N.C., Memphis, and now a very specific part of Nashville’s history—the architectural treasures of the city. This latest book will be available in late October. This exhibit presents a selection of large-scale photographs highlighting the grandeur of familiar and some forgotten architectural treasures in the city. About the Artists / Charles Keiger
Charles Keiger is an accomplished painter who combines technical prowess with a figurative style mixed with surprising details to suggest narratives about how particular moments feel in very particular situations. Keiger is an Atlanta-based artist known for his work representing southern gothic and magical realism. Featured in Art & Antiques magazine as an artist emerging on the national scene, Keiger has shown his work in a series of one-man and group shows presented throughout the southeast, as well as New York City. His work has been collected in 200 private and corporate collections. Keiger holds a BFA from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and an MFA from the University of Georgia in Athens.
A Salon Preview during Art After Hours
during Art After Hours
Thursday, October 1, 2009, 5-8 pm
Bob Schatz will join guests at 5-8 pm during Art After Hours for a conversation about his new photographs and his forthcoming book on the subject of Nashville’s architectural treasures. Art After Hours is an initiative of the Nashville Association of Art Dealers designed to invite the public to galleries throughout the city to engage in special conversations with and about art and artists.
Nashville, TN – The Arts Company “September Showcase” presents new work by two artists—paintings by Bill Johnson and photographs of San Miguel by Suzanne Elmer, scheduled to open September 5, 6-9 pm during the popular First Saturday Art Crawl at 215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North.
About the September Exhibit
The Arts Company celebrates Labor Day, the last holiday of summer, with two new series of artwork—Bill Johnson’s paintings and Suzanne Elmer’s photographs.They will both headline the exhibit, but the gallery will also showcase other artists whose work will be coming soon to the gallery.
About the Artists
Bill Johnson, painter
Bill Johnson already had a successful career as an art director with Rolling Stone magazine and subsequently with CBS Records in NYC in the 1970s and 1980s before he moved to Nashville in the 1990s to become the V.P. for Creative Services for CBS (now Sony-BMG) Records.His iconic award-winning album covers for Sony have captured, among other accolades, two Grammy awards.After his retirement, he began his own work as an artist in a clean and precise style that suited him.This is the second series of new paintings he has presented at The Arts Company, the first over two years ago.The new series is titled New Paintings.New Palette, and shows a very different palette from his earlier work.
Suzanne Elmer, photographer
Suzanne Elmer also began in the music business--as a professional drummer--but shifted to real estate a few years ago because she got caught up in rehabbing old houses.That love of houses and real estate trumped her drumming career and led her into paying attention to photography related to buildings, especially the ones in San Miguel, Mexico, one of her favorite cities in the world.She has sense developed a small series of selected photographs printed in large format designed as contemplative decoration for a home or office environment.
A Salon Preview during Art After Hours during Art After Hours
Thursday, September 3, 2009, 6-9 pm Bill Johnson and Suzanne Elmer will join guests at 6 pm during Art After Hours for a conversation about their new work.Art After Hours is an initiative of the Nashville Association of Art Dealers designed to invite the public to galleries throughout the city to engage in special conversations with and about art and artists.
The Arts Company
FirstArtSaturday Presents
The 12th Annual Avant-Garage Sale Expo & The Art Exchange
Opening Saturday, August 1, 2009 Preview 12-6 pm
Reception 6:00pm-9:00pm
10:00am-5:00 pm, Tuesday-Saturday
215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North
Nashville, TN –The Arts Company announces the 12th Annual Avant-Garage Sale Expo opening on FirstArtSaturday, August 1, featuring artwork, art books, props, furniture, and décor fresh from gallery archives. A special feature this year is The Art Exchange, which will include artwork from collections and estates. The sale and exchange may be previewed at the gallery on Saturday, August 1 from 12-6 pm. The opening reception is scheduled for later that day, 6-9 pm, during FirstArtSaturday at 215 Fifth Avenue, North. New items will be featured daily on Twitter.
A closing reception is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, August 21 and 22, offering remaining inventories at reduced prices.
About the August Exhibits
This will be the 12th year that The Arts Company has gathered together an avant-garage sale offered directly to the public from gallery archives. This year there will be a special Art Exchange selection from collections and estates, featuring work from several area painters and sculptors and a section of outstanding folk art pieces. Current gallery artwork by gallery artists is not included in the sale expo.
The 12th Annual Avant-Garage Sale Expo will include random gallery-owned artwork from gallery archives, tables, chairs, handmade lamps, flat files, vintage and contemporary art books, and miscellaneous. Pricing is of the essence for the Avant-Garage Sale Expo. All of the art books in the gallery will be offered at a 50% discount to make room for some new fall book selections, and two vintage book presses will be included in the sale. Posters, vintage furniture and props, and miscellaneous artwork will be offered, all at affordable prices.
The Art Exchange will focus on miscellaneous folk art, sculpture, paintings, and photography from private collections and estates such as: folk art by Joe and Rosie Light, Lillian Webb, Minnie and Garland Atkins, Roy Pace; paintings and sculpture by Puryear Mims, Doug Williams, Gray, April Street, McCarty pottery, Michele Herbert, Nat Cole, Brother Steve, Bruce Matthews, and more; a collection of vernacular photography, selected signed photographs by LIFE photographers, and other photography to be added. The Art Exchange artwork will be selected from collections and estates.
A closing reception for the sale and exchange is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, August 21 and 22 to offer additional price reductions for remaining Avant-Garage Sale inventories. All sales are final and there are no exchanges.
The Arts Company
Presents
“The Art of Music, Flags, and Flowers”
Artwork selected to refresh your summer
Opening Saturday, July 11, 2009
6:00pm-9:00pm
&
The annual Brother Mel exhibit continues
10:00am-5:00 pm, Tuesday-Saturday
215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North
Nashville, TN – The Arts Company has joined forces with other galleries downtown to shift the First Saturday Downtown Art Crawl from July 4 to the following Saturday, July 11,same time, same galleries on Fifth Avenue and same free shuttle service provided by the Nashville Downtown Partnership between galleries.This change of date has been made in July because the July 4th holiday falls on the First Saturday.
Therefore, The Arts Company announces “The Art of Music, Flags, and Flowers,” an exhibit planned specifically for summertime viewing, scheduled to open Saturday, July 11, 6-9 pm, along with exhibits by neighboring downtown galleries also participating in the monthly First Saturday Downtown Art Crawl.The exhibit will continue through July 24, along with the annual Brother Mel exhibit, during regular gallery hours, 10-5pm Tuesday-Saturday at the downtown gallery location at 215 Fifth Avenue, North.
About the Exhibit
The art of music includes classic music portraits by Sorrento and painted musical instruments with painted canvas counterparts by Michael Bush; the art of flowers features Daniel Phill and Nicole Katano.Five artists—Brother Mel, Myles Maillie, Bob McGill, Norris Hall, and Jorge Arrieta—have been commissioned by the gallery to create special artist flags.An added attraction is that the annual Brother Mel exhibit will continue through July 24.To preview the exhibits and more, check the gallery website at www.theartscompany.com and click on Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr at the top of the home page.
The Art of Books
Hundreds of selected art books in The Arts Company collection will be offered at a 40% discount during the July exhibit.This reduction in art book inventory is designed to make room for new book inventories in the fall.
The Arts Company presents “The Art of Flags” during Art After Hours A monthly series of city-wide gallery events
Sponsored by the Nashville Association of Art Dealers
Thursday, July 2, 5-8 pm
Featuring five original artist flags commissioned by the gallery:
Brother Mel, Myles Maillie, Norris Hall, Bob McGill, and Jorge Arrieta
The Arts Company invites guests to stop by on their way home during Art After Hours on Thursday, July 2. The Arts Company has commissioned five artists—Brother Mel, Jorge Arrieta, Myles Maillie, Norris Hall, and Bob McGill—to create limited-edition artist flags to feature during Art After Hours at their downtown gallery at 215Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North, on Thursday, July 2, 5-8 pm.Art After Hours is a monthly city-wide series of art gallery events sponsored by the Nashville Association of Art Dealers to acquaint Nashvillians and visitors with the variety and quality of art galleries and resources available in the Nashville area.
Guests are invited to The Arts Company to meet and greet some of the artists commissioned to create flags for the occasion and to enjoy very cool refreshments and very fresh art.The annual Brother Mel exhibit will continue.To preview The Arts Company events, check the website and related online sources:www.theartscompany.com, Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr.
Two other galleries on Fifth Avenue in the same block with The Arts Company—Tinney Contemporary and The Rymer Gallery—will also offer something special in their galleries during Art After Hours.For a complete list of participating galleries for the July Art After Hours, contact www.nashvilleartdealers.org.
The Arts Company
Presents
“What’s New with Brother Mel This Year?”
Opening First Saturday, June 6, 2009
6:00pm-9:00pm
A Preview Reception with Brother Mel
is scheduled for First Thursday, June 4, 5-7 pm
at The Arts Company
Nashville, TN – The Arts Company welcomes Brother Mel for his 11th annual Nashville exhibition, “What’s New with Brother Mel This Year?” opening officially on First Saturday, June 6, during a reception for the artist, 6-9 pm.The exhibit will continue through July 18.This year, Brother Mel has been experimenting sculpturally with wagon wheels, rusted tools, bicycles and M&M shapes, as well as with large bold abstract watercolors, and other pieces that defy description.Brother Mel, in attendance for the exhibit opening, will also be previewing his upcoming book, Brother Mel:A Lifetime of Making Art, to be released this fall.
ART AFTER HOURS / A Special Preview with Brother Mel
The Arts Company will offer a special advance preview reception for Brother Mel and the forthcoming book during Art After Hours, June 4, from 5-7 pm at the gallery. Art After Hours is a new initiative inviting the public to tour citywide art galleries after hours on the First Thursday of every month.The event is sponsored by the Nashville Association of Art Dealers, an alliance of art galleries dedicated to raising awareness of the visual arts in Middle Tennessee. Visit www.nashvilleartdealers.net for a list of participating galleries.
About the Exhibit / “What’s New with Brother Mel This Year?”
Brother Mel’s annual June exhibition at The Arts Company is always a highly anticipated event because he is here in person to discuss his most recent work, and his work always has a surprise element.It takes a very large truck to bring his exhibits to the gallery, and hours of photographing, documenting and preparing them for exhibition.He is a widely popular gallery favorite, partly because of the unpredictable nature of his artwork, which will be par for the course this year as well.His annual Nashville exhibits are special because he celebrates his June birthday here each year.This year marks his 81st birthday, and it is also the year a new book on his life and work is being completed by The Arts Company.The book will be previewed during this year’s exhibit.
About the Artist / Brother Mel
Brother Mel has been a full-time artist for over 50 years and a brother in the Marianist community, a Catholic brotherhood, for over 60 years.Brother Mel received an undergraduate degree in English and History from DaytonUniversity in 1951, and a master’s degree in fine art from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, studying with Jean Charlot, one of the Mexican Renaissance muralists alongside Diego Rivera, and Ivan Mestrovic, the sculptor whom Rodin described as “a phenomenon among sculptors.”In 1957-58, he studied with two European masters of stained glass—Jacques le Chevallier in Paris and Yoki Abescher in Fribourg—as part of a year of intense study, making art, and traveling on a motor scooter over 14,000 miles during that year.
In the late 1960s, Brother Mel became the first Marianist brother to take on the vocation of artist as his full-time work as a Marianist.He was encouraged to form his own studio, and he began his lifetime of making art, first with glass, frescoes and icons for churches and chapels, and later extending to outfitting 25 Adams Mark Hotels with paintings and sculpture, and other large buildings.Since the late 1960s, he has produced over 10,000 documented works of art, plus public and private commissions and the paintings and watercolors from a period of 28 years of annual painting trips.His artistic mentors include Van Gogh, Picasso, Calder, and David Smith, among others, artists to whom he is attracted by their endless creativity and inventiveness, both traits that apply to his work as well.
The Art of Books / About the Brother Mel Book
Brother Mel:A Lifetime of Making Art is a 200-page study of Brother Mel’s dual life as an artist and as a Marianist brother in a Catholic community.The first part of the book addresses his life from his family, his spiritual commitment, his distinguished artistic education, his decades of travel, his influences, the development of his studio, and his commitment to making art 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year, since the 1960s.
The second part of the book is a portfolioof selected images from the thousands of works of art he has produced over a 50-year period.The images are presented in various sections of his special interests and productivity—from his early days of glass, chapels, frescoes, and icons to sculpture, paintings, handmade paper—and his recent work since 2000, which is all over the board.
The Arts Company
Presents
FRESH ART
Introducing
David Benson
“Contemporary Southern Narratives”
A new style of painting
And
Welcoming back
David Swanagin
“The Colors of Middle Tennessee”
New oil paintings
Opening May 2, 2009
6:00pm-9:00pm
Preview reception for both artists at 5:00 pm
Plus a special exhibition of new artists and new artwork in a
“Fresh Art Showcase”
An artists’ showcase upstairs at The Arts Company
All exhibits continue through May 22
Nashville, TN – The Arts Company presents FRESH ART, featuring two one-man exhibitions—“Contemporary Southern Narratives,” a new style of painting by David Benson, and new oil paintings by David Swanagin—opening during FirstArtSaturday, May 2, 6-9 pm, with a special artist preview at 5 pm in the downtown gallery at 215 Fifth Avenue, North. An additional showcase exhibition of new work and new artists will be presented in a Fresh Art Showcase, upstairs at The Arts Company. All exhibits will continue through May 22 during regular gallery hours, 10-5pm, Tuesday-Saturday. Preview all exhibits at www.theartscompany.com.
About the Exhibits
Two one-man exhibittions will present two painters who work in totally different styles. Each artist has just completed new work specifically for their exhibits, addressing subjects of interest to Nashvillians—from music to neighborhoods to landscapes to the visual journey of an Ugly Duckling. The Fresh Art Showcase, which opens upstairs at The Arts Company at the same time, introduces four new painters to the gallery and welcomes new work from four gallery artists.
The Arts Company welcomes David Benson, a South Carolina-based artist who has just completed an extraordinary new series of paintings specifically for this Nashville gallery. Benson employs canvas, paper, drawing, painting, and many other artistic surprises in his work. He has developed his own distinctive style and technique for presenting elements of southern culture in new ways, bringing to his work the sophistication of an accomplished artist.
David Swanagin, a Nashville-based artist, continues as a favorite gallery artist who continues his passion of making paintings of familiar Tennessee landscapes. Just completed in time for the exhibit, his new work will focus on the strong colors familiar in Middle Tennessee.
The Fresh Art Showcase introduces four new painters to the gallery, and new work by continuing four continuing gallery artists
About the Artist / David Benson
David Benson’s off-the-charts different idea of painting makes a preview with the artist particularly exciting to people interested in how he makes his art. Though recently retired from teaching for thirty years, his own artwork which he presents in museums and in galleries is anything but academic. Benson has grown up in the south, and often addresses difficult southern narratives, typically in the straightforward manner of the nature of the subject matter, but also with a sense of whimsy in outlook and materials.
About his work, Benson says “My interest in Robert Rauschenberg, Jim Dine, Max Ernst, Andy Warhol, and a few impressionist painters are at times clearly evident in my compositions. I use little color, opting for a more achromatic result. I have always felt that the more bizarre the media, the more opportunity exists for discovery and expression.” His goal, he says, is to give the observer an experience that is both spiritual and intimate, claiming that aesthetics “are not essential to the themes of my work,” preferring to make the narrative of his southern culture primary.. This work is meant to be seen up close and personal. It is rich and rewarding.
About the Artist / David Swanagin
David Swanagin claims two home bases—Nashville and Augusta, Georgia. Originally from the Low Country in South Carolina, he comes by his passion for painting landscapes quite honestly. He has produced numerous paintings of landscapes, including the golf courses of Augusta, the Low Country, Tennessee landscapes. He has also been on client-sponsored painting trips to Ireland, Italy, and France.
Swanagin, a self-taught artist, has established his own contemporary version of traditional landscapes. As a real Renaissance man, Swanagin is also a very successful Nashville-based drummer who tours constantly and uses photographs from his road trips for paintings in his studio later.
About the Fresh Art Showcase
The artist showcase upstairs at The Arts Company introduces new gallery painters Curt Ginther, Daniel Phill, Carl Plansky, and Steven Walker; and will showcase new work by continuing gallery artists Kimiko, Bernice Davidson, and Andy Todd; and special new felt portraits by Jeff Hand. Preview the Fresh Art Showcase at www.theartscompany.com.
The Arts Company
Presents
JOHN BAEDER’S AMERICAN ROADSIDE:
EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS
The third of three consecutive exhibitions of Baeder photographs,
a series of selected images of 20th century American roadside icons
by legendary photorealist painter JOHN BAEDER
Opening April 4, 2009
6:00pm-9:00pm
Preview with John Baeder at 5:00 pm
FirstArtSaturday
at
The Arts Company
Exhibit continues through May 22
10:00am-5:00 pm, Tuesday-Saturday
215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North
Nashville, TN – The opening of “JOHN BAEDER’S AMERICAN ROADSIDE:EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS” at The Arts Company, April 4,marks the final exhibition of three consecutive one-man exhibits of John Baeder’s photographs.This landmark exhibition of the photographs of legendary photorealist painter John Baeder opens 6-9 pm at 215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North.An artist preview reception with John Baeder is scheduled in advance at 5:00 pm. The exhibit will continue through May 22, during regular gallery hours, 10-5 pm, Tuesday-Saturday along with selections from the two earlier exhibits of his vintage photographs.Additional information is available at www.theartscompany.com or at 615-254-2040.
About the Exhibit
The Arts Company’s April exhibit of John Baeder’s photographs features early photographs from the 1970s in a series of C Prints on Kodak Endura Paper in a limited edition of 10.The exhibit is presented in cooperation with the ThomasPaulFineArtGallery in Los Angeles.The photographs are iconic 20th century images, most of them printed for the first time.In the 1960s, John Baeder began pursuing his passion for the American roadside—diners, signs, gas stations, and other urban icons—with a camera.He has continued making photographs ever since, but he used them mostly as references for the photorealist paintings he produced beginning in the 1970s.This year is the first time his photographs have been singled out as important in their own right as photographs, and this exhibit presents the first selection of 27 images chosen for this inaugural exhibit series.
In addition to the photography exhibit, one of Baeder’s iconic photographic images of a drive-in theatre—“Star Vue”—will be featured in a limited edition of 40 posters to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Nashville Film Festival.During the April 4th opening, The Arts Company will be hosting the Third Annual Nashville Film Festival Preview, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the prestigious film festival.This is the second time a John Baeder image has been selected by the festival as their official poster.
About the Painter and His Photographs / John Baeder
Throughout his college years at Auburn University, John Baeder was enamored unconsciously by the pre-interstate back road, Highway 29, between his home town of Atlanta and Auburn University in Alabama—the eateries, the motels, gas stations, and hand-painted road signs.At age 21, back in Atlanta, he became an ad agency art director for a NY-based ad agency, and at the same time began taking black and white photographs with his Kodak Brownie—the storefronts, signs, cars, and people on the street—documenting the old city that was becoming the new city of Atlanta.
Once he moved to New York City in 1964, Baeder amassed hundreds of photographs of his own, and continued to document the people and places around him in NYC and environs, especially old diners, which he envisioned as “temples from a lost civilization.” When he was discovered by the legendary art dealer Ivan Karp and began painting diners in 1974 for Karp’s O.K.HarrisGallery, Baeder’s career as a painter became paramount.However, his photographs continued to be important to him in their own right, as well as references for his canvases and watercolors. He has realized only recently the affinity between his photographs and those of the documentary photographers of the WPA and FSA in the 1930s and 40s, including Ben Shahn, Bernice Abbott, and Walker Evans.
The photographs included in this exhibit are 20” x 30” c-prints in an exclusive edition of 10, printed by the Thomas Paul Fine Art Gallery in Los Angeles, in cooperation with John Baeder and The Arts Company.
John Baeder, An American Original
Other artists have been interested in using the image of the once ubiquitous American diner, but John Baeder is credited with making the diner image into an American icon through capturing hundreds of diners across the United States with his camera.His photographs of 20th century American roadside icons are just now being discovered as having their own distinctive artistic merit—as photographs.Though he has been presented in two or three occasional shows of his photographs, it is just now that the photographs are being noted and presented for their own merit.The paintings based on his photographs are the paintings that have lifted Baeder to the top echelon of photorealist painters of the 20th century, for which he has long been acclaimed.
The Art of Books
The Art of Books is a signature series at The Arts Company, presenting a range of books related to art and artists of interest to the gallery.John Baeder is known as an accomplished writer as well as an artist.During this exhibit series, all of Baeder’s books—including Diners; Sign Language: Street Signs as Folk Art ; Pleasant Journeys and Good Eats Along the Way; Gas, Food, and Lodging; and Pleasant Journeys and Good Eats Along the Way (the catalog accompanying a traveling museum show of his work) will be available.In addition, a new film on John Baeder the artist, recently completed by Nashvillian Curt Hahn’s Film House, will be available.A special catalog of this exhibit will be available during the exhibit.
John Welles Bartlett, originally from San Francisco, now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Chris Beck’s passion for outsider art and artists was fueled by Alabama’s wealth of outsider artists. Over the past four years, he has devoted himself to collecting and converting raw rusted tin into contemporary icons of items of clothing that hang on a wall as uncanny reminders of past eras, with a special interest in styles of the 40s and 50s. Like George Segal’s plaster sculptures, Beck’s tin clothing sculptures appear lived in.
Tony Breuer, a neurologist, has in recent years added a master’s degree in studio art to his other credentials, with a plan to retire from the practice of medicine and pursue a career in art full time. His particular passion is to find new ways to show how all things on earth live in perpetual movement in time and space. He selects common objects and places them in a continuum of time/space, adding his signature visual symbols of movement and depth. He offers a new way to see what’s around us.
Judy Nebhut began as a collector of fine art, but has found her place in photography. She learned quickly to see photographically. She styles each frame to structure a simple elegance of light, color, and composition to each subject she chooses. Echoes of her taste as a collector of modern art are brought to each photographic study of beauty and elegance that she produces. Her photographs are elegant and refreshing. Great for summertime viewing—or for the middle of winter. Her sense of order and elegance is reassuring in any season.
Deborah Wait is driven to working with glass and creating shapes, colors and movement in mosaics. Glass mosaics are not just about putting pieces together to form patterns, but for her, they are about structuring paintings with chunks of glass. As ancient as mosaics are, they are not prevalent in the contemporary world of art. For Wait, working with glass as a primary material for making art has become a personal passion. The result offers a new way of seeing modern shapes and colors made from simple pieces of glass. They invite touching and looking again and again.
Joel Anderson’s poster designs have become legendary symbols of the Spirit of Nashville in recent years as he has documented a broad range of institutions and icons of the Nashville experience. In recent months, he has expanded his field of reference to The Art & Soul of America, now documenting outstanding cities and the personalities that distinguish each of them visually. Joel and his design colleagues who work under his direction have not only helped define cities, but he has insisted on presenting the work as posters in the spirit of Toulouse Latrec, keeping it affordable and readily available. 
More than 10 feet of water flooded Finer Things and the gallery grounds, sweeping away larger-than-life outdoor sculptures. Owner Rusty Wolfe’s studio was submerged with water, destroying the tools and equipment that he used on a daily basis to create beautiful furnishings and artwork (i.e. his livelihood). In addition, Rusty and Kim’s private living space and furnishings were also destroyed. 
Nashville, TN – The Arts Company presents Brother Mel’s annual artistic pilgrimage to Nashville in a two-day artistic event entitled The Art of Brother Mel: A Lifetime of Making Art. On Friday, June 4, at 7pm, Brother Mel will make an appearance at Davis-Kidd Booksellers to sign the book, Brother Mel: A Lifetime of Making Art. Anne Brown is the author of this 236-page study of Brother Mel’s life as an artist and as a Marianist brother in a Catholic community. She will join Brother Mel at the signing. During First Art Saturday, June 5, 6pm to 9pm, Brother Mel will be in attendance to celebrate his 82nd birthday showcasing his recent and signature artwork. The exhibit will continue through July 23. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm. 
About the Artist / Jane Davis Doggett
This is the first showing The Arts Company has presented of some of the work of this prolific Knoxville-based artist, whose body of work is vast and varied.
Pam Moxley, an Atlanta-based artist, focuses on children, objects, and flowers, translating them through her own inventive techniques and then enlarging them into dramatic, glamorous images of specific moments and objects in time.
Anne Goetze’s plein air paintings of Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, show her love of the place itself, but also show her increasing looseness of style in the kind of quick draw painting that plein air painters specialize in.
Steven Walker
Lou Outlaw
Bill Starke, a Colorado-based sculptor, has had several exhibitions at The Arts Company. The gallery will showcase a variety of new and mostly larger versions of some of his earlier pieces such as divers, climbers, and ladders. He uses both bronze and aluminum in his work.
Ed Rode’s photographs of Nashville’s Songwriters and Musicians include Chet Atkins, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Patsy Montana, and many others, all of whom sat for Rode to get portraits revealing their personalities.
Steven Walker’s paintings of Nashville represent the eye of an outsider—he hails from Virginia and lives now in Ohio.
Jonathan Richter’s small oil sketches have become a staple for the Artrageous event.
The 
The Arts Company invites guests to stop by on their way home during Art After Hours on Thursday, July 2.
Brother Mel’s annual June exhibition at The Arts Company is always a highly anticipated event because he is here in person to discuss his most recent work, and his work always has a surprise element.
Brother Mel has been a full-time artist for over 50 years and a brother in the Marianist community, a Catholic brotherhood, for over 60 years.
Brother Mel:
David Benson’s off-the-charts different idea of painting makes a preview with the artist particularly exciting to people interested in how he makes his art. Though recently retired from teaching for thirty years, his own artwork which he presents in museums and in galleries is anything but academic. Benson has grown up in the south, and often addresses difficult southern narratives, typically in the straightforward manner of the nature of the subject matter, but also with a sense of whimsy in outlook and materials.
David Swanagin claims two home bases—
Once he moved to