The Art League of Henderson County presents Fabulous Fakes from Wednesday, April 2, through Saturday, April 26, with an opening reception on Saturday, April 5, from 2–4 p.m. This multi-gallery exhibit showcases the work of member artists invited to create “fake” master artworks, drawing on their own creativity to add unexpected twists to iconic works. Participating galleries include The Gallery at Flat Rock, The Gallery at Art Place and Art MoB Studios and Marketplace.
Lucky Charm. Carol Norris, artist
For last year’s exhibition, fiber artist Veronica Messick tapped into her admiration for Salvador Dali’s unique work to create a 3D elephant she titled Ode to Dali and created a two-dimensional version of an original Peter Max from her own art collection that she titled My Mini Max. “This year, I am planning on my version of the Mona Lisa,” Messick says. “This is a piece I have been lucky enough to see in person years ago. She amazes me.”
Messick moved from sewing as a child to crocheting and knitting, which led to a love of fiber arts. “I started out wet-felting wool and silk fibers into bowls or vessels,” she says. “I then started using those fibers to ‘paint’ pictures by using the wet-felting technique, needle felting, sewing with my sewing machine and hand embroidery to get the results I wanted.” She considers herself a learner still and so was honored, in 2024, to participate in the La Vie en Rosé Art and Music Festival and to be selected as one of the Artscape artists with a banner featuring her work at the corner of Main Street and 5th Avenue in Hendersonville.
SunRay Braley embraced art in his younger years before settling for a career designing and developing software for some of the world’s largest corporations. “Fast forward to today,” he says, “I’ve returned to my original passion of art making and now enjoy abstract painting in my home studio in Flat Rock.”
For this year’s Fabulous Fakes exhibit, he’s borrowing from Piet Mondrian, but has a surprise in store for viewers to the exhibit. “I’m inspired by Mondrian’s ability to convey spirituality with simplicity,” he says. “The unexpected twist in the Broadway Boogie Woogie, ‘fabulous fake’ is that it will be interactive,” he says. His work will be shown at The Gallery at Art Place.
“I believe that a fabulous fake should be a tip of the hat to the original painting without trying to be an exact copy,” Braley says. “A successful fabulous fake should trigger a response of surprise, shock or, perhaps, laughter from the viewer—laughter being the best.”
The Gallery at Art Place is located at 2021 Asheville Highway, Hendersonville. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. To learn more, contact Diane Dean at president@artleaguehvl.org or call 828.490.5639. Art MoB Studios & Marketplace is located at 124 4th Avenue East, Hendersonville, and The Gallery at Flat Rock is located at 2702-A Greenville Highway, Flat Rock.
