Marshall Tracks. Calvin Edney, artist. Photo by Double Exposure Art
The Madison County Arts Council presents work by two area artists on display through Saturday, July 3, at The Arts Center in Marshall. Lelia Gina Canter, an artist of Scots-Irish and Cherokee descent, will exhibit works spanning more than 25 years including several series of acrylic paintings that illustrate Cherokee, Celtic and Appalachian culture and various legends and sacred sites.
“I strive to preserve and honor the history and culture of my ancestors as well as the Appalachian heritage of the past,” says Canter. “I hope my work inspires viewers to visit some of the sites depicted in my paintings and to learn more about their own heritage as well as the history and culture of the region.”
Calvin Edney Jr. will show between 60 and 100 landscapes and figurative paintings created with the use of vivid color and high contrast he is known for. Born in Mars Hill in 1935, Edney didn’t pick up his first paintbrush until he was 56 years old and settled in Asheville after serving in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, working on Wall Street and living in Florida, among other things. Edney paints mostly from memory, combining places and things that have left a deep impression on him.
“Everything in the paintings is connected to me; even if I paint a picture of a spot I’ve never seen in person, it’s connected to me in some way,” says Edney. “I think painting, for me, is a way to communicate the expressions I am unable to put forward any other way.”
The Arts Center is located at 90 South Main Street, in Marshall. Exhibits are free and open to the public. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn more at MadisonCountyArts.com.
