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HAPPY NEW YEAR | |
2013 .......... | |
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MUSEUM TO OPEN IN FORT SMITH
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Gala planned ..........
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The Fort Smith Regional Museum of Art (RAM) will host a Grand Opening Gala at 7 p.m. on January 19. The museum located at 1601 Rogers Avenue, is housed in a 16,000 square foot building donated by Arvest Bank.
The museum meets national standards and is equipped to facilitate nationally and internally recognized traveling exhibits. The opening exhibit will be The Secrets of Mona Lisa, a unique exploration of the world's most famous painting, and will feature the findings of French scientific engineer and expert of the Mona Lisa, Pascal Cotte. The exhibition will remain on display through March 17.
Tickets for the Gala are $100 per person. Guests attending the Gala will enjoy Italian cuisine, cocktails, a live auction, an array of live entertainment, and dancing. dress will be black tie optional and complimentary valet parking will be provided.
Museum hours begining January 20 will be Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Sundays from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Admission will be $8 for general admission; $6 for students and seniors with valid ID. Group discounts will be available. RAM members will receive free admission. For more information visit: RAM
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CRYSTAL BRIDGES ANNOUNCES AQUISTIONS
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AND EXHIBITION DATES.......
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The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art's inaugural exhibition of its collection featured more than 450 works of art, representing nearly half of its entire holdings at the time of the museum's opening on Nov. 11, 2011. The museum's collection has now grown to include a total of 2,040 artworks. Acquisitions over the past year have included five sculptures, eight paintings, one mixed media work, and 504 works on paper, which includes drawings, photographs, watercolors, and a collection of 468 prints made by American artists between 1925 and 1945.
Crystal Bridges has an active acquisition program, guided by Executive Director Don Bacigalupi, museum curators and board leadership. Central to the consideration of any acquisition is the museum's mission to tell the story of America through its great works of art, which include works by artists with household names as well as remarkable works by significant but lesser-known artists. "The Crystal Bridges collection will continue to grow as extraordinary works become available to us," said Bacigalupi. "We have a strategic acquisitions plan that guides our choices, but as a young institution, we also have the ability to be flexible as opportunities arise. When we are presented with a great work of art that tells an important part of the American story, we can take action fairly quickly. We were fortunate in our inaugural year to add such a number of significant artworks to our collection. We look forward to presenting them to our guests in the year and years ahead." Acquisition highlights The museum has already hosted a public unveiling of one of the super-stars of the recent acquisitions - a large, luminous painting by the Abstract Expressionist artist Mark Rothko, which is now on view as part of the museum's temporary exhibition See the Light: the Luminist Tradition in American Art. This exhibition also features a recently acquired early work by glass artist Dale Chihuly. The Rothko will be re-located to the museum's Twentieth-Century Art Gallery following the close of See the Light in late January. In addition, there are several other show-stoppers among the museum's inaugural year acquisitions that visitors may look forward to seeing in the galleries in the months ahead.
Ammi Phillips (1788-1865), Woman in Black Ruffled Dress, ca. 1835. Oil on canvas.
Among the recent acquisitions is an iconic portrait by American folk artist Ammi Phillips titled Woman in Black Ruffled Dress, painted ca. 1835. Phillips was born in Connecticut and though he was a prolific artist, with more than 400 paintings now attributed to him, it was not until 1968 that he was positively identified as the artist. Phillips's earlier works used a soft pastel palette. Later works, such as Crystal Bridges' new acquisition, used much bolder hues and darker backgrounds. "A self-taught New England portrait painter, Phillips is considered one of the most important folk artists of his era," said Curator of American Art Kevin Murphy, "which is an area in which we've been looking to broaden our offerings."
Photo upper right: Ammi Phillips (1788-1865)
Woman in Black Ruffled Dress, ca.1835
Oil on canvas 32 x 27 in. (81.3 x 68.6 cm)
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. Photo courtesy of Washburn Gallery, New York.
Phillips's Woman in Black Ruffled Dress has recently been installed in Crystal Bridges' Colonial to Early Nineteenth-Century Art Gallery.
William Wetmore Story (1819-1895), Sappho, 1867. Marble.
Adding a neoclassical presence to Crystal Bridges' offerings is a nearly five-foot-tall white marble sculpture of the Greek poet Sappho by William Wetmore Story. The poet is seated in a chair with her arms crossed along the chair's back, her lyre at her side and a pensive expression on her face. Her robe, necklace, and the rose that graces her lyre are rendered in classical detail. This sculpture is scheduled to receive conservation work in the year ahead, as well as a new base, before it will make its public debut.
Photo left: William Wetmore Story (1819-1895)
Sappho, 1867 Marble 58 x 34 x 38 in. (147.3 x 86.4 x 96.5 cm)
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. Photo courtesy of Berry Hill Galleries, New York.
Miriam Schapiro (b. 1923), A Mayan Garden, 1984. Fabric and acrylic on canvas collage.
Miriam Schapiro is a contemporary artist who lives and works in California. Her shaped-canvas mixed-media work A Mayan Garden has also been added to the Crystal Bridges collection. Schapiro is known as one of the country's prominent feminist artists. She, along with fellow artist Judy Chicago, was one of the founders of the Feminist Art Program at California Institute of the Arts. A Mayan Garden is one of Schapiro's "femmages" - mixed-media collage works that draw on techniques traditionally perceived as being the domain of women, such as appliqu� and decoupage - and will debut at Crystal Bridges during 2013.
Thomas Hart Benton (1889 - 1975), Tobacco Sorters, 1942/1944. Tempera and oil on panel.
Photo lower right:Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975)
Tobacco Sorters, 1942/1944 Tempera and oil on panel 30 1/8 x 36 in. (76.5 x 91.4 cm)
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
 Missouri-native artist Thomas Hart Benton is a well-known regional favorite. Tobacco Sorters was originally commissioned by the American Tobacco Company, which wanted to connect its consumers to the farmers who grew their product. The work is currently displayed as a key component in the museum's Early Twentieth-Century Art Gallery.
"A larger work than the other Bentons we have in our collection, this immediately filled a niche in our early twentieth-century area," says Murphy. "It had been in a private collection, and it was important to the owners that it be shared with a larger audience."
Prints for the People
A large portion of the year's acquisitions comprise a collection of 468 early twentieth-century prints amassed by a private collector. The collection features artists working in styles that range from Benton's Regionalism to Charles Sheeler's Precisionism, as well as all of the major printmaking media: drypoint, etching, engraving, lithography, screenprint, woodcut, and wood engraving. The collection contains artists best known for their work in other media, such as Benton and Sheeler, but also those who chose to express themselves almost exclusively through prints, including Martin Lewis and Benton Spruance. Female artists are prominent, with Ida Abelman, Minna Citron, Mabel Dwight, Jolan Gross-Bettelheim, Riva Helfond, and Bernarda Bryson Shahn represented through at least one, but often multiple, works.
"This acquisition dramatically expands Crystal Bridges' holdings of prints, opening new avenues for the museum's ability to interpret the rich history of American art," said Murphy, who has curated an exhibition from the new collection.
Selected Prints to be featured in Exhibition
A selection of these recently acquired prints will be on view at Crystal Bridges through April 22 in a temporary exhibition titled Art Under Pressure: Early Twentieth Century American Prints.
Photo below: Edward Hopper (1882-1967)
The Railroad, 1922 Etching on wove paper 8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm)
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
These works were created between 1925 and 1945, a time of great social change and hardship for the American people. Printmaking came into its own during the Depression and World War II era as a fine-art medium. Artists who worked primarily in other media often used prints as a means of experimentation or to work out ideas. Other artists whose primary medium was printmaking began to experiment with technique, expanding the limits of the medium to create original artworks that could be inexpensively produced in multiples and distributed. Mail-order art dealers worked with artists to produce limited edition prints and promote them in catalog format from which consumers could purchase a print for a few dollars. It was the first time original artwork was within the financial means of average Americans.
"There are a number of prints that deal with the Depression head on and take an approach that looks at people hard at work and trying to improve their circumstances," said Murphy.
"These are printmakers who themselves were often living at the margins and could really understand their fellow blue-collar workers. The collection represents a moment where the American artist and the American people were in sync in a way that we haven't seen since the Hudson River School painters, and we don't see again for another generation."
A full listing of January programs, information, and registration is available on Crystal Bridges' website: PROGRAMS. To view the full calendar of events, visit CALENDAR.
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JANUARY EVENTS, EXHIBITIONS, RECEPTIONS, AND MORE
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Out and about in January and beyond.....
Chris Engholm's White River Memoirs, 700 miles of listening to a liquid legend, will be on display from January 3 through January 25 at the Art Center of the Ozarks, 214 SO Main, Springdale Arkansas.
The show will feature oils, watercolors, photos, and objects from several artists. This assemblage "listens with intensity" to a waterway that connects diverse cultures and ecologies from the Ozarks to the Mississippi Delta. The collection has been created by author-photographer Chris Engholm in partnership with the Shiloh Museum of Ozark history.
For the past year, author-photographer Chris Engholm has paddled his handmade canoe over 550 miles of White River. With 150 miles left to go to reach the Mississippi, he has pulled ashore to mount an exhibition of art, objects, and photography created by artists he befriended along the way that celebrate the mighty river and its inhabitants.
A reception will take place Thursday January 10, 6-8 p.m.
Running concurently at the ACO will be a showing by Deirdre West who will exhibt an exploration of the human spirit in a classical realist style by portraying the human figure in a variety of settings. Her show is titled A Return to Classical Realism.
The Arts Center of the Ozarks is located at 214 South Main Street, Springdale, Arkansas. For gallery hours and other info, visit ACO
The Center For Arts and Education, Van Buren, Arkansas:
The Center will feature the Dynamic Collaboration Between Sculptures of Fine Art & Decor of Applied Art, January 7 through January 25.
 Photo left: Melody of the Soul by Ingrid Gipson.
The show will feature the sculptures of Ingrid Gipson. Her work will be enhanced by works of a supporting cast of 2-D artists; George Kountoupis and Patricia Lappin. An opening reception will take place January 11 from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m.
The Center is located at 104 North Thirteenth ST, Van Buren, Arkansas, and is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information, click HERE
University of Arkansas Fine Arts Center:
The University of Arkansas Department of Art Fine Arts Center Gallery will present Employing Voice, Embracing Agency, an exhibition curated by Cynthia Nourse Thompson honoring African American History Month. The show will be onview from January 14 through February 28.
Image right: Willie Cole, Silex Male: Ritual, Digital print on Epson 9600 using Ultra Chrome Archival Inks, edition of 12, 2004
This exhibition is significantly comprised of influential contemporary African American artists from the collection of Darrell Walker. Mr. Walker [1969- ] is a former University of Arkansas basketball player and former NBA player for such teams as the Chicago Bulls. His collection contains many of the most important and influential present-day African American artists to-date. Moreover, Walker is bravely committed in expanding his catalogue with noted cutting-edge artists who address conceptions of history, culture, and identity in previously unforeseen lights laden with diversity. With each acquisition Walker is attracted to the manners in which the artist challenges the viewer in a recontextualized society. This pronounced collection is extensive and ranges from: the photographic imagery of Wardell Milan; the sculptural paintings of Radcliffe Bailey; and the powerful photographic imagery of Xaviera Simmons, among others. These holdings reference Walker's cultural heritage and clearly illustrate his dedication to its preservation and further topical explorations. Moreover, Mr. Walker became an influential mentor to many, providing inspiration for the development of many other prominent collectors such as that of Elliot Perry. Additional loans included in the exhibition are works by Radcliffe Bailey, Michael Ray Charles, Willie Cole, and a video by renowned artist Kara Walker.
The Fine Arts Center is located on the campus of the University of Arkansas. Click HERE to view a map. Hours at the Fine Arts Center are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5:30 and Sundays from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.
University Programs and sUgAR Projects is hosting Solo Show by artist and graduate of the University of Arkansas Kelly Brenner Justice. The exhibition will be on display through Thursday, January 31, 2013, in the Anne Kittrell Art Gallery, located in the University of Arkansas Union.
Kelly Brenner Justice's work utilizes generations of plastic dinnerware ranging from vintage melmac and melamine to 1950's Tupperware to modern Solo products. Each of these "found" objects addresses a romanticized or idealized snapshot of society, whether it is a lavish Tupperware party in the 1950s or memories of a college keg party. Taking a cheap, well-known plastic product such as Tupperware or Solo, and casting it in porcelain brings the object to a new level of worth, elevating its price value but also infusing it with irony. Justice's work was selected to be part of the 2012 National Student Juried Exhibition at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference in Seattle, where she was awarded the Studio Potter Merit Award, Undergraduate Level.
The showt is sponsored by University Programs Art Gallery Committee. For more information on this event contact Art Gallery Coordinator, Lana Hackler at upart@uark.edu or (479) 575-5255. University Programs is a student-run and student-fee funded organization within the Office of Student Activities.
The exhibition will be on display at SAAC from Jan. 4-29, with an opening reception set for 5-7 p.m., Saturday, January 5. The public reception is free and will include talks by the artists.
Now in its 26th year, the Small Works on Paper exhibition showcases artwork no larger than 24 x 24 inches by Arkansas artists who are members of the Arkansas Artist Registry, an online art gallery coordinated by the Arts Council. The art will travel to 10 galleries throughout the state in a year-long touring show.
The 2013 show features 37 works, which were selected from more than 300 submissions by juror Anne Austin Pearce, an associate professor of art and director of the Greenlease Gallery at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo.
Hours for the exhibition are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Admission is free.
To view the complete 2013 touring schedule and the list of the artists, visit Small Works
The Walton Arts Center's current exhibit is Treasures & History: A Gallery Open House in the Joy Pratt Markham Gallery. The featured exhibitions include 20 Years, a newly commissioned installation by local artist Kathy Thompson, and My Folklore: The Art of Letitia Huckaby.
The two exhibitions will be on view through January 13, and together, they offer a celebration of memory, tradition and the importance of creative community. The Walton Arts Center is located at 495 West Dickson Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturday from noon until 4 p.m.
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CALL TO ARTISTS
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Opportunities await.....
The Eureka Springs School of the Arts, class schedule is now available HERE. The Eureka Springs School of the Arts offers workshops in visual arts and fine crafts for interested, emerging and professional artists. the school is located at 15751 Highway 62 West, Eureka Springs, Arkansas. For more information call (479) 253-5384.
 Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
begins 2013 with art classes back by popular demand, now enhanced as a series of workshops for both children and adults. For adults who have pledged to learn a new skill for the new year, two drawing classes are offered in January. Studio Studies figure drawing will meet for four evenings, and Drawing Explorations botanical studies will meet for three afternoon sessions. A new art class for preschoolers ages 3-5 also is offered this month, with a three-session afternoon class beginning Jan. 16 to familiarize little ones with materials and art-making.
The popular Art Night Out series returns Jan. 24, with a much-needed boost of light to help beat the winter blues. Immersion is an evening program for adults with a light theme to correspond with the exhibition See the Light: The Luminist Tradition in American Art, which will be on view through Jan. 28.
Arkansas clay artist Trent Tally will be giving a pottery wheel demonstration at a show and sale of his work in Crystal Bridges' Museum Store from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26.
A full listing of January programs is below. Information and registration are also available on the calendar of events on Crystal Bridges' website: Crystal Bridges INFO
Thea Arts Festival, call for entries: Applications are now available to exhibit in the 2nd Annual Thea Arts Festival to be held April 27, 2013, in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
The one-day show held in the Argenta District of North Little Rock, will feature works by juried artists. To request an application contact Nick at nick@theafoundation.org
For more information about the Thea Foundation visit THEA.
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Northwest Technical Institute: Diana Michelle will teach the following classes for the Northwest Technical Institute, Springdale: Basic Digital Photography, January 29 through March 5 (6 weeks) Tuesdays 6-9 p.m. $130: Basic Photoshop, Feb. 7 through March 14 (6 weeks), Thursdays 6-9 p.m. $130: Advanced Digital Photography, March 26-April 30 (6 weeks), Tuesdays 6-9 pm $130: Advanced Photoshop, March 27 - May 1 (6 weeks), Wednesdays 6-9 .m. $130
And at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Fayetteville, Diana will teach
Landscape Photography, April 1 - April 29, (5 weeks) Mondays from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Classes are $59 plus $50 membership to Osher. Info at Oshe Info
For more info: Diana Michelle diana@dianamichellephotos.com or call
(479) 799-9291
Studio 7, Village on the Creek,
Rogers, Arkansas
Tuesday evening adult painting classes with Judi Harrison will resume at Studio 7, at the Village On The Creek shopping center, Rogers, Arkansas, January 8 and will be held Tuesday evenings from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.
Registration for the classes is required and payment for the month of January in the amount of $80 is due by January 8. Information and registration can be found via email at nwastudioseven@gmail.com or by phone at (479) 659-1289.
The Northwest Arkansas Community Creative Center: The Spring schedule for art classes is now available online at Art Classes. The Center is located at 505 W Spring Street, Fayetteveille, Arkansas
Applications for the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society Online Open Exhibition will be accepted between January 3 and April 3. The show is open to all oil and acrylic artists 18-years-of-age or older. Awards to be presented include:Best of Show. $750; Second Place, $450; Third Place, $300, and will include additional awards from art supply sponsors. Information about dates, etc are available at NOAPS Exhibition registration at Show Registration.
Applications are available for the 2013 Batesville Area Arts Council National Juried Exhibition. Deadline for submissions is January 18. The exhibition is open to all artists 18 and older working in 2D media. Entries must be original works created within the last 5 years. No Giclee prints are allowed. Works previously exhibited at the BAAC Art Gallery on Main are ineligible. Artists may submit up to three images with an entry fee of $25. Two additional images may be submitted for an additional $5 each. Accepted works will be exhibited at the BAAC Art Gallery on Main Street (Batesville, AR) March 19-April 20. A purchase prize of $500 and cash rewards around $1500 will be available. Additionally, the first place winner will also be given a solo exhibition at the BAAC Art Gallery in 2013. More information and an entry form can be found at BAAC
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DONATE TO SUPPORT THE REGISTRY AND THE NEWSLETTER
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The Eureka Springs Artists Registry under the guidance of a board of directors is a non-profit organization funded by donations and sponsorships. To help the Registry continue to promote the arts and artists of NW Arkansas, and to insure receiving this monthly newsletter, send donations to:
ES Artists Registry
c/o Zeek Taylor
12 White St
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INCREASE YOUR EXPOSURE ON THE REGISTRY WEBSITE | Affordable enhanced packages offered.....
For Gallery listing information and Bed and Breakfast listing info visit
| | A free web page is available to artists that allows uploading of six images. The Registry also offers the Premium Artist Package from 12 to 24 images. For artists to upgrade to the Premium Package (professional portfolio), the cost is $50 per year and includes a shopping cart for work purchased through Paypal. Increase your exposure with the premium package by signing up at ArtistRegister |
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NEWS?
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DO YOU HAVE NEWS? Submission info for newsletter.......
| | If you have news for possible inclusion in next month's newsletter please send to zeek.taylor@cox.net The newsletter goes out to more than 1,100 online subscribers.
Information sent should be art related (visual) and may be included depending on time, space, and potential interest to readers. Please note that accepted articles may be edited in order to maintain a consistent style to the newsletter and to meet space requirements. Please submit copy to me at least four days prior to newsletter release date (1st day of each month.)
Thanks,
Zeek Taylor, Executive Director,
Author/Editor-Eureka Springs Artists Registry Newsletter
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Eureka Springs Artists Registry
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