On Friday, April 11, Blue Spiral 1 presents an artist talk with Reuben Negrón, whose A Dialogue with Sparrows: Part II, is on exhibition in the gallery through Wednesday, April 23. The talk, free and open to the public, will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Small Format Gallery and, afterwards, the artist will take questions.
Reuben Negrón
“The artist talk at Blue Spiral 1 will be an opportunity for me to not only show the entire series, which hasn’t been done before, but also to talk about the process of its creation,” Negrón says. This exhibition is the last in a three-part series that explores his relationship to Southern Appalachia, particularly the region of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Negrón conceived A Dialogue with Sparrows as a bridge between the other works in the series. “The first body of work, Morganne de Toi, was shown in Paris at H Gallery in 2018,” he says. “The second, ECHOES, was shown here at Blue Spiral 1 in 2021. So it only made sense that this last installment be split between the two. As this body of work is a visual representation of my relationship to our region, this talk will provide the ability for me to expand on the themes captured in the work and draw direct connections to my life and experiences.”
Negrón describes his work as narrative in nature, but presented in such a way that viewers can form their own interpretations. “I never want to rob someone of that creative moment when they can finish telling the story themselves,” he says. “My goal is that the work gives people pause long enough for them to engage with it, to become an author on their own, filling in the blanks I purposefully leave behind.” Included in the series are black-and-white charcoal drawings and full-color watercolors. The work in this current show was all created after Hurricane Helene.
“The highly detailed imagery in Reuben’s charcoal drawings and watercolors evokes a sense of quiet intimacy, portraying scenes such as a figure lounging in a windswept field, standing in an empty room or contemplating an open door,” says Blair Guggenheim, assistant director at Blue Spiral 1. “Visitors can expect to see a contemplative world through Reuben’s eyes and hand, inviting rumination towards the narratives depicted in each piece.”
Blue Spiral 1 is located at 38 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville. To attend the talk, please RSVP to events@bluespiral1.com. Learn more at BlueSpiral1.com and at ReubenNegron.com.
