Closing Day on Autumn Farmstead. Luke Allsbrook, artist
By Natasha Anderson
Blue Spiral 1 presents four new exhibits opening Friday, March 3, and running through April 26. Farm to Table, in the Main Gallery, is a selection of works by 12 artists inspired by the subjects of agriculture and farming, alongside functional and sculptural works that have long materialized from these environments. The show includes bucolic landscapes, hyper-realistic paintings of farm life, deconstructed silver platters, photography, functional pottery and sculptural glass. “I love to make objects to be used and enjoyed in the home, and I think that handmade items truly elevate the dining and entertaining experience,” says glass artist Hayden Wilson.
Bricky. Casey Engel, artist
In the Showcase Gallery, Katie Walker presents her latest collection of expressionistic abstract paintings and drawings in Katie Walker: DRAWING THE LINE. Walker’s paintings reflect the fearless exploration of broader life experiences and memories through unique mark-making, experimental canvas construction and distinct color palettes. “Viewers will recognize some of my familiar imagery and mark-making, but I hope they will come away with a sense of history pushing new ideas, color palettes and relationships that are different from what they’ve ever seen before,” says Walker.
Jaydan Moore, artist
In the Lower Level Gallery, Past and Present Tense: An Abstract Showcase takes viewers on a visual journey of abstract paintings, drawings and sculptures from the 1900s to the present. The works of Black Mountain College artist Frank Hursh, and modernist painter Will Henry Stevens (1881-1949) demonstrate an artistic vernacular steeped in a spectrum of color, consolidated gestural marks and poetic compositions—characterizations also featured within Michael Poness’ ceramic vessels. Glass artist Junichiro Baba presents austere and monumental sculptures that capture the separation of nature from society, echoing the overall theme that each artist signals: the allure and importance of abstraction.
Casey Engel: House as a Mirror of Self, in the Small Format Gallery, is in reference to the 2006 book by Clare Cooper Marcus: a thoughtful look into the psychology of house and home and how these environments profoundly intertwine with our identity. Through the playful use of domestic materials such as curtains, bedsheets, tablecloths, napkins and denim, Engel intuitively constructs hand-sewn, hand-quilted and machine-pieced works that characterize interior spaces and the objects that occupy them. “Ideally this exhibition will ignite the viewer’s curiosity to engage with their own home from a different perspective,” says Engel. “There is an intensity and a sense of humor in this series and I hope I get to hear a couple of chuckles during the opening.”
Learn more at BlueSpiral1.com.
