'Whimsy' and 'Reunion' Kick off ASC’s 2020 Exhibitions on Feb. 6
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ASC’s new exhibition Whimsy & Flights of Fancy features works from the Arkansas Arts Center’s Toys Designed by Artists collection, accompanied by recent paintings by Eric Freeman, Katherine Strause, and Sherry J. Williamson. One of the notable pieces is the 1975 painted wood sculpture The Tattooed Strongman (left) by Rosemary and George Fisher (AAC1975.019.004). Freeman’s paintings are also shown.
ASC Celebrates Whimsical Side of Art and Past in First Exhibitions of 2020
Whimsy & Flights of Fancy
Thursday, Feb, 6 — Saturday, April 25, 2020
William H. Kennedy Gallery
Reunion
Thursday, Feb. 6 — Saturday, April 18, 2020
International Paper Gallery
Opening Reception:
Thursday, Feb. 6, 5-7 p.m. Artist remarks at 5:30.
Free and open to the public.
Reception sponsors:
Art Krewe and M.K. Distributors
Both exhibitions
sponsored by Relyance Bank.
Special thanks to Richard and Margaret Dearnley for Toys Designed by Artists.
The Arts & Science Center opens its first exhibitions of 2020 this week with the fun and playful Whimsy & Flights of Fancy and mixed-media collages by two returning artists in Reunion.
The exhibitions open Thursday, Feb. 6, with a free public reception from 5-7 p.m., with artist remarks at 5:30 The reception is sponsored by volunteer group Art Krewe and M.K. Distributors.
Relyance Bank sponsors both exhibitions, with a special thanks to Richard and Margaret Dearnley.
Whimsy & Flights of Fancy features selections from the Arkansas Arts Center’s collection Playing Around: Toys Designed by Artists. Bright and playful recent paintings by Arkansas artists Eric Freeman, Katherine Strause, and Sherry J. Williamson surround the sculptures in the William H. Kennedy Gallery.
Reunion celebrates the 30th anniversary of ASC’s 1990 exhibition New Faces/New Directions: Emerging Pine Bluff Artists, which showcased Catherine Burns, Scinthya Edwards, Eric Freeman and James Hayes. Reunion features recent works by Burns and Edwards in the International Paper Gallery. With three of Freeman’s paintings in the adjacent Whimsy exhibition, and Hayes’ blown-glass sculpture Celebration Chandelier brightening the atrium, ASC has these four artists’ works within its walls for the first time since 1990.
Inspired by the toy-like sculptures on loan from the Arkansas Arts Center, ASC Curator Dr. Lenore Shoults wanted to bring a more fun, carefree show to ASC with Whimsy.
“For those following the Arts & Science Center’s art exhibitions these last few years, the topics have been serious as we explore the very real challenges of social injustice, economic disparity, and discrimination,” Shoults said.
Ann Wood and Dean Lucker, Miss Emma and the Butterfly, 1996, paint, paper, metal, cloth, resin, 9” by 4” by 10”, AAC 1997.001.006
Collaborating with the Arkansas Arts Center through their Toys Designed by Artists collection offers a lighter start to the 2020 exhibition schedule, said ASC Executive Director Dr. Rachel Miller.
However, the Whimsy exhibition is more than just the Toys collection. The accompanying paintings showcase different interpretations of fun and play.
Freeman, Strause, and Williamson “all have distinctive artistic approaches to playing with color and exploring concepts of freedom, joy, abandon and self-discovery,” Miller said.
Freeman’s charming giraffe looms large over the exhibition — the oil painting The Rare Air is 9 feet tall, while Strause’s paintings capture scenes of girls and young women at play. Williamson illustrates the phrase “when pigs fly” in several of her eight paintings in the exhibition, from the angelic porker in Flying Lessons to the space-bound pig in Rocket.
Toys as art
Whimsy viewers will see sculptures of a bionic rat, a ready-to-pounce cat, a large magical dragon, and other nonhuman and human subjects from Playing with Around: Toys Designed by Artists from the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection.
Rosemary and George Fisher, The Tattooed Strongman, 1975, painted wood, 36.5” by 39” by 5”, AAC1975.019.004
One of the notable pieces is the 1975 painted wood sculpture The Tattooed Strongman by Rosemary and George Fisher. Rosemary (1927–1983) — nicknamed “Snooky” — was an artist and pottery instructor, and George (1923–2003) was longtime political cartoonist for the Arkansas Gazette and the Arkansas Times.
Visitors may be tempted to touch and play with these pieces; although they were created with a toy-like aesthetic or function in mind, Toys Designed by Artists works are not to be played with.
An international competition for artists, the Arkansas Arts Center’s biennial exhibition showcased a variety of original and innovative designs to celebrate the playful side of artists and viewers. Inspired by Alexander Calder’s circus figures of the late 1920s and early 1930s, Arkansas Arts Center initiated the exhibition in 1973.
While the Arkansas Arts Center’s facility in downtown Little Rock is closed until 2022 for extensive renovations, works from the museum’s collection are traveling to other institutions across Arkansas and the United States.
Interpreting Whimsy
Eric Freeman’s three large-scale paintings in the show started out as small, spontaneous drawings in ink, pencil or oil pastel.
“After I had created a number of these drawings, I went through them and set aside the ones that felt simultaneously fun, thought-provoking, humorous, metaphorically engaging, visually powerful, and translatable to large scale,” Freeman explained. “I then scanned the images into Photoshop, experimented with random digital spills and noise, inversions, and hue variations, from which I selected my color palettes.
"The fact that the paintings were born as quick drawings — transmissions from another unconscious realm — reflects a poetic sensibility that has always been a constant in my work," he said. "Regardless of medium, my focus and sensibility remain the same: I see my paintings as portals into a dreamlike world beyond conscious thought; my work as painting the poetry of dreams.”
His three paintings in Whimsy are part of his series called “The Ozymandias Paintings.”
Eric Freeman demonstrates the process behind "The Rare Air." (VIDEO COURTESTY OF ERIC FREEMAN)
He creates and shows his work at Eric Freeman Gallery in downtown Little Rock.
Born in Pine Bluff, Freeman has exhibited at ASC several times, including New Faces/New Directions in 1990. He was selected for the Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition in 2005 and 2011, taking Best in Show in 2005. He and fellow New Faces artist James Hayes shared a joint exhibition in 2007.
In April 2020, The Bookstore at Library Square at the Central Arkansas Library System campus in downtown Little Rock will host a solo exhibition of Freeman’s recent work.
Other venues that have hosted Freeman’s work include the Arkansas Arts Center (he was selected for the Arkansas Arts Center’s Delta Exhibition in 2000), Historic Arkansas Museum, and galleries such as M2 Gallery and Boswell Mourot Fine Art. Outside of Arkansas, his work has been shown in New York, Miami, Santa Fe, and Taipei, Taiwan. His artwork is in private collections internationally and is part of the permanent collections of ASC and the Arkansas Arts Center.
View more of Freeman’s work on his website ericleonfreeman.com, on his Facebook page, and his Instagram.
Katherine Strause finds inspiration for much of her art through found vintage photographs, exploring women’s perspectives through painting.
“It is my belief that women are really in charge. Do we get to show it very often? No, but often we are taking control in playful, quiet and oftentimes subversive ways,” Strause said.
“My paintings contain the spirit of that rebellion. The figures are on a mission of change; they lack inhibitions and are confident in their opinions and the future. They are in full possession of themselves, in charge of their space, their bodies, their feelings, and their actions. No one could ever make them sit down.
Katherine Strause, “1972 Jump Rope,” 2018, oil on canvas, 36” x 24”
“The subjects are presented at a moment of clarity and complete freedom,” Strause said. “With a clandestine look, these images give us insight about the path all women take. The figures contort to exist on their own terms; sometimes they jump and run to shake off constraints. Sometimes they stare the viewer down, in an intense appeal for what is right.”
Strause joined the faculty of Henderson State University in Arkadelphia in 2007, where she is the chair of the Department of Art and professor of painting. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in visual arts from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Born in Independence, Missouri, and raised in Conway, Arkansas, Strause lives in Little Rock.
In January, she opened a solo exhibition of new work at Gallery 26 in Little Rock; the show runs through Feb. 29, 2020. Strause has also exhibited at the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Central Arkansas Library System, Justus Fine Art Gallery in Hot Springs, and Esse Purse Museum in Little Rock, among others. Outside of Arkansas, she has shown work in cities including Dallas, Fort Worth, and Memphis. Her work is in private collections and institutions including the Historic Arkansas Museum, the University of Mississippi, and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
View more of Strause’s work on her website, katherinestrause.com.
Sherry J. Williamson employs all things flying in her eight-piece mini exhibition within Whimsy.
She uses several independent canvases “linked by the evolving concept of flight to narrate the generational indifference often existing in our culture,” she explained. “Considering the way each generation views complex issues in our society through the lens of this fanciful subject allows us to accept the mutually beneficial concept of open-mindedness.”
Often referencing themes of acceptance, encouragement and love, her work consistently includes vibrant layers of color and often features whimsical subject matter.
Animals are a common theme of Williamson’s paintings. She has created more than 200 pet portraits, which all began in 2008 when she gave in to the urge to paint a portrait of her cat Ralphie.
Benefiting a good cause goes hand-in-hand with Williamson’s art, as she often dedicates 20 percent of her commissions to a nonprofit organization. A portion of her sales from each of her pet portraits goes to Out of the Woods Animal Rescue in Little Rock. Recently, she has been working on pieces specifically for a Little Rock-area yoga studio, with part of the proceeds from the work there going to sponsor senior classes at the studio.
Williamson is primarily a self-taught artist; she said she ascribes to author Brené Brown’s theory: “We are all born makers; we move what we are learning from our head to our heart through our hands.”
See more of Williamson’s artwork on her websites sherryjwilliamson.com and meowbarkart.com, and her Facebook page and Instagram.
Catherine Burns, Fragile, mixed media on paper, 50” by 40”
Reunited in Reunion
Catherine Burns returns to ASC with an exhibition of her recent mixed-media collages in Reunion.
“I love experimenting with materials,” Burns said. “Often, the materials I use are nontraditional; found objects, things used in building, scraps of paper, ephemera, etc., and often I combine them with mixed media of a more traditional nature. There is an alchemy in the work, but it goes much deeper than that … a spiritual element is involved.”
Her pieces are often in homage to her ancestors, she said. “These works abstractly represent intrinsic memories of beloved family members and friends who are no longer alive; They are those who have ‘gone before me and made the crooked places straight.’ I miss them deeply and I must acknowledge them for their sacrifice, unconditional love and lessons in living that have stayed with me and offered me guidance in my life.”
Burns’ accolades include being selected for two Arkansas Arts Center Delta Exhibitions — the 49th Annual in 2007 and the 59th Annual in 2017. Her work is in the collections of ASC and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and she exhibits at M2 Gallery in downtown Little Rock.
A longtime arts educator, Burns is an adjunct art instructor at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She previously taught at institutions that include the Little Rock and Dollarway school districts and ASC. She earned a Master of Arts degree in studio art from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from UAPB. She lives in Helena.
Scinthya Edwards sees her art as personal journals where images as well as words flow to create visual dialogues about her daily experiences. Juxtaposed symbols, icons, words and calculated marks convey her color-filled creative process.
Scinthya Edwards, IN DIALOGUE READ MY LIPS, 2017, mixed media on canvas, 24” x 24”
A graduate of University of Arkansas in Pine Bluff’s fine arts program, she has been exhibiting her work for more than 30 years. In addition to ASC, she has shown in venues including the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and M2 Gallery in Little Rock.
One of her earliest showcases was in ASC’s 1990 exhibition New Faces/New Directions: Emerging Pine Bluff Artists. Her work featured in Reunion showcases her evolving style since that early exhibition.
“My artwork for the Reunion exhibit explores geometric principles which redefine rectilinear and curvilinear play of circles both outward appearance and inward significances. My creative inspiration is fueled by a female Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who embodies the circle as a perfect armature tool to make sense of the world.”
She sees these works as personal journals. “Symbols, icons, words and calculated marks convey my own process of making meaning of life’s events and relationships.”
“Iconography, as a branch of art history, interests me as I study various types of traditional icon images, African symbols, and Asian calligraphy to determine their use for my own personal interpretations of content and subjects,” she said.
One of Edwards’ recent honors is receiving the Delta Award in the Arkansas Arts Center’s 61st Annual Delta Exhibition (2019) for her diptych collage Birds of a Feather.
She lives in Helena-West Helena, where she is a full-time artist and director of Arts and Academics LLC, an organization dedicated to promoting art-based learning and community resources.
James Hayes’ Celebration Chandelier has brightened the Arts & Science Center’s atrium since fall 2018. ASC commissioned the 229-piece sculptures for the center’s 50th anniversary. PHOTO COURTESY Kirk Johnson
In the 30 years since the New Faces exhibition, James Hayes has made a name for himself internationally as a renowned glass artist.
Three months after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hendrix College in Conway in 1988, Hayes discovered glassblowing at the Arkansas Arts Center Museum School. He went on to study the medium in Murano, Italy; Columbus, Ohio; and the Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle, Washington.
His signature bright and colorful glass pieces — such as bowls, stemware, figurines, ornaments, and more — can be found in galleries, showrooms, and gift stores across the country.
Hayes is also known for his custom chandeliers, such as the one he created for the Arts & Science Center’s atrium in fall 2018. ASC commissioned the 229-piece Celebration Chandelier to commemorate the center’s 50th anniversary.
His chandeliers are also on permanent display at UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute in Little Rock, Hendrix College, and St. Elizabeth Healthcare Edgewood near Cincinnati, Ohio. His largest chandelier to date — at 15 feet in length — was installed at Hempstead Hall at the University of Arkansas at Hope in 2018.
He owns and operates his gallery studio, the James Hayes Art Glass Company, in his hometown of Pine Bluff. He regularly hosts open houses at his studio.
Hayes’ work can also be seen May 8–June 3, 2020, at The Bookstore at Library Square in downtown Little Rock, in a solo exhibition titled Glass Circus.
View more of Hayes’ artwork and read more about him on his website and on his Facebook page.
