Posters created for the 185 Alley Gallery project
I’ve heard it said that after the Fourth of July, summer’s already over. But no matter what school schedules might say, or how packed the back-to-school displays are at Target, the late-evening sun and I are still convinced it’s summertime. August’s First Saturday event is, appropriately, packed with fleeting displays. See ’em while you can.
Wedgewood-Houston
The Frist’s ¡Printing the Revolution! exhibition traces the development of Chicano printing arts from the Mexican American civil rights movements and publications of the 1960s and 1970s to more contemporary developments in this tradition of activist art and publishing. In case you were worried that the exhibition might be mired in the past with no current street cred to show, think again. MNPS Teacher of the Year, Paragon Mills Elementary’s own Bobbilyn Negrón, worked with the exhibition’s organizers to create a community art project resulting in the wheatpaste poster bombing of the 185 Alley Gallery behindThe Packing Plant. Hat-tip to the Frist for being hip enough to support exhibitions in funky alleys. See the artworks on the walls outside The Packing Plant, 507 Hagan St.
East Nashville
I was confused by the first episode of Nashville Hot Summer, which debuted at Red Arrow’s temporary outpost at The Arcade in June. The autumnal palettes and solemn expressions found in many of the works didn’t seem to have any relation to the easy joy of the warm weather months. Painter Danielle Winger had to do most of the heavy lifting of delivering on the sexy vibrance of the show’s title. The Superman-ice-cream landscape in her oil-on-canvas painting “Warmth” was just what I needed to snap out of the summertime sadness. Luckily, Nashville Hot Summer Part 2 is much more on-brand for this series that debuted in a different form at Red Arrow’s East Nashville headquarters last summer. I gave that show a Best of Nashville nod, and I love how the series plays off of the summer gallery tradition that finds curators indulging broad displays of works from across their rosters in hopes of luring gallerygoers through their doors, out of all that sunshine and fresh air. I generally hate themed shows, but here the theme elevates evergreen gallery marketing into a sexy Southern garden party during summer dress season. I was really looking forward to this year’s iteration, but I had to wait for this second chapter to get my sunshine dopamine release. This exhibition includes 17 artists, with standout works fromJohn Paul Kesling, Jean Nagai, Julian Rogers, Katie Hector, Brianna Bass and Johnson Ocheja. Nashville Hot Summer Part 2 debuts across two venues this Saturday night: at Red Arrow in East Nashville, and at Suite 63 and Suite 64 in the upper level of The Arcade downtown. Opening receptions are 6-9 p.m.
Downtown
“Gold and Future Time,” Todd Greene
Arcade Arts’ Art Between the Avenues summer art happenings had downtown full of the old-school Art Crawl feels at last month’s First Saturday events. Gallerygoers cycled between opening receptions at The Browsing Room at Downtown Presbyterian Church, the commercial galleries along Fifth Avenue and the pop-up shows at the newly renovated Arcade. The artist-led gallery spaces at The Arcade were the dynamo at the center of the original Downtown Art Crawl. The monthly events put Nashville’s contemporary art scene on the map for locals and tourists alike, and having The Arcade back in the art crawl mix has been heavy on vibes even if the displays are a mixed bag. The Arcade pop-ups will be open for one last First Saturday reception this week, and the shows will run through the end of August.
Don’t miss the exhibition at Galerie Tangerine’s pop-up at Suite 65 in the Arcade. Like many who’ve come before them, GT embraces the abbreviated dimensions of The Arcade’s upstairs spaces, and the results are something I’m calling “cozy maximalism,” or maybe “extreme salon.” It’s a fun display full of colorful works including even more eye-catching paintings from John Paul Kesling and a new illuminated work from Todd Greene, whose symbol-filled abstract paintings are lately transforming into light installations.
Sam Dunson’s painted pillows at TSU’s Hiram Van Gordon Gallery’s space at The Arcade are on the don’t miss list for gallerygoers this Saturday night. Dunson combines materials with colorful designs and varied textures, and decorates them with painted text and Afrofuturist portraits of interstellar skateboarders, interdimensional graffiti artists and DJs on Mars.
Evan Roosevelt Brown transforms his Arcade space into a mini movie theater, decorated by original artist-made lobby posters, featuring the narrative-defying film titles included in his thoughtful selection of original experimental shorts. We’re just a couple of weeks away from the Defy Film Festival’s celebration of way-out films, and this collection of a half-dozen artistic short videos is required viewing for Nashville cinephiles with eyes for poetic editing. Brown cut his teeth curating NKA Gallery in North Nashville. His In Short, I Would Like to Say installation finds him creating an immersive environment in a challenging footprint, and demonstrating that his eye for talented filmmakers is at least as strong as his eye for talented gallery artists. I’d love to see Brown doing more film-forward curating and programming beyond this Arcade project. Stop here and sit in the dark this weekend. Enjoy short selections from LeXander Bryant, $eck, taylor D. bee and more. Arcade opening receptions are 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3
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