GMA to host artists' panel discussion, kickoff for new exhibits on Jan. 7

Greg Bailey, The Gadsden Times
·2 min read
One of Lou Haney's works from "Americana-Rama," an upcoming event at the Gadsden Museum of Art.
One of Lou Haney's works from "Americana-Rama," an upcoming event at the Gadsden Museum of Art.

The Gadsden Museum of Art plans a “doubleheader” event from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Jan. 7, according to a news release, with an artists’ panel discussion and opening reception for two exhibits.

“Expanded Practice,” the panel discussion, will start at 3:20 p.m. and last for roughly an hour, and according to the release “will explore the current challenges of a working artist” as well as “adapting the skills to use multiple practices to create a body of work.”

It will be led by Doug Baulos, associate professor of drawing and bookmaking at UAB. The panel will include two artists, Sara Garden Armstrong of Birmingham (whose “Threads and Layers” is currently on exhibit at the museum) and Daisie Hostima, and UAB associate professor of sculpture Stacey Holloway.

The opening receptions will follow for “Americana-Rama” in the museum’s second-floor Barbara Reed Gallery, and “Somatic Conversation Marks & Memories” in the first-floor Leo Reynolds Gallery.

One of Sharon Shapiro's works from "Americana-Rama," an upcoming event at the Gadsden Museum of Art.
One of Sharon Shapiro's works from "Americana-Rama," an upcoming event at the Gadsden Museum of Art.

“Americana-Rama” features oil, watercolor and acrylic paintings by Virginia artists Lou Haney and Sharon Shapiro.

Haney’s work according to the release uses “nostalgia of domestic scenery that that plays with the viewer’s memory to create a weird line between fantasy and reality.” Her inspiration was the Pattern and Decoration Movement of the mid-1970s and ‘80s, incorporating floral imagery, pattern and decoration, blurring the line between art and design."

Staged photos are the basis for Shapiro’s paintings, according to the release, emphasizing “the figures’ camaraderie, vulnerability and independence by creating semi-imaginary environments for women in utopian and dystopian settings" as she “chronicles the complexities of growing up in the American South.”

One of Aaryn Lee's works from “Somatic Conversation Marks & Memories,” an upcoming event at the Gadsden Museum of Art.
One of Aaryn Lee's works from “Somatic Conversation Marks & Memories,” an upcoming event at the Gadsden Museum of Art.

“Somatic Conversation Marks & Memories” features drawing/mark making, mixed media and printmaking, installation, projection, time-based media and performance works by Aaryn Lee, who is originally from Portland, Oregon, but is now based in Huntsville at Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment.

According to the release, her work “tends to be heavily layered, repetitive in nature, somber in mood, and touched with the muted overcast tones from her hometown,” investigating themese related “to memory, ritual, body dysmorphia, the female body and meditation.”

Light refreshments will be served.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden Museum of Art sets doubleheader event