Everything is Moving, Time to Rest, 2023. John L. Cleaveland, Jr., artist
By Natasha Anderson
Momentum Gallery, in downtown Asheville, hosts four exhibitions by artists working in a variety of media, on display now through Saturday, June 24.
Crazy Quilt. Bill Hall, artist
Following successful exhibitions at the Morris Museum and the Huntsville Museum of Art, John L. Cleaveland, Jr. presents a collection of recent oils. For 30 years, the contemporary realist has meticulously rendered the southern landscape in remarkable detail. The current collection features woodland panoramas, rocky cliffs, reflective rivers and dreamy marshes. These places were selected as subjects by Cleaveland for their historical context, geographic perspective and emotive impact.
“I’ve been painting for over 40 years now,” says Cleaveland, “and the last three have brought about a reevaluation of what life is and what I’m doing with it.”
Leda and the Swans. Lisa Clague, artist
Though Cleaveland prefers not to label what he does, he says his process involves thinking about what’s important to him and the society around him and then wandering until he finds a place that conveys, or might convey, something. “Often, I don’t foresee the viewer’s reaction to the work I do,” he says.
Renowned figurative ceramist Lisa Clague, our Feature Artist this month, presents new sculptural work in a range of scales, from oversized heads to diminutive busts. Clague’s chimeric forms are often an amalgamation of human and animal imagery. Women with classical features and adorned in elaborate headdresses reference mythology and spirituality without sacrificing whimsy.
Family. Ron Isaacs, artist
Recent works on paper by master printer Bill Hall combine printmaking, painting and collage elements to render graphic, abstract compositions with spatial dynamics. Surface patterning and color relationships provide further visual interest while torn paper edges and organic shapes soften the geometry. Following a nearly 30-year career as a master printer with Pace Editions, Hall is now free to focus on his own work full time. “These collages are the result of working intuitively through many alternatives until something clicks, then refining it,” says Hall. “Beginning with un-editioned prints (etchings and collagraphs), I randomly cut out and move around shapes until a structure starts emerging. Through trial and error, the puzzle pieces eventually form an image that interests me.”
Ron Isaacs’ realistic depictions of clothing, branches, architectural elements, tools and envelopes—all incredibly replicated in paint and plywood—celebrate transformation and symbolic connection. Their trompe l’oeil construction conveys poetic relationships between everyday objects.
Momentum Gallery is located at 52 Broadway Street, Asheville. For more information, visit MomentumGallery.com.
