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Past ExhibitionS

 

Alabama Artists Gallery

 

The Alabama State Council on the Arts is proud to showcase the work of 

Alabama artists in its Montgomery gallery in the RSA Tower. 

Hours are Monday - Friday 8 a.m - 5 p.m.


1,000 lbs. of Clay

May 9, 2008 - June 20, 2008

click here to view PDF of exhibition


2008 Visual Arts Achievement Program

April 7, 2008 - April 25, 2008

In recognition of outstanding achievement in visual arts, 112 middle and senior high school students from across Alabama will be honored at the Alabama State Council on the Arts’ Visual Arts Achievement Program Awards Ceremony on Friday, April 25.

            The ceremony honoring these young artists will be held in the auditorium of the State Capitol on Friday, April 25, from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m., with a reception immediately following at the Alabama State Council on the Arts’ Alabama Artists Gallery, at 201 Monroe Street.

            This Visual Arts Achievement program, which is in its twenty-second year, provides an opportunity for talented middle and high school students in Alabama to receive local and state recognition for their achievements in visual arts.  It is designed to showcase the quality art being created by Alabama’s students enrolled in both public and private school systems.

            During the awards ceremony, students, their parents, guests, and teachers will have an opportunity to hear Bruce Larsen, a found objects artist from Fairhope, Alabama.

For the Visual Arts Achievement Awards, the state is divided into six districts. The participating art teachers within the districts selected the most creative and technically executed work done in their classrooms.  These pieces were submitted for the district competition. Works selected at the district level are currently displayed for the month of April at the Alabama Artists Gallery, located in the lobby of the Alabama State Council on the Arts.  Selected professionals juried all district winners in order to select a group of state winners.  Medallions and gift certificates will be presented to students whose works are designated the “Best of Show,” and “Best” in each category, and “Best of each District”.  Additionally, an award will be given to the art teacher and the school system with the highest number of works in the state exhibition.  All district winners will also receive certificates.

            Additionally, the State Arts Council’s Visual Arts Achievement Awards provide an opportunity for twelfth grade students who have excelled in visual arts to receive financial assistance in the form of scholarships.  These students being awarded financial assistance, have not only demonstrated their artistic abilities, but have also planned to continue their education in the art field. This portion of the program is a partnership between the State Arts Council and several colleges and universities. In order to be considered for scholarships, students submit portfolios of their work to be judged by a panel of professionals. The top five participants are selected and receive a $500 scholarship.  If the student elects to attend one of the institutions agreeing to match the Council’s scholarship of $500, the scholarship is then increased to $1,000. This matching commitment makes for a possible five scholarships at $1,000 each.

 


Carry On: Celebrating Twenty Years of the

Alabama Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program

November 28, 2007 - February 28, 2008

Folk arts are defined as those artistic traditions that are rooted in a community and are often handed down through generations, such as quilting, basket making, shape-note singing, old-time string band music or blues.

In 1984 the Alabama State Council on the Arts, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, established the Alabama Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program in an effort to preserve these cherished artistic traditions within the state. Since then, more than 100 master folk artists have received teaching grants to assist in passing on their skills to a new generation of students.

There have been many successes in the more than twenty years of the program. In many cases, apprentices have become so skilled that they have become highly regarded as basket makers, quilters or musicians themselves. This exhibition represents a few of the many outstanding artists who have carried on their traditions through the Alabama Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program.

This exhibition was made possible with funding from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

Alabama is known for nationally and even internationally for its richness in expressions of folk culture, especially for its strong traditions in shape-note singing, quilting, African-American a capella gospel quartet singing, and for its blues performers and bluegrass gospel groups who tour the country and overseas.

 The Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program has supported these and other craft, music and dance traditions that are rooted in the Native American, African and European cultures that have shared in our state’s history.  In addition, the program has supported the arts brought by newer immigrants to the state, such as Southeast Asian, Indian and Latin American groups, who recognize the importance of helping their children maintain a connection to their cultural heritage. As Indian rangoli artist Amita Bhakta of Florence stated, “a strong tree has to have strong roots.  We must nurture the young by helping them find their own identity by educating them about where they come from.”

This is the value in preserving the cherished cultural traditions in Alabama.  It helps us remember who we are as Alabamians and where we came from.   The Alabama Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program is one way to help these important traditional arts carry on to the next generation.

Birmingham photographer Mark Gooch traveled Alabama during the summer and fall of 2007 to document the folk artists featured in Carry On: Celebrating Twenty Years of the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program.

 

For the past 28 years, Mark Gooch has photographed people for advertising agencies, magazines and design firms throughout the U.S., creating work that reflects the respect he has for each subject. 

 

His studio is located in Birmingham's historic Woodlawn neighborhood.

 


Alabama Originals: 

Expanding Perspectives

 

September 25 - November 16, 2007  

 

  The artists in this exhibition have taken both concept and material to an expanded form.  

A ring sculpture of river rock and steel emerges from the mind of professional jeweler Connie Ulrich. Ashley Oates’ Some Retablos for America, uses x-ray, India ink and contact prints of sculptures to speak of injustice to animals, the subjugation of the weak. Barb Bondy uses the graphical dialogue of drawing to gain understanding of complex problems. She captures the nature of mark-making as a portal to the brain and to new ideas. Katherine Adams forms the emulsion from her original photographs to the relationship between nature’s elements, embodiment of spirit, and blood memory.  Jenny Fine uses the photographic process to create narrative images of relationship and mystery. Scott Bennett creates a wall installation of slip-cast red earthenware, unglazed and sandblasted.

Artists in the exhibition:

 

Katherine Adams, Birmingham

Scott Bennett, Birmingham

Barb Bondy, Auburn/Opelika

Dori DeCamillis, Birmingham

Jenny Fine, Tuscaloosa

Ashley Oates, Tuscaloosa

Connie Ulrich, Huntsville  


Alabama Originals: 

Contemporary Craft

 

July 19 - September 10, 2007    

 

This exhibition is the fifth in a series titled ALABAMA ORIGINALS, honoring living Alabama artists for the YEAR OF ALABAMA ARTS.  The exhibition includes fine craft objects by 49 artists. The pieces use materials such as clay, fabric, fiber, metal, wood and glass to reflect both utility and sculptural form. 

 

CLAY

Larry Allen, Birmingham

Jason Anderson, Birmingham

Lowell Baker, Tuscaloosa

Margaret Barber, Montgomery

Curtis Benzle, Huntsville

Alan Burch, Florence

Steven Burrow, Gulf Shores

Becky Crisswell, Calera

Greg Freeland, Montgomery

Susan Freeman, Birmingham

Jim Gasser, Lineville

Christopher Greenman, Montgomery

Lynnette Hesser, Wellington

Randal Holland, Muscle Shoals

M. C. Jerkins, Florence

Steve Loucks, Wellington

Scott Meyer, Montevallo

Wade Oliver, Birmingham

Tena Payne, Leeds

Clifton Pearson, Montevallo

Larry Percy, Troy

Michael Perry, Birmingham

Arch Pike, Huntsville

John Rezner, Fairhope

Guadalupe Robinson, Huntsville

Charles Smith, Mobile

Ursula Vann, Huntsville

Daniel White, Birmingham

Tony Wright, Mobile

 

FIBER/FABRIC

Celia Dionne, Gurley

Linda Dixon, Auburn

Nancy Goodman, Mobile

Marianne Jackson, Remlap

Murray Johnston, Birmingham

 

MIXED

Claire Robitaille, Magnolia Springs

 

GLASS

Donna Branch, McCalla

Cal Breed, Fort Payne

Cam Langley, Birmingham

Joe Thompson, Birmingham

 

METAL

Steve Davis, Northport

Robert Taylor, Birmingham

 

NATURAL MATERIALS

Mary Jane Everett, York

Muffin Hand, Montgomery

 

WOOD

Maurice Clabaugh, Tuscaloosa

Randy Cochran, Fort Payne

Bruce Gibson, Hoover

Dale Lewis, Oneonta

Bobby Michelson, Birmingham

Joe Wujcik, Maylene


Alabama Originals: 

A Sense of Place

May 10, 2007 - June 29, 2007  

Works in painting, photography and printmaking addressing themes connecting with Alabama land, community, people and custom.

Jennifer Alam, Asland

Pinky Bass, Fairhope

William Christenberry, Tuscaloosa/Washington, D.C.

Chip Cooper, Tuscaloosa

Caroline Davis, Birmingham

Mark Gooch, Birmingham

Nick Gruenberg, Midfield

Andy Meadows, Montgomery

Jim Morris, Tuscaloosa

Stephen Savage, Mobile/Fairhope

Wayne Sides, Florence

Sam Tumminello, Huntsville

Barbara Lee Black, Gordo

Kathleen Fetters, Gordo

Sonja Rieger, Birmingham

Beth Maynor Young, Birmingham


Alabama Originals: 

Classical Approaches

January 31, 2007 - March 16, 2007  

The Alabama State Council on the Arts is proud to showcase the work of Alabama artists in its gallery in the RSA Tower in downtown Montgomery.  Hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. This exhibition is the second in a series titled ALABAMA ORIGINALS, honoring living Alabama artists for the YEAR OF ALABAMA ARTS. Others to follow during 2007 will include such themes as Contemporary Craft, A Sense of Place, and Expanding Perspectives.

 

The artists in this exhibition use traditional techniques in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing as means of personal expression. They include college professors, a high school teacher, professional artists who do primarily commissioned work and artists who present their work in art festivals and markets throughout the country. Several have been recognized by the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel as Art Ambassadors or Artists of the Month for the Year of Alabama Art.  

 

Artists in the exhibition:

 

Samuel W. Barnett, Decatur

Brian Bishop, Tuscaloosa

Dana Brown, Huntsville

Gary Chapman, Birmingham

Glenn Dasher, Huntsville

Casey Downing, Mobile

Anita Hoodless, Huntsville

Dale Kennington, Dothan

Ronald Lewis, Birmingham

Branko Medenica, Birmingham

Ronnie D. Riner, Tuscumbia

Benjamin J. Shamback, Mobile

Wendy A. Slaton, Shorter

Scott Stephens, Montevallo

Evan Wilson, Tuscaloosa/New York

 


Alabama Originals: 

Self-Taught/Contemporary Folk Art

November 10, 2006 - January 5, 2007

 

This exhibition is the first in a series titled ALABAMA ORIGINALS, honoring living Alabama artists for the YEAR OF ALABAMA ARTS. Others to follow during 
2007 will include such themes as Classical Approaches, Contemporary Craft, A Sense of Place, and Expanding Perspectives. 

 

The artists in this exhibition are among the most well-known and collected artists of Alabama. They are self-taught, working outside the classic tradition of academic training and the mainstream art world. The art on exhibit here has often also been labeled outsider, primitive, visionary, vernacular or contemporary folk art.

These individuals have much to say both visually and spiritually. They generally do so with materials at hand and with techniques and forms they devise. Some of the pieces seem aligned with traditional forms such as quilting, yet there is invention, spontaneity and freedom not present in those community traditions. Other pieces present aesthetic statements with a clear connection to the best contemporary art forms. The work is unfiltered by any rules of what art should be and how it must work. 

Artists in the exhibition:

 

Butch Anthony, Seale
Michael Banks, Guntersville
Chris Clark, Birmingham
Thornton Dial, Bessemer
Lonnie B. Holley, Birmingham
Shelby Lee Horton, Boaz
Woodie Long, Andalusia
Charlie Lucas, Selma
Annie Lucas, Prattville
Betty Sue Mathews, Tuscaloosa
Joe Minter, Birmingham

Bernice Sims, Brewton
James A. “Buddy” Snipes, Hurtsboro
Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Fayette
Annie Tolliver, Montgomery
Mose Tolliver (deceased), Montgomery
John Henry Toney, Seale
Yvonne Wells, Tuscaloosa
Myrtice West, Centre

Twenty Years: The Montgomery Area Business Committee for the Arts

September 10, 2006 - November 3, 2006

  

The Montgomery Area Business committee for the Arts is celebrating twenty years of presenting art objects to businesses as awards to recognize contributions to the arts.

The Alabama State Council on the Arts is pleased to present this exhibition of the past award pieces as well as additional works by several of the artists. 

The first award was presented in 1987 and was a painting by Montgomery artist Barbara Gallagher.  Barbara passed in July of this year, so it is particularly appropriate to honor her work in this exhibition. Dawn Kuykendall is also deceased.

Clark Walker is the featured artist for this year, 2006. The award pieces painted by Clark are hanging in the exhibition and will be presented at a luncheon on November 2.

 

Other artists in the exhibition:

1988-Larry Godwin

1989-Robert Shelton

1990-Jack DeLoney

1991-Leonard LaRoux

1992-Crow & Michaux

1993-John Phillips

1994-Jim Gunter

1995-Donna Jones

1996-Frances Lanier

1997-Melissa Tubbs

1998-Terry McKee

1999-Elena Aleinikov Kohn

2000-John Phillips

2001-Dawn Kuykendall

2002-George Allen “Bud” Harris

2003-Cecily “Cissie” Hulett

2004-Carol Barksdale Meredith

2005-Connie Watts  


Courageous Journey: Honoring Helen Keller

July 18, 2006 - September 1, 2006

 

The Alabama State Council on the Arts is proud to showcase the work of Alabama artists in its Montgomery gallery in the RSA Tower.   

In 2006, Alabama activities brought attention to two Alabama women.  Montgomery celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Bus Boycott inspired by Rosa Parks, and the State of Alabama began the process of replacing one of its two statues honoring significant Alabamians in Statuary Hall at the Nation’s Capitol with a new sculpture of Helen Keller.

To accompany increased awareness of these two leaders, the Alabama State Council on the Arts organized two exhibitions giving artists the opportunity to create work honoring the lifetimes, the “Courageous Journeys”, of Rosa Parks and Helen Keller. The exhibitions tour to four locations: The Tennessee Valley Art Center in Tuscumbia; the Alabama Artists Gallery in Montgomery; the Mary G. Hardin Cultural Arts Center in Gadsden; and Jemison-Carnegie Heritage Hall in Talladega.

Twenty-three artists participated in this exhibition honoring Helen Keller (1880-1968).   The major concept is based on the themes of her life, especially serving as a tribute to her inner strength as she transformed the challenges of her human condition. She said, “Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything good in the world.”

Contemporary artists created works after studying not only the life and writings of Helen Keller but also ways of communicating, including sign and Braille. Images of hands and eyes have been incorporated into several of the works. Other pieces, such as Nancy Goodman’s quilt, Rain and Hope, are made to visualize “the notion that no matter how grim things get, the human spirit has a way of shining though. [Keller] must have had a lot of the kind of light within her to overcome her obstacles.”

Several of the artists in this presentation have also transformed challenges in their own lives. Barbara Gallagher, Montgomery, suffered a severe stroke and could no longer paint with her right hand. As soon as possible, she tried with her left hand—and continued her successful painting career. One of the pieces in this exhibition was painted right-handed, and the other left-handed.

As a young woman, Lila Graves, Alexander City, was given only a few months to live after several efforts to cure malignant melanoma. She believes she was healed with a “beautiful, merciful miracle” in Mexico, where she gave up “all of the old angers and fears in my life” and made and wore a pair of white angel wings, constructed with palm leaves and a feather boa. She says, “Instead of dying with cancer, cancer helped me figure out how to live.”

Five artists who participate in programs for adults with autism and Asperger’s syndrome at Studio By the Tracks in Irondale are included in this exhibition. The Studio seeks “to redirect anger and frustration toward constructive expression and creativity”, believing that “our student’s creative process, and the resulting artwork, represents a profound shift in focus from personal limitation to possibility.” Just as teacher Annie Sullivan helped open Keller’s world by dedicated teaching, the faculty at Studio By the Tracks serve as a modern example of opening the world through the arts.

ARTISTS IN THE EXHIBITION

Pinky Bass, Fairhope

Gary Chapman, Birmingham

Linda Cooper, Studio by the Tracks, Birmingham

Carole Fay Esk’ridge, Huntsville

Frank Fleming, Birmingham

Wendy Flowers, Birmingham

Barbara Gallagher, Montgomery

Nancy Goodman, Mobile

Lila Graves, Alexander City

Michael Hall, Studio by the Tracks, Irondale

Art Horton, Studio by the Tracks, Irondale

Lillie Mack, Black Belt Designs, York

John Miller, Studio by the Tracks, Irondale

Tommy Moorehead, Talladega

Nall, Fairhope

Amanda Napper, Mobile

Judith Taylor Rogers, Birmingham

Carolyn Sherer, Birmingham

Jeanie Thompson, Montgomery

Julie Watters, Birmingham

Yvonne Wells, Tuscaloosa

Monika Woody, Studio by the Tracks, Irondale

Rachel Wright, Mobile 


Works of Distinction:

2005-2006 ASCA Fellowship Recipients

May 15, 2006 - July 12, 2006

 

The Alabama State Council on the Arts is proud to showcase the work of Alabama artists in its Montgomery gallery in the RSA Tower.  The ten artists featured in this exhibition have received the Council’s highest recognition as recipients of competitive Individual Artist Fellowships.   

 

Artists in the Exhibition: 

 

Cal Breed, Fort Payne, studied at Pilchuck Glass School and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. His full-time studio is Orbix Glass, and his work has been exhibited at the American Craft Council Southeast Region juried exhibition “Spotlight” 2003 and 2004 and has received the prestigious 2004 Niche Award from the Rosen Group. Works in this exhibition are created by using the incalmo technique of joining multiple open-ended blown glass bubbles. “In exploring the scope of this traditional technique, I discovered the ability to highlight elements beyond that of color, such as surface texture and optical depth.”

 

Annie Kammerer Butrus, Birmingham, holds a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Notre Dame. She says, “My paintings are meditations on changes in the contemporary Alabama landscape. My interest … not being from Alabama – is to capture the experience and point-of-view of the farmer by documenting their landscape and the encroaching development before their way of life, method of farming and habitation of the land disappears entirely.” Her works on his theme have included Fallen Fruit and installations at Space One Eleven for “BAMA,” Shadow: Seasons and Weather: Seasons.

 

Merrilee Challiss, Birmingham, received a BA in Studio Arts (painting) from UAB, followed by an MFA in 2000 from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (drawing and installation). In addition to regular exhibitions in the Birmingham area, in 2004 her work was exhibited at the Los Angeles Art Fair with Bucheon Gallery and in a group show in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Also in 2004, she received the Magic City Art Connection’s Emerging Artist Award and was included in the Southeastern Edition of New American Paintings.    She has become interested in using craft (domestic skills such as needlework) to express her ideas, which she says, often “marry a Victorian aesthetic with Voo-doo.”   

 

Mary Jane Everett, York, holds a BS in ornamental horticulture from Auburn University. She has studied basketmaking with such recognized artists as Billie Ruth Sudduth and Hisako Sekijima. She exhibits her work and has received awards at festivals and juried exhibitions throughout the south. Her works have been featuring the addition of hardware and antique objects to the forms. These additions include such things as shoe lasts, watch parts, water faucets, tools and drawer handles. Her studio is part of the art community developing in downtown York.

 

Marilee Keys, Auburn, received her education at the Sergie Bongart School of Art in California and at the University of Utah. She says, “I live on 50 acres in the woods of Alabama. My work continues from an on going search for information about my environment. The gathering, the layering, the collecting and the transparencies of common materials recycled from natures recycling, cover my studio walls. Specifically my interests lie in systems, repetition, space and volume – cycles of life. In all of my art I am drawing, whether it is in two dimensions or three, with pine needles, rocks, photographs or shadows.

 

Dale Lewis, Oneonta, received a Master of Arts degree in Educational Media with an additional certificate in Art Education from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He exhibits his work throughout the United States in art festivals and juried exhibitions, and his pieces are included in the collections of the Huntsville and Mobile, Alabama Museums of Art. He says, “Function is important to me, so my creations are primarily furniture. My work is based around exceptional pieces of wood. Occasionally the extraordinary grain pattern or color of a board influences my designs. Whimsy, fantasy and wit characterize much of my work.”

 

Christopher McNulty, Auburn, is Assistant Professor of Art at Auburn University and holds an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He says, “ My recent work explores the problem of knowledge and the limitations of Reason as a means of understanding both the internal and external world.” In his work he attempts to achieve ideals through simple, repetitive and labor intensive projects such as ”quantification, addition, division, measurement, mapping and reproduction”. This work is performed using only his “hands, eyes, and basic tools”. The resulting objects are a record of his process of striving to achieve perfection—despite knowing that the ideal was unachievable to begin with."

 

John Phillips, Montgomery, learned artist-blacksmithing after he took a job as staff on a wagon train that traveled from Mexico to Canada and back over the course of a year, with the purpose of rehabilitating serious juvenile delinquents. After four years, he returned home to open a metalwork/repair shop and then expanded his metal working skills by “reading books, looking at pictures and just figuring it out.” His designs are generally architectural pieces such as furniture, railings and gates. Among other recognition, his work was included in the Schiffer Book by Dona Z. Meilach, The Contemporary Blacksmith.  

 

Carolyn Sherer, Birmingham, says, “ A career photographer, my early work, black and white environmental portraits, allowed me to travel nationally to create 40 images for an award winning book, “Just as I am:  Americans with Disabilities”. However, I emerged last year from diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer with an overwhelming urge to stay home and document my personal world in Alabama. Suddenly I needed to record the beauty of my friends and family with a nod to painterly influences using color. I purposely set the “state” for images and then watch as the characters interact with the camera and me."

 

Pamela Venz, Birmingham, received the MFA from The Ohio State University in 1985 and is Associate Professor in the Department of Art at Birmingham-Southern College. She exhibits regionally, with work selected for the Triennial Southeastern Juried Exhibition at the Mobile Museum of Art in 1999 and the 2001 Montgomery Art Guild Biennial Exhibition at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. She notes that her visual interests have always fluctuated between photography and sculpture, exploring the unique qualities of each. The black and white photography on exhibit was taken in her home during a recent sabbatical and shows bold explorations of light and dark forms.


Contemporary Alabama: Four Artists

February 3, 2006 - March 24, 2006

The Alabama State Council on the Arts is proud to showcase the work of Alabama artists in its gallery in the RSA Tower. Hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The current exhibition features four artists working with a variety of styles and materials. Artists in the exhibition:

Misty Bennett, Montevallo, holds her Master of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting from the University of Georgia. She is on the art faculty at the University of Montevallo. In her statement she says, “I began this new body of work after reading about something commonly known to physicists—that time does not always pass at the same rate. Of course, you would have to be traveling very fast to physically sense the acceleration of time, but the idea that something I had always believed to be fixed was in fact variable at first astounded me. If this is true, then perhaps there are other aspects of life, both miniscule and monumental, that are completely misunderstood. I find this idea to be very encouraging. I am drawn to scientific diagrams for their sincere attempt to simplify a complex idea into a clear and concise image. It is comforting to know that this is possible. Life’s big unanswered questions continue to confront me, and these paintings represent my endeavor to discover the answers through painting. My methods are more sensual than scientific, and allow me to explore the mysteries without the limitation of definition.”

Scott Bennett, Birmingham, studied ceramics at The Ohio State University and received his Masters of Fine Arts in 1989. He has been a studio artist ever since, and from 1996 to 2002 he developed ceramic prototypes for the national chains Bath and Body Works and White Barn Candle Company. He has exhibited his work at major national exhibitions such as the Smithsonian Craft show, the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, and the NCECA Clay National. His work has been featured in Ceramics Monthly and he has taken awards at some of the countries most notable outdoor exhibitions. Scott is now co-owner of Red Dot Gallery in Birmingham Alabama, a teaching space and gallery exhibiting the finely crafted work of national artists he met in his years traveling.

Zdenko Krtic, Auburn, holds a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. A native of Croatia, he is Associate Professor of Art at Auburn University. The installation on exhibit is composed of thirty-two square panels of polyptych and encaustic on wood. In his statement about the work he says, “Each panel developed from an appropriated image, often technical and scientific in its origin. I have been experimenting with laser cutting/engraving machines as a means of incising such (mainly linear) forms into a bed of beeswax. The coherent laser beam light is used as a mapping device—the latest technological tool “drawing” over the ancient painting medium of encaustic—giving often forgotten forms new life and materiality. For me, this unlikely but potent marriage of process and material serves as a junction where innovation and tradition intersect.”

Larry Percy, Troy, holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Kansas and is Assistant Professor of Art & Design at Troy University. His work can best be described as “sculptural vessels” that are inspired by visual stimuli encountered on journeys to the desert/mesa/mountain regions of the Southwestern United States. “I guess that idea of journeys westward is just in my blood”. In his statement is says, “I realize now that those journeys carry tremendous spiritual significance in what Lucy Lippard refers to as ‘the restless artist’s preoccupation with travel, navigation, and mapping [that] is often an attempt to address and reconcile the mythic relationship between the daily round and the road to spiritual achievement.’ Clay is earth and it is about journey and transformation. I am in constant awe as I reflect on the forces of nature and the element of time involved in sculpting these landforms.”


Courageous Journey: Honoring Rosa Parks

December 1, 2005 - January 17, 2006

 

The current exhibition was organized to honor Rosa Parks and the 50th Anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. During preparation for the exhibition, Rosa Parks passed, so the exhibition attained even more significant meaning. Eighteen artists from throughout Alabama created work for the exhibition. 

 

Artists in the Exhibition: 

                            

Larry Allen, Birmingham

Art Bacon, Talladega

Chris Clark, Birmingham

Glenn Dasher, Somerville

Winfred Alan Hawkins, Montgomery 

Darius Hill, Birmingham

Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., Akron

Janice Kluge, Birmingham

Charlie Lucas, Selma

Ronald Scott McDowell, Tuskegee

Clifton Pearson, Montevallo 

Bernice Sims, Brewton

Yvonne Wells, Tuscaloosa

 

Tommy Moorehead, artist-in-residence created pieces with fifteen students at Talladega County High School. A collaborative piece by four artists is a table setting, with dinnerware by Charles Smith and Tut Riddick of Mobile and a table cover by Marilyn Gordon and Lillie Mack of Black Belt Designs in York.

 


Art on the Inside: Alabama Prison Arts & Education Project

 

October 19, 2005 - November 23, 2005

 

 

The Alabama State Council on the Arts is proud to showcase the work of 

Alabama artists in its Montgomery gallery in the RSA Tower. 

Hours are Monday - Friday 8 a.m - 5 p.m.  

 

 

This exhibition featured poetry, drawing and photography created through the Prison Arts & Education Project of the Center for the Arts & Humanities at Auburn University and directed by Kyes Stevens. The project has been hosted in Tutwiler Prison for Women, Frank Lee Youth Center, Elmore Correctional Facility, two work release units, and the L.I.F.E Tech facility of Pardons and Paroles.  


 

Connecting Alabama: Six Artists

 

September 11, 2005 - October 12, 2005

 

Connecting Alabama brings six artists from various areas of the state, making geographic connections but also showing more subtle relationships. Coleman Mills, a contemporary painter in Fairhope, found inspiration for his works in the quilts of Gee’s Bend, making links between contemporary and traditional expressions. Melissa Tubbs, Montgomery, presents elegant pen and ink drawings of architectural forms, which also celebrate (and connect with) the artists who created the forms. Paula Frances Peek, Waverly, presents images that document a section of Highway 280, but also show ways people are connected through specific, common experiences.

 

Elaine Augustine, Florence, has an extensive national exhibition record working in pastels. She has been designated a Master Pastellist by the Pastel Society of American; Signature Member of the Degas and Alabama Pastel Societies; and Member of Excellence in the Southeastern Pastel Society. She is “inspired by images with contract and value—interesting shapes, textures and lights and darks. I don’t really care what the subject is.”  Works in the exhibition range from landscapes to abstracts to florals.  

 

Coleman Mills, Fairhope, prefers the title  “painter” over that of artist and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture from Auburn, Cornell and Harvard. He studied and trained under AIA Gold Medalists Samuel Mockbee and Michael Graves. The paintings in this series are entitled Defiant Humility:  Paintings Inspired By The Quilts of Gee’s Bend. He says they ”are an investigation of the infinite layers of surface, the transparency of the well-worn patina and the subtle, self-effacing complexity of composition of the quilts themselves.”    

 

Jim Morris, Tuscaloosa, frequently travels back roads searching for images capturing the uniqueness and beauty of the South, considering it an additional personal challenge to preserve photographically those scenes that are continuously changing or disappearing from our landscape. He finds humor in the form of hand-painted signs and “road-side attractions.” His technique also includes adding “selective” colored accents or highlights to the black and white photographs.

 

Paula Frances Peek, Waverly, is Assistant Professor of Interior Design at Auburn University. She says that her “creative research has consistently focused on memory, both collective and individual.” Roads of Alabama Series - Highway 280, “incorporates ideas associated with movement and freedom, or documenting the lack thereof. Highway 280, being integral to the heart of my community is a lifeline to and context for many of my life experiences.” The pieces show segments of rural Alabama, but also show a universal connection through many cultures, regions and people.  

 

Melissa