Here's another quasi-monthly roundup of art exhibits across the state. Holdups in the assembly and delivery are due to a combination of delays in news release information, the havoc that comes with the end of one year and the start of another and the recent spike in coronavirus cases in the state, which has put a damper on many of the receptions that usually accompany the unveiling of new exhibits.
But as many know, chaos and havoc inspire art just as much as they stymie it, and so art continues in museum and retail galleries across the state:
Cantrell Gallery (8208 Cantrell Road, Little Rock) is hosting "Into the Woods," a collection of recent watercolor paintings by Washington artist Barry D. Lindley. This collection showcases his fascination with natural subjects — woodlands, streams and fields — painted primarily from memory (with occasional photo reference, he admits) to evoke the feelings prompted by the vista he depicts.
The core of the exhibit is "Tree Cadenzas," which Lindley describes as a series of works emphasizing the partnership between artist and medium, showcasing the spirits of trees in a purposefully limited number of paints.
"Into the Woods" will be on display through March 5, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Visit cantrellgallery.com; the gallery has a YouTube channel that features highlights of current and past exhibits.
Christ Episcopal Church (509 Scott St., Little Rock) is hosting the works of Linda Mellberg in "Anticipating Spring." The collection is primarily works in acrylic or mixed media, but the artist experiments with charcoals, oil pastels and collage, on display in the Parish House Gallery during office hours (9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-noon Friday and Sunday) through the end of March. Contact Winston Brown for more information: winston426@gmail.com
University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Windgate Center of Art + Design (2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock) recently opened a showcase exhibit of works by Trinity Kai in the Focus Gallery. Kai is a recent master's graduate from the University of Arkansas School of Art, and earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from UALR. The exhibit consists of fabric pieces made via the photographic process of cyanotype, which the artist uses to explore her experiences as a person with albinism. She describes the pieces as depicting the vulnerability brought about by change and the strength gained through acceptance of self. It's on display 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday through Feb. 25.
The Windgate Center is also hosting "Arte Cubano," a traveling collection of drawings, paintings and sculpture of more than 25 Cuban artists that explores thoughts on the daily, cultural and political life on and around the island nation, in the Brad Cushman and Maners/Pappas Galleries through March 8.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK
"Mrs. Lucy's Wash" is one of several works by Glenda McCune available at the Argenta Branch of the Laman Library in North Little Rock. (Courtesy of Glenda McCune/Laman Library)
Laman Library's Main Branch Gallery (2801 Orange St.) is hosting "A Shifting Perspective: Photographs from the Midway," a collection of black-and-white photographs and large-scale prints by Katie Adkins. The Argenta Branch (420 Main St.) has just opened Glenda McCune's "Southern Culture" exhibit, paintings exploring McCune's memory of life in the South "to leave an imprint on the art community and future generations, to show them what it was like, back in my day." Admission is free; the exhibit is on display weekdays through Feb. 10.
BENTONVILLE
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (600 Museum Way) is closing "In American Waters" on Monday but continues to host:
◼️ "Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment" (up through March 21), an interdisciplinary collection of approximately 80 paintings, photographs and natural history specimens with the purpose of "exploring pollination in nature and ecology, cultural and artistic influence and exchange, and the interconnection between art and science."
◼️ Julie Alpert's "Altars, Keepsakes, Squiggles, and Bows" (on display through May 16), a site-specific installation transforming the museum's Contemporary Art Gallery into "a spectacle of pattern, color and shapes" tied to themes of nostalgia, girlhood, keepsakes and staging. The focus is on the items we collect and assign meaning to and how we maintain ourselves and our spaces.
Visit crystalbridges.org.
Gallery 211 South (located within Engel & Volkers, 211 S. Main St.) hosts "FACE TO FACE: NWA/LR," curated by Kellie Lehr — Ray Allen Parker's larger-than-life oil portraits of Northwest Arkansas residents and Jason McCann's watercolor and pastel portraits of students at Little Rock's Central High School, all completed within the past year. The exhibit is free and open to the public from Feb. 4-April 23.
CONWAY
The University of Central Arkansas' Baum Gallery (201 Donaghey Ave.) hosts "Painting," curated by gallery director Brian Young and associate professor Sandra Luckett, exploring the possibilities of expression provided by "this most traditional medium" via works by artists working in realistic and abstract styles. It's open to the public through Feb. 17.
EL DORADO
At the South Arkansas Arts Center (110 E. Fifth St.):
◼️ "One Foot in Reality," in the Lobby Gallery, large graphite & ink drawings and sculptures in wire, wood and bone by Bill Myers and large scale "collages" by Diane Stevenson, through Feb. 25.
◼️ "Richard Stephens Watercolors," in the Price Gallery, closes Feb. 2, coinciding with a workshop by Stephens on "Watercolor Painting and Design," Feb. 1-3. Register at saac-arts.org; cost is $175.
The center's 2022 photography competition, "The Viewfinder," will be on display in the Merkle and Price Galleries from Feb. 8-25. Deadline to enter is Feb. 4; find a full list of rules and eligibility at saac-arts.org.
FAYETTEVILLE
"Who Belongs On Our Money?" asks Suzannah Schreckhise with this collage on display as part of "Women to Watch: Paper Routes," at Fenix Arts in Fayetteville. (Courtesy of Suzannah Schreckhise/Visual and Performing Arts Center at Fenix)
Fenix Arts (in Millar Lodge, 150 N. Skyline Drive) hosts "Women to Watch: Paper Routes," the last regional stop in a traveling exhibit sponsored by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington. Alison Glen, formerly with Crystal Bridges, is the regional curator. Find more information, including a brief video discussing and highlighting pieces of the exhibit, at fenixarts.org
Walton Arts Center's Joy Pratt Markham Gallery (495 W. Dickson St.) hosts "Yesterday Once More," an exhibition by Arkansas photographer and educator Aaron R. Turner, through April 3. Turner, a teaching assistant professor at the University of Arkansas School of Art, describes the exhibit as emphasizing "the physical return to people and spaces previously inhabited." Exploring the ideas of home and resilience, the exhibit includes books on the subject and a playlist that attendees can access and listen to via smartphone. See waltonartscenter.org for more information.
HOT SPRINGS
"Lost Valley" is one of the works by gallery regular Steven Wise, available for viewing and purchase at Justus Fine Art Gallery in Hot Springs. (Courtesy Steven Wise/Justus Fine Art Gallery)
The Justus Fine Art Gallery (827 Central Ave., Suite A) continues its New Year's exhibit through Monday, featuring work from gallery regulars Mark Blaney, Kristin DeGeorge, Mike Elsass, Robyn Horn, Dolores Justus, Michael Francis Reagan, Tony Saladino, Sandra Sell, Gary Simmons, Gene Sparling, Rebecca Thompson, Elizabeth Weber and Steven Wise. Call (501) 321-2335 or visit justusfineart.com.
PINE BLUFF
The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (701 S. Main St.) will close "Beyond Labels" on Saturday, but has two other ongoing exhibits:
◼️ "Deeply Rooted: A Glimpse into Southern Lifestyle," through Feb. 26, attempts to capture the narrative of Southern culture and its traditions.
◼️ "Tension and Protection: Textile Work by Suzannah Schreckhise," up through March 5, features hybrids of sculpture and painting, including "Breath," Schreckhise's ongoing series of masks made from fabrics significant to the artist, highlighting how the simplistic shapes have "already absorbed our memories of this moment in history."
More information and virtual tours are available at asc701.org.
Hosting or participating in an art exhibit? Let us know in advance: tfox@adgnewsroom.com