Black Snake. Kent Ambler, artist
Beginning August 7, American Folk Art & Framing (AFA) hosts Against the Grain: Kent Ambler & Doug Frati, an exhibition of work by two artists who, though in different regions of the US, bring similarities to their work. The show goes live on AFA’s website on Wednesday, August 7, at 11 a.m., and opens in the gallery on Friday, August 9, at 11 a.m., with a reception that evening from 5–8 p.m. The exhibition runs through Wednesday, August 28.
Curious Fox. Doug Frati, artist
“Against the Grain celebrates the ever popular work of these two kindred spirits,” says gallery owner Julia Mills, “the striking wood carvings of Doug Frati and the richly layered woodblock prints of Kent Ambler. Both have built truly beautiful lives for themselves, in which they pursue their artistic passions surrounded by lush forests full of wildlife and draw inspiration from the natural scenes around them.”
Ambler, who discovered printmaking in college, has been exhibiting his woodblock prints at AFA since 2008, and finds inspiration in his everyday life and in the woods and animal life around his Greenville, SC home.
In addition to his prints, Against the Grain will include “block constructs,” works that are made from the actual woodblocks that Ambler carves during his printmaking process. “I generally only print an edition of 30 from the blocks and never reprint them,” he says, “so I have a shed full of old blocks and have a compulsion to make something with them. I cut the blocks into smaller pieces and reassemble them into low-relief, abstract, wall-hanging wood sculptures. Each block has been stained by the different ink colors I used for printing, so some of the constructs are quite colorful.”
Works that Frati, a Maine artist who also studied printmaking, will exhibit include some older repurposed objects such as headboards and chests that he has carved stories into, making use of the wood’s time-worn elements. He resides in his restored family homestead on the banks of the Sebasticook River, using the property’s old barn as his studio. “Repurposing wood is the obvious common denominator for this show,” he says, “but I don’t think I’m getting out on a limb here to say that Kent and I are both drawn to storytelling.” And, too, he adds, the work of each leaves room for viewers to uncover their own stories.
American Folk Art & Framing is located at 64 Biltmore Avenue in Asheville. For more information, visit AmeriFolk.com or call 828.281.2134.
