A boon for Brown's

In the past four years we have seen at least five art galleries close in the Jackson area.  It is a tough business,  both the selling and making, that is set aside for the exceptionally determined and thick skinned.  We have also seen the rise of some alternative and temporary exhibition spaces like those in the Mid-town area.  Bryant's, Nunnery's and Jackson Street Gallery were all well established galleries to close, and Lisette's barely opened before they moved out to Canton.  But this year saw the passing of the staple gallery in downtown Jackson, Gallery 119. 

Local photographer James Patterson opened Gallery 119 on South President St. in 1999 in the building that was formerly the MSU architecture school.  James had a gallery just around the corner in the Capitol Towers building called Suite 103 for several years prior to the move.  Marcy Nessel was working with James at Gallery 119 where they maintained a high standard in both what work they showed and how they presented the work.  Add to that the incredible atmosphere of the building with its high ceilings, north light, and hardwood floors, and it became a space that would arouse envy in the trendiest of New York galleries.  Sales wouldn't sustain it for long.  Watching the renaissance of the Fondren neighborhood, James moved Gallery 119 to North State St. in Fondren in 2003.  The downtown space was not used as a gallery again until 2005 when Marcy opened it back up as Highland's Fine Art Brokers.  In 2008, Marcy also felt the pull of Fondren and opened what is now one of the most respected galleries in the city, Fischer Galleries.  Highlands Fine Art Brokers, however, stayed open this time.  James Patterson closed Gallery 119 in Fondren deciding to dedicate himself full-time to his photography again, which allowed Highlands to change its name back to Gallery 119.  It was under the direction of Ellen Bordeaux when Marcy left, and then in 2010 Mike Nunnery closed his Meadowbrook Dr. gallery of repute and merged with Gallery 119 downtown.  Mike brought with him his frame shop in an attempt to make it through the severe downturn of the economy, but it wasn't enough.  Gallery 119 closed its doors in March of this year.  

This may sound like a snafu of gallery openings and closings, but it was really a beautiful baton passing by a few people that know the importance of art to a community and have a passion to help distribute it in our society.  News alert: they aren't doing it for the money.  

Gallery 119 may be closed, but the baton continues to be passed.  Mike Nunnery, following suit from his 119 predecessors, has moved back to Fondren and joined forces with what has to be one of the oldest art establishments in Jackson, Brown's Fine Art and Framing.  This is actually a return for Mike in more than one way.  Before he opened his own gallery on Meadowbrook he worked at Brown's for many years.  There is no question that he is now going to be a great asset in his new position.  

Hanging at Brown's until the 15th of this month is an exhibition of paintings by Jackson artist Chad Mars.  This is actually Chad's first solo show. Having experienced in the not so distant past the nervousness, confusion, and excitement of a first solo show I know that it is something that should be celebrated and encouraged.  Chad's work is worth a gander.  These non-objective paintings are all about texture, and Chad is enthusiastic about it.  His approach is completely intuitive and responsive to the medium.  He claims inspiration from the work of Gerhard Richter and Mark Rothko, but stresses that he wants the work to have a very natural organic feel.  

Chad expressed concern to me about people not understanding his work, and therefore it might not be easy to sell.  In response to that I will pull a quote from the book I am currently reading God in the Gallery by Daniel Siedell.  "... art is too often assumed to be merely verbal communication pursued by other (and inferior) means, that the artist is trying to send 'messages' that we as viewers must receive and understand linguistically.  This is distinctly not the case with art.  Art requires contemplation that focuses attention on the viewer developing a relationship with the work of art, not merely passively receiving a message." 

Until we can convince our fast paced society to slow down and contemplate, galleries will continue to close around us.  Let's hope not.  Here's some of Chad's work...

Cloudburst #3

Cloudburst #5 

 Cumulonimbus

 Pyrocumulonimbus

 The End

Dance as inspiration

I could not call this a blog about the arts in Jackson if I didn't mention the USA International Ballet Competition (IBC) currently taking place here.  While I usually just focus on visual arts in gallery spaces, the remarkable beauty of these dancers excels to a level of artistry infrequently found in galleries.  There are, however, some painting and photography exhibitions that coincide with the competition that are definitely worth visiting.  The IBC happens every four years and Jackson is the only location it is held in the United States thanks to the vision and love for ballet by the late Thalia Mara.   

The poster artist for the IBC this year is Mississippi State University professor Brent Funderburk who seems to draw a lot of inspiration from ballet and dance.  There are two opportunities to see his watercolors in Jackson right now.  There is a group of paintings in the mezzanine area at Thalia Mara Hall where the IBC is taking place.  There is also a group of paintings and drawings at Bryant Galleries. His vibrant watercolors are a mix of surrealism and non-objective abstraction with hints of east Asian influence.  Fruit transforms into celestial beings, while empty paint tubes seem to take on human personas.  This is most evident in the painting "Today" which seems to represent the crucifixion of Christ.  There is a faint nimbus behind the "head" of the center tube that may be difficult to see in the image below.  

Funderburk's drawings, however, seem to have a different influence.  They are much more reminiscent of the Russian Suprematism work of Kazimir Malevich, or the Italian Futurists.   

Another must see show in conjunction with the IBC is Celestial Bodies/Infernal Souls: Photography by Lois Greenfield.  These stunning photographs at the Arts Center of Mississippi are of dancers captured in mid-air and mid-stride displaying the pinnacle of the capabilities of the human body.  

Pears #2

Winter Into Spring

Goodbye Red

Today

Still Light

November

Lois Greenfield

Lambert and Blankenstein show at Bryant's

Bryant Galleries in Jackson is not a place that one would likely happen upon if searching for art galleries.  It is hidden in a non-descript shopping center off of Lakeland Drive.  But then again nowhere in Jackson is a hotbed of an art market.  The largest concentration of galleries in Jackson is in Fondren, and I believe that there are only about five.  Jackson isn't known for its art offerings which is why I was interested in doing this blog... to attempt to have one more opportunity for artists' work to be viewed.  So Bryant's may not be the easiest to find, but it is definitely worth the search.  They have a very unique offering of some Mississippi artists and some international artists, and they appear to be very particular about the quality of work that they show.  It's a large space, but divided nicely into more intimate areas.  

Hanging right now is a duo show of separate work by husband and wife David Lambert and Vidal Blankenstein.  David actually runs the gallery.  It's interesting to see their work hanging together because living together they must influence each other.  They both work in acrylic on panels, but their approaches are quite different.  David is also showing some of his airplane sculptures which were included in the Invitational at the Mississippi Museum of Art this year.  The Invitational show just came down so I hope you didn't miss it.  There was a long article in the national magazine, Art in America, about the Invitational written by guest curator Peter Plagens that was less than flattering but just short of condescending.  His arrogant and pompous tone did no credit to the work, but the work didn't need him.  It was obviously art of a high caliber that can stand on its own.  

When I first saw David's planes in a show at Belhaven they struck me by their witty concept and construction, and yet they were so simply assembled with disregard for attempted craftsmanship.  I was pleased to see that this visual language carries over into his paintings as well.  The consistency gives credit to the work.  David told me that he had not painted in awhile because his focus has been on the airplanes.  He looked through some old sketches and found some designs that appealed to him that he developed into paintings.  Many of the sketches are displayed next to the final pieces.  

Vidal's psychological images are much more layered and painterly.  There are recurring symbols of trees and birds and hands and ladders and almond shaped patches that seem to transition between leaves and the all seeing eye.  Vidal is a graphic designer, but I think that it is interesting that David's work is the more graphic, illustrational, and cartoon influenced work.  I think that artists who have full time jobs aside from their art often produce work that is a contrasting response to what they do all day.  Either way, it's just great that they are reserving the energy to produce the work.  

Man in Striped Shirt (Lambert)

Soup and Grits (Lambert)

War (Lambert)

Planes (Lambert)

Sanctuary (Blankenstein)

Where are you going? (Blankenstein)

Morning (Blankenstein)

Open (Blankenstein)