Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
January 11, 2007 issue
You've made it through the holidays and are bracing for the rest of winter. Out your window, you see bare trees. It's cold. And depending upon where you are, it might be a little snowy. Wouldn't some nice blues, greens and pinks cheer you up?
Appalachian State University's Turchin Center for the Visual Arts has just the bromide for your winter blahs: its 2007 Spring/Summer Season, featuring the 86th National Watercolor Exhibition, Anne Kesler Shields' Earthly Delights in the 21st Century and Watercolor Works from the Turchin Center's Permanent Collection.
National Watercolor Society's 86th National Watercolor Exhibition 2006
Opening Friday, February 2
This annual traveling exhibition was established to present the best of water media painting. Works selected represent a wide range of directions and techniques, from experimental to traditional. The exhibit will be open through March 17. In recognition of the artists' achievement and in celebration of the Turchin Center's exhibition, Cheap Joe's Art Stuff is supplying an award gift packet to each exhibiting artist.
Earthly Delights in the 21st Century by Anne Kesler Shields
Watercolor Works from the Turchin Center's Permanent Collection
Opening Friday, February 2
Trained in a traditional art setting at Hollins College in the 1950s, Shields spent three decades observing the evolving world of American art. She found influence in the color and pattern painting of the '60s and the minimalist movement of the '70s, and in the '80s she returned to realism in painting. During the '90s, Shields became increasingly interested with print media photography and advertising. She found a mirror for society in magazine advertising, and eventually this fascination led to a new way of making art.
In her site-specific installation, Shields’ design incorporates a minimum of images appropriated from print media and art history to encourage viewers to look more critically at our society. This exhibition will be on display through May 19.
Watercolor Works from the Turchin Center's Permanent Collection will be on display through March 17. During the last 10 years, the Turchin Center's permanent collection has tripled to more than 1,000 original works. What began primarily as a collection of drawings and works on paper has grown to include works in a diverse range of media, techniques and content. The collection is an integral part of the center's exhibition program and provides a body of work from which the curatorial staff can develop special exhibitions. The watercolor exhibition complements the works included in the National Watercolor Society's annual traveling exhibition.
The Turchin Center is located at 423 West King Street in Boone. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Tuesdays through Thursdays and Saturdays, and 12:00 to 8:00 p.m., Fridays. The center is closed Sunday and Monday and observes all university holidays. There is no admission charge, although donations are gratefully accepted. For info, call 828-262-3017.
Turchin Center Calendar of Events
Special events associated with the first exhibits of the 2007 Spring/Summer Season and other upcoming exhibits include the following.
March 2, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.: Spring Exhibition reception in conjunction with the Downtown Boone Art Crawl. The reception is free and a shuttle will be available from the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center from 6:45 to 9:15 p.m.
March 7, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.: Lunch and Learn! Students from the Department of Art's Visual Arts Guide course will lead a review of the 86th National Watercolor Exhibition 2006. Bring a lunch, check in at the Turchin Center's main desk and learn more about this exhibition.
March 2 to April 21, Catwalk Community Gallery: Walking History, Gwendolyn Nicole Allen
March 2 to June 2, Main Gallery, East Wing: The Graphic Imperative: International Posters of Peace, Social Justice and The Environment 1965-2005
March 2 to June 2, Mezzanine Gallery, East Wing: 4th Appalachian Mountain Photography Contest (AMPC).
April 6 to July 28, Gallery A, West Wing: Joseph Patrick
May 1 to February 29, 2008, Grounds of Appalachian State University: 21st Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition
May 4 to June 2, Catwalk Community Gallery: Shooting Stars, an event highlighting visual artists from the Watauga County Public Schools