Centennial Art Center presents annual Art of Craft Exhibit

Centennial Art Center is delighted to host its annual exhibit, Art of Craft, featuring artists from Tennessee Craft's Midstate Chapter. This exhibit will be on display Friday, August 4 - September 21, 2023. An artist reception will be held Friday, August 4, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. in the Centennial Art Center Gallery located inside Centennial Park at 301 25th Avenue North. This year's exhibit, curated by the Tennessee Craft Midstate Board members and Centennial Art Center staff, showcases a wide variety of art from Middle Tennessee's fine craft artists.

Eleven Tennessee Craft Midstate artists will display their artwork in this exhibit: Meredith Bagley (leather work), Eva Bascompte Moragas (ceramics), Linda Crossan (clay), Eliza Frensley (printmaking), Martica Griffin (mixed-media paper), Jennifer Knowles (mixed media sculpture), Twyla Lambert Clark (fiber), Daniel Leavitt (wood turning), Jennifer Turpin (painting), Abby Whisenant (photography), and Nija Woods (painting).

Meredith Bagley uses the adaptive and moldable qualities of leather to creatively transform the material into useful, durable, and sometimes adorable, objects.

Eva Bascompte Moragas crafts her small ceramic figurines with intricate details that showcase her love for animals. Striving to create a feeling of wonder and delight, she constantly pushes her boundaries and seeks new ways to innovate, experimenting with new materials and techniques to add depth and complexity to her art pieces.

Linda Crossan explores shape, texture and surface when creating her unique ceramic art. Her work is influenced by her graphic design, painting, and drawing background, and her love of the natural world.

Eliza Frensley addresses trauma and memory in her prints as she works to visually expand the use of these words. She often recreates existing images from her family's archives, combining a sense of physical and emotional awareness, or lack thereof, using texture and manipulated space to suggest what cannot be easily perceived.

Martica Griffin combines her original painted paper with found objects and salvaged materials to create whimsical 2D artwork. She hopes her Paper Menagerie will bring a smile to folks and add a touch of sunshine to their day.

Jennifer Knowles gravitates toward things that show their histories; her mixed media, sculpture, and assemblage work suggests themes surrounding gendered and familial behaviors, language and memory, and grief and loss. She uses reclaimed wood, leather, and found objects to honor, memorialize, and celebrate objects and stories that might be overlooked or lost.

Twyla Lambert Clark finds inspiration and joy in unique discarded textiles and elevates forsaken fabric and yarn by sewing or weaving it into new, functional, and beautiful women's coats and other accessories. Her beautifully sewn textiles strike a balance between classic fashion and casual street wear.

Daniel Leavitt explores his relationship with the environment, focusing on essential but often overlooked elements of the ecosystem. He uses organic forms, imperfect patterns, and unconventional subject matter to create a balance between fascination and beauty.

Jennifer Turpin dives into the vast world of artist expression capturing the essence of her subjects through captivating portraits in acrylic and oil. Her unique brushstrokes breathe life into the canvas, infusing it with vibrant colors and delicate nuances. She embraces the beauty that lies within our own stories and celebrates the power of creativity to inspire and uplift.

Abby Whisenant finds ways to leverage the intersections of art and social practice to amplify stories, to provide space for healing, and to encourage new ways of seeing and listening. She recently returned to a focused practice of photography. Her work in this exhibit, What We Stand to Lose, is a reframing of loss through the camera lens - the loss of knowledge, the loss of connection.

Nija Woods creates expressionist abstract paintings that meld together color psychology, personal experiences, and knowledge into modern art. Her work focuses on the inclusion of color intentionalism and is relatable to all with an inclusive context that does not highlight race, religion, cause, etc.

Tennessee Craft Midstate is the largest chapter of Tennessee Craft boasting more than 200 artisans. Tennessee Craft continues to grow as new artists join this thriving network of makers. This community engages the public by inviting them into artists' shops and studios. Tennessee Craft provides opportunities for artists to teach their craft, participate in craft fairs, and display their artwork in galleries throughout Tennessee and across the country. Tennessee Craft has preserved and advanced the tradition of craft for over 50 years, and Centennial Art Center has been a long-time partner of the organization.

The Art of Craft will be on display from Friday, August 4 - September 21, 2023, with an opening reception Friday, August 4, 2023 from 5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Gallery hours: Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.