Exhibitions
SEED: AN ENVIRONEMENTAL EXPERIENCE
Tipton Gallery (ETSU) / 126 Spring St., Johnson City, TN April 23, 2018 - May 10, 2018
Vaughn Bell, Valerie Fuchs, Lyn Govette, Vanessa Mayoraz, Vincent Patrick, Kelly Celeste Porter, Katie Ries, Hilary Walrod
Curated by Kelly Celeste Porter and Virginia Salazar Buda
Presented by the ETSU department of Art & Design, Slocumb Galleries and Art.landia.inc in partnership with Topper Academy Art Lab, Downtown Merchants Association, What’s the Bizz, Dpartment of Sustainability, First TN Develeopment District and funding from the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Arts Build Communities (ABC) Grant. SEED: An Environmental Art Experience showcases 8 artists at Tipton Gallery in downtown Johnson City, TN, this Friday, May 4, 6-8 pm, during downtown Johnson City’s, First Friday’s “What’s the Buzz” - a pollinator family-friendly event. These events, including Tipton Gallery reception, are free and open to the public.
One example of interactive work in the “SEED” exhibit is by conceptual artist Katie Ries. Her work titled “What You’ve Got” ‘“...creates objects that call for specific actions.”’ Imagine...walking into a gallery space, approaching Katie Ries’s exhibit, picking up a hand-held, “clay ball” full of seeds and exchanging it for a personal item that you leave behind as part of the permanent exhibit. You take this “clay ball,” go outside to a grassy area, and BOMB AWAY! Because of this type of engagement, your indoor art gallery experience is now part of a permanent outdoor landscape exhibit! This is just one of the many interactive art works in the show that encourages education, while learning about good land stewardship. Guests of Honor are Catherine Murray, Environmental Artist; Phil Pindzola, Public Works Administration; and Jenny Brock, commissioner.
