August 2016
Haynes Galleries presents “ArtNashville”
August 12 to October1, 2016
Reception: Friday, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 pm, August 12, 2016
NASHVILLE— Nashville’s most acclaimed artists will soon be exhibiting together in one diverse show at Haynes Galleries. “ArtNashville” will feature the work of many artists— many of international acclaim— that call or have called the city home. They work in a variety of styles, not just in the realism for which Haynes Galleries is known. It will be an inclusive exhibition that brings together the best of Nashville’s visual artists. “ArtNashville” opens August 12 and continues until October 1. An opening reception with food and drink will take place August 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.
The visual arts in Nashville often play second fiddle to the city’s musical arts. But what many people across the nation and Nashville itself don’t realize is that Nashville has a thriving arts community as many artists have chosen to live in and around Nashville including many that are not from the South. The result is a city full of world class art but in a much more approachable atmosphere than some of the nation’s major art cities. “ArtNashville” will present a cross section of the city’s artistic talent right off the historic Music Row Roundabout.
Modern urban life and popular culture have been the subject of native Nashvillian Red Grooms’ artwork for decades. Colorful and chaotic, Grooms’ lithographs have a raw, unforgiving edge to them. The images aren’t “pretty” but scenes like Times Square cut to the core of their message. They have a bite and humor to them, one that makes it clear Grooms is incredibly familiar with his topic but also isn’t afraid to laugh about it. In 2003 the National Academy of Design awarded Grooms their Lifetime Achievement Award for a long and prosperous career of experimental, cutting edge work.
Anton Weiss is somewhat of a Nashville icon. Fleeing Europe after World War II, Weiss settled in Nashville as a teenager. He attended what is now Watkins College of Art and Design and later moved to New York to immerse himself in the Abstract Expressionism that was taking the art world by storm in the post-war years. He returned to Nashville after four years and was embraced by the art community for his colorful, energetic, “chaotic” paintings that skew naturalism and even paintbrushes. Weiss is a local treasure and an icon of 20th century American style.
Gallatin’s own David Wright is awed by the America’s history and varied landscapes. His paintings, which have been shown at the prestigious Prix de West, are the artistic union of those elements. They present the soldiers, settlers, and native inhabitants in the midst of sublime views of the unconquered frontier. So ingrained in early Americana are Wright’s paintings that they were shown at the 1982 World's Fair and he was commissioned to create six paintings for Nashville's bicentennial.
Nashville is lucky to call one of America’s greatest portrait artists, Michael Shane Neal, as one of its residents. Neal’s devotion to the golden age of portraiture is all encompassing. From his studio space and materials to his preparations, Neal immerses himself in the traditions of great portraiture. But his paintings are much more then likeness. They encapsulate the character and personality of the sitter with a painterly flare. For his brilliance, Neal won the Grand Prize of the 2001 Portrait Society of American International Portrait Competition.
The photographs of acclaimed photographer Jerry Atnip bring intensely controlled light and printing to “ArtNashville.” Atnip has had his photos shown across the country and heralded by curators of organizations big and small. The content of his images varies— from a stark portrait of a horse to anonymous figures in an office building— but each photograph delivers a mood. They stir a string of thoughts in its viewers as if they are seeing something familiar but in a brand new light.
These artists plus several other Nashville favorites like John Guider, John Baeder, Alan LeQuire, Joseph Sulkowski, Paul Harmon, Dawn Whitelaw, Wanda Choate and and Chuck McHan will create a celebration of Nashville’s vibrant arts community. These artists have reach far and wide. They are bigger than Nashville but are Nashville’s home-grown best.