spotlight
HOMEGROWN,
an exhibition celebrating Southern rural design, is currently on display at Track 13 Gallery at Cummins Station.
Curated by husband and wife team Melissa and Matt Alexander and Brian Jobe, this exhibit draws from local natural resources, culture, and history. Featured artists whose 3-D works and installations make up this dynamic and diverse exhibition include: Abigail Newbold, Borough Furnace, Brown and Green, Cheryl Baxter, Christopher Stuart,
Gabriel Hargrove, HollerDesign, Mark Moskovitz, Repurposed Goods, TLAAG, Travis Ekmark, Urban, and Land Scouts. HollerDesign’s Farm Bench featured at the show is made from reclaimed barn wood, while a juxtaposition of glossy red-orange lacquer lends a contemporary feel. The jaunty form and oversized leveling feet give the bench a functional yet whimsical appeal. “Our work is not simply a romanticized view of Southern objects, but a reinterpretation and recreation based on both our unique design sensibilities and the economies of contemporary manufacturing. Our objects exhibit a “love of making,” retain a subsequent intrinsic value, and utilize a production process that is inherently sustainable, but which is grounded more in the tradition of craft than in the ‘green-washing’ of current systems of manufacturing.” HOMEGROWN is currently on view at Track 13 Gallery at Cummins Station, 209 10th Avenue South, Nashville, Tennessee, through July 15, 2011. www. homegrownshow.org
l’Eté du Vin Stomping Grapes to Stomp Out Cancer The country’s oldest charity wine auction continues to unite the wine community in the fight against cancer. On July 16 at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel, l’Eté du Vin presents “Nashville Crush.” The evening begins with the “First Crush” Wine Tasting, an event designed for the novice wine enthusiast as well as the experienced collector to learn about the wines directly from the vintners. This year the featured wines include Krug, Newton, Numanthia, and Cloudy Bay. The Silent Auction immediately follows and offers wines from local cellars and wineries around the globe as well as other highly desirable non-wine items. Afterwards is the “Nashville Crush” which includes dinner and a Live Auction that combines wonderful wine lots with fantastic trips and wine dinners throughout the South. Finally, the evening concludes (or, for some, begins) with the “Late Night Crush” with great music, more wine tasting, and informal educating, all in support of research for cures for cancer. Tickets may be purchased for the entire evening as well as for individual events. Keep an eye on their website for exciting new events throughout the year. www.nashvillewineauction.com
Bryant Gallery, located in the bustling Five Points of East Nashville, recently opened its doors with a local artist exhibit. The inaugural reception brought roughly six hundred supporters to the East Nashville showcase. Owner Bill Brimm’s addition to the close-knit arts community could not have come at a better time. Brimm shared that he hopes Bryant Gallery “will become more of a destination stop for people” witnessing the blossoming artistry in the Five Points area. Nashville artist Lena Lucas is one of several featured artists currently on view at the gallery. Lucas’s sculptures are made with clay, steel, acrylic, and ceramic, to create three-dimensional spaces that weld artifacts with objects of the future. Her sculptures enliven the spaces and settings around them. Several pieces are part of an ongoing display at Bryant Gallery. Bryant Gallery is located at 1113 Woodland Street. Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, visit Bryant Gallery’s Facebook page.
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designed using cotton and rayon fabrics, but clients who were attracted to the European influence in her designs began asking for more luxurious and distinctive fabrics that couldn’t be found in Memphis. In the days before the computer and the internet it wasn’t easy to access materials far from home, so Lisa spent a year researching and experimenting with dyes and materials to create her own hand-painted fabrics in silk and velvet. Her greatest inspiration was the silk velvet of early-twentieth-century Venetian designer Mariano Fortuny, which she discovered in a haute couture Memphis boutique. To produce the fabrics that go exclusively into her private collection, Lisa begins by stretching white silk over a frame. Her trademark rich colors are critical, and she has a room dedicated to just mixing dyes. To achieve the vibrant patterns and textures that make each piece a multidimensional work of art, she hand paints the silk in layers using a mixture of techniques from painting on wet or dry fabric to mixing salt crystals with French dye to make the colors burst in the drying process. She doesn’t reveal all her secrets, probably because she is constantly innovating, and she also allows that her work is so labor intensive that most people wouldn’t copy her even if they knew how. It can take her a week or months to complete a silk which she paints in one- to two-yard pieces. Much of that time is spent considering her vision for the piece. The result is a tapestry that might grace a European museum. I marveled at Lisa’s unassuming manner as she casually shared her designs, calling up one after another like they were no huge deal. She’s done this for so long that she doesn’t seem to realize that we hopeful mortals might take years of classes to learn just a smidgen of what she knows and then never figure out what to do with it anyway. One of Lisa’s most popular items she calls a leaf scarf. It’s a six- or nine-foot accessory of surged strips of silk velvet knotted together with pieces of fabric attached to create the look of leaves on a vine. It is wrapped around the neck in layers and is both a necklace and a scarf. If I could have one accessory in the world, this would be it. No one would look past that to see anything else I was wearing. I could be naked, and no one would even notice. Her relaxed demeanor is very sweet, and it makes shopping with her delightful. Although she spends some time on the road showing at galleries and art fairs and doing trunk shows to accommodate her Memphis clientele, it just takes a phone call or e-mail to peruse the exclusive offerings in her Nashville digs. For those who like shopping at home or with friends, Lisa will provide a trunk show for any size gathering. www.lisamergen.com
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Photo: Anthony Scarlati
photography
JReeder osh
There are weddings, and then there are Indian weddings. This is something that I learned after shooting my first Indian wedding a few weeks back. With most Indian weddings, a specialized Indian wedding photographer is hired since they are familiar with the meaning and progression of events. Nikita (the bride) had a love for art and wanted a photojournalistic approach for her wedding photos. As she began to explain some of the customs and traditions I started to realize this would be much more than I had expected. I explained to her that as a photojournalist I would be engaged the entire time, and anything and everything that happened would be photographed and not to worry. It was more strenuous than I had imagined, for I ended up shooting 11,877 images in a little more than a weekend. In my estimation, the scope and planning of the event was equal to at least five American weddings if not ten. Nikita spent six weeks in India planning and designing the wedding, which included having two different stage sets made and flown back to the States, one for the wedding day and one for the reception day. She had to have two different sets of ornate invitations designed, one for the bride’s guests and the other for the groom’s. As is customary, she had approximately one hundred saris (traditional Indian dress) made to give as gifts to the women in her new family. Nikita had three different gowns made for herself, each with its
own array of amazingly ornate jewelry. I was present for at least three complete meals for the five hundred guests, but there were many more meals catered on the days leading up to and following the wedding. The countless traditions and rituals were really the thing that surprised me. There were many comedic Indian wedding traditions, like the groom’s sisters not letting the bride and groom leave the wedding while they stood in front of the car demanding payment to move, and these negotiations went on for about thirty minutes. Even after the bride and groom left the wedding, they immediately returned for an hour of games played only by the bride and groom while others watched—one of which was trying to knot their gowns together so tight the other could not undo it.
The food, colors, rituals, traditions, and cultural tendencies are so far from anything American that even one’s imagination pales next to the actual experience. I could write a book, as I am sure has been done, telling about all of the blessings and rituals and their meanings as well as all of my new experiences, but to see them all back to back over the course of four days leaves one feeling dazed, inspired, and very much alive. Photos will have to pick up where words leave off. Josh Reeder is a Nashville-based photographer specializing in wedding photography and documentary projects, including destination and travel photography. His unique vision and photojournalistic skills make him one of the most sought-after wedding photographers in Nashville. Reeder has traveled to more than ten countries on four continents to capture people and their surroundings. View more photos from this wedding at joshreeder.com
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During the Jaan Agman the groom and his family arrive at the wedding. After the groom gets off his horse, he dances in the streets with his family as they make their way to the wedding.
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During the Jaan Agman the groom and his family arrive at the wedding with the groom riding on horseback. The clay pot is an important part of the entire wedding process. The jewelry on the bride’s hands is called the hathphool, literally meaning “hand flower.” Originally the hathphool consisted of five rings, and each ring represented the strength of a specific goddess which a bride could call on at any time in order to protect her family.
The father of the bride is blessed by the priest during the Griha Shanti. 36 | July 2O11 | NashvilleArts.com
The bride dressed up for the reception party. Flowers are used as an offering to gods and goddesses during any religious ceremony.
The groom holds a coconut held in a clay pot up to the bride’s forehead as they receive blessings from the gods
Here the bride to be is dipping her ring finger on her right hand in red powder (kum-kum) to put on the pictures of Hindu gods/goddesses. The kum-kum is a type of make-up for Hindu gods and is applied in all rituals.
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Arden von Haeger by Beth Raebeck Hall
A
rden von Haeger knows who he is. Well grounded, he is as sage as
Yet his work is an explosion of evolving color and motion. When showing and talking about his work, he exudes a childlike excitement. There’s no question this artist’s dial is set to happy. Von Haeger and his work are in complete synchronicity. Palpable energy radiates from each. Yoda.
At the top of his game, this guy rolls in the big leagues. He’s the go-to guy for clients such as Mercedes Benz, Microsoft, the NFL, McDonald’s, and the New York City Opera, to name just a few. Von Haeger’s work is sheer fabulosity. Each piece makes a bold statement, drawing the viewer into his intricate web of vibrant colors set against incredible precision. Both von Haeger and his work have been recognized with numerous awards from the New York Society of Illustrators, the National Advertising Federation, and Art Directors clubs of New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and St. Louis.
Photo: Bob Schatz
A graduate of the prestigious Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where he studied under Austrian artist Henry Koerner and painter Flavia Zortea, von Haeger is a study in form and illusion himself. The striking art nouveau book covers lining his first-floor den make you wonder if a typewriter will begin clacking away in the background, overlaid with a Sam Spade narration. Pennies from Heaven, one such cover, harkens back to the age of hot jazz and fast women. Patio Romance leaves you pondering who will die next. Or is he channeling a bit of Hemingway or Faulkner? The art beckons with anonymous danger, yet sucks you in like a hookah’s sweet taste of opium. It’s the Yoda thing. Currently, von Haeger’s choice of medium is pastels on sandpaper. Artists and corporations revere von Haeger for his distinctive signature style. A very deliberate artist, he believes negative space is equally as important as positive space. Everything is intricately deliberate—color, shapes, and figures—with no hard edges. All colors are rubbed in by hand, creating a seamless dimension in his work.
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right :
Elm Street, Pastel on sandpaper, 11” x 14”
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ruce B Matthews A lot of artists will get a look and stick with it throughout their career because of the security. I never let the market dictate what I do. I’ve been exploring all my career.
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above :
Broken Promises, Oil on canvas, 24” x 48”
top right :
Deconstruction,
Oil on canvas, 40” x 34”
By Deborah Walden
H
e is a tall and lanky gentleman, standing head and shoulders above
Bruce speaks in a soft, slow voice. He pauses often for reflection. When he talks his eyes dance. They sparkle with kindness and a hint of mischief. He describes his decision to become an artist in tones that evoke images of
Photo: Anthony Scarlati
I don’t want to give the impression that Bruce is an image-obsessed hipster of the variety that descends on Nashville like the ill-fated cicada. He is just the opposite, I promise. Part of the magic of Bruce Matthews is his shining authenticity. He has more authenticity in his little finger than you or I have ever imagined having—even in our most Johnny Cash-inspired daydreams of impossible coolness. Bruce insists, “Being an artist is the number one thing I’ve got in my life, and not because it’s cool,” to which he humbly adds, “I invented bedhead.”
Photo: Anthony Scarlati
everyone around him. His smiling eyes and gaunt face make him appear something like a mix between David Bowie and an elf from the Lord of the Rings. Glam rock and Tolkien are not too far off the mark. Bruce Matthews’ slow swagger and ruffled hair have something of a rock-star quality, and I am convinced that, at least in mind, he hails from another world to which we ordinary humans have no access.
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below :
Photo: Anthony Scarlati
Being an artist is the number one thing I’ve got in my life, and not because it’s cool,” to which he humbly adds, “I invented bedhead.
right :
Hoping for Resolution, Oil on canvas, 30” x 40”
right :
For the Love of Money, Oil on canvas, 68” x 46”
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Bell Gate, Oil on canvas, 54” x 48”
right : below :
Lazy Afternoon, Oil on canvas 7’ x 12’
Sharing No Secrets, Oil on canvas, 36” x 24”
below right :
End of Day, Oil on canvas, 40” x 30”
bottom :
Prime Time, Oil on canvas, 40” x 30”
religious conversion. “Nineteen eighty-seven is when I dedicated my life to being a painter,” he says solemnly, as if he had walked down the aisle for baptism after a sermon. His career of twenty-four years has taught Bruce that his choice to be a painter did not come without sacrifice. The financial and personal ups and downs of an artist’s life are not for the faint of heart. “It’s the most insane way to make a living you can imagine. The life of an artist can be very insecure, and it can be very gratifying.” Fortunately, Bruce’s natural calm and love for life offer an attractive safety net for his passion. He smiles, “I have a great deal of serenity. You’ve heard of ‘stop and smell the roses’? Well, I never pass up a rose.” Looking at a Bruce Matthews painting, one can only hope that the artist is the kind of guy who will stop and smell the roses. The sophistication and adept handling of his medium suggest an expert hand. Bruce’s colorful canvases depict languishing nudes, bold slices of color, and cold mechanical elements. If one imagined the artist responsible for these technical masterpieces, one could easily envision a pretentious academic or a know-it-all disciple of contemporary art. What you actually get with Bruce Matthews is a humble student of his craft—a man willing to sacrifice luxury and celebrity to live by his own code. Bruce relates, “If I had done only what was marketable, I wouldn’t have what I have today. A lot of artists will get a look and stick with it throughout their career because of the security. What I’ve done is not let the market dictate what I do. I’ve been exploring all my career.” His offbeat nature is pleasantly out of step with a market consumed with status and fame. Many art lovers in Nashville live completely unaware of his work (I used to be one of them) because Bruce has no website, no galleries, and no real concern with self-promotion. He lives in a house he built with his own NashvilleArts.com | July 2O11 | 63 NashvilleArts.com | July 2O11 | 63
below :
My Soul to Keep, Oil on canvas, 36” x 48”
two hands, and he camped in a tent in the woods while constructing it. That kind of rugged, earthy will to be one’s own person is the sort of story we all crave to hear but find very rarely, if ever. Bruce’s style has numerous manifestations, in part because of his effortless ability to paint what he sees. “I’ve got this photographic memory,” he shrugs. His works have moved fluidly from surrealist tableaus to trompe l’oeil collages. His current paintings incorporate haunting landscapes with figural compositions and patches of expressionist color. Bruce’s complex collages are the result of a happy accident: “I was bored with a landscape and started to paint over it. I liked the way it looked.” A self-taught artist, Bruce has immersed himself in the language of expression and the vocabulary of pure form. He speaks expertly about the many components of a painting that come together for its overall visual effect. Describing a landscape mural, he says, “I wanted you to come into the painting, to pull you in, and that’s done with composition and color. With contours and mindful composition—like a whirlpool effect.” He makes a circular gesture with his finger, suggesting the hypnotic pull of the painting’s organization. Bruce’s understanding of the internal dynamics of a painting results from his insightful observation of the world around him. He explains, “My parents would paint when I was very young. My mother taught me how to see things. I have had a lifelong experience of looking at things.”
One might ask, haven’t we all? But Bruce doesn’t see the world like the rest of us. He notices the delicate lines that form the shape of a tree, the bold arches that describe the human form, and the pure poetry of experience. He relates, “As long as I’m working and painting, new things happen—like the sunset a few days ago. It was so exciting!” It’s difficult to convey the spontaneity and depth of a person like Bruce Matthews. He marches to the beat of his own drum. I asked him once if he had ever worked any unusual jobs to support his career as a painter. He simply replied that his gift with carpentry had spared him from anything too extraordinary—only to recall later that he had once worked as a leopard keeper. He is just that kind of person—the kind for whom tending to jungle cats as a side job seems perfectly ordinary. As if to further illustrate his character, he once became trapped inside a cage with a leopard only to find that it curled around him like a kitten. He has that effect on animals. He has tamed untrainable horses, and stray dogs try to follow him home. They seem to pick up on something in his spirit. That same familiar quality becomes readily apparent to anyone who has enjoyed the pleasure of meeting Bruce, and, I think, it shines brightly in his mysterious and inviting paintings. It has been my honor to introduce to you Bruce Matthews— painter, storyteller, animal charmer extraordinaire. For more information about Bruce Matthews’ work, you can email him at bmatthews@att.net.
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anything goes
Sheryl Spencer Teacher, Artist, Art Scene Regular When and where are you happiest?
At home, in my loft, with my fiancé, Al, who has brightened my life. What do you most value in your friends?
Positive people who like to have a good time, and their ability to not judge me and to appreciate my sense of whimsy and my creative nature. What was the last book you read?
Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger. I’m addicted to chick lit. What word or phrase do you most overuse?
“Awesome sauce.” I use it in the classroom, and now I hear my students say it. What historical figure do you most identify with?
Andy Warhol. I love how he integrated all the elements of what he loved and created this weird persona, and everybody connected with it. Who is your favorite artist? Photos: Hunter Armistead
Norris Hall, a local artist who has the most whimsical, cartoony figures that I just love. And Roy Lichtenstein. What is the best movie you’ve seen recently?
Loved Black Swan. I’m a big Darren Aronofsky fan. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A third-generation Nashville native, Sheryl is a part-time caricature artist
In my wildest dreams, I’d like to found a children’s museum in Nashville. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Get in touch with my inner diva more. I’d like to be more like Martha Stewart or Oprah Winfrey with more ambition and go-get-em spirit. I have it, but I don’t express it as much.
and a full-time teacher since 2000. She’s also looking forward to incorporating Art Therapy within the classroom via her recent Special Education certification from Cumberland University. When she’s not teaching or enjoying the local art scene, she’s either creating her own fine art or Tumblr blogging about her off time as an amateur socialite/foodie/fashionista/ decorator/hiker/pop culturalist. Her art can be viewed at www.flickr.com/
What’s your motto, your mantra?
photos/sherylspencer.
Life is like a giant buffet. Savor every flavor, sample every bite.
How do you keep your art fresh?
Who has most inspired you?
I get so many ideas and get so inspired going to art shows. I am a pop culture junkie, so reality shows and different blogs—all that comes into my art as well.
My grandmother, Clara Hill, who is turning 98 soon. She’s amazing. I’d like to be more like her and have more of her drive and ambition.
What characteristic do you most like about yourself? What talent would you most like to have?
I would love to sing and be a pop star like Lady Gaga or Gwen Stefani. So instead, Karaoke is my guilty pleasure. I’m a beast up there.
My positive and cheerful disposition. I used to be nicknamed Sunshine for this very reason. What’s your greatest extravagance?
A day of relaxing at the spa every once in a while.
What’s your most treasured possession?
My creative spirit. It has made my life happier, zestier. Do you have any phobias? Why Nashville?
I’m so planted here in the soil and in the spirit of the city I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
If I see someone biting their nails, my skin just crawls. And the woods in the dark freak me out! It takes me back to that movie The Blair Witch Project.
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interview
Classic Traditions & Emerging Trends
Alcott Interiors owner Carolyn Kendall on Interior Design by Tanner Roarty Photography by Bob Schatz
When I arrived at the Alcott Interiors shop to speak with the owner, Carolyn Kendall, I instantly took notice of the shop’s inviting elements such as the tea-stained walls, antique rugs and furnishings, and more subtle pieces like the porcelain and artwork. We sat down at a farm table surrounded by vintage chairs to discuss how she balances traditional elements with emerging trends in interior design.
Q: Your work seems to be very versatile and derived from
Q: What aspects of design do you try to incorporate into
many different styles. Is there any style in particular that
your work, no matter the style of the project?
you specialize in?
A: The overall unified composition of a room is important, no matter the style of the house. Scale, color, and texture are key, and the high principles of design are universal to any style.
A: Although our showroom leans toward a fresh, traditional mix, our clients’ homes are all different and uniquely designed to reflect the individual client. It is very important to me that I create interiors that speak to the client, and also to have beautiful rooms and furnishings composed in an artful, elegant, and well thought way.
Q: Based on what you are seeing in the design industry, what are the current popular trends in interior design?
A: Some of the trends in materials we are experiencing are
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“It is very important to me that I create interiors that speak to the client, and also to have beautiful rooms and furnishings composed in an artful, elegant, and well thought way.” that wallpaper is back in, as well as textured fabrics, stains, and glazes on walls and ceilings. We are also seeing much more interest in ceiling finishes and details. To contrast, we are seeing heavy drapery and heavy patterns being replaced with the restraint of elegantly textured and geometric fabrics.
prominent influence on your current work?
A: I have been heavily influenced by all of the places I have lived, be it Southern California, Historic Charleston, or Nashville—all have created a strong eclectic feel in my design. The coastal beaches of California lend a fresh elegance, while the strong European and historical influences of Charleston bring a richness to our classic look.
Q: I understand you have had your own design firm here in Nashville for sixteen years and began your work in Southern
Q: How do you balance your clients’ requests with your own
California.
expertise as a designer?
Do you think your experience there has had a
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Photo: Sheri ONeal Photo: Anthony Scarlati
Chasing the Golden Mean
The Architecture of Brad Norris by Currie Alexander Powers
Mies van der Rohe, the pioneer of modern architecture, said, “Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins.” Of course the sum of a building is more than two bricks. It is the alchemy of technology and soul. It is a balance of beauty, a golden mean of symmetry, proportion, and harmony.
Nashville architect Brad Norris believes in that balance, where science meets art, form meets function. When he is executing the hard elements of design—where walls and windows will go—he has faith that something beautiful will come of it. Architecture to him is much more than the mathematics of space. He doesn’t imagine an empty structure when he designs a house—he sees the people who will be living in it.
Born in Huntsville, Alabama, home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Norris spent his childhood where spaceships weren’t dreams but reality, and pushing the envelope of science was a daily occurrence. It’s not surprising that being around “really smart people” prompted him toward pursuits more intellectual than baseball and bicycles. Norris designed his first house at age ten when his parents were debating buying a new house or building one from
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