14th Annual Holiday Arts Market at The Arts Company

We will be filled to the brim with more art and festivity for the holidays than ever this year at The Arts Company. We have scouted around for the neatest collection of art gifts, artwork large and small, and new platforms and palettes from artists than ever for your holidays.

Brother Mel, Utensil Christmas Tree, 60'' tall

There are specific reasons for our special affinity for this time of year:

1) We established The Arts Company with the opening of the first Annual Holiday Arts Market in December 1996. Ever since, we have been on the lookout for really neat art and books and special events we could muster to match the interests of all folks who continue to come downtown Nashville. Therefore, this year marks our 14th birthday on December 4, and we want to have friends here to help us celebrate what's happened to the evolving Fifth Avenue of the Arts over these last 14 years.

2) So it's our birthday and it's one of our most important annual challenges: how do we select some of the neat things that we know our guests and friends will be interested in including in their holiday celebrations?

We say with some measure of modesty that we think we have nailed it this year. It's a little beyond spunky. It's into overflowing with fresh and original art and art gifts. We have commissioned some special gifts and art, and our focus is on the Nashville traditions that we most love. If you are one of our customers reading this, you know that we enjoy showing images of Nashville and new ways of thinking about what we are all about in Nashville.

Small ceramic pieces by Replanski Ceramics

We know that our customers share an interest in specific artists--Brother Mel for sure. But also April Street, Bill Starke, David Swanagin, Charles Keiger, Ed Rode, Bob Schatz, John Nikolai classics, Ed Clark photographs and those of his legendary colleagues through the LIFE Gallery Collection of Photography, Charles Kieger, Pam Moxley, Jim Hubbman, Ansel Adams' protege Robert Kolbrener...plus many more. So some of all of these will be present in our Upstairs Archives.

But we have also introduced a lot of new artists this year--from Tony Breuer to Judy Nebhut; from Denise Stewart-Sanabria and her donut paintings and plywood people to Chris Beck and Deborah Wait's mosaics. We have shown new photography and techniques, new and unexpected outsider artists working on tarpaper or from piles of scrap metal.

Tres Taylor, "Birds of Night", mixed media on tarpaper

For the holidays, we have commissioned some Nashville paintings from Charlie Buckley and have some new tarpaper paintings by Tres Taylor, and a few pieces of metal sculpture by Chris Beck--not to mention some new Nashville images by Kimiko. We have also added a Spirit of Nashville boutique to showcase Joel Anderson's popular Nashville posters.

Charlie Buckley, Construction Site for Music City Center

But preemo as always, Brother Mel always surprises us with new materials and new ideas. This holiday is no exception. We have his version of Christmas trees--from utensils to stainless and glass sculpture made to hold wine bottles, as well as new paintings and Christmas trees as wall sculpture. You will know when you walk in the door that Brother Mel's statement about his work is part of what our holidays are about: "Bringing beauty to space to lift up spirits."

Brother Mel, "Painted Squares with Rods"

We are waiting with great anticipation to have you come see us during the holidays. We are working with our gallery colleagues and neighbors to add special Champagne Saturdays to the holidays this year. More information on that is coming soon.

Oops! I almost forgot. Of course, we have loads of neat pop-up books for adults and children, and selected art books that are really worth taking a look at.

Meanwhile, join us for First Saturday Art Crawl and our gallery birthday on December 4, 6-9. We'll turn the lights on high for you.

Housewives Behaving Badly: commentary by Robin Venable

Denise Stewart-Sanabria, Gluttony, oil on linen, 40 x 30''

This month at The Arts Company is all about visual archaeology - digging through appearances to find the deeper meanings. Denise Stewart-Sanabria and Chris Beck have each created new bodies of work that are inviting on the surface, but complex in the subject matter. Once you start digging, you will find there are issues that speak into the deepest levels of what it is to be human. When viewed together, each series of work talks to the other one.

Denise Stewart-Sanabria, The Immaculate Confection, oil on linen, 24 x 48''

Denise's sumptuous paintings of personified "donuts behaving badly" allow her to explore the seven deadly sins and other human foibles (such as "Drunks") with more tenacity, humor, and depth than had she painted humans acting out the same indiscretions. Her bold and playful titles such as "The Immaculate Confection" challenge the viewer to see traditional themes in a new light. She entices the viewer with globs of gooey insides and powdery toppings to show how enticing "behaving badly" can be at first, but the crumbs, bitten-off edges, and reflections on the tables they sit on suggest otherwise - like the 17th century Dutch vanitas paintings that were beautifully adorned with pearls and jewels, but also included rotten fruit and hollow skulls to suggest the brevity of life.

Chris Beck, Lorraine, mixed media, 44 x 32 x 8''

Chris's perfectly poised "housewives", some of which are framed, sit quietly among their backdrops from ages past. Using ads from LIFE magazine from the 1950's as inspiration, he, like Denise, invites the viewer into another world where things aren't always what they seem. In the boom of consumerism in post-war America, women who worked during the war to keep the country afloat, returned to the home where pot-roasts and dirty carpets awaited them. Crafting his housewives out of discarded tin and muted colors, the viewer is invited into the nostalgia of a golden age of America. However, his materials that he uses, and his palate of colors suggests an undertone of sadness and tainted dreams that swam underneath the bubbly current of the times.

Chris Beck, June, painted metal, 43 x 18 x 7''

Shown side by side, Denise's maximalist paintings of enticing, naughty doughnuts and Chris's enchanting mixed media portraits of days gone by, interact with each other in an interesting way to create an environment where the consumer is confronted with his own future - and although it is flawed, it is human - which makes it beautiful.

For more information about the show, and to see more images from each artist, please visit our website - www.theartscompany.com

Seeing Through Spaces: Tony Breuer's Universe of Paintings

Head's up, fans of the physical universe--from space-time, quantum physics, and relativity to the way our human brains work; from the physical properties and materials of making art to the world of human imagination that ties it all together. Dr. Anthony Breuer, aka Tony Breuer, has set out to break into the codes of the multi-dimensional universe by making two-dimensional canvases that show us there is more than meets the eye in the physical universe of our everyday lives.

Crack in the Earth, New Openings, mixed media, 48 x 72 inches

Breuer's paintings are made to engage viewers in Seeing Through Spaces in a practical manner--using artistic materials and practices and ordinary images such as horses, planes, magnolias as metaphors. His paintings offer new insight into connecting the world of art into some of the primary scientific discoveries of the 21st century. There is a lot to see and a lot to know in Breuer's paintings. The process of making the paintings is itself laborious and painstaking. These are physical canvases, filled with action and color and lots of swirls and dimensions. Yet, there is considerable lightness of being implied in the resulting paintings. The things of our world seem to stand still while the universe is in constant motion.

But that's just about the paintings. Before Tony ever touched a canvas, he had a life as a distinguished practicing physician. His specialty, neurology with an emphasis on research, led him to related scientific exploration, specifically into the seen and unseen laws of the universe. In the last one hundred years, our knowledge of the physical laws of the universe has grown exponentially. Current research in relativity and quantum physics tells us that the world is even more multi-faceted than ever before imagined.

Space Magnolia #6, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Remember that the word "imagination" is a word shared by scientists such as Einstein, Feynman, and Hawking, and artists such as Picasso, Dali, and new-to-the-scene Tony Breuer. As he pursued the study of the laws of nature through the prism of how the human brain works, adding the making of art was a natural evolution in his world.

Breuer's study of medicine began at Princeton, followed by research at Oxford, and he received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. Some years later, he began to study art while maintaining a full schedule as a physician, completing his MFA in art in 2004. In recent years, he has begun a balancing act of reducing his medical schedule and increasing his artistic schedule in the studio. The exhibit, Seeing Through Spaces, is a showcase for his new series of paintings, intended to present the awe and beauty of the infinite physical laws of nature that exist among us in our lives, though unseen.

Virginia Falls, mixed media, 30 x 40 inches

Tony Breuer is a bona fide 21st-century emerging artist. The brain, the laws of nature, and the making of art--that's the world of Tony Breuer.

If you would like to meet Tony personally and get a preview tour of his work, join us at The Arts Company on Saturday, October 2, 4:30-6:00, in advance of the always-jubilant First Saturday Art Crawl Downtown, which follows 6-9 pm.

The Journey to "Inspired"

Commentary by Brian Downey, Associate Director of The Arts Comany and curator of the "Inspired" exhibit:

There is nothing I love more than curating shows. Researching talented artists, seeing the artwork as it's created, planning the layout of the show in the gallery, and watching it all come together for the opening reception is one of the most exciting things I have ever had the pleasure to do in my professional career. I have curated several shows, have worked with some amazing artists, and have had a blast the entire time. "Inspired," however, will always stand out to me and be one the shows I am most proud of.

It all started back in March of 2010 when I was visiting New York City with a friend of mine. We were walking down 5th Avenue in the heart of the city, admiring the stores, wishing I could afford to purchase the beautiful things I was seeing, and staring at all the gorgeous window displays. I was passing Bergdorf Goodman when I looked up and was instantly stopped in my tracks by their window display, not by the clothes, but by the large-scale woodblock prints that provided the backdrop for the fashion. I had no idea who the artist was, but it wasn't something I was not going to forget. When I was finally returned home to Nashville I immediately started researching to find out who this artist was. I learned that his name was John Welles Bartlett and he was living in Brooklyn. I found his website and sent him an email to introduce myself. After a few back and forths, I asked him if he would be part of a show I was curating in late summer. I expected an immediate "No thanks." I assumed that someone, who was getting this kind of exposure and attention in New York, would already be booked solid with other shows. To my surprise, he said "Yes!" Now I actually had a show to start planning!

"TV Donkey with Ant" by John Welles Bartlett

I wanted this exhibit to be a two-person show, and I already had an idea floating in the back of my mind about how to make this more than just an average exhibit of two artist's work. The trouble was finding that other artist who was just the right fit with John. I found a couple artists who I was very interested in, but unfortunately (or fortunately...as it turned out) they were either already booked for shows, or just didn't return my emails. Then I ran across Julianna Swaney, and I was so happy those other artists didn't work out. I found her work on My Love For You and was instantly a fan. I knew her small, intimate works would be a nice contrast, and yet completely complement John's large-scale woodblock prints. I emailed her, and her quick reply couldn't have been nicer. Even though she was already booked for three other shows in September, she still agreed to be a part of mine. I don't know how she found the time to create all the work for these four shows, but she did...and personally, I think I got the best ones!

"Hidden Birds" by Julianna Swaney

Once each artist was confirmed for the show, I ran my idea past them. I wanted to engage each artist and have them create something that would be special for this exhibit and very interesting to all the folks who would make it to the show. I asked each artist (who were total strangers at the time) how they would feel about studying the body of work of the other artist and creating one piece for the show that was inspired by the other. I didn't know what kind of reaction this would get, but I was hopeful. As it turned out, both artists loved the other's work and were very excited to take on this challenge. Personally, I think they were even more excited to see what the other artist would create knowing that they were the inspiration behind it. As the months went on, I would receive images from the artists of all the new pieces they were working on...but I still hadn't seen the inspired piece. I was starting to get worried. I had already sent out the press release, hyped the theme of the show, given interviews to some local publications--all based on the idea that each artist was creating this inspired piece, and the show was even called, "Inspired." What in the world would I do if one or both artists decided they just couldn't manage to do an inspired piece? I was nervous. Luckily, each artist was just saving the best for last and when I finally saw the inspired pieces I knew that the show was going to be amazing!

John's work

Julianna's work

The opening reception was this past Saturday. John was able to fly to Nashville for the show, but Julianna had a show opening in Portland, OR, where she currently lives and wasn't able to make it. Even though she couldn't be here, the evening was a huge success. After some great press, including a very nice spotlight in Nashville Arts Magazine, and a wonderful post by The Jealous Curator, hundreds came through the gallery that night. Some were there for the free wine, but the majority were actually there to see this special exhibit. I talked to so many people, answered so many questions, and loved every minute of it. By the end of the night we had sold a lot of artwork (according to Julianna, the most she has ever sold at an opening reception...EVER), and introduced two fantastic new artists to the gallery and to Nashville. I'll never forget the evening. I want to thank both of these great artists who I now consider great friends, the amazing people I work with at The Arts Company (Anne, Robin, and the whole gang), and my incredibly supportive friends and family who made the night memorable and special.

The show continues through September 25 at The Arts Company. Please stop by and take a look if you can, or see the pieces in the show on the gallery's website.

John, me, and the editorial staff of Nashville Arts Magazine

With two of my best friends, Candace and Beth

Our front window display...just as impressive as Bergdorf Goodman, in my opinion :)

The "Inspired" Pieces are Revealed!

Our current show, "Inspired" features the work of artists John Welles Bartlett (printmaker) and Julianna Swaney (illustrator). Each artist was asked to create one piece for the show that was inspired by the other. Having never met, and living on opposite sides of the United States, it was a fun and unique challenge for each artist to study the body of work of the other and create something, in their own style, inspired by them. Both inspired pieces were wrapped in black paper and were finally unveiled at the opening reception on Saturday, September 4. These pieces were a secret...until now.

Below are John and Julianna's inspired pieces and a brief description, in their own words, on how they were truly inspired by each other:

John's inspired piece, "TV Maiden with Birdhouse"

“When I began looking at Julianna’s work, I felt drawn into a time and place where life is entwined with folklore and spirits, and the secrets of nature. These are themes close to my heart and it was not hard to be inspired by her work. My piece “TV Maiden with Birdhouse” is related to the young girls who appear in a many of Julianna’s works, gingerly interacting with nature and the spirit world.” - John Welles Bartlett

Julianna's inspired piece, "Reception"

“What I initially found interesting in John’s work was the recurring image of the TV set. Especially the pieces where it is strapped to the back of a girl and a donkey, I often draw people or animals with things strapped to their back so I felt like that was a good place for me to start looking for inspiration. I have no idea what his intention for that symbol is but I interpret the TV image as a distraction that is always intruding, always constant, sort of in the background, though...so that you almost don't even realize you are being distracted. That is a familiar feeling I think to anyone around today who has the diversion of phone/email/texting/information with them constantly, you often don't even realize you are not paying attention to what is happening around you because your mind is constantly half on a screen. I incorporated the image of the TV on the back of a wolf, followed by a girl absorbed with it as she walks though the forest to symbolize that sort of distraction.” - Julianna Swaney

Fearless in Nashville

"Reflections of Nashville" photo by Joe Fizer

Everything is off the charts in the world today. The heat is up. The economy is down. The floods keep coming. People are in desperate straits worldwide. Everyone is digging in.

At The Arts Company in Nashville, we remain drawn to the arts as a constant source to help make sense of good times and bad times. We remain dedicated to the idea that the business of art in the marketplace matters, perhaps even more in grim times than in good times.

Nashville's unspoken civic and business credo is to aspire to a life of creative enterprise. At The Arts Company, our self-imposed mandate is to do our part. Our unwavering commitment is to bring compelling and unexpected artwork to the center of the marketplace of goods, services, and ideas--artwork that communicates part of what the Nashville experience is all about--creativity, new ways of doing business, fresh perspectives.

"Spirit of Nashville" Bluebird Cafe Poster by Joel Anderson

Partly, it's the "Nashville effect" that makes us tend toward hopeful rather than fearful. Nashville at this point in history is an uncanny and unlikely melting pot of creativity and invention, pairing bankers with musicians, attracting poets, artists, and health care entrepreneurs. No matter how bad times are, there are songwriters by the dozens who can help make sense of it. Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs define Nashville's business successes. The arts are equally enterprising and savvy, mirroring the innovative civic and business style that prevails. In Nashville, we speak openly and shamelessly of commerce and business enterprise in partnership with art and artistic enterprise.

However, like all businesses worldwide, our gallery business is facing the new realities of the marketplace. It's not an option to pursue business as usual. Turns out that's a relief. We will now be able to change the dull habits of our business and redefine ourselves as an art business of now--not what we did last year or the year before, but what we plan to do now. We are committed to presenting art as part of everyday necessity. We want to continue to be an active part of keeping ourselves and our city fresh, original, contemporary, inventive, and fearless.

Our goal is modest: to make each new piece of art we bring to the marketplace as exciting as the latest shoe fashion, as necessary as the next carton of milk, and as rewarding as winning the lottery. Well, that may be stretching it, but you get the idea.

Our real job is to ferret out neat and interesting artwork; to find interesting ways to present it; and to engage customers with it. Our approach is to create for our customers a comfortable and welcoming distinctly Nashville experience with art, one on one.

One Answer for All Your Important Questions

Roy Pace, Artists at Work

Setting up for for our annual avant-garage sale at The Arts Company is a daunting task, with a particular challenge: how to make sense of such a large variety of art, books, decor, furniture, and just plain off-the-charts crazy. It always turns out to be fun. We figure it out as we go along. There is no installation plan upfront, just how to make the mixed variety interesting and appealing.

Vintage cameras of various sizes

More important, how to make everything shockingly affordable. As it shakes down, it always turns out to be a good time for us and for our guests.

Come have fun with us on Saturday, August 7, 6-9 pm during our First Saturday opening. The avant-garage sale will continue upstairs through August 27, if supplies last that long.

And now for the answer:
At The Arts Company's 14th Annual Avant-Garage Sale

Here are the questions: Where can I find the neatest Beethoven socks in town?
Are there any remaining Obama Hot Flop beach shoes still available?
Do you have any Teenie Harris photographs?
How about lots of miscellaneous neat paintings -- all sizes, different artists, from various collections?

Billyo O'Donnoll, Last Light of the Shermerhorn Construction, 16 x 20''

Where could I find a fabulous old wooden ironing board that would make a great bar?
Where could I find a few pieces of artwork by two legendary Nashville area artists -- Roy Pace and Vannoy Streeter?
How about vintage books, art books, and lamps to read by?
Where can I find great buys on vintage and collectors' posters?
How about a couple of antique tables and a vintage drafting table (also doubles as a bar)?
Where can I find some oriental rugs? A Gee's Bend rug? A rug made of cigarette package wrappers?
Where can I find some vintage tins and jars and boxes to use with my ironing board bar?

Do you have a lot of miscellaneous neat art-related stuff that is shockingly affordable?

YES. At this year's 14th Annual Avant-Garage Sale Saturday, August 7, 6-9 pm
Preview some of the pieces on OUR WEBSITE.

Marek Bohemus, Four, 16 x 20''

And while you're here, don't miss all of the Summer Fresh Art that will surround you upstairs and down at 215 Fith Avenue of the Arts, featuring Marek Bohemus' dramatic photographs of "The Majesty of the Horse." Preview his work HERE.