• Have you seen the new gallery at the airport? Arnold Wengrow reports that he viewed the work—mostly by UNCA students—on his way to London recently. He offers this astounding endorsement: “I saw the graduate show at the Royal Academy of Arts and was struck by how much better trained the UNCA students appear to be, and how accomplished and original their work seems by comparison to the RCA students.”
• Kevin Palme’s work in the Color show at the Asheville Area Arts Council’s Front Gallery may not reproduce well, but it’s really nice to see in person. Melissa Smith has some interesting pieces in the tiny Back Gallery there. Her statement says that she begins with paint on her feet and dances on her surface, then goes back into the work to highlight certain forms and rhythms.
• Julyan Davis’ landscapes at Blue Spiral are filled with sparkling water and vibrant light—but his two life-sized portraits in the back of the gallery are knockouts.
• No matter what you think of Lou Majors’ work, you gotta love his Web site: Check it out at www.art.net/studios/lou
• Seems that botany is “in” this summer. Ann Vasilik is exhibiting plants from around the world at the new Baker Exhibit Center at The North Carolina Arboretum; Dale Morgan and Miriam Sagasti are in an exhibit at Gallery 86 in Waynesville called From Petals to Paper: a Botanical Experience; and Peter Loewer will be teaching a class called “Nature’s Notebook: A Course in Botanical Art,” also at the Arboretum.
• BookWorks Studio in West Asheville continues to present interesting exhibits and great classes. Remember how your mom warned you to be careful with that new book? Few things cause more trauma for a 6-year-old than that torn page in the pop-up book. You can relive that guilt by seeing BiblioKinetics: The Pop-Up Artists Books of Shawn Sheehy. The show is up through Aug. 11.
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