• As frequently seems to happen here, some of the most interesting recent exhibitions have been found in venues other than the galleries: Hannah Dansie’s work at the Clingman Cafe utilized vintage fabric and stitching as a surface for mysterious images, and Lou Majors showed big, colorful, abstract paintings at Ananda Hair Studio.
• OK, it’s a long drive to Durham, but the brand spanking new Nasher Museum on the Duke campus is well worth the time and the gas. Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China features really innovative and ambitious works by 60 Chinese artists. P.S.: If you don’t mind the crowds and want something more familiar, you can extend your trip to Raleigh and catch the Monet collection.
• Speaking of ambitious, Davidson College’s Van Every/Smith Galleries, the Clemson Architecture Center, the College of Charleston, the College of Architecture at UNCC, Winthrop University, and the McCall Center for Visual Arts have partnered to bring installations from 10 Japanese artists to their venues. The collective title for the exhibitions is Force of Nature.
• Biltmore Avenue offers an interesting contrast in the way artists approach the landscape. Color rushes headlong across the canvas in Tim Jacobs’s oils at the Arts Council’s Board Room Gallery, while the skies in Larry Gray’s paintings at Haen sit in ominous stillness.
• Big news in Cherokee! The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has established a program in conjunction with Southwestern Community College and Western Carolina University to offer an associates degree in the fine arts with a focus on Native American art, beginning with the spring 2007 semester. On a related note, The Arts and Heritage Gallery at the Grove Arcade has an exhibition of traditional Cherokee works by contemporary Cherokee artists in many media, sponsored by the Eastern Band and Harrah’s.
