“Anthology: Visual Narratives from Nashville’s Print Community” Conte Community Arts Gallery;
November 6, 2015–February 7, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (October 14, 2015)—Featuring 24 artists from the Nashville area, Anthology: Visual Narratives from Nashville’s Print Community will be on view in the Frist Center’s Conte Community Arts Gallery from November 6, 2015, through February 7, 2016 and is free to the public. This juried exhibition celebrates Nashville’s small presses and artists who use printing techniques in artistically significant ways to tell stories.
Anthology features a diverse selection of works, including etchings, graphic novels, illustrated posters and poems, all of which speak to the heart of Nashville’s culture. “The Nashville area is home to some terrific graphic artists who work with a wide range of ideas and sensibilities,” says Frist Center Chief Curator Mark Scala. “Nashville, of course, is also a publishing center, and a world center of music—it’s all about the aesthetics of communication, storytelling, understanding ourselves through shared narrative.”
While local artists take center stage in Anthology, the themes of the artworks are by no means restricted to geographic boundaries. The subject matter ranges from the playful, as in Leslie Haines’s humorous representation of the English alphabet in Animal Abecedary (S is for Slug, C is for Cat) (2014), to more intimate narratives such as Jana Harper’s project Joie’s Story (2013), inspired by memories of her mother. The exhibition also includes mixed-media works like Cynthia Marsh’s Katika Afrika (2012–13), which employs digital printing, wood type, and found woodland debris to chronicle of a three-week art-making adventure in East Africa.
The jury selection process for Anthology began in May when book artists, print makers and printers within a 55-mile radius of Nashville were invited to submit up to three works of art. By the deadline, the Frist Center received 162 works. The entries were then reviewed by a three-person jury: Katie Baldwin, assistant professor of book arts and printmaking from the University of Alabama in Huntsville; Liz Coleman, reference librarian and galleries coordinator from Nashville Public Library; and Mark Scala. The artists were assigned aliases to ensure anonymity.
“The work submitted used many different mediums. An image created completely digitally could be just as difficult to create and take just as long as a work created in the traditional printmaking style” says Katie Baldwin, who studied book- and printmaking in her academic career and was formally trained in traditional Japanese woodblock printing. While the judges noted the submitted works’ remarkable diversity, they were also looking for creativity, originality, and potential appeal to gallery visitors.
Artists in the Exhibition
Mika Agari
LX Aguirre
Celene Aubry
Dan Brawner
Nancy Cooley
Leslie Haines
Jana Harper
Jennifer Haston
Nick Hay
Mark Hosford
Amber Lelli
Alysha Irisari Malo
Cynthia Marsh
Ashley Moore
Heather Moulder
Kathleen O’Connell
Meghan O’Connor
Laird Ogden
Johnny Lee Park
Lesley Patterson-Marx
Jerry Bedor Phillips
Zack Rafuls
Nick Satinover
Robin Schlacter
Sponsor Acknowledgment
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is supported in part by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Buddy Kite: 615.744.3351, ”
Ellen Jones Pryor: 615.243.1311, ”
High-Resolution Images Available
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About the Frist Center
Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art exhibition center dedicated to presenting and originating high-quality exhibitions with related educational programs and community outreach activities. Located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville, Tenn., the Frist Center offers the finest visual art from local, regional, national, and international sources in a program of changing exhibitions that inspire people through art to look at their world in new ways. The Frist Center’s Martin ArtQuest Gallery features interactive stations relating to Frist Center exhibitions. Information on accessibility may be found at fristcenter.org/accessibility. Gallery admission is free for visitors 18 and younger and to members; $12 for adults; $9 for seniors and college students with ID; and $7 for active military. College students are admitted free Thursday and Friday evenings (with the exception of Frist Fridays), 5:00–9:00 p.m. Discounts are offered for groups of 10 or more with advance reservation by calling 615.744.3247. The galleries, Café, and Gift Shop are open seven days a week: Mondays through Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.; and Sundays, 1:00–5:30 p.m., with the Café opening at noon. Additional information is available by calling 615.244.3340 or by visiting fristcenter.org.
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