Many community events highlight renowned ceramic artist Karen Karnes, Artist in Residence at the Black Mountain College (1952-54).
If you ask any potter, they will likely know the name “Karen Karnes.” Karnes has had a long career creating some of the most iconic pottery of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This spring there are many opportunities to learn and experience more about Karen Karnes and her contributions to American studio pottery.
To begin, there are two complementary exhibitions, one exploring a lifetime of work by Karnes at the Asheville Art Museum in Asheville, NC, and a second exploring the legacy and influence of Karnes at the Penland School Art Gallery in Penland, NC. A Chosen Path: The Ceramic Art of Karen Karnes is on view at the Asheville Art Museum through June 26, 2011. The exhibit, Many Paths: A Legacy of Karen Karnes, is on view at the Penland Gallery & Visitors Center through May 8, 2011, and will display works by fourteen artists whose lives and artistic practice has been touched by Karnes.
In support of these two extraordinary exhibitions, there are a number of other opportunities to engage with Karen Karnes and her work, starting with a series of events taking place the second week of April.
Kicking off the week is a lecture at UNC-Asheville on Wednesday, Apr. 6, 2011, at 12:30pm with Mark Shapiro, editor of A Chosen Path: The Ceramic Arts of Karen Karnes. As a potter who is known for his engagement with scholarly research as it relates to his pottery, Shapiro’s lecture is titled, Exquisite Torture: Research, Writing, and Publishing from a Maker’s Perspective. This lecture will take place in UNC-A’s Owen Conference Hall. This event is free and open to the public.
On the evening of Apr. 6, 2011, at 7pm, the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center in Asheville, NC, will host a film screening Don’t Know, We’ll See: The Work of Karen Karnes, by Lucy Phenix. The filmmaker will be in attendance as will Karen Karnes and Mark Shapiro. Admission is $7 for non-members / $5 for BMCM+AC members and students w/ID. For info visit (www.blackmountaincollege.org).
On Thursday, Apr. 7, 2011, from 6-9pm the Asheville Art Museum will host “An Evening with Karen Karnes and special guests” a discussion and reception with Mark Shapiro, Paulus Berensehn, and Mikhail, and moderated by Andrew Glasgow. This event will take place in Diana Wortham Theatre. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for Students & Seniors (65+). For info visit (www.ashevilleart.org).
On Friday, Apr. 8, 2011, a gallery reception will take place at Penland’s Gallery from 7-8:30pm with Karen Karnes, Mark Shapiro, and Lucy Phenix. During the day on Friday, Apr. 8, 2011, there will be a film screening, Don’t Know, We’ll See: The Work of Karen Karnes, by Lucy Phenix at 4:30pm at Ridgeway Hall at Penland School in Penland, NC.
Ending the week, on Saturday Apr. 9, 2011, you can attend the second annual “{Re}HAPPENING” event at the site of Black Mountain College, where over 50 artists of various disciplines converge for one evening in the spirit of the experimental college that was so important to American cultural history and to Karen Karnes development as a potter. For more information visit (www.rehappening.com).
For further info call 828/890-2050 or e-mail to (klee@craftcreativitydesign.org).
Tags: Asheville Art Museum, Asheville NC, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, Karen Karnes, Lucy Phenix, Mark Shapiro, Penland NC, Penland School of Crafts, UNC Asheville, Visiting Asheville, Visiting North Carolina
