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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