News
January 16, 2009
"Reflections On Home" Exhibition On Display At Raleigh Municipal Building
“Reflections on Home,” sponsored by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, will be on display Feb. 5 through March 23 in the Miriam Preston Block Art Gallery at the Avery C. Upchurch Government Complex, 222 W. Hargett St. “Reflections on Home,” the kickoff exhibition for the 2009 25th Anniversary Municipal Building Exhibition Series, features the works of local artists Luke Miller Buchanan, Mary Shannon Johnstone and Shaun Richards. Lia Rose Newman is the guest curator for the exhibition.
An opening-day reception with live music will be held on Thursday, February 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Block Art Gallery.
 “Reflections on Home” features art exploring concepts of home through mixed media painting, photography and video. From the documentation of actual homes in Raleigh (in the works of Mr. Buchanan and Ms. Johnstone), to representations of the Southern landscape (Mr. Richards’ paintings), the artists present people, places, ideas and feelings that transform place into home. Drawing thematic and aesthetic connections, Ms. Newman brings together this well-known group of artists to offer a variety of perspectives and perceptions of home.
Following is more information on three artists whose work will be displayed in “Reflections on Home” and on the guest curator:
- Luke Miller Buchanan presents mixed-media paintings that involve photographs, paint, and found objects. In these paintings, he focuses on the man-made world, especially those everyday pieces of downtown living --- apartment buildings, railroad tracks, factories, and telephone poles. Mr. Buchanan graduated from North Carolina State University’s College of Design with a bachelor’s degree in environmental design in architecture and a minor in art/design. He was awarded the Artspace Regional Emerging Artist Residency and has exhibited throughout the state;
- Mary Shannon Johnstone presents a series of atmospheric photographs, using slow shutter speeds and over-exposed film. Portraying the North Carolina coast, including images of the ocean and houses built on sand, Ms. Johnstone uses this location as a metaphor for an “internal struggle between the old and new place” she calls home. Ms. Johnstone received a master’s of fine art degree in photography from Rochester Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s of fine art degree from the Art Institute of Chicago. She has exhibited extensively throughout North Carolina and the Midwest, and is an assistant professor of art at Meredith College. She is represented by Points of View Gallery;
- Shaun Richards, using a variety of media, including stencils, collage materials, and traditional modes of painting, contributes paintings and constructions depicting his interest in the South. (Richards' mixed media image "Hope and Glory" is shown at left.) He explores questions of beauty, artifice and materialism. Mr. Richards received a bachelor’s of arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and studied at State University of New York Empire State College as a non-matriculated graduate student. He completed the Regional Emerging Artist Residency at Artspace in 2007, and has been featured in Southwest Art’s annual emerging artist issue, 21 Under 31. He is represented by Flanders Art Gallery; and,
- Lia Rose Newman, a practicing installation artist and the director of programs and exhibitions at Artspace, is the guest curator for “Reflections on Home.” Ms. Newman holds a bachelor’s of arts degree in art history and a bachelor’s of fine arts degree with concentrations in sculpture and photography from Winthrop University. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in liberal studies from Duke University. Select curatorial accomplishments include “Veronica’s Veils” featuring the work of Herb Jackson (May-June 2008); the Time Based Media Invitational (September-November 2007); and “Tracings,” featuring the work of seven contemporary textile artists from Canada, Japan, and the United States, (September-November 2005).
Connecting local artists to community through ongoing exhibitions and public outreach, the Miriam Preston Block Art Gallery is located on the first and second floors of the Upchurch Government Complex. The gallery is managed by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, and was dedicated in 2006 to honor Miriam Preston Block, a former Raleigh City Council member and community leader. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. except on holidays.
Established in 1977 as the official advisory body and advocate for the arts to the Raleigh City Council, the City Raleigh Arts Commission proudly holds the distinction of being the first municipal arts commission created in North Carolina. Serving as the leading force to champion the arts with Raleigh citizens and their representatives, the Commission’s myriad activities foster, support, and promote the arts in the Capital City.
For more information, contact the Arts Commission office at 996-3610 or email Sarah Blackmon, gallery coordinator, at sarah.blackmon@ci.raleigh.nc.us.
Prepared by:
John Boyette
Public Affairs Specialist
Public Affairs Department
For More Information Contact:
June Guralnick
Arts Commission, Executive Director
City Manager Department
222 West Hargett Street, Room 504
Raleigh, NC 27601
919-996-4685
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