Kirsten Stingle, artist
In May, Blue Spiral 1 will host a series of new exhibitions that explore the passage of time, the beauty of accumulation and the concept of structure through a variety of mediums. The exhibitions open on Friday, May 2, with a reception from 5–7 p.m., and run through June 25.
In the Main Gallery, Structure investigates the formal and conceptual relationships between geometric abstraction, industrial materials and the built environment. “My work has been dealing with structure in the most direct way possible lately—will this stand up? And will this hold?” says Bill Jones, whose ceramic pieces are part of the exhibition. “But beyond the sheer practical concerns of structure, preparing for this show has made me realize structure is very much the language that I am speaking with. Clay’s malleability also reminds me of naturally occurring structures and can leave us with the sense that a piece was not assembled, but grown.”
Window Seat. Jean Alexander Frater, artist
In Hour by Hour, located in the Showcase Gallery, artists Jean Gumpper, Amy Putansu, Scott Upton and Jim Whalen reflect on the devotion to process in time-based artistic practices. Gumpper, whose reduction woodcut prints are a focal point of the exhibition, describes her creative process as a combination of “calculated planning and flinging oneself into the unknown.” She explains that her prints evolve through layers of color and texture, much like the passage of time itself. “I have a detailed plan with a strong idea in my head about how the final image will look,” she says. “But the order always changes because the way the color looks when it is printed on top of other colors is always different than I expect.” Her work captures the layers of nature, each print building upon the last, much like the natural world itself, where change is both constant and unpredictable.
Putansu’s woven pieces in the exhibition address themes of aging and resilience, engaging viewers through “the intricate detail of subtle color shifts and textural contrasts,” with the hope “that they may be carried away momentarily and can find peace in beauty.”
The Suburbs. Ann Orlowski, artist
Patti Quinn Hill’s solo exhibition, A New Leaf, on display in the Small Format Gallery, brings a contemporary twist to traditional basketry. Hill, known for her meticulous paper weaving, combines archival watercolor paper, metallic thread and surface design techniques to create intricate, rhythmic forms. She hopes that viewers will appreciate the craftsmanship of her work and understand the time and care that goes into creating each piece. “Basketmaking is a structural building process that takes a lot of time to weave over and under row by row following a particular weave pattern,” Hill explains. “I would like for [viewers] to look at all the details that are used in creating it and realize that it takes a good long time to get one completed.”
The Collection exhibition in the Lower Level Gallery showcases artists like Clay Burnette and Vicki Essig, who engage deeply with material accumulation. Burnette makes coiled baskets from dyed pine needles, a medium he’s been working with for half a century. “I remain engaged in the process of transforming an insignificant natural material, most commonly baled and sold as garden mulch, into objects that are sculptural, inspiring forms,” he says. Essig, who weaves artwork with pieces of “natural history” that she collects during walks, hopes her work will inspire viewers to find beauty in the overlooked. “My hope is that for at least a moment, you will be lost in the discovery of the minute,” she says.
Blue Spiral 1 is located at 38 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville. Hours are Sunday through Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit BlueSpiral1.com or call 828.251.0202.
