Pink Dog Creative has been privileged to host dynamic and groundbreaking exhibitions and performances. Descriptions of some of these events are below. Be sure to visit our home page for current exhibitions!
 

Anatolii Tarasiuk: Embrace the Journey

Pink Dog Gallery
August 23–September 22, 2024

Anatolii Tarasiuk is an abstract artist, composer and videographer born in Ukraine in 1978. When he was 11 years of age, he became a pantomime actor in a professional theater. He started to paint when he was 15 years old and is a self-taught artist. In July of 2022, his family (wife and 3 sons) relocated from Kyiv, Ukraine to the USA. Today he lives and continues his art in the triangle area of North Carolina.

See more of Tarasiuk’s art on his Instagram page.

Lou Ella Tucker: STORY / place

Pink Dog Gallery
July 19–September 22, 2024

As a professional interior designer for 35 years, Lou Ella Tucker interacted intimately with the nuances of spaces. Her curiosity of how spaces influence us and how we influence them, has led her to record their unique stories of humanity around the world. By layering images into 3-dimensional structures through folding, weaving and/or sewing, new perspectives emerge.

Please click here to see more of Tucker’s work.

Ginger Graziano: Full Circle, Conversations in Art and Poetry

Pink Dog Gallery
June 14–July 14, 2024

New York City native Ginger Graziano reached a point where she knew she had graduated from her chaotic life as a single mother raising two children while working as a design director for children’s educational publishing in Manhattan. She kept asking herself “where are all the trees?” She had a vision of where she would move and searched America until she came to Asheville, North Carolina twenty-three years ago and took a hike. As she turned around on the top of Lookout Mountain, she said “here they are.” Her life as a painter, published author, and graphic designer blossomed. Her show focuses on paintings both evocative of our human journey and weirdly playful. A selection of her published poems will accompany her paintings.

Please click here to see more of Graziano’s work.

Bruno Lenze: Hiding in Plain Sight

Pink Dog Gallery
May 10–June 9, 2024

Bruno Lenze’s abstract confabulation photography exhibition, Hiding in Plain Sight, his latest body of work, includes a striking portrayal of decayed Yucatan plantations, rusted steel boat repair shipyards, and urban streets. Bruno’s adept lens captures the essence of these environments, showcasing the beauty found within deterioration and reflecting the intricate interplay between destruction and renewal.

Please click here to see more of Bruno’s work.

Julieta Fumberg Of Chaos and Peace: beauty in both

Pink Dog Gallery
March 1–May 5, 2024

Julieta Fumberg’s solo show, Of Chaos and Peace: beauty in both, exhibits from March 1st through May 5th, with an opening reception March 9th from 5–7pm at the Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street, Asheville, NC. Fumberg states, “We need the darkness to see the light and the contrast of things. The human heart beats, in and out, creating the contrast that it needs to sustain life. Join me as I exhibit my most recent work. Let’s spark some light into the world.”

For more information, please click here.

The Colors of Pink

Pink Dog Gallery
December 8, 2023–February 25, 2024

Pink Dog Creative Artists are excited to present The Colors of Pink, a collaborative show about the creative studio’s unusual name. Each artist will present artwork that explores and represents the role of color in their work.

Artists in this exhibit include Karen Keil Brown, Christie Calaycay, Heather Divoky, Julieta Fumberg, Pam Granger Gale, Aaron Hill, Liz Hozier, Amanda McLenon, Joseph Pearson, Pat Phillips, Viola Spells, Sarah St. Laurent, Larry Turner, Christine VanCott, Cindy Walton, Emelie Weber Wade, Maya White, and Andrea Kulish Wilhelm.

Please click here for more info.

Janice Geller: InHer Visions

Pink Dog Gallery
November 3–December 3, 2023

InHer Visions is an intimate glimpse into artist Janice Geller’s inner world of dreams and awakenings of the unconscious. The show revolves around the processes she uses to create her paintings — creating art after exploring vivid dreams, inner meditations, authentic movement, active imagination, inner body states or the sumptuous allure of nature. At the exhibition visitors are invited to engage in interactive explorations of these themes and artworks. At the opening reception there will be mini performances inspired by the paintings.

The images range from whimsical and playful, calm and meditative to expressing conflicting emotions, weaving between reality, imaginary worlds and abstraction. In the lighthearted painting Strange Bedfellows, a door swings open to reveal an astonishing assembly of three figures from diverse backgrounds and their animal escorts.
Unperturbed by the intrusion, they do not directly engage with the viewer who interrupts their private rendezvous. The portal is open in Walking Into the Space Between to an imagined Asian night ritual. The meditative Circling Consciousness depicts brilliant abstract shapes floating in a serene white space. Their gentle movement calms, and their intricate detail invites contemplation. The same hues and intricate brushwork of Dragon Protector symbolize the intensity of emotional conflict. The vibrant colors of the whimsical Catching Flight evoke a fantasy of reaching for a magical being, personifying the fleeting moments of mystical awareness.

Drawing on her background as an educator, writer, dancer and psychotherapist, Ms. Geller’s visualizations are stimulated by what matters to her in the outer world, topics of relationship, diversity, climate change and animal extinction. The paintings juxtapose people from different cultures, religious backgrounds, mythologies and races interacting with each other and spiritual beings, surfacing from the personal experience of traveling, teaching and working with diverse populations of people.

Janice Geller was born in New York City and currently exhibits her work at 375 Depot Street in the River Arts District of Asheville, NC. She enjoys exploring various mediums including acrylics, oils, watercolor inks, and collage elements. She has exhibited her work in shows in Durham, NC, Raleigh, NC, Amherst, MA, and San Francisco, CA. She studied art and architecture at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and has a BA in architecture and dance from Bennington College, VT. She holds an MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Integrative Counseling from California State University, Hayward, CA.

Please click here to see more of Geller’s work.

Ginger Huebner: Surrender : Embrace

Pink Dog Gallery
September 29–October 29, 2023

Surrender : Embrace is Ginger Huebner’s new solo show that marks the beginning of a new chapter as she shifts as director of the school she founded in 2009, Roots + Wings School of Art and Design, to full time artist and creative facilitator. This body of work emerged from the challenges and struggles that so many have faced over the last few years. The pieces represent a leaning into–an embracing of–the surrender of control of what is to come. The works are structured by edges and pathways of the natural world that act as touch points for her layers of color using the medium of chalk pastel. Huebner offers a new way of seeing what is possible in the face of struggle, giving viewers a sense of hope for what lies ahead.

See more of Huebner’s work at her website.

Layton Hower: Everything is Endlessly Vast

Pink Dog Gallery
August 25–September 24, 2023

Layton Hower states, “Everything is endlessly vast. The scenes we see, our routines, dusty objects at our places of work or home, all of it, is an incomprehensible mix of time, energy, feeling.

Curiosity, gratitude, wonder, exploration, lots of things, are on the menu.

Painting helps me make sense out of being alive: a small being in a big place, a conscious experience that feels independent in a bound and connected universe.

The experience of painting is like many things. Some moments are exultant and some are challenging. Most moments though, are relatively normal. I like to think of these normal moments as a steady hum of seeking and trying, a repetitive process of unmasking something that is both so obviously present and completely unknowable.”

Layton Hower has painted canvases for over twenty years and has exhibited in Albuquerque and New York City. Everything is Endlessly Vast is his first show of new paintings since moving to Asheville in 2015.
Gallery is also open 9/2 and 9/16 from 11-3 and by appointment.

To contact the artist, email [email protected].

Please click here to visit Hower’s website.

Paul Saenger: People, Politics and the Pandemic

Pink Dog Gallery
July 21–August 20, 2023

Paul Saenger, of Asheville, retired from a career as an orthopedic surgeon in 2019. Having taken a few drawing and painting classes in preparation for something to do, the world then shut down. Equipped with these fundamentals, he pursued a creative opportunity here represented in People, Politics and the Pandemic.

Saenger explains, “I had no intentional theme, just a desire to develop skills to express reflections on what I saw of the world around me. Some are of a political nature, some of the pandemic which dominated everyone’s life until recently. Initially, there was an element of whimsy, but increasingly, with disappointment and concern over the lack of effective leadership and the failure of public recognition and acceptance of the realities of the crisis, I increasingly drifted to creating portraits, a Pygmalion-like effort, perhaps, to populate my life with the many people I no longer saw since retiring and then complicated by the pandemic shut down.”

Click here to contact the artist.
Read more in the Mountain Xpress article by Andy Hall.

Mark Flowers: Under Tones

Pink Dog Gallery
June 17–July 16, 2023

MARK FLOWERS EVOLVES WITH NEW WORK IN ONE PERSON EXHIBITION

Accomplished painter evolves from visual poetry to visual jazz in new works.

In his first one-person exhibition since before the pandemic, 68 year-old veteran artist, Mark Flowers continues to evolve in his style. In March of 2021, while visiting Baltimore, MD, Flowers rode a commuter train from downtown out to the suburbs and back. He held his cell phone to the window and recorded still images as the train moved. The series of forms in motion and spontaneous imagery are the foundation of this new work. It was supported by the North Carolina Arts Council materials grant. The main part of the exhibition includes the “Baltimore Series” paintings.

See more of Flowers’ work at his website.

SOJOURN: Phil Garrett Paintings and Monotypes

Pink Dog Gallery
May 14–June 11, 2023
 

Phil Garrett is a painter, master printmaker and author who did his undergraduate work at the University of South Carolina, and the Honolulu Academy, studying under Gabor Peterdi. He received his BFA at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1974. He is the founder and sole printer of King Snake Press (1998-2017). His prints and paintings are in public and private collections in the USA, Europe and Japan including the SC State Museum, Greenville County Museum of Art, Morris Museum in Augusta, GA and the State Collections of South Carolina and Hawaii. After a number of years living and working in Santa Fe, NM, Phil’s studio is now located in Mill Spring, NC.

Garrett’s states: “My work is informed by nature—a kind of mythical nature. The power of storms, the spiritual quality of the elements, the beauty, grace and ferocity of plants and animals…. Something greater than myself, incomprehensible. Painting and making monotypes is my search for the mystery within the subject, within myself.”

See more of Garrett’s work at his website.

Cutting Edge: Art of Collage


Pink Dog Gallery
April 7–May 7, 2023

The basic materials of collage (scissors, paper, glue), make it one of the most widely practiced art mediums—but not necessarily the most exhibited. Cutting Edge celebrates the accessibility and democracy of collage art, with a full spectrum, from post cards to large works, from energetic immediacy to thoughtful craft. Cutting Edge artists, whether they are titled collagist, painter, photographer, poet, or sculptor, demonstrate the great diversity and excitement of the medium. Co-curated by Connie Bostic and Marya Roland.

About the Curators:

Connie Bostic, (co-curator) has been a consistent force in the Asheville art community for over 30 years. She has exhibited her paintings widely and was the owner of Zone One Gallery. Collage has at times been a major focus in her work and always a side focus via studies and post cards.

Marya Roland, (co-curator) nominally a sculptor, is interested in creative energies integrating with life. She became involved with collage during COVID when post cards sent by Connie Bostic and others piqued her interest. At that time she began a collage collaboration with artist Diane Nushida-Tokuno in Hawaii.

Participating artists:
Susan Amorde, Los Angeles, https://www.susanamorde.com/
Pinky Bass, Fair Hope, Alabama, https://pinkymmbass.com/
Connie Bostic, Asheville
Jean Hess, Knoxville TN, http://jeanhess.com
Judy Kleinberg, Bellingham Washington, https://chocolateisaverb.wordpress.com/
Suzanne Malitz, New York
Diane Nushida-Tokuno, Hawaii
Marya Roland, Asheville, maryaroland.net
elin o’Hara slavick, Los Angeles, http://www.elinoharaslavick.com/
Steven Siegel, New York, https://www.stevensiegel.net/
Ruby Silvious, New York https://www.rubysilvious.com/
Terry Taylor, Asheville
Please visit the exhibition website for more details.

The Nude: Beauty, Grace and Form. Celebrating the Human Figure

Pink Dog Gallery
February 4, 2023–April 1, 2023

The human figure is the most complex form in nature. Understanding how the body works and practicing drawing it helps us understand other forms in nature as well. It trains an artist to see almost every form of curve, line, and subtle undulation found in nature. Whether an artist is primarily a figurative painter or not, life drawing benefits the artist to see motion, form and subtlety in a new way.
The six artists in the exhibition represent an eclectic group of artistic approaches that includes painting, collage, ink wash drawing and mixed media. Leaflin draws her figures on old textbook pages. Josh builds figure compositions by gradually adding multiple figures into one sketch/piece. Joseph uses ink washes. The works in the exhibit are designed to offer the many and varied interpretations of the human figure.
The artists all live in the Asheville area and include Bonnie Currie, Cyrus Glance, Joseph Pearson, Skip Rohde, Josh Tripoli and Leaflin Lore Winecoff. Five of the six artists are regular participants of the open life drawing sketch sessions at Rusty Lotus Dojo in Asheville, where Bonnie Currie and Leaflin Lore Winecoff are co-directors of the sketch sessions.

Contact: Joseph Pearson
http://www.josephart.net/contacts.html

Chris Abell: This Is Not Rush Hour

Photography exhibition
Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street
December 9, 2022–January 28, 2023

Chris Abell’s goal in taking photographs is to find the extraordinary image in an ordinary scene and to then take the fewest steps from live image to print. Abell states, “Through my business travels, I have had the good fortune to visit beautiful and interesting places which I sometimes bring back in my camera.” Chris Abell is the owner of The Abell Flute Co. specializing in the manufacture of modern wooden flutes, head joints and wooden whistles. Professional and amateur musicians playing his instruments have been heard in major orchestras, chamber groups, jazz and rock concerts and in recordings for film and gaming music worldwide. His studio is located in Asheville.

Please click here for more information.

Christie Calaycay + Pat Phillips: Form in Motion

Jewelry + Paintings
Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street
November 4–December 4, 2022

The jewelry and paintings in this exhibition depict motion and emotion utilizing not only physical movement, but also suggested movement in the push/pull of color and line. The show aims to push beyond the simple reaction of motion and explore the reciprocal link between emotion and movement. Jewelry was the first art form, appearing tens of thousands of years before cave painting and sculpted figurines. The art was not for adornment but to help humans understand who they were, providing a sense of protection and comfort to the owner. Please join us for Form in Motion, a collaborative art exhibition created by Christie Calaycay and Pat Phillips, long-time River Arts District artists. The show opened on Friday, November 4, 5:30-8pm at Pink Dog Gallery.

Please click here for more information.

Bevelyn Afor Ukah: Our Ecology: Shifting Our Gaze Inward

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street
September 30–October 30, 2022
Reception Saturday, October 22, 7:00 PM, Artist Talk 8:00 PM

Bevelyn Afor Ukah was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia within a multicultural Black, Nigerian-American family. A huge part of her life’s work is about exploring how humans can make immense connections across cultures and perspectives. Her art reflects a collaboration of perspectives on race, sexuality, & body image. Her pieces can inspire inquiry on how these identity markers connect us to an ecological responsibility to healing and reimagining. She says, “We are all stardust, and each of us have an immense power to make positive changes within and all around us.” Her belief in our cosmic connections shows up in most of her work. The exhibition runs September 30–October 30, with a reception on Saturday, October 22 from 7–9pm and an Artist Talk at 8pm.

See more of Ukah’s work at her website.

Skip Rohde: What May Be painting exhibition

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street
August 26–September 25, 2022

What May Be, a series of paintings by Asheville artist Skip Rohde, is a cautionary tale that looks at what might happen if current trends continue. The paintings follow a timeline from the present into a possible future. The story is not light, but it also has humor and optimism. It is a thought-provoking exhibition from someone who has personally seen what conflict can bring. Rohde was a US Navy officer for 22 years before becoming a full-time artist. His paintings have won awards and recognition in solo, juried, and curated exhibitions across the eastern half of the country. He is the courtroom artist for WLOS-TV and served as the first President of the River District Artists for three years. His Faces of Afghanistan drawings, a collection of 50 small-scale sketches done during a year in Kandahar, are in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Rohde’s studio is in Woodfin, NC.

For more information, click here to visit Rohde’s website.

Ygnacio Rivero: Sleepwalking 2004–2022

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street
July 23–August 20, 2022

Ygnacio Rivero of Mérida, Mexico, holds multiple degrees and is a photography teacher at the National School of Higher Studies and at the Marist University of Yucatan. He began to teach himself photography in 1977 and to date has maintained constant activity in the national and international artistic and cultural realm. He has been awarded at the Visual Arts Biennials of Yucatan in 1985, 1991 and 1995. He was awarded the “Medal of Artistic Merit in Plastic Arts” by the Government of the State of Yucatan in 1997. He has obtained two annual creation grants (1994 and 1998) from the Yucatan Institute of Culture and a FONCA grant for creators with a career (2005). In 2014, he obtained recognition from the Municipal Fund for Visual Arts. He was a founding member of the group “Imagen Alterna”, organizer of the event “ABRIL. International Month of Photography” in Mérida, Yucatán from 1985 to 2000. Rivero has been a representative of Mexico in ORACLE, International Circle of Critics and Promoters of Photography in the meetings of 1995 in Daytona, United States and 2002 in Cologne and Berlin, Germany.

Follow Rivero’s photography on Instagram.

Cindy Walton: Without Limitations

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street
June 17–July 17, 2022

When the COVID-19 lockdown period arrived in March of 2020, I found myself at home “limited” by place and workspace, however, without the limitation of a certain amount of time to create. Having been a painter most of my adult life, I found myself wanting to explore different ways of expressing myself beyond the abstractions of recent years such as The Water Series. I began constructing assemblages of torn paintings on paper, repurposed by weaving, sewing, and gluing to create new painting surfaces. As the limitations the of time period developed, so did the three-dimensional works and the exploration of new ways of painting. The combination of oil paint, wax, spray paint, and pigment sticks are present in this collection of works. Once limits were lifted and I moved to a much larger studio space, the paintings on canvas were beginning to change also, the work was getting larger and bolder. Recently, an important group of paintings, Steps, has emerged which are whimsical, bold, and have an architectural aspect which echoes both the constructs and the abstraction. As the period of limitations has receded, I am excited to showcase this new body of work and continue to push myself forward with the exploration of new methods of feeding the soul through painting.

See more of Cindy’s work at her website.

From Sunrise to Sunset: Photography by Franklin Oldham

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street
May 13–June 12, 2022

Franklin Oldham is an Army Veteran who consistently seeks refuge in the solitude of nature. He was raised on a 35mm camera, and has now transitioned to full frame mirrorless photography. Oldham states, “I have decided to share what I see during my journey through life. If you look closely at anything found in nature, you will always see absolute and true beauty. Through beauty, peace is always felt.” Oldham will be presenting landscape photographs printed on paper, canvas, and metal, in an array of sizes. This work is mostly from Western North Carolina.

See more of Oldham’s work at his website.

Ben Knight: From the Artist’s Lab

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street
April 9–May 8, 2022

Ben Knight, a Chicago native, has transitioned well to the country, small town living of Eastern North Carolina. As co-founder of the acclaimed restaurant Chef & the Farmer and a Producer & co-star of the Emmy & Peabody award winning PBS series A Chef’s Life, he has established himself as a leader in small town investment and job creation while maintaining a thriving career in the arts. Over 20 years of art production has helped Knight become part of collections across the country. Knight’s most recent work explores the nature of our emotional responses to primary colors, the use of which are intended to awaken our buried memories and emotions related to our earliest experiences in life. Together, time and color intersect on the canvas creating a powerful and emotional connection to the work.

Read more about Knight’s work at his website.

Pink Dog 348 Group Exhibit

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street
January 7–April 3, 2022

An exhibition of work by the 9 diverse artists of Pink Dog 348 will be shown in the Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street, Asheville, NC. Each artist has chosen works that highlight their creative expressions. Mediums and styles include glass art, oils, acrylics, cold wax, encaustic, mixed media, textile art, portraiture, landscape and abstraction. The exhibit runs January 7, 2022 through April 3, 2022, with a reception planned for Thursday, February 10, from 5-7:30pm. The artists participating all have working studios in Pink Dog Creative, 348 Depot Street in Asheville’s River Arts District: Lynn Bregman Blass, Karen Kiel Brown, Julieta Fumberg, Leene Hermann, Gayle Paul, Joseph Pearson, Sarah St Laurent, Larry Turner, and Cindy Walton.

Art on the Page: Book Art by Patti Fertel

November 26, 2021–January 2, 2022

Patti Fertel has made art throughout her life and has previously worked with both clay and paper. After a long career as a therapist, and with a background in art history, she began to focus on using books as a medium about 10 years ago.

The book sculptures and shadowboxes tell stories. The subject of the books inform the narrative of the work. Each piece is like a stage set with the narrative contained within the frame.

Learn more at Fertel’s website and in the Asheville Made article.

Dreamscapes

Beyond Prison Artist Alliance Art Exhibition
October 22– November 21, 2021

The artists of Beyond Prison Artist Alliance approach the theme Dreamscapes from a wide angle: somewhere between dream and reality, escape and landscape. The work in this exhibition expresses the unique perspectives and styles of the ten contributing artists. Some artists communicate Dreamscapes through the lens of personal family narratives, others visualize historical events, mythology, or surrealist tenets. The work in this exhibition represents dreams as dichotomy—diving deeper into reality for some, for others, escaping farther from it. Each piece expresses a unique perspective and style, while communicating as a whole within unified themes of connection, purpose, and movement. The show highlights technical approaches in graphite, colored pencil, painted acrylic, and mixed media paper sculpture. Dreamscapes is an opportunity for these ten artists to flex their wings, and share their vision and perspective with us all.

Artist names: Ted Brason, Matthew Caldwell, Corey Higgins, William Hopkins, Eric Hughes Sr., Edward Hyleman, William Inscoe, David Jones, Matthew Otter, Robert G. Reid, Edwin Riegger, Juan Santiago, Michael Sheets, and Leon Ward.

Program description:
The Avery Mitchell Correctional Institution (AMCI) is a medium security prison in Spruce Pine, NC, about a fifteen minute drive from the Penland School of Craft. The Beyond Prison Artist Alliance began in December 2017 out of a series of conversations between AMCI Case Manager Angela Lamm and Penland Community Collaborations Manager Stacey Lane, who were trying to address requests for drawing instruction coming from those incarcerated at AMCI. Beyond Prison began as a ten-week pilot drawing course taught by Daniel Beck, Rachel Meginnes, and Sarah Rose Lejeune. It has evolved as a continuing program of visiting artists, discussion, and technical and conceptual workshops. This program’s purpose has become building artistic community—finding and supporting connection and commonality across both sides of the gatehouse. This mission includes the pursuit of exhibition opportunities to share these artists’ vision beyond the prison walls. The incarcerated participants in this program are active and highly skilled artists, many of whom hold long sentences. More than anything, the artists at AMCI would like you to know that they have talent, heart, and soul and do not want to be forgotten. Beyond Prison aims to be a human and empowering force, one that challenges all of its participants, incarcerated and free, to imagine art as an essential tool for building a more just future.
The Beyond Prison Artist Alliance would not be possible without the tireless work of AMCI Volunteer Coordinator Angela Lamm and Penland’s Community Collaborations Manager Stacey Lane, the grant writing efforts of Nancy Lowe, and the support of Penland School of Craft. This project was made possible in part by support from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.

Our Story

Exhibition by Connie Bostic
Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street
September 17–October 17, 2021

ARTIST STATEMENT:
It is commonly thought that as people age they tend to think more and more about their childhood, but for several decades I have created work about growing up in Spindale. Family photographs have provided 
inspiration for most of the paintings in Our Story. This current body of work was sparked by a snapshot of my sister and me flanking an African American woman standing in front of my grandmother’s wisteria tree. I don’t 
remember the woman’s name but I do remember being awe struck by the angle of the pockets on her dress. Along with this photo, there was one of a young boy hired during canning season to keep us entertained and from under foot. He pushes us in our red wagon.

These situations were quite common in the 1930’s and 40’s with little change through the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Earlier in our history women were ripped from their African homeland to nurse and raise the babies of white women. Gradually through the years the “Mammy” became a symbol of the loyal, happy slave. Her persona was that of a middle aged, dark complexioned, overweight, and contented woman who loved her young white charges to distraction. The fact that her own children were left without their mother so she could ensure the comfort and security of white children was ignored.

As my interest in this history grew, a few people kindly shared their own family photos. I began to worry: was I overstepping boundaries? Did I have any right to depict these women? Was this cultural appropriation? Then I realized that these stories were also the stories of the children raised by these women. It was our story, too. One young woman remembered her relationship with Kermit Holland who had cared for her since birth. When she was nine years old Kermit died. Her father took her to Kermit’s funeral and then to the cemetery where she became uncontrollably hysterical. She was in such a state that when the other 
mourners left her father paid the grave diggers to lift the coffin from the grave and open the lid. “There she was,” the woman said, “the only one who loved me.” The stories are as varied as those telling them, but there is no doubt that these women played an important part in the social fabric of America. They deserve recognition.

Read more about the artist and exhibition in the Mountain Xpress.

Contact:
Connie Bostic
Email: [email protected]
(828) 691-0405

Artificial/Art Official

Exhibition by James Love
Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street
August 13–September 12, 2021

In his solo exhibition, Artificial/Art Official, contemporary artist James Love presents himself as a visual DJ and rockstar. Speaking of the exhibition, Love says, “I’m sharing works that embody the spirit of free expression. I’m metaphorically standing on a table with a guitar, beautifully screaming, ‘I was made free by God, but certain souls want my spirit in bondage. I won’t be in bondage! Yah!’” Like Basquiat or Picasso, Love creates with a childlike touch, but with the mind of a sage.
This collection spans the last five years and is packed with a dynamic, primal, and essential energy. Artificial/Art Official showcases Love’s unique paintings and sculptures as he wrestles with identity, personal history, and surviving in Asheville.

Click here for a video interview with Love about his exhibition.
For more of James’ work, please visit his website.

INSIGHTS
Mixed Media by Tarah Singh

July 9–August 9, 2021

Tarah Singh is a humanitarian and her-storian. She believes that artists document the times in which they live; that art is a symbolic language for storytelling and educating. Each line, shape, and color is meant to communicate.

Her works are inspired by her own experiences and local mentors in her area such as Vadim Bora, Reed Todd, Jean Lindaberry and Henk Keifta. You can find Tarah’s work in homes around the world. She is a person who values her community and encourages awareness of global issues.

Tarah’s show Insights is about her lens and life as a creative woman, and the emotions evoked by her experiences. Some of the work is interactive and gives the audience an opportunity to self-relate as they view the work.

See more of Tarah’s work at her website.

Women of Distinction: If you can see it, you can be it!
Paintings by Joseph Pearson

June 5–July 5, 2021

Joseph Pearson created this body of work to honor the women in his family–he states, “…women whose love, nurture and support made me who I am. These were women who worked hard at home and in the community.”

This desire was precipitated with the celebration of his last living aunt’s 97th birthday, which led him to consider doing something to honor her and the women of her generation, including his mother and her older sister. Through this body of work Pearson presents a few of the many professional women from the local community as examples for younger women and girls as they strive to reach their goals and potential. “It’s a way of giving back something of the nurture and encouragement I received from the women in my life.”

Learn more in this interview of Joseph by Blue Ridge Public Radio and in the Asheville Made article.

Pink Dog Creative Artists: In Solidarity

June 2020–June 2021

In Solidarity, an exhibition by Pink Dog Creative artists and associated friends, seeks to speak to the violence, fear and grief caused by centuries of injustice to Black people and to celebrate the many contributions made by people of African descent to the culture of this country and the world. At Pink Dog we stand for justice and equity for everyone. We are outraged and saddened by the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and the unnecessary violence against Johnnie Rush in our own city. These names are only the more recent victims in a long history of racism in this country. We believe that artists speak to our times and that art can uplift, enlighten and encourage dialogue. Art can be a vehicle for social change.

Up to 100% from the sale of art from this exhibition went to the following charities whose mission is justice and equity, Black Lives Matter, BeLoved Asheville, and the Equal Justice Initiative. We encourage you to join us in donating to organizations that are working to progress racial equality. Pink Dog Creative will match all donations from sales from this exhibition. Now also on view at the Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot Street, Asheville, NC. TOTAL DONATED to CHARITIES: $12,170.00

Pink Dog Creative Artists: Art in the Time of COVID

April–June, 2020

Art in the Time of COVID  is an online artwork exhibition by Pink Dog Creative artists. The work in this exhibition is either related to the COVID-19 pandemic, made during the time of Stay-At-Home orders, or is uplifting or otherwise helpful during this challenging time. Most of the work is for sale. Our artists are hard at work and appreciate your support during this difficult time. Please click here to see the exhibition.

Casimir Bationo: Flow of Africa

February 21–July 31, 2020 

ZenobiaStudio presents Flow of Africa, an exhibition of paintings by Casimir Balibie Bationo (CasziB). Mr. Bationo is a contemporary artist from Burkina Faso, Africa, now living and working in Meknes, Morocco. NOW EXTENDED through July 31, 2020. The gallery will be open Fridays and Saturdays in July from noon to 5pm and by appointment. Please contact Curator Viola Spells to make an appointment at 828-301-3495.

To see more of CasziB’s work, please click here to visit his website.

Pink Dog Creative Artists: IMPACT!

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot St., Asheville, NC
January 10–February 16, 2020

IMPACT! is an exhibition about our effect on the environment. It admits our negative impact but also provides solutions to the problems we have created, providing success stories and the hope for a better tomorrow.

The exhibition encompasses artists of various mediums from the Pink Dog Creative studios: photography, painting, jewelry and more.

An opening reception will be held at the Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot St., on Friday, January 10 from 5:30-7:30pm.

Valeria Watson: Völuspá Vision Story

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot St., Asheville, NC
December 6, 2019–January 5, 2020

Völuspá is an installation that will run along the walls without a specific piece being the work. It is a story of a visionary, a witch, then and now. She frightened people then as well as now. It is a personal embodiment of the fear society projects onto powerful women. It is a woman’s journey to reclaim her image and her sexuality through lifting the narrative from out of a man’s story. From the door begins the story, follow it around the walls through textures, colors and images as we sit in a Norse thought space.

Read more in the Mountain Xpress article, Local artist Valeria Watson explores Norse mythology.

Christie Calaycay and Holly de Saillan: EVOKE

November 8–December 1, 2019

Please join us for EVOKE– to Hear, to See, to Feel, to Smell & to Taste, a collaborative multi-sensory installation created by Christie Calaycay and Holly de Saillan.

While deeply reflecting upon current fearful and uncertain times, the artists ask themselves, “Have we become uncomfortably numb?” Leading to, “As artists, how do we respond?” The resulting collaboration is their response. Restorative sensory stimulation enables us to engage with the environment, communicate in multiple and complex ways and reduce our stress levels. Inspiriting our sensuous nature is important for overall emotional well-being.

Within the space of EVOKE the artists are exploring the means to invigorate, surprise, calm and stimulate one’s senses. Please accept the invitation to contemplate the creative visions of these two artists. Both longtime River Arts District artists, Christie Calaycay is a metalsmith/jewelry designer, and Holly de Saillan is a lifelong ceramic artist.

Please click here for more info.

Cleaster Cotton: Evocation

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot St., Asheville, NC
September 27–October 27, 2019

Evocation is presented in colorful, poignant, contemporary primitive, acrylic and mixed media paintings. Photography and collage are incorporated into narratives, portraits and vignettes. Cotton triggers memory, stirs the blood and creates a pensive mood that engages the macabre. She depicts snapshots from America’s relentless history of racism and violence, privilege and oppression, its legacy of slavery and subjugation, white supremacy and tyranny. “Evocation is as visceral as it is cerebral. This exhibit reflects the blatant and subliminal ‘stuff’ that consistently fosters PTSD in my life… in so many lives… on a daily basis.” –Cleaster Cotton

Click here to read an interview with Cleaster in the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Barbara Fisher: Tangled Mapping: Memories of the Future

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot St., Asheville, NC
August 23–September 22, 2019

Aerial views, brain circuitry, weather patterns, lost memories………all of these narratives can be found in the intricate meanderings and devious spaces of the Tangled Mapping series. Some evoke being lost in a big city, others feel like the brain trying to recall a distant memory or translate a twisted knot of thoughts into something coherent; still others evoke the ecotones of climate change. All of these images presage the future while already being present in our consciousness, through communal memory or our own forgotten thoughts, dreams and early life experiences.

Please click here to read a review of the exhibit by Jeremy Phillips.

Ginger Huebner: beyond words.
…everyone has a story worth telling.

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot St., Asheville, NC
July 19–August 18, 2019

Beyond words is an exhibit of self-portraits co-authored by artist Ginger Huebner and twenty individuals of different economic, social, political and religious backgrounds. Inspired by a desire to deeply and authentically connect with the people in her community, these works tell the stories of her collaborator’s life journeys—experiences of tragedy and triumph, love and loss, friendship and struggle.

Please click here for more info.

till death by Connie Bostic,
paintings about hopeful beginnings and tragic endings

June 14–July 14, 2019

till death is artist Connie Bostic’s reflection about hopeful beginnings and tragic endings through works on canvas and hand-pulled paper. Little girls grow up waiting for Prince Charming. Domestic relationships begin filled with joy and excitement, with feelings of love and trust. Sometimes they continue that way for a lifetime, but not always.

Please click here for more info.

In Times Like These
Curated by Hedy Fischer, Laurie Wilcox Meyer and Cherry Lentz Saenger

May 10–June 9, 2019

Fifteen local, regional and national poets submitted poems that address a variety of political and social issues, from our environment to our present political divisiveness. We then invited fifteen visual artists to respond to a specific poem with work they felt best represented the feeling and meaning of the poem chosen for them.

The result of this “blind” collaboration is a thought provoking exhibition of work, on display from May 10-June 9, 2019 at the Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot St., Asheville, NC 28801.

Please click here for more information.

Lynn Bregman Blass and Leah Sobsey: Time, Memory and Lineage

April 5-May 4, 2019

Time, Memory and Lineage is about history passing into distance made visible again through photography and encaustic. This exhibition showcases Lynn Bregman Blass and Leah Sobsey’s first project together addressing Time, through transferred images on adding machine tape with encaustic; Memory, images floated in wax on light boxes; and Lineage, deconstructed grids of ancestry. In 2007 Lynn and Leah began a conversation about the qualities of photography and encaustic, a process involving beeswax & damar resin, used in Fayum mummy portraits in Egypt in 100-300 AD. Time, Memory and Lineage is based upon Lynn and Leah’s own family histories of Eastern European immigrants at the turn of the 20th century.

Read more about Lynn and Leah’s work at their website.

Youth Arts Empowerment Workshops Exhibition: On the Cusp

March 1–31, 2019

Youth Arts Empowerment (YAE) creative workshops provide young people with a safe place to develop self-empowerment through self-expression. Students, between the ages of eleven and nineteen, were provided art materials, shown various ways to use them and given creative assignments. The narrative paintings presented in this exhibit reveal the meaning, depth and importance of their creative process and power of art. The students’ exhibit, entitled, On the Cusp opens at the Pink Dog Creative Gallery, in the River Arts District on Friday, March 1, 2019 with an opening reception from 5 to 8pm. Youth Arts Empowerment is facilitated by its founder, Cleaster Cotton, artist, educator, and ALNUGE inventor. The flagship six-session YAE Workshop Series was sponsored by Pink Dog Creative in partnership with the Arthur R. Edington Education & Career Center/Southside Arts and Agriculture Center. As one student commented, “I realized that I am an artist.”

Read more in the Mountain Xpress article.

Trigger Warning

January 11–February 24, 2019

Pink Dog Creative is pleased to announce the exhibition, Trigger Warning which addresses the issue of and consequences of gun violence in the United States and specifically in Asheville and Buncombe County. Sadly, Asheville had 7 homicides in 2017, and 9 in 2016, most occurring in Asheville’s poorer neighborhoods. Asheville’s homicide total for 2018 has already eclipsed the total for all of 2017.

We each respond in our own particular way to the gun violence issue but 21 artists from Pink Dog Creative are tackling the issue in their specific creative ways with the exhibition Trigger Warning, on view at the Pink Dog Creative Gallery, 348 Depot St. Asheville, NC, beginning January 11 through February 24, 2019.

Clay Harmon: Al Dente

November 16, 2018–January 5, 2019

There is a magic point when cooking pasta when it is perfectly done – soft and slightly chewy. Supposedly, throwing a piece of spaghetti against the wall to see if it sticks is a method to determine if pasta has reached this state of perfection: if it sticks, it is ready. The organizing conceit of this exhibit is the same: I am going to throw some projects on the wall to see if they stick. First is the Telos project, which is a dark minimalist take on commuting—driving through the dark toward an uncertain destination. The Curve project is a set of extractions from architectural subjects taken over several trips to Europe that share a common visual sensibility. And the Detritus project documents a strange visual conversation with anonymous commuters who eat in their cars and then leave the evidence ready to be pondered.

See more of Clay’s photography at his website.

Kenn Kotara: _i_u_

October 12–November 11, 2018

Kenn Kotara works in a variety of media and substrates on painting, drawing, sculpture, structure and installation. Kotara’s architectural background and Louisiana roots permeate his work. The underpinning of his work is structured upon systems using the grid, language, and maps on which to hang his subject. His work has been in over one hundred fifty exhibitions, and is in several permanent collections around the world.

See more of Kenn’s work at his website.

Machinations: Oil on wood paintings by Juan Benavides

September 7–October 7, 2018

Juan Benavides’ exhibition Machinations is the consummation of a year’s work in which Juan explores the human condition. The title Machinations refers to the harmful mental processes and concepts that we learn throughout our lives. Juan has created images that describe machines which were glorious in a distant past, but have been abandoned and eaten away by an indolent and irrevocable future. These machines symbolize the harmful thoughts and concepts that we accumulate in our lives, and that must be rejected and discarded in order to achieve peace and personal freedom.

Inimitable Creation: Clay + Paper + Paint

A Mixed Media exhibition highlighting the work of Holly de Saillan, Betsy Kendrick and Maria Andrade Troya
August 3—September 2, 2018

Inimitable Creation features the work of three Asheville-area artists: Holly de Saillan, Betsy Kendrick, and Maria Andrade Troya. Each artist works with a different process, including both two- and three-dimensional media. The show will exemplify the artists’ comfort in exploring the creative tension that exists between clay, paper, and paint.

See more of the artists’ work at their individual websites: Holly de Saillan, Betsy Kendrick and Maria Andrade Troya, and read more in the Mountain Xpress article.

Morgan Santander: Recent Paintings

June 29 – July 29, 2018

This exhibition comprises a selection of recent paintings from two distinct bodies of work. Floral still life paintings, reminiscent of the classical Dutch tradition, are juxtaposed with images from Santander’s series Beyond Reconstitution. Santander’s narrative paintings, Beyond Reconstitution, challenge as well as reconfigure the roles and the significance of traditional historical genre painting. The combination of these two bodies of work are intended to be both unsettling and playful.

See more of Morgan’s work at his website.

Joyce Thornburg: Negative Capability

May 11 – June 24, 2018

The term Negative Capability is attributed to the poet John Keats, which means in essence “the ability to be in uncertainty without grasping for resolution or results…to stand “in the mystery,” while exercising the discipline of not deciding….”

As a visual artist and poet, this sentiment resonates with Joyce’s current personal and world view.

See more of Joyce’s work at her website.

Jenny Pickens: I Am My Own Muse

April 6 – May 6, 2018

Irene “Jenny” Pickens is a self-taught artist from Asheville, NC. Jenny grew up in the Southside neighborhood and is returning to that neighborhood with her upcoming exhibition at Pink Dog Gallery, I Am My Own Muse, a show of ten acrylic paintings. Jenny states that “At a very young age, I had a love for drawing and crafting with my hands. My kindergarten art teacher, Mrs. Portia (Mapp) Leverette inspired me to keep creating with my God-given talent. She was always driving me in a positive way.” Pickens works in many mediums: pencil, pen and ink, pastels, oils, sewing, pottery and making jewelry. Her passion, however, is acrylics. Pickens has received several awards and has had work featured in newspapers, galleries and festivals. Pickens says “My work is related to my cultural background. I never want to lose that.” A quote from one of her favorite artists, Frida Kahlo, best sums up that feeling for her, “I am my own muse, the subject I know best!” Pickens’ work can also be seen on Depot Street across from Pink Dog Creative where she designed and painted the large mural, Zola’s Embrace as part of Pink Dog’s Container Project.

See more of Jenny’s work at her website.

Pink Dog Creative Group Show: A Contemporary Response to Our Changing Environment

February 3 – March 26, 2018

Pink Dog Creative’s current exhibition, A Contemporary Response to Our Changing Environment, a group exhibition of Pink Dog Creative artists, curated by artist Joseph Pearson, will hold an open house for ClimateCon attendees and the general public on Sunday, March 18 from 4-6pm.

The debate around climate change tends to dwell in the realms of science and politics rather than in the arts, yet creative solutions to addressing climate issues are needed. This exhibition looks at climate change through artists’ perspectives and will share this perspective with the scientists and business leaders attending Climate Con, The Business of Change, by staging an associated exhibition at the Collider, a nonprofit innovation center focused on catalyzing market-driven solutions to climate issues, March 19th-23rd at the Collider offices in downtown Asheville.

Jacqueline Lowe from the Collider said, “We’re so excited to be connected with the Pink Dog artists and I know that being able to create this visual tie between our two worlds will bring a much needed connectivity to both the folks in our space everyday, and those visiting for ClimateCon.”

Artists include Joseph A. Pearson, Andrea Kulish, Deanna Chilian, Holly de Saillan, Karen Keil Brown, Lynn Bregman-Blass, Julie Miles, Jennifer Kincaid, Leene Hermann, Ralph Burns, Viola Spells, William Price, Sam Reynolds, Christie Calaycay, Pat Phillips, Patti Anastasi, Leene Hermann, Stephen St. Claire and Larry Turner.

Ralston Fox Smith: Furtherance

November 10 – December 17, 2017

Furtherance represents a progression and transformation of vision as Fox has explored abstract and surreal landscapes and pushed beyond into the world of pure geometric abstraction. This exhibit is an opportunity to explore that evolution and to revel in his most recent compelling work.
The geometry of nature – from tree trunks and boulders to vast crop fields – have long been the building blocks of Fox’s work. The sharp lines and angles of man- made structures have also fueled the evolution of clean and ordered constructs in his work. With his newest collection, Fox has pushed further into the role of geometry, spatial relationships, and inherent positive and negative balance. On a two-dimensional surface, Fox expresses his response to chaotic energy through dynamic geometric constructs in a clean hard-edged manner. Furtherance is your chance to tap into that spirited power, which Fox calls both “honest and uplifting.”

Please go to ralstonfoxsmith.com for more a comprehensive look at Fox’s work.

Connie Bostic: The Heart of Everything: Homage to the Water Protectors at Standing Rock

Pink Dog Creative Gallery, 348 Depot Street
October 6 – November 5, 2017

All are invited to this exhibition of new oil paintings and watercolors by Connie Bostic. The artist says, “A number of years ago I was privileged to visit the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Wounded Knee Cemetery. It was a life-changing experience. I was not in a position to travel to Standing Rock, but following the protests there it became an obsession. These paintings are an effort to honor the courage and commitment of those who were there.”

Read more about Connie at the Asheville Art Museum website.

Jeremy Phillips: IMPOSSIBLE INTERIOR BABEL

Pink Dog Creative Gallery
August 18 – September 30, 2017

Opening Night: Jeremy Phillips talks colors and shapes from Blue Ridge Public Radio on Vimeo.

See more of Jeremy’s work at his website.

Read more about Jeremy and his work in the Mountain Xpress article by Thomas Calder.

Streets of ASHE: The Photography of Elia Lehman

Pink Dog Creative Gallery, 348 Depot Street
July 14 – August 13, 2017

Elia has taken photographs of people wherever he has lived and traveled, including Chicago, Spain, Cuba and Thailand. Elia believes that portraits are powerful in their ability to communicate both the literal and the symbolic and that through them one glimpses the inner landscape, which lies at the core of human experience.

Elia, a Chicago native, became interested in photography in 2000. In 2001, the author Stephen Elliot used one of Elia’s photographs for the cover of his book, A Life Without Consequences. After graduating he attended Warren Wilson College and fell in love with the area. In 2013 he moved to Asheville where he photographed the countryside and the people.

All profits will be donated to Homeward Bound, a nonprofit organization devoted to ending homelessness in Buncombe and Henderson Counties of North Carolina. Learn more at the Homeward Bound website.

You can see more of Elia’s work at his website and Instagram.

Mark Flowers: Signs of Life

Pink Dog Creative Gallery, 348 Depot Street
June 2 – July 9, 2017

Mark Flowers’ mixed media works evoke events and observations from his life. His rich panels of enhanced surface and figurative images combine to create a narrative that evokes a storyline to engage the viewer.
Mark was raised in Greenville, S.C., and has been part of the Southeastern art community for over 35 years. His work is exhibited nationally and internationally, and he is in numerous public and private art collections throughout the country. He and his artist wife, Kristy Higby, live in Alexander, N.C., just north of Asheville. They live in a handmade log cabin and work out of a large studio located on the property.
More can be found out about his life and work at www.mountainteastudios.com.

Modern American Photographs
Photographs by Kora Manheimer

Pink Dog Creative Gallery
April 29 – May 27, 2017
Kora Manheimer is a photographer, interactive producer, and occasional adjunct professor at UNCA living in Woodfin. She received her MFA in photography from UCLA and her BFA from Cooper Union. Her work has been exhibited nationally, including PS 122 in New York, and she was a featured photographer in 25 and Under: Photographers, published by W.W. Norton/DoubleTake. She has received numerous awards and grants, including an emerging artist residency fellowship at the Anderson Center.
More of her work can be seen at koramanheimer.com.

 

The Art of Illumination exhibition

Pink Dog Creative Gallery
March 19 – April 23, 2017
ArtSpace Charter School kicked off their 6th Annual PULSE Art Project just after Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 20. The following quotes from Dr. King served as the launch pad for this year’s theme of Illumination:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that; hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
They asked students to consider these words and create a work of visual art that sheds light on a particular issue or concern, or that reflects being a source of light in darkness.
The PULSE Art Project is an annual competition open to 6th-8th grade students at ArtSpace. It is an initiative of their school-wide bully-prevention program, PULSE (Promoting Understanding, Love, Safety and Empathy). Previous themes for this project were Peace, Kindness, Unity, Compassion, and Diversity.
Participation in the project is voluntary and the work is done independently at home. Entries are judged anonymously with a rubric that rates three primary areas: expression of theme, technical skill and originality. Local artists as well as select school staff serve as judges. The work will be on display in the ArtSpace Gallery March 6-17, 2030 US Highway 70 in Swannanoa, and at the Pink Dog Creative Gallery, 348 Depot Street in Asheville from March 19 – April 23.
Learn more about ArtSpace Charter School at their website.

Zona Torrida:
Photographs from Mexico and Peru by Eric Baden

Opening Reception November 4, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
November 4, – December 21, 2016

Every 29.5 years Saturn completes its orbit around the sun. In astrology, the return of Saturn to its place in the heavens at the time of one’s birth is significant—signaling the reframing of one’s individualized conditions at a new stage in life. Saturn has twice circled round in my lifetime—each time I began again in the desert.

Eric Baden is professor of photography at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC. He was Project Director for photo+craft, an inter-disciplinary arts festival in Asheville, NC. His photographs are included in the collections of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, the International Museum of Photography/George Eastman House in Rochester New York, and the Westlicht Museum for Photography in Vienna, Austria.

Randy Siegel, True Blue, 30 X 24, acrylic on wooden panel

Randy Siegel: In Search of The One

Opening Reception Thursday, September 29, 2016, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Asheville artist and author Randy Siegel will exhibit his latest art work and launch his newest book, In Search of The One: How to Attract the Relationship You’ve Longed For, at Pink Dog Creative, 348 Depot Street in the River Arts District from September 29 through October 29. The public is invited to a reception and book signing on Thursday, September 29 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

In this exhibit, Siegel explores the longing for romance through painting and written word. Siegel believes: “We’ve become a culture of longing, and in our romance-obsessed culture, the search for love has replaced the search for God.”

Siegel writes: “Life is a laboratory for love. By walking the three paths—from the unconscious to the conscious self, from the defended to the authentic self, and from the higher to the divine self—we explore the greatest gift the divine has to offer us—love, and in doing so we find what our hearts ultimately long for—unity.”

Siegel’s paintings have been described as “postcards from the psyche.” Rich in symbolism, his paintings mine the gold that can only come from where the conscious and unconscious mind meet.

Visit his website at LinkToRandy.com.

Micah MacKenzie: LURE

Pink Dog Gallery
August 12, 2016 5:30 – 7:30 pm
As an artist, all I know to do is create from nothing. LURE is a photography exhibition about being drawn to the fantastic world inside my head that allows for the joy of spreading positivity. I am continuously inspired to push myself past my comfort zone. The lure of the next piece is what drives me. This show will reveal both the art and the artist that drives this passion of mine. 

Wide Open, Randy Shull’s Architecture + Design

Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center
69 Broadway, Asheville, NC 28801

Curated by J. Richard Gruber, this exhibition documents internationally recognized artist, designer and builder Randy Shull’s creative process in the planning, design and construction of two contemporary art museum and research environments for the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center in downtown Asheville, NC. Built in two phases, Phase One (2014-15) focused on the renovation and conversion of the museum’s original 56 Broadway site into a new three-zoned environment featuring a public entry and retail sales area with an adjoining Black Mountain College (BMC) orientation center, an expanded and updated BMC exhibition gallery, and a new BMC library, research and study center. Phase Two (2015-16) is a new exhibition, performance, program and office environment designed for a converted historic property at 69 Broadway where expanded contemporary exhibitions and programs will be presented in a flexible, multi-functional public space. The exhibition will consider the distinctive architectural design of each site, as well as the hand-made furniture, counters, desks, cabinets, and display systems by Randy Shull Design, built using vernacular and available regional materials, and inspired by the design aesthetic and creative philosophies of Black Mountain College.

Perceptions: The Black Male, Images of Dignity
at Pink Dog Creative

Joseph Pearson and Jessie L. Whitehead, Ph.D.
Opening Reception Friday, June 3, 2016 5:00 – 8:00 pm

 

Show review: Perceptions — The Black Male, Images of Dignity
in the Mountain Xpress

“The latest art exhibit at the Pink Dog Creative in the River Arts District seems, in part, a response to all this talking at, rather than conversing with, or, better yet, thinking through. Perceptions: The Black Male, Images of Dignity is a showing of artists Joseph A. Pearson’s and Jessie Whitehead’s individual works. The exhibition — a combination of print and oil — is both visually stimulating and thought provoking.”

STEVE MANN:
ORTHOGONAL CONVERGENCE —PHOTOGRAPHS, 1982 – 2016

March 18 – May 30, 2016

Beginning in 1982, when he was 15 – and using a 4″ x 5″ film camera – Steve Mann has spent 34 years as a photographer, working not only as a classic documentarian but also as a visual artist attempting to peer through a seemingly obscuring cultural miasma in search of signs of human authenticity and personal singularity. In pursuit of these notions Mann has photographed in his home town of Asheville, NC, and in India, Africa, New Orleans, and more broadly, in the American South. Quickly adapting to technological changes, Mann was an early adoptor of digital capture technology and has employed its full range, from demanding high-end medium format sensors to the playful and spontaneous iPhone.

STEVE MANN: ORTHOGONAL CONVERGENCE — PHOTOGRAPHS, 1982 – 2016 is Mann’s first solo exhibition in Asheville since 2004, and offers a broad overview of his photography. STEVE MANN: ORTHOGONAL CONVERGENCE was curated for Pink Dog Creative by Ralph Burns, and is being exhibited in conjunction with photo+craft.

John Rudel: PICK A NUMBER

August 7, 2015 – September 26, 2015

An exhibition of new mixed media paintings by John Rudel will be featured in PICK A NUMBER at the Pink Dog Creative Gallery, 348 Depot St., River Arts District, Asheville, NC. The exhibition will open with a public reception on Friday, August 7, 2015 from 5 pm to 8 pm.

“I believe that, if you know ahead of time what a painting is going to be, there is no point in doing it. Painting is a means of summoning a revelation while exploring the mystery of creation, transmutation, emotion, and the limits of cognition. All the terrain of the inner life.” —Judith McWillie

The exhibition title PICK A NUMBER references the tendency of individuals to engage in games of chance with a belief that they can somehow intuit a positive outcome. “Obviously painting is an endeavor that leans heavily on intuition and emotion,” Rudel states. “The idea also relates to a certain tendency in my artistic practice, and really the practice of a great many artists to romanticize the role of chance in the creative process. A found object or image that emerges from the world accidentally contains much more creative energy than something I may have procured on purpose, and I am not totally sure why that is true. It’s the inherent power of chance I guess.”

The work for this exhibition is completed entirely on found pieces of stainless steel. The use of photographic transfers, spray paint, aluminum tape, color pencil, ink, acrylic paint, and adhesive letters and numbers inform Rudel’s layered images. His creative process invites the rapid ability of digital imaging into a slow and reflective practice of painting with lots of revisions and interventions. Rudel’s work has been featured in New American Paintings Magazine, he has received a Mississippi Arts Commission Fellowship, he has exhibited in museums across the country including the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, NY, the Miami University Art Museum, OH, the Georgia Museum of Art, and the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. Rudel is currently Batten Associate Professor of Art and Curator of Exhibitions at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, VA. He received his MFA from the University of Georgia in 2002 and his BFA from UNC-Asheville in 1998. This is his first solo show in Asheville in over a decade.

For additional information about John Rudel visit johnrudel.com.

Anna Jensen: The Bait Hides the Hook
at Pink Dog Creative Gallery

June 19 – August 2, 2015
Opening Reception Friday, June 19, 5 – 8 pm

The Bait Hides the Hook, an exhibition of paintings by Anna Jensen, opens at Pink Dog Creative Gallery, 348 Depot St., Asheville, NC on Friday June 19, 2015 with a public reception from 5 – 8 pm.

Jensen’s psychological landscapes and emotionally complex narratives in acrylic, glitter, and oil stick bring to mind the humor and pathos previously mastered by great expressionists and later manifested by pop artists. Jensen combines references to art history, pop culture, natural science, and personal chronicles to represent the conflicts of life.

For more about Anna’s work visit www.annajensenart.com.

Steven Silverleaf

May 8 – June 15, 2015
Opening Reception Friday, May 8, 5 – 7:00 pm

Figurative Work by Steven Silverleaf, an exhibit of paintings and drawings, will open at the Pink Dog Creative Gallery, 348 Depot St., on May 8, 2015 and run through June 15, 2015. There will be a reception for the artist held on May 8 from 5 – 7:00 pm open to the public. The artist will also be on hand for both days of the River Arts District’s Studio Stroll, Saturday, May 9 and Sunday, May 10.

Steven Silverleaf has worked with models and sitting figures for over fifteen years, but creates most of his work from his imagination in the absence of the model. He uses a variety of mediums to create a relaxed and introspective mood. The work shows a love of both the tradition of drawing and painting in combination. The artist explores a very distinctive line and color that is all his own.

Visit Steven’s website here.

Rob Amberg: ShatterZone

November 7, 2014 – January 11, 2015
Opening Reception Friday November 7, 5:00 – 8:00 pm

Shatter zone is an 18th century geologic term that refers to an area of fissured or fractured rock. The phrase took on new meaning after World War II when political theorists began using it to denote borderlands. In this modern definition shatter zones become places of refuge from, and resistance to, capitalist economies, state rule, and social upheaval. Appalachia, and Madison County in particular, fit that definition. While the county is wired into the 21st century, many individuals understand it as a place where one can continue to resist modernity and be as “off the grid” as you want to be.

Exhibition organizer and photographer Ralph Burns states, “Rob is a very significant and highly revered photographer. His body of work will be increasingly viewed as one of the seminal works of late 20th and early 21st century American photography, and also as a sensitive and unsparing look at a regional culture in transition. This exhibition at Pink Dog, ShatterZone, offers Asheville and WNC an exciting opportunity to see this new and extensive iteration / collection of Rob’s work in one place, and within shared context.”

For more information, visit www.robamberg.com.

David Holt: Fully Exposed

Mixed Media Paintings and Photographs
June 6 – July 31, 2014

Fully Exposed, an exhibition of mixed media paintings and black and white photographs by David Holt will open at Pink Dog Creative, 348 Depot Street, Asheville, NC on Friday, June 6, 2014 with a public reception from 6-8 pm.

David Holt is best known as a Grammy Award winning musician, host of multiple PBS series and musical partner of Doc Watson yet photography has always been an integral part of his work as well. Since arriving in the southern mountains in the early 1970s, David has photographed his musical mentors, capturing their personalities and uniqueness. “Choosing the exact moment to push the shutter is a wonderful, creative challenge. I rely on intuition to capture a compelling composition at the very moment the subject lets down his guard,” Holt explains.

Holt’s show is a combination of his black and white photographs taken over the last forty years, plus his new mixed media paintings. The paintings are developed with layers of paint, limestone clay and photo transfers using the palimpsest technique. Palimpsest is something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form.

Holt says, “Recently I felt a need to combine the photographs with painting to explore some deeper meaning. Each painting must be created over time, revealing itself as the process evolves. It is a way to create art that evokes age, history, imperfection and soul. A tough combination to find, but one I experienced in the musicians of Appalachia, making them a natural subject here, too.”

Holt’s exhibition is being presented at the vibrant Pink Dog Creative, 348 Depot Street, a significant new addition to the city’s River Arts District, committed to supporting the arts and encouraging artists from creation to exhibition. Fully Exposed will be on display from June 6 to July 31, 2014.

Exhibition: Jeff Rich

WATERSHED:
THE FRENCH BROAD RIVER
Photographs by Jeff Rich
September 21 – December 15, 2012
The Gallery at Pink Dog Creative
Opening Reception: Friday, September 21, 2012, 5-8 pm

WATERSHED: THE FRENCH BROAD RIVER, an exhibition of large format color photographs of the French Broad River Watershed by award winning photographer Jeff Rich, will open on Friday, September 21, 2012, in The Gallery at Pink Dog Creative, 348 Depot Street, Asheville, North Carolina. An opening reception and book signing will be held in The Gallery from 5:00 to 8:00 PM on Friday, September 21. The exhibition at Pink Dog Creative is composed of images selected from the first chapter, The French Broad River, of Jeff Rich’s on-going, long-term photographic exploration of the watersheds of the Mississippi River Basin.

Watershed: The French Broad River brings home, into the heart of Asheville’s River Arts District, an elegiac and often unsettlingly quiet meditation on the fragile beauty of, and the silent, full-time stresses upon, the French Broad River and the lands and streams that feed, nurture and define our and the river’s future.

In reviewing an earlier exhibition of Rich’s Watershed at Jennifer Schwartz Gallery in Atlanta, Christina Cotter, writing in ArtsATL.com wrote:

“Rich’s work engages an array of complex issues: the natural vs. the man-made, purity vs. contamination, private rights vs. public use, progress vs. sustainability, and so on. Ultimately, he is asking us to see with fresh eyes the things that we take for granted as the byproducts of progress: the intrusion of pollution, power plants, sewage and industrial waste, the reshaping of the landscape to suit commercial purposes. In so doing, he asks us to reassess our priorities and consider the demands and payoffs of real sustainability.”

In 2008 Jeff Rich received his MFA in Photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia. In addition to numerous solo and group exhibitions, in 2010 Rich was awarded the highly competitive and internationally coveted photolucida Critical Mass Book Award. In 2011 Jeff Rich was a winner of the Magenta Flash Forward Emerging Photographer award as well. Jeff worked and lived in Asheville for a number of years and now lives and teaches in Savannah, Georgia.

The exhibition Watershed: The French Broad River is being produced and sponsored by Hedy Fischer and Randy Shull of Pink Dog Creative and organized and curated by Ralph Burns. The exhibition will remain on display until December 15, 2012. The Gallery at Pink Dog Creative is open Tuesday thru Sunday, 11 AM to 6 PM.

For more information call Ralph Burns at 828.713.9603 or email [email protected].Visit Jeff Rich’s website.

Performance: Ray McNiece, International Poet

Ray McNiece, internationally known performance poet, with Sean Kelly Jazz Trio

Wed, August 22, 7:30 pm
The ARTery, 346 Depot St.
$5 Suggested Donation

Award-winning, internationally known performance poet Ray McNiece wears many hats – actor, singer, author, and educator – and we’re excited to showcase his poetry performance on August 22, 7:30 pm, at The ARTery, 346 Depot St. A $5 donation is suggested at the door.

Dubbed “a modern day descendant of Woody Guthrie,” Ray has performed internationally at the Russian Poets’ Hall of Fame, and was a featured reading at the opening of City Light’s Italia in Florence with Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The Sean Kelly Jazz Trio will warm the stage for Ray’s performance.

Mark your calendars and join us for an ear-bending and mind-seducing evening of gypsy jazz and spirited poetry!

Ray McNiece is proudly sponsored by Pink Dog Creative, the Asheville Area Arts Council (AAAC), and Lenoir-Rhyne University.

About Ray

Ray McNiece is the author of six books of poems and monologues – Dis, The Bone-Orchard Conga, The Road that Carried Me Here, Song that Fathoms Home, and Wet Sand Raven Tracks –New Haiku,and Our Way of LIfe. He edited, along with Larry Smith, the anthology of contemporary Buddhist Poetry, America Zen. He has written and performed two solo theatre works – Dis – Voices From a Shelter, and Us? Talking Across America, two music and poetry collaborations – Mouth Music, A Rust bowl Hootenanny, and one collaborative theatre work – Homegirl meets Whiteboy — with Shawn Jackson.

The Orlando Sentinel reporting on Ray’s solo show at the Fringe Festival called him “a modern day descendant of Woody Guthrie. He has a way with words and a wry sense of humor.” In a review of his second theatre work, Us? Talking Across America, the Star-Phoenix said, “His thoughtful writing combines with perfectly timed delivery to create a powerful wordscape that owes as much to jazz as drama.” He was the voice of Woody Guthrie in WCPN/NPR’s award winning radio documentary, Hard Travellin’.

Highlights of his recent tours include a keynote address shared with Robert Bly at the First Coast Writer’s Conference, a featured reading at the opening of City Light’s Italia in Florence with Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and a performance with his band Tongue in Groove at the Starwood Festival, opening for legendary drummer Babatunde Oluntunje. In the summer of 2001 he toured Russia with Yevgeny Yevtushenko where he appeared on Good Morning, Russia and performed at the Moscow Polytech, the Russian Poets’ Hall of Fame where he was dubbed ‘the American Mayakovski.

He has received numerous awards for his writing and performance, most recently a $20,000 Creative Workforce Fellowship from the Cleveland Partnership for the Arts, the 2001 Hart Crane Award from KSU, a residency in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and a residency at the Jack Kerouac House in Orlando, Florida. He was the captain of two National Poetry Slam Championship teams (’92 Boston, ’94 Cleveland) and won the Arkansas Grand Slam, the largest performance poetry prize ever awarded. He is currently Haiku Champion of Cleveland.

For more information please visit www.raymcniece.com.

Exhibition: Anna Jensen

…IF I’M GOOD IN BED
Paintings by Anna Jensen
August 3 – 30, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday, August 10, 6-9 pm
The ARTery

…IF I’M GOOD IN BED, an exhibition of paintings by artist Anna Jensen, will open at The ARTery, 346 Depot St., on Friday, August 3, with an opening reception on Friday, August 10, 6-9 pm. The exhibition is curated by William Thompson, owner of Satellite Gallery, Asheville.

“Anna Jensen’s paintings are immediately powerful, with her striking mix of humor, heartbreak and honesty.” – Carol Motsinger, Asheville Citizen-Times

Anna uses disparate painting styles to create emotionally complex narratives. Combining references to art history, pop culture, natural science, and personal chronicles, her works represent the conflicts of life. Like Anna, the stories are at once equal parts funny and sad.

For more information, please visit annajensenart.com.

Read the full Asheville Citizen-Times article by Carol Motsinger.

About Anna

Anna Jensen was born in Atlanta, GA and moved to Asheville from Brooklyn, NY on January 1, 2009. She attended the University of Georgia and Agnes Scott College; the latter as a pre-med student. She moved to New York City and completed intensive training in theatre acting. She brings both her love of natural observation and obsessive precision, as well as spontaneity and emotional expression, back to her explorations in drawing and painting. She has exhibited in Brooklyn, NY, Athens, GA and Atlanta, GA. Anna came to Asheville to focus on painting and has made a noticeable impact on our local art scene. Her striking 2010 solo show at Push gallery led to inclusion in group shows at the Satellite gallery, The ARTery, and again at Push. She was also asked to present her work in an event hosted by the Asheville Art Museum. She brought the audience to laughter and tears with her touching combination of open-hearted honesty and idiosyncratic humor. Subsequently, she was chosen as the featured artist in the museum shop. Anna was also selected from over 1200 artists across the country for a spread in Studio Visit Magazine. Most recently, she contributed a monumental piece for a group show in Hickory, NC featuring an impressive line-up of respected area artists.

Exhibition: Ralph Burns

Somewhere Beyond the Constellation Norma
Photographs by Ralph Burns
April 20 – September 3, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday, April 20, 5-8 pm

Somewhere Beyond the Constellation Norma, an exhibition of black and white photographs by Ralph Burns, will open at Pink Dog Creative, 348 Depot St., Asheville, NC on Friday, April 20, 2012 with a public reception from 5-8 pm.

Returning to and united by themes of worship, loss, ceremony and regeneration, this exhibition of Burns’ work brings together images from a number of ongoing projects.

Reflecting on Burns’ photographs, J. Richard Gruber, Ph.D., Director Emeritus, Ogden Museum of Southern Art stated, “Looking at the photographs of Ralph Burns, including the images of a Santeria healer in Cuba, a street preacher in Boston, Billy Graham at a podium in Asheville, a woman immersed in the River Jordan, Elvis pilgrims gathered in the Meditation Garden at Graceland, a Muslim woman kneeling in prayer in Israel—you are struck by the range and the depth of his vision. This is, unquestionably, serious art, by a serious photographer, one who is based in the South yet open to the larger world.”

This exhibition is Burns’ first solo exhibition in North Carolina since 2005, and his first in Asheville since 1994, when he exhibited at the Blue Spiral 1 Gallery. Burns’ photographs have been exhibited at galleries and museums worldwide including The California Museum of Photography, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Tate Gallery, Liverpool, England, Hokkaido Museum of Art, Obiharo, Hokkaido, Japan, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, HI, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX, the Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, NC and Southeastern Center of Contemporary Art, North Carolina.

Burns’ exhibition is being presented at the vibrant Pink Dog Creative, 348 Depot St., a significant new addition to the city’s River Arts District, committed to supporting the arts and encouraging artists from creation to exhibition. Somewhere Beyond the Constellation Norma will be on display from April 20 through September 3, 2012.

Click here to read Richard Gruber’s essay, Reconsidering the Photography of Ralph Burns (PDF).

Exhibition: Stephen R. Ham

Pink Dog Creative artist Stephen R. Ham will have a monoprint show at the Hilton Asheville in Biltmore Park. From the press release:

Artist Robert Motherwell once said: “Painting is a medium in which the mind can actualize itself; it is a medium of thought. Thus, painting, like music, tends to become its own content.”

Asheville and River Arts District artist Stephen R. Ham feels this quote by the influential New York School painter captures the essence of his latest showing of his monoprints at the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park entitled, “Language Is Music, A Revealing of the Human Soul”. This installation is part of their WNC Artist Showcase series, coordinated by Wendy Outland, of WHO knows art.

Showing now through April 9 on the lobby level in the Pisgah Reception Area, a special artist reception will be held on Saturday, March 31, from 5 – 7 pm. Please come for light refreshments, wine and some guitar moments by the artist. The framed works, as well as giclees of various sizes, are for sale. This event is free and open to the public, and the exhibit is open every day.

The Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park is conveniently located at I-26 and Long Shoals Road, and is on the eastern end of the Biltmore Park complex. There is plenty of street and garage parking behind the hotel, and the garage elevator opens directly into the lobby level in the Pisgah Reception Area. When entering the hotel from the front, go to the right, to the end of the hallway. Stephen hopes to see you on March 31; with movie theatres and fine dining next to the hotel, as well as services within the Hilton, the reception evening is an excellent night for entertainment, dining, and mingling with friends amidst high-quality art.

For questions, or to contact Stephen about visiting his studio, or purchasing original works or giclees, please call 828 335 4141.

Exhibition: NiceNasty

Art always reflects the persona of the artist but not always in such a literal way as Valeria Watson-Doost’s works do. The exhibit titled NiceNasty opened on October 8th at 6PM in the Pink Dog Creative Gallery, 348 Depot Street, in the Asheville River Arts District.

Watson-Doost’s collages reflect her childhood under segregation while concurrently addressing larger issues of war, violence and torture. What makes these works intensely personal while addressing universal concerns is the central role of the artist identified both as the victim and victimizer

The “NiceNasty” exhibit also included a workshop given by Julie Becton Gillum. Gillum, a well known Asheville Butoh artist, choreographed a street procession that ended in the gallery space where several short performances took place in relation to specific pieces of art. Spoken word artist BLove aka DeWayne Barton performed several poems chosen for their relevance to the exhibit. Kimathi Moore performed music specifically composed for the event. The Affrilachian Butoh Hommage performance was repeated on November 12th at 3PM.

Valeria Watson-Doost’s mixed media exhibition “NiceNasty” closed November 20.

Exhibition: 10^10

Pink Dog Creative hosted a 10^10 performance on Saturday, October 8, 7:30PM – 12AM followed by a post- performance dance celebration.

Projects on display included a sonic wall that absorbs airborne pollution while lining highways with beguiling lights, a collective film that reveals what healthy interaction between individuals and their cities might look like, a dispersed memorial for the victims of 9/11 prompting a collective conversation and exchange, and an interface which makes design accessible to all by allowing people who wouldn’t normally be able to afford a custom-designed home to participate in the design of their own.

Cleaster Cotton

The dynamic and visionary artist Cleaster Cotton exhibited new work, “Contemporary Primitive,” June 10 – June 30 at Pink dog Creative in the Exhibition Hall at 348 Depot St. An opening reception was held on Friday, June 10.
https://cleastercotton.wordpress.com/