Artist Michael Fowler creates evocative abstract landscape paintings by incorporating vibrant colors with subtle, complex details. His semi-large-scale approach invites viewers to step into his work and build a sense of wonder and contemplation surrounding the natural world. Fowler’s artistic response in contemplating nature is to capture something of a landscape’s pleasantness, which is often unexpected harmonies of color and shape. In his latest exhibit, Arbor Huescapes, Fowler highlights the distinctive vegetation – primarily trees – and topography of North and South Carolina’s midlands and piedmont regions.

Fowler received his Bachelor of Arts from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas with a focus in Advertising Design. He then attended the University of Nebraska where he received a Master’s degree in Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing with a minor in Art History. From there, he attended the University of Memphis where he earned a Doctorate in Higher Education. Based in North Augusta, South Carolina, Fowler is currently an associate professor of design and computer graphics and serves as the Mary Durban Toole Chair of Art at the University of South Carolina in Aiken. His paintings are in a number of public and private collections nationally, and he actively exhibits in regional and national shows.

Please note: Arbor Huescapes has been rescheduled due to the COVID-19 crisis and will now open in fall 2021. The exhibit is on display daily September 18, 2021 – January 9, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside the Baker Exhibit Center. All works are available for purchase and a portion of sales will be donated to The North Carolina Arboretum Society.

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 Dance can be life-changing. We want to show you how.  Come try two weeks of classes for just $29.99

Fall/Winter Schedule 2021/2022

Additional Information

ATTD New Fall 2021-2022 Class Schedule – August 22, 2021- May 27, 2022

*Note that ages serve only as a guideline.  Below represents our Curriculum based ballet programs.  Look for additional class offerings of Int/Adv Tap, Jazz & Hip- Hop TBA. Combo I – Elementary II placement is based on age.  Level 1 and above are skill based placement.  All schedules are subject to change.

Combo I : Pre- Ballet/Pre- Tap Curriculum (Age 3-4 )

Monday 4:00-5:00

OR
Wednesday 5:00-6:00

OR
Saturday 9:45-10:45

OR

Saturday11:00-12:00

Combo II : Ballet/Tap Curriculum Age (5-6)

Monday 4:00-5:00

OR

Wednesday 5:00-6:00

OR

Saturday  9:45-10:45

OR

Saturday 11:00-12:00

Elementary I : Introduction to Classical Technique w/Tap & Jazz (Age 6-7)

Monday 5:00-5:45 Ballet: Section A

5:45-6:30 Tap & Jazz : Section A

Wednesday 5:00-5:45 Ballet: Section B

5:45-6:30 Tap & Jazz : Section B
Elementary II: Introduction to Classical Technique w/ Tap, Jazz & Repertoire(Age 7-8)

Monday 5:00-5:45 Ballet:
5:45-6:30 Tap / Jazz
Thursday 5:00-6:15 Ballet
6:15-7:00 Repertoire

Boys Class:
Wednesday 6:00-6:45 w/Mr. Merz Elementary I- Level II

Level I : Classical Ballet Technique, with Repertoire and one enrichment class (Age 8-10 placement required)

Tuesday 4:30-5:30 Conditioning w/ Jazz Contemporary

5:30-6:30 Ballet Technique

Thursday 5:00-6:15 Ballet

6:15-7:00 Repertoire

Level II : Classical Ballet Technique, w/ Repertoire and 2 enrichment classes (Age 9-11 placement required)

Tuesday 4:30-5:30 Conditioning w/ Jazz Contemporary

5:30-6:30 Ballet Technique
Thursday 5:00-6:15 Ballet
Friday 4:00-5:30 Ballet Technique

5:30-6:30 Repertoire

Level III : Classical Ballet Technique w/Repertoire, pre-pointe, conditioning, specialty classes (Age 10-12 placement required)

Monday 5:00-6:30 Ballet Technique
6:30-7:15 Pre- Pointe/Variations
Tuesday 4:30-5:30 Conditioning w/ Jazz Contemporary

5:30-6:30 Ballet Technique
Friday 4:30-5:30 Ballet Technique
5:30-6:15 Repertoire

Level IV/V : Classical Ballet Technique w/ Repertoire, pointe, conditioning, specialty classes ( Placement required)

Monday 4:30-6:00 Ballet Technique

6:00-7:00 Repertoire

Tuesday 4:30-6:00 Ballet Technique

6:00-7:00 Modern
Wednesday 4:30-6:00 Ballet Technique

6:00-7:00 Pointe/Conditioning

Thursday 4:30-6:00 Ballet Technique

6:00-6:45 Pointe

*Saturday 11:00-12:15 Warm-up Technique **ONLY WHEN CALLED**

12:30-2pm Rehearsal **ONLY WHEN CALLED**

PreProfessional Day Program : Vocational Ballet Training ( Age 14- audition required)

Monday: 2:00-3:30 Ballet Technique

3:30-4:30 Pointe-Conditioning/Pointe

4:30-6:00 2nd Technique barre en pointe

Tuesday  2:00-3:30 Ballet Technique center en pointe

3:30-4:30 Modern

4:30-6:00 2nd Technique barre en pointe

Wednesday 2:00-3:30 Ballet Technique

3:30-4:30 Pointe/Repertoire

4:30-6:00 2nd Technique

Thursday 2:00-3:30 Ballet Technique

3:30-4:30 Pointe Variations

4:30-6:00 2nd Technique

Friday 2:00-3:30 Ballet Technique

3:30-4:30 Pas de Deux

*Saturday 11:00-12:15 Warm-up Technique

12:30-2pm Rehearsal

Age 4-7 (RED) Beginners meet Mondays, Thursdays 5:15-6:00pm and/or Saturdays 12:15-1:00pm

Age 7-10 (ORANGE) Beginners meet Mon 6-7pm, Wed 5-6pm, and/or Sat 1-2pm

Age 9-15 (GREEN) Beginners meet Tuesdays 5-6pm, Thurs 6-7pm and/or Sat 2-3pm

Age 9-15 (YELLOW) Intermediates meet Tuesdays 6-7pm and/or Saturdays 2-3pm

· Classes for all ages and ability!  Open to the public. Call for advanced and tournament/elite class session times.  All classes taught by certified tennis professionals

Registration is now open for the next session of youth tennis classes starting January 10th at
Hendersonville Racquet Club. Kids are put in groups based on age and ability with seven levels
available. The session is six weeks long and is $79 for members or $99 for non-members for one class a
week plus a play day at the end of the session. Two days a week (12 sessions) is $129/169.
“Our youth tennis program has something for any child who wants to play. From beginner to high
performance player, we put them into situations where they will be challenged and can succeed while
having a fun time doing it.” stated HRC Junior Tennis Academy Tennis Pro Jackson Hoffman.
The format for this session is having classes once or twice for six weeks. Each level of class is offered
during the weekday and again on Saturday afternoon. Then the session concludes with a fun “Play Day”
where they can get match experience. All classes are taught by certified tennis professionals and will be
held on HRC’s arena courts

The tastiest ticket in town returns with BOGO (buy-one-get-one) deals from 50 independently owned restaurants in Buncombe County.

The 2022 AIR Passport is the perfect way to visit an old favorite with a friend or dine and discover new restaurants in our area’s vibrant independent eateries. All proceeds from the AIR Passport go to benefit the ongoing efforts of AIR to keep Asheville’s food scene eclectic and authentic.

Limited supply available and they go fast!

Old Kentucky Home -The Thomas Wolfe Memorial

American Novelist Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938)

Considered by many to be one of the giants of 20th-century American literature, Thomas Wolfe immortalized his childhood home in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel. Wolfe’s colorful portrayal of his family, his hometown of “Altamont” Asheville, North Carolina, and “Dixieland” the Old Kentucky Home boardinghouse, earned the Victorian period house a place as one of American literature’s most famous landmarks.

House tours are offered daily at half past each hour. Last tour leaves at 4:30 pm.
Group tours by reservation.

Adult – $5.00
Student (ages 7-17) – $2.00
Adult Group (10+) – $2.50 each
Student Group – $2.00 each
6 & under – Free

Hours of Operation

New year, new adventures! Buncombe County Public Libraries’ 2022 Winter Reading Challenge encourages young readers to explore diversity, empathy, and action through reading.

This year, we are exploring what animals do during the winter months with two distinct challenges for children and teens. Children will complete fun activities while learning fascinating facts about local Western North Carolina animals. Teens will navigate winter reading quests and take home a collectible postcard. Both challenges will encourage youth to enjoy the winter season together in a screen-free, socially distanced way. These free activity sheets are designed with kids and teens in mind, but everyone is invited to participate.

Beginning Jan. 4, pick up a Winter Reading Activity Sheet from any Buncombe County Public Library. Warm up your winter with our reading challenge, and we’ll see you at the library.

• Averaging 45 vendors each week with more than two dozen produce farms, half a dozen bakers, several meat and cheese producers, coffee, and a wide variety of artisan and prepared foods.

• Three weekly farmers tailgate markets in Buncombe County will operate through the winter in 2022. Though smaller, these markets will continue to offer the freshest seasonal produce in addition to meats, eggs, cheeses, bread, beverages, and artisan foods. Expect to see storage crops, like sweet potatoes, potatoes, and winter squash, plus cold-weather veggies like turnips, radishes, and dark leafy greens.

  Buncombe County farmers markets with weekly dates January to March are:

  • River Arts District Farmers Market, outdoors and indoors at Plēb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St., Wednesdays, 3–5:30 p.m. Two dozen weekly vendors, including two produce farms, mushrooms, cheese, bread and baked goods, and more.

  • Weaverville Tailgate Market, indoors at Weaverville Community Center, 60 Lakeshore Dr., Wednesdays, 3–6 p.m. Bread, cheese, and fermented food makers alongside a small lineup of craft and artisan vendors.

Macie joined the YWCA earlier this year, and if you’ve been in the building you’ve probably been greeted with her warm energy and welcoming smile. Macie is a Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and as our Membership Coordinator, she’s here to support all members. Raised by a strong single mother who worked tirelessly to cover the bills, Macie saw her mom compromise her own wellbeing at times to ensure all of Macie’s needs were met. “She did the absolute best she could to provide for us with the resources and education she had, and I know my mom could have benefited from a program like what we have here at the YWCA,” says Macie. With just the two of them navigating their hardships together, Macie grew determined to build a life that was abundant, full of resources, and felt empowering. Today she is part of the YWCA’s Health and Wellness team, and has a passion for helping people, and supports programming that is accessible, inclusive, and that defines wellness as supporting the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. Read more of Macie’s story online.

Stop by and meet Macie and the rest of our Health and Wellness team or join us on January 1^st for Community Day or on January 8^th for a free Health and Wellness Fair! EveryBODY is invited regardless of membership.

YWCA Community Day – January 1st
Click for Details 

Health & Wellness Fair – January 8th
Click for Details

Nancy Graves, Parable of Nostalgia from the Tango portfolio, 1991, intaglio on cotton rag paper, edition 12/26, publisher: Iris Editions, New York, image: 26 × 17 5/8 inches, sheet: 35 3/4 × 26 inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Nancy Graves Foundation, Inc. / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.

A Dance of Images and Words: The Nancy Graves/Pedro Cuperman Tango Portfolio features a series of eight intaglio prints that depict plants and animals alongside eleven sheets of prose that explore the steps of the Argentinian dance, the tango. Organized by the Asheville Art Museum from the Museum’s Collection and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator, this exhibition will be on view in The Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery at the Museum from September 29, 2021 through January 10, 2022.

The common idiom “it takes two to tango” is immediately called into question in both the imagery and words of the Tango portfolio. The portfolio is an expression of artist Nancy Graves (Pittsfield, MA 1939–1995 New York, NY) writer Pedro Cuperman’s (1936–2016 Buenos Aires, Argentina) meditations on the dance. Their imagery and words become paired in an illustrated book though their explorations take different formats and directions. Both Graves and Cuperman look towards humankind and nature as a place where beings come together in the experience of living. This exhibition presents Graves’s eight prints alongside the portfolio frontispiece and a page of Cuperman’s text to immerse visitors in the collaborative dance of the tango.

Rhiannon Skye Tafoya (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Ul’nigid’, 2020, letterpress (photopolymer and Bembo & Cherokee Syllabary metal type) printed on handmade & color plan paper with paperweaving, closed: 11 × 11 ¼ inches, assembled: 23 ½ × 11 ¼ × 5 ⁵⁄₈ inches. Courtesy the Artist. © Rhiannon Skye Tafoya, image Rhiannon Skye Tafoya.

Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art features over 50 works of art in a variety of media by 30+ Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and Cherokee Nation artists. The exhibition highlights the use of the written Cherokee language, a syllabary developed by Cherokee innovator Sequoyah (circa 1776–1843). Cherokee syllabary is frequently found in the work of Cherokee artists as a compositional element or the subject matter of the work itself. The exhibition will be on view at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, NC from June 12, 2021 to October 31, 2021, and in the Asheville Art Museum’s Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall from November 19, 2021 to March 14, 2022. The Cherokee Syllabary is a system of writing developed by Sequoyah in the early 1800s prior to the Removal period. Through Sequoyah’s innovative work, Cherokee people embraced the writing system as an expedient form of communication and documentation. During the Removal period, the syllabary was used as a tactic to combat land dispossession. Cherokee people continue to use the syllabary as a form of cultural expression and pride, which is showcased in the contemporary artwork of the Cherokee Citizens in this exhibition. “We’re pleased to host this gathering of works from contemporary Cherokee artists, who perfectly illustrate how our language is a living and evolving part of who we are. It’s moving to see how each artist finds inspiration in their own way from this language that connects us as Cherokee people,” said Shana Bushyhead Condill, executive director of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. “The Asheville Art Museum and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian have been long-term collaborators, and we are delighted to further our partnership by working together to manage an open call to Cherokee artists and subsequently curate this exciting exhibition of contemporary works that take inspiration from, celebrate, preserve and interpret the syllabary,” said Pamela L. Myers, executive director of the Asheville Art Museum. “On view at both museums, we hope the exhibition engages a wide and diverse audience in dialogue with these extraordinary works.” A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and Museum of the Cherokee Indian, and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator at the Asheville Art Museum, with assistance from curatorial consultant Joshua Adams (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians). Special thanks to S. Dakota Brown, education director at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, and Alexis Meldrum, curatorial assistant at the Asheville Art Museum, for their support in the planning of this exhibition. This project is made possible in part by a grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership, and sponsored in part by the Cherokee Preservation Foundation and Kevin Click & April Liou in memory of Myron E. Click. Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians artists include Joshua Adams, Jody Lipscomb Bradley, Nathan Bush, Kane Crowe, John Henry Gloyne, Shan Goshorn, Luzene Hill, Christy Long, Louise Bigmeat Maney, Christopher McCoy, Tara McCoy, Joel Queen, Sean Ross, Jakeli Swimmer, Rhiannon Skye Tafoya, Mary Thompson, Stan Tooni Jr.,  Alica Wildcatt, and Fred Wilnoty. Cherokee Nation artists include Roy Boney Jr., Jeff Edwards, Joseph Erb, Raychel Foster, Kenny Glass, Camilla McGinty, Jessica Mehta, America Meredith, Jane Osti, Lisa Rutherford, Janet L. Smith, Jennifer Thiessen, and Jennie Wilson. About the Museum of the Cherokee Indian Established in 1948, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian is one of the longest operating tribal museums. Recognized for its innovative storytelling, the Museum features exhibits, artwork, and hands-on technology that brings over 15,000 years of Cherokee history to life. Located in Cherokee, NC, the Museum is open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Learn more by visiting mci.org.

Christopher McCoy, Resilient Times, 2021, non-glare acrylic on DiBond metallic print, 36 × 24 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by Ray Griffin & Thom Robinson. © Christopher McCoy. Asheville, N.C.—The generosity of the Museum’s Collectors’ Circle members and additional contributors enabled the Asheville Art Museum to acquire 25 new artworks for its Collection at the end of 2021. The Museum welcomes artworks created throughout the 20th and 21st centuries in a range of media by both regionally and nationally recognized artists. These artists include Peggy Bacon, Lynda Benglis, Sanford Biggers, Terry Haass, George Morrison, Robert Motherwell, Marilyn Pappas, David Stewart, Ansei Uchima, and Asheville-based Liz Williams. A highlight of this year’s Collectors’ Circle acquisitions is a grouping of works by artists featured in the exhibition A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art, on view at the Asheville Art Museum through March 14, 2022. This exhibition was co-organized with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, NC. The curatorial team identified the 14 artworks by artists of the Cherokee Nation or Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians not yet represented in the Collection to augment not only the Museum’s contemporary holdings but also the holdings of Cherokee artists working today. Artists represented in this acquisition include John Henry Gloyne, Christopher McCoy, Tara McCoy, Rhiannon Skye Tafoya, Jakeli Swimmer, and Alica Murphy Wildcatt of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Jeff Edwards, Kenny Glass, and Jennie Wilson of the Cherokee Nation. These artworks contribute directly to the Museum’s commitment to collecting from and supporting contemporary Indigenous artists, especially those with connections to the unceded land upon which the Museum sits. “Through a vibrant array of materials, colors, and perspectives, the Cherokee syllabary finds an evocative, contemporary form of expression at the hands of the artists in this exhibition,” said Assistant Curator Hilary Schroeder of this group of work. “There is a power in words, both written and spoken. I often find that power to be amplified in a work of art, when those words are placed in the context of composition, symbolism, and an artist’s intent.” Visit ashevilleart.org/exhibitions/a-living-language to learn more about this exhibition. The Museum’s Collectors’ Circle is a specialized group formed to encourage the exchange of ideas and interests, art learning, connoisseurship, and collecting. The group supports the proactive development, stewardship, and conservation of the Museum’s Collection. The Museum is grateful for these new year-end acquisitions, which add to the strengths of its holdings, and looks forward to sharing them with the community of Western North Carolina and its visitors in the years to come. The following 25 works have been acquired for the Museum’s Collection:  Peggy Bacon, Day-Nursery, 1918, drypoint on paper, 6 × 8 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle member Susan Holden. © Estate of Peggy Bacon. Lynda Benglis, Tandem Series #10, 1988, relief, hand-painted watercolor, monoprint on paper, 38 1/2 × 24 1/2 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Gary Greener & Bret McAllister. © Lynda Benglis. Sanford Biggers, The Pasts They Brought With Them from The Floating Worlds series, 2013, paper collage and silkscreen with hand-coloring on rag paper, edition 29/30, publisher: LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies, 27 1/2 × 24 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Joey Gigliotti and Steven Gigliotti. © Sanford Biggers. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art   Jeff Edwards, Speaking With Our Ancestors, 2013, archival inkjet print on paper, edition 7/50, 30 × 24 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Kevin Click & April Liou in memory of Myron E. Click. © Jeff Edwards. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art   Jeff Edwards, Tsalagiopoly, 2013, archival inkjet print on paper, edition 6/50, 30 × 24 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Ladene & Russell Newton. © Jeff Edwards. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art   Kenny Glass, ᏕᏣᎵᎬᏚᎴᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᏕᏣᎵᏴᏑᎴᏍᏗ (Wear Your Mask), 2020, seed beads, trade beads, brass beads, bias tape, thimbles, wool, and cotton, 42 × 14 1/2 × 5 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Ann & Jon Kemske. © Kenny Glass. John Henry Gloyne, Osd nvwoti, 2020, acrylic on illustration board, 30 × 24 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Butch & Kathy Patrick. © John Henry Gloyne. John Henry Gloyne, Uk’tena, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 24 × 24 × 1 1/2 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by Ray Griffin & Thom Robinson. © John Henry Gloyne. Terry Haass, Last Snow, 1949, color woodcut on paper, image: 14 ¼ × 10 5/8 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle member Susan Holden. © Estate of Terry Haass. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art  Jody Bradley Lipscomb, A Meeting of Minds, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 10 × 30 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Ladene & Russell Newton. © Jody Bradley Lipscomb. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art  Christopher McCoy, Resilient Times, 2021, non-glare acrylic on DiBond metallic print, 36 × 24 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by Ray Griffin & Thom Robinson. © Christopher McCoy. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art  Tara McCoy, Syllabary Pot, 2021, red earthen clay, 7 × 30 × 7 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Kevin Click & April Liou in memory of Myron E. Click. © Tara McCoy. George Morrison, Untitled, 1958, gouache on paper, 17 × 22 inches. 2021 Collectors’ Circle purchase with additional funds provided by Bernadette & Miles Bender, Anne & Nat Burkhardt, Jeff & Linda Fromson, Frances Myers, Len & Mary Ellen Porter, Cherry & Paul Lentz Saenger, Judy Upjohn, Barbara & Mike Walker, and Jim Wilson & Lynne Poirier-Wilson. © Estate of George Morrison. Robert Motherwell, Untitled from Lyric Suite, 1965, black ink with orange bleed on paper, 9 × 11 inches. 2021 Collectors’ Circle purchase with additional funds provided by Bernadette & Miles Bender, Anne & Nat Burkhardt, Jeff & Linda Fromson, Len & Mary Ellen Porter, Cherry & Paul Lentz Saenger, Judy Upjohn, and Jim Wilson & Lynne Poirier-Wilson. © Dedalus Foundation, Inc./Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Robert Motherwell, Untitled from Lyric Suite, 1965, black ink with blue pigment and orange bleed on paper, 9 × 11 inches. 2021 Collectors’ Circle purchase with additional funds provided by Bernadette & Miles Bender, Anne & Nat Burkhardt, Jeff & Linda Fromson, Len & Mary Ellen Porter, Cherry & Paul Lentz Saenger, Judy Upjohn, and Jim Wilson & Lynne Poirier-Wilson. © Dedalus Foundation, Inc./Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Marilyn Pappas, Seated Muse with Sphere from Fragments series, 1999, draped and stitched cotton on linen, 30 × 27 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle member Steven Gigliotti and Renee Danger James. © Marilyn Pappas. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art  Rhiannon Skye Tafoya, Ul’nigid, 2020, letterpress on handmade and Colorplan paper with paper weaving, closed: 11 x 11 1/4 inches, assembled: 23 1/2 x 11 1/4 x 5 5/8 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Kevin Click & April Liou in memory of Myron Click. © Rhiannon Skye Tafoya. David Stewart, Saint George and the Dragon, circa 1965, incised and glazed earthenware, 7 5/8 × 10 × 10 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Olivia & Gary Zahler. © David Stewart. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art  Jakeli Swimmer, EGWA: The Gluttonous Warrior, 2020 (printed 2021), archival inkjet print on paper, edition 1/1, 20 x 16 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Kevin Click & April Liou in memory of Myron Click. © Jakeli Swimmer. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art  Jakeli Swimmer, Missed Me!, 2020 (printed 2021), archival inkjet print on paper, edition 1/1, 20 x 16 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Kevin Click & April Liou in memory of Myron Click. © Jakeli Swimmer. Ansei Uchima, Descending Moon, 1963, color woodcut on paper, edition: Artist proof, 16 × 4 3/4 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle member Lyn McFarland. © Estate of Ansei Uchima. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art  Alica Murphy Wildcatt, Something Else necklace, 2020, hand-sawn sterling silver, 20-inch length chain. Museum purchase with funds provided by M. J. Teaford & R. K. Benites. © Alica Murphy Wildcatt. Liz Williams, Know Your Worth from the Remember to Look Up series, 2020, inkjet archival print on paper, edition 1/10, 24 × 33 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Tom Butler & Marilyn Laufer in honor of Frances Myers and the Nat C. Myers Fund for Photography. © Liz Williams. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art  Jennie Wilson, ᎣᏪᏅ Ꮢ ᎠᏐᏅ Ꮕ (owenvsv asonvnv), 2020, wood, gourds, cornhusks, fur, wire, sinew, and alcohol inks, 6 1/2 × 15 1/2 × 8 1/2 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Ladene & Russell Newton. © Jennie Wilson. Featured in A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art  Jennie Wilson, Cherokee Months, 2019, gourds, alcohol inks, copper leaf, and wood burning, 11 1/2 × 9 1/2 × 9 1/2 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2021 Collectors’ Circle members Kevin Click & April Liou in memory of Myron Click. © Jennie Wilson.

Asheville Gallery of Art’s January show, “Mountain Inspirations” will feature works by three new gallery members: Jan Smith, Mandy Kjellstrom, and Raymond Byram. The show will run January 2-31 during gallery hours, 11am-6pm. An event to meet the artists will be held at the gallery on First Friday, January 7, from 5-8pm at 82 Patton Avenue.

Jan has been a professional artist for forty years, and her body of work has evolved over years of experimentation with different materials and techniques. Oil is her medium of choice, and she paints both from photographs and on location. Her style approaches a hybrid impressionistic/realism in her landscapes and traditional realism in her animals, people, and florals. Throughout her career, she has participated in numerous gallery showings. Jan has lived both on the coast and in the mountains of the Carolinas so it comes as no surprise that she transforms the canvas with the familiar beauty of mountain and coastal scenes.

Mandy Kjellstrom commenced her study of art in 2002, and later entered the Fine Arts League of the Carolinas, a school devoted to classical realism. This began her training, with specific interests in the figure, landscapes, and still life, which she continues to study. She finds joy in painting the ordinary things of life in a way that captures their sacredness. Believing that God is present in all things, she considers herself a “co-creator” of the beauty that she experiences as she paints her natural surroundings “en plein air.” Mandy’s preferred medium is oil, in a classical realism style, and she is inspired by the world’s ever-present natural beauty.

Raymond Byram has been painting in oils since 1969. After receiving a Fine Arts degree with a minor in art history, he has devoted his life to his painting and printmaking. Although he has worked in a variety of genres and styles, landscapes in oil are his primary pursuits. Byram’s oils are almost exclusively done with palette knives, rather than brushes. Ray enjoys both an Impressionistic style of painting, as well as the beauty of the mountains and forests. Combined, they have molded his style into what he calls Tight Impressionism. Ray finds his inspiration in the eastern mountains and forests of North Carolina.

For further information about this show, please contact the Asheville Gallery of Art at (828) 251-5796, visit the gallery’s website at www.ashevillegallery-of-art.com, or go to the gallery’s Facebook page.

January 2nd to January 31, Daily from 11am to 6pm

Robert Rauschenberg, John from the Ruminations series, 1999, photogravure on paper, edition 3/46, publisher: Universal Limited Art Editions, Bay Shore, NY, 29 ½ × 38 7/8 inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation / VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Ruminations on Memory contends with the act of remembrance and reflection, featuring a rare presentation of all nine prints from Robert Rauschenberg’s Ruminations portfolio, Judy Chicago’s Retrospective in a Box portfolio, and selections from the Museum’s Collection. Organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator, this exhibition will be on view in Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall at the Museum from November 19, 2021 through March 14, 2022 in conjunction with A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art. 

Artworks are vessels for processing, recalling, and reflecting on the past. Artists often draw upon materials from their own pasts and grasp at fleeting moments in time in the creation of an object. For the viewer, observation of an artwork can draw out personal memories.

Artworks in a variety of media explore various ways of remembering, including individual memories that focus on the moments from an artist’s past; generational memory that looks back to one’s ancestors, whether recent or long past; and collective memory, wherein in an image might evoke bygone times that balance between constructed and real. Through these artworks that ruminate upon the past, viewers may discover the stirrings of their own thoughts and recollections prompted by the works before them.

Ruminations on Memory offers a unique opportunity to experience the entirety of a major print portfolio by American painter Robert Rauschenberg (Port Arthur, TX 1925–2008 Captiva, FL). Rauschenberg was a student at Black Mountain College in NC for the 1948–1949 and 1951–1952 academic sessions and for the 1951 and 1952 summers. His Ruminations series consists of nine color photogravures which were printed in 1999 and reflect on Rauschenberg’s early life, his friends and family, and the memories he held dear. The series represents especially significant mature work by Rauschenberg that looks back to his most formative moments as an artist including his time at Black Mountain College and the friendships and ideas formed there.

Also presented in the exhibition is an important series of prints by Judy Chicago (born Chicago, IL 1939). Five decades into her career, Chicago stands as one of the foremost artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, having committed to socially minded work, uplifting in particular experiences salient to her feminine and Jewish identities. Retrospective in a Box consists of seven prints and a portfolio created in collaboration with the master printers at Landfall Press, and provides an overview of her major motifs and ideas, including the print Spring the Dinner, a nod to her seminal 1979 work The Dinner Party.

In addition to the artworks from the Museum’s Collection, visitors will be able to experience Felix Gonzales-Torres’s “Untitled” (L.A.), on loan from the Art Bridges collection. “Untitled” (L.A.) is one of the artist’s iconic interactive candy installations where memories are engaged not only through sight but through sound, touch, taste, and smell as well.

Learn more about Ruminations on Memory and A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art at ashevilleart.org.