Category Archives: Visual Art

FREE Admission to ROTHKO exhibit at Ark Arts Center through Dec 31

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No. 8, 1949
Oil and mixed media on canvas
90 x 66 in.
The National Gallery of Art, Washington
Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1986.43.147
©1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko /Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington

In the spirit of giving, the Arkansas Arts Center is offering FREE admission to Mark Rothko in the 1940s: The Decisive Decade through Tuesday, December 31.

Mark Rothko in the 1940s: The Decisive Decade is the first exhibition and catalogue to reevaluate Rothko’s work in the context of his thoughts about art from the period. The exhibition brings to light many works not seen before by scholars or the public and highlights a period of his career that is often overlooked.

The 1940s was a decade of tremendous change for the world, for Western art, for New York City’s place in the art world and for Mark Rothko (1903-1970). The most important result was the formation of what became known as The New York School, a collection of artists working in a nexus of artistic approaches, the best known of which were Gesturalism, or Abstract Expressionism and Color Field. What most members of this group shared was a faith in the power of art effectively to address the pressing historical problems of their era writ large in the movies, news reports, and photographs of the war and its uncertain aftermath.

One of the major members of the New York School was Mark Rothko, the most important of the School’s Color Field wing. For Rothko, like many of his colleagues, the 1940s was the critical decade for his development. Mark Rothko in the 1940s is an examination into the artistic maturation—a decade of searching and rapid evolution– of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century that deserves not only closer attention but also a re-evaluation.

Mark Rothko in the 1940s will be the first exhibition and catalogue to reevaluate this work in the context of Rothko’s thoughts about art from the period. Mark Rothko in the 1940s will bring to light many works not seen before by scholars or the public and highlight a period of his career that is often overlooked.

Mark Rothko in the 1940s: The Decisive Decade is organized by the Arkansas Arts Center, the Columbia Museum of art, the Columbus Museum of Art and the Denver Art Museum, in conjunction with the National Gallery of Art, Washington. The exhibition is funded in part by the Dedalus Foundation and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. It is sponsored locally by Harriet and Warren Stephens; Chucki and Curt Bradbury; The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston; Mary Ellen and Jason Vangilder and the Capital Hotel.

Arkansas Arts Center presents the 45th Collectors Show and Sale

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Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, (French, Paris, France, 1796 – 1875, Paris, France), Vue de Paris prise d’Arcueil (View of Paris from the North-East), circa 1830-1835, graphite, watercolor and gouache, pencil on paper, Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection: Purchase, Tabriz Fund and Collectors Group Fund. 2013.003

“Art enthusiasts, new collectors, and seasoned buyers will be delighted to see what we have in store for this year’s sale that features a range of unique works,” said Arkansas Arts Center executive director Todd Herman. “This is an excellent opportunity for new and veteran collectors to add a treasure that was hand-selected with great consideration by the Arkansas Arts Center curators and myself.”

The annual Collectors Show and Sale is an Arkansas Arts Center tradition that brings the New York gallery scene to Little Rock. Arkansas Arts Center Executive Director Todd Herman and curators select the best in drawings and contemporary craft from New York galleries. All works are for sale and vary in price from $400 to in excess of $80,000. The exhibition includes works-on-paper such as drawings, prints, and photographs, as well as examples of contemporary craft in wood and ceramic.

Celebrating its forty-fifth year, the Collectors Show and Sale remains one of the longest running and most popular exhibitions organized by the Arkansas Arts Center. This past September, Arts Center curators and members of the Collectors Group ventured to New York City to select the work for the exhibition. Over the course of three days, the group visited over a dozen galleries and viewed about 1,000 works of art – ultimately narrowing the selection to the 150 or so works in the exhibition.

The Collectors Group, an auxiliary membership of the Arkansas Arts Center, offers its members exclusive programs and events to increase their appreciation of art and the field of collecting. Equally important, the group supports the collecting activities of the Arts Center. At their “Sneak Peek” reception before the exhibition opening, members of the Collectors Group will be able to cast their vote for a work to be acquired in their name for the Arts Center’s collection.

Through the Collectors Show and Sale, the Arkansas Arts Center affords veteran collectors the opportunity to add new works to their collections while inspiring new collectors to enter the field. For more information about the Collectors Group or to join, please visit www.arkansasartscenter.org or call Sharon Howell at (501) 396-0303.

Thanksgiving Week Sculpture Vulture: Sierra

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20121104-083039.jpgWith Thanksgiving later this week, today’s Sculpture Vulture focuses on one of sculpture which highlights items from a harvest which might appear in a Thanksgiving meal.  The sculpture, Sierra, was installed in the summer of 2012. Wayne Salge’s piece celebrates the gifts of women.

The sculpture depicts a stylized woman carrying an urn, several bottles and some fruit. It stands 9 feet and three inches tall and is cast in bronze.

The sculpture stands at the southeast corner of the intersection of 2nd Street and River Market Avenue. It was donated by Everett Tucker III in honor of Rebecca Bost Tucker, Michael Hickerson in honor of Meredith Berry Hickerson, Doyle “Rog” Rogers in honor of Carolyn Wilmans Rogers, Mack and Franklin McLarty in honor of Donna Cochran McLarty, and the Dolphin-Laser Swim team in honor of Mary Grace Tucker.

Salge sculpting SIERRA

Salge sculpting SIERRA

When Salge is creating art, he says that he attempts to emphasize both contemporary and classic design elements: line, space, texture and color reflected by intricate patinas. His abstracted human and animal figures are then cast in small limited editions. Bronze is the ideal medium to continue this melding of old and new with his signature style resulting in the expression of attitude or emotion.

Born and raised in San Antonio, he has also lived in Massachusetts, Washington DC and Denver.  He now resides and creates art in Johnstown, CO.  In the late 1960s, he was stationed in Vietnam.  He has studied at San Antonio College, La Villita School of Art and various sculpture workshops.

Over the years, Salge has had a variety of professions including: Television art director, Army illustrator, Advertising agency art director, Freelance graphic designer and illustrator, Painter (oils and acrylics) and Sculptor (stone and bronze).

Artists’ Self Portraits the Focus of Exhibit at Arkansas Arts Center

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Ian Ingram, (American, Atlanta, Georgia, 1974 – ), Easter Island, 2011, charcoal, pastel, silver leaf on paper, 82 1/2 in. x 51 in., Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection: Purchased with a gift from Jackye and Curtis Finch, Jr., in honor of Helen Porter and James T. Dyke

This exhibition is organized by the Arkansas Arts Center and sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Merritt Dyke and Metropolitan National Bank. The surface quirks and deeper truths of the self emerge in the self-portrait, these are the subjects of the exhibition Face to Face. The artist invites the viewer to share what he or she has discovered in the mirror, and far more.

Long-time Arkansas Arts Center supporters Jackye and Curtis Finch, Jr., are fascinated by these visual exposes. They are engaged in assembling one of America’s great collections of graphic self-portraiture, which they are gradually transferring to the Arkansas Arts Center. Their keen portrait collecting eyes search for works from across America and Europe, and throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. From the walls of New York galleries to the back alleys of Budapest, the Finches find amazing revelations of individuals.

Guest Curator Brad Cushman of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has assembled these striking self-images into pairs, encouraging contemplation of what unites and divides each pairing. In bringing the works together, he allows us to explore both what is universally human and what is utterly individual.

This exhibition is sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Merritt Dyke and Metropolitan National Bank.

It runs through February 9, 2014 at the Arkansas Arts Center.

Sculpture Vulture: Korean War Memorial Plaza

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In honor of Veteran’s Day taking place this month, the Sculpture Vulture today features the Korean War Monument in MacArthur Park.

The Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated on June 25, 2007, the 57th anniversary date of the beginning of the Korean War.  Located in MacArthur Park, the Memorial Plaza features a 3′ tall black granite pentagon bearing the emblems of the five military branches; a nearly 12′ by 12′ frosted gray granite entryway; and three larger than life-size bronze statues stand in the center of the plaza.

Three larger than life-size bronze statues are the central focus of the Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial Plaza.  One statue is a combat soldier representing the fighting that took place in South Korea.  The second statue honors the brave sacrifices that Combat Medics and Navy Corpsmen made to save the lives of others during this conflict.  The third statue features two Korean children representing the suffering of the Korean people during the war and the future generations of Koreans that have rebuilt that nation. The statues were designed and constructed by Light and Time Design Studio and Art Foundry located in Royal, Arkansas.

Encircling the statues are eight 3′ wide x 6′ tall black granite tablets. The tablets, weighing in excess of 3,000 pounds each, are engraved with the names of the 461 Arkansas servicemen and women killed in action, a description of Korean War events and a map of Korea.

The memorial plaza stands to the east of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History in MacArthur Park.  Though not affiliated with the museum directly, they share a common connection to both Douglas MacArthur and the role Arkansans played in the Korean conflict.

Clinton Center Free Today in honor of 9th Anniversary

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On November 18, 2004, the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park officially opened.  As the Clinton Presidential Center has done since it opened, it marks the anniversary with a free day (usually on a weekend closest to the actual anniversary date).
Celebrate the Center’s ninth anniversary with a FREE admission all day long. Take advantage of the opportunity to see “Oscar de la Renta: American Icon” and “And Freedom for All: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” as well as all the permanent exhibits. Also available, FREE Acoustiguide audio tours narrated by President Clinton.
Sunday is the last day to view And Freedom for All: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  This exhibit follows along the historic journey of the 1963 March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom through the powerful images of famed photojournalist Stanley Tretick.  Tretick was assigned by LOOK magazine to cover the March behind-the-scenes with organizers and program speakers as they led the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and where history led Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to deliver his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Oscar de la Renta: American Icon runs through December 1. This seminal fashion exhibition celebrates the world-renowned work and inspiring life of designer Oscar de la Renta. The exhibit will feature more than 30 of his iconic creations worn by leading arbiters of style, from First Ladies to Hollywood’s brightest stars.

In the 1960s, Dominican-born Oscar de la Renta moved to the United States, where he launched his signature ready-to-wear label and quickly became known as a leading figure in international fashion design. Oscar de la Renta’s award-winning career spans five decades and he continues to produce an exceptional body of work – a testament to his enduring creative vision.

Governor’s Arts Awards Presented Today

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Arkansas_Arts_Council_logo_2Governor Mike Beebe will present the 2013 Governor’s Arts Awards today at a luncheon sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council.

Sponsored annually by the Arkansas Arts Council, the Governor’s Arts Awards recognize individuals and corporations for their outstanding contributions to the arts in Arkansas. The recipients were nominated by the public and then selected by an independent panel of arts professionals from around the state. Each recipient will receive an original work of art created by Arkansas artist Stephen Driver.

The recipients are:
Arts Community Development Award – Bob Ford and Amy Herzberg (Fayetteville)
Arts in Education Award – Paul Leopoulos (North Little Rock)
Corporate Sponsorship of the Arts Award – Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, PLLC (Little Rock)
Folklife Award – Paula Morell (North Little Rock)
Individual Artist Award – Robert Hupp (Little Rock)
Patron Award – Lee and Dale Ronnel (Little Rock)
Lifetime Achievement Award – Billie Seamans (McGehee)
Judges Special Recognition Award – Farrell Ford (Arkadelphia)