Come have a drink and experiment with art materials while connecting with your community! Asheville Art Museum will host Open Studio at Different Wrld on the the first Thursday evening of each month throughout the year.

This free drop-in program, which is facilitated by the Asheville Art Museum and hosted at Different Wrld, aims to expose and engage participants with the Museum’s Collection and changing exhibitions. Attendees must be 21 or older to participate. The Asheville Art Museum will provide all instruction, supplies, and materials.

Included with admission

Embark on a scenic journey across George Vanderbilt’s Italy with a large-scale outdoor display that combines brilliant botanical designs with authentic messages written by Vanderbilt himself.

Beautifully handcrafted of natural elements, each sculptural postcard depicts a location or landmark Vanderbilt visited more than a century ago. This captivating complement to Biltmore’s Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition reveals Vanderbilt’s passions for travel, culture, architecture, and art as well as his personal experience of such renowned Italian cities as Milan, Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Vatican City.

Adding to the charm and visual appeal of Ciao! From Italy—sure to be a hit among kids of all ages—is the G-scale model train that travels in and out of each postcard in this enlightening display!

Throughout the history of painting from the mid-19th century forward, artists have used an endless variety of approaches to record their world. Beyond the Lens: Photorealist Perspectives on Looking, Seeing, and Painting continues this thread, offering an opportunity to explore a singular and still forceful aspect of American art. Photorealism shares many of the approaches of historical and modernist realism, with a twist. The use of the camera as a basic tool for organizing visual information in advance of painterly expression is now quite common, but Photorealists embraced the camera as the focal point in their creative process. Beyond the Lens presents key works from the collection of Louis K. and Susan Pear Meisel, bringing together paintings and works on paper dating from the 1970s to the present to focus on this profoundly influential art movement. The exhibition includes work by highly acclaimed formative artists of the movement such as Charles Bell, Robert Bechtle, Tom Blackwell, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, and Ralph Goings as well as paintings by the successive generations of Photorealist artists Anthony Brunelli, Davis Cone, Bertrand Meniel, Rod Penner, and Raphaella Spence. Featured artworks in the exhibition include diverse subject matters, but the primary focus is on the common and every day: urban scenes, “portraits” of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, still life compositions using toys, food, candy wrappers, and salt and pepper shakers. All provide opportunities for virtuoso studies in how light, reflection, and the camera as intermediary shapes our perception of the material world. This multigenerational survey demonstrates how the 35-mm camera, and later technological advances in digital image-making, informed and impacted the painterly gesture. Taken together, the paintings and works on paper in Beyond the Lens show how simply spellbinding these virtuosic works of art can be. “Beyond the Lens offers a fascinating look into the Photorealism movement and delves into the profound connection between the artists’ observation and creative process,” says Pamela L. Myers, Executive Director of Asheville Art Museum. “We are delighted to present this curated collection of artworks encapsulating the creative vision and technical precision that defines this artistic genre.” Photorealism found its roots in the late 1960s in California and New York, coexisting with an explosion of new ideas in art-making that included Conceptual, Pop, Minimalism, Land and Performance Art. At first, representational realism coexisted with the thematic and conceptual explosion but was eventually relegated to the margins regarding critical and curatorial attention. Often misunderstood and sometimes negatively criticized or lampooned as a betrayal of modernism’s commitment to abstraction, the artists involved in Photorealism remained committed explorers of the trail they had blazed. In the decades of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century, realistic and symbolic painting experienced a renaissance, as contemporary artists are increasingly drawn to narrative and storytelling. Concurrently, using a camera as a preparatory tool equally legitimate and valuable as pencils and pens has made the rubric of Photorealism increasingly relevant. This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and guest curated by Terrie Sultan. This exhibition is sponsored in part by Jim and Julia Calkins Peterson.

Black Mountain College and Mexico (BMC/MX): Exhibition, Publication, and Public Programming

Black Mountain College (1933–1957), a small but remarkably influential liberal arts school in rural North Carolina, had important links to Mexico that until now have been little investigated. A crucible of twentieth-century creativity, BMC galvanized and inspired artists and intellectuals from around the world, while Mexico’s innovations and age-old traditions—in fine and applied arts, architecture, poetry, music, performance, and more—dovetailed with, and indeed drove, global impulses toward modernism and beyond. Among the many key BMC figures whose lives were importantly touched by experiences in Mexico were Anni and Josef Albers, Ruth Asawa, John Cage, Jean Charlot, Elaine de Kooning, Buckminster Fuller, Carlos Mérida, Robert Motherwell, Charles Olson, Clara Porset, M.C. Richards, and Aaron Siskind. In turn, engagements with BMC and its legacy have played a significant role in shaping contemporary approaches to art in Mexico, evident in the works of Jorge Méndez Blake, Iñaki Bonillas, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Jose Dávila, Gerda Gruber, Lake Verea, Gabriel Orozco, and Damián Ortega, among others.

The exhibition BMC/MX features works by these and other prominent contemporary Mexican artists alongside a selection of historic works by BMC artists, highlighting the ways in which ideas and modalities are translated across materials, space, and time.

Related programming, planned in collaboration with Mexican artists, features a series of public events, including a performance by artist (and BMC/MX co-curator) David Miranda to take place at Different Wrld; an exhibition visit (in Spanish and English) with BMC/MX Project Director Eric Baden; and a series of experiential art events in the BMCM+AC library.

The exhibition is accompanied by the book Black Mountain College and Mexico (forthcoming late summer 2023), which investigates the people, ideas, and practices linking BMC and Mexico during the life of the school, as well as resonances between BMC and the work of contemporary Mexican artists. With contributions by BMC/MX’s curators, as well as by artist Abraham Cruzvillegas, design scholar Ana Elena Mallet, and author and activist Margaret Randall, this fully illustrated volume brings new light to this complex and underexplored subject.

BMC/MX is an investigation into modes of communication—the arenas in which new ideas and alliances may come to be—between Black Mountain College and Mexico, between past and present, between form and idea.

About the Curators

BMC/MX’s Project Director Eric Baden is a photographer and from 1994 to 2022 was professor of photography at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina. He is the founding director of photo+, a multidisciplinary arts event held in Asheville, North Carolina.

Artist and educator David Miranda is curator at the Museo Experimental El Eco (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM), and teaches at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado “La Esmeralda” in Mexico City.

Diana Stoll is an editor, writer and curator who works with institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum. She has served as an editor at Aperture and Artforum magazines, and contributes writings to prominent arts publications.

Romare Bearden (Charlotte, NC 1911–1988 New York, NY), African American writer and artist, is renowned for his collages. He constantly experimented with various techniques to achieve his artistic goals throughout his career. This exhibition highlights works on paper and explores his most frequently used mediums, including screen-printing, lithography, hand-colored etching, collagraph, monotype, relief print, photomontage, and collage.

Bearden’s work reflects his improvisational approach to his practice. He considered his process akin to that of jazz and blues composers. Starting with an open mind, he would let an idea evolve spontaneously.

“Romare Bearden: Ways of Working highlights Bearden’s unique artistic practice and masterful storytelling through art,” says Pamela L. Myers, Executive Director of the Asheville Art Museum. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Jerald Melberg Gallery to present these extraordinary works on paper in conversation with Bearden’s collage Sunset Express, 1984 in the Museum Collection (on view in the Museum’s SECU Collection Hall). This exhibition will also provide a glimpse into the cultural histories and personal interests that influenced his art-making practice, and we hope it encourages introspection and dialogue with our visitors.”

Jerald Melberg states, “Romare Bearden’s groundbreaking artistic practice continues to captivate audiences worldwide. With an unparalleled legacy of creativity and innovation, Bearden’s contributions to art remain deeply influential years beyond his life.” We have enjoyed organizing this exhibition with the Asheville Art Museum to showcase his artistic genius and inspire visitors from the Western North Carolina region and beyond.”

This exhibition is made possible in part by the Judy Appleton Fund. Many thanks to the Jerald Melberg Gallery for the loan of these important artworks and to Mary and Jerald Melberg for their long-standing support of the arts, artists, and the Asheville Art Museum.

The Art of Food features works from important postwar artists, like Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, John Baldessari, Wayne Thiebaud, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, and Jasper Johns, alongside the work of contemporary artists, like Alison Saar, Lorna Simpson, Enrique Chagoya, Rachel Whiteread, and Jenny Holzer, among others. The Art of Food features more than 100 works in mediums that include drawings, paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures, and ceramics by 37 artists. Each artist has a unique means of depicting food in their work that, when seen alongside others, creates a nuanced representation of the complex place food holds in everyday life. Cross-historical resonances between artists in the exhibition spark novel meditations on food and its discontents, while speaking to a broad range of audiences.

Juried market features handmade goods from local and independent artists.

Included with admission

Embark on a scenic journey across George Vanderbilt’s Italy with a large-scale outdoor display that combines brilliant botanical designs with authentic messages written by Vanderbilt himself.

Beautifully handcrafted of natural elements, each sculptural postcard depicts a location or landmark Vanderbilt visited more than a century ago. This captivating complement to Biltmore’s Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition reveals Vanderbilt’s passions for travel, culture, architecture, and art as well as his personal experience of such renowned Italian cities as Milan, Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Vatican City.

Adding to the charm and visual appeal of Ciao! From Italy—sure to be a hit among kids of all ages—is the G-scale model train that travels in and out of each postcard in this enlightening display!

This event is free to the public and will feature live music from Centerpiece Jazz and Sycamore Bones. Food trucks on-site include Durty Thumbs Jamaican Restaurant, Taste of Philly Flava, and Echo Sierra Coffee.

Handicap parking is located at the entrance of the park, and all other visitors will park in the lower lot or shuttle from off-site parking located at Mulberry Recreation Center.

The Caldwell Arts Council will host a Sculptor Dinner & Reception to welcome sculptors and introduce the sponsors and judge of the event on Friday, September 8. The dinner starts at 6pm and we welcome the public to join us! Tickets must be purchased in advance at this link: https://square.link/u/o2ZJMYQs

In addition, the Caldwell Arts Council needs volunteers for various tasks throughout the event. To sign up, go to: https://volunteersignup.org/4DMD8

The Annual Sculpture Celebration receives financial support from generous sponsors and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The 51st Annual Village Art and Craft Fair sponsored by New Morning Gallery and Bellagio Art to Wear takes place September 9th and 10th 2023 on the grounds of the Cathedral of All Souls in Historic Biltmore Village. The fair hosts over 100 exhibitors representing all media. Fair hours are Saturday 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday 12 pm to 5 pm, rain or shine. Free admission. Concessions available.

TFAC invites all artists: painters, sculptors, writers, performers & more — to a casual weekly drop-in gathering on Saturday mornings at 9 AM to share your works in progress, alert others, and chat about art and what’s happening in your community. The first weekly Coffee is Saturday, August 20 at 9 am. No RSVP needed, just drop by! Free parking available on Melrose Avenue, behind and alongside TFAC.

Throughout the history of painting from the mid-19th century forward, artists have used an endless variety of approaches to record their world. Beyond the Lens: Photorealist Perspectives on Looking, Seeing, and Painting continues this thread, offering an opportunity to explore a singular and still forceful aspect of American art. Photorealism shares many of the approaches of historical and modernist realism, with a twist. The use of the camera as a basic tool for organizing visual information in advance of painterly expression is now quite common, but Photorealists embraced the camera as the focal point in their creative process. Beyond the Lens presents key works from the collection of Louis K. and Susan Pear Meisel, bringing together paintings and works on paper dating from the 1970s to the present to focus on this profoundly influential art movement. The exhibition includes work by highly acclaimed formative artists of the movement such as Charles Bell, Robert Bechtle, Tom Blackwell, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, and Ralph Goings as well as paintings by the successive generations of Photorealist artists Anthony Brunelli, Davis Cone, Bertrand Meniel, Rod Penner, and Raphaella Spence. Featured artworks in the exhibition include diverse subject matters, but the primary focus is on the common and every day: urban scenes, “portraits” of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, still life compositions using toys, food, candy wrappers, and salt and pepper shakers. All provide opportunities for virtuoso studies in how light, reflection, and the camera as intermediary shapes our perception of the material world. This multigenerational survey demonstrates how the 35-mm camera, and later technological advances in digital image-making, informed and impacted the painterly gesture. Taken together, the paintings and works on paper in Beyond the Lens show how simply spellbinding these virtuosic works of art can be. “Beyond the Lens offers a fascinating look into the Photorealism movement and delves into the profound connection between the artists’ observation and creative process,” says Pamela L. Myers, Executive Director of Asheville Art Museum. “We are delighted to present this curated collection of artworks encapsulating the creative vision and technical precision that defines this artistic genre.” Photorealism found its roots in the late 1960s in California and New York, coexisting with an explosion of new ideas in art-making that included Conceptual, Pop, Minimalism, Land and Performance Art. At first, representational realism coexisted with the thematic and conceptual explosion but was eventually relegated to the margins regarding critical and curatorial attention. Often misunderstood and sometimes negatively criticized or lampooned as a betrayal of modernism’s commitment to abstraction, the artists involved in Photorealism remained committed explorers of the trail they had blazed. In the decades of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century, realistic and symbolic painting experienced a renaissance, as contemporary artists are increasingly drawn to narrative and storytelling. Concurrently, using a camera as a preparatory tool equally legitimate and valuable as pencils and pens has made the rubric of Photorealism increasingly relevant. This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and guest curated by Terrie Sultan. This exhibition is sponsored in part by Jim and Julia Calkins Peterson.

Black Mountain College and Mexico (BMC/MX): Exhibition, Publication, and Public Programming

Black Mountain College (1933–1957), a small but remarkably influential liberal arts school in rural North Carolina, had important links to Mexico that until now have been little investigated. A crucible of twentieth-century creativity, BMC galvanized and inspired artists and intellectuals from around the world, while Mexico’s innovations and age-old traditions—in fine and applied arts, architecture, poetry, music, performance, and more—dovetailed with, and indeed drove, global impulses toward modernism and beyond. Among the many key BMC figures whose lives were importantly touched by experiences in Mexico were Anni and Josef Albers, Ruth Asawa, John Cage, Jean Charlot, Elaine de Kooning, Buckminster Fuller, Carlos Mérida, Robert Motherwell, Charles Olson, Clara Porset, M.C. Richards, and Aaron Siskind. In turn, engagements with BMC and its legacy have played a significant role in shaping contemporary approaches to art in Mexico, evident in the works of Jorge Méndez Blake, Iñaki Bonillas, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Jose Dávila, Gerda Gruber, Lake Verea, Gabriel Orozco, and Damián Ortega, among others.

The exhibition BMC/MX features works by these and other prominent contemporary Mexican artists alongside a selection of historic works by BMC artists, highlighting the ways in which ideas and modalities are translated across materials, space, and time.

Related programming, planned in collaboration with Mexican artists, features a series of public events, including a performance by artist (and BMC/MX co-curator) David Miranda to take place at Different Wrld; an exhibition visit (in Spanish and English) with BMC/MX Project Director Eric Baden; and a series of experiential art events in the BMCM+AC library.

The exhibition is accompanied by the book Black Mountain College and Mexico (forthcoming late summer 2023), which investigates the people, ideas, and practices linking BMC and Mexico during the life of the school, as well as resonances between BMC and the work of contemporary Mexican artists. With contributions by BMC/MX’s curators, as well as by artist Abraham Cruzvillegas, design scholar Ana Elena Mallet, and author and activist Margaret Randall, this fully illustrated volume brings new light to this complex and underexplored subject.

BMC/MX is an investigation into modes of communication—the arenas in which new ideas and alliances may come to be—between Black Mountain College and Mexico, between past and present, between form and idea.

About the Curators

BMC/MX’s Project Director Eric Baden is a photographer and from 1994 to 2022 was professor of photography at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina. He is the founding director of photo+, a multidisciplinary arts event held in Asheville, North Carolina.

Artist and educator David Miranda is curator at the Museo Experimental El Eco (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM), and teaches at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado “La Esmeralda” in Mexico City.

Diana Stoll is an editor, writer and curator who works with institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum. She has served as an editor at Aperture and Artforum magazines, and contributes writings to prominent arts publications.

Romare Bearden (Charlotte, NC 1911–1988 New York, NY), African American writer and artist, is renowned for his collages. He constantly experimented with various techniques to achieve his artistic goals throughout his career. This exhibition highlights works on paper and explores his most frequently used mediums, including screen-printing, lithography, hand-colored etching, collagraph, monotype, relief print, photomontage, and collage.

Bearden’s work reflects his improvisational approach to his practice. He considered his process akin to that of jazz and blues composers. Starting with an open mind, he would let an idea evolve spontaneously.

“Romare Bearden: Ways of Working highlights Bearden’s unique artistic practice and masterful storytelling through art,” says Pamela L. Myers, Executive Director of the Asheville Art Museum. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Jerald Melberg Gallery to present these extraordinary works on paper in conversation with Bearden’s collage Sunset Express, 1984 in the Museum Collection (on view in the Museum’s SECU Collection Hall). This exhibition will also provide a glimpse into the cultural histories and personal interests that influenced his art-making practice, and we hope it encourages introspection and dialogue with our visitors.”

Jerald Melberg states, “Romare Bearden’s groundbreaking artistic practice continues to captivate audiences worldwide. With an unparalleled legacy of creativity and innovation, Bearden’s contributions to art remain deeply influential years beyond his life.” We have enjoyed organizing this exhibition with the Asheville Art Museum to showcase his artistic genius and inspire visitors from the Western North Carolina region and beyond.”

This exhibition is made possible in part by the Judy Appleton Fund. Many thanks to the Jerald Melberg Gallery for the loan of these important artworks and to Mary and Jerald Melberg for their long-standing support of the arts, artists, and the Asheville Art Museum.

The Art of Food features works from important postwar artists, like Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, John Baldessari, Wayne Thiebaud, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, and Jasper Johns, alongside the work of contemporary artists, like Alison Saar, Lorna Simpson, Enrique Chagoya, Rachel Whiteread, and Jenny Holzer, among others. The Art of Food features more than 100 works in mediums that include drawings, paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures, and ceramics by 37 artists. Each artist has a unique means of depicting food in their work that, when seen alongside others, creates a nuanced representation of the complex place food holds in everyday life. Cross-historical resonances between artists in the exhibition spark novel meditations on food and its discontents, while speaking to a broad range of audiences.