Galleries Visual Arts

The Gallery at Flat Rock: Tribute to Michael Sherrill

Black Medicine. Michael Sherrill, artist

The Gallery at Flat Rock will host a reception to honor artist Michael Sherrill on Saturday, January 19, at 1 p.m. A Bat Cave artist of ceramics, metal and glass, Sherrill is being featured in a traveling exhibit of his work, Michael Sherrill Retrospective. The exhibit is on display now at the Mint Museum in Charlotte through April 7.

The Gallery at Flat Rock’s reception will feature a mini-documentary following Sherrill’s work from his early days creating functional pottery pieces to today’s mixed media sculptures. Largely self-taught, he was influenced by the North Carolina folk pottery tradition and WNC communities of artists. Today, his work is in several public collections including the Smithsonian Institute’s Renwick Collection, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Corning Museum of Glass and the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. “I am compelled by the sensation of seeing things fresh, as if for the first time,” Sherrill says in his artist statement. “It is as if I have been asleep, and when I wake up, I am surprised by the things that surround me. In my case, it is the flora and fauna surrounding my studio that continue to surprise me.”

Local collectors, including Kay Bonitz and husband Werner, will loan some of Sherrill’s work to The Gallery at Flat Rock for the reception. “We have been following Michael’s work for many years, watching it evolve,” says Kay. “He is a talented innovator who continually pushes the envelope, making him a leader in his medium. Seeing examples of his work gathered together will be an exciting event.”

The Mint Museum’s literature on the retrospective praises Sherrill’s “exceptional skill” and “innovative approach,” saying this: “Working with clay, glass and metal, his exquisite floral forms have the allure of Martin Johnson Heade’s passion flower and orchid paintings and the botanical engravings of John James Audubon; at the same time they are remarkably new.”

The Flat Rock reception is free and open to the public, but participants must submit an RSVP in order to attend by calling or by visiting the gallery website.

“I have a deep admiration for Michael Sherrill for his innovation in form and technique while staying rooted to his love of nature,” says Suzanne Camarata Ball, owner of The Gallery at Flat Rock. “We are so fortunate to call him Henderson County’s own.”

The Gallery at Flat Rock is located at Flat Rock Square at 2702-A Greenville Highway, Flat Rock. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; or by appointment. To learn more, visit GalleryFlatRock.com or call 828.698.7000.

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