The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau continues the new series of free jazz concerts tonight. TwiceSax is featured tonight.
Jazz in the Park will be every Wednesday night in June and July from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. They will take place in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park (between the Junction Bridge and Peabody Park).
Beer & Wine will be available for sale – portions of the proceeds will benefit Sculpture at the River Market…so no coolers, please. Free to attend!
The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau is kicking off a new series of free jazz concerts tonight. Tonight’s featured musician is Rodney Block and the Real Music Lovers.
Jazz in the Park will be every Wednesday night in June and July from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. They will take place in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park (between the Junction Bridge and Peabody Park).
Beer & Wine will be available for sale – to benefit Sculpture at the River Market…so no coolers, please. Free to attend!
The Sculpture Vulture returns as a regular Sunday feature this summer. Summertime is a great time for running, biking and playing golf. Today’s sculpture is ”Playing Ball” which is located in the Rebsamen Road Roundabout near bike trails, running trails and the Rebsamen Golf Course.
Sculpted by Kevin Robb, it is 16 feet high and fabricated in stainless steel. Landscape designer Chris Olsen donated the design and maintenance of the landscaping for the roundabout. The project was made possible by the City of Little Rock, Sculpture at the River Market and Keep Little Rock Beautiful.
Kevin Robb forms stainless steel into contemporary sculptures, creating works of art that bring a feeling of life and quiet energy to both indoor and outdoor spaces. A wonderful sense of intimacy is created for viewers as they observe the large, flowing shapes held firmly into positions that defy gravity.
These large scale stainless steel sculptures are distinguished by their smooth, graceful edges and seamless metal intersections, revealing the high caliber welding involved. The swirl patters on the stainless steel are distinct of Kevin Robb.
For those who are around the River Market today, there are two “Easter” bunny sculptures they can visit.
In honor of that, today’s Sculpture Vulture features Tim Cherry’s Rabbit Reach.
The sculpture is located at the corner of Sherman Street and President Clinton Avenue across from the Museum of Discovery.
The sculpture is a gift from Whitlow Wyatt and the Carey Cox Wyatt Charitable Foundation. It was given in memory of George Wyatt and Frank Kumpuris. Those two gentlemen were the fathers of Whitlow Wyatt and Dean & Drew Kumpuris.
Cherry’s sculpture was selected for this spot because of its proximity to children at the Museum and in the River Market district. The design and size of the sculpture encourages children to climb on it and to play around the rabbit. While some public art is situated so it cannot be touched, this one is situated to be touched as part of the appreciation experience.
Laurel Peterson Gregory’s Bunny Bump is featured in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden. Two stylized rabbits make for an interesting piece of artwork when they are not only dancing, but also doing the butt bump while dancing. The smooth surface and color of the bronze add to the illusion. This small piece has been placed on a pedestal to elevate more to eye level.
The sculpture was completed in 2009 and installed in 2010. Gregory has been featured at the Sculpture at the River Market show. (The photo was taken during a December snow. It may be cold now, but not enough for that amount of snow.)
One of Little Rock’s two newest sculptures is featured in the Sculpture Vulture today. Chapel’s THE CENTER was dedicated on Friday, October 19. It is located in Riverfront Park just to the west of the Junction Bridge and north of the Peabody Playground. The piece was commissioned in 2011 at the 5th annual Sculpture at the River Market.
Chapel uses a variety of materials including steel and colored glass to create this tall sculpture. It represents that Little Rock is the center of the state and Riverfront Park (and the nearby “Little Rock”) represent the heart of the City. The steel evokes the nearby Junction bridge and the blue and green glass echo the nearby grass and water. (Green and Blue are also Little Rock’s colors, so this was a happy accident by the sculptor as well.) The textured glass that is in the center of the column is also evocative of the Arkansas River.
Chapel is an award winning sculptor who creates both abstract and figurative pieces working in a variety of media. Though his work can be seen worldwide, most of his commissions have been in the south and west. He is a member of the National Sculpture Guild and Society of Animal Artists among many other professional associations.
Hundreds of sculptures and thousands of visitors will again populate the River Market Pavilions when 2012 Sculpture at the River Market returns for the sixth year on October 19 – 21.
The sculptures will be on display in the River Market Pavilions and in the adjacent area of Riverfront Park. The works featured will include all types of media, style, subject matter, and size.
Admission to Sculpture at the River Market is free. Sculpture at the River Market Market will run from 9AM to 5PM on Saturday, October 19 and from 10AM to 4PM on Sunday, October 21.
On Saturday, Sculpture at the River Market will take place in conjunction with the Farmers’ Market.
At 2pm today, there will be a dedication of a new piece of public art. A one of kind 15 foot sculpture constructed of stainless steel, glass and bronze was the winner of the 2011 Sculpture at the River Market people’s choice award. “The Center” by artist Chapel received the most votes.
This evening there will be a preview party where patrons will get the first chance to see the artwork, visit with the sculptors, and purchase sculptures. Tickets for the preview party are $100.
The sale and show is sponsored by the City of Little Rock and the National Sculptors’ Guild. Proceeds from the sale of artwork will fund upgrades in Riverfront Park and the River Market.
Among the artists are Arkansans Terry and Maritza Cornejo Bean, Shelley Buonaiuto, Bryan Massey Sr., Ed Pennebaker, Ryan T. Schmidt, John Sewell, Margaret Warren and Michael Warrick.
Other artists include Lori Acott, Kevin Box, Kathleen Caricof, Dee Clements, Ron Chapel, Tim Cherry, Merrilee Cleveland, Frederic Crist, Darrell Davis, Jane DeDecker, Clay Enoch, Cassandra Fink, Jim Goshorn, Denny Haskew, Mark Hopkins, Ryan Mays, Bruce Niemi, Nic Noblique, Reza Pishgahi, Don Rambadt, Merle Randolph, Kevin Robb, Karla Runquist, Emelene Russell, Wayne Salge, Sandy Scott, Adam Schultz, Kim Shaklee, James Paulsen Solway, Sam Spiczka, Pati Stajcar, Arabella Tattershall, Kevin Trobaugh and C. T. Whitehouse
The Sculpture at the River Market show and sale starts this coming Friday evening and runs through next Sunday. To mark this, the October Sculpture Vulture is highlighting sculptures from previous shows.
Today’s is Collen Nyanhongo’s Resting Angel. Carved out of stone, this features both rough and polished surfaces of a variety of textures. On one side, it appears that an angel’s wing is emerging from a stone pillar. The other side depicts a profile of the angel’s face in the same shape as the wing.
Collen Nyanhongo’s homeland is Zimbabwe, which means “large house of stone.” He is a member of the most significant family of artists in Zimbabwe and learned the craft of using simple hand tools to sculpt his stones from his father, Claude Nyanhongo, a first-generation artist who helped create the Zimbabwe Sculpture Movement fifty years ago. The Zimbabwe Sculpture Movement is heralded as the most prominent art form to emerge from Africa in the 20th century.
Forging his own vision from his powerful artistic roots, Collen Nyanhongo blends traditional figurative form into metaphorical abstract expression that transcends his past and establishes him as an eminent world artist whose work has been honored in Zimbabwe, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Holland, England, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa and the United States.
Collen sculpts in all sizes, from a 15 ton marble stone for a public art project in Fort Collins, Colorado to smaller pieces that demand to be held and caressed. He prefers working with hard stones like Springstone, Serpentine and Lopidolite and ships them in from Zimbabwe quarries to wherever he is living and working.
Little Rock Culture Vulture 