United By A Shared Interest in A message from The Contemporaries Board Chair Marc Gustafson Nearly a year ago, with the enthusiastic support of McColl Center for Visual Art staff, a small group of art enthusiasts and the art curious began meeting to explore their shared interest in contemporary art. Fueled by their own intellectual curiosity, the group started as a loose collection of young professionals eager to explore all that McColl Center for Visual Art has to offer. There were no membership requirements, no formal meetings, but a collective desire to learn more about contemporary art and artists. The Contemporaries, as the group came to be called, got off to an impressive start, hosting several open studio evenings at the Center, gallery talks at some of Charlotte’s premier galleries, several tours of private art collectors including a tour of Selena Beaudry and Gray Ellison’s collection, a printmaking seminar and an exclusive preview of the Context: Light exhibit with the curator, Rob Williams. Gradually gaining momentum, new members joined us at each event, stimulating conversation about the arts percolated and new interest in Charlotte’s emergent art scene developed. The makeup of The Contemporaries has grown to be unlike any other cultural affiliate group in Charlotte; membership transcends established social groups, with members who are diverse in age, occupation and level of familiarity with art—our numbers include artists, accountants, lawyers, bankers and anyone else with a hunger for knowledge about contemporary art. In an effort to harness The Contemporaries’ enthusiasm, a board of directors was constituted this spring, and a membership drive was launched. Founding members were encouraged to join one of three committees that will chart the course for The Contemporaries. The Marketing and Membership Committee is charged with developing a marketing and branding strategy for The Contemporaries and with recruiting new members. The Events Committee is actively planning artist and collector panel discussions, trips to explore art in the surrounding area, and tours of private collections. The Launch Event Committee is planning an event for next spring that we hope will propel The Contemporaries into the Charlotte cultural scene and beyond. The Contemporaries has grown into a diverse and inclusive group. Supported by the unparalleled resources of McColl Center for Visual Art, its Artists-in-Residence, staff, exhibitions and facilities, The Contemporaries provides exclusive access to contemporary art and content-driven events at the Center and throughout the region. And we never forget to have fun while we’re at it. We welcome anyone who is interested in The Contemporaries, or anyone who is curious about contemporary art in Charlotte to contact us and join in this exciting group as we look toward the future. Membership in The Contemporaries is only $50. Anyone interested in learning more about The Contemporaries should email or call Sarah Lewis at slewis@mccollcenter.org or 704-332-5535.
Women and Ceramic Sculpture:
The Women and Ceramic Sculpture Panel Discussion will be held Saturday, August 9 from 2-3:30 pm in McColl Center for Visual Art’s board room. Each panelist will give a short description of their work in regards to process and meaning. Luce will ask questions pertaining to the panelists’ careers, delving into subjects as divergent as education, mentoring and business. Audience participation is encouraged. The assembled panel members represent diverse life and career experiences and bring unique perspectives to the table with a common goal to foster open discussion among themselves and the audience about the meaning and processes they employ while creating art in a postmodern context. Their work deals with topics ranging from sexuality and domesticity to child-rearing and spirituality. Through their art, they are seeking to define and re-define what it means to be a woman and what it means to be feminine. As women using a material that is often considered “low art” and laden with stereotypical gender associations, they are seeking to stretch the boundaries of clay as a material. Allison Luce was born in Pittsburgh, PA. She attended Ohio University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with dual degrees in Painting and Art History. After graduation, she moved to New York City to attend graduate school at Hunter College, City University of New York. She completed her MFA in Painting in 2001 and continued to live in the New York City metro area pursuing her career in art. Luce has had work appear in IMAGE Journal. She has spoken about her work at the New York Center for Art and Media Studies and recently had a solo show at the Rauch Gallery, Gaston College and has participated in a group show at Rock Hill Center for the Arts in Rock Hill, SC. In the spring of 2006, Luce re-located to Charlotte, North Carolina where she is currently a studio artist at Clayworks Inc. and an Adjunct Instructor at Mitchell Community College. She is currently a Summer Affiliate Artist at McColl Center for Visual Art. Her work explores the ephemeral nature of existence and the mystery of eternity in her ceramic sculptures. Using clay as a metaphor for the body, she creates hollow structures that are symbolic of the body and soul. She is excited to have the opportunity to discuss issues she feels are of particular relevance to her peers working in the field of sculptural ceramics today. You can find Allison’s work at the Center in studio 315. Alyssa Wood grew up in Richmond, VA and Indianapolis, IN and studied art at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Penland School for Crafts. Her most recent series of ceramic tiles play on themes of home, ritual, and nostalgia with images of birthday cakes and obsolete technology like rotary telephones and typewriters. Her work has been included in group shows at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Janette Kennedy Gallery in Dallas, Artspace in Raleigh, Greenleaf Arts Center in Chicago, and the Rock Hill Center for the Arts in Rock Hill, SC. In 2007, she was awarded a McKnight Foundation residency through the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN. Lisa Marie Barber was born in Tucson, AZ and studied at Northern Arizona University and received her MFA at the University of Texas at Austin. After living and teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area, Barber moved to Kenosha, WI in 2003 to begin a professorship at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. She was awarded a 2006-2007 McKnight Artist Residency Award, an internationally competitive award in ceramic art, and her work was featured in American Craft Magazine. In 2006, she held an 8-month position as Visiting Artist-in-Residence at the City University of New York, Hunter College. Recent solo exhibitions include Gallery 221 in New York City, the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City, Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, and the University of Arizona in Tucson. Barber is also the recipient of the Emerging Artist Award from NCECA and another through The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in San Francisco. A review of her 2007-2008 show at Gallery 221 will be included in an upcoming issue of American Ceramics Magazine. Nikki Blair is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She has had exhibitions in both museums and galleries across the country including, Harbor Gallery in Boston, MA, The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC, Baltimore Clay Works in Baltimore, MD, and Spaces in Cleveland, OH. In 2007, she was selected as an Artist-in-Residence at the International Ceramic Research Center in Kaelskor, Denmark where she also exhibited at the Apple House Gallery. She has also participated in residencies in the United States and Spain. Her work was recently included in the book Confrontational Ceramics, The Artist as Social Critic by Judith Schwartz and in the publication Clay Art International 07/08. Her recent work investigates contemporary issues of gender and sexuality as they exist within popular and material culture.
Artist-in-Residence Claudia Borgna's Work to be Installed at McGill Rose Garden
Beginning on Friday, August 15 McGill Rose Garden in NoDa will feature an installation by McColl Center for Visual Art Summer Artist-in-Residence, Claudia Borgna. The installation will open in conjunction with the NoDa Gallery Crawl, which offers visitors a chance to explore the rich artistic offerings of this Charlotte neighborhood. Claudia Borgna manipulates a quotidian element of the modern consumerist lifestyle—the plastic bag—to investigate what she calls the “evolution of landscape.” Borgna believes that this shift results from the increasing integration of people’s trash with the natural environment. “I find plastic bags interesting,” she claims, “because of their remarkable contradictory qualities. Plastic bags are in fact worthless and useful, disposable and recyclable, flimsy and strong, ephemeral and eternal, but above all they are universal.” Borgna twists, ties, and sculpts her bags into masses that paradoxically yet simultaneously evoke mass production and organic growth. She forms her work as an argument between the natural and unnatural worlds: as a manufactured artifact of consumerism, but also as a natural product of human creation. Claudia Borgna’s installation will be on display from August 15-22. McGill Rose Garden is located at 940 North Davidson Street. Admission to the garden is free but donations are welcome. The NoDa Gallery Crawl begins at 5pm on August 15.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has awarded a $1.13 million grant to The Innovation Institute at McColl Center for Visual Art. The three-year grant will enable the Institute to expand its offerings, including programs that will encourage graduates to network in search of creative solutions to a broad array of business and civic issues. Creative networks emerging among Institute graduates will provide a framework for influencing community issues and offering new strategies for addressing community needs. The grant will also support an increase in the number of Institute individual and group offerings, provide support for Institute scholarships to encourage diversity among graduates, facilitate networking with other leadership organizations in the community and fund follow-up programs and professional coaching for graduates. Barbara Spradling Director of The Innovation Institute Innovation Institute Sessions Begins Sept. 19
Summer Movie Screening Goes Off Without a Hitch
It may be tough to compete with a summer blockbuster but the multiplex is no match for a beautiful Charlotte summer night full of neighbors, picnic blankets and classic cinema under the stars. On July 17th, the Center presented an outdoor screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The 39 Steps” at the Transamerica Square courtyard in collaboration with The Light Factory. Over 350 people attended this free event, which was created to foster a greater sense of community and highlight the creative forces on North Tryon Street. Hodges Taylor Gallery graciously extended their hours for the evening, giving some of the milling crowd a first opportunity to glimpse their collection. Spectators also enjoyed the food and drink of event sponsors Rock Bottom Brewery and What’s Waterice of the Carolinas. Thank you to everyone involved in making it a wonderful evening!
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United by a Shared Interest in All Things Art Women and Ceramic Sculpture with Allison Luce Artist-in-Residence Claudia Borgna's work to be Installed at McGill Rose Garden
August 9 Artist Panel Discusion The Contemporaries August 22 August 6, 12, 20, 27 All events at McColl Center for Visual Art, unless otherwise specified
721 North Tryon Street GALLERY HOURS
McColl Center for Visual Art is supported, in part, by a Basic Operating Grant from the Arts & Science Council; as well as the North Carolina Arts Council with funding from the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art; and the generosity of corporate and individual donors. |
During the Open Studio Saturday at the Center on Saturday, August 9 a panel of ceramic artists, which will include current Center Affiliate Artist, Allison Luce, Nikki Blair, former Center Affiliate Artist, Alyssa Wood and Lisa Marie Barber, will present their work and discuss how it informs conversations on gender and its definition within American society. Recently a lot of attention has been given to feminism and what effects it has had within the art world. Articles in major publications such as the New York Times and ARTnews, and recent exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the Brooklyn Museum indicate a resurgent interest in feminism within artistic discourse. With this information as the backdrop for discussion, the panel will address the use of ceramics, which is often viewed as craft, by female artists who are using the material in non-traditional ways.
