No matter where humans live, they coexist with some version of nature. A new exhibition at the Penland Gallery presents work by three artists who reimagine the natural world and our relationships with it through sculpture, photography, and drawing. Titled “wild and precious life,” the exhibition runs through September 2 with an opening on Friday, June 23 from 4:30 to 6:30 PM.
It’s likely that every visitor to the gallery will be intrigued by Lisa A. Frank’s photographs from her series titled “Captive Splendor.” These images are digitally-rendered collages that place wild animals into beautiful rooms representing historic architectural styles. The animals were photographed by the artist in zoos around the country. The rooms are photographs of astonishing miniatures, like exquisitely detailed dollhouses, that are part of the Thorne Rooms Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. Frank has carefully combined the two sets of images to create impossible dioramas.
Kim Cridler makes metal sculptures that she describes as “inspired by the patterns of nature and the way objects can record and extend our lives.” Many of them are based on the forms of trees and vessels, often in combination. Her process involves joining together hundreds of small pieces of metal to create larger forms in the same way that many lines can make a drawing. “I work to create a sense of movement within still objects,” she explains.
Brooklyn-based artist Nancy Blum creates drawings, sculptures, and public art commissions. Her large-scale drawings in this show are based on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century botanical images. She creates intricate compositions that put together species that would not coexist in nature and also combine different drawing styles. Within a single image, some flowers are fully rendered in color, some are line drawings, and others are used as background patterns reminiscent of wallpaper.
By placing the work of these three artists in the same space, the Penland Gallery invites the viewer to explore worlds within worlds.
Also on view is a smaller exhibition of pieces made collaboratively by Swedish artist Tobias Birgersson and Asheville artist Andrew Hayes. The pieces combine forged and fabricated steel, paper, and books by Swedish authors. They are the result of an ongoing, long-distance friendship and artistic dialogue.
Newly installed outside the gallery are two brightly-colored, billboard-sized murals based on paper collages by artist Anne Lemanski.
The Penland Gallery also includes a sales gallery with work in many media by artists associated with Penland School of Craft and a room dedicated to the school’s history and programs. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It’s the first building on your right as you enter the Penland School campus, which is located on Conley Ridge Road just off of Penland Road in Mitchell County. For more information visit penland.org/gallery or call 828-765-6211.
Photo: Kim Cridler, Felled Mulberry, steel, beeswax, 71 x 18 x 21 inches
Penland School of Craft is a national center for craft education dedicated to the creative life. Located in Western North Carolina, Penland offers workshops in books and paper, clay, drawing and painting, glass, iron, metals, printmaking and letterpress, photography, textiles, and wood. The school also provides artists’ residencies, an outreach program, and a gallery and visitors center. Penland is a nonprofit, tax-exempt institution that receives support from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resource. More information at penland.org.
