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Fall 2022
August 17 - September 16
Paula Kovarik: Herd
Expressing herself through the medium of fabric and thread Kovarik explores what cannot be seen. Her intuitive line work travels the surface of her work as if a meditation has become solid. Inspired by everything from cracks in sidewalks to electronic circuitry and microscopic life she layers meaning and emotion into each piece. The tactile nature of the cloth and thread makes the work approachable and mysterious at the same time. It’s about layered, ripped, cut, and sandwiched together pieces—producing a composition held together by the narrative of the thread. Inward thoughts become outwardly apparent through slow and studied attention to detail.
Kovarik’s award-winning fiber art has been recognized by several national venues including Quilt National, Quilts=Art=Quilts, ArtQuilt Elements, World of Threads, FiberArt Now Excellence in Fibers and the Visions Art Museum. Her work has been collected by the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln NE and the International Airport in Memphis, TN as well as several private collections. She has been profiled in American Craft, FiberArt Now and Art Quilting Studio magazines. Her work is featured in Art Quilts Unfolding – 50 Years of Innovation by Sandra Sider, Nancy Bavor, Lisa Ellis and Martha Sielman and Art Quilts International Abstract & Geometric by Martha Sielman.
Paula lives and works in Memphis, TN.
Artist Lecture: Aug. 31, 6:00 p.m. @ AD120
Reception/Gallery Talk: Sept. 1, noon-1:30 p.m., Gallery Talk begins at 12:15 p.m. @ The New Gallery (TNG)
First Thursday Art Walk: Sept. 1, 5:00 – 7:30 @ TNG
September 26 – October 28
Chris Friday: One More River
Friday is a multidisciplinary artist based in Miami, Fl. Her work offers itself as both a contemplative reflection of and counter-narrative to the pervasive under/misrepresentations of Blackness in mainstream media and popular culture.
Often incorporating a black and white "Chalkboard" aesthetic, which plays on concepts of learning and teaching, Friday identifies problematic perspectives and their origins, questions their legitimacy, and offers possible solutions in her work.
Friday's portfolio features large-scale works on paper, murals, video, ceramics, projections, photography, comic illustrations, and social practice/activism through curating.
Friday has exhibited extensively in her hometown of Miami, Florida, nationally and internationally. Most notably, her work was included as a part of “The Cartography Project” presented by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (2022), “Black Thought Anthology” curated by Octavia Yearwood and presented by Spinello Projects in Miami, Florida, (2020) and “ #WhoOwnsBlackArt?”, presented by Zeal Press at Muce 305, in Miami, Florida (2019).
Friday received a “The Ellies” Creator award from Oolite Arts (2021), The GMBCV People's Choice award for her work in Miami Beach's No Vacancy juried art show (2021) and residencies with Anderson Ranch Arts Center (2022), and the Visual Arts Residency at Chautauqua Institute (2019).
Friday is currently a resident studio artist at Oolite Arts in Miami, Florida and an adjunct professor at the New World School of the Arts.
Artist Lecture: Sept. 27, 6:00 p.m. @ AD120
Reception/Gallery Talk: Sept. 28, noon – 1:30p, Gallery Talk begins at 12:15 p.m. @ TNG
First Thursday Art Walk: Oct. 6, 5:00 – 7:30 @ TNG
November 7 – December 9
Amir Aghareb: The Sky Is [Still] Mine
Amir is a photographer, educator, and lifetime learner who grew up in Isfahan, Iran. He earned his MFA in Art with a concentration in Photography from Pennsylvania State University, after having explored Architectural Engineering and Materials Engineering. Amir has exhibited his photos nationally and internationally and has received numerous awards. His fine art and commercial architectural photos have been widely published. He has received photographic distinctions from international organizations, including the Royal Photographic Society (England), the International Federation of Photographic Art (Belgium), the Global Photographic Union, and the Photographic Society of America. He is the Professor of Photography in the Department of Art and Design at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee.
Amir enjoys taking carefully composed 2D conventional photographs as well as non-conventional work that pushes the usual definition of the medium. Illuminated encapsulated photographs in translucent cubic frames, laser-etched tea-toned cyanotypes of photographs taken by cellphone, heavily composited photographs that question the trustworthiness of a photograph, and works that occupy the space rather than just a part of the wall are examples of his work.
Amir’s recent work is about physical spaces; he explores the similarities and differences one is exposed to when being relocated. The work is also about finding peace, where one can extend their imagination and place themselves wherever they desire. It is about looking high above when surrounded by unfamiliarity. As the Persian poet Sohrâb Sepehrî said: “No matter where I am, the sky is [still] mine”.
First Thursday Art Walk: Nov. 3, 5:00 – 7:30 @ TNG *Exhibition Preview
Artist Lecture: Nov. 16, 6:00 p.m. @ AD120
Reception/Gallery Talk: Nov. 17, noon – 1:30 p.m., Gallery Talk begins at 12:15 p.m. @ TNG
Spring 2023
January 11 – February 10
Carl E. Moore: The Revolution Will Be Televised
Carl E. Moore's work deals with color and identity. His goal is to compare social
ideologies about race, stereotypes, and belief systems to everyday colors and the
perception of these colors in our environment.
"As part of my process," Moore states, "black has always been a color of identity
for Black people, Black American, African American, etc., just as White, for Caucasian
or those of European descent, and Brown for the South and Central American population.
The color black has always been perceived as negative, so I've taken the color black
and made it the narrative, and used it as part of the emotional conversation. The
goal is to make the dialogue more about the artwork and less about the color of the
characters, even though the characters are part of that narrative.
He uses media-based events as the primary theme of his work, reducing situations down
to their most basic narrative. He uses color and content to redefine the conversation
by developing a social connection between the characters and their environment. The
color becomes an important part of that dialogue, and the content becomes part of
the social statement.
"I consider my work to be a form of visual communication using simplicity and depth
to express social and ethical issues. I want to create a conversation between both
the personal and public by using color and composition to express mood, situation
and ideas. By placing people and objects in common and uncommon situations, it allows
me to deal with specific subjects from various perspectives."
Artist Lecture: Feb. 1, 6:00 p.m. @ AD120
Reception/Gallery Talk: Feb. 2, noon-1:30 p.m., Gallery Talk begins at 12:15 p.m. @ The New Gallery (TNG)
February 20 – March 24
Rick Griffith: Acuff Chair Exhibition
Rick Griffith is a graphic designer and master letterpress printer. His work is an
erudite exploration of language, history, politics, science, music, and ethics—typographically-focused
and relevant. He is known as a passionate advocate for design.
Rick was born and raised in Southeast London and immigrated to the U.S. in the late ‘80s. It was his early jobs at Washington D.C. record stores that turned him on to graphic design. It was a (short) freelance career on Madison Avenue which funded his first practice, RGD (Rick Griffith Design), and it is his love of design (and his partner Debra Johnson) which sustains the design practice MATTER, which, over the last two decades, has grown into an ambidextrous design consultancy, print shop, workshop, and retail bookstore.
As Design Director at MATTER, Rick works across all media for business, culture, and civic engagement with his partner and staff. MATTER’s broad range of clients includes restaurants, beverage manufacturers and distributors, politicians, universities, architects, engineers, arts venues, mimes, scientists, government agencies, and entrepreneurs.
An active participant in the Denver design community, Rick has served on the Board of Directors of Creative Music Works, Arthyve, and the Denver Art Museum’s Alliance for Contemporary Art. He was President of the American Institute of Graphic Arts Colorado Chapter from 1995 to 1998 and serves as an emeritus Commissioner of the Denver Commission for Cultural Affairs.
From his home in Denver or the creative atelier in Brooklyn, Rick travels the world as a visiting artist, lecturer, and educator— sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge with the next generation of designers—and contributing critical dialogue regarding graphic design as a broad discipline in the service of community and industry.
Rick’s work has been exhibited at Columbia College Center for Book, Paper, and Print, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Denver Art Museum. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the Denver Art Museum, the Tweed Museum of Art, and the Butler Library of Rare Books and Manuscripts at Columbia University. It has been celebrated by the Type Directors Club, Print Magazine, Dwell, and AIGA 50 Books | 50 Covers. Rick has designed and curated three exhibits on typography and letterpress printing and served as a curator and designer of exhibitions for AIGA National. He was inducted into the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences in 2001.
Rick’s true orientation is towards self-reliance, disruption, creative compassion, and independent thought. For most of us, life is long—for lots of reasons, we might begin to act like it.
Artist Lecture: TBD
Reception/Gallery Talk: TBD
April 5 – April 26
55th Annual Juried Student Exhibition, juror: Courtney Adair Johnson
This competitive juried show honors the Department of Art + Design's outstanding student
artists for their hard work and creativity. The show is professionally juried from
outside Austin Peay State University, emulating the practice of real-world art shows.
The exhibition showcases the array of artwork produced by students during the past
academic year and gives students the opportunity to participate in a professional
exhibition where a qualified juror selects artwork and artistic merit awards.
Courtney Adair Johnson is an artist and curator based in Nashville, TN. Her art practice works to create
sustainable community through reuse awareness. She is interested in creating new
ideas with art to generate awareness of our waste and consumption habits. Courtney
has led reuse projects with Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Tennessee Craft, and
Springboard for the Arts (Fergus Falls). She is presently Gallery Director of Tennessee
State University Art Department and Co-Builder of McGruder Social Practice Artist
Residency (M-SPAR).
Reception/Awards Night: April 26, 5 – 7:30p