Why Serendipity at The Arts Company? A Call to Expect the Unexpected

The real question is what took us so long? Serendipity pretty well defines the personality of our gallery. In the early years, we used to hear the phrase "always the unexpected fun part." Now we have come to think of the way we select and present artists and artwork as a deliberate act of serendipity--namely, finding neat and interesting art and placing other neat and interesting pieces around it to create a comfortable and welcoming environment. For sure, it's an unpredictable way to approach art--finding something really interesting, something unexpected that you hadn't thought of before. Then suddenly, you couldn't stop thinking about it.

For our gallery, context is of equal importance to the art. We want the art and the setting to disarm you and get you comfortable with seeing art in different contexts. That's always seemed important to us, because few of us live in white wall gallery environments at home. Our idea is to engage you with adventure and discovery in ways you haven't thought of art before. Often, this gives you new ideas about how to make art part of your own environment, to begin making your own new connections.

Right now, our Summer of Classic Serendipity at The Arts Company is an experiment in its own right. We are taking our little bizarre idea one step further. We are setting various spaces throughout the gallery as small tableaux or sets that feature a mix of art, furniture, decor, books, music, and whatever else we think fits the particular scenario. Our goal is catch our guests off-guard, to make you want to sit a minute in a particular environment just to try it on for a minute, to see the many ways art can fit into your work or living space.

It's all about welcoming guests into our sense of serendipitous adventure, which is what we think art can be at its best and most personal. We love taking this new approach in our gallery, but that's still not enough. Very soon, we will present our online version of this same kind of art adventure. Stay tuned for that.

Who knows where these new serendipitous adventures will take us?

A Summer of Classic Serendipity begins
at The Arts Company
Saturday, July 2, 6-9 pm
Continues through August 20


www.theartscompany.com

Welcome in to The Intimate World of Leonard Piha

Leonard Piha's work is a great fit with The Arts Company. We pride ourselves on being the gallery that over the last 15 years has consistently presented artwork that is fresh, original, and contemporary. With Leonard's work, there is something more--a rare artistic vision, in the same spirit as our own Brother Mel. In both artists, their spiritual commitments are deep and personal--Brother Mel in Catholic traditions and Leonard in Jewish traditions. In each, their academic backgrounds are stellar--Brother Mel with a master's degree in art from the University of Notre Dame, and Leonard with an M.F.A. from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Neither of them has ever sought fame and fortune for themselves and their work. Both of them use unusual materials, and they both see themselves as builders, though they are trained in painting as well. They are each genuinely modest about their work, more interested in making the work than in what happens to it.

Leonard Piha, Judah Buddha, 69 x 80 x 3 inches

My first entry into Leonard's world was by fluke, not by plan. It was truly a dark and dreary (and cold) night when some friends and I finally found Leonard's complex of home, studio, gallery, and a large hillside yard full of sculpture of all sizes. Flashlights in hand, we spotted art on buildings and in trees, and on the walls inside various buildings, including his house. It can only be described as a magical evening. We knew we were seeing something we had not seen before. Returning the next morning in daylight confirmed the magic. We were surrounded by literally hundreds of pieces of art as yet unseen beyond the confines of his complex. We knew we were seeing an accomplished artist at work, a trained artist with an outsider aesthetic.

Upstairs at The Arts Company--the right venue

I can only hope that we do some justice to that experience in the way we present The Intimate World of Leonard Piha Upstairs at The Arts Company. We chose the upstairs galleries for his exhibition because it is expansive space that makes it possible to show the scope and scale of his work.

The upstairs gallery at The Arts Company

We hope you will walk through this exhibit and experience the thrill of discovery of a truly unusual body of work, all of it related through Leonard's series of icons gleaned from his personal life and Jewish traditions that are repeated in fresh and surprising ways, using fresh and surprising materials.

Discovering the outsider aesthetic

When Leonard began to study art, his first inclination was to draw rabbis, menorahs, and other Jewish symbols from his family traditions. One college professor steered him away from that and suggested he needed to learn to create art in the style and subject matter of his contemporaries. However, once he discovered outsider art and artists, he was attracted to their work, considering it more direct and profound in subject and form than what he had been doing. Inspired by the work of outsider artists, he began to rediscover his Jewish roots and began to create a new artistic alphabet for himself, both in subject matter and in his choice of rough materials. Equipped with his academic training, but this new passion, something new was bound to happen.

The result is distinctly intimate, engaging, original, and contemporary. "I love finding stuff and putting it together," says Leonard, "I'm always on guard, ready for some idea or some feeling--but I just do things that are important to me." The fact that he translates religious and personal themes into contemporary icons adds a universal dimension. See below his Mondrian's Torah, constructed from cardboard, painted with oil paint, as a sample.

Leonard Piha, Mondrian's Torah, 36 x 41 x 7 inches

Leonard and his wife Cyndy literally built their home together. Since then, he has continued to add various outbuildings such as a studio, gallery, garages, and a gazebo; and he has populated his hillside property with very large and very small sculpture of all kinds. He is an elementary art specialist in a nearby school, a satisfying way to pay his way as an artist. He likes best staying at home and building his work, whether sculpture or painting. He and his wife have two young sons, both of whom have recently completed assignments in Afghanistan.

If you love the adventure and discovery of what a good artist has to offer, come spend some time in the intimate world of Leonard Piha. His is not art as usual.

Meet Leonard

during the First Saturday Art Crawl

at The Arts Company

May 7, 2011, 6-9 pm

Remarks by Anne Brown

Brother Mel has done it again...and again and again

Brother Mel's 83rd year--which we will be celebrating at The Arts Company during his 14th Annual Artistic Pilgrimage to Nashville June 3 & 4--has truly been another phenomenal year for this rare artist who has been a Catholic brother in the Marianist community for over 60 years and a practicing artist for over 50 years.

Brother Mel outside his studio

Between now and the time we will see him in early June, his year will be topped off in three important ways:

1) First and foremost: On May 21, St. Louis University will award him an honorary doctorate in the arts for his lifetime of making art.

2) As if that is not enough, some 18-20 of his large outdoor sculptures have been purchased by St. Louis University to be placed in a special park at the entrance to the university in the middle of downtown St. Louis in mid-May, just ahead of the degree ceremony. While the university and other businesses and public spaces have purchased and commissioned his work for years, this newest purchase and special presentation, plus this academic honor, is further testament to the demand for and quality of his work.

...and the best for last...

3) Lucky for Nashville, Brother Mel will be coming to Nashville just two weeks after this honor and the formal dedication will have taken place. If you are one of his special collectors and fans, listen up. He will be at The Arts Company for two occasions, accompanied by his latest exhibition of new work.

On Friday, June 3, he will be the subject of that night's Collectors Art Night at The Arts Company. To honor him further, his visit that night will be hosted and presented by some very special collectors who will be there to talk about why they keep coming back to his work and why it matters to them--from corporate to individual collectors.

On Saturday, June 4, he will be available to meet and greet his Nashville friends as they come to see his latest work...and to celebrate his 83rd birthday.

Brother Mel, Ovals, 11 x 21 x 21 inches

This year, we have asked him to focus on small sculptural shapes and colors, more artwork to "bring beauty to space to lift up spirits." It's exciting work commissioned especially for this year's Nashville exhibition. It's artwork we can all take personally.

In true Brother Mel fashion, once St. Louis University made their selections, within a short time Brother Mel had produced more large sculptures to re-populate his own sculpture yard outside his studio. He is never at a loss for new ideas, and his love of working at art all day six days a week never wanes.

We are lucky in Nashville to have direct access to this rare artist during his annual exhibitions.

The Shapes & Colors of Brother Mel

Opening at The Arts Company

Saturday, June 4, 6-9 pm

An Artistic Life in the Fast Lane

Drew Doggett is an energetic young artist whose entrepreneurial skills keep pace with the broad scope of his artistic vision and philanthropic commitment.

To give you an idea: Drew flew to Nashville, the day after returning from his recent second documentary trip--this one to Africa, to measure every inch of our downstairs gallery walls so that he could tailor-make every piece selected for the exhibit, each one large scale and to be mounted on aluminum. In addition, he was interviewed for a two-part story to appear in the April and May issues of Nashville Arts magazine. All that in a whirlwind trip of six hours.

Drew Doggett (far right) talks with Arts Company Owner and Director, Dr. Anne Brown; Michael Burcham, Executive Director, Entrepreneur Center (far left); and Lon Bouldin, Ventures PR.

His is an artistic life in the fast lane, for sure.

In the five years since he graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Human and Organizational Development, he has established himself as a significant emerging photographer with three distinct bodies of work:

1) high fashion, beginning his NYC-based career with accomplished photographers Mark Seliger and Steven Klein, followed quickly by creating his own trend-setting style of high fashion photography;


2) documentary, committing himself to a 10-year series of documentaries focused on vanishing cultures in remote areas--the first one, Slow Road to China, about the people and landscapes of a remote Himalayan region of Nepal, will be part of this exhibition; and initiating Art Cares, a non-profit organization to benefit the cultures he documents;

3) and urban landscapes, through commissions from private, business and government clients.

As with any artist, the heart of the matter is in his work--his meticulous attention to detail both in his photographs and in their presentation; his clear understanding of what he is looking for in each of the areas in which he works; and his commitment to capturing the beauty of obscure and vanishing cultures in the world. All of this will be clear to you when you step into the door of our gallery. You will know this is a different kind of artistic journey.

The photographs speak for themselves, but they also speak of the spirit of adventure and the vision of this photographer's passion for his work. Think of this as an art lover's adventure--a remote primitive culture meets high fashion and urban environments, each offering distinctive visual insight into some of the beauties and realities of three cultures, all co-existing in our contemporary world, each one enriching the other.

This exhibition introduces Nashville to a young 21st-century artist whose photographic images reveal the work of an artist and entrepreneur who has achieved artistic, commercial, and philanthropic success in a very short time. This is Drew's first exhibit in Nashville, and, we hope, just the beginning of more great photographs and exhibits he will bring back to Nashville.

Join us to welcome Drew back to Nashville

Saturday, April 2, 6-9 pm,

during First Saturday Art Crawl.

A New Online Marketplace

Charlie Buckley, The Arts Company, oil on muslin-wrapped panel, 14 x 8.5'', 2010

Business models are a dime a dozen these days. Every time we think we have one cornered, it slips away in mid-thought. It's a swift world out here.

From day one in our art business our idea was to make art commercially viable by locating in the middle of an active marketplace where people transact all kinds of business within close proximity to each other on a daily basis. A hundred years ago that was the town square. Then the center of cities. Then the suburbs. Then shopping malls. Now we're back to the town square, but without the brick and mortar.

Bob Grannis, Capital Construction, photograph, 20 x 30'', 1957

The new town square is online, with a multiplicity of communities you can choose to connect with. You create your own town square online, defined by the people with whom you converse and share confidences and by the sources you count on for shopping and purchasing.

Even though we are in the art business where everything is original, one-of-a-kind, it's hard to know how to find a brick and mortar location in a prime traffic location where people go to transact business and look for tangible goods and services. For us, the center of downtown Nashville continues to be a good bet. For a simple reason. Nashville is magnet for creativity, and downtown is an arts destination. People from around the world come to downtown Nashville to seek out the Nashville experience--that is, the unusual combination of lots of institutional and commercial venues in music, art, museums, libraries, and honky tonks, all within walking distance of each other. Fortunately, that combination attracts consistent foot traffic. Still, that's a kind of activity-based market scenario, not the daily kind of traffic that stems from the daily business of people's lives.

Charles Keiger, The Vault, oil on panel, 20 x 18'', 2009

It is not easy to find a thriving daily physical marketplace. The marketplace of our time is online, and any business wishing to thrive has to reckon with that elusive, seemingly amorphous structure and find new ways to get their goods and ideas noticed. Case in point: we now look online or "onphone" to locate brick and mortar places. In essence, when someone finds us now, it's likely through an online source more than just happening to be in the neighborhood.

This is not to bemoan change. On the contrary, we are looking for that new thriving market where real goods and real people can still get together in an active marketplace environment. That's why we are moving forward quickly to adapt ourselves to the new online marketplace. We are launching a new business partnership with Moontoast, an online social commerce platform. We are matching their online savvy and resources to ours--fresh, original, contemporary artwork, a selection that can be encountered and purchased online 24/7.

We can't wait to see who we meet up with in this sprawling new world of tasteful commerce. Join us if you dare. Try it out. Be a pioneer with us. We promise that over time it will be one heck of an adventure. We'd love to have you with us.

All you have to do is click here: theartscompany.moontoast.com. Join our online community, and together we will help shape this emerging marketplace for artwork.

Beauty in the Mystery: by Robin Venable

*Image of Einstein from: http://wespenre.com/quotes.htm

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

This is a quotation by one of the most inventive and creative minds of our time - Albert Einstein. His revolutions in scientific thought - specifically the theory of relativity - are some of the most profound revelations of the human mind.

I am currently reading his biography simply called Einstein by Walter Isaacson. Through the detailed accounts of his personal life and scientific struggles and triumphs, one sees a man whose quest for the unknown mysteries of the universe are unquenchable. These mysteries would keep him deeply thoughtful his entire life.

Some of the most (dare I use the word) beautiful artistic expressions are those that leave us guessing... ones that take us on our own quest for understanding with some guideposts along the way...but not too many so that we can find our way on our own.

Here are a few examples from artists that we represent that give the viewer that air of mystery, which, according to one of the greatest minds of our time, keeps us alive.

Tony Breuer, Virginia Falls, mixed media on canvas, 30 x 40''

Bill Starke, Climber, cast aluminum, 25 x 13 x 9''

Jim Hubbman, Corvus Camerae, watercolor and graphite on paper, 40 x 25.5''

Rod Daniel, Canyon de Chelly #9, archival digital print, 48 x 32''

Aggie Zed, Man with Box, porcelain, 7 x 4 x 5''

Don Dudenbostel, Tonna, platinum print, 5 x 4''

Charles Keiger, Wishing for Blue Skies, oil on panel, 22 x 20''

Modern Day "Window People": by Robin Venable

With the huge success of social media networks like Facebook, we are able to peer into other people's lives. That is, the lives that they want us to see.

In a somewhat-controlled environment I am able to post status updates, pictures, and videos to inform my "friends" of my ever-changing life.

Norman Lerner, "Piano Tuner, 1950's", archival digital print, 13 x 19 inches

When I post something, I know that it will pop up in my friends' news feeds, but I don't know who is actually coming to my page, looking at all of my photos, or analyzing my status updates.

A little creepy? Absolutely.

Norman Lerner, "Elevator Operator, 1950's", archival digital print, 13 x 19 inches

Have you ever felt like someone was looking at you? When viewing Norman Lerner's "Window People" I feel that uncomfortable tingle of watching eyes. The dilapidated windows house all sorts of people - a frowning, bulbous-nosed woman in her seventies sitting instead of standing, an old man who tunes pianos daring you to come in the front door, a bald elevator operator with sunken eyes looking out blankly...

Norman Lerner, "Resigned, 1950's", archival digital print, 13 x 19 inches

Perhaps we should feel that same unpleasant twinge when we log on to Facebook - feeling the clicks of the mouse as people visit our page.

Lerner's "Window People" are timeless. With his camera he has captured moments of connection between the observer and viewer (The original prints are silver gelatin prints that have now been converted to digital prints.) that make us want to know more about the people in the photographs. He has preserved that moment in time in which the gazer is caught looking... and now, just like Facebook, we get to look back...uninterrupted, and with all the time in the world.